SciTechLab

Kool Image Spring Fling: Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare

professordoktor — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:51:51 +0000

Spring Fling: Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare

Scientists produce some amazing images while performing their research. Astronomers are no different. An April 11, 2013 solar flair provided astronomers the opportunity to track the sun’s solar cycle.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, anywhere from minutes to hours.

The flare’s coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space, reached Earth one day later producing a temporary radio blackout.

It also produced the incredible image that is today’s cool image. Available as a 16″ X 20″ poster at our store.

Credit: NASA/SDO

Chart of critical periods of human development

professordoktor — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 01:35:35 +0000

Chart of critical periods of human development

Fetal development can be affected by environmental exposures occurring to either parent prior to conception, to the mother post conception, or to the fetus.

This course of human development from fertilization to birth is extremely complex. A huge number of biochemical, physical, and organizational processes must be precisely coordinated to assure orderly development, maintain health, and avoid disease. Because of the complexity, there are numerous opportunities for “things to go wrong.” Children at prenatal developmental stages may be uniquely vulnerable to influences that have little impact at other points in their development or on adults.

The Chart reviews crucial stages in human development from fertilization through birth and the implications of environmental and non-environmental insults or exposures at those different stages. It focuses on the prenatal developmental stages during which children may be particularly sensitive to exposures to agents or may be at risk of adverse effects that would not occur if exposures occurred during adulthood. Identifying these “critical” periods is essential to developing strategies that protect children from adverse health effects associated with environmental and non-environmental exposures.

(Edited from: Altshuler, Kara; Berg, Michael; Frazier, Linda M.; Laurenson, Jim; Longstreth, Janice; Mendez, William; and Molgaard, Craig A. | Critical Periods in Development | Office of Children’s Health Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | OCHP Paper Series on Children’s Health and the Environment | Paper 2003-2 | February 2003.)

Chart Sources

— | Alcohol Use in Pregnancy (Webpage) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Updated: October 6, 2010 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/alcohol-use.html.

— | Chapter 19 Rubella; Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (The Pink Book), 12th Edition | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA | Updated: April 15, 2011 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/rubella.html.

— | Emergency Preparedness and Response, Radiation and Pregnancy: A Fact Sheet for the Public | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Reviewed March 29, 2011 Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/prenatal.asp.

— | Frequently Asked Questions About Genetic Disorders (Webpage) | U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health; The National Human Genome Research Institute | Updated: February 27, 2012 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.genome.gov/19016930.

— | High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy (Webpage) | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute | Not dated | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/hbp_preg.htm.

— | Impact on Females | American Heart Association (Webpage) | Updated: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/CongenitalHeartDefects/TheImpactofCongenitalHeartDefects/Impact-on-Females_UCM_307113_Article.jsp#.T1gBjt0SCAk.

— | NAEPP Working Group Report on Managing Asthma During Pregnancy: Recommendations for Pharmacologic Treatment, Update 2004 | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Bethesda, MD | NIH Publication No. 05-5236 | March 2005 | Available @ http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/astpreg/astpreg_full.pdf | Accessed February 27, 2012.

— | Pregnancy and Cancer (Webpage) | American Society of Clinical Oncology | May 2011 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cancer.net/patient/Coping/Emotional+and+Physical+Matters/Sexual+and+Reproductive+Health/Pregnancy+and+Cancer.

— | Pregnancy and Childbirth (Webpage) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Reviewed: October 10, 2007 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/perinatal/index.htm.

— | Pregnancy and Lupus (Webpage) | Lupus Foundation of America | No date | Accessed March 9, 2012 @ http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_donate.aspx?articleid=314&zoneid=6.

— | Pregnant Women Need a Flu Shot! (Webpage) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Updated: February 27, 2012 | Accessed March 10, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/Features/PregnancyAndFlu/.

— | Protect Your Baby for Life, When a Pregnant Woman Has Hepatitis B | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Publication No. 22-0432 | October 2010 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/PDFs/HepBPerinatal-ProtectWhenPregnant.pdf.

— | Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), STDs & Pregnancy – CDC Fact Sheet | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Updated: February 27, 2012 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/std/pregnancy/STDFact-Pregnancy.htm.

— | Smoking during pregnancy (Webpage) | March of Dimes Foundation | April 2010 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/alcohol_smoking.html.

— | Trying to get pregnant: Pregnancy after 35 (Webpage) | March of Dimes Foundation | May 2009 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/trying_after35.html.

— | Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes and Pregnancy, Problems of Diabetes in Pregnancy (Webpage) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Updated: June 7, 2010 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/NCBDDD/pregnancy_gateway/diabetes-types.html.

— | Vaccines and Immunizations, Vaccines and Preventable Diseases: Varicella Vaccine – Q&As about Pregnancy | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Reviewed on June 1, 2009 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/vac-faqs-clinic-preg.htm.

Chang, Louise | Bipolar Disorder in Pregnancy | WebMD | Reviewed: July 13, 2010 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-disorder-in-pregnancy.

Jaffe, D.J., | Pregnancy pointers for women with Schizophrenia | Schizophrenia.com | No date | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.schizophrenia.com/schizoph/NBDpreg.html.

Keller, Scott | Anemia in Pregnancy (Webpage) | WebMD | Reviewed: January 08, 2012 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.webmd.com/baby/anemia-in-pregnancy?page=2.

Krane, N Kevin; Feinfeld, Donald A; Talavera, Francisco; Legro, Richard S; Batuman, Vecihi | Renal Disease and Pregnancy, Pregnancy and Underlying Renal Disease (Webpage) | Medscape Reference | Updated: Mar 29, 2011 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/246123-overview#aw2aab6c15.

