THE TECH SCIENCE DIGEST
Women's History Month
CONTENTS RUNNING + FITNESS + FOOD
03 04 08 11 14 18 21 23 25
10
ANALYZING MATERIALS FROM MARS
FEMALE SCIENTISTS BIOLOGY NEWS CHEMISTRY NEWS PHYSICS/ASTRO NEWS EARTH SCIENCE NEWS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE NEWS FUN SECTION SNHS EVENTS CITED SOURCES
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR TEAM
CLARKE LEUNG LAUREN TSUI MAYA TELLO ALLEN WU
17 THE NOEGGERATHIALES PLANT
19 CARBON FOOTPRINT LEVELS INCREASING
FEMALE SCIENTISTS YOU SHOULD KOW ABOUT Here are some female scientists who you may not have heard of, but they definitely deserve attention.
British Chemist Rosalind Franklin discovered that there were two forms of DNA. In the later years, she deduced the basic dimensions of DNA strands and the likely helical structure. She also found that when DNA is exposed to high levels of moisture, its structure changed. In 1953, her data was shown to James Watson and Francis Crick, and they received the Nobel Prize for it. Rosalind, unfortunately died from severe illnesses, and was not able to obtain a prize.
Dorothy Hodgkin undertook research mapping the architecture of cholesterol and examining the structure of penicillin. From the 1950s onwards, she focused her research on the structure of insulin, building the first model of the insulin molecule. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician who worked on NASA's early space missions, which eventually became Project Mercury, the nation's first human space program. The movie Hidden Figures depicts all of her achievements. Cecilia Payne is one of the most achieving astronomers to date. She was able to look down through the jeweler's loupe and determine what stars are made of. She determined that hydrogen was far more prevalent in the Universe than anyone else believed. Nobody believed her, a female graduate student, first, but later, she went on to be the first woman to receive the American Astronomical Society's "lifetime of eminence" award.
BIOLOGY
NEWS
The Science Behind a Squid's Skin
According to sciencedaily.com, “squids have developed some of the most sophisticated skin in the animal kingdom.” Squids have the ability to change their skin color and their skin pattern to communicate or camouflage, to attract or scare. Squids and their cephalopod cousins, cuttlefish and octopus, have a special kind of cells that are filled with pigment that when exposed to light, they result “in various shades of pigmentary color.” These specialized cells are known as chromatophores. However, squids have the ability to have different colors reflected and light breaking over their skin. The cause for this iridescence is these proteins known as reflectins. The cells known as iridocytes are “light-reflecting cells” on the squid’s skin that can change to any color of the rainbow. “It happens with the cell membrane, where it folds into nanoscale accordion-like structures called lamellae, forming tiny, subwavelength-wide exterior grooves.” The color that is reflected depends on the width of the groove structures. The lamellae in the squid’s iridocytes can shapeshift resulting in the change of the width of the groove structures. The osmotic motor is what causes this to happen while the reflectin proteins spread apart or condense in the lamellae. Turns out, the lamellae is responsible for the amplified effect of the squid’s brightness. According to Daniel Morse, a professor at UC Santa Barbara, reflectins are usually positively charged. This causes them to repel each other. The reflectins “look like a string of beads” when they are not activated. The neural signal from the squid’s brain can result in the positively charged reflectins to bind negatively charged phosphate groups. This will then result in larger but fewer lamellae aggregations considering that the reflectins will begin to attract to each other instead of repel to each other and will also begin to fold. These aggregations put osmotic pressure on the lamellae. The lamellae is a semi-permeable membrane that can only handle that much pressure. So when these aggregations are in the lamellae they are putting osmotic pressure causing water to come out of the lamellae, the accordionlike structure.This causes the accordion to collapse leading to “the thickness in spacing between the folds'' to get smaller which allows for the color change.The collapse of the lamellae also leads to the increase of the refractive index in the reflectin proteins which is responsible for the brightness amplification. The osmotic pressure “optimizes the output (color and brightness) to the input (neural signal).”
