Jellyfish

A wonderfully written and fascinating article about Jellyfish(via Slate.com).  I remember once going to an aquarium when I was about twelve years old (I think it was the Baltimore aquarium) and being captivated by the jellyfish exhibit that they had.  There is just something extremely alien about these creatures.  It is strange to think that probably the most venomous animal in the world (species of  Box Jellyfish) are really very little more than water.  Still it is that little bit that isn’t water that counts.  Yes jellyfish are potentially dangerous but nobody can claim that they are aggressive.  Honestly, how aggressive can a floating piece of slime really be.  Personally I think that they are quite beautiful and very interesting.

Bioplastic Might be Better in More Ways Than Previously Thought

Most people are pretty aware that plastics make for some mean pollution.  Normal plastics, the kind that is made from petroleum products, can take many many years to break down, and as such ends up piling up.  So of course the idea of biodegradable plastics sounds rather appealing.  Well a new study, as talked about in this Discovery News article, suggests that the bioplastics might be good in more ways than just breaking down faster.  It looks like the actually production of biodegradable plastics, which are generally made with natural resources like corn, contribute significantly less CO2 to the atmosphere than their inorganic equivalents.  Hopefully this will lead people to pursuing more uses for organic plastics.  I seem to remember reading that George Washington Carver, the guy famous for all the peanut studies, had been working on developing a soy based plastic that actually caught the attention on Henry Ford.  Onward to a greener future!

What is the Secret to Cloaking?

Well, according to this article in National Geographic, the secret to developing cloaking technology may lay in metamaterials that have negative refraction.  I think this stuff is pretty cool.  First off, this is another display of what nanotechnology is allowing the science and engineering community to do.  But then there is the the thought about how some day there might be invisibility suits.  Of course there are a lot of things that still need to be done before anybody will be wearing a cloakingcloak.  Also, considering that the materials described in the article are made with silver a whole piece of clothing of the stuff would probably have a pretty hefty price tag.  Still, as the science of this stuff improves it may open up the potential for cheaper and better metamaterials.

Rubber from a Lawn Weed

Who would have thought that Dandelions (albeit a different species than what most of us Americans are used to) could be used to produce rubber?  Well that is exactly what some scientists from Ohio State University are proposing.  Read this Discovery News Article for more.