Good Morning, Paradise / Science Saving Ducklings

My heart almost exploded when I woke up to this scene this morning. I think I may possibly be the luckiest person in the world right now. I had no idea that Italy was just so incredibly beautiful (and thank you Nellie for snapping these twilight photos - not so bad for someone to whom I just said "stand there and click".) Not only is this little vineyard villa completely tranquil, it's also got kickass wifi, so I'm planning a lot of outfit shoots around this place. shirt - Sportsgirl skirt - Paper Hearts bag - Thrifted hat - Market stall in Osaka  necklace - Claire's Here's a cute science story to start off your day (or to accompany an afternoon coffee if you're in Australia). This duckling was born with a genetic deformation that caused him to have a backwards foot. The duckling had difficulties walking and was also at great risk of infections from the many injuries he sustained trying to get around. So his owners had his bad foot amputated, and replaced with a 3D-printed prosthetic (if you're new to 3D printing, I rave about it here, here and here). The duckling, now a grown-up duck, has his own facebook page and took his very first steps on his new foot just two days ago! Image Source Yay for 3D Printing! It's basically the best. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Paint by Numbers and Italian Scientists

Ciao! I am currently writing this post from a vineyard in Italy! I took these photos back in rainy Sydney, though - I haven't coincidentally found a wall that looks exactly like the same one back at home to take photos in front of. Ahh, and Italy... what can I say. There are not enough superlatives to describe how amazingly awesomely wonderfully beautiful it is. There will be photos. blouse - Thrifted skirt - c/o Romwe socks - c/o OASAP bag - Thrifted hat - c/o Wholesale shoes - Yeswalker As I am currently still very jetlagged, I am re-posting a science story I wrote back in January (originally here) about one of my inspirations, the Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini. So if you've seen this before, I apologise! But as she was such an awesome person, this might be worth re-reading anyway. Rita Levi-Montalcini was an amazing, fiery and bad-ass neuroscientist, who sadly passed away in January, aged 103 years old. Image source and article Italian-born, she pursued a career in science at university despite both her father and 1930s society being generally against women in higher education. Then, she had to go into hiding when Mussolini came into power, as she was Jewish and thrown out of her university. To continue studying science, she built a secret research laboratory. Despite this, in 1986 she won a Nobel Prize for discovering something called "nerve growth factor", which greatly advanced our understanding of how neurons (nerve cells) work. Being at this point 77 years of age, she never slowed down - she went on to found the European Brain Research Institute in Rome, and a foundation encouraging the education of young women in Africa. She gave lectures and spoke out about promoting equality for women in science. And she turned up to work every day super well-dressed, with perfectly manicured hands and coiffured hair, even after turning 100. Basically, I want to grow up to be Rita. Read more about her amazing life here. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Send Me On My Way

Arrivederci, Australia! Right now, I'm sitting in a hotel room trying to use mobile internet to get this post out - and in just 6 hours from now, I am meant to be getting up and hopping on a plane (ugh, 6am flights!). Anyway, here is my outfit from the other day! I'm really loving stripey things right now, and thigh-high socks! (And I'll have a stripey shirt DIY up in a couple of days, ooh!) I've brought a few pairs of thigh-highs to Italy with me, too, but I don't know if I'll be able to wear them in the summer heat. It's going to be a shock going from winter (and constant rain) to the middle of a heatwave-summer. shirt - Cotton On overalls - Thrifted necklace - c/o MartofChina socks - c/o OASAP shoes - c/o Yeswalker hat - c/o Wholesale Anyway, wish me luck for my flight - I'll be doing some more blogging from Rome, I hope! (I don't have time for a science post right now, but you can read my post about the physics of air-flight, if you missed it the other day!) Oh, and one more thing - everytime I go travelling, I make sure that this song is on my phone: Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root (it's the Matilda song!) Even though I'm a super sciencey scientist and all, and try not to be superstitious... that song is the best for good travelling vibes ;) Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Neapolitan Feet & 30,000 Ft Microbes

