Scientists Create Ultra Hydrophobic Metal Surface, Makes Water Droplets Bounce

Scientists from the University of
Rochester have managed to create a
metal surface that is so hydrophobic
that water literally bounces off. The
surface is not coated with chemicals like
many surfaces that claim to repel water
are. Instead it is meticulously carved by
using lasers to etch the surface at a
microscopic and nanoscopic scale.
 Video click here
It’s amazing to watch and hard to
believe. The water droplets literally
bounce off as if some force field is
repelling them. The researchers say that
this is different from other surfaces that
are coated with chemicals since the
structure itself repels the water and not
any chemical coating. Also, this ensures
that the hydrophobic effect won’t wear
off.

In comparison to other hydrophobic
surfaces like Teflon that requires an
angle of almost 70 degrees for the
water to slide off, the metal surface
doesn’t require much angle at all for
the water to slide off.

This could be applicable on all sorts of
metal surfaces that require water
proofing like phones, cars, tablets,
computers etc and it could also prevent
icing on the surface of helicopters,
airplanes and space shuttles.
  Youtube video here

One more use for it is to use it to
build 100% efficient water collecting
units in underdeveloped countries or
even latrines. The researchers at
Rochester say that since the surface
repels water, it could also repel moist
solids like feces so if the surfaces of
commodes are etched in this way, no
water maybe required to flush the
waste out.

Watch This Super Hydrophobic Knife Slice A Water Droplet In Half

One of the coolest things I saw on
television as a kid was a samurai
slicing a drop of water as it falls
through the air. It was awesome. But
slicing water is not an easy task, try
carving out a piece, the water parts
momentarily and then reattaches. Well
here comes science with a little help, a
super hydrophobic knife.
watch video here

This video filmed by a team led by
Ryan Yanashima from the department of
chemistry and biochemistry at Arizona
State University shows a drop of water
resting on a Teflon surface being sliced
in to two with a knife. And its quite a
site.

The knife is one of many constructed by
the team at Arizona State in their
endeavour to separate proteins from
the biological fluids they are found in.
The knives were constructed from
polyethylene, a polymer used in plastic
bags, from zinc and copper and were
dipped in a solution of silver nitrate
and a chemical called HDFT for 20
seconds. The result was a super
hydrophobic surface.

You Can Now Sell Your Poop For $13K a Year and Save Lives

OpenBiome (The Microbiome Health
Research Institute) is a center
dedicated to giving wide access to
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Procedures (FMTs). An FMT is basically
transplanting someone else’s fecal
matter in to another person’s colon.
While this may seem crazy, it is to
induce the growth of “good” bacteria
for the body to replace the ones that
had been killed off due to antibiotic
exposure. The exposure leads to “bad”
bacteria, particularly Clostridium
Difficile, being formed and causing
infections.

While traditional surgeries to perform
fecal transplants have been invasive
such as nasogastric tubes and
colonoscopies, a new treatment which
involves transplanting capsules of frozen
fecal matter is much less invasive and
just as effective.

OpenBiome pays donors for their fecal
matter and stores it in their labs. Of
course not everybody can donate. There
is a strict medical process that the
poop goes through for the donor to be
marked as legit. People who fit the
age and BMI for the job and who live
near the donor lab at Medford,
Massachusetts undergo stool and blood
testing. After this they are allowed to
donate for up to 60 days, four days per
week. They are then reevaluated.

There are perks for those that donate
five times a week or give the biggest
sample but generally you get $250 per
week or $13000 per year for your
donations.

You Can Now Sell Your Poop For $13K a Year and Save Lives

OpenBiome (The Microbiome Health
Research Institute) is a center
dedicated to giving wide access to
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Procedures (FMTs). An FMT is basically
transplanting someone else’s fecal
matter in to another person’s colon.
While this may seem crazy, it is to
induce the growth of “good” bacteria
for the body to replace the ones that
had been killed off due to antibiotic
exposure. The exposure leads to “bad”
bacteria, particularly Clostridium
Difficile, being formed and causing
infections.

