Stream of Stuff

[Ann]

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... Superman!

(Find out the truth here.)

Ann

[geckzilla]

I enjoy Luca's adventures in space.

Tonight I was going to make a midnight snack--peanut butter and jelly. Sadly, just as I was about to scoop the jelly onto the bread, I noticed tiny gray spheres in it. Not fuzzy mold. Bacteria? Investigation revealed they were contained in at least 2/3 of the top of the jelly. I have concluded it would be a bad idea to ingest the jelly. Curiously, I rubbed the spheres between two fingers and discovered they were unexpectedly hard. Perhaps it's actually hardened spheres of lipid from someone stirring the jar with a buttered knife. Or maybe it's some strange bacterial survival method where the outer layer forms a cyst until favorable conditions are met. Ok, it's probably something mundane but I wish I had a microscope.

[owlice]

some strange bacterial survival method where the outer layer forms a cyst until favorable conditions are met.

That's not a strange survival method... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_cyst

[geckzilla]

some strange bacterial survival method where the outer layer forms a cyst until favorable conditions are met.

That's not a strange survival method... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_cyst

Well, maybe. I thought this would be strange because I was imagining the outer layer forming a wall, but if the entire colony encysted itself individually then it could produce a hard ball.

[Beyond]

i wish i had a microscope

Make your own. See-->The Science Labs ... The 3 items that smartphone science needs to proceed. (makc's video)

[rstevenson]

Tonight I was going to make a midnight snack--peanut butter and jelly. Sadly, just as I was about to scoop the jelly onto the bread, I noticed tiny gray spheres in it. Not fuzzy mold. Bacteria? Investigation revealed they were contained in at least 2/3 of the top of the jelly.

Purchased jelly or home made? How long since bottled (roughly)? How long since opened for the first time? (I've made my own jelly for years, but I've never seen such things.) A picture would be interesting and perhaps useful.

Rob

[geckzilla]

i wish i had a microscope

Make your own. See-->The Science Labs ... The 3 items that smartphone science needs to proceed. (makc's video)

Strangely, I don't have a workshop or a countersink attachment for my drill or a saw for cutting wood, either.

Tonight I was going to make a midnight snack--peanut butter and jelly. Sadly, just as I was about to scoop the jelly onto the bread, I noticed tiny gray spheres in it. Not fuzzy mold. Bacteria? Investigation revealed they were contained in at least 2/3 of the top of the jelly.

Purchased jelly or home made? How long since bottled (roughly)? How long since opened for the first time? (I've made my own jelly for years, but I've never seen such things.) A picture would be interesting and perhaps useful.

Rob

Purchased. It's probably been in there for a eight months. Who knows when it was first bottled. It probably has a lot number on it and it could be determined somehow but I don't know how. It says it is best by July 2014. Here are some photos. As you can see, they are everywhere. It's pretty gross. So is that little brown bit of goop on the outside of the jar which I failed to notice until taking the photo and is now making me feel self-conscious because I've got a dirty jar of jelly with hard balls of somethings growing in it. I suddenly feel very unsanitary.

[geckzilla]

Pat just took a look at it and mentioned that all the sugar in the jam messes with bacteria by dehydrating them. He thinks they could be some kind of fungus spores. Oh well, I'll leave it out with the lid on at room temperature and see if they evolve into fuzzballs. I really want to chuck it but I'm curious. If nothing happens in a couple of days I'll just dispose of it.

[neufer]

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

It's probably been in there for a eight months. Who knows when it was first bottled. It probably has a lot number on it and it could be determined somehow but I don't know how. It says it is best by July 2014. Here are some photos. As you can see, they are everywhere. It's pretty gross. So is that little brown bit of goop on the outside of the jar which I failed to notice until taking the photo and is now making me feel self-conscious because I've got a dirty jar of jelly with hard balls of somethings growing in it. I suddenly feel very unsanitary.

Is it growing

[geckzilla]

Haha yeah, I am probably going to go crazy soon.

[rstevenson]

Looking at your first image in closeup, those bits look just as you'd expect sugar crystals to look when immersed in jelly, though I've never heard of sugar crystallizing out of jelly. Are you brave enough to taste one? No, I wouldn't either. But maybe isolate one or two as best you can, then try pressing them under a spoon or knife to see if they crunch or just mush down. If they crunch, I'd bet on sugar crystals.

