When cultured in a dish, neural stem cells can form three-dimensional clusters known as neurospheres, allowing researchers to investigate the stem cell-like properties of these neurons.
Image by Dr. Rowan Orme, Keele University.
Soyuz
Blueprint of a Russian Soyuz rocket. Click here to view big..!
Blue morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) egg
The red band signals a chemical reaction that follows fertilization. Inside the egg is the germ of a blue morpho, one of the world’s largest butterflies, with a wingspan of five to eight inches.
Photo by Martin Oeggerli(via: Dona ana Co. master Gardeners)
(via entophiles)
Phylo! The ecological, biology-based trading card game
Officially the NERDIEST GAME EVER!!!
Build ecosystems, food chains, webs of competition, parasitism, and coexistence. Learn more and print out your own cards (FREE) and your very own deck (FREE!) here.
(via scientificillustration)
Lepidoptera by Keisuke Ito, c. 1850s
Actias artemis / Saturniidae
Smerinthus planus
Papilio machaon hippocrates / Papilio orotenor demetrius
Smerinthus planus II
Also
(via scientificillustration)
Bilateral gynandromorphism: a really fancy way of saying “half male, half female”.This genetic anomaly is usually restricted to arthropods, but has been known to express itself in birds, as well. More interesting reading here.
(Source: , via theanimalblog)
New Plasma Device Considered The ‘Holy Grail’ Of Energy Generation And Storage
Scientists at the University of Missouri have devised a new way to create and control plasma that could transform American energy generation and storage.
Randy Curry, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering, and his team developed a device that launches a ring of plasma at distances of up to two feet. Although the plasma reaches a temperature hotter than the surface of the sun, it doesn’t emit radiation and is completely safe in proximity to humans.
While most of us are familiar with three states of matter – liquid, gas and solid – there is also a fourth state known as plasma, which includes things such as fire and lightning. Life on Earth depends on the energy emitted by plasma produced during fusion reactions within the sun.
The secret to Curry’s success was developing a way to make plasma form its own self-magnetic field, which holds it together as it travels through the air.
“Launching plasma in open air is the ‘Holy Grail’ in the field of physics,” said Curry.
Ooh… Exciting!
(Source: upcominghorizon)
