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sciencephotolibrary:

Red blood cells. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of red blood cells (erythrocytes) on the connective tissue surface of a muscle. Some of the red blood cells are crenated (spiked). They have dehydrated and distorted in shape. The main function of red blood cells is to distribute oxygen to body tissues, and to carry waste carbon dioxide back to the lungs. Magnification: x3000 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Credit: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

expose-the-light:

Macro Photographs of Dew-Covered Dragonflies and Other Insects by David Chambon

biologylair:

The above chick embryo was stained with the antibody (HNK-1) to identify the location of neural crest cells, ectodermally-derived, multipotent progenitor cells that are unique to vertebrates. These neural crest cells migrate throughout the developing embryo to give rise to different lineages of tissues.

There are four main neural crest categories:

1. Cranial Neural Crest - yields craniofacial mesenchyme which differentiates into cartilage, bone, cranial nerves, neuroglial, odontoblasts (cells of the teeth), and thymic cells in the cephalic region
2. Trunk Neural Crest - can give rise to melanocytes of the skin, the dorsal root ganglia, aortic nerve clusters, or the adrenal medulla
3. Vagal/Secral Neural Crest - gives rise to the parasympathetic ganglia of the digestive system
4. Cardiac Neural Crest -  gives rise to the muscular/connective wall of main arteries

It’s important to note that the morphological complexity of vertebrates would be impossible without highly transient neural crest cells to establish entire somatic lineages throughout the body. 

Photo Credit: University of Victoria Burke Lab

the-star-stuff:

Electron microscope photographs of Pop-Tarts and Oreos resemble tasty alien landscapes

Artist Caren Alpert zooms in on a variety of foodstuffs, from fruits and vegetables to the most processed of processed foods, photographing them under an electron microscope and exposing their hidden landscapes.

1. Banana Skin, 210x Magnification

2. Blueberry, 19x Magnification

3. Oreo, 15x Magnification

4. Red Licorice, 20x Magnification

5. Pop Tart, 450x Magnification

Her full gallery contains fascinating looks at shrimp tails, pineapple leaves, raisins, fortune cookies, and more.

ikenbot:

Corpse Stars Could Nurture Life on Alien Planets

White dwarfs may be dying, but their light could be just right to sustain life as we know it. That could make habitable planets even more common than we think.

Many planet-hunting missions have focused on finding rocky exoplanets around sun-like stars, based on the notion that an exact Earth twin would be a prime breeding ground for alien life.

White dwarfs, by contrast, would seem unlikely hosts. These smouldering cores form when stars around the same mass as our sun reach the end of their lives. First the stars balloon to red giants, then they shed their outer gas layers and leave behind dim, ultradense orbs not much larger than Earth itself.

Still, previous work suggested that the stellar corpses could maintain habitable zones, regions where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface, for more than 8 billion years. As our own solar system is 4.5 billion years old, a habitable world around a white dwarf should have plenty of time to give rise to some form of life.

Now a new study shows that an Earth-like planet in a white dwarf’s habitable zone would get light at the right wavelengths to sustain photosynthesis. Crucially, such a world would not get too much damaging ultraviolet radiation, which can stop life in its tracks.

Luca Fossati at the Open University in the UK and his colleagues started by assuming that this hypothetical planet has an atmosphere similar to Earth’s.

By simulating the conditions created by a white dwarf, the team calculated the amount of starlight that would reach the planet’s surface. They then compared the results with the wavelengths of light DNA absorbs, particularly UV waves known to damage DNA.

The researchers found that the planet would get just 1.65 times as much UV light as Earth does (arxiv.org/abs/1207.6210). “The dose is remarkably benign from an astrobiological perspective,” says Fossati.

For the optical wavelengths that play roles in photosynthesis, the team found conditions almost identical to those on Earth.

Planets surrounding red dwarf stars have also been proposed as alternative sites for life, says Fossati, in part because these small, cool stars are the most common in our galaxy. But they can experience intense stellar activity, including flares of radiation bigger than the ones that affect Earth. White dwarfs are less temperamental, and would provide life with a more stable home, says Fossati.

“The team’s evaluation of habitable planets at white dwarfs is an excellent way to smash preconceptions about these systems,” says Jay Farihi at the University of Leicester in the UK.

Full Article

tropicalism:

Offshore lightning storm wide vision by Francesco Magoga Photography on Flickr.

love it

(via tropicalism-deactivated20121230)

art-of-swords:

Japanese Swords (Katana)

1. First sword has a curved single-edged blade with traces of straight hamon, plain tang pierced with a single mekugi-ana, curved nakago-jiri, and pierced iron tsuba chiselled with flowers and foliage. It has fabric-bound sharkskin-covered grip with a pair of foliate menuki, fuchi decorated with matching gilt flowers in its lacquered saya. Measurements: 63.8cm; 25 1/8in blade.
2. Second sword has a curved single-edged blade with wavy hamon, plain tang pierced with a single mekugi-ana, straight nakago-jiri, and iron tsuba pierced with eight flower-shaped apertures. It has fabric-bound sharkskin-covered grip with a pair of menuki decorated with soft metals, and the kabuto gane and fuchi each decorated with figures in contemporary dress in its lacquered saya. Measurements: 67.2cm; 26 1/2in blade.

Source & Copyright: Thomas Delmar