Headline Muse, 9/1

Eating burgers, or salads, or soup
Has effects, say researchers who snoop,
They determine the kind
And the number we find,
Of bacteria found in your poop

Headline: What We Eat Shapes Microbe Societies Inside Us

Yeah, I cheated again; it’s not a proper headline but NPR’s health blog, “Shots” (great name). But what a great story. I’m sure my readers already know that there are more cells inside of you that are not yours than that are. More bacteria cells than person cells. And yes, this bacteriological biome acts as an organ, and helps to make you the person you are. And that alone is so very cool. But it turns out that (obvious in hindsight–a phrase intended as a compliment to the authors) what you eat helps to shape what sort of bacteriological population you carry.

Y’know, just click the link and read the story. It’s very worth it.

Apple and Gods

So there have been any number of stories recently about Steve Jobs, due to his recent retirement. Here, for instance, PZ talks about some of what Jobs did so incredibly well. Me, I’m just going to take advantage of the current situation to repost a recent comment on a neurological finding.

Mac-ily crack-ily
Apple Enthusiasts
Think about gadgets, and
Light up their brains,

Piquing the interest of
Neuroanatomists,
Glad to discuss what
The picture explains:

Sexily, vexily,
Newest technology
Shows an analysis
Just a touch odd;

Macheads don’t suffer from
Psychopathology;
Rather, their brains see the
Gadgets as God.

Apple-ish, Chapel-ish
Documentarians
Came to conclusions
A bit front-to-back;

God was their yardstick, but
Incomprehensibly—
Truth is, Jehovah is
Merely a Mac.

[Read more…]

Ring Around The Coffee

In science labs and coffee shops
It can’t be helped; some liquid drops
On floor or table.
And as these spills evaporate
On table, napkin, floor or plate
The stuff’s unstable
When coffee dries, it forms a ring
Around its edge—but here’s the thing
We didn’t know—
See, other liquids just dry flat,
Without a ring. But why is that?
And off we go.
The scientists at U. of Penn
Perhaps were drinking coffee, when
They first surmised,
A detail that, before, escaped—
It’s how the particles were shaped
As well as sized.
And coffee’s little, tiny spheres
Flow edge-ward, while a rod adheres
And keeps to center
The little rods deform the drop
And should they try to move, it’s “stop!”
And “do not enter!”

So, anyway, it’s cool. They think
It might be used in paint or ink
For better printing.
With smoother drying, now each letter
Holds its shape and color better—
No more squinting!
The other thing is, through these studies
The particles are seen as buddies,
Fun little critters
We play each morning, our little game
I drink them down; they get the blame
For morning jitters.

Via NPR, a story on the physical properties of coffee rings. This is one of the things I love about scientists. I must have looked at coffee rings thousands of times, and perhaps even noticed that the stain concentrates at the edges of drops. In fact, I am certain I have noticed this, because I thought it looked like an exaggerated Mach Band–the visual perception effect that accentuates edges, as a result of the lateral inhibition of retinal cells. (Maybe I’ll write about that some other time.)

But anyway, these people looked at the stain, and instead of reaching for a sponge, uttered those wonderful scientific words “huh. that’s strange. I wonder….” or words to that effect. And now, we have an answer.

Of course, for me, just as much fun as the physical science of the particles, is the human science of the commenters at the NPR story page. We can predict (and find) the comment we find on every science study: “our tax dollars pay for this?”, others decry the triviality of the topic. But, this being NPR, we get others who (and I would never have made this connection, so kudos to the commenters) draw a connection between this and perhaps the early formation of cells, with some particles migrating to edges (eventually, cell walls) through purely physical processes.

Lastly, something completely orthogonal to practical use–whether worthless or priceless or something between… turns out the process is beautiful, when you look at it just right (viddy link–or look below).