Unleash your inner da Vinci with these art and science drawing lessons
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- Masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper followed countless hours of anatomical studies.
- Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the human form.
- The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle teaches you how to draw human bodies, heads, and more.
Fans of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are captivated by Leonardo da Vinci's exceptional eye for human forms. Those masterpieces followed countless hours of anatomical studies. Da Vinci was fascinated by the human form, most famously expressed in his classic sketch The Vitruvian Man.
There are many ways of capturing human figures through drawing, from precise anatomical sketches to essences of characteristics. The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle will teach you how to draw a wide range of human bodies, heads, movement, perspective, and much more.
In this 12-course bundle, you'll learn how to draw 3D objects that appear to occupy space. A human figure drawing course instructs you on the basics of anatomical perspective. From there, you can home in on heads, one of the most challenging aspects of the human body to draw.
Perhaps you're not that interested in photorealism. That's fine; there's a course on dynamic superheroes that will prepare you to create the comic book that's been in your head. Or, you can forget bodies altogether. Maybe you're more interested in textures and patterns. This bundle has you covered in that aspect as well. 3D objectives and environments? Check.
No drawing bundle would be complete without a course on animals. In 31 lessons, you'll be given the tools to create the best cat memes around. Two courses on shading will also help you master depth. And if you're intrigued by digital drawing, a master class in creating fantasy art in Manga Studio 5 is included as well. In other words, you'll be well on your way to calling yourself an artist.
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Catnip is for pleasure and purpose, according to a new study
The main bioactive compound in catnip seems to protect cats from mosquitoes. It might protect humans, too.
January 23, 2021
Pixabay
Surprising Science
- For centuries, humans have observed that cats exhibit strange behaviors when exposed to catnip and silver vine.
- A new study examined how the main bioactive compound in these plants affects cats' opioid systems and protects them against mosquito bites.
- The findings suggest that the compound nepetalactol could be used to develop new mosquito repellents for humans.
<p>Why does catnip have such a strong effect on cats? For at least 300 years, humans have observed that when cats encounter the plant, the majority behave as if they're high, becoming playful and hyperactive before reliably slumping into a nap. But catnip also elicits another strange behavior: Cats rub their faces and bodies against the plant, seemingly trying to cover their fur with it.</p>
<p>A new study proposes cats do this because catnip acts as a chemical defense against mosquitos. </p>
<p>Published in <em><a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/4/eabd9135" target="_blank">Science Advances</a></em>, the findings suggest that cats evolved specific olfactory receptors to detect the bioactive compounds in catnip, which produces euphoria while protecting them from irritating bites and diseases. This protection might've helped the stealthy animals better stalk and ambush prey.</p>
<p>The findings shed light not only on feline behavior, but also on how nepetalactol — the main bioactive component of catnip and silver vine — might be used to protect humans against insects.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUyNjUxMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Nzk2MzQ2MX0.pukD0O6rrYJD7Y5zp7myD84MoVBRdUuh79qV4zBu7uo/img.jpg?width=980" id="abb77" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e896a525ab53695febdc37b27796ab4a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Nepeta cataria" data-width="800" data-height="1199" />
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip
Johann Georg Sturm (Painter: Jacob Sturm) via WikiPedia/Public Domain
<p>In the study, researchers from Iwate University in Japan exposed nepetalactol-laced paper to different types of felids, including domestic and feral cats, a leopard, two jaguars and two lynx. The team also exposed nepetalactol to dogs and mice, but only the cats elicited the expected behavioral response.</p><p>To find out why cats react uniquely to nepetalactol, the researchers measured the animals' endorphin levels before and after they were exposed to the substance. The results showed that nepetalactol raised endorphin levels in cats.</p><p>But when cats were given drugs that blocked opioid receptors, their endorphin levels didn't rise, and their behavior didn't change. This suggests that cats' "μ-opioid system is stimulated by an increase in endogenous β-endorphin secretion when olfactory neurons are activated by these iridoids," the team wrote.</p>Nepetalactol as a mosquito repellent
