I don't always read trade magazines, but when I do, I like to find the weirdest parts:
A) From September 2012's CEP (Chemical Engineering Progress) magazine, a description of why pruny fingers prune!: "water-logged fingertips develop wrinkles because of a mismatch between the physical properties of the outer epidermis layer and those of the inner dermis layer, which are tightly bonded to one another. When soaked in water, the epidermis, which is more porous than the underlying dermis, absorbs water and swells. Because these two layers are bonded together, the only way to accommodate the extra surface area is for the epidermis to buckle, forming wrinkles."
B) From October 2012's TCE (The Chemical Engineer), a terribly snarky british publication I got for free at AAAR last year, a totally sick engineering burn: "if found guilty of gross negligence, BP's civil damages under the Clean Water Act could quadruple to US$21bn. Government lawyers cited several examples of 'behaviour, words, and actions of these BP executives that would not be tolerated in a middling size company manufacturing dry goods for sale in a suburban mall.'" Dry goods in a suburban mall! oh snap!
These guys also have a runner up in weird via their grade-A bizarre/awesomely-titled "Shrimp hydrogel slows banana ripening" article, detailing how "a hydrogel made from PVA and chitosan, a polysaccharide derived from chitin, the principal component of the shells of shrimps, crabs, and lobsters" was made into "a spray-on coating for bananas which slows down the ripening process and extends their shelf life." Bonus, "it naturally inhibits the growth of the bacteria which causes the banana to rot"! I don't know whether to be grossed out or super impressed. We truly live in the future, no?
The shrimp-banana pairing seems like something that could be a science joke, if I had the brain for it. Since I don't, enjoy http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2012/dec/03/comedy-mathematics instead.
A) From September 2012's CEP (Chemical Engineering Progress) magazine, a description of why pruny fingers prune!: "water-logged fingertips develop wrinkles because of a mismatch between the physical properties of the outer epidermis layer and those of the inner dermis layer, which are tightly bonded to one another. When soaked in water, the epidermis, which is more porous than the underlying dermis, absorbs water and swells. Because these two layers are bonded together, the only way to accommodate the extra surface area is for the epidermis to buckle, forming wrinkles."
B) From October 2012's TCE (The Chemical Engineer), a terribly snarky british publication I got for free at AAAR last year, a totally sick engineering burn: "if found guilty of gross negligence, BP's civil damages under the Clean Water Act could quadruple to US$21bn. Government lawyers cited several examples of 'behaviour, words, and actions of these BP executives that would not be tolerated in a middling size company manufacturing dry goods for sale in a suburban mall.'" Dry goods in a suburban mall! oh snap!
These guys also have a runner up in weird via their grade-A bizarre/awesomely-titled "Shrimp hydrogel slows banana ripening" article, detailing how "a hydrogel made from PVA and chitosan, a polysaccharide derived from chitin, the principal component of the shells of shrimps, crabs, and lobsters" was made into "a spray-on coating for bananas which slows down the ripening process and extends their shelf life." Bonus, "it naturally inhibits the growth of the bacteria which causes the banana to rot"! I don't know whether to be grossed out or super impressed. We truly live in the future, no?
The shrimp-banana pairing seems like something that could be a science joke, if I had the brain for it. Since I don't, enjoy http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2012/dec/03/comedy-mathematics instead.
@james_randerson @guardiansciblog you know what gets on my nerves? Myelin
— Dean Burnett (@garwboy) November 30, 2012
