Guess the Nature Inspiration #5

Since I finally mailed off the prizes for the last contest I guess it is fair to post the next installment of what has become my favorite component of this little blog. Remember the last one , Brainbow. Did any of you notice how a few weeks later it was all over the news with the scientist who discovered the labeled proteins that allow the brain tissue to be viewed in technicolor winning the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Remember you heard it first here. So it really pays to study hard or at least use that great imagination of yours to guess this next one. I had loads of fun playing with new types of high tech japanese embroidery threads for this one and then photographing it with different light sources. It was needlefelted and then embroidered on a vintage wool scarf from my stash. Guess as many times as you like and please involve the entire family. As Rane said last time it was more entertaining than television as were Rane's answers to the contest. You have until next the stike of midnight on sunday to place your guess and the one who guesses correctly or the closest answer will win an awesome prize. I have been known to award prizes for entertainment value as well so keep that in mind. Happy guessing !!!

Comments

[Hannah]

Reminds me of lichen, especially with all the different colours you have used.

[megan noel]

is it an ameoba? or something of that nature? i think the "arms" are cilia. but the inside bits remind me of chloroplasts. so maybe it is something that photosynthesizes?

[kristin L]

I'm pretty sure it's something microscopic, but since I know nearly nothing about the microscopic world, the glow in the dark threads immediately made me think of moon jellyfish. Of course, this would have to be a moon jellyfish in it's fancy Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes!

[joanne]

Looks like a flu virus, H5N1, with special glow in the dark capabilities. Or tagged with fluorescein. It is flu season, I hope we all got our flu shots! Looks prettier on that scarf than it would in my nose cells.

[shyaray]

Hello. I just discovered your blog. You are very talented. I am intrigued. Is this a close up of an eyeball?

[Liana]

Okay, the last one sort of looked like sperm cells, which is what sort of sparked this answer for me:

is it an egg... being fertilized?

Come on. You know that's what it looks like.

[Jennifer]

Is it plankton?

[Rane]

Spermies...egg? hum....this
reminds me of last time..LOL!
Woo hoo!! Guessing time again~
single cell ameba?(I know that
is not spelled right....)
The flu sound right too!!! LOL~
it does look like a jelly fish
too like a over view! looking
down in to a tide pool.
The eye idea surprized me though
it sounds like a guess one of
my kids would have done! Good
guess! Hum.... what else could
it be? How about a squished
bug? LOL!
It could be a diveding egg when
I look at it again!
My husband says maybe the over
view of a yert with out the
roof? The "hairs" are really
support ropes? hum....he asks
can you see the fire post in
the middle?
How about a star fish's mouth
or a octopus's mouth? hum...not
really hu?
I know..a aztec sun? ....LOL!
a cut open garlic that is starting
to sprout...you can see the
growing new shoots..and hairy
roots on the bottom.
maybe it is a suction cup from
a octopus or squid?
Maybe it is a stem from a plant
cut open you can see the hairs
on the outside of the plant...
the dots that are on the ring
that are green would be the
plants veins. hum....
I am sooo happy to play this game
again, and my kids will be
thrilled too! You did pick a
hard one again! Wow but it is
a fun one!
Maybe it is a cross cut of a
tree, then the "hairs" are really
roots or branches?
Thanks for remembering us, we
are honored, because this is
such fun that I hope that every~
one has their kids a hubbies to
guess too! This kind of guessing
is good for your brain... it keeps
your brain young! So guess away
and see where you get! Yes it is
true that I did not get the answer
right last time but my family had
Loads of fun and are still talking
about it from last time... it is
sort of a different type of I spy
but we all see it... just what is
it! I hope that everyone has a
bunch of fun!!!!
Rane, Hubby,
and upper teeth~teething baby!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Rane]

OOh one last guess... the cell
from a fall leaf?...?
~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Whitney]

I don't know what it is...but it looks cool! :)

[Barb]

I immediately thought of sperm trying their best to be the first to enter an egg, but I think that was a leftover thought from the last guessing contest. The photos showing it light and dark, makes me think of the sun, with swirling gasses, but somehow that seems too easy. Whatever it is, like the last one, it's great embroidery.

[Miri]

It looks like H3N2 flu ! :D
very lovely!

[Gunnel Svensson]

Wonderful stitching!

[melanie]

Yes. I think this must be a self-referencing talisman to ward of the flu or possibly the common cold.

[Dawn]

The sun is too obvious but that is what I am going to say because that is what I see when I look at it.
Very pretty and eye catching.