While traditional surgeries to perform
fecal transplants have been invasive
such as nasogastric tubes and
colonoscopies, a new treatment which
involves transplanting capsules of frozen
fecal matter is much less invasive and
just as effective.

OpenBiome pays donors for their fecal
matter and stores it in their labs. Of
course not everybody can donate. There
is a strict medical process that the
poop goes through for the donor to be
marked as legit. People who fit the
age and BMI for the job and who live
near the donor lab at Medford,
Massachusetts undergo stool and blood
testing. After this they are allowed to
donate for up to 60 days, four days per
week. They are then reevaluated.

There are perks for those that donate
five times a week or give the biggest
sample but generally you get $250 per
week or $13000 per year for your
donations.

World’s First Head Transplant Volunteer Could Experience Something ‘A Lot Worse Than Death’

30 year old Russian man, Valery
Spiridonov is about to go through
something that we’ve only seen in the
movies, he’s about to have his head
transplanted on to another body.

Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero said
that he would perform this revolutionary
new procedure which he had outlined in
the Surgical Neurology International
Journal .
He plans to reveal it in the
conference of the American Academy of
Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons
(AANOS) in the US in June. He has also
invited other researchers to assist him
in this dream of his. It was a dream
until Canavero found a volunteer.
The
procedure is reported to take 36 hours
with the assistance of 150 doctors.
One fundamental problem with this
procedure is that the doctors have no
idea what it will do to Spiridonov’s
mind. Some doctors have described
what might happen to him as ‘worse
than death’.

One can only wait and see what might
come about from this bizarre turn of
events that seem to originate from the
mind of a horror movie director.

Why Too Much Facebook Can Make You Feel Depressed

In the 1950s, Leon Festinger;
Psychologist; presented a social
comparison theory. He proposed that
individuals have a tendency to compare
their lives with each other.

They dothis to feel better about themselves,
but it can also backfire. Whenever you
see some one less fortunate you might
feel sorrow but you always feel a little
relief or joy that you aren’t in that
person’s shoes. In much the same way
you also feel a tinge of sorrow when
some one is much better off in any field
of life. It’s human nature. And it’s only
intensified by Facebook.

Recently a study was conducted in
collaboration with the University of
Houston and the University of Palo Alto
regarding this phenomenon. It surveyed
98 men and 236 women who were in
their twenties. They were the subjects
of two experiments. One conducted
across one day and the other across 14
days. On average, both genders
reported increased bouts of depression
when they increasingly used Facebook.
The social comparisons were primarily
getting them down. Consider the
scenario that you didn’t go to a party
and that you really regret it. Then
people start posting pictures on
facebook and you feel worse. It’s not
the most implausible thing.
Lives on Facebook are all filtered.

Which is why we always see the good
parts of everyone’s lives. There are
problems in everyone’s lives and
facebook hides that. So if too much of
it is getting you down. Just take a
break and put down the computer.

What Happens If You Pour Molten Aluminium Into A Watermelon

Youtuber Backyard Scientist conducted
an interesting experiment recently, one
which produced unexpected results. In
other words, it was the best kind of
experiment a scientist can hope for.

He just wanted to see what would
happen to a watermelon when molten
Aluminium was poured into it. He
anticipated that it would explode,
which is why he wore welding gear,
complete with an apron, gloves and a
welding helmet.

But what happened
completely shocked him.
The experiment was simple, he punched
a hole in a watermelon and heated the
Aluminium in his propane fueled
foundry. When he poured the metal in
to the fruit, it didn’t explode, the
aluminium jumped out of the hole and
fell on the ground (which was lit on
fire).
This was a result of the aluminium
reacting with the water inside the fruit.

After that the coolest thing happened.
When the watermelon was cut open, it
turned out that the aluminium had crept
into it’s crevices and pockets of the
seed chambers and wrapped itself
around the seeds. It had formed a
whole sculpture of the inside of a
watermelon. It smelled horrible though.

Upon repeating the experiment, the
same thing happened and another,
larger sculpture formed.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=fgnsXPnAX8M&feature=youtu.be