Alchemy and the Road to Science

Today alchemy conjures up images of boiling cauldrons and magic elixirs, but the past reveals its lasting impact on the foundation of science.

Alchemy began in ancient Egypt, sometime between the 4th and 3rd century BC, with the aim of transmuting base metals (i.e led) into noble metals, such as gold.

In the 8th century AD, Arab alchemists invented the first laboratories for transmutation, creating complex methods of classification and documentation. Jabir ibn Hayyan and Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi even made breakthroughs in chemistry, discovering sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.

Alchemy Stock Photos

Islamic alchemy inspired the later European search for the philosopher’s stone, an object believed to turn base metals into gold and bestow its owner with eternal life. The investigation lasted hundreds of years and although unsuccessful, produced countless experiments and lengthy chronicles of their results.

The pursuit of the philosopher’s stone was echoed in China by the search for the elixir of immortality. Like the Europeans, the Chinese alchemists believed in the medicinal power of metals and used them in their potions. Famously, the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty drank a fatal dosage of mercury, believing it was the famed elixir.

During the 17th century, Robert Boyle invented modern methods of chemical investigation. Boyle’s highly controlled experiments made alchemy appear blunt and archaic. Alchemy became associated with superstition and the occult and quickly fell out of favor.

Although it had a brief revival in the 18th century with the spiritualist movement, alchemy remained the fancy of counter culture.

While alchemy’s past may be meandering and at times ridiculous, its impact on science and the world that followed is undeniable. For more alchemy images click the links above and be sure to check out our storefront for great chemistry products!

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• wikipedia.com
• Britannica.com
• Smithsonian.com

Explore the Human Microbiome

The idea of bacteria creeping through your body might be less than appetizing. We often associate the presence of bacteria in our bodies (especially in our digestive system) with infections, viruses, and food poisonings. However, scientific findings have uncovered the fact that there are also many types of good bacteria that are essential to our health. This collection of good and bad bacteria within our bodies have also been discovered to be strikingly diverse from person to person.

The definition of the human microbiome is still somewhat ambiguous and disputed but is commonly known to be the vast ecosystem of microscopic organisms (microbes) living within us. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), we consist of 10-100 trillion microbiota, also known as microbial cells. These cells hold genes that determine cell behavior.

Stock Images and Stock Video of Microbes

Scientists have become specifically interested in the gut (our stomach and intestines) as a location that holds a notably vast collection of microbes. Believe it or not, the large intestine houses good bacteria, such as probiotics, that fight the bad bacteria and keeps us healthy. The ratio of good bacteria to bad can change and partly depends on your immune system or diet choices. If good bacteria becomes low in numbers, risk of infection and virus development increases.

One of the fascinating aspects of our microbiomes is that everyone's is distinctly unique. We, as humans, have a much different microbiome than other animals, but ours also differ from person to person. Even the collection of organisms in your mouth is different than the community of organisms in your gut.

Because each person's microbiome is so individualized, researchers are recognizing that this information could be valuable for practical usage in medicine. A patient's microbiome could be used similarly to a fingerprint, but instead of merely identifying the patient, medical professionals could gain a better understanding about what is going on within the patient's body and be able to make more educated predictions about procedures and treatments needed.

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As more and more scientific findings of this topic surface, it becomes increasingly more exciting to find out how this knowledge will help us solve many unanswered questions that have to do with anatomical behavior, virus prevention, and even evolution. Our microbiomes seem to be the mysterious key that could open many doors to the understanding of the human body.

• learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3426293
• http://www.nutritionnews.abbott/nutrition-as-medicine/the-role-of-the-microbiome-in-gut-health-
• 
  

A Wizard of Oz Moment for Black and White Images

 In a Wizard of Oz moment, artists are bringing full color to black and white images, while chronicling the past in a never before seen way. 

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, colorized images play an important role in education.  The famous image of Pavlov with his dogs is recognizable to many but not everyone notices all the tools involved in his findings. Digital coloring highlights these areas, helping students understand how Pavlov made his important discoveries in psychology.

In scientific images, digital color can locate everything from stars to microbes in the grayscale of SEMs and old photos, making them perfect for textbooks and other publications.

Stock Gallery of Colorized Images

Colorized images also have a historic significance. Black and white photographs may depict an event in the past but fail to capture the full appearance of an era. Historians have recently discovered that many sculptures from ancient Greece were painted. Now artists can reintroduce this color, revealing the past in a more authentic way.

