IMC

           When you see this, what do you think it is? The spring of a mattress? Chains? Threads? Well.. they're all good guesses but are all incorrect! portable microscope portable microscope It turns out, these are nylon polymers connected to create stockings!!! Believe it or not, nylon comes from petroleum, just like how asphalt also comes from it. It is not only sturdy but also flexible!        The "chain" like nylon polymers are actually extremely flexible despite its appearance! When I stretched it, I observed the polymers bending to oval-like shapes!     A little background history: The nylon stockings were created in 1939 and were also used in World War II for manufacturing tents and parachutes! The stockings were also big in popularity during the mid-twentieth century. The Polyamide is actually very thermal and chemical resistant.   Personally, I wonder whether this polymer could return to benefit the world

Hello everyone! On our last meeting, we were able to view lipstick under the microscope and find a numerous amount of heavy metal existing such as lead, beryllium, and more! It allowed me to realize how this can be deadly, especially if someone put on lipstick multiple times a day! The club is going to create a petition to the companies regarding a change in the ingredients a lipstick is made up! Come join!  

For all of you who wear lipstick for makeup, this may not be the brightest news to listen to as the post will talk about what lipstick consists of. See those colorful spots on the lipstick smudge? Well it turns out . . . those are different types of metals! The FDA released a study in 2009 which showed lead in every lipstick sample that was tested! The metals include lead (as stated above), beryllium, thallium, and more! According to the University of California, women put on lipstick from two to fourteen times a day, meaning a significant amount of possible lipstick ingestion! Perhaps in the future, lipsticks should be created with less harmful substances that would also substitute the large amount of metals found in lipstick. For example, Cleopatra of ancient Egypt was said to create lipstick by crushing bugs to obtain the red color!

IMC   Report :   Sep 29, 2017 club meeting Observation of Mono Lake water                                                                                 IMC/ Kyu Been Lee       An overall summary of my experience with Mono Lake water Over the summer, I took a trip up to Mammoth L ake s and encountered something I've never seen before:  a salty lake!!! The lake is called Mono Lake and the reason for its saltiness is because there is no place for water to leave the lake: mountains flow water down to the lake but since the only way for the water to leave is by evaporation, it is saline. Some fun facts: The lake is covered in brine shrimp, attracting A LOT of bird to the shore line! The lake is also nicknamed as the lake that is "saltier than the sea"! If you've seen my posts about drying lubricant tear drops and baking sodas, then this must seem a bit familiar to you. I also dried some of the Mono Lake water I collected and sure enough, they show

Hello everyone! This is your IMC president Kyu Been! For our first club meeting this school year, we were able to view dried Mono lake water! 40X illuminator When I went up to mammoth lake, I stopped by Mono lake to view one of the largest lakes up there.  One thing I realized about the lake was how basic it was as compared to regular tap or freshwater (having a pH of 9.8). 40X During our club meeting, we viewed the dried mono lake water under the microscope, which had a similar image to dried baking soda and lubricant tears likely because mono lake is said to be "saltier than the sea" since it is like having baking soda and table salt mixed together in the water. The reason for the saltiness is because the water in the lake cannot leave the area unless through evaporation. When water evaporates, the minerals are continuously left behind, causing an excess of mineral particles and salts.  The towers you see in the picture are actually tufa towers. At the

Hello everyone! Thank you for joining the club dedicated to microscopes! On this website, the slides we've seen at the meetings will be posted so we could continuously keep track of everything seen. If there are any questions regarding the blog or club in general, feel free to comment down below!   Thanks again everyone!   Kyu Been    

Before you scroll down, try commenting on what you think this is (hint: it is something many consume as their diet)! Have you guessed it yet? It's rice!!! Some time ago, I began growing rice for about four months in a plastic container to view the         growth process and investigate how the grains turned out to look! (Comment down below on whether you eat rice on a daily basis at home!) Believe it or not, the bumpy outer layer you see in the first picture is where all the nutrients are located! I know we all favor white rice (at least I know I do because they taste so good) but just remember next time you eat it that they contain almost nothing beneficial for your body (white rice is merely refined starch while brown rice contains magnesium, phosphorus, fibers, and much more!). At around the end of the 4 months, I was surprised to see so many grains of rice produced just from a single grain I planted (so remember, if you ever want to save some money b

I know when the word "keratin" is heard, the general assumption that automatically pops up is our outer skin layer. But keratin is also what creates our toe/finger nails!  Keratin covers our nail bed which contains glands and capillaries (a delicate area) and grows from our proximal end. But don't let it grow too much or else you might have the talons of an eagle!

I know I made a few posts about probiotics now but I can see there are more facts about these symbiotic bacteria which I do not know of. If there are any other facts you know about probiotics (or by searching them up), comment about it below!! Thank you!

Photo taken by: Melody Mehryan Video by: Eric Chung

  Ever wonder why during the winter it is preferred to wear jackets and clothing made of fur?   While in the first picture the single strand of rabbit hair may seem to be merely a piece of thread having no significance to why people tend to wear it for warmth, it is in truth a very hollow piece of fur. As seen in these pictures, the fur actually has large pockets of empty space inside. The reason for so many air pockets is because the heat that is emitted by the organism would be stored in the pockets, further insulating/preserving heat. This is shown in duck down and other types of fur animals.

Hello IMC members! Thanks for always dropping by to the club meetings and showing your fascination towards the microverse! I hope we'll be able to continue doing so as we approach more nerve racking exams and the end of the school year! Take care! -KyuBeen 

  It's been sitting on the window still for months... It's been helping us by collecting dust... It is.. a fly!!!   If you're wondering what the white particles surrounding the fly's face are.. they're the dust which has gathered over the days. The fly's nose area was actually pressed between the window frames which is also why it gives a slightly humanistic face.

         

    Who am I?                                Mosquito!!!    Add caption        

1000X potato's white mold 40X potato's white mold 400X potato's white mold