Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow? Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale. Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures.  If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.
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Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow? Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale. Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures.  If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.
Zoom Info
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow? Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale. Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures.  If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.
Zoom Info
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow? Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale. Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures.  If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.
Zoom Info
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow? Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale. Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures.  If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.
Zoom Info

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your nanogarden grow?

Harvard engineer Wim Noorduin has a green thumb. Only his thumb is only a few microns wide. By carefully controlling gradients of chemicals, he guided the construction of flower-like crystal structures to match their larger biological forms. It’s certainly art, but it also demonstrates a masterful manipulation of chemistry on the nano scale.

Just how small are they? As NPR reports, these flowers could fit in the lapel of the tiny Abraham Lincoln statue on the back of a penny (back when pennies had the Lincoln Memorial on them, anyway). These electron microscope images are false colored to recreate fantastic flowers, and these manipulations will one day help control the construction of useful microstructures. 

If you’re seriously engineering-inclined, here’s the original research as it appears in Science.

Ever wonder how these spooky, 3D images of life beyond the macro are taken? Step inside the lab of the world’s foremost electron microscope photographer: David Scharf. From the early days of film and hand-coloring to today’s more advanced digital microscopy images, Scharf is truly gifted. And he does it all out of his own home. My favorite part is him explaining how he mounts his insect samples by putting them to sleep in the fridge. They have a surprise when they wake up: “That usually calms them down and then they wake up and their butts are glued down.” More at Petapixel.
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Ever wonder how these spooky, 3D images of life beyond the macro are taken? Step inside the lab of the world’s foremost electron microscope photographer: David Scharf.

From the early days of film and hand-coloring to today’s more advanced digital microscopy images, Scharf is truly gifted. And he does it all out of his own home.

My favorite part is him explaining how he mounts his insect samples by putting them to sleep in the fridge. They have a surprise when they wake up:

“That usually calms them down and then they wake up and their butts are glued down.”


More at Petapixel.

Source: petapixel.com

Space Sounds - New Episode of It’s Okay To Be Smart!!

There is no sound in space.

In the near-vacuum of space, there is nothing to transmit the physical waves that we need to perceive sound. But that doesn’t mean we can’t MAKE sound from space.

This week, I channeled some inner Sagan, got a bit artsy, and I’m happy to feature several brilliant folks using scientific data to create “space sonification” projects. From the longest palindrome ever created to a chorus made from Earth’s magnetic field, these pieces truly lie at the intersection of art and science. More than just art, they allow us to perceive patterns in complex data in a completely new way. Some of them are actually used as part of space research projects!

Perhaps it answers the question: If the universe had a voice, what song would it sing?

For those of you who follow the blog in addition to the YouTube channel, you’ll get some special treats this week when I feature even more space sonification examples that we couldn’t fit into this episode!

FULL Versions of the pieces featured in this week’s video:

Robert Alexander - Transit of Venus 

Semiconductor Films - “20 Hz”

Van Allen Belt chorus

Daniel Starr-Tambor - “Mandala” (this piece is the longest palndrome ever created, at 62 viginitillion notes!!)

Source: youtube.com

Watch and Hear: Crystal Clear

Crystals are ordered, complexly symmetrical, and even dynamic in their growth and dissolution. It’s no wonder we’re attracted to these chemical lattices as an art form. Linden Gledhill’s new montage of microscopic crystals and food dyes takes that to its aesthetic apex. In this great video, he uses them as a colorful backdrop to a track off Jon Hopkins’ (no relation to the medical school) new album Immunity.

See what amazingness can occur when a scientist (Gledhill is a trained biochemist) and an artist join forces? Let’s do more of that.

Check out links to Gledhill’s other microscopic explorations as well as a cool behind the scenes look at which chemical reactions made the colors you’re enjoying at The Creator’s Project (also on Tumblr).

(via The Creators Project)