<p>To test the efficacy of nepetalactol as a mosquito repellant, the researchers anesthetized two groups of cats. For one group, the researchers applied nepetalactol to the cats' heads. The other group was left untreated to serve as a control. The researchers then exposed the cats to Asian tiger mosquitos and counted the number of times the insects bit each group.</p><p>The results showed that the group treated with nepetalactol was much less likely to get bitten, sometimes by as much as 50 percent. The same proved true in a "more natural" experiment, in which cats were allowed to rub their faces on the plants themselves.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"This is convincing evidence that the characteristic rubbing and rolling response functions to transfer plant chemicals that provide mosquito repellency to cats," the team wrote.</p>The world's deadliest animal
<p>While the researchers don't fully understand why nepetalactol activates the μ-opioid system in cats, they think the compound could help humans avoid mosquito bites. After all, some of the study contributors have applied for a patent covering the use of nepetalactol as an insect repellent. Gizmodo <a href="https://gizmodo.com/cats-love-catnip-because-it-protects-them-from-mosquito-1846092518" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that the researchers even tried applying the compound to their arms, which seemed to prevent mosquito bites.</p><p>For thousands of years, humans have aimed to protect themselves from mosquitos. The Egyptian queen Cleopatra was said to sleep surrounded by a mosquito net. The Romans used vinegar mixtures. And Mississippians turned to the American beautyberry plant. </p><p>Today, DEET is the most widely used mosquito repellent, but it's slightly toxic and can cause side effects, including seizures, though rarely. Developing better mosquito repellents could save many lives. The World Mosquito Program <a href="https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/learn/mosquito-borne-diseases#:~:text=Nearly%20700%20million%20people%20contract,more%20than%20one%20million%20deaths." target="_blank">reports</a> that mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria and yellow fever affect more than 700 million annually and kill approximately one million. </p>
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Astrophysicists find unique "hot Jupiter" planet without clouds
A unique exoplanet without clouds or haze was found by astrophysicists from Harvard and Smithsonian.
January 23, 2021
Credit: M. Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Surprising Science
- Astronomers from Harvard and Smithsonian find a very rare "hot Jupiter" exoplanet without clouds or haze.
- Such planets were formed differently from others and offer unique research opportunities.
- Only one other such exoplanet was found previously.
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Astronomers detected a first of its kind hot Jupiter-like planet without clouds or haze. Such p</span><span style="background-color: initial;">lanets are very rare, with only one exoplanet with a clear atmosphere previously found – that one classified as a "hot Saturn".</span></p><p>The "hot Jupiter" exoplanet WASP-62b is 75 light years away from Earth, coming in at about half the mass of our Jupiter. It completes a rotation around its sun in only 4.5 days (compared to 12 years for Jupiter). That closeness to the star makes the planet extremely hot. </p><p>The discovery was made by astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The gas giant was actually first located in 2012 using the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) South survey. But the unique state of its atmosphere has only been understood now. </p>
<p>Munazza Alam, a graduate student from the Center for Astrophysics who led the study, was working on her thesis that involved exoplanet characterization when she zeroed in on the atmosphere of WASP-62b.</p><p>She used the Hubble Space Telescope for data and observations that were made via <em>spectroscopy</em>, a method of detecting chemical elements by studying electromagnetic radiation. In particular, Alam focused how WASP-62b looked as it came in front of its host star on three occasions. Observing visible light in such instances can show the existence of sodium and potassium in the atmosphere of the planet. The scientist could see no potassium but a complete fingerprint of sodium's presence. This led her team to conclude that the exoplanet's atmosphere lacked clouds or haze, which would have hidden the sodium's clear signature.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUyNjIzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDE5Nzk1Mn0.0FEgMt4QIDUs1Scp1E-8KZpSIqPUagMkKkrmQsefVpg/img.jpg?width=980" id="318b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3696fd2b92b776989e2e1056f3707aea" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1087" data-height="723" />
Munazza Alam – a graduate student at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
