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Too importand not to reblog

Waiter, there’s some plastic in my fish

For a while now, scientists have known that fish are ingesting small pieces of plastic. But it wasn’t clear how much of that was reaching our dinner plate. Ecologist Chelsea Rochman wanted to find out. 

Rochman, who’s speaking at the @montereybayaquarium Sustainable Foods Institute, sampled fish from markets in California and Indonesia.

“We found plastic and fibers from textiles (e.g., clothing, carpet, fishing nets) in about 1 out of every 4 seafood items sampled,” she told the @huffingtonpost

The study, which Rochman conducted while at UC Davis, was one of the first to directly link plastic in the oceans to the fish on our dinner plates.

So how concerned should we be?

“We know much more about how plastic debris is harmful to fish and much less about how plastic debris in our fish is harmful to our health,” Rochman explains.

Lab studies have demonstrated that plastic can get stuck in the guts of fish and make them feel full. This changes their feeding behavior. Previous research from Rochman demonstrates that small plastic debris can transfer harmful chemicals to fish. This causes stress on the liver and changes the activity of genes related to reproduction. 

“Studies have shown plastic debris in shellfish, fish and even sea salt. So, yes, we need more research to answer questions about how plastic debris may impact food security (i.e. fish stocks) and food safety.”

This is what Rochman plans to study next.

“Seafood is very healthy. It has essential fatty acids. I would never want to scare anybody away from eating seafood,” She said. “We need to see if we need a toxic threshold for plastic in fish.”

What can the rest of us do?

The recent ban on microbeads was a major victory. But microbeads in products like toothpaste and face wash are just one part of the problem. Single-use plastic items — bottles, bags, plates, straws and utensils — are also big contributors to the microplastic problem. The less we use, the better. 

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How to write a bomb ass personal statement

I’ve had a few asks about how to write - as one of you put it - a bomb ass personal statement. I’m a bit reluctant to write this, seeing as I haven’t actually got an interview/offer yet! But I guess it might be helpful to those of you applying around now :)

HOW TO START

Bullet point what you want to include - I suggest listing out what you want to include. It’s a good idea to do this at the beginning, to make sure you don’t leave anything out; and it can help form the basic structure of your statement.

Do not start at the start - this is one of the most important things I learnt when writing mine. It is so hard to write that first sentence - so just leave it until the end, and begin writing with the actual content, something you’re more comfortable writing about.

When you do get down to writing that first sentence - do not start with a cheesy quote or the typical “I have always bee passionate about…” as these are things that can immediately put off an admissions tutor. Try and be original, or just simple: “I want to study X because…”

THE CONTENT

Just keep writing - don’t worry about the 4,000 character and 47 line limits. Literally just write, and keep going, even if you think what you’re writing is bad - just get all your ideas out there, and put down everything you would want to include. It’s so much easier to take things out rather than adding things in. My personal statement was around 8,000 characters at one point!`

Get the balance right - different unis want different things from personal statements, so check their websites to make sure you’re getting in what they want. You need to get the balance of intellectual curiosity/passion for the subject with your personal qualities and extra-curriculars. 

Back up everything with evidence - don’t just say you are great at working in a team, give examples that demonstrate that you have worked well in successful teams in the past.What to include?

WHAT TO INCLUDE

Why you want to study that particular course

Why you are the right person to study the course

Extra things you have done to show commitment or interest about the course - volunteering, subscriptions to journals, further reading etc.

Any relevant work experience

Any relevant awards you’ve won (e.g. maths challenge or physics olympiad) or responsibilities within the school (e.g. prefect or house captain)

Demonstrate desirable skills for your course - problem solving, teamwork, leadership etc.

WHAT NOT TO INCLUDE

Cliches - like “Ever since I was born I have wanted to study…”

Quotes - this is a personal statement, so don’t start quoting other people! Plus way too many people do this to make it original.

Jokes - it may be that the person reading your statement has a very different sense of humour than you do.

Really long sentences - you want your personal statement to be as easy as possible to read, and long confusing sentences won’t help that.

Repetition - it’s such a short document, you don’t have space for this. Plus it gets boring!

Names of unis - the unis you apply to have no idea where else you have applied, so don’t name any of them in your statement.

THE ENDING

Do not end on a cheesy quote or joke. Just sum up why you’d be a great candidate and reinforce what you have told them throughout the main body of the statement - that you’re fabulous!

Once you have finished a draft you can start trying to cut down on the word count. Maybe ask a teacher to look at your spelling/grammar, and you can always get your friends’ opinions too, on what should come out, and what should be kept in. Make sure you don’t let other people have too much influence - it has to be a personal statement!

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Waiter, there’s some plastic in my fish

For a while now, scientists have known that fish are ingesting small pieces of plastic. But it wasn’t clear how much of that was reaching our dinner plate. Ecologist Chelsea Rochman wanted to find out. 

Rochman, who’s speaking at the @montereybayaquarium Sustainable Foods Institute, sampled fish from markets in California and Indonesia.

“We found plastic and fibers from textiles (e.g., clothing, carpet, fishing nets) in about 1 out of every 4 seafood items sampled,” she told the @huffingtonpost

The study, which Rochman conducted while at UC Davis, was one of the first to directly link plastic in the oceans to the fish on our dinner plates.

So how concerned should we be?

“We know much more about how plastic debris is harmful to fish and much less about how plastic debris in our fish is harmful to our health,” Rochman explains.

Lab studies have demonstrated that plastic can get stuck in the guts of fish and make them feel full. This changes their feeding behavior. Previous research from Rochman demonstrates that small plastic debris can transfer harmful chemicals to fish. This causes stress on the liver and changes the activity of genes related to reproduction. 

“Studies have shown plastic debris in shellfish, fish and even sea salt. So, yes, we need more research to answer questions about how plastic debris may impact food security (i.e. fish stocks) and food safety.”

This is what Rochman plans to study next.

“Seafood is very healthy. It has essential fatty acids. I would never want to scare anybody away from eating seafood,” She said. “We need to see if we need a toxic threshold for plastic in fish.”

What can the rest of us do?

The recent ban on microbeads was a major victory. But microbeads in products like toothpaste and face wash are just one part of the problem. Single-use plastic items — bottles, bags, plates, straws and utensils — are also big contributors to the microplastic problem. The less we use, the better. 

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Irène Joliot-Curie born this day in 1897, daughter of the Curies (Nobel prizes in physics in 1903, his mother Marie also won the Chemistry Nobel in 1911), she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1935) with whom he had been her apprentice and then husband Frederic Joliot.

An interesting reading, the story of mother and daughter during WWI as nurse radiographers: Marie Curie - War Duty (1914-1919)

By the way, his daughter, Hélène Langevin-Joliot, married Michel Langevin, grandson of the famous physicist Paul Langevin, thesis advisor of his mother, and in his younger days a doctoral student of his grandfather and lover of her grandmother after the tragic death of her husband and colleague (romance which caused a stir in the conservative society of the time, what inspired this famous letter from Einstein supporting Marie Curie). It’s a small world!

Image: Irene and Marie Curie in 1925 - via Wikimedia Commons

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My starman in the sky, back to stardust.  Looking forward to the musical album.

David Bowie will give fans one final gift

One of the last projects David Bowie worked on before dying was the musical Lazarus. The original cast album for the show is set for release on October 21st. While Bowie’s collaborator and producer Tony Visconti called the artist’s final album Blackstar “his departing gift for fans” — the new cast album reveals the Starman had one more trick up his sleeve.

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XD

FUZZY BUNNIES discover RELIGION! / via

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Here what I hybridised the Plomeek broth with 😄. It was delish!

Plomeek Soup

Thanks for all your kind words and comments last week! This is going to be a lot of fun. If you have any requests for specific dishes, please let us know. And remember, you can also follow us on twitter and facebook to keep up with the kitchen adventures. We’ll be posting pictures of the cooking process on the facebook page, so if you’re interested in seeing how the dishes are created, be sure to check it out!

This week we turn to another classic dish from a classic Star Trek race - Plomeek soup, a Vulcan dish. Most Vulcans, including the most famous one, Spock, are vegetarian. I would actually suggest that it would be logical for Vulcans to be vegan, not just vegetarian, but maybe that’s just me. I thought it was important to ensure that the recipe was vegan, rather than making it impossible for vegans or vegetarians to eat it by using chicken stock or similar. In addition, this is described as being quite a bland soup, so I have left the seasonings fairly minimal.

There are various iterations of Plomeek soup in the Star Trek canon; they appear to be a variety of colours and thickness. You can see all of them on Memory Alpha. However for this recipe, there was no contest. I had to make the original Plomeek soup, as thrown against the wall by Spock when in the throes of pon farr. If you’re interested in testing out its properties, you can always throw it against the wall, but I’d suggest eating it instead.

Replicate your own (Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter)

1 onion 2 garlic cloves 5 carrots 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled 3 small-medium beetroots, peeled 3 sticks celery 1 litre vegetable stock Salt and pepper Vegetable oil Parsley for garnish (optional)

Start by peeling the beetroots and then the sweet potatoes. Wear a pair of gloves when peeling the beetroots if you don’t want to get pink hands! Then chop up all the vegetables, including the onion and garlic cloves, into chunks. Don’t worry about making them too exact as they will all get blended at the end.

Start by sauteeing the garlic and onion in vegetable oil until soft. Then add the rest of the vegetables and cook for a few minutes. Add 750ml of the stock, reserving the rest. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until all vegetables are quite soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Ladle portions of the vegetables and stock into a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you could use a hand blender if you have one. When all the soup is blended, check the flavour and add salt and pepper to taste. At this point, check the soup’s thickness - if too thick, add the remaining vegetable stock as needed.

Serve and garnish with parsley if desired - although I’m sure the Vulcans would consider this highly illogical.

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Yes

Russell Howard’s Good News s10e07

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Not all carb calories are the same

What happens when you switch out sugary foods (pastries, sweetened yogurts, cake) with starchy ones (bagels, pizza, hot dogs) in a kid’s diet?

That’s what scientists at UCSF and Touro University California wanted to know.

They developed a study with 43 children between the ages of 9 and 18. The participants were obese and had at least one chronic metabolic disorder, such as elevated blood pressure, high triglycerides, or a marker for fatty liver.

Over the course of nine days, the children were provided food and beverages that mirrored the same fat, protein, carbohydrate and caloric levels as their home diets. The difference was that sugary foods were substituted with starchy ones. Total dietary sugar was cut from 28 percent to 10 percent, and fructose from 12 percent to 4 percent of total calories.

And the researchers found that reducing sugar consumption in obese children (rather than cutting calories or starch, or losing weight) leads to a sharp decline in triglycerides and a protein called ApoC-III — two features that are associated with heart disease in adulthood.

The work expands on previous research published last year in the journal Obesity that found restricting sugar — without restricting calories or total carbs — reversed a cluster of metabolic diseases in children, including high cholesterol and blood pressure.

In the video below, Dr. Kimber Stanhope explains how the body treats starches (glucose) and sugars (fructose) differently:

GIFS: foodphotosets

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First Map Of Thawed Areas Under Greenland Ice Sheet

This first-of-a-kind map, showing which parts of the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet are likely thawed (red), frozen (blue) or still uncertain (gray), will help scientists better predict how the ice will flow in a warming climate.

Keep reading

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We should all try do this in our own corner of the world, if possible.

via http://www.vox.com/2016/7/6/12098122/california-pipevine-swallowtail-butterfly-population 

Tim Wong (Instagram: timtasti1c) <– go follow him, he has lots of beautiful photos including butterfly photos~!

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😳

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That can't be! 90+ in Oz? Really?

Age of the heads of governments and heads of states, by country.

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I don't think too much has changed as of 2006. Perhaps Eritrea?

Forms of government around the world as of 2006.

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That's very interesting.

This amazing animal is a Blanket Octopus, from the Tremoctopus genus. And although the girls can reach up to 2 metres in length, the boys are only a few centimetres! 🐙 📷: Cassandra L. Cox http://ift.tt/29zBlMr

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This is tragic drama, but should be done well.

Dunkirk: Christopher Nolan (2017)