Tag: Silk
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Magical Mantis Mojo
Hold onto your ootheca, folks, because we’re about to dive deep into the wild world of Sang Piao Xiao! đđ„đŹ Imagine you’re an ancient Chinese healer, strolling through a mulberry grove, when suddenly you spot a peculiar foam-like structure clinging to a branch. “Eureka!” you exclaim (in ancient Chinese, of course). “This mantis egg case…
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Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects
Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects, such as the larvae of Bombyx mori, and other moth genera such as Antheraea, Cricula, Samia and Gonometa. Silk in its raw state consists of two main proteins, sericin and fibroin, with a glue-like layer of sericin coating two singular filaments of fibroin called brins. BRIN AND BAVE (BRIN) One of the radiating sticks of a fan.…
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Sericin is a protein created by Bombyx mori (silkworms) in the production of silk
Silk is a fibre produced by the silkworm in production of its cocoon. It consists mainly of two proteins, fibroin and sericin. Silk consists of 70â80% fibroin and 20â30% sericin; fibroin being the structural center of the silk, and sericin being the gum coating the fibres and allowing them to stick to each other. Structure Sericin is composed…
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Serine
Serine (symbol Ser or S) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated âNH+3 form under biological conditions), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated âCOOâ form under biological conditions), and a side chain consisting of a hydroxymethyl group, classifying it as a polar amino acid. It can be synthesized in the human body under normal physiological circumstances, making…
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Goldfinch in art
The bird that repeatedly, almost obsessively, turns up in Renaissance religious painting is the European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis, almost always in the hands of the Infant Jesus, and symbolising variously the soul, resurrection, sacrifice and death, but with a particular further dimension of meaning, following the plagues of the fourteenth century, as an augur (and hence…
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Sanxingdui (‘Three Star Mound’)
Sanxingdui (Chinese: äžæć ; pinyin: SÄnxÄ«ngduÄ«; lit. ‘Three Star Mound‘) is an archaeological site and a major Bronze Age culture in modern Guanghan, Sichuan, China. Largely discovered in 1986, following a preliminary finding in 1927, archaeologists excavated artifacts that radiocarbon dating placed in the twelfthâeleventh centuries BC. The archaeological site is the type site for the Sanxingdui culture that produced these artifacts, archeologists have identified the locale with the ancient kingdom of Shu. The artifacts are displayed in the Sanxingdui Museum located…
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Jade burial suit
A jade burial suit (Chinese: çèĄŁ; pinyin: yĂč yÄ«; lit. ‘jade clothing’) is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade in which royal members in Han dynasty China were buried. Construction Of the jade suits that have been found, the pieces of jade are mostly square or rectangular in shape, though triangular, trapezoid and rhomboid plaques have also been found. Plaques are often joined by means of…
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Polish Cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica)
Polish cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica), also known as Polish carmine scales, is a scale insect formerly used to produce a crimson dye of the same name, colloquially known as “Saint John’s blood”. The larvae of P. polonica are sessile parasites living on the roots of various herbsâespecially those of the perennial knawelâgrowing on the sandy soils of Central Europe and other parts of Eurasia. Before the development of aniline, alizarin, and other synthetic dyes, the insect was…
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Kermes is a red dye
Kermes is a red dye derived from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect in the genus Kermes, primarily Kermes vermilioThe Kermes insects are native in the Mediterranean region and are parasites living on the sap of the host plant, the Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) and the Palestine oak (Quercus calliprinos). These insects were used as a red dye since antiquity by the…
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Rosolio (from around the internets)
Rosolio is a type of Italian liqueur made from a base of alcohol, sugar, and water in the same proportion, which is flavored by adding an essence of any of various types. Despite a common misconception based on the name, rosolio has no direct connection with roses or rose petals. (Rose essence is, however, one option for addition to the base; other options…
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What Is Nitrophenol? (besides something mentioned in âScientific Opinion on the reâevaluation of aspartame as a food additiveâ)
Nitrophenols are compounds of the formula HOC6H5âx(NO2)x. The conjugate bases are called nitrophenolates. Nitrophenols are more acidic than phenol itself. Wikipedia Mono-nitrophenols with the formula HOC6H4NO2. Three isomeric nitrophenols exist: o-Nitrophenol (2-nitrophenol; OH and NO2 groups are neighboring; CAS number: 88-75-5), a yellow crystalline solid (m.p. 46 °C). m-Nitrophenol (3-nitrophenol, CAS number: 554-84-7), a yellow solid (m.p. 97 °C) and precursor to the…