Location of Photosynthesis Enzyme Found
Queen Mary University of London scientists have found the location of an enzyme in the cells of plants that is involved in photosynthesis. “The findings, published today in eLife, overturn conventional thinking about where the enzyme resides in plant cells and suggest a likely role in regulating energy processes as plants adapt from dark to light conditions.” The enzyme known as FNR, ferredoxin:NADP(H) oxidoreductase is responsible for converting carbon into energy during photosynthesis through electron transport. The two types of electron transport can easily be switched in plants. The two types of electron transport are CEF, cyclic electron flow, and LEF, linear electron flow and the switch is an environmental response. “The transfer of FNR between membrane structures in the chloroplast, where photosynthesis takes place, has been linked to this switch.” Current dogma says that the FNR enzyme functions in the chloroplast’s soluble compartment. However, evidence supports the fact that the activity of the FNR increased “when it is attached to an internal membrane”. Immuno-gold staining has been used by the team of scientists to find the location of the FNR enzyme. They used this technique “in more than 300 chloroplasts from 18 individual Arabidopsis plants.” The team found that the FNR’s staining density "was five times higher in the internal membrane" than in the chloroplast. This shows that the chloroplast has "little soluble FNR" which leads to the confirmation of the FNR's location.
Human Genes from the first Multicellular Organisms
New research shows that the first multicellular organisms make up a part of who we are as humans even though they did not have heads, arms, or legs. The UC Riverside Study concluded that Ediacaran period oceanic creatures (555 million years old) are genetically similar to today’s creatures, humans beings included. Mary Droser, a UCR geology professor said, “These animals are so weird and so different, it's difficult to assign them to modern categories of living organisms just by looking at them,...” The fossil records of the Ediacaran oceanic creatures allowed Droser and a UCR graduate student known as Scott Evans, to connect their behaviors to the genetic makeup of modern creatures. The fossil records of the Ediacaran period oceanic
creatures allow Droser and recent doctoral graduate from UCR Scott Evans to analyze the link between the behaviors and appearance of the creatures to the genetic analysis of modern living things. 4 animals representing the creatures from the Ediacaran period were being analyzed. “These animals likely had the genetic parts responsible for heads and the sensory organs usually found there.” This shows that the genes in the oceanic creatures from the Ediacaran period have existed for many years to the point that they are still found in today’s humans.
CHEMISTRY NEWS
Chemistry News Seperating Water from Oil with a Bacterial Film. Researchers at North Carolina State University recently found that bacteria could be used as a filter to separate water from an oil mixture. This bacteria, Gluconacetobacter hansenii, releases a biofilm made out of cellulose, which is a tightly packed crystalline structure, and one of the purest forms of cellulose currently known. By utilizing these bacteria as “factories” for cellulose nanofibers, the researchers were able to separate water from a solution of water and oil. This discovery could be utilized to recover water from oily mixtures, such as recovering clean water that has been contaminated.
Analyzing Materials from Mars The University of the Basque Country's IBeA research group recently hypothesized a method to characterize Mars' materials. This method would utilize Ramen spectroscopy, a non-destructive chemical analysis technique that determines an unknown sample's molecular composition, including the chemical structure, phase and polymorphy, crystallinity, and molecular interactions. This technique utilizes the interaction of light with the chemical bonds of unknown material to analyze the composition. y finding out the molecular composition of materials from Mars, the researchers would also be able to determine the planet's geochemical composition. This method, Ramen spectroscopy, could play a crucial role in the upcoming explorations of Mars materials by the Rosalind Franklin rover, as well as the Perseverance rover, where Ramen spectrometers will be mounted for the first time in an extraterrestrial research mission.
Converting Carbon Dioxide into Jet Fuel The air traveling industry's carbon footprint makes up 12% of all transportation-related carbon dioxide emissions. Unlike cars, planes can't carry batteries and therefore have to use oil to produce jet fuel. Recently, researchers have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into jet fuel, which they say would reduce the air travel industry's carbon footprint. This process utilizes a new iron-based catalyst and a reaction chamber with carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas. The iron-based catalyst helps the carbon from the carbon dioxide molecules separate from the oxygen and link up with hydrogen, forming the same hydrocarbon molecules in jet fuel. This method was tested at the University of Oxford by chemist Tiancun Xiao and found that in over 20 hours, the iron-based catalyst converted 38% of the refraction chamber's carbon dioxide into new chemical products. 48% of these products were hydrocarbons that make up jet fuel, and the other products included petrochemicals which can be used to make plastic.
PHYSICS/ ASTRO NEWS
U UP PD DA AT TE ES S O ON N T TH HE E
modern space race The modern space race now includes a joint lunar space station deal between Russia and China, both eager to seek a lead against the competition. This involves a number of experimental research facilities on the surface and/or within the Moon’s orbit. China has opened this project to all interested parties and international partners. Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, has planned to invite China’s National Space Administration to witness the launch of Russia’s first modern lunar lander, Luna 25, scheduled for October 1, 2021.
Russia aims to catch up on its lag behind the United States and China after some poor financials and endemic corruption. Their former glory in sending both the first man and woman to space has been eclipsed by other countries in recent years. This year, they celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first man ever sent into space, Yuri Gagarin.
