Pfizer's patent on their "blockbuster" heart drug Lipitor, which has raked in billions, ended yesterday. And already a cheaper generic has been cleared for sale. That news may be a literal lifesaver for people whose insurance did not cover Lipitor.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. has won approval to sell generic copies of the $10.7 billion cholesterol pill Lipitor in the U.S., threatening Pfizer Inc.’s sales. U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for Ranbaxy, India’s biggest drugmaker, followed a dispute over whether the company could produce the copies given questions about its manufacturing plants. A deal to share profits with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a generic-drug maker based in Israel, helped overcome that hurdle.

By federal law a drug patent can last 20 years, but that time is usually shortened by the time between when a patent is granted and when the medication actually hits the market. Many drugs end up having patent protection for about twelve years, although drug makers will sometime make an end-run around that limit by "reformulating" the drug and applying for a new patent.

In nations with shorter or unenforced patent protections, generic or counterfeited copies of many major U.S.-invented drugs are sold at prices far, far below what is seen domestically. Many argue that American drug companies wouldn't bother to pursue innovating treatments were they not guaranteed a long period of exclusive sales.

RELATED: A handful of early HIV drug patents have expired or will shortly. A generic version of Crixivan, which despite its often brutal side-effects surely saved countless lives, is set to debut in May 2012. GSK's controversial AZT fell out of patent in 2005. In July of this year Gilead announced that it would permit overseas production of generic versions of their HIV drugs Viread and Emtriva.

For the first installment of "Ask a Scientist," I will diving into the world of pudding.  But first...

Pudding takes the shape of it's container so it must be a liquid, right?

I went back and read my original "Ask a Scientist" post and I wanted to clear something up first.  I never intended for the post to sound arrogant or snobby.  My only intention was to try to find some new interesting subjects to look into and write an informative post on them.  I am not saying that I know all the answers or that I am a genius.  I just enjoy researching all kinds of science and I also love to share fun science (such as quantum locking)!  So without further delay, let's get back to pudding.  Which is an awesome topic to discuss!

So is pudding a solid or liquid?  Short answer, it is a liquid.  Long answer, it is hydrocolloidial gel.  I'll explain...

Milk is another example of a colloid, because the solid fat molecules are dispersed in the water of milk.

Short answer; if we look at pudding like we were in grade school again and try and determine it's state of matter we would classify it as a liquid.  It has no definitive shape (it takes the shape of the container it is in) but it will not diffuse out of an open container.  So by all accounts it is a liquid.

Long answer; when making pudding there are essentially two phases that make up the pudding.  The first is the powder mix (or raw ingredients if you happen to be a grandma or Paula Dean) that consists of a starch, sugar, flavorings, colorings, and probably some preservatives.  This comes in the form a of solid powder.  Then we have the liquid phase, usually water or milk (which is essentially water for our purposes here).  Now when these two phases are combined and are not completely miscible they form a colloid.  Miscibility is the ability for two things to coexist as one medium (like when you dissolve sugar in warm tea to make sweet tea).  Colloids are when one phase is dispersed within another phase.

Pudding is the same state of matter as hair gel! A liquid dispersed within a solid.

Here, the main two ingredients that determine the overall state of matter for pudding is starch and water.  Because starches have variable molecular weights and consist of chains of sugars, they tend to form amorphous solids, solids without a definite crystal structure and have a little liquid like properties.  Once the water is dispersed within the amorphous solid of the starch, this increases the liquid like properties overall.  This type of colliod is called a hydrocolloid because it specifically uses water.  Lastly, this is considered a gel because the water is dispersed within the solid.  So thus the hydrocolloidial gel!  Which is actually more like a solid.

So to answer the question is pudding a solid or liquid, it is both!  I hope that helps and you can impress your friends at your Christmas parties!  Thanks melpels for the question!

PS - Tapioca pudding is the easiest example of this hydrocolloidial gel that is both a solid and liquid, because there are literal chunks in that pudding, ugh.

Friday again and today the "Fragments" are going into BEAST MODE!  For some reason when I opened up my folder of saved bookmarks for the fragments I found about 3 times the normal amount of links.  So without further blabbering here are enough links to keep you occupied all afternoon!

Fall seems to have finally made it's way to Purdue, as evidence by my unpredictable sinuses!  And as such, football is in full swing.  Now, my friend Aaron and I were discussing about heading to a local high school football game...not because we want to cheer for a team or because we know someone on a team.  But because we kind of miss the "Friday Night Lights" experience.  You know, paying 10 dollars for popcorn and a child size coke to watch awkward teenage boys hit each other, while the "cool kids" yell (usually at each other) on the sidelines, and the parents either get way too into the game and spray you with extraneous spittle or look like they are the subjects of a stress test gone haywire!  Now personally, I miss the halftime show.  You know, the real reason everyone shows up on Friday nights (at least in Avon).  That's right the marching band show.  So as a personal en devour I will attempting to not only make it to a local high school football game, but also a local marching band contest on a Saturday.  And I recommend it to all who want to relieve a little part of their teenage years.  Heck, take your significant other and make it a creative date (or man-date if you don't have that special someone).  So for anyone who would like to tackle this vendetta with me, hit me up in the comments section or text/call me if you have my number.  But I digress from the real reason you are here...the fragments!

The new Windows "Blue Screen of Death" Now with 50% less intimidation and 100% more "you're an idiot!"

So, I apologize for the lack of commitment lately on here.  I have excuse but I will refrain from using them as I know you probably don't care about my excuses.  I don't have too many fragments but I had an hour to kill before my first big presentation in my lab group (on Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation which will be the topic of an upcoming Under the Hood).

-I believe I have said this before but I would so be willing to be one of the first people to colonize Mars.  Well, NASA gave us a look at the rocket that might get us there!

-For all you "green" enthusiasts out there...the most environmentally friendly way to be disposed of when you die is evidently to be liquefied.

-In another AIDS research project, scientists have made kittens glow in the dark.  They used the glowing genes to indicate which cells had the target gene transfected into them.  Overview here....scientific article here.

-For some reason I find this terrifying but evidently you can make a flying, computer hacking drone that is untraceable.

-Recently, the US government has been debating things to cut in the budget.  One of those things is "public science."  Essentially it is governmentally funded research.  This is excellent article explaining the situation and I recommend it to anyone who likes science or politics (warning: it is pro-science, SHOCKER).

-Lastly, the Florida Marlins are going to be renamed the Miami Marlins and Nike has released the Air Mag shoe.  Back to the Future seems like a real possibility now!

UPDATE (per request)

-Miss Universe crowned their winner recently....Miss Angola (you're welcome Lindsey)!