[Heather]

Most everyone so far is going 'small', I'm going 'BIG':
This looks a lot like the images "believed to be the first of a planet orbiting a sun-like star"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/image-captures-planet-orbiting-sunlike-star-20080917-4i8z.html

And, during my research, I came across some microscopic eye candy: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/10/16/science/20081016smallworldgallery.html

[karen]

Inspired by Diwali - the dance of Shiva?

[DIane]

It looks like a germ to me, or some deep sea creature on a coral reef. Sounds like everyone has some interesting guesses. I see why you have so much fun with this. Beautiful work whatever it is *grin*

[Christina J.]

I'll guess a nerve cell.

[Carol B.]

My guess is that it's a flu virus, but it's pretty and colorful whatever it is.

[meninheira]

is an ovum surrounded by spermatozoans?

[shyaray]

How about a frog egg. My eyeball answer was not very nature like.

[Krys]

I agree with the influenza cell too. But I was torn between that and a cilium. The cilium looked so close to being like this, but it had 9 pairs of 2 microtubles, not 8...or something like that. Either way, I got really stuck on that detail LOL. Agh, I think I put too much thought into this.
Very nice though! Isn't science beautiful?!

[misa]

Dendrites? Just stabbing in the dark here.

[Hannah]

How about the underside of a mushroom? Or it reminds me of peeling away something like a mollusc and the print that's left behind?
Or even the inside of a berry or fruit, with the segments and seeds inside and the thread like hairs on the outside?

[Rane]

Yeah! My kids screamed that
when they came home and I had
this page up!! Your game makes
my kids happy!
Maybe it is a bite mark from
a octopus or squid?

hannah~ oh you are right like
a rasberry with little hairs?
Oh or a cut from a cumquat?
MY daughter says it looks like
a lilly pad. And my oldest son
says it does look like a eyeball
that he seen at the science
meuseum... it had been disected.
Eww.... My 3 year old son says
it is a Alian that can glow and
flies with its little arms...
he says it flies like a frisbee
in a round way...well that is
what he said!!! hubby says it
looks like a type of starfish that
is in Japan that is round... but
he can not remeber the name.
zygot? (is that spelled right?)
*my spelling is bad sorry*
My 7 year old daughter says it
looks like a princesses with a
dress on that is spinning so the
ribbons came undone and that are
the little hairs you see!
Your thread is very vivid! very
strong colors! What am I looking
for? I know crisp clean looking!
there is not alot of little hairs!
I read you post for today...
you said more direct answer...
so someone is close?
that was quick!! How about twins?
LOL! Hum.... I have to go think
I will be back.. bath time for the
little ones, oh! how about a
hair under a scope? hum...
Beback~
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Maiz]

Yur terribly clever. Your embroidery leaves us so mush room for interpretation. At first, I lichened this to some kind of abstract art, but that flu right out the window when eye read the other guesses. I think I know eggsactly what this is, so hair's my guess:

A flu cell under attack by antibodies!

[Lauren]

Hmm...my mind immediately went to something planktonic, like a diatom:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/14828/26241/Diatoms-have-cell-walls-called-frustules-that-contain-opaline-silica

With all the little projections I also thought it could be a dinoflagellate type of phytoplankton, but those aren't typically so round. It could be some type of jelly too, but I can't think of any that have that interesting circular pattern on their bells. Then again, plankton likes to break all the rules, so my guess is:
Phytoplankton that exhibits characteristics of both diatoms and dinoflagellates.

Ps...is it cheating that I have a degree in marine biology? ;) May as well apply it to something!

[Heather]

The symmetry of it reminds me of some chakra images I've seen.

Or, to become less transendental and more political, it looks a lot like this Obama poster: http://www.designforobama.org/index.php?p=401
I know, I know, you're in Canada, but there has been a LOT of global love for Barack!

[melanie]

More specific, huh?

Alright - this is your interpretation of an electron microscope view of the avian flu virus (influenza virus H5N1) in hommage to Edna St. Vincent Mallay's proclamation 'Euclid alone has seen beauty bare' to be used as a self-referencing talisman to ward off the flu =)

[Jenn]

I also think it is a nerve cell - it looks a lot like this picture of cerebellar granule cells - http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/bia/gallery.html?image=25

[erin]

the cross section of a corn stalk with roots?

[shayray]

Is it a neuron?

