LIFE WELL SPENT

Scientists discover new camouflage mechanism fish use in open ocean

Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery about how some fish seem to disappear from predators in the open waters of the ocean, a discovery that could help materials scientists and military technologists create more effective methods of ocean camouflage.

Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery about how some fish seem to disappear from predators in the open waters of the ocean, a discovery that could help materials scientists and military technologists create more effective methods of ocean camouflage.

In a paper published this week in Science, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin reports that certain fish use microscopic structures called platelets in their skin cells to reflect polarized light, which allows the fish to seemingly disappear from their predators.

Polarized light is made up of light waves all traveling in the same plane, such as the bright glare you sometimes see when sunlight reflects off the surface of water.

Under the surface of the water, light tends to be polarized. Many fish—and sophisticated modern satellites—have the ability to detect variations in such polarized light.

“Fish have evolved the means to detect polarized light,” said Molly Cummings, professor of integrative biology in the College of Natural Sciences. “Given that, we suggested they’ve probably evolved the means to hide in polarized light. If we can identify that process, then we can improve upon our own camouflage technology for that environment.”

Whether it’s a predator pursuing a fish or a satellite seeking an adversary, light patterns help with detection of targets in the the open ocean in three ways: through brightness contrast, color contrast and polarization contrast. Of the three, polarization contrast is considered most effective for detection in the open ocean.

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The Planck Spacecraft had a series of various objectives including; hi-res imaging of the CMB, cataloging galaxy clusters, observe gravitational lensing, bright extra-galactic radio and infrared (dusty galaxy) sources. http://astronomyisawesome.com/universe/the-age-of-the-universe/

GALAXY DONUTS!!! inspired by @insertdisc5‘s animated short Galactic Donut!! and a twitter exchange where she said i shouldn’t eat the galaxy donut because that didn’t work out well in the animation. so i made my own.

aaaaand now they’re too pretty to eat. truly this is the worst possible ending???

i tried very hard to make one of them look like the Actual Donut but? it turns out?? that edible spray paint is about as precise as a bucket of glitter??? oh well.

I feel ya

On Tuesday, September 15th, at 5 p.m. ET, astronauts Serena Auñón, Cady Coleman, Samantha Cristoforetti, plus NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan will be stopping by Skunk Bear HQ – and I’ll be asking them your questions live on Periscope and SnapChat (user: nprnews)!

Submit your questions here or tweet #NPRSpaceJam.

Cady Coleman has been to space three times, once spending 158 days aboard the International Space Station. While on earth, she set several endurance and tolerance records when she participated in tests of new equipment. She plays flute in Bandella, a musical group made up of astronauts. Here, I’ve depicted her zero-gravity hair-do.

Serena Auñón hasn’t been to space … yet. She was selected in 2009 as a member of the 20th NASA astronaut class. She has a bachelors degree in electrical engineering, a doctorate in medicine, and a masters in public health.

Samantha Cristoforetti is the first Italian woman in space, the woman who has stayed in space the longest (199 days) and the first person to brew espresso in space. She’s a fighter pilot in the Italian Air Force and speaks fluent Italian, English, Russian, German, and French.

Ellen Stofan is the Chief Scientist of NASA, advising the administrator on all things scientific. She is especially interested in the geology of other planets.

Genetic engineering turns a common plant into a cancer fighter

Researchers find a way to make a tobacco relative produce the starter for a potent chemotherapy drug

Notch another victory for synthetic biology. Researchers report today that they’ve engineered a common laboratory plant to produce the starting material for a potent chemotherapy drug originally harvested from an endangered Himalayan plant. The new work could ensure an abundant supply of the anticancer drug and make it easier for chemists to tweak the compound to come up with safer and more effective versions.

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Just an awesome collage of some of the most beautiful images ever captured by humans.

If you love pictures of Nebulae, check out this post on   The 5 Most Beautiful Nebulae.

This is another fan favorite, this post is the 10 Best Nebulae in the Universe

Handcrafted Jewelry Infused with the Spectacular Beauty of the Universe

Blood Moon Eclipse after the Sun sets today

If your skies are clear after the Sun sets today, September 27th, be sure to head outside to see the total lunar eclipse. This will mark the end of a “tetrad” of four total lunar eclipses spaced a half year apart that began back in early 2014. It’s the last one visible anywhere until 2018.

The full moon will pass through Earth’s shadow and sunlight scattered by Earth’s atmosphere will cast red colors on it!

Unlike the lunar eclipse last April 4th which is the gif from, this one will carry the Moon through the umbra — the dark core of Earth’s shadow — for 1 hour and 12 minutes. If the sky isn’t clear then there are different webcasts to see. Find them here and the timeline here

Homemade camera rig takes stunning close-up pictures of snowflakes