Credit: Jackie Faherty
<blockquote>"I'll admit that at first I wasn't too excited about this planet," Alam said in a <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2021-01" target="_blank">press release</a>. "But once I started to take a look at the data, I got excited." Seeing the sodium was "the smoking gun evidence that we are seeing a clear atmosphere," she added.</blockquote><p>Finding such a planet is very unlikely since <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/aafc63" target="_blank">astronomers estimate</a> under 7% of exoplanets have clear atmospheres. Studying them can help us understand why they were formed in a way that is different from most planets, according to Alam. Without clouds and haze getting in the way, it is also easier to study the chemical makeup of such a planet.</p><p>Jupiter itself has a complex and chaotic cloud structure, formed at different altitudes:</p>
Jupiter's Colorful Cloud Bands Studied by Spacecraft
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a72dfe5b407b584cf867852c36211dc"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GzUzCesfVuw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The astronomers plan to study WASP-62b further upon the launch of the next-generation <a href="https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/" target="_blank">James Web Space Telescope</a> later in 2021.</p><p>Check out the new study published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/abd18e" target="_blank">The Astrophysical Journal Letters. </a></p>
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Five collectibles with better returns than the stock market
People often make a killing in stocks, but what else do people buy in hopes of selling for a fortune?
January 22, 2021
Personal Growth
- Outside of stocks and bonds, some people make money investing in collectibles and make a fair amount on them.
- One stamp even sold for a billion times its face value.
- The extreme dependence on future collectability limits the potential of most of these opportunities.
<p> The question of how to make your money work for you is a never-ending problem. While stocks, bonds, and currencies of all kinds are common choices, they aren't the only things you can put your money into. Various collectibles, household objects, and clothing articles have made headlines for being sources of income for people who can predict which ones will end up being valuable years after purchase and reaping the profits.</p><p> While the word "investment" is a strong one, some people really do buy these items in hopes of reselling them for higher amounts later, much as you might do with stocks or bonds. So, let's look at five alternative investing options with occasionally eye-popping returns.</p>
Pokémon Cards
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hVUmTaSoB5Y" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> For those who weren't content to catch them all in a video game came a trading card game where you could collect them all. Some classic cards have gained tremendous stature among collectors and Pokéfanatics and sell for extremely high prices. </p><p> An older card featuring Charizard, a fire breathing dragon, regularly sells for thousands <a href="https://www.lifesuccessfully.com/gaming-articles/the-most-wanted-pokemon-cards-charizard#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online</a>. Given that the card could be purchased for a couple of dollars in 1999, this is quite the return. A particular pack of the cards, which cost $5 in 2003, now sells for $650, one hundred and thirty times the original asking <a href="https://adamrybko.medium.com/stocks-or-pokemon-cards-an-introduction-to-alternative-investing-32fe499083c4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">price</a>. </p><p> Of course, not every card will fetch these high prices. Buying cards as an investment is tricky. You have to essentially guess at which cards will be considered highly valuable at a later date and will be unable to collect any dividend before selling them.</p><p> Furthermore, you have to presume that people will be collecting the cards years after buying them. While Pokémon has remained popular, it is a bit of an outlier in terms of enduring success.</p>Shoes
<p> People from all walks of life, from skateboarders to the First Lady of the <a href="https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/imelda-marcos-shoes-mixed-legacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Philippines</a>, enjoy collecting shoes. An entire subculture exists for people interested in collecting sneakers, and some people make quite a profit in it.</p><p> The Nike SB Dunk Low Reese Forbes Denims, priced initially at $65 in 2002, are commonly valued in the thousands of dollars now. The Nike Air Jordan 1 Retro High x Off White "Chicago" shoe sold for $190 a mere four years ago, but now sells for $4000 a <a href="https://sixfiguresneakerhead.com/sneaker-model-return-alternative-investment-stock-x-reseller/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pair</a>. </p><p> A <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sneakers-good-investment_n_5bd1f5ebe4b0d38b588143ee?