Travis Hale - Science & Photography https://www.travishale.com Science, Photography & the Occasional Bad Pun Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:48:06 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/www.travishale.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cropped-C0_TH-Initials-Side-High-Res-Black.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Travis Hale https://www.travishale.com 32 32 97947215 35: How do you actually measure IEQ? https://www.travishale.com/35-how-do-you-actually-measure-ieq/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=33471 You can't manage what you don't measure. Here's how IEQ assessment works.]]> You can't manage what you don't measure. Here is what an IEQ assessment actually looks like. An IEQ assessment measures the environmental conditions inside a building against established benchmarks. This can be a targeted look at a specific problem or a full assessment across all four IEQ pillars. Depending on the goal, a comprehensive assessment usually covers: Air quality: CO2…

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]]> 33471 24: Microbes in citric acid and industrial acids production — the chemistry in your fizzy drink https://www.travishale.com/24-microbes-in-citric-acid-and-industrial-acids-production-the-chemistry-in-your-fizzy-drink/ Sat, 05 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=34171 Most citric acid in processed foods does not come from fruit, but from the mould Aspergillus niger. This process is part of a wider industrial fermentation system where microbes like Lactobacillus and Corynebacterium glutamicum produce millions of tonnes of organic acids for food and bioplastics annually.]]> Almost every soft drink, candy, and processed food on the market contains citric acid, yet most of it isn't sourced from fruit. Instead, it is produced by a single species of mould grown on sugar, fueling one of the world's largest fermentation industries. While we typically associate citric acid with lemons, industrial production tells a different story. Of the roughly 2 million tonnes…

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]]> 34171 34: Reverberation time — why it matters in schools and hospitals https://www.travishale.com/34-reverberation-time-why-it-matters-in-schools-and-hospitals/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=33470 Poor acoustics in a classroom don't just annoy teachers. They affect learning.]]> Bad classroom acoustics don't just frustrate teachers. They actually get in the way of learning. Reverberation time is the time it takes for sound to decay by 60 dB after the source stops. Most people never hear that term outside of a specialist context, but in schools, hospitals, and aged care, getting it right is a health and performance issue, not just a matter of comfort.

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]]> 33470 23: Microbes in freshwater — rivers, lakes and what lives in them https://www.travishale.com/23-microbes-in-freshwater-rivers-lakes-and-what-lives-in-them/ Thu, 03 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=34170 A single litre of river water holds up to a million bacteria. From the model organism Caulobacter crescentus to the resilient Cryptosporidium, microbes drive nutrient cycling and indicate water quality. This post examines the biological makeup of freshwater and the history of waterborne pathogens.]]> A single litre of river water can host up to a million bacteria. For the most part, these microorganisms are essential to the river's survival. Freshwater ecosystems are driven by a massive microbial engine. In fact, roughly 70% of all freshwater biodiversity is microbial, comprising bacteria, algae, and protozoa. These organisms perform the critical work of nutrient cycling.

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]]> 34170 DxO PhotoLab 10 Is Out — Here’s What’s New https://www.travishale.com/dxo-photolab-10-is-out-heres-whats-new/ Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:33:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=35919 DxO has released PhotoLab 10, the latest version of its RAW editor. It’s a bigger update than most point releases — the masking system has effectively been rebuilt, and there’s a new colour grading tool alongside it. What’s changed in version 10 Depth Masks. This is the headline feature. PhotoLab now uses AI to generate a depth map of the image, so you can target adjustments by distance from the camera — foreground, midground, or background — rather than by […]]]> DxO has released PhotoLab 10, the latest version of its RAW editor. It's a bigger update than most point releases — the masking system has effectively been rebuilt, and there's a new colour grading tool alongside it. Depth Masks. This is the headline feature. PhotoLab now uses AI to generate a depth map of the image, so you can target adjustments by distance from the camera — foreground…

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]]> 35919 22: The phyllosphere — the microbial world living on the surface of leaves https://www.travishale.com/22-the-phyllosphere-the-microbial-world-living-on-the-surface-of-leaves/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=34169 The phyllosphere is the complex microbial world residing on leaf surfaces. From the pink-pigmented Methylobacterium to the frost-inducing Pseudomonas syringae, these communities are distinct from soil microbes and play a key role in plant health. While recognized as early as 1927, we are only now beginning to understand the scale of this global ecosystem.]]> Every leaf on every plant is home to a diverse microbial community. While we have only begun to characterize these “microscopic cities” over the last two decades, they are ubiquitous across the natural world. The phyllosphere encompasses all above-ground plant surfaces, including leaves, stems, and reproductive organs. For a microbe, this is a challenging environment; unlike the soil…

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]]> 34169 33: Open plan offices and the acoustic problem no one solved https://www.travishale.com/33-open-plan-offices-and-the-acoustic-problem-no-one-solved/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=33469 Open plan was sold as collaboration. The noise complaints were free.]]> Open plan was sold as collaboration. The noise came free. The open plan office is one of the most studied and complained-about design decisions of the last 60 years. The idea, pushed heavily since the 60s, was that getting rid of walls would improve communication, flatten hierarchies, and boost productivity. The acoustic side of things was mostly an afterthought. In a private office…

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]]> 33469 21: Actinomycetes — the soil bacteria behind most of our antibiotics https://www.travishale.com/21-actinomycetes-the-soil-bacteria-behind-most-of-our-antibiotics/ Sat, 29 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=34168 That earthy smell after rain comes from geosmin, a compound made by actinomycetes. These soil bacteria, specifically the genus Streptomyces, are responsible for about 70% of all clinically used antibiotics, including streptomycin and gentamicin. From Selman Waksman's Nobel-winning work to modern bioprospecting, these microbes remain central to how we fight bacterial infections.]]> That earthy scent that lingers after a rainstorm isn't just the smell of wet soil. It is caused by geosmin, a compound produced by actinomycetes—the same group of bacteria responsible for most of the antibiotics we use today. Actinomycetes are a diverse family of bacteria. Because they grow in long, branching filaments, they are often mistaken for fungi. This physical structure allows…

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]]> 34168 32: Circadian lighting — what it is and does it work? https://www.travishale.com/32-circadian-lighting-what-it-is-and-does-it-work/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=33468 Your body has a clock. Your building's lighting might be messing with it.]]> Your body has a clock. The lighting in your building might be messing with it. The circadian system—the internal clock that handles sleep, alertness, hormones, and a lot of other physiological processes—is mostly set by light. More specifically, it's about the intensity and spectral composition of the light hitting your eyes at different times of the day. We've known this since the 1980s.

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]]> 33468 20: Lichens — the pioneers that build soil from bare rock https://www.travishale.com/20-lichens-the-pioneers-that-build-soil-from-bare-rock/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.travishale.com/?p=34167 Lichens are not single organisms but complex partnerships of fungi and algae, and sometimes yeast. These pioneers colonise bare rock, creating the first layers of soil for other life. From Arctic survivors to pollution-sensing species, they provide a window into the health of our global ecosystems.]]> Lichens are not single organisms, but symbiotic partnerships between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner. Together, they colonize some of the most inhospitable environments on Earth, surviving where almost nothing else can. For years, scientists classified lichens as a unique type of plant. This changed in 1869 when Simon Schwendener proposed the “dual hypothesis…

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