Fast As Lightning

It's my birthday tomorrow! The big 21. I am actually pretty unhappy about getting older, I have to admit, and have not really been looking forward to my birthday. However, my amazing aunty gave me some money to buy this dress for my 21st, so things aren't all that bad ;) This pastel purple sweater was such a good find (yep, another one from the op shop that's just a stroll from my house. That store is totally going to empty my bank account...) and I've also been into wearing kitsch badges as brooches lately, after my friend found all these awesome 90s badges for me (like my Peter Pan and Science Museum ones). This hedgehog one is still pretty kitsch, but also suits the pastel colours of my outfit. sweater - Thrifted blouse - Forever 21 shorts - c/o Sheinside socks - c/o Oasap tights - c/o Oasap boots - Asos (similar) See how my shorts have got lightening bolts on them? Well that's convenient, because today I'm going to talk about a new idea of what causes lightning strikes! Running against the most accepted idea for what causes lightning - collisions between ice crystals in clouds and hail stones - a new scientific paper released the other day suggests that it's actually cosmic rays, from far off in the universe, that cause lighting strikes. So we know what lightning is - an electrostatic discharge between clouds and the surface of the Earth (like a 1000x bigger version of taking off a static-y jumper and zapping yourself), but are not entirely sure what causes the build up of electricity in the clouds to occur. Firstly what are cosmic rays? They are streams of high energy particles travelling through space nearly at the speed of light, which come from far away in the galaxy, probably from supernova explosions (when massive stars explode and die). And how can cosmic rays cause lighting? Well, these high energy particles get inside our atmosphere and become ionised (they lose or gain electrons). This leads to a lot of free electrons floating around. When these collide with water atoms in clouds, more electrons are released, which sets off an "avalanche" of high-energy particles that builds up until it discharges into the Earth (read more here). So firstly, I had no idea that we weren't sure what caused lightning. And now it's even more uncertain. It's really cool that we are still investigating the cause of something that seems as everyday as a lightning storm, when we can also make computers and flying cars (yes really) and print organs from machines, and although it can sometimes seem like we are living in the future, we still have so much to learn. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Wild Cat

This was the outfit I wore last Friday night (hence why I'm not wearing a boater hat for once, because wearing a hat at night isn't a very normal thing to do). I wasn't sure if my tights made me look interesting or lopsided - but then I settled on "interesting" and ignored all odd looks that came my way. This thrifted Charlie Brown skirt has come in very handy - I can't believe what a good find it was for $3! I've been wearing it with absolutely everything. The Wild Cat tee-shirt was sent to me by a new sponsor, Cichic! I chose to get a t-shirt rather than a cute little dress for once, a) because I have way too many dresses and b) because I'm really liking simple t-shirts instead of over-the-top vintage blouses lately, I don't know why. Also, did you notice how bizarre my badge is? Why Peter Pan and Captain Hook are battling on top of a balustrade that's perched atop an alligator's nose is beyond me. But I love it. t-shirt - c/o Cichic sweater - Asos skirt - Thrifted tights - A sock store in Japan shoes - Asos badge - Gift from my friend Hannah (thrifted) I hope you're all having a lovely day! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Sunshine & Selfies in the Park / Chimera

Yesterday afternoon was so beautiful, I couldn't miss the opportunity to take some photos. Unfortunately, I spent the whole day all alone and had no one to take photos of me. So I ventured out into a public park with my bike, camera, tripod and self-timer and tried to ignore/avoid making contact with all the dog-walkers and teenagers who wandered by my little shoot. Pretty scary stuff if you're a little bit shy and self-conscious when it comes to strangers. But it was well worth the mild embarrassment because I got some really nice photos out of it (seriously, my new EOS 60Dwith thislens is soooooooooooo good. I can't recommend it enough). dress - Thrifted hat - Hat Stall in Japan shoes - Asos necklace - Claire's (Japan) tights - c/o Oasap A reader brought up genetic chimeras the other day, something that I find really fascinating, so I'm going to talk about that today! So, the DNA in each and every one of your cells is totally identical (apart from germ cells - that's sperm and egg cells). What makes a brain cell different to a skin cell is the genes that cell chooses to express and the proteins they subsequently make. However, if you're a chimera, it means that you have parts of you which are technically from a different being - so a certain organ, or your arms, or some of your blood cells have different DNA in them to the rest of your body. A way in which a chimera can form is when fertilisation occurs between two separate sperm and two separate eggs. This would normally lead to dizygotic (non-identical) twins, but sometimes the two can fuse together. So basically, chimeras are formed when one twin EATS the other twin (in a way. Kind of not really. It just sounded dramatic). Then, as the organism develops into a fish, cat or even a human, different parts of them are technically formed from two different people. (Image source) Yes, you heard me right, it does happen in humans, and has often only been discovered when a genetic test is done between a mother and child, who that mother knows she has given birth to, but the DNA says that it's not her own child - leading to a whole bunch of fun lawsuits (read more here!) Chimeras often wouldn't show such distinctive markings as this horse above though - this would only happen if the different sets of DNA are expressed in the skin cells (although it does happen!) Anyway, I hope that you learnt something new today ;) Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Pastel Unicorns and Crying in Space

