Student Invents a ‘Mobile Airbag’ That Deploys When a Device is Dropped
Rainy spring day & koi pond
Diamagnetic Levitation -Ig Nobel prize (2000)
In the previous post we took a look at how combinatorics and paramagnetism gel together. In today’s post we will talk about levitating frogs and diamagnetism.
Diamagnetic material
A diamagnetic material is one which would rather ‘die’ than be attracted to a magnetic field (it opposes the magnetic field).
Paramagnetic materials on the other hand are those which love to align themselves paralled to the magnetic field.
The opposition of this magnetic field sets up a restoring force that pushes it away from the field. For example take a look at this diamagnetic tomato which is being a baby about a strong magnetic field and keeps moving away.
Why does the frog levitate?
Frogs and most living creatures on earth contain high concentrations of water and water is a weakly diamagnetic material.
Here is the diamagnetic levitation of a tomato which, as you know is flush with water:
Gif source credit: Radboud Universigy
In order to accomplish this a very large electric current is made to pass through a ‘bitter electromagnet’.
This generates a high magnetic field around the frog. The frog being diamagnetic opposes this field generating a opposing force.
PC: mriquestions
Now since the frog is light in weight, the diamagnetic force generated is sufficient to overcome the effects of gravity enabling the frog to levitate.
Can Humans be levitated like this ?
Well, for levitating a frog that weighed around 25 gms one had to use a 15 Tesla coil. A typical MRI machine uses only a 3 Tesla coil and this took 5 times that.
The magnetic fields required to levitate a human is too crazy to be achieved at the moment but as research in superconductors advances maybe we will be able to get to a high enough magnetic field to at the least test it out.
Have a great day!
Sources:
** BONUS: A follower of this blog pointed us to this video by The Action Lab who performed this crazy demonstration using a large Neodymium Magnet and a mouse.
It should be of no surprise to you that this works since most living creatures on earth contain high concentrations of water and water is a weakly diamagnetic material.
Have a great day!
Underwatched Animated Films I Recommend You See at Least Once in Your Life
EDIT: i didn’t expect this post to get so many notes. for the record, these are just my personal recommendations, not a definitive list of best underrated animation. i also did not include anything made by Disney. I know that they made some movies that didn’t get as much attention as their other hits, but lists of underwatched Disney films are pretty common, so I thought I’d make one of films by studios that aren’t household names.
Angel’s Egg (1985)
This movie is a nearly silent film with painstakingly beautiful frames and environmental details. All I can say is that it is a real piece of art worth watching and can be watched on YouTube here.
Les Triplets de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) (2005)
An incredibly quirky, strange and humorous French film, also with almost no dialogue. The colors, creative storytelling, and almost caricature-like designs make the Triplets a must-see. The setting and timeframe is left sort of abstract, but it’s a clear transition from last-century rural France to the hustle and bustle of urban America. Lots of homage is paid to cartoons from the 1920s.
Mindgame (2004)
This movie, quite like the title says, blew my mind. It’s also incredibly strange and out-there, but the awkward imagery gives way to real emotion and huge payoff by the end. The colors and animation are delightful, and always tailored to the situation. It is an amazing intersection of an altered state, a love story, a struggle to get home, an existential trip, and an unlikely group of friends. I almost always cry when I watch this. Seriously, can’t stress this enough. There is absolutely nothing like Mindgame.
Le Chat du Rabbin (The Rabbi’s Cat) (2011)
Rabbi’s Cat is a French film based on a French comic by the same name. The comic artist also directed the movie. Honestly, the dialogue in this is unmatched. Both Cat and Rabbi are witty and have the best banter. The setting is one of the most unique and real-feeling I’ve ever seen a film take place in: a Jewish community in Algeria. It’s wonderful and incredibly charming, could not recommend more.
