Amazing Insects: Ants Create Chemical Cocktails to Brew Antibiotics
To keep fungal pathogens at bay in their crowded homes, wood ants mix potions to create powerful protection for their nest and their young.
To keep fungal pathogens at bay in their crowded homes, wood ants mix potions to create powerful protection for their nest and their young.
It's that time of year again. The month after we exchange gifts, most of us tend to exchange germs. Cold and flu season always seems to creep up on us, often leaving us ill-prepared to deal with the ailments.
While most people build collections of things with intrinsic value such as coins, stamps, or rare post cards, I collect wine corks—the natural ones, not the plastic kind. Corks are a natural product harvested from the cork oak tree. It takes the better part of 10 to 12 years before a tree can have its bark manually removed for the production of cork. Thankfully, no tree is harmed in the process and in 12 years, the tree bark can be harvested yet again.
With only a day left until Halloween, a full and detailed costume is too much to throw together for most people. But you still have to dress up as something, right? No one will give you candy or let you into a Halloween party if you don't even put in some effort.
During the holiday season you're probably more than used to seeing baked goods at your grocery store shaped into wee little Christmas trees or Rudolphs. But what if you celebrate Hannukah? Chances are there are going to be few Star of David themed baked goods anywhere you go.
We're not going to lie: Papercut designs take a bit of time and lots of precision to accomplish, but the results, as you can see here, are totally worth it. These gorgeous papercut cards come in any shape you desire, from intricate polar bears to Christmas trees.
Before your guests enter the front door to your Christmas party and before they witness the beautiful swags of garland, lights, and the Christmas tree, the first thing they're going to see is your wreath.
Throwing a holiday party soon? Then we're pretty sure your guests are more than used to the traditional Christmas cupcake shapes, like a snowman, Santa, and Christmas tree. Surprise your friends and family by creating these beautiful green glittered pinecone cupcakes.
The days leading up to Christmas are arguably the most exciting days of the year, as they're filled with Christmas present shopping, baking Christmas cookies, and decorating ye olde Christmas tree and the house. Start a new tradition this year by counting down to Christmas with an advent calender.
So, how do you get your family together in FrontierVille on Facebook? One way is with the Dinner Triangle. If you family gets lost out in the forest or behind a tree or building, then all you have to do is ring the Dinner Triangle and they'll come running. See how to use it!
Want to get on Santa's "nice" list this year? It's never too late when it's cookies we're talking about (Santa's favorite treat!). Whether you have a Christmas party you're itching to get some easy and delicious treats for or you're prepping a few batches of cookies for friends, these Christmas wreath cookies fit the bill.
A little fondant and royal icing can go a long way to transform an ordinary cookie into something truly spectacular. At no time is this more true than Christmas, when cookies magically evolve into spectacular creations of snowflakes, Christmas trees, and gingerbread men.
Christmas means decorating trees with store-purchased ornaments and tinsel, decorating stairwells with store-purchased garlands, and decorating the exterior of your house with store-purchased lights. These days everything you need can be puchased pre-made somewhere, and while that saves us time, what happened to the good ol' days when we crafted ornaments out of popsicle sticks and strung cranberries on a string?
Remember baby Maggie from "The Simpsons" and the adorable Christmas tree-shaped star bodysuit to Lisa's sax recital? Babies look cute in almost anything but somehow wrapping them up in star-shaped blankets/costumes puts them at their cutest.
In this tip video, you'll see how to set the aspect ratio of a plane object to match that of the image mapped to it. This is important to prevent distortion in the mapped image. This knowledge will be helpful when using image planes for cutout trees and people, instanced image planes for particle effects, and any situation where you need non-distorted images on plane objects. Whether you're new to the Blender Foundation's popular open-source 3D computer graphics application or are a seasoned ...