I am one happy and very lucky, spoilt lady - I'm turning 21 in just a couple of days time, and my parents bought me a Canon EOS 60D! (I may have gotten it a little early, hehe). Needless to say I've been spending all my time playing around with the new camera and not studying. One thing that I'm really happy about is that the 60D is incredibly useful if you take your own photos (i.e. if you're a blogger who needs to take multiple outfit shots in a day and you don't have a super patient photographer friend who will take photos whenever you need them). The best feature of the 60D is that has a flip-out, twisty screen which you can use to look at and position yourself right in front of the camera. Buy a self-timer remote, and it's super easy to take outfit photos. A package from Oasap containing this new dress and sweater also arrived in the mail the morning while I was playing with my new camera, so I decided to take some pictures of them! I'm super in love with this sweater - it's basically the softest, most cuddly thing in the world and the print on the front and back just make it that little bit sweeter. I'm fairly sure I am going to live in it throughout the winter here. sweater - c/o Oasap dress - c/o Oasap hat - c/o Wholesale bow - DIY For the last few days I've been obsessed with watching the Canadian Space Agency's youtube channel (after this video went viral - the first music video recorded in space! And it's a David Bowie song!). Astronaut Chris Hadfield is not only my new hero for doing that, but he's also done a bunch of videos while onboard the International Space Station explaining how everyday things work when the physics is completely different: including brushing your teeth, making a sandwich, getting a haircut and crying. Of my life-goals, living up in the ISS for a few months is probably one of the most unrealistic, but gosh I want to be an astronaut, so badly. Does anyone else ever get that feeling?? Anway, this video from Chris Hadfield shows what happens if you cry in space. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

I Love My Thrift Shop / People Who Don't Perceive Pain

I know I keep going on about it, but I managed to find the best stuff at my local thrift shop the other day, this baby blue sweater and orange blazer included. I really like pairing light blue and orange together, it's one of my favourite colour combinations (after lilac + orange). sweater - Thrifted blazer - Thrifted skirt - c/o Sheinside shoes - Chicory tights - c/o Oasap necklace - c/o Merrin & Gussy In psychology the other day, I learnt about a really interesting (and somewhat terrifying) super rare condition called "congenital analgesia". People with the condition, like Ashlyn Blocker, don't ever feel physical pain. Congenital insensitivity to pain is usually caused by a mutation in DNA on what is known as the "SCN9A" gene. The normal function of the gene is to assist in sending signals from nerve cells to the brain. An essential part of one type of nerve cells is to detect and transmit pain signals (so you know to draw your hand back when you touch something hot, for example). The mutation in this gene inhibits the sensation of pain, and so people with this particular mutation don't ever feel physical pain. This is chromosome number 2 (out of 23), and this is the location of the gene on that chromosome. We all have this gene, but in people with congenital analgesia, it has become mutated (image source) At first, not feeling pain might sound like a gift or some kind of superpower, until you consider how important pain really is for our survival. For example, Ashlyn could happily plunge her hands into boiling water, and the first hint she might get that something is wrong  (apart from now having learnt from experience that putting body parts in boiling water is not a good thing to do) is when her hands are totally cooked and melted away. Or, you might know that you're sick and have to go to the doctor when you get really bad stomach pains - but if you have congenital analgesia, you wouldn't get this warning signal that something is wrong. This article tells of a woman with the condition who gave birth, and didn't realise her pelvis had been totally shattered in labour and was bleeding internally until she was physically unable to walk a few weeks later. Although life without pain is actually a lot tougher than you would think, Ashlyn Blocker and other people with congenital analgesia have helped science greatly by providing clues as to what can cause pain signals to go the other way - being over-sensitive and causing chronic pain for no reason, for example - and may be able to help with treatments of these conditions in the future. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Winter Owl

Goodness! It is almost winter and finally cold enough to wear this wicked new blazer I thrifted (when I'm in the shade, at least). This blazer required a cute little dress to pair with it, and this owl-print one sent to me by Cichic worked perfectly. I've also been living in white tights lately. They are perfect for this kind of weather and  I really like how they look with little black Mary Jane or ballet strap style shoes (cute, is how). dress - c/o Cichic tights - c/o Oasap shoes - Chicory blazer - Thrifted bag - Thrifted belt - Thrifted hat - c/o Wholesale Who had cheese on toast this morning? I did! And one of my favourite science bloggers Katie from the Molecular Circus just wrote a really cool post on how cheese works (which may also have been why I chose to eat cheese this morning). She explains why cheese goes all gooey when you melt it, and why different types of cheese turn either stringey or become liquefied when you heat them up (hint: it's got to do with cheese proteins and chemical reactions). Have a little read with your morning tea! ;) p.s. check out this super amazing drawing Cass from Undercover Dress-Up Lover did of me! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr