Breakthrough - Winter Edition: February 2022 by Ramaz School

Winter Edition / February 2022

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The Ramaz Science Publicatio

Table of Contents The Lumos Particles by Ron Alweiss ‘22 Pg. 3 Xenobots Made by Scientists Are Capable of a New Form of Biological Reproduction by Michael Chetrit ‘23 Pg. 5 Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio Discusses Consciousness by Sydney Eisenstein ’22 Pg. 8 Breaking Down The Sun’s Heat Barriers by Noa Essner ’25 Pg. 10

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What Does A Star Look Like Before A Supernova? by Noa Essner ’25 Pg. 12 On Our Way To Reversing ALS! by Ariella Goloborodsky ’23 Pg. 14 Prostate Cancer Treatment by Sarah Kalimi ‘25 Pg. 16 DART and NASA's Mission to Protect the Earth from Asteroids by Sarah Silverman ’24 Pg. 18

Imagine possessing the technology to construct a wand just like the ones in Harry Potter. Although scientists have not perfected those, they have developed nanoparticles to produce a single stream of light, illuminating the tip of a wand similar to the effect of the “Lumos” spell Initially, scientists failed to identify the light produced by the particles. The unre ective nature and the 6-nanometer size prevented researchers from progressing in their experiments. Even the most effective microscopes failed to distinguish the color produced by this nanomaterial, challenging the scientists to continue observing and developing the particles for optimal use. Thankfully, researchers at UC Riverside examined and developed this light by improving the resolution employing an advanced color-imaging device, observing the molecular bonds of the light waves at a minuscule 6 nanometers Ming Liu and Ruoxue Yan, two of the primary researcher at UC Riverside, developed the super-focusing technique, enabling scientists to examine the vibration of the tiny light waves. Exploiting their invention, researchers can depict full wavelengths with visible color and structure at that size with no light scattering from the intended point. Scientists can then condense this light into a single 5-nanometer-radius point and expel it forward like a miniature ashlight while displaying color. Comprehending the extensive capabilities of this nanoelectronic technology allows for further experimentation and industry utilization, such as developing more ef cient semiconductors, catalysts, and other technological devices.

Ron Alweiss ’22

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The Lumos Particle

Ma, Xuezhi et al. "6 Nm Super-Resolution Optical Transmission And Scattering Spectroscopic Imaging Of Carbon Nanotubes Using A Nanometer-Scale White Light Source". Nature Communications, vol 12, no. 1, 2021. Springer Science And Business Media LLC, doi:10.1038/ s41467-021-27216-5 “'Magic Wand' Reveals a Colorful Nano-World.” Nanotechnology, 25 Nov. 2021, https:// www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news2/newsid=59238.ph Morales, Marie. "Magic Wand-Like Tool Developed Using Nanomaterials; New Imaging Technology To Help With Next-Gen Electronics". Science Times, 2021, https:// www.sciencetimes.com/articles/34726/20211126/magic-wand-tool-developed-using-nanomaterialsnew-imaging-technology-help.htm

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References

New Form of Biological Reproduction In 2020, a team of scientists created the rst living robots, called Xenobots. These robots are assembled from frog cells using Arti cial Intelligence. Scientists plucked clumps of skin cells from frog embryos, and these clumps of cells arranged themselves into balls and grew. About three days later, these xenobots began to swim, and move on their own. Cilia, cellular hair-like extensions, act as motors that allow the xenobots to move around. From this movement a new form of reproduction was born, one previously not seen in all of biology- kinematic reproduction. Generally, when it comes to reproduction, organisms contribute some parental material to their offspring, like with sexual reproduction for instance. But what the Xenobots have been discovered to do is that as they roam around, they collect other lone frog cells and clump them into spheres, which then eventually become Xenobots themselves. To quote study co author Douglas Blackiston of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and Harvard University, “Here, this is different,” These xenobots are “ nding loose parts, sort of like robotics parts in the environment, and cobbling them together.” Those collections then grow into “a second generation of xenobots that can move around like their parents.” So this sort of reproduction is more like replication, because the offspring aren’t technically made from their parents, but rather using the same type of cells. With their base design, a plain sphere type shape, these xenobots were able to replicate one generation before dying out. But after altering their design using AI to the most optimal design possible, the xenobots were able to replicate up to 4 generations. This new optimal shape, made by the AI, has a Pacman type shape, where there is a small hole in the sphere. The cells were collected in these “mouths” resulting in more xenobots being formed This new discovery can have many repercussions, for better or possibly worse. Since these bots have the ability to reproduce by themselves, there is much potential for them to help further progress in the different branches of science. The bots also have the amazing ability to heal themselves after being cut, and they can survive for 10 days without being fed- when fed sugar, they can survive for longer. Because this was done on such a small scale, on a cellular level, these new xenobots can especially be used to help in biomedical areas of science, like sculpting tissues for implantation, or go inside bodies to heal diseases in spots that are hard to operate on; They may even be used to help with cancer therapy. They can also probably potentially be used to clean waterways, arteries, and small spaces in