Tekkonkinkreet (2006)
This movie hits me on a number of levels. I have so much love for the two orphans, Black and White. The story quickly becomes raw and almost difficult, as it touches on a lot of the feelings we see in things like Grave of the Fireflies, but in a much more abstract way and on a much grander scale. Also less sad, but there are very sad parts also. I guess the best way to describe this movie is intense. While there are a lot of sweet, domestic moments, none of the gruesome reality is sugercoated for you.
The visuals are all completely stunning; the art is on another level. Treasure Town is a rich, fantastical environment and the characters flow through it effortlessly, like water. You gotta see this at least once in your life.
Chico and Rita (2010)
An American/Spanish romance between an aspiring piano player and a young singer. The film opens in Cuba and has a vibrant and unique visual style while exploring a multitude of music styles and cultural backdrops. It’s touching and sweet, but does not erase the hardships of being a black music star in America or living through the Castro regime.
Wizards (1977)
Ralph Bakshi is notorious for underappreciated gems. Wizards is set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where magic is real and man has survived the radiation to evolve into fairies, elves, and dwarves. It’s a classic nature vs industry story with Bakshi’s unique spin. My favorite character is Necron 99, the assassin robot turned pacifist. I’ll warn you though, Bakshi films aren’t everyone’s taste (he’s responsible for Fritz the Cat, which against my better judgement I recommend as well).
Wizards was completed during the dark age of animation, and its fascinating to see how Bakshi gets around these limitations to produce something that grossed more than twice its budget.
Memories (1995)
Memories is a three part anthology based on three different manga short stories, Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, and Cannon Fodder. While the entirety of the movie is beautifully animated and worth the watch, the best of these is the first one. It is a mysterious, tragic sci-fi horror short film set in space and worked on by Satoshi Kon (so of course its amazing).
There’s no up or down in space, but when spaceships encounter eachother in movies, it’s always horizontally
Black Butterfly Enhances Photovoltaic Light Absorption Up to 200 Percent
New research focuses on the wings of the black butterfly (Pachliopta aristolochiae), which are covered by micro- and nanostructured scales that harvest sunlight over a wide spectral and angular range, to improve photovoltaics.
Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy. The wings of the butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae are drilled by nanostructures (nanoholes) that help absorbing light over a wide spectrum far better than smooth surfaces. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now succeeded in transferring these nanostructures to solar cells and, thus, enhancing their light absorption rate by up to 200 percent. The scientists report their results in the journal Science Advances.
“The butterfly studied by us is very dark black. This signifies that it perfectly absorbs sunlight for optimum heat management. Even more fascinating than its appearance are the mechanisms that help reaching the high absorption. The optimization potential when transferring these structures to photovoltaics (PV) systems was found to be much higher than expected,” says Dr. Hendrik Hölscher of KIT’s Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT).
Gokupo 101
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Small RNA identified that offers clues for quieting the “voices” of schizophrenia
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have identified a small RNA (microRNA) that may be essential to restoring normal function in a brain circuit associated with the “voices” and other hallucinations of schizophrenia. The microRNA provides a possible focus for antipsychotic drug development. The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The work was done in a mouse model of a human disorder that is one of the genetic causes of schizophrenia. Building on previous St. Jude research, the results offer important new details about the molecular mechanism that disrupts the flow of information along a neural circuit connecting two brain regions involved in processing auditory information. The findings also provide clues about why psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia are often delayed until late adolescence or early adulthood.
“In 2014, we identified the specific circuit in the brain that is targeted by antipsychotic drugs. However, the existing antipsychotics also cause devastating side effects,” said corresponding author Stanislav Zakharenko, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology. “In this study, we identified the microRNA that is a key player in disruption of that circuit and showed that depletion of the microRNA was necessary and sufficient to inhibit normal functioning of the circuit in the mouse models.
“We also found evidence suggesting that the microRNA, named miR-338-3p, could be targeted for development of a new class of antipsychotic drugs with fewer side effects.”
