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Matilda's Lab @MatildasLab
Joined May 2015
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Matilda's Lab@MatildasLab
17 May 2020
Replying to @TaraLynC @Ida_VanS
This is a lovely idea! Let's share the love. My name is Chris and I started a science blog to try and reach my daughter about the joys of science. @MatildasLab mixes art with science with some home demos thrown in for good measure.
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One of the most striking facts in science is that we don't know what 95% of the universe is made of. Up to 70% is thought to be dark energy, which is making the universe expand. But not by the writers of this study, who say that it doesn't exist at all! eurekalert.org/news-releases…

Dark energy 'doesn’t exist' so can't be pushing 'lumpy' Universe apart – study

One of the biggest mysteries in science – dark energy – doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the Universe is expanding. For the past 100 years, physic...

eurekalert.org
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A little something that may make you think; hadn't that been figured out yet? A study bolsters the case that eyelashes evolved to help water out of our eyes. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #eyelashes #sciencenews

Researchers reveal how human eyelashes promote water drainage

A team of Chinese researchers has recently elucidated the characteristics of human eyelashes. Their study reveals that eyelashes consist of a hydrophobic, curved, flexible fiber array, featuring...

eurekalert.org
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Happy New Year, everyone. Let's start the New Year by closing out some business from the last one, as Matilda's Lab pays a scientific tribute to Jimmy Carter. matildaslab.wordpress.com/20… #jimmycarter #scicomm

Matilda’s Lab Hall of Fame: Jimmy Carter

Who is he? James Earl Carter Jr. was the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. What is his science background? Jimmy Carter had two separate cases for appearing in the Hall of Fame…

matildaslab.wordpress.com
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Because there are so many microbes of so many different types absolutely everywhere. Each time a new isolated area is discovered, it brings with it a completely new and novel micro- ecosystem. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #microbiology #sciencenews #discovery

Living in the deep, dark, slow lane: Insights from the first global appraisal of microbiomes in...

Which microbes thrive below us in darkness – in gold mines, in aquifers, in deep boreholes in the seafloor – and how do they compare to the microbiomes that envelop the Earth’s surfaces, on land and...

eurekalert.org
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Not only are book versions of stories generally better than the film versions, but it turns out that they are also better for neurological health. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #sciencenews

Ditch TV and read a book: UniSA research delivers best moves to reduce dementia risk

It’s that time of the year when most of us get the chance to sit back and enjoy some well-deserved down time. But whether you reach for the TV controller, or a favourite book, your choice could have...

eurekalert.org
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Things get out of sorts at this time of year, so why not a Tuesday newsletter? 2024 is at an end. Time to reflect and look forward. I also have bacterial builders, why reading is good for you, a carnivorous squirrel and a World War I solution to pH control open.substack.com/pub/matild…
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I was aware that Salmonella can change its surface antigens to evade an immune response, so I should probably have been less surprised to learn that Staph aureus can become vaccine resistant. I was surprised. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #microbiology #sciencenews #vaccines

Staphylococcus aureus thwarts vaccines by turning on a protein that halts immune response

After dozens of clinical trials, there are still no effective vaccines against Staphylococcus aureus. In two new studies, scientists report that the pathogen turns on the protein interleukin 10,...

eurekalert.org
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Fun fact: The Parker Solar Probe was tested for thermal resistance using the contents of McDonald's Apple Pies. #PossiblyAFakeFact
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In another display of optimisation in nature, air breathing sea animals have separately worked out the most efficient depth at which to swim. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #sciencenews #marineanimals

New study finds marine animals save energy by swimming in a depth ‘sweet spot’

Researchers from Swansea and Deakin Universities have found that marine animals across mammals, birds and reptiles swim at similar relative depths when travelling and not feeding to save energy

eurekalert.org
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The moral of this story is that if you want to discover something new, sometimes all you have to do is look. bbc.co.uk/newsround/60137514 #sciencenews #newspecies #biology

WWF: Nature charity discovers more than 200 new species in South East Asia

More than 200 new species have been discovered in the Greater Mekong area, in South East Asia.

bbc.co.uk
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Most animal body forms first appear in the fossil record in the Cambrian era, already in a recognisable form. This makes new fossils from Pre-Cambriam very exciting, like this tiny ancestor of the arthropods eurekalert.org/news-releases… #fossil #sciencenews #precambrian #paleontology

Tiny ancient worm sheds big light on evolution mystery

In a new study published in Current Biology, researchers describe Uncus dzaugisi, a 555-million-year-old worm-like organism preserved in the Precambrian rocks of Nilpena Ediacara National Park...

eurekalert.org
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Merry Christmas everyone. I have a little Christmas treat for you. A double Map of Life addition. A TURkey (of course) and a TURtle (because, why not?). #turkey #evolution #infographic
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We've made it to the end! Door 24 of the Matilda's Lab advent calendar and the most viewed post of the year. matildaslab.wordpress.com/20… Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! #spiderweb #advent #scicomm
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I know that the placebo effect is a real thing, but this is just crazy. A spoonful of sugar doesn't just help the medicine go down, it IS the medicine...in cows. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #sciencenews #antibiotics

Sugar solution fights infection in dairy cows just as well as antibiotics

A concentrated sugar solution could be just as effective as antibiotics at treating a common infection in dairy cows, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. The results were...

eurekalert.org
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We all need some alone time every once in a while, but it may be that not all alone time is the same with regards to the benefits that it brings us. eurekalert.org/news-releases… #mentalhealth #sciencenews #psychology

Research shows solitude is better for your health when it’s not too intense

Hiking by yourself deep in a forest and similar episodes of intense solitude are not as likely to restore energy and enhance social connectedness as less complete forms of solitude, such as reading...

eurekalert.org
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Pictures of eyes are used in stores as we know that people act differently with just the slightest hint of being observed What wasn't known is the psychological burden that people carry from feeling constantly under surveillance eurekalert.org/news-releases… #psychology #sciencenews

The psychological implications of Big Brother’s gaze

A new psychological study has shown that when people know they are under surveillance it generates an automatic response of heightened awareness of being watched, with implications for public mental...

eurekalert.org
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Well said, Bob.
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We're getting right to the business end of the advent countdown now. The 3rd most viewed blog post this year may be relevant over a period when children get overexcited. matildaslab.wordpress.com/20… #parenting #scicomm #advent #psychology
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If you feel like you suffer a runny noise more frequently than those sound you, that may be a consequence of your nose fungus! eurekalert.org/news-releases… #runnynose #fungus #microbiome #sciencenews

Patients whose allergies cause the sniffles have different fungi living in their noses, compared to...

Allergies that make your nose run and asthma are very common respiratory diseases which are often found together and impose a significant disease burden. Scientists looking for ways to help patients...

eurekalert.org
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Midwinter brings door number 21 of the advent calendar. The 4th most viewed post of the year is about how we can give each other electric shocks. matildaslab.wordpress.com/20… #staticelectricity #scicomm #science #physics
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