The lower reaches of the southern slopes of Khasi and Jaintia hills, in Northeastern India, are humid, warm and streaked by many swift flowing rivers and mountain streams. On the slopes of this hill, among the dense undergrowth, a species of Indian Rubber tree – (Ficus Elastica) –  thrives and flourishes. These trees shoot out many secondary roots from their trunks. The trees, supported by these secondary roots, can comfortably perch itself on huge boulders along side the riverbanks or in the middle of rivers and send its roots down to the riverbed.

The ancient War-Khasi people, a tribe in Meghalaya, had noticed these qualities of this tree and had adapted it to serve their need for building bridges across rivers and streams. In order to direct the roots in the desired direction, the Khasis sliced betel nut tree trunks half in the middle for their entire length, hollowed them out and passed the thin and long tender roots through them. The roots start growing towards other end of the stream and when they are reached they are allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time, a sturdy, living bridge is produced.

Some of these root bridges can carry fifty or more people at a time and can be over 100 feet long. These bridges take 10 to 15 years to become fully functional, and they keep growing in strength by the day. Some of these bridges are well over 500 years old.

Source: The Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunjee, India | Amusing Planet

Meticulously placing small, ornate materials in eye-dazzling patterns Suzan Drummen produces kaleidoscopic installations that appear like three dimensional textiles. Within these pieces Drummen likes to explore how artwork can seduce and repulse, drawing the viewer in to take a closer look at the specific details that form the larger installation.“From a distance they appear clear and orderly, yet upon closer inspection, the eyes become disoriented by the many details and visual stimuli,” said Drummen. “That moment of being able to take it all in or not is explored time and time again.”Although many of her pieces when zoomed out appear like textiles, a recent installation takes this to heart, appearing like two oriental rugs—one in the color scheme of pink and red and the other in greens and blues. The first piece subtly climbs up the wall, playing further into the illusionistic quality of how her crystal constructions are perceived. This optical trickery is also reflected in her works that involve bodies, ordinarily dressed participants bedazzled to match the pattern on which they sit or lay.You can see more of the Netherlands-based artist’s work on her Facebook page here.

Source: New Ornate Kaleidoscopic Installations That Mimic Patterned Textiles by Suzan Drummen | Colossal

Developing nanoparticles capable of adhering to skin has led a team of scientists from Yale University to come up with a new type of sunscreen, and it’s one that they claim is safer, because it lacks chemicals that can penetrate the dermis and cause potential health issues.

The authors, who published their findings in Monday’s edition of the journal Nature Materials, explained that while most commercial sunblocks do a good job of providing protection from the sun’s rays, they can go beneath the surface and enter the blood stream. If and when they do, they could potentially even help cause the very skin cancers they intent to prevent.

Dr. Mark Saltzman, the Goizueta Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale, and his colleagues have developed an alternative that is made from bioadhesive nanoparticles. Their sunscreen remains on the surface of the skin and does not enter the bloodstream, as the particles used to make it are large enough to prevent entry through the surface of the epidermis.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113409340/yale-scientists-create-a-healthier-sunscreen-that-doesnt-penetrate-skin-092815/#iVwxv8LXJs16mRm0.99

Your computers, your phones, your medical devices, even your cars are under attack. They are being controlled remotely, with unseen overlords dictating without your consent what you can and cannot do with them.

Who are the attackers I’m talking about? Not foreign hackers, not government spies, but the very manufacturers from whom you bought those products. And their weapon of choice is not computer infiltration, but rather patent law.

In just a few weeks, a federal patent appeals court will be making a key decision as to whether or not this sort of zombie control over your possessions will be permitted by law. The case itself, called Lexmark International v. Impression Products, is being heard today and is about a very specific product, namely laser printer toner cartridges. But the decision could have far-reaching effects as the world moves toward an Internet of Things, where all devices can become computerized, all devices can become automated—and all devices can be controlled by their manufacturers without the buyers’ consent.

Source: How You Can Use Gadgets May Hinge on a Printer Ink Case

Oh dear lord, do I ever want the PocketLab: “A Swiss Army Knife of Science.”

Launched via Kickstarter, the small device contains numerous sensors to measure acceleration, force, angular velocity, magnetic field, pressure, altitude, and temperature and send that data to smartphones or laptops. According to inventor Clifton Roozeboom, it’s a tool for students and citizen scientists who can’t afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars on lab equipment and will get the data they need from this $100 gadget.

Here’s an IEEE article, too, and here’s a direct link to their home page. Check out the video!

[Good 2009 article by Andrew Gelman, in American Scientist, about some of the ways that statistics can go badly wrong. -egg]

Realistically, a researcher on sex ratios has to make two arguments: a statistical case that observed patterns represent real population effects and cannot be explained simply by sampling variability, and a biological argument that effects on the order of 1 percent are substantively important. The claimed effect size of 26 percent should have aroused suspicion in comparison to the literature on human sex ratios; in addition, though, the papers managed to survive the review process because reviewers did not recognize that the power of the studies was such that only very large estimated effects could make it through the statistical-significance filter. The result is essentially a machine for producing exaggerated claims, which of course only become more exaggerated when they hit the credulous news media (with an estimate of 4.7 percent ± 4.3 percent being ramped up to 26 percent and then reported as 36 percent).

Click to access 3.5.Beauty.pdf

Visual artist Noell Osvald creates startlingly bold works through simple gestures all performed in black and white. The self-portraits rarely show the 25-year-old artist’s face, instead expressing emotion through the way she tilts her head or slightly crooks her neck. Emphasizing line, her works incorporate a strict horizon or eliminate it altogether, segmenting the image from left to right…The self-taught artist’s works are mostly composites that only allude to being photographs. She explains that she does not pre-visualize any of her works, all are completely spontaneous. “I find post-processing the most enjoyable part of creating,” she told Lines magazine. “I build my pictures up from several different ones, much like a jigsaw puzzle.”

Source: New Black and White Surrealist Self-Portraits by Noell Oszvald | Colossal