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Artist Iori Tomita produces theses colorful transparent specimens not by photo editing, but by transforming the animals themselves.
…Tomita first removes the scales and skin of fish that have been preserved in formaldehyde. Next he soaks the creatures in a stain that dyes the cartilage blue. Tomita uses a digestive enzyme called trypsin, along with a host of other chemicals, to break down the proteins and muscles, halting the process just at the moment they become transparent but before they lose their form. The bones are then stained with red dye, and the brilliant beast is preserved in a jar of glycerin. The extensive production takes five months to a year, but the result is an arresting look at the inner workings of underwater life.
See more of Tomita’s work at Wired magazine. Link -via Everlasting Blort
You don’t see it as much today as you did when I was young, but occasionally you’ll encounter a woman of a certain age with white hair tinged blue or purple. What were they thinking? Jill Harness has the lowdown on why some elderly women have blue hair and why the phenomenon is “dyeing” out. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Roland Tanglao)
Over the weekend, a cat in Swindon, England was turned over to the RSPCA in a suspected case of abuse because it had been dyed bright pink. The shelter found the cat to be in good health, and could see that whoever dyed it had taken care to keep the dye out of the cat’s face, leaving a white mask effect. Now the cat’s owner, 22-year-old Natasha Gregory, has stepped forward and admitted she dyed the cat with food coloring to match her own pink hair.
“It’s my favourite colour, I love it. I’ve dyed my hair pink and I adore pink clothes. Turning Oi! Kitty pink seemed like a good idea. I always wanted a pink animal – a bit like my hair.
“I read the instructions on the food colouring and there was nothing that would harm humans or animals. We eat the food the dye is used on, so I knew it wasn’t toxic.”
Miss Gregory has now contacted the RSPCA, who have been caring for Oi! Kitting, to ask them to return the animal. Officers have washed the cat since it was found, and its colour has faded slightly.
Researchers weren’t looking for the effects of blue dye on spinal cord injuries, but there it is. What researcher were looking for was any chemical that was similar to the P2X7 receptor that blocks ATP, which causes inflammation of spinal cord injuries. FD&C blue dye No. 1 just happened to fit the description.
By lucky accident, researchers discovered that the commonly used food additive FD&C blue dye No. 1 is remarkably similar to a lab compound that blocks a key step in nerve inflammation. When rats with spinal cord injury were given an infusion of blue dye, they recovered much faster than rats that didn’t get the treatment. And researchers reported only one adverse effect: The rats turned blue.
“One of the reasons no one had done this before is that food science is very separate from neuroscience,” said neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester Medical Center, who co-authored the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. “Those two fields don’t interact at all.”
The only problem with further research is the funding. The blue dye is so common that no underwriting company is likely to reap a profit from any medical breakthroughs. Link
They’ve been in development for fifteen years, and were supposed to launch sales to the public two years ago. Now finally, you can buy Zubbles, soap bubbles in bright colors that don’t stain fabric. Inventor Tim Kehoe spent $3 million to develop Zubbles and bring them to market.
Once a bubble pops, the dye fades in 15 minutes on virtually every material imaginable: concrete, leather, nylon, cotton and paint. Even easily stained material like silk remain unstained 15 minutes after a Zubble touches them.
Right now, consumers can only buy blue and pink bubbles, although Kehoe says that he can create bubbles of any color.
Link to story. Link to website. -via reddit
This Easter, don’t just dip your eggs in dye for ho-hum Easter eggs … rather, unleash your creative side to make them memorable!
Dabbled blog explains:
Another Flickr Roundup for you, this time it’s Ways to Dye Your Easter Eggs… come on, you weren’t going to just go use a kit, were you? From cabbage to duct tape, we have lots of cool ideas for making your eggs memorable. Some complicated, some easy and kid-friendly!
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Dot.
