The Pineneedle Collective

Monday, 4 November 2013

Buns & Bikes & Biochemistry Basics (part 1)

dress - Bonne Chance Collections | shoes - c/o Yeswalker | bike - Reid Cycles

With this bike, I successfully obtained Hipster level 9000 (I subtracted 1000 points due to my lack of square black-framed glasses - with them I would obtain the status of Ultimate Hipster. Too bad). I've been riding this beautiful thing around everywhere since I got it on Thursday, as you can probably see from the many bruises now adorning my legs (I bruise extraordinarily easily and am also pretty clumsy - not the best combination for bike riding, but I don't care!)

On the weekend, I rode to some fantastic second-hand markets where I also picked up this coat:

Which was a highly inappropriate purchase considering that it was a sweltering 30 degrees, and Sydney summers never require coats, but I couldn't help myself with its sailor-esque collar and cute white buttons.

Now, let's talk genetics!

Genetics and the basics of biochemistry take a long time to wrap your head around. Much of my love of science comes from actually understanding how things work. When you read science stories, you might be like, "yay! researchers discovered the gene for disease x!" and "scientists found that too much protein y makes you develop disease z!", and while that's awesome, without a background in molecular biology, you may also be like "...okay, but what does that actually mean?"

What the heck even are cells, DNA, genes, chromosomes and proteins?

So what I'm going to do in the next few posts is attempt to explain what these terms mean. I'm assuming no prior knowledge of anything biology-related. Today I'm going to explain cells, chromosomes and DNA. Let's go!

Your body is actually composed of units called "cells". Cells are little water-filled sacks that contain useful things needed to sustain life, including DNA. Take a look at your skin. If you could zoom right in on a single cell, using microscopic eyes, you would see something like this:

This cell actually looks like it's not very healthy, as it's been burst open on the left side and all of its contents are spilling out. Also, top-layer skin cells are usually actually dead cells without any DNA in them - skin needs to be tough, so this layer of cells often sacrifice themselves to become a tough outer-layer - but let's ignore that fact for the moment. Imagine that we're looking at skins cells a few layers of skin deep.

Cells make up most of your body - your organs, your bones, your brain - it's all made up of cells. And cells are pretty tiny, around 0.00001 - 0.00005 metres long.

However, in each of your cells - except for your red blood cells - you have 2 metres of a thing called DNA that is wound up really, really tightly. Remember how teeny tiny I just said cells were? So your DNA is wound up REALLY tightly to fit 2 metres of the stuff within every cell.

When DNA is all wound up like this, it's given the name "chromosome". A chromosome is really just a long strand of DNA, that's been wound around on itself a bunch of times. You have 46 chromosomes in each of your cells - 23 of these come from your mother, and 23 from your father. Each time a cell splits into two (which is how your body grows and fixes itself), it copies each of these chromosomes, and gives equally half to each cell it divides into.

DNA has written on it all the biological instructions needed to make you. These biological instructions come in the form of different molecules (molecules are things which are made up from a few conjoined atoms - and we'll get into that later) called "bases". Bases are what DNA is made out of.

In DNA, there are four such bases, and we give each a different letter: A, T, G and C.

The way that these bases are laid out along the DNA provides DNA with a kind of "language" that the cell can read, and from that, make particular things. For example, if your cell's "reader" (called RNA Polymerase) reads the sequence ATGTCGCGGATG, they will say "Oh! Make some blood-clotting factors!" whereas CCAAGTGTGCA will tell your cell to make insulin (okay, so it's a little more complicated than that, and the sequences it reads are a lot longer, but that's the basic idea of DNA!)

Did you know that you can even extract DNA from cells and have a look at it - using household items? I wrote instructions on exactly how to do so a few months ago! Though remember - unless you have microscopic eyes, you're not going to be able to actually see those bases. To even begin to be able to do that, you'd first need an electron scanning microscope. To wrap your head around the teeny size of cells, and the size of something as small as DNA (even though you've got 2 metres of it in each cell, it's very, VERY thin!) check out this website: The Scale of the Universe.

Read part two here!

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Watermelons, Zebras and Tactile Touchscreens

dress - c/o Oasap | watermelon shirt - DIY | shoes - c/o Chicwish | socks - Thrifted

This is probably the best photo-taking wall I've found since I moved to Sydney last April. One of my favourite things while out and exploring our neighborhood is coming across bizarre public murals such as this one. As for my outfit, after putting on this shirt I decided to just go the whole way and embody a watermelon by pairing it with a red skirt and green socks.

