Instant facts- Just add water 48

There are more bacterial cells in the body than human cells.
Scientists have estimated that about 95% of all the cells in the body are bacteria. The vast majority of these microbes can be found within the digetive tract.
in about.com

Be my valentine

Happy Valentine's Day:

Other Valentine's Day ideias here.

Et voilá!
Spread the love.

Enjoy!

Instant facts- Just add water 47

JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fastest-selling book ever.
in http://www.look4books.co.uk/

Instant facts- Just add water 46

To win a gold disc, an album needs to sell 100,000 copies in Britain, and 500,000 in the United States
in http://didyouknow.org

Swirling colors in a milk bowl

Try this and watch the colors swirl in a milk bowl. This is very easy to do and takes less then a minute to do.

We need:

• bowl,
• food coloring, red and blue,
• toothpicks,
• detergent,
• milk.

How to:

1. Pour a bit of milk on the bowl;
2. Add 2 drops of blue food coloring;
3. Now, away from the blue, add another 2 drops of red food coloring;
4. Let your restless play with the toothpicks and the milk on the bowl, let them "draw" at will, What happens?
5. Now, add a drop of detergent;

What happens?
The colors blend immediately, almost instantly, after we add the detergent

Why?
When we add the food coloring, it just stay there, exactly where we placed it.
Then, when we introduce the detergent to the equation, the colors blend in a sec. That’s because the detergent will make the surface tension to drop, and the "milk skin", that allows the color "to sit there", will disappear.
As we saw  here, this skin works as a coat that maintains other molecules at surface, and therefore preventing its dissolution n the milk. When his surface tension is disturbed, the food coloring (and other milk molecules) find less resistance and therefore they can move all around in the bowl.
But there is another phenomena happening in the bowl: Some milk protein denaturate by the action of detergent.
Both things contribute for the surface tension changes.

See the video:

Et voilá!
A ocean of colors!

Enjoy!

DNA extraction from onion cells

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in almost living "things".
Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most of DNA is located in cell nucleus. We can say this DNA is like a stepladder and it can be as long as 1,80m but it can fold itself so tight it can be stored in a small space with micro dimensions.

Lets see how we can see this DNA without any microscopy help.

We need:

• 2 bowls, one of them must be transparent,
• a knife,
• a onion,
• dish detergent,
• salt,
• water,
• 2 spoons,
• alcohol.

How to:

1. Peel the onion;
2. Cut the onion, into small pieces, to the bowl;
3. Add some dish detergent, enough to cover it;
4. Add the salt (1/2 tablespoon);
5. Finally add the water (2 tablespoons);
6. Mix, careful, we don't want it to form bubbles;
7. Wait 20 min;
8. Mix again;
9. Separate the liquid layer from the rest, the DNA is on the liquid, reject the rest.
10. Add alcohol to the liquid, slowly, we want the alcohol to form a second layer above the liquid, try to make the alcohol run down the bowl wall.
11. Don't mix the layers;
12. Wait another 20 min.

What happens?
You can see small white strands; some of them may look like small clusters.

Why?
DNA precipitates when mixed with alcohol; this means it's not soluble in this reagent. This causes the DNA to clump together when there is a lot of it. And, usually, cells contain a lot of it!

NOTES:
Salt- Helps DNA to precipitate
Cold water- Helps to maintain DNA intact. If we use hot water cellular enzymes can destroy the DNA strand.

Et voilá!
Genetic in your kitchen!

Enjoy!

DIY - Wax lantern

Want to impress your restless? Try to make some lanterns to decorate the table on Valentines Day.

We got the idea here, and looks really simple, but it requires some work.

We need:

• paraffin, same we use here,
• balloons, medium size,
• old pot, you will never be able to use it again to cook,
• aluminum foil.

How to:

1. Melt the wax on the pot;
2. Fill the balloon with warm water;
3. Try to keep the wax at the same temperature all time;
4. Dip the balloon in the wax, slow and just to the water level;
5. Keep it there for 4 or 5 seconds;
6. Pull it out;
7. Wait 10 seconds;
8. Repeat the steps 4 to 7 for 3 or 4 times;
9. Let the balloon to cool on the aluminum foil, the bottom will cool with a straight surface;
10. Repeat all over again (4 to 9) 3 or 4 times until the lantern has the  desired thickness;
11. When the wax is completely cold, burst the balloon, do it in the bathroom!
12. Heat up the aluminum foil in the stove and place you lantern on it, upside down.

It's ready! Use a small candle inside of it

NOTE: Don't dive the balloon above the water level!
Clean your lantern with a humid cloth, without detergent







You can:

• Paint it,
• Decorate it with a stencil, or geometric templates,
• Use a small hot object to carve it,
• Dye the wax like we did here,
• ...

Et voilá!
It looks amazing!

Enjoy!