Rob

[geckzilla]

Just like what happens with honey. Hm. I think you may be right. Still, it's so odd. I tried squishing them with a utensil and they didn't crunch but the contents did seem somewhat like crystals and they were white, almost blending in with the white plate I placed them on.

[neufer]

<<Sometimes, jelly gets crystals, called tartrate crystals, forming in the jelly. They're not harmful and don't affect the taste, but some people don't like the appearance. Crystals throughout the jelly may be caused by too much sugar in the jelly mixture, or cooking the mixture too little, too slowly or too long. Crystals on top of jelly that has been opened and allowed to stand are due to evaporation of liquid. Tartrate crystals in grape jelly may occur if juice has not been allowed to stand overnight and then strained through a double thickness of cheesecloth before preparing jelly.

Sodium ammonium tartrate is the compound through which Louis Pasteur discovered chirality>>

<<Potassium tartrate, dipotassium tartrate or argol has formula K₂C₄H₄O₆. Potassium tartrate is produced by the reaction of tartaric acid with potassium sodium tartrate (rochelle salt), and potassium sulfate, followed by filtration, purification, precipitation and drying. A tartrate is a salt or ester of the organic compound tartaric acid, a dicarboxylic acid. The main forms of tartrates used commercially are pure crystalline tartartic acid used as an acidulant in non-alcoholic drinks and foods, cream of tartar used in baking, and Rochelle Salt, commonly used in electroplating solutions. As food additives, tartrates are used as antioxidants, acidity regulators, and emulsifiers.>>

<<Potassium bitartrate crystallizes in wine casks during the fermentation of grape juice, and can precipitate out of wine in bottles. The crystals (wine diamonds) will often form on the underside of a cork in wine-filled bottles that have been stored at temperatures below 10 °C, and will seldom, if ever, dissolve naturally into the wine. Tartrates separate from new wines because they are less soluble in alcohol than in non-alcoholic grape juice; approximately half of the tartrate soluble in grape juice is insoluble in wine. The problem is that the tartrate may remain in a supersaturated state after bottling, only to crystallize at some unpredictable later time. These crystals also precipitate out of fresh grape juice that has been chilled or allowed to stand for some time. To prevent crystals forming in homemade grape jam or jelly, fresh grape juice should be chilled overnight to promote crystallisation. The potassium bitartrate crystals are removed by filtering through two layers of cheesecloth. The filtered juice may then be made into jam or jelly. In some cases they adhere to the side of the chilled container, making filtering unnecessary. The crude form (known as beeswing) is collected and purified to produce the white, odorless, acidic powder used for many culinary and other household purposes.>>

[Beyond]

Grape jelly can be so complicated. I use strawberry jam.

[neufer]

Grape jelly can be so complicated. I use strawberry jam.

• JAM can also be complicated if you need it today:

<<The White Queen offers to hire Alice as her lady's maid and to pay her "Twopence a week, and jam every other day." Alice says that she doesn't want any jam today, and the Queen tells her: "You couldn't have it if you did want it. The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday- but never jam to-day." This is a reference to the rule in Latin that the word iam or jam meaning now in the sense of already or at that time cannot be used to describe now in the present, which is nunc in Latin. JAM is therefore never available today.>>
....................................................
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871)
Chapter 5: Wool and Water

`But really you should have a lady's maid!'

`I'm sure I'll take you with pleasure!' the Queen said. `Twopence a week, and jam every other day.'

Alice couldn't help laughing, as she said, `I don't want you to hire me -- and I don't care for jam.'

`It's very good jam,' said the Queen.

`Well, I don't want any to-day, at any rate.'

`You couldn't have it if you did want it,' the Queen said. `The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday -- but never jam to-day.'

`It must come sometimes to "jam do-day,"' Alice objected.

`No, it can't,' said the Queen. `It's jam every other day: to-day isn't any other day, you know.'

`I don't understand you,' said Alice. `It's dreadfully confusing!'

[Beyond]

Haha, I'm Beyond all that.

