Improbable Research

The Photoshop Disasters blog noted the strange optical properties of the water in this photo said to be taken in the Galapagos Islands. The water shows reflections of the cliffs but not of the boat that floats between the cliffs and the observer. Click on the image to see a larger version, and a discussion thereof.

Global demand for organic produce is increasing by billions of dollars annually. But that pertains to human consumption. What about granivorous birds? Do they prefer organic over conventional wheat? Ailsa J. McKenzie and Mark J. Whittingham of Newcastle University addressed this question and found that:

” [ … ] captive birds in the laboratory and wild garden birds both consumed more conventional than organic wheat when given free choice.”

This study, outlined in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, was received critically by those in favor of organic farming.

Lime

“Burns due to lime, although well reported as a result of occupational exposure, are uncommon in the sports arena.”

However, researchers from Morriston Hospital, Swansea, in Wales, do report at least one such case. A lime-induced chemical burn, severe enough to require minor surgery in a football goalkeeper. (Note: Lime as in calcium oxide, not the fruit – though raw lime juice can also induce mild burn-like reactions in sensitive individuals who are exposed to strong sunlight.)

Our relationship with cooked cereal owes much to Louis J Lee, of Rochester, New York. Thanks to him, we no longer need chew the stuff as much as before. Lee solved a problem he described in 1963 in a patent document:

“[cooked cereals] tend to become pasty on cooking and to lose particle texture and flavour on prolonged heating … In many commercial eating establishments, particularly in cafeterias, it is customary to cook up a large batch of a cooked cereal … After several hours on a steam table it is not unusual for cooked cereal to become a congealed, gelatinous mass. As a result, the batch is unappetising and usually is dumped into a garbage can without further ado.” …

So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.

The May 27, 2010 issue of the journal Nature features two papers about magic aspects of the element tin (symbol Sn):

“The magic nature of 132Sn explored through the single-particle states of 133Sn“. The authors explain that “Atomic nuclei have a shell structure that allows for ‘magic numbers‘ of neutrons and protons, analogous to the noble gases in atomic physics.”

“Nuclear physics: Doubly magic tin”

(Thanks to investigator Ian Davis for bringing this to our attention.)