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Invisible World: Prokaryotes & Animalcules
Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms making up 10% of the Earth's total biomass. They're essential to the ecosystem and human life....

Sylvia Rose
Oct 27, 20246 min read
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Sodium Silicate: Alchemy of Water Glass
Sodium silicate or "water glass" or liquid glass, originates in ancient practices. A chemical compound, sodium silicate is composed of...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 26, 20247 min read
20 views


Sodium Carbonate: Natural Formation to Modern Application
Sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash or washing soda, is prominent across various industries for millennia. It's used in ancient and...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 25, 20245 min read
15 views


Secret Lives of Sulfuric Acid Bacteria
Acidophillium and Acidobacillus ferroxidens bacteria thrive in harmful conditions. These microscopic sulfuric acid-producing bacteria...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 25, 20243 min read
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Reduction in Chemistry: Gaining Electrons
Reduction is a fundamental aspect of everyday life, from breathing oxygen to powering a phone. Reduction and its counterpart, oxidation ,...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 25, 20244 min read
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Biofilm Communities: Metropolitan Microbes
A biofilm is a living community of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and algae. Comprising over 80% of all microbial life on...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 25, 20246 min read
40 views


Oxidation: Metabolism & Molecular Action
Oxidation is a primary part of chemistry and biology and essential to life. This chemical reaction is vital for energy production. From...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 24, 20244 min read
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Acid-Producing Bacteria in Sulfuric Acid Creation
Thiobacillus, Thiothrix, and Beggiatoa are genera of acid-producing bacteria with significant contributions to creation of sulfuric...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 24, 20244 min read
19 views


Etch Carnelian Beads Like It's Indus Valley 2500 BCE
The Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age is one of the earliest urban societies, famous for trade, inventiveness and extraordinary...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 24, 20245 min read
22 views


Catalase: Unseen Enzymes Essential to Life
Catalase is an enzyme found in carbon life forms, including humans. It's known for its exceptional ability to decompose hydrogen peroxide...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 23, 20243 min read
26 views


Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 Decomposition
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a basic disinfectant and bleach of many households. If stored too long it will decompose. The decomposition...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 23, 20245 min read
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Peracetic Acid: Origin, Reactions, Hazards
Peracetic acid is a remarkable compound with powerful benefits and considerable risks. A colorless liquid with a sharp odor similar to...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 23, 20245 min read
23 views


Rotten Egg Sulfur Smell: Microbial Processes
The rotten egg sulfur smell is associated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a colorless gas. The stench can arise in water supplies, foods and...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 22, 20244 min read
25 views


White Lead Toxic Beauty, Art, Ancient Production
White lead, lead(II) carbonate or PbCO₃, has a long sordid history in art, paint and industry, a major source of white for artists and in...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 22, 20246 min read
23 views


Alchemy: Circulation & the Pelican Phantasy
Circulation is one of many processes of alchemy. The purification of a substance is achieved through circular distillation in a pelican...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 21, 20243 min read
32 views


Arsenic Trioxide: Paris Green Paint Pigment & Pesticide
Arsenic trioxide is a toxic compound with a a long and complex history, known at least by the time of the ancient Romans. Here's a look...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 21, 20244 min read
46 views


Microbial Alchemy: Fermentation, Digestion, Putrefaction
Alchemy uses natural processes, often driven by microbial forces. Unseen biological entities include bacteria, amoeba and flagellates....

Sylvia Rose
Oct 20, 20244 min read
33 views


The Unseen World: Protozoans in Nature
Protozoa are single-celled organisms integral to ecosystems worldwide. As microbes they're microscopic and invisible to the human eye....

Sylvia Rose
Oct 20, 20245 min read
29 views


Separatory Funnel: Alchemy Lab Equipment
A separatory funnel is an essential piece of laboratory equipment used in liquid-liquid extractions, allowing alchemists to separate...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 20, 20244 min read
10 views


Microbes: Bacteria, Actinomycetes, Protozoa, Fungi & Viruses
Microbes are invisible and exist everywhere, in air, water and soil. Scientists find microbes living in the charred soil wildfires leave...

Sylvia Rose
Oct 19, 20244 min read
17 views
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