Today I aimed for my feet to look like melting ice creams! Do you think I succeeded?  These neapolitan-coloured brogues sent to me by MartofChina are only $15 - and they have sizes which fit my big feet, too! I really like them - although I think I will swap the laces for something a little nicer (the ones that came with them are a bit like pieces of string). Otherwise, I'm very happy with them! Also - this overall-style skirt is from a physical store in Haymarket, Sydney, that is actually called "Internet Shop". So if you're getting confused as to why there is no link below, and going "but it's called Internet Shop!?!", that is why. blouse - c/o Romwe skirt - Internet Shop shoes - c/o Mart of China necklace - c/o Les Folles Marquises socks - Tutuanna hat - c/o Wholesale Bacteria rule the world. For every human, Not only is there about 10 times more bacterial cells on and in your body than your own body cells, but there are probably about 5 million trillion trillion (5 with 30 zeros after it) bacteria on Earth. They are also extremely adaptable - bacteria can live inside hot springs and volcanoes, deep underneath the ocean and also, apparently, 9 km (or 30,000 ft) up in the atmosphere.  (Image Source) Very recently, scientists at Georgia Tech hitched a ride on some NASA airplanes, took samples of clouds and searched them for bacteria. They found about 100 different types of bacteria living in the clouds. And the bacteria might even affect how clouds form - at 30,000 feet, ice crystals which form the clouds need a particle to grow around - and that position could possibly be filled by bacteria. That means that bacteria not only rule our bodies and our land, they could also be controlling the weather. Read more about it here, it's super fascinating (I've been reading about it all morning). Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Bambi and Mind Control

I've been stuck inside the house for far too long. It has not stopped raining in Sydney. I can't wait to trade it in for summer in a couple of days! I'm a very excited (and lucky) lady to be travelling again this year. But hey, look at this Les Folles Marquises necklace above - it reminds me of an Adventure Time character! It's sooooo cute, plus it's handmade. What do you think? shirt - Thrifted skirt - c/o Sheinside necklace - c/o Les Folles Marquises socks - c/o OASAP shoes - c/o Yeswalker beanie - Stolen from boyfriend Here's a bit of incredible science news from Italy. Giving mobility back to paralysed people using science! The man in the video below has not been able to walk, move or feel his legs for two years. This exoskeleton is now under his control, and has helped him to walk for the first time since he was in a car accident that severed his spinal cord. The exoskeleton is part of a project that aims to eventually give people movement by correlating brain-patterns to the exoskeleton, train them using virtual reality, and then allowing them to control it through thought alone. How cool it that? Check out the the Mindwalker website here and the video of it in action below! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Rainy Day & Silkworms

The rain has been relentless for the past few days in Sydney, and isn't forecast to stop for a sizeable chunk of the week. It's good in a way, because going from winter to summer in Italy next week will be made even lovelier after coming from such awful weather, but it's also very frustrating because I had about 50 different outfits to post here before I left! I have been wanting some kitty shoes for such a long time now, though I'm glad I held out for these ones because they actually fit me (unlike all the pairs I tried to squeeze my feet into while I was in Tokyo earlier this year). These ones are awesome - they are both suede and creeper-style with a slight heel, and, well, they have cat faces on them. And anything with a cat face is basically instantly fantastic. dress - c/o Sheinside belt - Vintage cardigan - Forever 21 (old) socks - c/o OASAP hat - c/o Wholesale shoes - c/o Sammydress I always wanted to design my own wedding dress, if I were to one day get married. I always thought that I'd just design the structure of the dress, but now that I'm going into molecular biology, maybe I'll be able to help make the fabric too - and own the geekiest dress ever. This dress was made out of silk from transgenic silkworms, who can produce glowing silk. Image source These glowing silkworms are created by inserting a sequence of DNA that encodes a glowing fluorescent protein into the same region of the DNA that encode the instructions for making silk proteins. So the silkworms are exactly the same as ordinary silkworms, and still make silk in the same way, except that their silk comes out glowing. The medical applications of silk are vast, and it is now commonly used in medicine and surgery. Because the body's immune system doesn't reject silk, it can be used to make artificial arteries and other tissues. But being able to work with a glowing material, that is clearly distinguishable from human flesh, could potentially make things are lot easier for surgeons! Although making a glowing dress out of the glowing silk maybe isn't as necessary an advance as making glowing arteries, it was a good way to draw attention to the research, and well, it's also pretty damn cool. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr