Earwax in the canal. Jaw movement assists this process by dislodging debris attached to the walls of the ear canal, increasing the likelihood of its expulsion. The lubrication provided by cerumen prevents desiccation of the skin within the ear canal. The lubricative properties arise from the high lipid content of the sebum produced by the sebaceous glands. In wet-type cerumen, these lipids include cholesterol, squalene, and many long-chain fatty acids and alcohols. While studies conducted up until the 1960s found little evidence supporting antibacterial activity for cerumen, more recent studies have found that cerumen has a bactericidal effect on some strains
The Net (substance) The Net (substance) The Net, in alchemy, is an alloy of copper and iron, whose crystal structure induces a network pattern on its surface. It was described in the 17th century by Sir Isaac Newton. Newton produced the substance by following what he regarded as a recipe, encoded in classical mythology, for part of the process of achieving the philosopher's stone. The relevant myth involved the god Vulcan finding his wife Venus (alchemical symbol for copper) in bed with the god Mars (alchemical symbol for iron) Newton's interpretation rested on typical alchemical associations, construing Vulcan as a stand-in for fire,