Sunday 4 May 2014

A greener source of polyester — cork trees

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On the scale of earth-friendly materials, you’d be hard pressed to find two that are farther apart than polyester (not at all) and cork (very). In an unexpected twist, however, scientists are figuring out how to extract a natural, waterproof, antibacterial version of the first material from the latter. Their new technique, which could have applications in medical devices, appears in the ACS journal Biomacromolecules. Cristina Silva Pereira and colleagues explain that polyesters are ubiquitous in modern life, and not just as a practical fabric for clothing. Their durability and other traits make them ideal for use in cushioning and insulating materials, in liquid crystal displays, holograms, filters, and as a high-gloss finish on guitars and pianos. But making polyester for these products involves a toxic process that starts with the melting of petroleum-based products. To replace these synthetic fibers, scientists have turned to nature. More specifically, to the cork oak tree, which makes its own version of polyester — suberin. Attempts to extract suberin intact from the tree’s bark have so far resulted in pasty blobs, so Silva Pereira’s team decided to find a different way. They used a new technique to take suberin out of cork and then re-make

The post A greener source of polyester — cork trees has been published on Technology Org.

 
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2014 ORBITAL CALENDAR: Solar System Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: astronomy poster, circular calendar, phases of the moon, spacetime, calendar cycles, timespace

Astronomy Science Poster EARTH-MOON w/ SOLAR SYSTEM ~ Your Year In Space! ~ Astronomically-correct TimeSpace, MILKY WAY Galaxy in background Perfect for S.T.E.M Education: TEACH astronomy in a flash... . ...from Earth to Moon to Sun, celestial math. Use Dry Erase markers to add your data, meteor showers, study cycles, National Calendar Awards for: Most Original, Most Educational Best Graphic Design

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Living with lupus

Science Focus

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As a child, Sandra Bettinger was never allowed to use her lupus as an excuse for anything.

On school mornings, if Bettinger was feeling fatigued or simply didn't want to deal with bullying classmates mocking her swollen body, she would desperately devise a plan to stay home. Standing in front of the air conditioner, shivering, she would hope for little white polyps to form on her tonsils or some other physical signs of her illness to appear.

"Look Ma," Bettinger would say in their absence, hopeful she could pull off the ruse. "I'm sick."

But before her mother could answer, her father's deep...

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 » see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/259136/living-with-lupus
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Venus’ crust heals too fast for plate tectonics

Science Focus

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Maat Mons, one of Venus' volcanoes. The planet is clearly geologically active, but hasn't developed plate tectonics.

The emergence of plate tectonics is arguably Earth's defining moment, the authors of a new Nature paper write. Out of all the planets we’ve looked at carefully, Earth is the only one that has a hard outer crust with distinct pieces that shift and move. Our home is unique in its continents and quakes.

Some scientists think that plate tectonics are essential for life—so much so that if they could figure out a way to spot tectonic action on exoplanets, they think it would be a good indication that there might be life there, too. Tectonic activity recirculates minerals and recycles carbon. As one plate slides under another (a process called subduction), it pushes carbon down into the mantle with it.

Without plate tectonics, carbon would build up in the atmosphere. Venus, which does not have tectonics, shows the results: an atmosphere that is 96 percent carbon dioxide. It's toxic. Yet Venus is about the same size and composition as our planet, so why doesn't it have plate tectonics?

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 » see original post http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/aFeGtHBT3FU/
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Building a cutting-edge camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Science Focus

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This colorful piece of electronics is a photomultiplier module for the CHEC camera undergoing testing. Credit: Fabricio Sousa/SLAC Key components for a new type of camera that will collect only the faintest, fastest flashes of light in the night sky are being assembled and tested now at SLAC. Their eventual destination: the first Compact High-energy Camera (CHEC), which will be installed in a prototype telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array. The CTA is a ground-based gamma-ray observatory currently under development by an international consortium with more than 1000 members from 27 countries. The CTA will detect ultra-high-energy gamma rays, which are beyond even the reach of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Current plans call for the observatory to comprise two separate arrays – one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere – totaling more than 100 telescopes of three different sizes. The telescopes are now under development. Researchers at SLAC are testing modules of electronic components for the first CHEC camera, which will be installed on a prototype telescope later this year. But most gamma rays from cosmic sources are blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere. What will the camera be looking at? Read more at: Phys.org

The post Building a cutting-edge camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array has been published on Technology Org.

