Category: Deep Dive
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🌹 Rhodanide: The Rose of Revelation
The name rhodanide (from Greek rhodon, meaning rose) was inspired by the striking blood-red color that forms when SCN⁻ (thiocyanate) complexes with iron(III). Let’s walk through the full lattice — chemically, historically, and symbolically. 🌹 Rhodanide: The Rose of Coordination Chemistry 🧪 Chemical Basis 🧬 Historical Timeline: 1860s–1910s Year Milestone Notes 1826 Berzelius reports intense…
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Marx SO, Reiken S, Hisamatsu Y, Gaburjakova M, Gaburjakova J, Yang YM, Rosemblit N, Marks AR. Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of ryanodine receptors: a novel role for leucine/isoleucine zippers. J Cell Biol. 2001 May 14;153(4):699-708. doi: 10.1083/jcb.153.4.699. PMID: 11352932; PMCID: PMC2192391.
Abstract Ryanodine receptors (RyRs), intracellular calcium release channels required for cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction, are macromolecular complexes that include kinases and phosphatases. Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation plays a key role in regulating the function of many ion channels, including RyRs. However, the mechanism by which kinases and phosphatases are targeted to ion channels is not well understood.…
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p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is a derivative of aniline used in kevlar, hair dye and henna substitutions among other things, the derivatives of which are used in antiozonants among other horrors
p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(NH2)2. This derivative of aniline is a white solid, but samples can darken due to air oxidation.It is mainly used as a component of engineering polymers and composites like kevlar. It is also an ingredient in hair dyes and is occasionally used as a substitute for henna. Production PPD is produced via three routes. Most commonly, 4-nitrochlorobenzene is treated…
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Cyanamide notes (it was a polio vaccine that spurred these notes and by now polio has five mentions on the page and these are two of them)
I’m going to add some polio vaccine stuff at the top of these notes. Hilary Koprowski is the one mentioned on the Polio Hall of Fame page who was not included in the hideous monument, see What In God’s Name, even though he (and his work) have direct connection to those who are included. He…
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Langgan 琅玕 is the ancient Chinese name of a gemstone which remains an enigma in the history of mineralogy; it has been identified, variously, as blue-green malachite, blue coral, white coral, whitish chalcedony, red spinel, and red jade
It is also the name of a mythological langgan tree of immortality found in the western paradise of Kunlun Mountain, and the name of the classic waidan alchemical elixir of immortality langgan huadan 琅玕華丹 “Elixir Efflorescence of Langgan”. Waidan, translated as ‘external alchemy‘ or ‘external elixir‘, is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances…
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Adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA deficiency) was discovered in 1972 and recognized as the first immunodeficiency disorder
Adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA deficiency) is a metabolic disorder that causes immunodeficiency. It is caused by mutations in the ADA gene. It accounts for about 10–15% of all cases of autosomal recessive forms of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) among non-inbred populations. ADA deficiency can present in infancy, childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Age of onset and severity is related to some 29 known genotypes associated with the disorder. It occurs…
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Pistacia terebinthus aka the terebinth and the turpentine tree
Pistacia terebinthus also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous tree species of the genus Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and southeastern Turkey. At one time terebinths growing on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea (in Syria, Lebanon and Israel) were regarded as a separate species, Pistacia palaestina, but these are now considered to be a synonym of P. terebinthus. Description The terebinth is a deciduous flowering…
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The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch
The Garden of Earthly Delights is the modern title[a] given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. It has been housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain since 1939. Bosch painted three large triptychs (the others are The Last Judgment of c. 1482 and The Haywain Triptych of c. 1516) that can be read…
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The lactating birds and the bees (gastrin, pepsin, etc)
Crop milk is a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that is regurgitated to young birds. It is found among all pigeons and doves where it is referred to as pigeon milk. An analog to crop milk is also secreted from the esophagus of flamingos and the male emperor penguin. Description Crop milk bears little physical resemblance to mammalian milk. Crop milk is a…
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The Ant and the Caterpillar
As an Ant of his talents superiorly vain,Was trotting with consequence over the plain;A Worm, in his progress remarkably slow,Cry’d ‘Bless your good worship, wherever you go!‘I hope your great mightiness won’t take it ill,‘I pay my respects from an hearty good will.’With a look of contempt and ineffable pride,‘Begone! you vile reptile, his Antship…
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Daedalus (Greek mythology)
In Greek mythology, Daedalus (Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: Daedalus; Etruscan: Taitale) was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, and possibly also the father of Iapyx. Among his most famous creations are the wooden cow for Pasiphaë, the Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete which imprisoned the Minotaur, and wings that he and his son Icarus used…
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Red Horn (Hešucka) aka He Who Wears (Man) Faces on His Ears and Big Boy…and Werebirds
Red Horn is a culture hero in Siouan oral traditions, specifically of the Ioway and Hocąk (Winnebago) nations. He has different names. Only in Hocąk literature is he known as “Red Horn” (Hešucka), but among the Ioway and Hocągara both, he is known by one of his variant names, “He Who Wears (Man) Faces on His Ears”. This name derives from the living faces on…
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Gorget patches are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform…just about everywhere
Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group of ranks), the rank of civil service, the military unit, the office (department) or the branch of the armed forces and the arm of…
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Long-nosed god maskettes are artifacts made from bone, copper and marine shells
Long-nosed god maskettes are artifacts made from bone, copper and marine shells (Lightning whelk) associated with the Mississippian culture (800 to 1600 CE) and found in archaeological sites in the Midwestern United States and the Southeastern United States. They are small shield-shaped faces with squared-off foreheads, circular eyes, and large noses of various lengths. They are often shown on Southeastern Ceremonial Complex representations of falcon impersonators as ear ornaments. Long…
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Erwin Gohrbandt, one of the first surgeons to perform sex reassignment surgery and vice president of the Berlin regional association of the German Red Cross
Erwin Gohrbandt (1890 – 1965) was a German surgeon and university teacher. He was one of the first surgeons to perform sex reassignment surgery. Gohrbandt served as vice president of the Berlin regional association of the German Red Cross. He was also a member of the German Olympic Society. In 1950-51 he was chairman of the Berlin Surgical Society.…