Also, I've been asked to speak at a TEDxWomen event that's happening here in a month's time! I'm pretty crazy nervous about it, but as it is going to be about one of my favourite things - science communication - it would help me immensely if you could let me know what your favourite science post was from my blog. (You can read through all my science posts here). The talk will be posted on the internet sometime in the future, and I'll make sure to include a link to it here when it is (so long as I don't just, you know, get up and drool for 5 minutes.).

This research project (somewhat strangely) being carried out by Disney is awesome: The creation of tactile touchscreens. Disney have been attempting to develop a technology which will allow people to feel the texture and gradients of images behind a touch screen. The screen itself stays perfectly flat, but the illusion of a three-dimensional object is generated by manipulation of the friction between a finger and the screen using electrical impulses.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Twin Buns & Bionic Legs

Dress - c/o Sheinside (sold out) | Socks - c/o Oasap (sold out) | shoes - c/o Yeswalker (sold out)

Needing opinions on these twin buns - yay or nay? I really need a cute, easy hairstyle that I am happy with while my hair is growing out, otherwise I'm going to just cut it short again (it's often too hard to stop myself when it's going through this awkward growth phase).

I suppose this is also a "Halloween" kind of outfit, though I must try to remind myself to wear black lipstick more often, anyway! I think that black lipstick goes really well with red hair. What do you think?

I thought I should do a more uplifting science piece today after my horrible Halloween facts, hehe. So don't worry - if you were scared by my last post, you don't need to skim through this one today.

Last month, the first thought-controlled bionic leg was attached to Zac Vawter, after his left leg needed to be amputated following a motorbike accident. I've talked about mind control and bionic devices before in June, but what happened here was a real advance on that story. When Zac Vawter thinks "I want to move my leg", his brain, doing its normal thing, sends an electric signal from the motor cortex, down the spine, and to the peripheral nerves in his right knee, which are picked up by electrodes in the bionic leg. And he walks.

The fake leg is so clever that Zac is even able to control certain parts of it. Say, if he wants to move his ankle, the "hamstring" mechanics on his fake leg contract, but not the rest of his leg. This allows his to walk basically seamlessly, which hasn't yet been possible in prosthetic limbs. Read more here.

I hope that you're all having a gorgeous day so far,

Sunday, 27 October 2013

DIY Floral Pinafore, Zigzag Legs & What's Eating You?

Pinafore - DIY | shirt - c/o Sheinside | tights - c/o Tabbi Socks | shoes - Asos (warning!)

Remember when I showed you all this skirt about a week ago? Well I decided that I was going to turn it into a pinafore. I'm still not sure whether I like it better than the skirt, but I have plenty of fabric left so I can always make another one. I could even make a matching shirt, dress and headband and wear them all together and look like a crazy person who really, really likes floral patterns - I'm not going to do that, but just saying - I have a lot of this fabric left over.

To make this pinafore, follow my instructions for making a circle skirt here, and if you get that far, you can probably figure out how to cut out three rectangles to make into the front of a pinafore and the two straps! (I might put a DIY up here one day as well).

Now, I'm also obligated to do a little review for these zig-zag tights I'm wearing. Kindly sent to me by Tabbi Socks, they are made in Japan (by this factory; I do my reasearch now).

Firstly - oh my god they're cool. They are this gorgeous olive-green colour (I don't think the photos do them justice) and the zig zag pattern is just perfect - subtle but quirky.

Secondly, the material is very different to normal sheer tights - probably has something to do with them being over 50% cotton - because they're extremely sturdy and don't feel like they'll ever rip or get ladders in them. I love tights that last for more than two wears.

Third - they're incredibly comfy. I've been wearing them constantly the last couple of days at uni so that my legs didn't get too cold in the air conditioned buildings!

You can buy a pair here (and make sure you have a look at their other designs while you're at it - how sweet are these ones?)

Here's some horrific science facts for you guys, just because it's halloween. Enjoy :)

You have mites living on your face. They’re called Demodex folliculorum and they look

like this:

Image source

and no matter how much you wash your face, or wax or pluck your hairs, they will STILL BE THERE. Because they can live INSIDE YOUR PORES. But don’t worry, they’re harmless and natural - and just love the taste of your skin. Yum.

If you’re not already feeling uneasy, then picture your bed for a minute. Reading this in bed? Even better. Comfy, crisp clean linen sheets, and... dust mites, most likely. Dust mites that like nothing better than to mate and defecate all over your sheets and inside your mattress. But unless you’ve got asthma or are allergic to them, they won’t trouble you. Still, you might want to wash your sheets once in a while.