You can find a humane squirrel and rodent trap at most all-purpose stores, this video recommends Home Depot and will cost about thirty-five dollars. To bait it you will need some peanut butter and crackers. Take out four crackers and break them in half. Spread some peanut butter on one side of each piece. In the middle of the trap there is a trigger that is raised when active. Place two pieces of the cracker behind the trigger deep in the cage. Next place two pieces upside down on the trigger...
Some of the new poinsettia plants will continue to "bloom" year round, but others need a little encouragement. The blooming is actually leaves of the plant itself. One way of forcing it to change color is to withhold fertilizer and/or light for a time, then put it back into a sunny location and it will begin to bloom. The video also addresses spots on Ligustrum plants. It has to do with cold weather in the winter and lack of nitrogen. There's not much you can do about winter damage, but ferti...
A piece of concrete reinforcement wire is cut and separated by a bow cutter at about 4 feet. The wires on one side of the separated section is bent in the form of a hook to hold the next side. As it would be hooked together to hold a tomato tree in position. It was suggested that rope cover material or material with small holes that can absorb sunlight be placed around the cage and held together with a clothes pin. Doing so would prevent bug plant, frost bite, curly top viruses , squash plant...
This short safety guide Colhane gives you several tips to use a machete safely without harming your self or others. These tips are not only limited to machetes but can be applied to the general use of all large knives. The first rule is always cut away from your body as shown in the video the consequences of not following this rule can be deadly. The next tip gives you the optimal angle to cut through trees and other foliage. He also gives several tips on how to create a trail and follow it i...
Have you ever heard of the East Indian fruit Jackfruit or Kanoon? The Jackfruit is one of the largest of fruits and almost every family in Thailand has a Jackfruit tree in their backyard. You can learn how to properly select a Jackfruit based on ripeness and learn the proper way of cutting it. Since the fruit is very sticky, it is best to oil just a little bit before cutting into the fruit. You can eat the fruit cold or use it as an ingredient in a meal. Save your seeds, and you can roast the...
Sure, you can buy one, but making an Advent calendar is a nice family project—and you can use better treats!
This origami video shows how to make a simple dove-like bird. I then go on to show you how to turn it into a hanging decoration. This would be great as a Christmas tree ornament or some other holiday decoration to represent peace. This simple project is a great holiday craft. All you need is paper, your hands, and origami skills! Voila! A custom holiday decoration.
In this fitness how-to video SELF Magazine demonstrate how to invigorate yourself and sculpt your body with yoga techniques. Watch as the editor of SELF helps you take year off your body with a few poses. Learn to do yoga warrior, happy baby with chest press, staff, bridge, tree, thunderbolt, triangle and finally child's pose. Increase flexibility, decrease stress, rev your metabolism and sculpt sexy muscles with traditional yoga moves in an anti-aging yoga routine.
Video: . Today I bring you my first Christmas themed video!Here there are some DIY ideas to decorate your room for the holiday season. They are really easy and affordable so I hope you like them!
We frequently associate plastics with the modern era, starting at around the 1950s with the prevalence of bakelite. However, for all of you "you can't use plastic in Steampunk" purists out there, I have bad news for you:
Take the edge off the holidays and feel lit up like a Christmas tree inside and out by swigging one of these bad boys. This sweet and tart pomegranate martini is so very tangy and delicious while giving you that perfect alcoholic kick.
One of our favorite parts about the holidays is the decorating. There's nothing that makes you feel moer Christmasy than waking up on Christmas morning to the fresh scent of pine from your glittering Christmas tree and garland swags adorning every doorway.
The biggest triumph and novelty about James Cameron's "Avatar" was that though we were watching seven foot-tall blue people jumping around big, glowing trees, we became so immersed in the experience that we forgot they weren't human. Bring the "Avatar" experience literally to life this Halloween by dressing up as the beautiful Neytiri.
