Walking Thoughts

  Today is the anniversary of the day NASA lost a $125 million spacecraft to a unit conversion. Mars Climate Orbiter disappeared because one engineering team worked in imperial units while another worked in metric. Somewhere, Dr Foy is still saying:  “Units and dimensions, class…” Dr Foy was my physics teacher and, as a child, my role model. Elegant, brilliant and prone to regaling us with stories from her PhD days. I went on to study physics at university, before evolving into a chemical engineer via biochemistry and, eventually, a PhD of my own. (See what I did there? No? Never mind. It amused me.) The right role model can change the trajectory of a student. A great mentor can do the same for someone at the beginning of their career. And apparently, some lessons have a remarkably long shelf life. Units matter. Those who have worked for me or been unfortunate enough to be mentored by me will scarcely believe I’m  still  banging on about this. But I see it constantly...

  Insulin was discovered in  Toronto  in 1921  because a unique mix of an intuitive surgeon's specific hypothesis, a well-equipped university physiology laboratory, and an ethical decision to share the patent made the breakthrough possible. [ 1 ,  2 ] Why Toronto in 1921? The Right Idea:  Canadian surgeon  Frederick Banting  had a sudden insight in late 1920  that tying off pancreatic ducts would destroy digestive enzymes before they broke down the internal secretion needed to control blood sugar.  [ 1 ,  2 ,  3 ] The Right Institutional Support:   Banting  took his idea to  John J. R. Macleod , a leading professor of physiology at the  University of Toronto .  Macleod  provided  Banting  with a proper laboratory, experimental dogs, and medical student  Charles Best  as an assistant for the summer of 1921 .  [ 1 ,  2 ,  3 ] Biochemical Expertise:  When...

 Yesterday, I attended a fascinating webinar on powder dispersion. I had originally been rejected for attending the webinar, which was a new experience. But my interest in the subject is genuine, withpowdered zero valent iron taking centre stage during my PhD research.  Dr. Jacob provided an expert view Of the physical characteristics of different powders, Including two of my favourites  - metals and activated carbon. These are very different physical properties, including their relative densities and absorption capabilities. For me powdered zero iron acted as an electron donor in a redox remediation of contaminated waste water. And my previous love activated carbon is applied in drinking water Treatment to add sob organics and so treating taste. Other factors that Dr Jacob covered with the health and safety factors and physical losses. Well, thanks to Dr Jacob for a fascinating webinar. Let me know when you have turned a rejection around to end in a positive result?

  Scientists just discovered that peptides in axolotl mucus kills breast cancer cells naturally, without harming healthy tissue. And it also destroys drug-resistant MRSA bacteria Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study reveals that specific antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) extracted from the axolotl's protective slime successfully destroyed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).  Even more remarkably, three of these peptides selectively triggered programmed cell death in breast cancer cells while completely sparing healthy breast tissue, offering an incredibly precise new pathway for targeted therapies. By gently massaging captive-bred axolotls to collect their mucus, scientists identified and synthesized 22 potential peptide candidates, finding that their unique chemical structures allow them to puncture bacterial cell walls and disrupt oncogenes in cancer cells. This natural defense mechanism is significantly harder for pathogens to develop resistance against ...

 Bizarre conversations I have with others. It seems that there are some that do not use their food waste caddy. They say they never throw food away. Who does? As I Scrape rice and crumbs from the kitchen sink catcher that lies in the plug hole to stop little tiny bits from getting into the sewage system. As I clean the kitchen washing up bowl and place stray pieces of rice, a dropped blueberry into the kitchen waste food caddy. I ponder on people who don’t have any food waste. Where are the crumbs off the table? Where are the crumbs from food packets? Breadcrumbs fallen from frozen food? Stale cornflakes from the bottom of boxes. The paper-like peel from bulbs of garlic? Are they truly people who have none of these? And if so, how? Food waste isn’t actual food- no one is throwing actual edible food away. Food caddies are collecting scraps that cumulatively between us Otherwise contribute food to landfill, Where it makes methane. Methane is 28 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas...

  Bugger it’s September - who knew? How did that happen? Yesterday I had a whole day to myself. Well most of it give or take 30 miles of mum taxi ing in my least favourite driving conditions, the ones I dread. It was the perfect opportunity to tidy up, get jobs done, declutter and sort (I should do a vlog or have a tik tok channel). At one point It occurred to me that I no longer need kitchen cupboards. As cups bowls, spoons, glasses and plates oscillate directly between dishwasher and teenage bedroom, and 4 cupboards are dedicated to medical care, as is all other storage space I can improvise - and a large portion of the dining table. Very little is left for food storage. Gone are the days of baking, although the lack of a working oven has not helped - but is possibly also why I never fixed it. Now, my priorities are elsewhere. To make space, and organise (you’d never get Stacey doing this version) I hauled everything out of the medical cupboards and sorted by date with older stuf...