Thursday, May 30, 2013

Lung Surfactant Looks like Trendy Textile



This image may resemble a trendy textile from a fashion designer's spring collection, but it's actually a microscopic image of lung surfactant, a lipid-protein material that aids in respiration by reducing the amount of energy needed. Using microscopy techniques, the researchers captured a snapshot of the changes that occur (black) when surfactant molecules are stressed by carbon nanoparticles. The scientists found that if inhaled, carbon nanoparticles could influence the function of the main lipid component of surfactant. A likely gateway for nanoparticles to enter the body is through the lungs, so this and future studies may help scientists improve drug delivery methods. 

Credit: Featured in March 21, 2013 issue of Biomedical Beat, an online source made available through the National Library of Medicine.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Do Not Resuscitate

ATC's for May 18, 2013: Art-4-Art Trading Session, Lyons Depot Library: A series of 16.

I used round, flat turquoise beads attached with copper wire to a handmade paper splotch and splice of water color paper with Daniel Smith Rhodonite Genuine, all attached to a background of Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold on Canson 140 Watercolor paper. All edges were tipped with a Krylon 18 kt. gold leafing pen. The back of each card was initialed, dated, numbered, and titled, "Do Not Resuscitate."