A HeLa cell dividing on a fibronectin micropattern at 100-times magnification.
Image by Dr. Manuel Thery, CEA Grenoble.
This picture from my paleontology book always trips me out. Just how different are we, really? From Bringing Fossils to Life by D.R. Prothero.
This enlarged image shows a jeweled beetle Chrysina gloriosa. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology studied the surface structures on the beetle’s shell and discovered that the iridescent colors are produced from liquid crystalline material that self-assembles into a complex arrangement of polygonal shapes.
Chlorophytes (Volvox) can live as single celled flagellated individuals or as multicellular colonies with each generation living within its parent cell…which is way cooler.
Bioluminescent bacteria
Taking cues from the firefly, a Dutch electronics company has created a product called “Bio-light”—an eco-friendly lighting system that uses glowing, bioluminescent bacteria. They’re not powered by electricity or sunlight, but by methane generated by the company’s Microbial Home bio-digester that processes anything from vegetable scraps to human waste. The living bacteria are fed through silicon tubes, and as long as they’re nutritionally-fulfilled, they can indefinitely generate a soft, heat-free green glow using the enzyme luciferase and its substrate, luciferin. They’re kept in hand-blown glass bulbs clustered together into lamps, but you can’t light up your house with them yet—the glow isn’t nearly bright enough to replace conventional artificial lights. They do, however, get people to think about untapped household energy sources and how to make use of them. The company, Phillips, also envisions the use of these Bio-lights outside the home—for nighttime road markings, signs in theatres and clubs, and even biosensors for monitoring diabetes.
Admittedly I kinda have an affinity for sitting in natural light from windows only so this kind of low light setting would be just fine
Incredible close-up photos of animals’ eyes by Suren Manvelyan
Chip “Sees” in 3D to Diagnose HIV, Leukemia
Inexpensive, portable devices that can rapidly screen cells for leukemia or HIV may soon be possible thanks to a chip that can produce three-dimensional focusing of a stream of cells, according to researchers. “HIV is diagnosed based on counting CD4 cells,” says Tony Jun Huang, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State. “Ninety percent of the diagnoses are done using flow cytometry.”
Huang and his colleagues designed a mass-producible device that can focus particles or cells in a single stream and performs three different optical assessments for each cell. They believe the device represents a major step toward low-cost flow cytometry chips for clinical diagnosis in hospitals, clinics and in the field.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Chip-Sees-in-3D-to-Diagnose-HIV-Leukemia-053112.aspx
so yeah, this guy is hanging out in the Richmond Mine in northern CA. temperatures up to 48 C (118.4 F), up to 100% humidity, and the water has a pH of MINUS 3.6
and bacteria live there
bacteria that live in sulfuric acid and eat iron
nature is fucking metal
