Potential to greatly reduce surgical site infections Scientists from the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center have shown that a narrow wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) light safely killed drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in mice, demonstrating a potentially safe and cost-effective way to reduce surgical site infections, a major public health concern. A paper just … Read more
A transposon underlies this classic story of evolutionary adaptation. Scientists have finally identified the genetic change that enabled the black peppered moth (Biston betularia) to change shades—from a light, speckled color to a dark brown hue—to camouflage itself against Britain’s soot-blackened trees during the Industrial Revolution: a mutation in a gene calledcortex, according to a … Read more
The whole world’s feeling blue. We can finally all agree on one thing – and it’s the colour blue. A recent YouGov survey carried out in 10 countries – the UK, Germany, USA, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia – found blue was our favourite colour. Yep, we’ve all got a predilection … Read more
A new method for stacking microscopic marbles into regular layers, producing intriguing materials which scatter light into intense colours and which change colour when twisted or stretched were devised by a team of researchers. The team, led by the University of Cambridge, used a new method called Bend-Induced-Oscillatory-Shearing (BIOS) to produce hundreds of metres of … Read more
A team of experts spent three months trying to determine the world’s ugliest colour. And, after detailed research into which colours generated the most negative reactions among the general public, the dubious honour goes to Pantone 448C, also known as opaque couché – a sludgy brown colour that was alternately described by respondents as ‘tar’, … Read more
https://youtu.be/pitz56_8CJg Using Goethe’s Theory of Colors (Zur Farbenlehre) as a point of departure, LIGHT, DARKNESS, AND COLOURS takes us on a fascinating journey through the universe of colors. In 1704 Sir Isaac Newton published “Light and Refraction,” his study of the interactions between sunlight and prisms. Newton was, as a good scientist, intent on achieving … Read more