There are more than 2,000 microRNAs whose function is to silence expression of particular genes and regulate the supply of the corresponding proteins. Working in a mouse model of 22q11 deletion syndrome, researchers identified miR-338-3p as the microRNA that regulates production of the protein D2 dopamine receptor (Drd2), which is the prime target of antipsychotics.
Individuals with the deletion syndrome are at risk for behavior problems as children. Between 23 and 43 percent develop schizophrenia, a severe chronic disorder that affects thinking, memory and behavior. Researchers at St. Jude are studying schizophrenia and other brain disorders to improve understanding of how normal brains develop, which provides insights into the origins of diseases like cancer.
The scientists reported that Drd2 increased in the brain’s auditory thalamus when levels of the microRNA declined. Previous research from Zakharenko’s laboratory linked elevated levels of Drd2 in the auditory thalamus to brain-circuit disruptions in the mutant mice. Investigators also reported that the protein was elevated in the same brain region of individuals with schizophrenia, but not healthy adults.
Individuals with the deletion syndrome are missing part of chromosome 22, which leaves them with one rather than the normal two copies of more than 25 genes. The missing genes included Dgcr8, which facilitates production of microRNAs.
Working in mice, researchers have now linked the 22q11 deletion syndrome and deletion of a single Dgcr8 gene to age-related declines in miR-338-3p in the auditory thalamus. The decline was associated with an increase in Drd2 and reduced signaling in the circuit that links the thalamus and auditory cortex, a brain region implicated in auditory hallucination. Levels of miR-338-3p were lower in the thalamus of individuals with schizophrenia compared to individuals of the same age and sex without the diagnosis.
The miR-338-3p depletion did not disrupt other brain circuits in the mutant mice, and the findings offer a possible explanation. Researchers found that miR-338-3p levels were higher in the thalamus than in other brain regions. In addition, miR-338-3p was one of the most abundant microRNAs present in the thalamus.
Replenishing levels of the microRNA in the auditory thalamus of mutant mice reduced Drd2 protein and restored the circuit to normal functioning. That suggests that the microRNA could be the basis for a new class of antipsychotic drugs that act in a more targeted manner with fewer side effects. Antipsychotic drugs, which target Drd2, also restored circuit function.
The findings provide insight into the age-related delay in the onset of schizophrenia symptoms. Researchers noted that microRNA levels declined with age in all mice, but that mutant mice began with lower levels of miR-338-3p. “A minimum level of the microRNA may be necessary to prevent excessive production of the Drd2 that disrupts the circuit,” Zakharenko said. “While miR-338-3p levels decline as normal mice age, levels may remain above the threshold necessary to prevent overexpression of the protein. In contrast, the deletion syndrome may leave mice at risk for dropping below that threshold.”
leaf senescence begins with the advent of the summer solstice, as the days get shorter and sun becomes more distant. trees begin to reduce the production of chlorophyll – a green pigment critical to photosynthesis – and eventually begin to break down that which remains in the leaf in order to reabsorb its nitrogen.
as the green of leaves consequently begins to fade, other pigments in the leaf – carotenoids and flavonoids – also see reduced production in the leaf, but at a much slower rate than chlorophyll, which enables their yellow and orange colours to be expressed.
for some trees, colder temperatures trigger the synthesis of the flavonoid anthocyanin, causing those leaves with lower levels of other flavonoids or carotenoids to turn red. if other pigments are sufficiently present, the colours can blend into auburn.
it is believed that trees will produce anthocyanin to protect themselves from sap sucking insects that would otherwise be drawn to the yellow and orange colours of their leaves.
eventually, these non chlorophyll pigments fade themselves as the tree, in preparation for winter, denies its leaves water (otherwise transported through some of the veins seen here). in an effort to also retain nutrients, a deciduous tree will then signal the abscission cells at the base of its leaves to swell.
this not only blocks the flow of nutrients but ultimately causes the leaves to tear away and fall to the ground, where the tree can then reabsorb any leaf nutrients through its roots after its winter dormancy.
art-woonz
