Missing Links [Science Links]

Hello nerd-monkeys! I hope you've been having a lovely Wednesday so far! Today's post is the second in my new series Missing Links, which is all about links, articles, infographics and resources for normal people interested in the sciences. I also try to share only articles that use (mostly) common English...so as long as you understand what the Schwarzchild radius of active galactic nuclei are, you'll be good. (Also, I'm kidding. I have no idea what those are.) Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this series because I feel like it really fits in with what I want for this blog. :)

+ This is so cool! Slide right and left to see how different animals see the same picture differently and learn how it works!

+ This article on the bacteria and fungi in aged cheeses is interesting! Kinda gross if you like stinky cheese though. Spoiler, there might be mites in your cheese. Sorry.

+ If you are on tumblr, you probably have seen a post about "petrichor"--the smell of the ground after a rain. Turns out, the petrichor smell comes from bacteria in the soil and oil from plants.

+ This cool video of the Mimosa pudice (called "Touch-Me-Nots") curling up after human touch really reminds me how alive and responsive plants are.

+ The collection of images from the American Journal of Botany is amazing! Just pick a category and view pictures that correspond with the topic (don't worry about the other blanks). I picked Plant Defense Mechanisms (ooh, poison and thorns!) and looked through pictures of trichomes (hairs on plant stems) and read about a plant that literally shakes when a bug is on it to shake them off!Also, the carnivorous plant section is interesting (duh).

+ This article about the differences between male and female immune systems.

Okay, so obviously my science interests are in the realms of microbiology, mycology (fungi) and botany (plants). What areas of science most interest you?!

Cool Science: Bioluminescence

Guysssss let's be nerdy! 

Today, we're gonna chat about bioluminescence, aka stuff that glows. So these organisms--fungi, marine invertebrates like jellies and insects--glow by doing fancy little chemical reactions inside their cute glowy little bodies. The organism creates luciferin, a pigment. It will also create an enzyme (something that makes chemical reactions happen faster) called luciferase. The awesome glowiness you see in the pictures above come from a chemical reaction of luciferin and oxygen, that is sped up by luciferase.

On a similarly weird note, a Kickstarter campaign called The Glowing Plant Project (creative) has raised more than $500,00 to genetically engineer (you guessed it) plants that glow. But what's really cool is their actual goal in creating glowing plants: bioluminescent trees to replace street lights. Whoa. 

Also: in case you missed, my new series Missing Links = lotssss more science. If you're into that. (You should be).

4 Gorgeous Color Palettes Inspired by Plants

Lately, as spring has been exploding all around me, I've been inspired by plants. Even when we think of nature in spring, it's always about the flowers. You know, the tulips and the daffodils and all. But I've just been enjoying the green. 

Behind my house, there's a little forest separating my street and the next street over. All through the winter, we can see the other houses, but as of the last week or two, the new leaves completely block our view. As I've been noticing and admiring those new leaves and all that lovely chlorophyll, I've been amazed by all the colors within the leaves. At a glance, they look like they're all the same color but there are all sorts of shades of green and even other tones of blues and yellows if you look closely. 

I'm using these color palettes to inspire my design, my attitude and even my writing as I work to breathe life back into this blog and into everything that I do. 

Particularly in that last palette, I just love admiring the colors. For the record, I used a color picker to take all of these colors directly from the picture. That bold purple in palette #2? That's all nature at work. How can you not feel happy looking at that + knowing that you get to live in that world!

Have a lovely day!

All images are from F L O R A. 

New Series // Snippets 01.

A few weeks ago, I shared some of my vision for this blog and how what I was currently doing didn't line up with that vision. I realized that I didn't just want to teach on this blog, though I truly believe that everyone has something to teach. I realized that I also wanted to show life through this blog. I want to read about what's going on in your life and though it may sound self-centered, I want you to know what's going on in my life. I believe it's a deep human instinct to want to share life with others. Why not do that through my blog?