In this tutorial, we learn how to use Cricut Serenade & Joys for a simple Christmas card. First you will need to take a piece of white card stock and tie a red and white polka dot ribbon to the top. After this, you will need to take a tree branch stamp and stamp it on the side of the card like it's growing out of it. After this, make sure the color on the leaves is green and the branches are brown. Now, you will cut out another piece of card stock in a punch out to create the ornament that wi...
Jackfruit, also known as katal in Hindi, is an interesting tree species of the mulberry family that produces fruit (also called jackfruit) that is a vegetable before it ripens and becomes a fruit once it ripens. Weird, we know.
So we have to admit something. We're not entirely sure what this project is. It looks like one of those Sweedish straw ornaments you hang on the tree during Christmas, but then again it could also just be an abstract representation of the sun.
In this video, we learn how to hang outdoor Christmas lights from the experts at Home Depot. First, you want to start out the planning process, and figure out where you want lights to be hung out. Then, decide how many lights you need and what kind you want to use. Then, go and purchase your lights, making sure they are made for outdoor lighting, not indoor. Next, you will be ready to decorate your trees and shrubs since they are the easiest to do. Next, hang the lights on your roof and windo...
There are nearly as many ways to set up a hammock in the bush as there are to skin a cat, to use the old cliche. This video demonstrates one simple way to set up a hammock in the bush. As the presenter explains, this simplicity is a blessing when you are out in the bush and need something to sleep in as quickly as possible. If you don't have a tent and there are trees around, hammocks are the superior choice for your survival and comfort because spiders and other pests that live on the ground...
Want to play John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" on the ukulele? Learn how with this free video ukulele lesson. Whether you play the ukulele or bass kazoo, there is no better way to improve your chops than by learning to play your favorite songs. Not only is it more fun and much easier than running drills or memorizing a chord book by wrote, it's obviously also a wonderful way to build your repertory of songs. For more information, and to get started playing John Denver's signature so...
This video is about how to supplement water in the desert using a trash bag. You find a tree that is edible and not poisonous and you open the trash bag and place it over a few of the branches with leaves and seal the opening off. Then you take a little cord and tie off the corner of the bag and find something heavy to weigh the branch down. You want to make sure the corner of the bag is down so that all of the water will run down to that corner. When you feel some water in the bag you can cu...
Great video by Southwest Yard & Garden. tutorial on how to identify garden pests on your plants & shrubs. Went into detail on the Salvia plants - always be careful spittle bugs, they produce spittle commonly on Salvia plants. Whiteflies and aphids are known to take residence in Ash trees. Aphids commonly take on the look of mildew. Ways to manage moths for apples, you can use insecticide spray but be conservative. Took a look at signs of Cochineal Scale on a Prickly Pear. Went over ways to ta...
This video tutorial shows how to draw a serene waterfall setting using graphite pencil. First start by collecting reference images for the seperate components of the landscape. Next add in the rocks and erase the areas where water will be. Then draw the sky making sure to leave an area open for the moon. Finally add the trees and shade in the water to create a liquid effect.
In this video, Lance Sisiolo draws a beautiful house using Microsoft Paint. He uses line tool to draw most part of the house. He uses different types of lines. He also uses curve tool to draw sky and the entrance of the house. The unwanted part of the picture is erased using erase tool. Then he uses fill with color tool and airbrush tool to paint the picture. He uses different colors to increase the beauty of sky and the house. Then some trees are added. Using airbrush tool he increases the b...
This video outlines the process used to turn a chunk of wood, specifically sweet gum, otherwise known as Liquidambar styraciflua, American sweetgum, redgum, liquidambar, or simply liquid amber.
This video describes how to tie a bowline knot in a few easy steps. To start, take a loose piece of rope in your right hand and make a loop about a foot away from the end. Then, take the loose end, bring it up through the loop you just made. Immediately after, wrap the loose end around the rest of the rope, and then bring it back through the loop and pull tight. Think of the loose end as a "bunny." Bring the bunny out of the hole, around the tree, and then back through the hole. Once you pull...