Ahh, barnacles. Harmless, passive sea creatures, right? Not if you’re a female rhizocephalan barnacle. Having grown up on a rock, when a male crab passes them by they’ll shoot themselves inside their bellies and inject their own cells. They’ll feed off the the crab’s food, and, when the time is right, explode their eggs out of the crab’s bellies. Not only does this make the crab sterile, but the barnacle also alters the crab’s body and brain chemistry so much that the crab now thinks that it's a female. The eggs attract a male rhizocephalan who fertilizes them, and the brainwashed crab continues to treat the eggs like its own offspring, caring for them and releasing them into the sea when the time is right, to go on an infect a whole new generation of crabs.

Image source

If you’re still not feeling squeamish, why don’t you think about the fact that 90% of

the cells in and on your body are not your own? Or even better still - for every single human gene in your body, there are 360 microbial genes. Genetically speaking, that makes you 0.27 % human. Your body plays host to an enourmous number of microbes - bacteria, yeast, viruses... but don’t worry. Most of them won’t do you any harm. In fact, you wouldn’t be here without them. They help us digest our food, they teach our immune systems to spot dangerous invaders and they also make chemicals to fight off bugs that could make us sick.

Image source

Let’s talk about anglerfish sex. *Gasp* you say, *sex isn't meant to be scary!* Well, you probably wouldn’t want to be a male anglerfish. When they’re born, male anglerfish don’t have their own digestive systems. So they need to find a female anglerfish very quickly. When they meet, the male anglerfish bites the female, makes a hole in her body and burrows inside. The male then wastes away, becoming nothing more than a lump on the female containing sperm - so when the time is right, her eggs can be fertilised, making another generation full of male anglerfish destined to a life of servitude!

What about the end of the world? One day, other catastrophic astronomical events notwithstanding, our sun is going to die in a spectacular way, taking with it the Earth and the other planets in our solar system. So not only will you die one day, but so will every trace of you, human culture and civilisation over the entire course of human history. While that's pretty macabre, keep in mind that if stars never exploded, or expanded into all-consuming red giants, we never would have existed in the first place.

And maybe there would still be some trace left of human civilization after our sun explodes. Even if humans never manage to explore and colonize other solar systems, we sent the Golden Record into space some 40 years ago and it has recently left the solar system. Maybe, one day, an alien civilization will stumble across it and spare us another thought. Well, think about the fact that someday, the entire universe is going to end. Whether it'll happen with a big freeze, big bounce, big crunch or a big rip, physicists predict that absolutely everything we know (and don't know) will eventually come to an end.

Happy Halloween!

Handmade Necklace Giveaway from FrEEna // CLOSED

I'm so very excited to bring you a giveaway from one of the stores featured in the "Ethical Fashion Directory" last month - Freena!

Made in California by Cristina, these handmade bows are crafted into gorgeous necklaces in a variety of patterns. They'd instantly make any outfit just a little bit sweeter - I can imagine wearing one paired with a smock-style dress, white tights and a boater hat!

There will be two winners! Each winner will receive a Bow Tie Necklace in a colour of their choice. Enter using the rafflecopter widget below, and when leaving a comment, remember to include your email address so I have a way of contacting you. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.s. I have another giveaway running! Go and enter if you haven't already.

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Apple Orchards & The Largest Living Thing

Dress - Bonne Chance (similar) | shoes - Asos | bag - Thrifted | brooch - gift from my friend Katie

I'm obsessed with the dresses from Bonne Chance collections. I've started checking the site every few days, which basically is just a really bad idea because it's made me buy all of these dresses from them. Well, I've only bought 3 (so far) but ohhhh boy, I want them all. If someone could design a store just for me then this would be it. Cute/kitsch prints, vintage fits, flared skirts and pretty collars are a feature of all of their dresses. This particular one that I'm wearing was called the "Apple Orchard" dress, so I thought that this brooch of a cute little apple-picker in red gumboots went perfectly with it!

Now a note about these shoes. I was dumb and ordered something off Asos *sigh* because my last pair of black flats were worn out, and I couldn't find anything else that was just simple, cute and comfy and didn't have a heel. And they were on sale. Well, guess what happened - they broke basically as soon as I wore them. They zip up at the back (so that you don't have to undo and redo all those buckles each time you wear them), and on the left shoe the zip keeps coming apart. It happens about 5 minutes into wearing them, and although it can be fixed... it breaks again and again, making them very frustrating to wear. I'm trying to think of a way to fix them - maybe I'll just have to sew the zip up to keep it closed! But it just goes to show that these things aren't made to last.

Even though I'm not a superstitious person in the slightest, I'm putting this all down to karma. I strayed from my decision to make more ethical shopping choices, and I was taught a lesson. Fair point, universe, fair point.

Have you ever thought that the largest living thing on Earth was the Blue Whale? This video might just make you change your mind, as well as changing your ideas about what a "living thing" actually means.

Video is by Henry from Minute Earth (who I met in August, woo!)

I hope you've all had a great day so far!