China launched its Tianwen-1 probe to Mars earlier last year, and it’s currently spending some time in orbit before landing. In December 2020, they’ve brought rock and soil samples down from the Moon, the first mission of its kind in over 40 years.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has also become a prominent figure in the space race and announced ambitious plans to fly people to the Moon, and eventually Mars as well. NASA also intends to land its first woman and next man on the Moon.
Anyone who plays music knows that sometimes stuff gets around the music room. A study conducted by Suo Yang and researchers within the College of Science and Engineering attempts to quell this spread, especially concerning the a. The most important detail is to not spread virus or aerosols any further than it should and thus must avoid a dispersive flow. Using simulations, they suggested that HEPA air purifiers should be placed directly in front of the person or instrument expelling the air but located away from the protected people within the room to properly ventilate the room. This surprisingly has been extremely successful, reducing in-air aerosols magnitudes faster than not using a purifier. This study, while still in a preliminary phase, will soon be able to observe and analyze in situations with more people and bigger spaces while providing a good guideline for the size and number of purifiers needed.
Perseverance rover successfully lands on Mars Landing the Perseverance rover has been the talk of the town in the astronomy community, and it has just begun
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see wheel tracks and I’ve seen a lot of them.” Anais Zarifian, NASA engineer
stretching out its muscles on the red planet. Two weeks after its landing on Thursday, February 18, it conducted its first back-and-forth drive. Going 21 feet in total for 33 minutes, NASA has been ecstatic about its exploration. They are keeping a close eye on all of Perseverance’s systems and slowly unfolding its functions, such as it’s 7-foot robotic arm. Future plans involve dropping its protective “belly pan” and launching Ingenuity, an experimental helicopter, to test samples from an ancient river delta. The site Perseverance landed at has been named after Octavia E. Butler, one of the first African Americans to receive mainstream attention for sci-fi. NASA eventually intends to conduct a possible human mission to the planet.
Earth Science News
Magnetic Fields Causing Mass Environmental Crisis on Earth A brief reversal of the magnetic poles that lasted less than a thousand years, Laschamps excursion, researchers are tying back to shifts in climate patterns, large mammal extinctions, and even changes in human behavior with the help of new carbon dating collected from ancient tree fossils. Some background information is
Chemicals in our water?
during a reversal, Earth’s protective magnetic field can decrease in strength.
During the unfortunate wildfires in forests in California a few months ago, scientists discovered benzene levels as high as 9.1 parts per billion in residential water samples- nine times higher than the state’s maximum safety level. Well now that the wildfires are out, those levels should decrease, right? Unfortunately, California has had this problem dating back to 2017 and 2018 with the Tubbs and Camp fire. To put the possible connection between the fires and the benzene levels to the test, scientists conducted experiments in which they heated pipes at certain levels of heat to see what would happen. When the researchers covered the pipes in water and let them cool, numerous amounts of benzene and VOCs leached from 10 out of the 11 different pipes into the water. Scientists therefore concluded, contamination from past fires most likely originated from damaged plastics. How does this affect us? Benzene is extremely harmful and can cause various health issues. Not limited to skin and throat irritation, dizziness, and leukemia. To protect yourself and your families, scientists recommend replacing any plastic in your home’s water systems with heat-resistant metal.
Therefore some researchers have linked this
Shifting gears, In a 2015 study by Cooper, Turney and colleagues noticed that some of the
to certain extinction events. However, there
megafaunal extinctions appear to cluster. One of these clusters included the Australian
is not enough evidence for this. In support
megafauna extinctions, the decease of Diprotodon, and the giant kangaroo Procoptodon
of this, Alan Cooper, an evolutionary
goliath, all occurring around 42,000 years ago, exactly when the Laschamps excursion
biologist at BlueSky Genetics in Adelaide,
happened. Comparing the dates of the magnetic event with previous records from ice cores
states his thoughts, “the general belief had
to help reflect changes in solar activity, the data showed with the combination of weak solar
been that geomagnetic changes had no
activity and the magnetic field could have caused the perfect storm of environmental issues
impact on climate or anything else”. Yet to prove the magnetic poles did affect the
to kill them off. Overall, the role of the magnetic reversal is still questionable, but it can still be used as a tool to solve the mystery of other environmental issues of the past and today.
environment, he and this team analyzed New Zealand’s most ancient kauri trees for carbon 14, a radioactive form of carbon. In their findings, they mention, “one massive preserved log dating to about 41,000 years ago offered up a 1,700-year-long carbon14 record. That record revealed major changes in carbon-14 during the time period running up to and including the Laschamps excursion”. Cooper and his team found out that the increase of charged particles entering the atmosphere would also increase the production of atmospheric hydrogen and nitrogen oxides — molecules that tend to consume ozone. This, in turn, would reduce the ability of Earth’s ozone to shield its inhabitants from ultraviolet radiation. In the chain reaction happening, different levels of sunlight being absorbed would take place, leading to large-scale changes in weather patterns that would have cooled the planet. These very same effects have taken place. The carbon-14 dates from the kauri trees data revealed sudden cooling at locations from Australia to the Andes.