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As we move forward with technology and our understanding of science and history, colorized images are playing an important role in enhancing the accuracy and beauty of stock images. Explore more in the links above.

Invincible Water Bears

Although they can survive unprotected in outer space, these resilient creatures are terrestrial living beings, not aliens as some have claimed. They are found on every continent on planet Earth and they love the water, yet can be found in the desert as well.

First discovered by pastor and zoologist Johann Goeze in 1773 and later named Tardigrada (Italian for "slow stepper"), these creatures still fascinate scientists today.

Images & Video of Tardigrades

It's unlikely that Goeze knew how amazing tardigrades (also called water bears) really are. They can withstand a high temperature of 300 degrees and a low of -458 degrees F. They have also survived outer space, radiation, and six times the pressure of the deep sea.

How do they do this? When faced with adverse conditions they can desiccate - dry up - themselves. When in this state they are referred to as 'tuns' and resemble a little ball. It is a death-like state called cryptobiosis. Water bears usually only live a few weeks or months but can be revived from a state of cryptobiosis after 30 years.

Water bears need at least a small film of water to be in their normal mobile state. They suck water from the moss and plant matter they usually live in. They prefer living in the moist sediment in the bottom of lakes but have been found in arid regions as well. As long as there is just a little water, they can thrive.

Cute Water Bear Throw Pillows

Even though human beings might not survive a catastrophe such as a supernova or asteroids, it seems that water bears will be around many millennia after we are gone.

Alina Bradford, Tardigrade Facts, livescience.com
William Herkewitz,  Secrets of the Water Bear,  popularmechanics.com
wikipedia.com

Volcanic Eruptions: Kilauea and Beyond

 

A wall of lava flows down Hoʻokāpu Street on Hawaii's Big Island, engulfing cars and setting trees ablaze – one of many scenes of havoc following the eruption of Kilauea in May.

Deriving their name from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan, volcanoes live up to their reputation as one of nature's most fearsome phenomena. Literally openings in the earth's surface, volcanoes exist throughout the world, including underwater. 

Images & Video of Kilauea and Other Volcanos

Volcanoes usually occur where tectonic plates separate but they can also arise from hot spots in the earth's crust, such as in the Hawaiian Islands and Yellowstone National Park. When pressure builds up and travels to the earth's surface, an eruption occurs that can last between one hour and hundreds of years. The Island of Stromboli's volcano has been continuously active for over 2,000 years.

In addition to lava, ash and fire, eruptions are often accompanied by earthquakes, mudslides, and acid rain, causing massive damage to the surrounding environment. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens destroyed 200 houses, 15 miles of highway and 4 billion board feet of timber.

Volcanic eruptions are not solely destructive, however. The lava they produce can clear away brush and treat the soil, making the land highly fertile for new plants and agriculture.

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• nationalgeographic.com
• bbc.com

The Unbreakable Bond Between People & Bees

A Researcher examines a honey bee.

Over thousands of years, bees and humans have forged an unbreakable bond. We find bees and humans on Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, medieval manuscripts, traveling on the Space Shuttle and more recently trained to sniff out explosives. 

Nearly one-third of our food is pollinated by bees. Without pollination, we would no longer enjoy the bounty of apples, cherries, cucumbers and most other fruits and vegetables.  

Bees also make honey and people can use honey to heal wounds. Even the ancient Egyptians knew that honey could help heal cuts and burns, without understanding its antibiotic properties. Today manuka honey is used in hospitals and doctors offices to treat severe burns. And doctors are still discovering new uses, such as fighting peptic ulcers.

Unfortunately, bees face many challenges today; from Colony Collapse Disorder, pesticides, mites, and even climate change. Many people are fighting to keep bees alive by preserving their health and environment.  There's even a smartphone app that warns beekeepers of disease in their hives. 

Explore Stock Images & Stock Video of Bees and People

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• wired.com/2011/07/nasa-oddities-gallery/
• pri.org/stories/2015-12-02/what-we-can-learn-ancient-egyptian-practice-beekeeping
• ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831240/
• sustainweb.org/foodfacts/bees_are_important/
• greendustriesblog.com/greendustries/2012/04/12/bees-and-survival-of-the-human-race/
• cnn.com/2018/01/15/health/honey-health-benefits/index.html
• guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=310733&p=2072758