Absolute Zero Issue 2

THE WONDERS OF H2O The incredible properties of the liquid we take for granted everyday

THE EFFECTS OF HELIUM ON YOUR VOICE EXPLAINED NOT A MORNING PERSON? Find out why!

°

e

Reporting

Biology

Evolution Completely Inside Out……………Page 2

Whales: Secrets of the Extreme Divers……….…Page 4 Stem Cells…………………………………………..…Page 6 Influenza and its Effects…………………………….Page 7

Chemistry

Physics

Helium: the funny gas……………………………..Page 10 GPS………………………………………………...…Page 11

Crossover

Extras

Cover Picture: Water the molecule unlike any other……………………………………………Page 8

Is it possible to condition people?.............Page 12 What is pharmacology……………………….Page 13 Early Birds vs Night Owls………...…………Page 14

Computer Science………………………………….Page 15 3.14 (the irrational long number we love)………Page 16 Recommended TED talks…………………….……Page 18 Make you own Lava Lamp with SciZmic………..Page 19

2

Reporting There have been several different theories when it comes to how we all came into existence. The general idea has been, that first came the prokaryotes, then the nucleus and other organelles developed to form eukaryotes, and then came the even more developed mass of eukaryotes that produced the plants and animals that we know today.

Of course it is a little more complicated than that, but this was the key idea. But what if I told you that recent research has shown that this could, in fact, be wrong?

It has been widely accepted that eukaryotes form through endosymbiosis

and phagocytosis. Parts of the outer membrane of the prokaryote (presumably an archaeon, which is the prokaryote with the most similarities to eukaryotes) was assumed to have folded inwards, pinching off portions to

form

internal compartments.

Some membranes also wrapped around the DNA to form the nucleus membrane, while others formed the endoplasmic reticulum. The origin of the mitochondria has been explained as other

3

Evolution completely prokaryotes having been engulfed by the rest of the host cell through phagocytosis.

These prokaryotes then went on to become mitochondria. There have been many variations on this model, but the general consensus was that the eukaryote formed from the outside­in.

However, a scientist called David Baum has now developed a new theory for the evolution of the eukaryote, namely the inside­out model. In this model, Baum proposes that the prokaryote formed protrusions in its cell membrane to form blebs (a protrusion, or bulge, of the plasma membrane of a cell) and that these eventually surrounded a prokaryote called the epibiotic bacterium (which was to be the future mitochondria). It was presumably beneficial for the archaeon, depending on its surrounding environment, to keep the epibiotic bacterium close enough for material exchange to take place.

Therefore, the blebs would eventually have fused to form the peripheral parts of the eukaryotic cell.

The diagram opposite depicts the process involved, which began with an eocyte ancestor cell (archaeon prokaryote) with a single bounding membrane and a glycoprotein rich cell wall (S­layer), interacting with proto­mitochondria. The ancestor cell then formed protrusions, aided by protein­membrane interactions at the protrusion neck. These protrusions facilitated material exchange with the proto­mitochondria. There was then an enlargement of the blebs in order to establish a greater area of contact between the symbionts. This led to the eventual loss of the S­layer from the protrusions.

The blebs would then have then been further stabilized by the development of a nuclear pore outer ring complex and through the establishment of protein complexes that physically connect the original cell body to the inner bleb membranes (since the S­ layer has been lost). With the expansion of the blebs to enclose the proto­ mitochondria, the site of cell growth progressively

inside-out shifts to the cytoplasm, facilitated by the development of regulated traffic through the nuclear pores. At the same time, the spaces between the blebs would have enabled the gradual maturation of proteins secreted into the environment via the perinuclear space through glycosylation and proteolytic cleavage.

Finally, the cytoplasmic compartments are connected through bleb fusion. This leads to the formation of a plasma membrane around the newly formed cell (perhaps through a process akin to phagocytosis whereby one bleb enveloped the whole). This isolates

the endoplasmic reticulum from the outside world and establishes a strict vertical transmission of mitochondria, leading to a cell with modern eukaryotic cell organisation.

While many other theories have explained how features of the eukaryote may have formed, this theory may be the most accurate as it competently explains why the nucleus has no internal organelles and why it shares a membrane with the endoplasmic reticulum. While this theory still needs to be investigated further as it is in its very early stages, we can definitely conclude that it is a very plausible explanation for the structure of the eukaryotic cell.

Charlotta Dyvik­Henke

4

Biology

Whales: secrets of the

Cuvier’s beaked whales are the best divers, but many other marine mammals have also evolved to be able to dive deep and long. They all do it for one reason - to find food. Humans have managed to swim great depths with the help of oxygen tanks, but there is a limit to how far we can go, and that is because of the crushing pressure of the water.

At 1000m down, a Cuvier's beaked whale experiences 100 times the pressure that they do at the surface, enough to completely compress the air in their lungs. So how is it that animals, such as the Cuvier’s beaked whale, can dive almost 3km down?

Their ribcages can fold in, collapsing the lungs in order to reduce air pockets. They also exhale 90% of the air in their lungs, further reducing the buoyancy so that they can dive down. However this decrease in oxygen capacity means that they cannot exert themselves much. When diving down they don’t move a muscle, instead they let themselves sink since they have no buoyancy.

They also have to reduce the heart rate to the extreme; in Weddell seals scientists have measured the heart rate to be as low as 4 beats per minute!

Finally, they also stop the use of oxygen by not breathing and shutting down their digestion, kidney and liver functions.

You might ask how on earth do they can catch anything if they have no oxygen left in their body? They have a supply of

5

oxygen stored in their blood and muscles. They have more red blood cells (which store oxygen) than most mammals, making their blood thick and viscous.

bends. In 2013 the bends were diagnosed in live marine animals for the first time. Some sea turtles had accidentally been caught by beaching. A suggestion is that military activity using sonar which had happened that day made the whales come up too quickly to the surface. Studies have shown that whales dislike sonar; they rapidly swim away from it and hide underwater for longer than normal.

All mammals contain a protein called myoglobin in their muscles as it stores oxygen, (it also gives meat its red colour).

In 2013 it was found that marine mammals have ten times more myoglobin in their muscles than humans. It is so concentrated that their flesh is almost black.

In humans too much myoglobin Studying extreme diving may makes it stick together, causing have unexpected benefits for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes. However these marine divers’ myoglobin is positively charged so the molecules repel, and don’t stick together. This allows them to pack huge amounts of myoglobin into the muscles to supply lots of oxygen.

However simply being able to have enough oxygen is not the only problem they face; they can suffer from decompression sickness or “the bends”. This disorder occurs when you dive down as air bubbles dissolve in the blood. If you rise too quickly the gas bubbles come out of the blood stream and may get lodged in blood capillaries or critical organs. This causes discomfort, pain and even death.

Late in 2002, 14 whales were beached in the Canary Islands.

When scientists did some autopsies they found deadly tissue damage caused by pockets of gas in vital organs, suggesting that the whales had

Muscle stores oxygen using myoglobin

Extreme divers revealed

fishermen and brought ashore.

Studying Marine CT scans mammals extreme showed have diving that evolved may they have suffering knowing were unexpected not to from rise benefits too bubbles quickly, for in conditions so their bendsorgans. will in humans only occur To such when treat as treatment they decompression are forced for atelectasis tosickness the surface where in a person’s too humans quickly, all you aslungs inhave fishing collapse, to do nets. is preventing Therefore put the person them therefrom under must breathing. have high Their extreme been pressure a reason to recompress dives for may the them. show 2002 a cure. beaching.

The turtles However, Awere suggestion given at thethe moment issame that we don’t activity military treatment know and enough made using asonar about full the marine which recovery. had happened animals’ This finding physiology that day is to understand made important the whalesfor properly come upturtle how too they can quickly conservation, to the dive surface. since tonow Studies such we phenomenal have know shown that turtles that depths. whales caught Untildislike then, in their extraordinary sonar; fishing nets they may rapidly need swim dives treatment away will always from before it and being continue hideletunderwater to go, fascinate or they for scientists longer might die than straight and normal. people away. likewise.

Hermoine Beckitt

6 3

Why Stem Cells are the Revolutionary Scientific Discovery of this Era and should be Ethically Acceptable

has been by lifted those who In Think 2009 of a hindered disease; Obama a serious these one. argue it akin to infanticide. Sarah Palin restrictions.

One you believe is incurable. If I told Yet embryonic stem cell stated, "We should not create human research you there was a way to cure it, would still doesn’t have the life, create me? an embryo and then widespread you believe acceptance Would you that believe it destroy it for research". This deserves. me if I told you a blind man could have perspective affiliates Or if Parkinson’s embryonic stem his sight restored? cell

research

with reversed? abortion.

Yet, disease

could

be

How In truth it deserves widespread scientifically,

an

embryo

is

not about

spinal

cord

injuries?

Muscle recognition. Thanks to stem cell classified as a human until it performs damage?

Alzheimer’s?

All

these

life­ therapy, athlete Barry Brown survived human functions; this be is altering diseases can reasoning in from fact his heart disease; springing therefore absurd.

Critics should take treated by the same scientific method. deathbed to running a 12.3­mile half into consideration the optimism of the This revolutionary discovery is called marathon. Another ordinary hero, Rob American public: a 2007 study stem cell treatment.