Source: Vice Magazine

via artandsciencejournal: Mineral Microscopy Stephanie Bateman-Graham does mineral microscopy, or as she prefers to call it “using a low-powered digital toy microscope to take pictures of beautiful minerals”. In these works Bateman-Graham discovers the parts of nature that are weirdly similar to recognizable art styles — from Van Gogh impressionism to the fractured lines of Picasso. I’ve included her descriptions of the three works above: Ecosystem (Moss Agate):  Do you see a mixed population of microbes living together in a complete ecosystem? Actually it’s a microscope view of the mineral Stringy Moss Agate from Lake Bonneville. The material is translucent which gives a watery feel to the image, but it is entirely solid crystal. Heart of Stony Glass (Opalite): Microscope view of the Australian mineral Rosella Opalite. The light bounces around this veined and fractured crystalline material to reveal a heart and vascular system inside the stone. The amazing brushstrokes and textures in this image are all natural. Fire Mountain (Lace Agate): A mountain burns in this microscope view of the mineral Laguna Lace Agate from Mexico. Also known as Crazy Lace Agate. To see more of Bateman-Graham’s works, click here.  - Lee Jones This art really rocks.  I love how both zooming out (see here) and zooming in on Earth can turn it into some of the finest abstract art we have. Neat huh?
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via artandsciencejournal: Mineral Microscopy Stephanie Bateman-Graham does mineral microscopy, or as she prefers to call it “using a low-powered digital toy microscope to take pictures of beautiful minerals”. In these works Bateman-Graham discovers the parts of nature that are weirdly similar to recognizable art styles — from Van Gogh impressionism to the fractured lines of Picasso. I’ve included her descriptions of the three works above: Ecosystem (Moss Agate):  Do you see a mixed population of microbes living together in a complete ecosystem? Actually it’s a microscope view of the mineral Stringy Moss Agate from Lake Bonneville. The material is translucent which gives a watery feel to the image, but it is entirely solid crystal. Heart of Stony Glass (Opalite): Microscope view of the Australian mineral Rosella Opalite. The light bounces around this veined and fractured crystalline material to reveal a heart and vascular system inside the stone. The amazing brushstrokes and textures in this image are all natural. Fire Mountain (Lace Agate): A mountain burns in this microscope view of the mineral Laguna Lace Agate from Mexico. Also known as Crazy Lace Agate. To see more of Bateman-Graham’s works, click here.  - Lee Jones This art really rocks.  I love how both zooming out (see here) and zooming in on Earth can turn it into some of the finest abstract art we have. Neat huh?
Zoom Info
via artandsciencejournal: Mineral Microscopy Stephanie Bateman-Graham does mineral microscopy, or as she prefers to call it “using a low-powered digital toy microscope to take pictures of beautiful minerals”. In these works Bateman-Graham discovers the parts of nature that are weirdly similar to recognizable art styles — from Van Gogh impressionism to the fractured lines of Picasso. I’ve included her descriptions of the three works above: Ecosystem (Moss Agate):  Do you see a mixed population of microbes living together in a complete ecosystem? Actually it’s a microscope view of the mineral Stringy Moss Agate from Lake Bonneville. The material is translucent which gives a watery feel to the image, but it is entirely solid crystal. Heart of Stony Glass (Opalite): Microscope view of the Australian mineral Rosella Opalite. The light bounces around this veined and fractured crystalline material to reveal a heart and vascular system inside the stone. The amazing brushstrokes and textures in this image are all natural. Fire Mountain (Lace Agate): A mountain burns in this microscope view of the mineral Laguna Lace Agate from Mexico. Also known as Crazy Lace Agate. To see more of Bateman-Graham’s works, click here.  - Lee Jones This art really rocks.  I love how both zooming out (see here) and zooming in on Earth can turn it into some of the finest abstract art we have. Neat huh?
Zoom Info

via artandsciencejournal:

Mineral Microscopy

Stephanie Bateman-Graham does mineral microscopy, or as she prefers to call it “using a low-powered digital toy microscope to take pictures of beautiful minerals”. In these works Bateman-Graham discovers the parts of nature that are weirdly similar to recognizable art styles — from Van Gogh impressionism to the fractured lines of Picasso. I’ve included her descriptions of the three works above:

Ecosystem (Moss Agate):  Do you see a mixed population of microbes living together in a complete ecosystem? Actually it’s a microscope view of the mineral Stringy Moss Agate from Lake Bonneville. The material is translucent which gives a watery feel to the image, but it is entirely solid crystal.

Heart of Stony Glass (Opalite): Microscope view of the Australian mineral Rosella Opalite. The light bounces around this veined and fractured crystalline material to reveal a heart and vascular system inside the stone. The amazing brushstrokes and textures in this image are all natural.

Fire Mountain (Lace Agate): A mountain burns in this microscope view of the mineral Laguna Lace Agate from Mexico. Also known as Crazy Lace Agate.

To see more of Bateman-Graham’s works, click here. 

- Lee Jones

This art really rocks. 

I love how both zooming out (see here) and zooming in on Earth can turn it into some of the finest abstract art we have. Neat huh?

staceythinx: Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents.  When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS. My favorite: Purkinje
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staceythinx: Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents.  When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS. My favorite: Purkinje
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staceythinx: Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents.  When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS. My favorite: Purkinje
Zoom Info
staceythinx: Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents.  When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS. My favorite: Purkinje
Zoom Info
staceythinx: Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents.  When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS. My favorite: Purkinje
Zoom Info

staceythinx:

Modern science meets traditional craft in these art quilts by Betty Busby available in her Etsy store. Click on the images to see what each quilt represents. 

When I say that you should go check out the rest of these quilts, GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THESE QUILTS.

My favorite: Purkinje

Inside the Gorgeous Guts of Termites Biologist Kevin Carpenter has a new exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium featuring electron microscope images of various microbes (bacteria and protists) that live inside the guts of termites. Studying these wood-digesting bugs-within-bugs could help advance biofuel technologies and allow us to break down complex wood cellulose structures into usable carbon. Plus, they’re pretty. Check out the full details at his website.
Zoom Info
Inside the Gorgeous Guts of Termites Biologist Kevin Carpenter has a new exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium featuring electron microscope images of various microbes (bacteria and protists) that live inside the guts of termites. Studying these wood-digesting bugs-within-bugs could help advance biofuel technologies and allow us to break down complex wood cellulose structures into usable carbon. Plus, they’re pretty. Check out the full details at his website.
Zoom Info

Inside the Gorgeous Guts of Termites

Biologist Kevin Carpenter has a new exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium featuring electron microscope images of various microbes (bacteria and protists) that live inside the guts of termites. Studying these wood-digesting bugs-within-bugs could help advance biofuel technologies and allow us to break down complex wood cellulose structures into usable carbon.

Plus, they’re pretty. Check out the full details at his website.