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Magnetotactic Bacteria: Magnetic Microbes
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) navigate their environment using magnetic fields. They're found in a variety of saline and freshwater...
Sylvia Rose
Apr 44 min read
6 views


Lodestones: Natural Ferromagnetic Compass
Lodestones are naturally magnetized. Primarily composed of iron oxide, they provide a key to understanding navigation and the Earth's...
Sylvia Rose
Apr 43 min read
8 views


Magnetite (Fe3O4): Magnetic Mineral
Magnetite is a magnetic mineral found in diverse geological settings. Its strong magnetism is an predominant quality. Magnetite makes up...
Sylvia Rose
Apr 46 min read
2 views


Creation of Magnetism in Rocks
Rocks hold within them hidden forces. While not all rocks are obviously magnetic, most carry a subtle magnetic field. It comes from their...
Sylvia Rose
Apr 34 min read
10 views


Rare Earth Elements (REEs): Science & Environment
Rare earth elements (REEs) are scattered through the Earth's crust. Coveted by many, they're bargaining chips in world politics. REES are...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 123 min read
23 views


Carbon Sequestration: Environmental Health
Carbon sequestration capture and store carbon either through biological means or in geological formations. This process, currently used...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 85 min read
19 views


Mars Curiosity Rover: Success & Longevity
Mars Curiosity Rover is one of NASA's most ambitious projects, hailed as an optimal feat of science and engineering. Far overreaching its...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 84 min read
20 views


Solar Panels & Batteries in Space
Particularly solar panels and batteries help provide reliable power for spacecraft and satellites. Without terrestrial resources, space...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 24 min read
17 views


Russo-Ukrainian War: Motives, Propaganda & Technology
The Russo-Ukrainian War begins in 2014. Conflict goes back much further. The war has profound political, social, and economic...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 19 min read
34 views


Titanium (Ti): From Space to Earth & Back
Titanium (Ti) is a metallic element. From celestial origins titanium has widespread appeal as the metal of choice for robots,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 274 min read
27 views


Ancient Salt & Health: Physician Dioscorides
Dioscorides is a physician of Rome in the first century AD. He serves as a doctor in Nero's army and later writes De Materia Medici ,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 255 min read
9 views


Salt (NaCl): Science, History & Cuisine
Salt is primarily sodium chloride (NaCl). As a naturally occurring mineral it's known as halite or rock salt. Vital for food preservation...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 255 min read
10 views


Vulcano: Child Miners, Gods & Extremophiles
Vulcano is part of the Aeolian Island archipelago of Italy. Named for Vulcan, Roman god of fire and metalworking, Vulcano is a unique...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 24, 20245 min read
14 views


First Life on Earth: Microbes & Stromatolites
Ancient microbes in harsh conditions are the earliest life forms. Fossil records appear in rock formations up to 3.7 billion years old....
Sylvia Rose
Dec 18, 20244 min read
19 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


Silica, Silicon & Silicone: Differences & Similarities
Silica, silicon, and silicone refer to related but distinct substances with specific properties, applications, and origins. Silica is...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 12, 20244 min read
31 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
19 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


Silicon (Si): Fueling the Robot Apocalypse
Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, a ductile metal important to industry and natural processes. Silicon is used...
Sylvia Rose
Dec 1, 20245 min read
22 views


Calcite: Metal-Eating Bacteria to Coral Reefs
Calcite is made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). With stunning crystal formations and a range of beautiful colors, calcite also has...
Sylvia Rose
Nov 20, 20246 min read
17 views
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