Waddell had a severe kidney disease published in Science Magazine found but now has an active life without anti­

60% the patients expressed rejection Stem of cells drugs. have Terry the Killman potential was to willingness

to

donate

embryos

for expected replace and repair the damaged cells to die of leukaemia within stem cell research. months, but received a transplant and in your body. Think of all the people is who die waiting for a transplant. Stem now in remission. There are To elaborate, it is a fact that these hundreds of stories like this. Stem cell cells eliminate this ‘wait’. They contain same embryonic cells would be treatment saves lives. Investment and matching DNA to yours, so if you were discarded if not for stem cell research. support to receive a transplant, there would be for its research is therefore Furthermore, every cell with a nucleus vital. no need to take anti­immune rejection has the potential to be a human being. drugs, which are notoriously To quote to neuroscientist Dr aside, Sam Pro­life damaging campaigners the body. These same Harris, adopting this logic would mean scaremongers cells have the argue potential that tothese tell that

“every

time

you

scratch

your experiments scientists why will cells yield divide dangerous to cause nose, you have committed a holocaust knowledge; volatile knowledge that will cancers. Such research could pinpoint of potential human beings.” Any critics lead us into problems similar to those the causes of autism and among you should remember this the of schizophrenia. Even large companies nuclear power. It is backward and next time you reach to relieve an itch. alarmist from the cosmetic and food industries to compare stem cell What’s more to you? research, such as Nestlé are exploring stem cell which important saves the lives of Destroying a cell the size of a pinhead individuals, to nuclear power. Scientific research to learn more about the or destroying millions So of progress always contains a degree of health impact the of lives their of products. people through inaction? To put this in risk but it seems overwhelmingly clear why are they treated with global perspective, to me that the positive impact of stem scepticism? a young embryo is a mere cluster of 150 and a fly’s cell research will cells outweigh the brain has about 100,000. Not only can negatives.

The key difference between adult and embryonic cells change people’s lives; embryonic stem cells is that adult they have changed people's lives. stem cells can only generate cell Alex Lorenzotti types from their tissue of origin, They save lives stem so why the whereas embryonic cells are controversy? Embryonic stem cells are able to create any type of cell in the incorrectly linked to cancer. Scientists body. Resultantly embryonic cells are have manipulated adult stem to far more versatile.

So why iscells there mimic embryonic ones.

These controversy surrounding embryonic manipulated adult stem cells are cells and an ethical reluctance to fund referred

to

as “induced pluripotent their research? stem cells” and as mentioned by specialist James Thompson, Critics of embryonic stem have cell "lingering safety concerns" to develop research argue that they are embryos cancerous cells. These adult stem that have begun to develop as babies. cells would never need to be interfered Embryonic stem cells are derived from with if embryonic cells lost their 3­5 day old embryos that are created unethical reputation. for fertilisation, but This are ethical never dubiousness arose the religious implanted into a from woman’s uterus. dogmatism of the Bush administration.

Frustratingly, this precious research

7 3

THE WORK OF INFLUENZA IN OUR CELLS San Myat the newly formed RNA strands then attach on to the host cell’s If you have a high fever, headaches, aching muscles and coughs, you probably have the flu. The disease is so common ribosomes to be translated into viral proteins. Some of these in the winter; we barely notice it until we have it ourselves. It proteins stay in the nucleus to help with the replications while can affect anyone of any age worldwide making it one of the others are sent to the cell membrane. most widely spread epidemics. Globally it affects 5%­10% of adults and 20%­30% of children, with 250 000 to 500 000 deaths a year. So how does this particular virus cause this much chaos and destruction in our bodies?

STRUCTURE There are 3 types of influenza viruses: A, B and C, of which Influenza A and B are more common. The various types differ in the number and type of proteins. Type C also has a slightly different structure.

A virus particle is typically spherical in shape with a 80­120 nm diameter. It has a lipid bilayer membrane, which originates from the membrane of the host cell when the virus enters it.

The virus also contains glycoproteins (proteins with sugars attached) embedded in the membrane, of which the two most important are Haemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA).

EXIT OUT OF CELLS AND CELL DEATH HA is responsible for the virus’s entry into target cells while NA The newly made proteins and RNA strands are transported helps with the secretion of newly replicated viruses out of from the nucleus back to the membrane of the host cell. This is target cells. Ion channels are also present in the bilayer. the assembly point of new viruses, which are made by a Beneath the membrane, there is a structural protein called M1 process called ‘budding’ from the newly formed proteins. The which forms a shell. This protein gives the membrane strength cell membrane extends outwards, creating space for the RNAs and rigidity. The genes to code of viral proteins are held in the to be packaged into their new protein coats and the virus virus’s core. There are 8 single stranded RNA segments in forming around the membrane causes the membrane to bulge Influenza A that is the genetic material of the virus. into little ‘buds’, hence why they’re called ‘budding viruses’.

The glycoproteins NA (as mentioned above) on the new viruses attach onto the sialic acids on the cell membrane and remove them so that the new viruses can be released from the membrane.

The release of the new viruses can cause the death of the host cell. Cell lysis is the process by which the cell breaks down, which causes cell death because the cell’s membrane has been severely disrupted by the making and releasing of new viruses. The virus will also have hijacked the cell’s protein synthesis machinery which severely damages the cell, as it cannot make the important proteins it needs to survive.

You begin to feel sick as the millions of new flu viruses go onto infect millions of your body cells causing more cell destruction.

And that’s when your immune system kicks in!

San Myat ENTRY INTO TARGET CELLS To enter into the target cell, the HA glycoprotein on the virus membrane attaches onto a cell receptor called sialic acid.