[Nitpicker]

One day last wet season, I found a peculiar, yellow thing existing in our veggie garden. After searching various images online, I identified the thing and discovered that it had the best name ever: Dog Vomit Slime Mould.

If you don't believe me, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuligo_septica

Before I knew what it was, I poked it gently with a stick (as one does) and the entire thing immediately altered its state, turned to "dust" and blew away on a light breeze, never to be seen again. My first thought at that point was that I should call Mulder and Scully, as it totally sounded like their bag. Luckily, my friend the internet helped me solve the mystery first. Some believe Dog Vomit Slime Mould indicates a certain level of healthiness in a garden. I don't know about that, but I now worry less about mouldy bits in jam jars.

[Chris Peterson]

One day last wet season, I found a peculiar, yellow thing existing in our veggie garden. After searching various images online, I identified the thing and discovered that it had the best name ever: Dog Vomit Slime Mould.

I've encountered that mold more than once in mushroom guides, but never in the wild. Lucky you.

[geckzilla]

Yeah, seriously, I have looked out for slime molds ever since I learned what they were back in high school and I don't think I've ever seen one. Then again, I haven't been hiking in a while, either.

[Beyond]

'Platypus-zilla' fossil found in Australia.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24807557

[neufer]

'Platypus-zilla' fossil found in Australia: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24807557

[b][color=#0000FF]The ancient Australian megafauna were in many cases giant versions of modern marsupials, but with some differences.[/color][/b]

---

Giant carnivorous platypus species discovered by one tooth
By Paul Wallis, Digital Journal, Nov 4, 2013

<<The platypus, when first discovered, was sent to England for study. The academics of the time considered it a hoax. What would they have thought of a metre-long, carnivorous version, with teeth? The new find, called Oboduron tharalkooschild, has exposed a part of Australia’s ancient fauna never suspected. It’s about twice the size of the platypus of today. Unlike its living relative, Obdurodon had a full set of teeth, which it probably used to ensnare and eat prey. Based on the other animal fossils found at the same site, the team suspects the ancient monotreme existed between 5 million and 15 million years ago. Riversleigh is one of the world's richest fossil deposits, containing evidence of the ancestors of almost every species of modern Australian mammal."

The picture of ancient Australia is slowly getting filled in, and it was a truly strange place. The ancient Australian megafauna were in many cases giant versions of modern marsupials, but with some differences. The “marsupial lion” Thylacoleo, was basically a giant carnivorous possum. The Diprotodon, a mega herbivore, was a monster wombat. They co-existed with a huge reptilian predator called Megalania, a monitor lizard bigger than a saltwater crocodile, believed to have been a sort of super Komodo dragon. There were even carnivorous kangaroos. The “short faced” kangaroo was about twice the size of the big modern kangaroos. So adding a carnivorous platypus makes some sort of sense, in context with these very different, almost contradictory, ancestors. Predation patterns must also have been very different to other parts of the world, with indications of both predatory and herbivorous species being related to various degrees.

The new platypus, however, has added a dimension nobody would have suspected. Modern platypus are predators, but hunt small prey. Male platypus also have poison spines on their back feet which are only venomous in mating season, and not a predation weapon. It’d be interesting to know how that developed. If the giant platypus had these spines, were they weapons?

Marsupials dominated South America and Australia in the Pleistocene. The South Americans were overrun by modern mammalian invaders from the north, but the Australian marsupials have survived, with difficulty, the onslaught of both modern mammals and humans. It will be interesting to find out more about how this very hardy group of animals survived in the past, in a country which has gone from rainforest to desert. It looks like the answers are in the history.>>

[Beyond]

About 45 seconds of an elk on a trampoline. http://www.wfsb.com/video?clipId=9492443&autostart=true

[geckzilla]

I looked at my jelly today. The little specks in the main body of jelly are all but gone. There are only a few remaining in the bits of jelly adhering to the inner walls of the jar. Hm. I'm feeling a little bad now because I think the jelly may be perfectly fine to consume and I don't want to waste it. I still have my reservations about it, though.

[Nitpicker]

May I suggest you first poke it gently with a stick?

[geckzilla]

I poked it with my finger. It remained in its ooze-like state, unlike the slime mold.