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Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:42:00 -0400

fyeahchemistry: carlzimmer: 20 years of writing in a single...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:36:24 -0400

carlzimmer:

20 years of writing in a single sketch. Thanks to Katie PhD for distilling my talk last week at Brown. Details here and here.

(via So you want to be a science writer? Pearls of wisdom from Carl Zimmer | Katie PhD)

ED: If you’re interested in science writing, Zimmer’s the one to learn from.

WAIT CARL ZIMMER HAS A TUMBLR

brain-food: The Good Thing About Science by Chris Piascik /...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:21:40 -0400

brain-food:

The Good Thing About Science by Chris Piascik / Print

prettyyy!!!

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:37:48 -0400

prettyyy!!!

brain-food: Saddest moment in television history.

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:53:39 -0400

brain-food:

Saddest moment in television history.

sciencejokes: Phagocytosis by...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:06:58 -0400

sciencejokes:

Phagocytosis by ~Velica

http://sciencejokes.tumblr.com

jayparkinsonmd: Michael Pollan’s Food Rules by Marija...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:35:09 -0400

jayparkinsonmd:

Michael Pollan’s Food Rules by Marija Jacimovic

brewnoob: Finally a beer mug which gives drinkers something...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:58:37 -0400

brewnoob:

Finally a beer mug which gives drinkers something almost no one wants more of in their beer - a more foamy head. By funneling beer from the bottom of the mug to the top, the mug creates artificial turbulence that makes the beer release more carbonation, leading to more tasteless beer that will go flat more quickly. On the other hand, it might make a funny party gag at least once, as seen in this video…

Takara Tomy Beer Jug Jokki Hour Foam Head Maker (by JapanTrendShop)

Haha omg

Addicted to this song right now.

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:51:02 -0400

Addicted to this song right now.

I hate it when people ask me "Do you believe in God? Or do you believe in Science?"

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:05 -0500

Science isn’t a belief or an idea. It’s a word for the knowledge obtained through systematic testing and explained through rational reasoning.

It’s not a fucking belief. Don’t lump it together with religion like it’s optional.

It’s our only tool for understanding the truth to the universe.

I just had to get that out.

nevrfail: Scan Your Food For Bacteria With Your Cell Phone Have...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 11:28:24 -0500

nevrfail:

Scan Your Food For Bacteria With Your Cell Phone

Have you ever been tempted to order steak tartare but decided against it for fear of getting sick? This little cell phone scanner can take a look at it for you and let you know if it does in fact harbor any E. coli bacteria.(Details) www.neverfail.co

COOL!

sanityscraps: SCHMETTERLING.

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:33:17 -0500

sanityscraps:

SCHMETTERLING.

sciencejokes: http://sciencejokes.tumblr.com

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:33:33 -0500

sciencejokes:

http://sciencejokes.tumblr.com

crownedrose: Dimetrodon milleri Sometimes people confuse...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:45:32 -0500

crownedrose:

Dimetrodon milleri

Sometimes people confuse Dimetrodons for dinosaurs, when actually Dimetrodons are in the class of Synapsida; a class more related to mammals than reptiles. Dimetrodons ranged from the Lower to Middle Permian; which also means they did not live alongside dinosaurs (another misconception).

deconversionmovement: 7 Theories on the Origin of...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 14:15:51 -0500

deconversionmovement:

7 Theories on the Origin of Life

Primordial soup

Life on Earth began more than 3 billion years ago, evolving from the most basic of microbes into a dazzling array of complexity over time. But how did the first organisms on the only known home to life in the universe develop from the primordial soup? Here are science’s theories on the origins of life on Earth.

Electric Spark

Electric sparks can generate amino acids and sugars from an atmosphere loaded with water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen, as was shown in the famous Miller-Urey experiment reported in 1953, suggesting that lightning might have helped create the key building blocks of life on Earth in its early days. Over millions of years, larger and more complex molecules could form. Although research since then has revealed the early atmosphere of Earth was actually hydrogen-poor, scientists have suggested that volcanic clouds in the early atmosphere might have held methane, ammonia and hydrogen and been filled with lightning as well.

Community Clay

The first molecules of life might have met on clay, according to an idea elaborated by organic chemist Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. These surfaces might not only have concentrated these organic compounds together, but also helped organize them into patterns much like our genes do now.

The main role of DNA is to store information on how other molecules should be arranged. Genetic sequences in DNA are essentially instructions on how amino acids should be arranged in proteins. Cairns-Smith suggests that mineral crystals in clay could have arranged organic molecules into organized patterns. After a while, organic molecules took over this job and organized themselves.

Deep-Sea Vents

The deep-sea vent theory suggests that life may have begun at submarine hydrothermal vents, spewing key hydrogen-rich molecules. Their rocky nooks could then have concentrated these molecules together and provided mineral catalysts for critical reactions. Even now, these vents, rich in chemical and thermal energy, sustain vibrant ecosystems.

Chilly Start

Ice might have covered the oceans 3 billion years ago, as the sun was about a third less luminous than it is now. This layer of ice, possibly hundreds of feet thick, might have protected fragile organic compounds in the water below from ultraviolet light and destruction from cosmic impacts. The cold might have also helped these molecules to survive longer, allowing key reactions to happen.

RNA World

Nowadays DNA needs proteins in order to form, and proteins require DNA to form, so how could these have formed without each other? The answer may be RNA, which can store information like DNA, serve as an enzyme like proteins, and help create both DNA and proteins. Later DNA and proteins succeeded this “RNA world,” because they are more efficient. RNA still exists and performs several functions in organisms, including acting as an on-off switch for some genes. The question still remains how RNA got here in the first place. And while some scientists think the molecule could have spontaneously arisen on Earth, others say that was very unlikely to have happened.

Other nucleic acids other than RNA have been suggested as well, such as the more esoteric PNA or TNA.

Simple Beginnings

Instead of developing from complex molecules such as RNA, life might have begun with smaller molecules interacting with each other in cycles of reactions. These might have been contained in simple capsules akin to cell membranes, and over time more complex molecules that performed these reactions better than the smaller ones could have evolved, scenarios dubbed “metabolism-first” models, as opposed to the “gene-first” model of the “RNA world” hypothesis.

Panspermia

Perhaps life did not begin on Earth at all, but was brought here from elsewhere in space, a notion known as panspermia. For instance, rocks regularly get blasted off Mars by cosmic impacts, and a number of Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that some researchers have controversially suggested brought microbes over here, potentially making us all Martians originally. Other scientists have even suggested that life might have hitchhiked on comets from other star systems. However, even if this concept were true, the question of how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space.

Image Credits: NASA/JPL, stock.xchng, Chemistry, MARUM, Eric Rignot & NASA JPL, © Yunxiang987 | Dreamstime.com, © Mark Rasmussen | Dreamstime.com

Definitely what I study in school! You all should check it out!

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:12:35 -0500

Definitely what I study in school!

You all should check it out!

lordshivasdance:

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:34:54 -0500

lordshivasdance:

ohhfrontier: All of my brewing equipment. #coffee (Taken with...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:34:51 -0500

ohhfrontier:

All of my brewing equipment. #coffee (Taken with instagram)

sexy!

“Baalbek Café” beautiful

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:29:42 -0500

“Baalbek Café”

beautiful

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is..."

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:37:04 -0500

““The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.””

- H.P. Lovecraft (via hellyeahhorrormanga)