nylon tea bag

While I was looking at a tea bag one day, I began to wonder how and why nylon was created and was useful to most of our products used today.

nylon tea bag

The nylon used to create the bag is likely one of the most useful synthetic natural material to be used. It is plastic stretched into fibers for fabrics such as clothing, toothbrushes, the bags seen here, and much more.



nylon tea bag 100X

While essential to most of the products, nylon is a material that doesn't exist in nature. It is created from organic chemcials based on carbon that are found in ores and natural materials such as 

coal and petroleum. 

Nylon clothes are actually created from nylon fibers. It is thermoplastic in which it is able to partially melt when heated and is durable. 

nylon tea bag 400X

June boy, June bug...

So a month or two back, I was just walking when I ran into a June Bug. Knowing it was now fall, I wasn't surprised when I realized it had died. However, what sparked my interest was when I realized that behind the beetle were specks of white eggs.
I decided to research both the beetle and the eggs and here they are.

June bug's eggs

While these eggs were unable to go underground, female June Bugs normally drop their eggs into dirt about 2-5 inches underground. As the eggs develop, they become more round rather than being elliptical. It takes about 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch into larvae (which are usually brown headed white grubs). 

Female Jung bug

Female June bug and eggs

June bug's metallic color

Well I'm sure we all asked this question whenever we saw one of these beetles flying around us: Why and how are their bodies so shiny? 

Turns out there are multilayer nanostructures that cover the shell. By each being put in irregular shapes, the nanostructures are able to trick light into creating a metallic effect. Please note however that these are not the same reflections that ordinary metals emit when hit with light: "Actual gold and silver optical properties are determined by the contributions of free and bound electrons to the absorption of light," explains study co-author William Vargas.

June bug


 

portable microscope-lubricant eyedrop

pappus

dandelion, the hair-like parachutes are called pappus 100X

dandelion, the hair-like parachutes are called pappus 400X

mandarin orange peel

As sad as the title sounds, I'm sure most of us know that when we eat an orange, we generally
throw away the peel because we see the nutritional benefits in the orange itself.
On the contrary, peels may not have the sweet taste we desire for. However, they are, as some people say, the healthiest part of the fruit! 

mandarin orange peel 40X

mandarin orange peel 400X

avocado, special fruit

avocado 100X
When you see an avocado, just think of it with one word: Powerhouse. 
To begin with, avocados have more potassium than banana (potassium helps maintain electrical gradients in the body's cells).
Second, this fruit helps prevent heart disease. It reduces not only cholesterol in your body but also removes triglyceride in your blood. 
Finally, it protects your eyes. Avocados contain antioxidants such as Lutein and Zeaxanthin that prevents degeneration and other negative effects towards your eyes. 
There are numerous reasons to why you should eat avocados but these are 3 reasons I thought were 
pretty important for us to know. 

Roly polies! Or so they're called..

Yes this is exactly what you're thinking. This right here is the bug you've always bullied by touching 

it and watching it go into defensive position. 

Only.. there are a few other things I think you should know about them. 



Pillbug or Roly-poly

These "Roly-polies" are actually called Pillbugs or Armadillidiidae.

They are the only crustaceans that live solely on land and are mostly active at night

though it isn't hard to spot one during daytime. 

Pillbug or Roly-poly

Please do not panic when you see one or try to touch it. Pillbugs don't spread diseases 

or contaminate food at all. So don't assume an epidemic will spread from these little guys.

Pillbug or Roly-poly

Now before we end off, please note that if you want to keep one of these pillbugs 

as pets, they need to be in moist environments. If they enter an office building 

or your home, they will likely die from dryness as they tend to live in moist environments.

 What this picture shows is a band aid that is used for your elbow and 

bends to make sure it doesn't come off. I find it fascinating how 

we are able to take ideas in nature to help improve society more. 

Kimchi Probiotics

Timelapse of a lubricant eyedrop drying under a microscope by Kyubeen Lee