science

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• Kate Nichols: Color By Nano
  Artist Kate Nichols longed to paint with the iridescent colors of butterfly wings, but no such pigments existed. So she became the first artist-in-residence at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to synthesize nanoparticles and incorporate them into her artwork. From the laboratory to the studio, see how Kate uses the phenomenon known as "structural color" to transform nanotechnology into creativity.
• Radio: Fish Use Polarized Light to Disappear
  Scientists discover how some fish make a cloaking effect to avoid predators. Find out more in this radio segment by https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/quirks-quarks-for-nov-21-2015-1.3328206/fish-use-polarized-light-to-disappear-1.3328358
• Science Snack: Rotating Light
  White light is made up of all the colors in the rainbow. When polarized white light passes through a sugar solution, each color’s direction of polarization is changed by a different amount. The colors change as the depth of the solution changes or as the polarizing filter is rotated. Try it yourself in this activity from the Exploratorium. https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/rotating-light
• Video: Conservation and Restoration Ecology: Crash Course Ecology #12
  Hank wraps up the Crash Course on ecology by taking a look at the growing fields of conservation biology and restoration ecology, which use all the kung fu moves we've learned about in the past eleven weeks and apply them to protecting ecosystems and to cleaning up the messes that we've already made.
• Video: What is Biomimicry?
  Biomimicry Is Innovation Inspired By Nature. Learn more in this video by Fast Company that speaks to Janine Benyus founder of the Biomimicry Institute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBUpnG1G4yQ
• Video: Why is biodiversity so important? - Kim Preshoff
  Our planet’s diverse, thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they’re actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change? Kim Preshoff details the answer is biodiversity in this TEDed video.
• Activity: Twisting light
  How does a third polarizer make light pass through crossed polarizers? Find out in this activity from Cienascao. https://www.sciensation.org/hands-on_experiments/e5087p_twistingLight.html
• Article: Butterfly wings inspire a better way to absorb light in solar panels
  The wings of a butterfly have inspired a new type of solar cell that can harvest light twice as efficiently as before and could one day improve our solar panels.
• Article: Desert Bees Have a Secret: How to Survive a Decade of Drought
  Bees are most diverse in arid places. Will their strategies hold up in a changing climate — and can we learn enough about them before it’s too late? Find out how desert scientists are researching Southwest bees in this article.
• Article: Monitoring Solitary Bees Using Open Technology
  “Bees in the Backyard” is a citizen science technology project to investigate the nesting behavior of Mason bees, by Mike Teachman, amateur bee enthusiast and Paul Perrault senior field applications engineer.
• Bats Use Polarized Light To Set Internal Compasses
  Although bats are known for using echolocation to orient and navigate, they draw on a suite of senses to get around. A new study reveals another ability: Bats use patterns of polarized light in the sky to navigate.
• Citizen Science Resource: SciStarter- Science we can do together
  This site has citizen science projects from around the world with a diversity of topics. As we face global challenges, we may want to find local ways to make a difference in protecting endangered species, safeguarding water sources, preventing disease, or accelerating medical research. Science needs more eyes, ears and perspectives than any scientist possesses. Enter citizen science: a collaboration between scientists and those of us who are just curious or concerned and motivated to make a difference.
• Lesson: Polarization
  You may not be aware of it, but polarized light is all around you. Generally speaking, the human visual system is not particularly adept at perceiving polarized light. While some animals, bees in particular, are quite sensitive to polarized light, humans usually find it difficult to detect it with the unaided eye.  Find out more from this lesson on Polarization from Arbor Scientific.
• Video: Citizen science - in researching biodiversity
  Citizen science is a relatively new way of knowledge co-creation, where professional scientists and enthusiastic citizens collaboratively search for answers. While it certainly presents challenges, it also provides a great opportunity for both parties to engage science and nature together, and ultimately, can result in transformative societal changes. This video showcases the different levels of participation available, and the advantages of, citizen science by illustrating it with a compelling and intimate visual journey through the seas to the backyard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4xdKenrlJ4
• Video: David Dunn- Sonic weapon successful in bark beetle battle
  Forest scientists at Northern Arizona University, desperate to stop the massive devastation from bark beetle infestation, have recruited a powerful and unconventional force to fight this fierce little bug—Santa Fe musician and composer David Dunn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2YMw7Lx3Fo&feature=share
• Video: Electric Buzzaloo: How Bees See the Invisible
  Bees are amazing social insects, and their relationship with flowers is one of nature's coolest examples of "mutualism". It got me wondering: How do bees see the world? Enjoy this look at how bees see in ultraviolet and even sense electric fields!
• Video: Hear My Nectar: Dish-Shaped Leaves Attract Pollinating Bats
  Scientist Ralph Simon explains how a dish-shaped leaf attracts bat pollinators.
• Video: Linear Parabolic Solar Reflectors- A Practical Experiment for Students
  The BioSTEAM artist, Ana MacArthur, chose a parabolic shape for the site specific installation, Pollinator Concentrator. In this practical activity/experiment, learn about parabolas, make a parabolic solar reflector, and then investigate its ability to focus sunlight.
• Video: Native bee discoveries abound in Taos
  Bee Scientist Olivia Messinger Carril is creating the first major survey of native bees in Northern New Mexico. Based in Santa Fe, Carril frequents the high-desert environments in Taos to collect and identify native bees.
• Video: Soundscape ecology
  Soundscape ecology is a growing field of research that uses sound to track how ecosystems change over time. Bryan Pijanowski and Matt Harris work with a team of researchers to collect hours of sound at locations from the Alaskan tundra to a rainforest in Borneo. By analyzing the recordings they can reveal changes in each ecosystem that we might not otherwise be able to see.
• Video: The Innovators Using Nature's Design Principles for Green Tech
  Janine Benyus is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In this video Benyus explains the practice of biomimicry and what can be learned from the genius of nature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WjBvFwQpYU
• Video: The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps.
  Biomimicry-the design movement pioneered by biologist and writer Janine Benyus. She's a co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit encouraging creators to discover how big challenges in design, engineering, and sustainability have often already been solved through 3.8 billion years of evolution on earth. See real world application in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMtXqTmfta0
• Video: Tour of the Electro-Magnetic Spectrum - Introduction
  Find out about the science and applications of the electro magnetic spectrum in this NASA Science video.
• Video: What happens to bees during a solar eclipse?
  What happens to bees during a solar eclipse? Citizen scientists found out. See what they observed in this Australian Academy of Science video.
• Video: What Is Echolocation? | Earth Unplugged
  Echolocation allows animals to build up an understanding of their surroundings but how does it work? Find out the science of echolocation in the BBC Unplugged video.