Nihira, Mikio A. | Health & Pregnancy: Drug Use and Pregnancy (Webpage) | WebMD | Reviewed: December 20, 2009 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.webmd.com/baby/drug-use-and-pregnancy?page=2.

Nilsson, E; Lichtenstein, P; Cnattingius, S; Murray, RM; Hultman, CM | Women with schizophrenia: pregnancy outcome and infant death among their offspring | Schizophrenia Research | Volume 58, Number 2-3, Pages 221 – 229 | December 1, 2002.

Sanborn, M.; Kerr, K.J.; Sanin, L.H.; Cole, D.C.; Bassil, K.L.; Vakil, C. | Non-cancer health effects of pesticides, Systematic review and implications for family doctors | Canadian Family Physician | Volume 53, Number 10, Pages 1712 – 1720 | October 2007.

Staff | Antidepressants: Safe during pregnancy? (Webpage) | Mayo Clinic | January 10, 2012 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antidepressants/DN00007.

Staff | Epilepsy and pregnancy: What you need to know (Webpage) | Mayo Clinic | July 30, 2011 | Accessed February 27, 2012 @ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy/PR00123.

Winchester, Paul D; Huskins, Jordan; Ying, Jun | Agrichemicals in surface water and birth defects in the United States | Acta Paediatrica | Volume 98, Number 4, Pages 664–669 | April 2009.

Kool Image Hands of Opposites

professordoktor — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:01:34 +0000

Hands of Opposites

Credit: The blog Into the outside

Kool Image Noctilucent Clouds

professordoktor — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:20:25 +0000

Noctilucent Clouds

Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere, being bright polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the Arctic sun from below the horizon, between latitudes of 50° and 70°. They are composed of water ice crystals up to 100 nm across, forming most frequently in the northern summer at altitudes of 76 to 85 km (47 to 53 mi). The clouds form directly from water vapor and sometimes around dust: water may be produced from the reaction of CH4 and OH-, while the dust is believed to originate from micrometeors and possibly volcanic particulate matter entering the mesosphere. The clouds are detectable by radar and the observed increase in these clouds serves as a possible indicator of climate change. (Wikipedia)

Credit: © (CC by-nc-nd) Maurizio De Angelis/Wellcome Images

Brain teaser – Can you read this?

professordoktor — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:50:14 +0000



	Brain teaser – Can you read this?

	This has been floating around the Internet for some time. But I have just discovered it and thought it was great. I’ve no idea where it came from. Credit: ©? Unknown

A water drop plunges down a black hole

professordoktor — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:04:22 +0000



	A water drop plunges down a black hole

	This water drop appears to be plunging into a black hole Credit: © (CC by-sa) Sven Hoppe

Kool Image Human embryo at day four

professordoktor — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:53:08 +0000



	Human embryo at day four

	Scanning electron micrograph of a human embryo at day 4. The protein coat surrounding the egg (zona pellucida, gold) has been slit to expose the embryonic cells inside (red). These cells go on to form the embryo and can be harvested and cultured to give rise to embryonic stem (ES) cells. Microvilli are visible on the surface of the embryonic cells (blastomeres) and numerous sperm (blue) are still visible on the outside of the zona pellucida. Credit: © (CC by-nc-nd 2.0) Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images

Kool Image Cliff of the Two-Dimensional World

professordoktor — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:57:47 +0000



	Cliff of the Two-Dimensional World

	*The Cliff of the Two-Dimensional World* is the 2011 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge People’s Choice Winner in photography. The challenge is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) along with the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This landscape, which looks like a red-rock bluff straight out of Utah, isn’t a geologic feature. Instead, it’s a nanostructured material made from ultrathin layers of titanium-based compounds, as seen under an electron microscope. These exfoliated layers, which Babak Anasori and colleagues at Drexel University in Philadelphia dubbed MXenes, are so thin they are two-dimensional. In other words, each strip is only five atomic layers thick. The team is the first to render such materials in 2-D. The MXenes could be used in energy storage devices, sensors, solar cells and other applications, the team writes. And they could give the majesty of Arches National Park in Utah some nanoscale competition. Credit: Babak Anasori, Michael Naguib, Yury Gogotsi, Michel W. Barsoum, Drexel University

Global Sea Level Likely to Rise as Much as 70 Feet in Future Generations

professordoktor — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:02:48 +0000

Credit: NASA

Global Sea Level Likely to Rise as Much as 70 Feet in Future Generations

March 19, 2012 Piscataway, NJ — Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendation, future generations will likely have to deal with a completely different world.

A world with sea levels 12 to 22 meters (40 to 70 feet) higher than now, according to Professor Kenneth Miller of Rutgers University. His research team published their research results this week in the journal Geology. They reached their conclusion by studying rock and soil cores from the late Pliocene epoch (2.7 million to 3.2 million years ago) taken in Virginia, New Zealand, and Eniwetok Atoll in the north Pacific Ocean. During the late Pliocene epoch the carbon dioxide level in Earth’s atmosphere was the same as today’s level and atmospheric temperatures were 2 C higher than today.

Published at: Geology

Kool Image Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

professordoktor — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:03:39 +0000

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a method of in vitro fertilization (IVF) that is used to treat infertile couples when standard IVF techniques are not likely to be successful. ICSI is the process of injecting a single sperm cell directly into the female oocyte to assist in fertilization, this normally occurs when the male has low sperm count or sperm motility is low and fertilization is unlikely to occur naturally. This illustration shows the oocyte (egg cell) being held at the end of a micropipette, the oocyte is surrounded by cumulus cells, which are a protective layer of cells that provide nutrients to the oocyte.