THE NOEGGERATHIALES PLANT Spectacular fossil plants preserved within a
Using this piece of fossil, scientists were able
volcanic ashfall in China have shed light on an
to reconstruct a new species
evolutionary race 300 million years ago,
Noeggerathiales that ties in the plant group’s
Noeggerathiales, highly-evolved members of
affinity and history. The Noeggerathiales
the lineage from which came seed plants. Using were discovered to be tied to the earliest these fossils scientists have discovered,
seed plant radiation during the Devonian,
Noeggerathiales were important peat-forming
Carboniferous, and Permian periods. When
plants that lived around 325 to 251 million years examining the fossil in microscopic detail, the ago and are more closely related to seed plants Noeggerathiales has been classified as an than other fern groups. Before scientists didn’t
important discovery for science and
know how Noeggerathiales fit into the Story of
contradicted the idea that they did not
Life, but now scientists have discovered
rapidly die out as previously thought.
connections that weren’t possible before.
Environmental Science News
CARBON FOOTPRINT LEVELS INCREASING Environmental issues have been taking a toll on our home and America is at fault. The United States' $13 billion cannabis industry has been heavily attributed to electricity production and natural gas consumption from indoor environmental controls, high-intensity grow lights, and supplies of carbon dioxide for accelerated plant growth. These findings from the study, published in Nature Sustainability, led by graduate student Hailey Summers, advisor Jason Quinn, and Evan Sproul, matched with previous work of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers. In their work, they found 36 states have legalized medical use of cannabis and 15 have legalized recreational use. The CUS team recent work captures the potential spread of warehouses for growing cannabis and identifies emissions for several high-growth locations around the country.They determined that cannabis cultivation results in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions are between 2,283 and 5,184 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of dried flower. Tie that to the amount of electricity it powered and you get 22.7 and 326.6 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Our everyday systems, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems held the largest energy demand, with numbers alternating depending on the local climate.
The high consummation of cannabis is due to the lack of regulations for its use. According to a report from the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, electricity use from cannabis cultivation and other products grew from 1% to 4% of Denver's total electricity consumption between 2013 and 2018. Scientists and researchers are actively searching for solutions for the high amount of cannabis use before it is fully integrated in our daily lives and way of doing business.
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amount of the chemicals bounce off the plant over In 2019, the world wasted about 931 million metric tons of food- equivalent to an average of 121 kilograms per person. A United Nations report reports that is about 17 percent of all food that was available to consumers that year. Wasting food led to 690 million people being impacted by hunger each year and accounting for 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, to solve these issues reducing the amount of food wasted is key. Researchers determined 61 percent of wasted food comes from homes and 13 percent comes from retail outlets such as supermarkets. This is a universal issue not mattering if one’s country is rich or not. Although the report does not differentiate between potentially edible wasted food and inedible waste such as eggshells or bones, Otto recommends that countries begin addressing food waste by integrating reduction into their climate strategies and COVID-19 recovery plans. This way action can be taken swiftly and these numbers can decrease for the sake of those in need and Earth.
time collecting and increasing agricultural pollution. However, a solution to this is mixing fertilizers and pesticides with a small quantity of polyethylene oxide, a common polymer additive that improves the ability of agrochemical solutions to stick to plant surfaces. John Frostad, the study lead and a chemical and biological engineering professor at UBC with his team built a device that calculates the amount of liquid remaining on a surface after it’s been sprayed. After this, the team found that combining a fertilizer solution with a minuscule amount of polyethylene oxide, an environmentally safe polymer widely used in cosmetics and biomedical applications, significantly enhanced the fertilizer's stickiness. Some great results that came from this after testing it out, were finding out the additive nearly eliminated splashing, bouncing, or rolling by droplets when they came into contact with plant surfaces, reducing the percentage of fertilizer that entered the surrounding environment from 30 percent to just 5. This device can change the game and help be more effective when using agrochemicals to reduce the pollution caused by it.