Once they have bonded together, the virus enters the cell by endocytosis; the membrane folds inwards and surrounds the virus in a pocket. The membrane then seals off and forms a vesicle around the virus which allows it to completely enter the cell. In this way, the virus adopts the host’s lipid bilayer from its membrane. Now it can travel through the cytoplasm to the host cell’s nucleus. The virus releases its RNA segments and enzymes, such as RNA polymerase, into the nucleus. Inside the nucleus, the RNA undergoes a process similar to our own DNA replication, where the RNA polymerase runs along the viral RNA strands and makes complementary strands. Some of

8

Chemistry Water is everywhere. Our bodies are approximately sixty­percent water; over seventy percent of the Earth is covered in it. But what's so special about water?

occur these intermolecular forces must be overcome; since hydrogen bonds are relatively strong, this requires more energy than other simple covalent substances. Accordingly, this is Water, or H2O, is made up of two reflected in a higher boiling point. hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom covalently bonded together For the same reason, water has a to make a v­shaped molecule. high specific heat capacity ­ the Water is a polar molecule; the energy required to raise one oxygen atom in it has a partial kilogram of water by one degree. negative charge and the hydrogen This means that water can absorb atoms have a partial positive a lot of energy before it heats up. charge. These dipoles exist due to oxygen

being

more Another peculiarity of water is its electronegative than hydrogen. low density when solid, again The oxygen atom in water is able reflecting the hydrogen bonding. to attract the electrons in the Usually as liquids cool they covalent bond more strongly become denser, colder fluids sink, towards it, thus gaining a slightly and this is true of water as it cools negative charge. to four degrees. As we all know, ice floats in water because it is Many everyday molecules are less dense than water. When the similarly polar, such as ethanol water temperature descends four and glucose. It is water's dipolarity degrees, or freezes, the maximum that is responsible for many of its number of hydrogen bonds special properties. Molecules are possible form between the held together by weak forces molecules thereby forcing them called intermolecular forces. Water slightly apart and into a regular molecules are held together by a lattice structure. This arrangement special type of intermolecular force renders ice less dense than liquid called hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen water as the molecules are more bonds form when hydrogen is spread out. covalently bonded to oxygen, fluorine or nitrogen, and a lone pair But how does this equate to the of electrons is present. Hydrogen real world? bonds are the strongest type of intermolecular forces, however, Water can provide a relatively they are still relatively weak. It is to stable environment, without large the hydrogen bonding that some of fluctuations in temperature. It can water's properties can be absorb relatively large amounts of attributed. thermal energy with little change in temperature, and remains liquid Water has a relatively high boiling over a fairly wide range of point (100°C) for a simple temperatures. This makes liquid covalent molecule, reflecting the water a good habitat for aquatic strength of the hydrogen bonds organisms, which is lucky seeing that form between the water as our planet is covered with it. molecules. For vaporization to Large bodies of water such as

9

oceans also influence the climate by a mechanism called the maritime effect, so that coastal areas have milder winters and summers than land­locked areas.

The high specific heat capacity of water allows it to be used as a mechanism for animals and plants to cool down. Liquid water on animals' skin (water being the major component of sweat) absorbs thermal energy radiating from the animal, cooling the animal down as the hydrogen bonds are broken and water in the sweat evaporates. The same thing happens with plants, where the water evaporates from the leaves as part of the process known as transpiration.

Solid water, or ice, can also provide a floating home for organisms that live at the poles of our planet ­ such as polar bears at the North Pole and penguins at the South Pole. Aside from providing habitats, ice being less dense than water has probably played a large role in the evolution of life and the geology of our planet. Life would have evolved very differently if the oceans froze from the bottom up.

An important property of water is its ability to act as a solvent for substances that are ionic or polar.

The dipoles on the water molecules causes ionic compounds to disassociate ­ the charges on the water molecules effectively pull ions out of the ionic lattice, leaving the ions in solution.

Water's ability to act as a solvent means that it is a good transport medium, as it can transport compounds dissolved in solution.

This is why water is the main

constituent of blood plasma, which makes up roughly 55% of the blood. When ionic or polar compounds are in solution, their constituent parts are then free to react with each other. This is why the cytoplasm of a cell (where most chemical reactions take place in an organism) is between 70% and 95% water.

Liquid water is colourless, which means light can pass through it.

This is beneficial to aquatic organisms, such as water plants, that rely on light to survive. Water plants absorb light energy, and with the help of chlorophyll, convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose needed for respiration.

You might wonder why the sea and oceans appear blue if water is colourless. White light is made up of light of all different colours of the visible light spectrum (like a rainbow). When light hits water, it separates out into the different colours due to refraction (this is called dispersion). Blue light has the shortest wavelength, and so can penetrate deeper water more, giving the water a blue appearance. The presence of water molecules explains the blue of the sky and the formation of rainbows.

Water may also play an important role in modeling climate change.