[Rane]

I agree with melanie!!!!!
Gee being on a scarf it makes
sense!
My 12 year old guesses it is a
plankton:
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/fisheries/images/micro_plankton_1.jpg
(WIKIPEDIA
Within the plankton, itself, holoplankton are those organisms that spend their entire life cycle as part of the plankton (e.g. most algae, copepods, salps, and some jellyfish). By contrast, meroplankton are those organisms that are only planktonic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage), and then graduate to either the nekton or a benthic (sea floor) existence.)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Zooplankton1_300.jpg
This looks clear http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jelly_4.JPG

I like this one...
http://www.plankton.at/grafik/fotos/grado/qualle.jpg
Too bad it died! T_T

My 7 year old guessed a trampoline and a dogs ball (both not natural(>_<)I know!)

My 3 year old is asleep...

Happy O'Halos Eve!!!!!

Goodnight...for now~
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Rane]

I agree with melanie!!!!!
Gee being on a scarf it makes
sense!
My 12 year old guesses it is a
plankton:
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/fisheries/images/micro_plankton_1.jpg
(WIKIPEDIA
Within the plankton, itself, holoplankton are those organisms that spend their entire life cycle as part of the plankton (e.g. most algae, copepods, salps, and some jellyfish). By contrast, meroplankton are those organisms that are only planktonic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage), and then graduate to either the nekton or a benthic (sea floor) existence.)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Zooplankton1_300.jpg
This looks clear http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jelly_4.JPG

I like this one...
http://www.plankton.at/grafik/fotos/grado/qualle.jpg
Too bad it died! T_T

My 7 year old guessed a trampoline and a dogs ball (both not natural(>_<)I know!)

My 3 year old is asleep...

Happy O'Halos Eve!!!!!

Goodnight...for now~
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Rane]

I agree with melanie!!!!!
Gee being on a scarf it makes
sense!
My 12 year old guesses it is a
plankton:
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/fisheries/images/micro_plankton_1.jpg
(WIKIPEDIA
Within the plankton, itself, holoplankton are those organisms that spend their entire life cycle as part of the plankton (e.g. most algae, copepods, salps, and some jellyfish). By contrast, meroplankton are those organisms that are only planktonic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage), and then graduate to either the nekton or a benthic (sea floor) existence.)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Zooplankton1_300.jpg
This looks clear http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jelly_4.JPG

I like this one...
http://www.plankton.at/grafik/fotos/grado/qualle.jpg
Too bad it died! T_T

My 7 year old guessed a trampoline and a dogs ball (both not natural(>_<)I know!)

My 3 year old is asleep...

Happy O'Halos Eve!!!!!

Goodnight...for now~
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Daniela]

my little one thinks it looks exactly like the jellyfish he loves at the aquarium...

[Hannah]

I've got it! it's the cross section through a root!

[Patricia]

It's beautiful, Margie!

The squiggly lines on the outside remind me of root hairs. Could it be the cross section of a root?

[monika]

to me, it just looks like one of those wonderful front page images from the New Scientist magazine. A "rag" my non-science husband reads at night in bed and then shows me as I'm falling asleep. I just delight in the beauty without naming it... grin....

Sorry I posted 3 times...>_<
It didnt come up when I posted it

[Rane]

Sorry I posted 3 times...>_<
It didnt come up when I posted it
S0RRY!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Elsita :)]

This is WONDERFUL MARGIE!
Right now i think about different answers but non of them will be even close to the truth :0
So I am going to go with the first one that came to mind: a sunflower :(
I know, but at least I tried :)
Elsita :)

[heidi]

well obviously looks like a bohemian sun or an egg being fertilized or a virus..........but you are NEVER obvious (which leads me to constantly think "why didn't I think of that?") so i have two more intense thought days to figure it out!!!!!! can I do it? something obscure I'm sure.........hmmmmmmmmm

[Maiz]

Isn't it is amazing how much a virus being surrounded by antibodies looks like the cross section of a root?

[Kelly Stewart]

have just discovered your blog...you have soooo inspired me - thank you

well, not sure what to guess, I'm in love with it's geometric beauty - as it is "the time of pumpkins" in your sphere, I'll guess a cross section of pumpkin being invaded by a family of worms!!!
or...perhaps a jellyfish or sea-star?!?

[Rane]

I sent a post and it would not
post because of antispam....
I am not sure if you got it or
not... then my 3 year old posted
it several time! LOL!
He guesses it is a orange and
a wheel on fire.... and a hairy
cookie!
I hope you all are safe and well!
Take care all~
Rane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Rane]

This week has been long...
we are having a sprinkler system
put in our house so we can not
be in here but in the evenings...
so our house has been very busy!
I hope that next game we get to
guess alot more!!!!!!
Good luck to all of you that
guessed!!
Rane and family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Marsha]

Lifeforce captured for the first time with a new special viewing device!