Three Roman Souvenir Dishes or Pans that reference Hadrian’s Wall, The British...

Three Roman Souvenir Dishes or Pans that reference Hadrian’s Wall, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19. These three artefacts reference or list forts at the wall and were likely mementos for serving soldiers or family.

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Jet Lab Beyond test tubes, petri dishes and pipettes, modern…

Jet Lab

Beyond test tubes, petri dishes and pipettes, modern laboratory tests are often performed inside tiny networks of tubes that would fit on credit cards – ‘labs on chips’ controlled by computer to mix chemicals and cells together. Here though, rather than forcing fragile cells through tiny pipes, chemicals are blown into arc-like shapes by tiny jets of air; part of a new technology called open microfluidics. Angling the jets creates different patterns of fluids, or perhaps cells, suited to helping reactions along. Mathematical modelling simulates the overall effect (upper part of each shape), before scientists create the real experimental set up (underneath). As the models explore even more complicated plans, they aim to discover the best designs for certain tasks, like mixing drugs or performing quicker tests on patients’ samples.

Written by John Ankers

• Image adapted from work by Pierre-Alexandre Goyette and Étienne Boulais, and colleagues


• École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada


• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)


• Published in Nature Communications, April 2019

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Prehistoric Pottery Photoset 1, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19.

Prehistoric Pottery Photoset 1, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19.

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Prehistoric Pottery Photoset 2, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19.

Prehistoric Pottery Photoset 2, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19.

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2019 May 12 Ash and Lightning above an Icelandic Volcano Image…

2019 May 12

Ash and Lightning above an Icelandic Volcano
Image Credit & Copyright: Sigurður Stefnisson

Explanation: Why did a picturesque volcanic eruption in Iceland create so much ash? Although the large ash plume was not unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly noticeable because it drifted across such well-populated areas. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland began erupting on 2010 March 20, with a second eruption starting under the center of a small glacier on 2010 April 14. Neither eruption was unusually powerful. The second eruption, however, melted a large amount of glacial ice which then cooled and fragmented lava into gritty glass particles that were carried up with the rising volcanic plume. Pictured here during the second eruption, lightning bolts illuminate ash pouring out of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190512.html

Measles! Image of the Week — May 13, 2019CIL:39016 -…

Measles!

Image of the Week — May 13, 2019

CIL:39016 — http://www.cellimagelibrary.org/images/39016 

Description: Fluorescent micrograph showing a section

of human appendix infected with the measles virus. The measles virus is shown

in green, cytokeratin is shown in red, which marks the epithelium, and Dapi

staining highlights the cell nucleus in blue. Measles is highly contagious

virus transmitted though contact with mucous membranes of an infected person

(mouth or nose) or airborne water droplets. It is primarily a respiratory

disease and symptoms include coughing, sneezing, high fever and can lead to

pneumonia.

Authors: Stephen McQuaid and Stewart Church

Licensing: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 UK:

England & Wales (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 UK)

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Oldest known trees in eastern North America documented…

Oldest known trees in eastern North America documented http://www.geologypage.com/2019/05/oldest-known-trees-in-eastern-north-america-documented.html

Statistical study finds it unlikely South African fossil species…

Statistical study finds it unlikely South African fossil species is ancestral to humans http://www.geologypage.com/2019/05/statistical-study-finds-it-unlikely-south-african-fossil-species-is-ancestral-to-humans.html

Research reveals surprisingly powerful bite of tiny early…

Research reveals surprisingly powerful bite of tiny early tetrapod http://www.geologypage.com/2019/05/research-reveals-surprisingly-powerful-bite-of-tiny-early-tetrapod.html

New Jurassic non-avian theropod dinosaur sheds light on origin…

New Jurassic non-avian theropod dinosaur sheds light on origin of flight in Dinosauria http://www.geologypage.com/2019/05/new-jurassic-non-avian-theropod-dinosaur-sheds-light-on-origin-of-flight-in-dinosauria.html

How life on Earth affected its inner workings…

How life on Earth affected its inner workings http://www.geologypage.com/2019/05/how-life-on-earth-affected-its-inner-workings.html

Prehistoric ‘La Tene’ influenced headwear, The British Museum, London,...

Prehistoric ‘La Tene’ influenced headwear, The British Museum, London, 20.4.19.

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Staying Focused Ever wondered why the world doesn’t…

Staying Focused

Ever wondered why the world doesn’t appear shaky when you go for a run, but whip out your phone camera and you’re guaranteed to get the shaky cam effect? It’s because your inner ears detect the position of your body and send this information to your brain’s cerebellum, which coordinates adjustments of your head and eyes so you can focus your vision. Researchers investigate the different routes this information takes to reach the cerebellum by infecting cerebellar nerve cells in mice with a virus carrying a fluorescent marker. Subsequent imaging of the inner ear (pictured) allowed them to trace the routes taken by these nerve cells (green). Studying the electrophysiology, they revealed how depending on the route taken, direct or indirect, different subtypes of nerve cells in the cerebellum were activated. More research into these nerve networks will help uncover what goes on in balance disorders such as vertigo.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

• Image from work by Timothy S. Balmer and Laurence O. Trussell


• Vollum Institute and Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA


• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)


• Published in eLife, April 2019

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