I want to start a fairly regular series on my blog called Snippets, just about my thoughts in my daily life. I'd love your feedback and thoughts in the comments!



ONE. Some of you know that I'm going through the college selection process (yes, I'm that young). Lately though, it's been full of rejection. In the last week, I got rejected by one school, waitlisted by two others, and turned down for a women in science scholarship that I had sort of been banking on. It hasn't been easy, but I've been proud of myself in the way that I've handled it. I'm trusting that those colleges weren't the right ones for me and that there is something better in store for me. It's been a lesson in strength, in patience and in faith. I'm feeling encouraged that I still have two great schools that I like to consider (UVA is one of them!)

TWO. I love love love plants but I admit that I'm not the greatest plant mama. I've had my kale get attacked with some moldy-fungusy thing and my pansies are just getting all shriveled and brown because of all of our freezing weather. I spent some time today nurturing my little babies, pulling off the dead blooms or moldy leaves and clearing out the soil. I found it deeply therapeutic to spend time picking out the things that were suffocating my poor plants so that they can (hopefully!) live and thrive a while longer.

THREE. On a more lighthearted note, I've been using an app called Argus over the last week or two to track my steps every day. The recommended goal is 10,000 steps per day, and I find I don't even get close to that if I don't schedule in a good run or a session on the treadmill. It's ridiculous the kind of satisfaction I got when I hit 17,000 steps after a long day walking around UVA. Little victories, y'all!

How I Use My Daily Checklist

Happy Hump Dayyy! Yeah, I'm never saying that again, ever, in my life. I don't even know why I said that....Allie, you freak.

Anyways, I hope your week has been going swimmingly so far! Since a few of you asked about my new checklist system in the comments, I thought I'd share a bit more about it today and how it works for me. 

I'm the kind of person that is very motivated by lists, checklists, timers, etc. Like I'm kind of incapable of getting anything done unless it's on a list and I can cross it off. So that's both good and bad, because what if I get stranded somewhere without my phone and/or paper and need to get something done? Okay, I'm kidding. But I do really like knowing the way my mind works and how to motivate myself when I need to. 

So I thought I'd capitalize on this little piece of Allie-info and use it to help me accomplish those little goals that are in the back of my head. I created a checklist to help me get done the basics everyday. I'm trying to get in the habit of brushing my teeth three times a day instead of two and flossing and using mouthwash every single day.  Come on, you know you don't either. 

In addition, I like to measure my time in Pomodoros (which, if you're not familiar, are basically 25 minute segments of time). I set a goal number of Pomodoros for cleaning, studying or generally having fun each day. Then, I have space to record my exercise + if I log it on Fitocracy (a sort of workout social media), the points my workout was worth. Lastly, I record what time I go to bed. That's about it! Here you can see mine (click to see it bigger):

I plan on making a 'fill-in-the-blank" style checklist for all your list-motivated people to download in the coming weeks. Maybe it'll help you get stuff done too! 

What kinds of goals would you put on a daily checklist?

And now let's get nerdy with a science bit! Today, we're going to talk about why plants grow towards sunlight. I'll admit, it sounds like a stupid middle school science fair project, but I think plant hormones and stuff like that are pretty interesting!

The official fancy-schmancy scientist name for "plants growing towards light" is phototropism. The very tip of a plant is called a coleoptile [koh-lee-up-tile]. In the coleoptile, plants hold a hormone that makes the shoots plant grow called auxin. So if you have a plant sitting next to the window, sunlight will hit one side of the coleoptile. The auxin on that side will either break down or move to the other side of the plant. If there's no auxin on one side of the coleoptile, that side of the plant won't grow or will grow less. Meanwhile, the other side (the shady side) of the plant has all of its auxin and a little extra. So that side will be growing faster than the sunny side, causing the curvature.

Isn't that cool?! Okay I'm done. Have a great day y'all!