Hydrogen exists as many different isotopes (atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons), but only two are stable and therefore commonly found in nature. These are protium and deutrium consisting of one proton, and one proton and one neutron respectively. Protium is

what we usually just call Hydrogen and is the most common isotope.

Most water consists of two protium atoms and one oxygen atom, but sometimes one or more of hydrogen atoms are deutrium atoms. Water containing one or more deutrium atoms is known as heavy water. Although oxygen makes up most of the mass of a heavy water molecule, it is only very marginally heavier. Still, heavy water is slightly heavier and still needs more energy to be vaporized. This is where the climate comes into play.

In conclusion, water is an amazing molecule. Its unique properties help explain why it plays such an integral role in life on Earth and how it is likely to have played a big role in the evolution of life. Water may also give us further insights in the history of our planet in the coming years, as well as playing an important role in climate change predictions.

Elena Casale

When the global temperature is higher, heavy water is more likely to evaporate and some of this ends up falling as snow in Antarctica and Greenland, before being compacted as ice. By taking sample of ice sheets (ice cores) and analyzing the heavy to light water ratios we can see how the temperature has changed over the last around 800,000 years. This is useful in modeling future climate change predictions.

One of the many questions we cannot answer is where the water on our planet came from, given that the planet was originally a very hot, volcanic and turbulent place. One theory is that some of the water may have come from comets colliding with the earth.

This is one of the questions that the space lander, Philae, on comet 67P hopes to answer. The initial data suggests that the water on earth may not have come from comets, or at least not 67P, since the analysis of the heavy to normal water ratios suggest that the water and ice on 67P do not exist in the same proportions.

10

Physics

Helium: The Funny Gas Helium, a noble gas, is commonly known for its property of causing that “Donald Duck” style, high­ pitched voice. Understanding how this occurs requires you to understand how your voice works in the first place.

When you speak, the vibration of your vocal chords produces sound after air passes over it. The vibration is a sound wave, and through a medium (in this case, air) the wave causes other particles in the air to vibrate, allowing our voices to be heard. The pitch of our voice depends on the frequency of the wave; the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.

Contrary to a popular belief, the switch from air to helium gas doesn't actually increase the pitch of your voice (at least not very much).

Helium, does however, affect the “timbre” of our voices.

Sound timbre describes the properties of sound that allow the ear to differentiate sounds that have the same pitch and

11

loudness. It’s like playing the same note on different instruments­ they are the same pitch, but they still sound very different. Our voices have timbre as well; they are not just one pure note but also a combination of lots of different waves of different frequencies.

In the case of helium, sound waves sound waves behave differently depending on what they are trying to move through. Since we normally breathe air, which is a combination between mostly nitrogen, some oxygen and other gases, the sound waves generated by our vocal cords move through air at a constant speed of around 350 meters per second.

However, since helium is much less dense than the air we breathe, which explains why helium balloons float, the sound waves would travel much faster that normal. This value would range around 900 meters per second during the short time that they are making their way through the

throat and out of the mouth.

The pitch isn’t altered, but the timbre is. Essentially, the fast moving higher frequency sounds are more powerful, and the lower frequencies get a bit lost. So our voices end up sounding flat, causing us to sound a bit like Donald Duck.

Priya Chohan

The Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of 27 Earth­ orbiting satellites (24 in operation and 3 extras for back up). It was developed by the US Military, but was soon opened up to the rest of the world.

Each satellite, costing £3000­4000, circles the globe 12,000 miles above the Earth’s atmosphere making two complete rotations every day, with the orbits arranged so that there are at least four satellites ‘visible’ in the sky at any time anywhere on Earth.

A GPS receiver will locate 4 or more of these satellites and figure out the distance to each one, allowing the receiver to deduce its own location accurately based on these measurements. This is based on a mathematical principle called trilateration.

Trilateration works by overlapping distances in spheres to determine a location where all distances are correct. For example, if you are 10 miles away from satellite A in the sky, you could be anywhere on the surface of a huge, imaginary sphere with a 10­mile radius. If you also know you are 15 miles from satellite B, the first sphere would be overlapped by the second. The spheres intersect in a perfect circle.

If you know the distance to a third satellite, you get a third sphere, which intersects with this circle at two points. The Earth itself can act as a fourth sphere because only one of the two possible points will actually be on the surface of the planet, so you can eliminate the one in space. The GPS receiver can figure out both the location and distance from the satellites by analyzing high­frequency, low­power radio signals from the GPS satellites. Radio waves are

electromagnetic waves, which travel at the speed of light. The receiver can time how long it takes for the signal to arrive, thus determining the distance the signal has travelled.

All of this sounds too accurate to be true… This method assumes all radio signals will make their way through the atmosphere at a constant speed. In fact the Earth’s atmosphere slows down the electromagnetic energy, particularly as it travels through the ionosphere and the troposphere. The delay experienced depends on your location on Earth, so it is hard to accurately factor this into the distance calculations. Further problems occur when radio signals bounce off large objects, such as tall buildings, giving the impression that a satellite is further away from the receiver than it actually is.

