Over the last decade scientists had started to look at ancient plaque samples under a microscope, hoping to find microscopic bits of food stuck in its hard matrix.
Bones are in a constant state of remodeling — dissolving microscopic bits of old bone, a process called resorption, and rebuilding new bone.
This time, it is something called "cash-active" yarn, cashmere imbedded with microscopic bits of ceramic that protect the wearer from UV rays and help keep the body cool on hot summer days.
It is not an easy project: the best doughnuts involve a wet, sticky dough, obscene amounts of butter, sugar and fat, and microscopic bits of it all clinging to the walls of your kitchen.
The series, whose stars include William L. Petersen and Marg Helgenberger, may be slickly produced and have a glossy look, but it doesn't shy away from its graphic subject matter, as the investigators sift through body parts, hair fibers, fingerprints, nail clippings, dust particles and microscopic bits of evidence.
(Steel is a blend of microscopic bits of iron and carbon, among other things).
The clues researchers used in the new study are microscopic bits of silica called phytoliths (from Greek, meaning "plant stones").
Soon after, the abundance of microscopic bits of charcoal, blown from large fires, jumped 10-fold, indicating the presence of humans.
But if the electronic brain detects dangerous movement, it applies more current, aligning microscopic bits of iron in the fluid to increase its viscosity.
That's the conclusion of a new study, which finds that microscopic bits of potassium-rich salt spewed skyward by trees and fungi may be seeding much of the region's precipitation.