 
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 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechnologyOrgPhysicsNews/~3/iJJBTM13GMY/
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Carina Nebula in Argo Navis constellation Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, peel off, carina nebula, argos navis constellation, carina the keel, star formation, gas clouds, carnebngcttst, ngc 3372

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hubble's view of the Carina Nebula shows star birth in a new level of detail. The fantasy-like landscape of the nebula is sculpted by the action of outflowing winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation from the monster stars that inhabit this inferno. In the process, these stars are shredding the surrounding material that is the last vestige of the giant cloud from which the stars were born. The immense nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina the Keel (of the old southern constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, from Greek mythology).
The original image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of ionized hydrogen. Colour information was added with data taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.

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image code: carnebngcttst

Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope; colour data from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile

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A Scorpius Sky Spectacular

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Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Planets of the Solar System Wall Stickers

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: astronomy, bubble nebula, cassiopeia, celestial bodies, computer imaging, earth, imaging, jupiter, mars, mercury, moon, natural sciences, natural world, nebula, neptune, nobody, outer space, physical science, planet, pluto, saturn, sciences, the solar system, uranus, venus

ImageID: CB061976 / Corbis / Planets of the Solar System/ /

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i love hubbles law cover for iPad

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


tagged with: i love this, heart, passion, hobbies, interests, text design, i love, people, cultures, places, animals, love, hubbles, law, i love hubbles law, astronomy, space

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The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Space, stars, galaxies and nebulas posters

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: space, galaxy, stars, star, sky, night, astronomy, geek, nerd, universe, cluster, outer space, science fiction, sci-fi, sci fi, scifi, nebula, purple, blue, navy, black, dark, galaxies, starry, milky way, glittering, glowing, glitter, sparkle, sparkles, sparkling, sparkly, glittery, nasa, hubble, pretty, astronomical, fantasy, geeky, nerdy

This is a unique fantasy space composition made from a collage of real space images.

space, galaxy, stars, star, cluster, sky, night, "outer space", "science fiction", "sci-fi", "sci fi", scifi, nebula, purple, blue, navy, black, dark, galaxies, starry, "milky way", dusting, sprinkling, glittering, twinkling, twinkle, glow, glowing, glitter, sparkle, sparkles, sparkling, sparkly, glittery, nasa, hubble , pretty, astronomy, astronomical, fantasy, beauty, texture, beautiful, amazing, universe, cosmology, stellar, geek, geeky, nerd, nerdy, geeks, nerds, science, telescope, hipster, pink,"outer space", outerspace, exploration, explore, exploring, explorer, futuristic, future,

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Name, Cassiopeia, Milky Ways Youngest Supernova Gift Wrapping Paper

Get your out-of-this-world gift wrap here! Perfect for Christmas gifts for anyone who is fascinated by what the universe holds in store for us!


tagged with: star galaxies, outer space picture, supernova explosion, supernovae remnant, milky way youngest supernova, cosmic ray, neutron star, cassasn, deep space astronomy, cassiopeia

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series This extraordinarily deep Chandra image shows Cassiopeia A (Cas A, for short), the youngest supernova remnant in the Milky Way. New analysis shows that this supernova remnant acts like a relativistic pinball machine by accelerating electrons to enormous energies. The blue, wispy arcs in the image show where the acceleration is taking place in an expanding shock wave generated by the explosion. The red and green regions show material from the destroyed star that has been heated to millions of degrees by the explosion.
Astronomers have used this data to make a map, for the first time, of the acceleration of electrons in a supernova remnant. Their analysis shows that the electrons are being accelerated to almost the maximum theoretical limit in some parts of Cas A. Protons and ions, which make up the bulk of cosmic rays, are expected to be accelerated in a similar way to the electrons. Therefore, this discovery provides strong evidence that supernova remnants are key sites for energizing cosmic rays.
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image code: cassasn

Image credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/UMass Amherst/M.D. Stage et al.

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Click to personalize with name and message - or just to see it bigger.
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Gerald Guralnik, 77, a ‘God Particle’ Pioneer, Dies

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Mr. Guralnik is one of six pioneering physicists who in the 1960s came up with a theory that would lead to the discovery of a subatomic particle.















via New York Times

Whimsical Purple Nebula Cat Pink Galaxy Stars Wall Graphics

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: purple, pink, cat, pet, nebula, outer space, astronomy, abstract, stars, nebula cat, cosmos, space, geek, cute, whimsical, kitten, pet lover, modern, cool, original, unique, background, beige, nebula trend, cat trend, nebula fashion, cat fashion, girly, girly girl, bright, colorful, bright stars, whimsical cat, animal, pets, nebula photo, modern nebula, cute cat, hipster cat, purple nebula

A cute whimsical kitten cat animal featuring bright purple and pink nebula and galaxy photography with bright stars. Get this original and modern outer space design with a cool cat vector on a white, beige vintage background. perfect gift for anyone, for the pet lover, the geek who loves space and cosmos. Girly Road is a collaboration between Girly Trend and Railton Road

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