At a set time, the satellite beings transmitting a log in the form of a digital pattern called a pseudo­ random code. The receiver begins running the same digital pattern at exactly the same time. Therefore when the satellite’s signal reaches the receiver, its transmission of the pattern will lag behind the receiver’s playing of the pattern. This length of delay is equal to the signal’s travel time and when the receiver multiplies this by the speed of light, the distance travelled by the signal Differential GPS (DGPS) helps can be found (assuming the signal is correct these errors. DGPS gauges travelling in a straight line). the GPS inaccuracy at a stationary receiver with a known location and For this measurement to be because it knows its own position it accurate, the clocks on the satellite can easily determine the difference. and receiver must be synchronised The station then broadcasts a radio­ to the nanosecond. The easiest way signal to all DGPS­equipped of doing this would be to use atomic receivers in the area, making DGPS clocks, however these are incredibly receivers much more accurate than expensive so the GPS system has normal receivers. Phew, we won’t an alternative solution to lower the get lost after all! And this navigation cost. Every satellite contains an is made more user­friendly by atomic clock, but the receiver itself plugging in the raw data into maps uses an ordinary quartz clock. The stored in the memory of GPS receiver looks at incoming signals devices. from four or more satellites and gauges its own inaccuracy against Elizabeth the very accurate atomic clocks. The receiver is thus constantly resetting its clock to be in sync with the atomic clock in the satellites so it is getting atomic clock accuracy ‘for free’!

The location of the satellite is determined from the very high and predictable orbits they make around Earth. The GPS receiver has a stored memory of where every satellite should be at any given time.

12

Cross Over

Is it possible to conditon people?

There have been many psychological experiments into the possibilities of conditioning an individual to have certain emotional reactions to a stimulus. There are many books and movies that investigate the side effects this control would have on society. For example, ‘The Clockwork Orange’ is a famous film which suggests that conditioning is destined to fail as it is impossible to have complete control over an individual.

metal pipe with a hammer, until Albert began to cry. After repeating this action multiple times Albert began to cry whenever he saw the rat, even when Watson was not making any noise. Watson and Raynor then showed a variety of white objects to Albert to see if he was able to distinguish them from the rats. They observed that Albert began to cry and attempt to crawl away whenever a white object was placed in front of him.

One experiment that appeared to prove that conditioning was possible was the ‘Little Albert’ experiment conducted by John B.Watson and Rosalie Raynor in 1920. This experiment was greatly influenced by Ivan Pavlov who was a famous Russian psychologist, known for his tests on conditioning dogs. Watson and Raynor took Pavlov’s tests a step further and investigated humans instead.

The experiment has been widly criticized for being unethical since it is an experiment on a child. One of the mysteries of the experiment is what happened to Albert because once the experiment was over he and his mother moved and there new location was never recorded. It is known that Watson and Raynor were unable to uncondition Albert and he remained scared of white objects when he left.

The experiment involved a nine­ month old boy, called ‘Albert B’.

In the experiment Watson and Raynor showed Albert a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks and burning newspapers and recorded his reactions to each object. During the first interaction with these items Albert showed no fear towards any of the objects. But the next time Albert was shown the rat, Wason simultaneously hit a

13

However, the mystery has recently been solved and new reportings from the ‘American Psychologist’ show that Albert was actually called Douglas Merritte. It also shows that Douglas died when he was six due to hydrocephalus, which is a fulid build up in the brain. This discovery raised more problems with the experiement as this shows that Watson and Raynor

chose an unhealthy child for their experiment. There is no possibilty that they could not have known about Douglas’ condition, since he had it from birth.

However, although the test was unethical, it did portray the possibility for a person to be conditioned to feel particular emotions to a stimulus.

Ellie Baldwin

What is Pharmacology?

proteins ten percent of other materials. targeted During would the be undiscovered All of these components make enzymes, transporters, subjects day, ion some up channels our of cells or us and receptors. attended our bodies We the pharmacology have were introduced to the idea of around 37 trillion

lecture, cells. delivered by Dr. Barrie Kellam Neurotransmitters, pharmacodynamics in and our of the brains, pharmacokinetics. are used University to stimulate of Nottingham. protein Pharmacodynamics receptors Pharmacology to isinstruct the is a combination day­to­day effect of a drug on a target cell processes, of such both chemistry and biology. as: or protein

tissue synthesis,

whilst DNA replication, pharmacokinetics is defined as Pharmacology

hormone

is defined production etc. how the as body the controls branch drug of medicine concentration Using concerned how at receptors the with site the of in uses, effects, and modes of our bodies work, how the body action. action of drugs. Drugs can be controls The drug pharmacology concentration man made, and the effects of drugs on a lecture also looked natural into the or endogenous (made within the target cell, pharmacologist can concept of a receptor. In body). then general, a receptor is a protein try and manufacture drugs that responds Pharmacology to help toour a bodies’ protein looks into the main protein drug function normally. signal. Receptors turn on and targets. make some Drugs sort exert of biological some of physiological effect; most response. To think about it in target a we general, protein, are made some out target of DNA 60 percent or nucleic water, acids.

