top of page


Wild Yeast: Microbes Acting Naturally
Wild yeast is a fascinating part of the natural world. Ubiquitous and often overlooked, it's a coveted organism of science, well-known by...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 20, 20248 min read
33 views


Yeast: Microbiology of Bread & Food Making
Yeast is a unicellular fungus essential in daily life. This gift of nature is used in baking leavened bread and in food fermentation. Its...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 19, 20247 min read
35 views


How Yeast Transforms Sugars to Booze
Yeast is a single-celled fungus essential for fermentation. It transforms simple sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, a process...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 19, 20245 min read
29 views


GI Yeast Hunter: Bacteroides thetaiotomicron
Bacteroides thetaiotomicron is found in the human gastrointestinal tract (GI) as part of the normal digestive system biota, along with...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 16, 20245 min read
17 views


Sublimation & the Aludel: Medieval Alchemy
Sublimation is a process of refinement, purification or extraction of specific elements. The aludel, a unique alchemical apparatus, is...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 15, 20245 min read
15 views


Spores & Yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a common spore-forming yeast, known better as brewers' yeast. Some strains also release enzymes toxic to...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 14, 20246 min read
34 views


Chalk (CaCO3): Bounty of the Primal Seas
Chalk is fundamentally calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and takes hundreds of millions of years to form. This seemingly mundane mineral has a...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 13, 20245 min read
5 views


Brownian Motion: Physics & Phenomena
Brownian motion vividly illustrates the appearance of chaos at a microscopic level. This phenomenon, first observed by botanist Robert...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 11, 20245 min read
8 views


Killer Yeast: Assassins of the Microworld
Killer yeasts secrete toxic proteins. Known as killer toxins, the proteins can eliminate susceptible cells within their own species or...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 10, 20246 min read
30 views


Predators of the Microworld: Vampirovibrio & Lysobacter
Vampirovibrio and Lysobacter are types of bacteria known to attack, kill and eat other bacteria. Hunting tactics are similar to the...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 9, 20245 min read
18 views


Yeast: Potent Power of the Active Microworld
Yeast is a vital component of the microbial world, involved in diverse ecological processes. This amazing fungal organism is essential...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 8, 20246 min read
13 views


Alchemy & Religion
Alchemy through the ages is a science affected by personal spirituality and religion. Rooted in ancient practices, alchemy takes shape in...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 7, 202410 min read
6 views


Andreas Libavius: Science & Controversy of Alchemy
Andreas Libavius (c. 1550-1616) is one of the most influential figures of Renaissance alchemy, active in the Elizabethan era. His book...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 5, 20246 min read
10 views


Natural Glass Gemstones: Cataclysmic Fusion
Natural glass gemstones are caused by extraordinary geological events, such as intense heat and cataclysmic impacts. Natural glass...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 3, 20248 min read
21 views


Silica (SiO2): Nature of Glass & Gems
Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), occurs in the Earth’s crust, the microcosm and daily life. Silica makes ancient glass such as...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 2, 20247 min read
13 views


Testate Amoebae: Single Cells with Shells
Amoebae or amoebas are single-celled microorganisms of phylum Amoebozoa . Testate amoebae build unique shells of silica and other organic...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 30, 20245 min read
8 views


Nickel (Ni): Metallurgy Facts & Folklore
Nickel (Ni), a silvery-white metal with a lustrous sheen, is a transition element essential to industry and commerce, and known in...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 29, 20246 min read
29 views


Cobalt (Co): The Little Goblin Who Could
Cobalt is a silvery grey metal used across various fields, including science, medicine, and industry. It receives its name from the...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 28, 20246 min read
19 views


Flowers of Antimony: Pure Medieval Purgative
Flowers of antimony are a purified form of antimony trioxide (Sb2O3). Created through sublimation, they have chemical and medical...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 25, 20244 min read
24 views


Ammonium Carbonate: Sal Volatile Smelling Salts
Ammonium carbonate [NH4]2CO3 is the main ingredient in Victorian smelling salts. Also called baker's ammonia, sal volatile , salt of...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 25, 20245 min read
15 views
bottom of page