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALOu0F9zs5DBHHOIjMgHOZR6K88W3rZkyD3ftBMz2nzlHfoxD4MS2Iz1vF3H-a4_xzOWIIrsJyv76Gj6xwUXaRIRdjq7M2m7I6-lxihWIcEfs7F9PgOwnx82JXPfXmWL7-RQlNUufOyvd8V6TCzMEYrEjzMXVU77IWk9MjOEtsln" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Huffington Post</a> article points out that most of these shoes offered better returns than gold over the same period. The same article quotes YouTube personality <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/mrFOAMERSIMPSON" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mr. Foamer Simpson</a> and his explanation of the difficulties of making money on shoes:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"> "There's a guessing game or element of unpredictability that makes it exciting for some collectors. With sneakers, you kind of never know. Sure, you know what sneakers are more limited or which ones were harder to get, but even with that, it fluctuates a lot. A sneaker that was very valuable two years ago might all of a sudden crash and no longer be valuable."</p>Toys of all kinds
<iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0uYnj1i1EQw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> If there's one thing everybody loves, it's what they loved when they were children. That often translates into old and rare toys fetching insane prices at auction.</p><p> Beanie Babies, those little stuffed animals from the 90s, once sold at a price of thousands of dollars <a href="https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/03/02/How-Great-Beanie-Baby-Bubble-Went-Bust" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online</a>, not bad considering they sold for $5. Lego sets, particularly those featuring well-known franchises like Star Wars, can sell for hundreds of dollars <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-geeky-collectibles-could-millions-201624881.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">online</a>. </p><p> As with Pokémon cards, the success stories are dependent on what people are interested in collecting long after most people forgot the toy existed.<strong> </strong>While some collectors have ideas on how to gauge what might or might not end up being valuable later, there seems to be a considerable amount of luck involved.</p>Stamps
<p> The hobby of kings has occasionally made some people as rich as one, with rare stamps and extensive collections fetching high prices at auction.</p><p> One of the famous "Inverted Jenny," stamps, a rare misprint showing an upside-down airplane, sold for $1,593,000 at <a href="https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/2018/november/nov-15-jenny-invert-sale-record.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">auction</a>. The most valuable stamp in the world, the British Guiana 1c magenta, last sold for $9,480,000, a billion times its face <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/magenta-n09154.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">value</a>. For those interested in a shorter-term investment, the USA Forever stamp has gained a face value of 75% since its introduction and can still be used to send a letter.</p>Coins
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxNjY2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjUwNzk3OX0.HMBXb1mbiL0D-JbFcD7pBWNZ8TcOB4mzcJ6ri2aCNOg/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C1%2C0%2C1&height=700" id="41fe2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="57f1ae74688caf29e150c4ce2f7c5b41" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" /><p> For those who want to invest in actual money but without having it do money related things, collectible coins may be the ticket.</p><p> The misprinted Wisconsin State Quarter, featuring an extra leaf on an ear of corn, can sell for up to $2,800, though the price has declined in recent <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/2005-02-10-quarter-usat_x.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">years</a>. Older coins made of precious metals are also highly valued; a silver dollar from 1804 sold for nearly two million at <a href="https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/rare_coin_prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">auction</a>. Even old wheat pennies can sell for a couple of dollars today. </p><p> While these collectibles can provide high returns on your investment in them, they don't provide dividends, and their value is entirely dependent on how much collectors are willing to pay for the particular item you have. As a couple of the above examples show, tastes can change and leave your investment worthless. If you have some luck, an eye for trends, and the good fortune not to have thrown out your old stuff, you might be able to make a fair amount on it. </p><p> Of course, if you manage to get rich because you found an old coin in your desk after reading this article, be sure to remember who wrote it. </p>
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