The Inner Life of The Cell: Protein Packing

Src: XVivo.net

Harvard University and XVIVO come together again to add to the growing series of scientific animations for BioVisions -- Harvard's multimedia lab in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. 'Protein Packing' strives to more accurately depict the molecular chaos in each and every cell, with proteins jittering around in what may seem like random motion. Proteins occupy roughly 40% of the cytoplasm, creating an environment that risks unintentional interaction and aggregation. Via diffusion and motor protein transport, these molecules are directed to sites where they are needed.

View the first two of this 3D animation series, The Inner Life of the Cell, and Powering the Cell: Mitochondria, on our website.

ORIGINAL: XVivo BioVisions

NASA Animation Shows Mount Etna "Breathing"

Photo credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

A “breathing” volcano sounds like something out of an ancient myth, but this animation of Mount Etna is very much the real deal

The incredible visualization from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows how the ground surrounding the volcano pulses and morphs as a result of changes in the volume of a shallow chamber about 5 kilometers (3 miles) below sea level.

The data from the animation was picked up by radar interferometry on the European Space Agency's ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites. This technique is so sensitive, it can detect ground deformation within 2.8 centimeters (1.1 inches). 

Mount Etna, located on the island of Sicily, is one of Europe’s tallest active volcanoes at over 3,350 meters (10,990 feet). While on the whole its activity is fairly contained, it’s not without its temper tantrums. For example, in 1928 a particularly heavy flow of lava led to the near-total destruction of a town called Mascali.

The colored bar in the upper left corner of the video details how much the ground is falling in centimeters. Keep your eyes peeled for the red and yellow notches in the bottom right bar too. Each of these signify a volcanic eruption, with moderate eruption activity shown in yellow and strong ones shown in red.

ORIGINAL: IFLS

by Tom Hale

May 15, 2016

Newton's 3 Laws, with a bicycle - Joshua Manley

ORIGINAL: TED-Ed

Additional Resources for you to Explore

It is helpful when describing forces acting on an object to label their direction. Since forces have both Magnitude (Size) and direction, they are said to be vector quantities. Vectors are represented by arrows and can be added if they face in the same direction or subtracted if they are in the opposite directions. Vector diagrams are pictures which include vector arrows to represent all of the forces which act on a single object.

Draw a vector diagram of a bicycle being pedaled and label all of the forces which act on it. If you are unsure about all of the forces that act, search google to help you figure out which forces act and then label them with arrows in your diagram.

Bicycle with thick tires, like mountain bikes, tend to go slower than bicycles with thin tires, like road bikes, when you apply the same amount of force, even if the bicycles are the same weight. This is due to the frictional force between the road and the tire.

According the the conservation of energy theory, energy cannot be created or destroyed. However, since the bicycle with smaller tires is traveling faster than the bicycle with the larger tires, it has more kinetic energy (the energy of movement). Where does this excess energy go? 

Watch full lesson here: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/joshua-manley-newton-s-3-laws-with-a-bicycle

Why would it be hard to pedal a 10,000 pound bicycle? This simple explanation shows how Newton's 3 laws of motion might help you ride your bike.