15 percent The lipid, 15 percent protein and

14

If you were asked what affects the time you go to sleep, most of us would probably answer that it's due to how much caffeine you take, how much light you are exposed to throughout the evening, how much exercise you do, etc.

However your bedtime and wakeup call is more likely to be due to a chronotype, a person’s tendency to sleep at a particular time during a 24 hour period, that's in your genes

owls. Early Birds are also more confident and tend to be more social than night owls.

Unfortunately, it's found that night owls are more likely to have depression, lack of sleep and are less likely to have the best grades.

This is because most activities take place between 9­5, putting night owls at a slight disadvantage. Night owls also tend to eat unhealthier foods; secrete more stress This sleep pattern dates back to when humans hormones and have more sleep apnea, aka had to sleep at different times in snoring. order to protect the group. Night owls were posted around the camp to look out for any On the other hand, it's found that night owls intruders or to alert the rest of the group if they tend to be more creative and intelligent and spotted any danger, whilst early birds took over end up earning more. It's also said that night this role as the night owls gained their rest. owls tend to last longer before they become Whilst this doesn't happen anymore, these mentally fatigued, whilst early birds tend to genes have been passed down the burn out faster throughout the day. generations.

Famous early birds include: Early birds genetically have an AA nucleotide George W. Bush base ­ they make up about 30% of the Tim Cook population. Often, they find that they will sleep Howard Schultz and wake earlier. On the other hand, night owls genetically have a GG nucleotide and make up Famous night owls include: surprisingly only 16% of the population. For the Adolf Hitler (who supposedly held meetings in 64% who don't fall in either category, they the afternoon as he had a bath) possess an AG nucleotide base, and tend to Winston Churchill find that they wake and sleep between either Bob Dylan extremity.

As they appear to wake at the crack of dawn, Zara Lim early birds generally peak at the beginning of the day, feeling refreshed and awake when they wake up, however they're more likely to become mentally fatigued faster than night

15

Extras

Early Birds vs.

Night Owls

On Saturday 31st January, computers, their design, and their

a lot of Lower Sixth students from uses for computation, data St. Pauls, Latymer Upper, Kings processing, and systems control”.

College and more attended the This includes the coding and undiscovered subjects taster day programming of devices that we held at Godolphin. I was lucky use on a regular basis, such as enough to attend the Computer smartphones,

smartphone

science lecture, which I found applications and game appliances program it to do those actions. incredibly enjoyable.

as well as human computer What I found really interesting is

Before going into the interaction devices like Google that when programming the lecture, I didn’t really have an glass, wireless headphones, and TwitBot, we had to be very precise extensive

background

in the XBOX Kinect.

programming. I have always

about the spelling, capitalization

At the taster lecture, we all and punctuation we use during

imagined computer science as had the opportunity to experience each command. For example: something extremely daunting and what first year computer scientists difficult. However, after the lecture, do by programming the TwitBot. I realized that computer science is The TwitBot is a very smart robot >>robot.setWheelVelocities(100,1 actually really interesting and that can do actions such as 00,3000) something that I may want to study moving around, changing color, at university.

checking the temperature and This would mean that we were

The Merriam­ Webster speaking just by a single tweet commanding the robot to move dictionary defines computer from Twitter. We didn’t tweet the straight at a distance of 100 science as “the study of robot, but we did get a chance to centimeters per 3000 milliseconds (which is 0.33 meters per second).

Charlotte Manser

16

3.14 or

Close your eyes and imagine is held by Chu Lao, from China, 1947, D. F. Ferguson calculated with pi your favorite type of pie. Do you to 67,890 only 808 digits decimal memorized; places it took 24 using see this a heavenly scented, fruity hours desk and calculator, four minutes which to recite! took dessert a with a crispy warm crust In year.

MIT, aThe university ENIAC in the USA, they also have a maths computer, invented in 1943 by a that just seems to melt in your football cheer that includes pi. team mouth? of Is it American pecan pie? computer Apple scientists, was initially used to pie? Mince Pie? What I see is a People calculate long, transcendental all over the the specifics world irrational have for also invented piems, pi poems, to weapon number.

Pi manufacturing is a puzzle that during is help assist World War II. After World War II, never ending memorizing and has the first no few digits of pi. In addition, however, in 1949 the ENIAC was patterns or logic to it.

Which is, a common used honestly, what I love about it. to piem calculate is “see, pi to I have 2,037 a rhyme assisting my feeble brain, digits in seventy hours. More its the recently, in 1997 Y. Tamura and Pi, tasks 16th oft­times letter of the resisting,” Greek which uses the number of letters Y. alphabet, Kanada, is expressed from as Japan, the in each word to give the first 13 calculated ratio between pi the accurate circumference to 51.5 digits of billion and the diameter in mathematics. digits pi. People on the have Hitachi also found that memorizing pi in other SR2201 computer in just over 29 For thousands of years, people languages, such as Japanese, is hours. As Ivars Peterson (1990) around the world have always in fact, said, had this “Computing easier. certain For fascination pi, example, nowadays, with in Japanese is pi; used whether as the they afirst stress questioned four digits test for its in Japanese is a“san computers­ irrationality, kind ichi developed of yon digital ichi go.” In the Japanese cardiogram.” philosophical theories language, on it, ‘ichi go’ means calculating it, or 1, more 5 but, recently, it also means strawberry.

