Our bones don’t just create the supporting frames for our bodies—they also perform a number of important roles for our health. In the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News, we look at the materials in bones and what some of them do. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
January is National Blood Donor Month. If you’ve ever donated blood (or received blood from a donation) then you might have wondered why some types of blood can’t be given to some people. And what is it that makes blood types different anyway? This graphic looks at the compatibilities of different blood types, and below we’ll try to get to the bottom of what makes them different.
Halloween’s almost here, which, for a large number of costumes, will require a liberal dousing of fake blood to complete the look. You probably already have a pretty good idea of the reasons behind the red colouration of human blood that fake blood mimics. However, red is not the only blood colour available – it also comes in blue, green, violet, and even colourless varieties – and this is a result of the specific chemicals that make up blood in different organisms.
