by Captain Skellett | Jun 26, 2010 | How Things Work
Ten years ago today scientists published the first draft of the Human Genome Project, which aimed to sequence the DNA shared by humans. This picture is a printout of the human genome in a series of books in London. The 3.4 billion units of DNA code are in more than a...
by Captain Skellett | Jun 7, 2010 | How Things Work, Jibber Jabber, The Realm of Bizzare
In early high school I was told an atom was the smallest piece of matter in the universe. If you divided matter into pieces as small as they could be, the smallest piece would be one atom. Utter BS, according to later high school years. An atom is made up of protons,...
by Captain Skellett | May 22, 2010 | How Things Work, Recent Research
Two days ago scientists at J. Craig Venter announced the creation of the first self-replicating synthetic cell, a bacteria with DNA made in a lab. How did they do it, and what does it mean for us in the future? First up, the scientists didn’t make life out of...
by Captain Skellett | May 13, 2010 | How Things Work, Science in the Movies, The Realm of Bizzare
New video up! I started this video back in January and 95% finished it before I moved to Canberra and bought a laptop. I haven’t had a chance to complete it and upload it… until now. The montage part is my favourite.
by Captain Skellett | May 5, 2010 | Drugs, How Things Work, Just for Fun, The Realm of Bizzare
A mouthful changes your perception of taste, making everything you eat for an hour afterward taste sweet. Lemons taste like oranges, oranges taste delightful, strawberries are to die for. Sounds like something illicit, a taste trip. It was about a year ago I first...
by Captain Skellett | Apr 22, 2010 | How Things Work, Recent Research
Researchers from Queensland University have discovered a new way to administer vaccines, a Nanopatch. Smaller than a postage stamp, the patch puts the vaccine through your skin. No need for an injection. So how does it work? The Nanopatch is full of...