In popular culture, many people, computing it and memorizing Each of the pi. numbers and schools The earliest­known record of this tells universities a story which hold makes learning it simpler. celebrations observing pi day on fascination with pi links back to th March an Egyptian 14 . This scribe year is names by far Priya Chohan the most significant pi day of the Ahmes around (who 1650 has BCE pi memorized to 1030 digits) century, calculating pi to 3.16049. It took being accurate to 5 significant until around figures 290 BCE (3/14/15). for Every year, on March 14th, Archimedes to use two 96­sided­ people bake pies, eat pizza and polygons to calculate pi to compete which 3.1419, against has one pi correct another to with pi memorization. Whilst it three decimal places. may seem irrational, pun As the pi computers started intended, memorizing is becoming more sophisticated actually taken quite seriously with time, found around themathematicians world. The current that calculating In world record of pi pi simplified. memorization

17

18

RECOMMMEDED TED TALKS THE WORLD

MIRACULOUS MEDICINES

The Emergent Patterns of Climate Change – Gavin Schmidt You can't understand climate change in pieces, says climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. It's the whole, or it's nothing. In this illuminating talk, he explains how he studies the big picture of climate change with mesmerizing models that illustrate the endlessly complex interactions of small­scale environmental events. https://www.ted.com/talks/gavin_schmidt_the_emergen t_patterns_of_climate_change#t­153

This gel can make you stop bleeding instantly – Joe Landolina Forget stitches — there's a better way to close wounds. In this talk, TED Fellow Joe Landolina talks about his invention — a medical gel that can instantly stop traumatic bleeding without the need to apply pressure. https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_landolina_this_gel_ can_make_you_stop_bleeding_instantly

Questioning the universe — Stephen Hawking In keeping with the theme of TED2008, professor Stephen Hawking asks some Big Questions about our universe — How did the universe begin? How did life begin? Are we alone? — and discusses how we might go about answering them. http://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_hawking_asks_big_q uestions_about_the_universe?language=en

A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager — Jack Andraka Over 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, when someone has less than two percent chance of survival. How could this be?

Jack Andraka talks about how he developed a promising early detection test for pancreatic cancer that’s super cheap, effective and non­ My wish: Protect our oceans – Sylvia Earle invasive — all before his 16th birthday.

Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean — and shocking stats about its rapid decline — as she makes her TED Prize wish: that we will join her in protecting the vital blue heart of the planet. https://www.ted.com/talks/sylvia_earle_s_ted_prize_wi sh_to_protect_our_oceans

http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_andraka_a_promisi ng_test_for_pancreatic_cancer_from_a_teenager? language=en The surprising science of happiness — Dan Gilbert

Life in the deep oceans ­ David Gallo Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," David Gallo shows jaw­dropping footage of amazing challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t sea creatures, including a color­shifting cuttlefish, a get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square's lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the planned. blackest depths of the ocean. This short talk celebrates the pioneering work of ocean explorers like Edith http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_w Widder and Roger Hanlon. e_happy?language=en http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_on_life_in_the_d eep_oceans?language=en iGenes: what the DNA and Data revolutions mean for our health.

Watch world experts discuss the impact of geneticsand digital technology on our health The Astellas Innovation Debate explored the impact on healthcare of two seismic shifts currently under way in science and technology ­ the revolution in genetic data and understanding, and the explosion of smart technologies and devices in consumer and medical settings.

Watch at: http://www.innovationdebate.com/watch­live/2015­watch­live?

19

Wondering what oobleck actually is?

Oobleck is a non­Newtonian fluid. That is, it acts like a liquid when being poured, but like a solid when a force is acting on it. You can grab it and then it will ooze out of your hands. Make enough Oobleck and you can even walk on it! That’s right, dye it blue and it’ll look like you’re walking on water!

1. Mix 1 part water with 1.5 to 2 parts corn flour. You may wish to start with one cup of water and one and a half cups of cornflour, then work in more cornflour if you want a more 'solid' oobleck.

Mix it in with your hands. It will take about 10 minutes of mixing to get nice homogeneous oobleck.

2. For a coloured oobleck, simply add a few drops of food colouring.

The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense, than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or more dense, than water, and sinks to the bottom. When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes.

YOU WILL NEED 

Clear jar with lid



Water



Food colouring



Glitter



Vegetable oil



Salt



Torch

Fill the jar three­quarters full with water. Add drops of food colouring.

Remember, a few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. Fill the jar almost to the top with vegetable oil and let the mixture separate. Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp

20

21

46