ANSWER KEY
March Events
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Workshop:The Tutoring Committee reviewed the second unit of AP Biology! It covered the cell and the organelles within the cell.
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The Career Advancement Committee hosted a science career panel to help everyone discover and explore the variety of careers in science for inspiration.
The Trips Committee lead a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, featuring five different exhibits. They include spacecraft, historical aircraft, and a mannequin, all from the museum!
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In this meeting, the Tutoring committee created the da Vinci bridge and explored other labs you can do at home on your computer!
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Dr. Maxfield spoke to us about chemistry, his professional experiences, and advice.
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The Events Committee is hosted our first ever Quiz Night! Members participated in answering science quiz questions within a limited time to earn points and enhance their knowledge on science topics!!
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The Events Committee hosted another Movie Night! This time, we watched Rule from the Shadows: The Psychology of Power!! It highlighted how it has always been the priority of the ruling elite to promote deceptions that camouflage the true character of the "game."
Executive Board President: Mariya Meleganich Vice-President: Ethan Kwok CO-Secretaries: Nitya Patel & Eric Osipov Treasurer: Hannah Gong Media Manager: Danyal Ahmad Our Committee Head(s): Magazine: Erda Eyubova Career Advancement: Brain D. & Isabella B.H. General Events: Rose D. & Srewashi M. Merch. & Fundraising: Jiaxuan J. & Upama H. Outreach: Ruby P. & Shanika P. Recognition & Ceremonies: Ada L. & Sanova H. Trips: Alivia T. Tutoring: Suzana M.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our fantastic magazine committee for their efforts!
Cited Sources
Bernstein, Jules. “Research Shows We're Surprisingly Similar to Earth's First Animals.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 8 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-surprisingly-similar-earthanimals.html. Dunn, Marcia. “NASA's New Mars Rover Hits Dusty Red Road, 1st Trip 21 Feet.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 6 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-nasa-mars-rover-dusty-red.html. Fritts, Rachel. “The World Wasted Nearly 1 Billion Metric Tons of Food in 2019.” Science News, 9 Mar. 2021, www.sciencenews.org/article/food-waste-climate-world-united-nations1-billion-metric-tons-2019. Gramling, Carolyn. “A Magnetic Field Reversal 42,000 Years Ago May Have Contributed to Mass Extinctions.” Science News, 19 Feb. 2021, www.sciencenews.org/article/earthmagnetic-field-reversal-mass-extinctions-environment-crisis. Oleniacz, Laura. “Bacterial Film Separates Water from Oil.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 9 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-bacterial-oil.html. O'Neill, Mike. “An Innovative and Non-Destructive Strategy to Analyze Material Returned From Mars.” SciTechDaily, 7 Mar. 2021, scitechdaily.com/an-innovative-and-non-destructivestrategy-to-analyze-material-returned-from-mars/. Rigby, Sara. “22 Pioneering Women in Science History You Really Should Know About.” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 11 Feb. 2021, www.sciencefocus.com/science/10-amazing-womenin-science-history-you-really-should-know-about/. Sever, Megan. “Plastic Drinking Water Pipes Exposed to High Heat Can Leak Hazardous Chemicals.” Science News, 24 Dec. 2020, www.sciencenews.org/article/plastic-drinkingwater-pipes-high-heat-wildfire-hazardous-chemicals. “Squids: Sophisticated Skin.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 8 Mar. 2021, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210308131728.htm. staff, Science X. “Discovery Ends Controversy about the Location of a Key Plant Enzyme Involved in Photosynthesis.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 9 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03discovery-controversy-key-enzyme-involved.html. staff, Science X. “Insatiable Demand for Cannabis Has Created a Giant Carbon Footprint.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 8 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-insatiable-demand-cannabis-giantcarbon.html. staff, Science X. “Planetary Pact: China and Russia to Launch Lunar Space Station.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 9 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-russia-china-joint-lunar-space.html. staff, Science X. “'Pompeii of Prehistoric Plants' Unlocks Evolutionary Secret: Study.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 8 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-pompeii-prehistoric-evolutionarysecret.html. staff, Science X. “Strategic Air Purifier Placement Reduces Virus Spread within Music Classrooms.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 9 Mar. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-03-strategic-air-purifierplacement-virus.html. Temming, Maria. “A New Iron-Based Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide into Jet Fuel.” Science News, 22 Dec. 2020, www.sciencenews.org/article/new-iron-based-catalyst-converts-carbondioxide-into-jet-fuel. University of British Columbia. “Safe, Simple Additive Could Cut Agrochemical Pollution.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 9 Mar. 2021, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210309105200.htm.
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