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Xenobots Made by Scientists Are Capable of a

great risk, and can be used to hurt others, if placed in the wrong hands. In addition, it is hard to predict how these bots would behave on their own, since they are living- a “grey goo” type of scenario comes to mind. But many scientists say that we can learn many things from these xenobots, like how to use AI to make a biological tool to do something, and to better understand how to “anticipate and control the consequences of complex systems”, according to study coauthor Michael Levin; they pose much more opportunity for advancement rather than something we should fear. Clearly, Xenobots are the key to many potential breakthroughs in science.

Michael Chetrit ‘23

References Brown, Joshua. “Team Builds First Living Robots-That Can Reproduce.” Wyss Institute, 8 Dec. 2021, https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/team-builds- rst-living-robots-that-can-reproduce/

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general that were previously uncleanable. To some it might also seem that this technology can present

Fellow. “Will Self-Replicating 'Xenobots' Cure Diseases, Yield New Bioweapons, or Simply Turn the Whole World into Grey Goo?” The Conversation, 9 Dec. 2021, https://theconversation.com/will-selfreplicating-xenobots-cure-diseases-yield-new-bioweapons-or-simply-turn-the-whole-world-into-greygoo-173244 Sanders, Laura. “Frog Skin Cells Turned Themselves into Living Machines.” Science News, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/frog-skin-cells-self-made-living-machinesxenobots Sanders, Laura. “Tiny Living Machines Called Xenobots Can Create Copies of Themselves.” Science News, 3 Dec. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tiny-living-machines-xenobotsreplicate-copies-frog-cells.

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Coghlan Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, Simon, and Kobi Leins Honorary Senior

Discusses Consciousness In Antonio Damasio’s most recent book, “Feeling & Knowing: Making Mind Conscious,” he explains that the link between the brain and body is essential to understandin consciousness. Damasio, the director of the University of Southern California’s Brain an Creativity Institute, de nes consciousness as something that gives someone a sense of self an helps them stay in the present. Despite many scientists’ arguments that consciousness is merel produced by networks of neurons, Damasio argues that the brain does not work alone in creatin consciousness Damasio argues that consciousness is created by different structures within an organism some neural and some not. Feelings play a role in connecting the brain to the body, and Damasi believes that feelings have contributed to animal’s homeostasis throughout history. Homeostasi is a self-regulating process in which organisms maintain stability while adjusting to changes i an environment. Damasio states that consciousness was created as an extension of homeostasi and enables animals to be versatile in unpredictable environments Homeostasis is crucial to consciousness because once organisms feel that they ar reasonably ok and will survive in their environments, they can expend energy on things that giv them a sense of self. Feelings are so important in this process because feelings are an indicator o the wellness of the body; for example, if someone has a fever, their feelings will signal to the that they are not feeling well Damasio argues that consciousness does not exist in simple organisms becaus consciousness was created from animals’ homeostasis and it took a certain level of awareness t do so. Additionally, Damasio does not believe that consciousness is exclusive to humans. H uses octopuses as an example because they have intricate behaviors. Damasio assumes tha complex creatures, like octopuses, are conscious because they have similar features to creature that could develop a sense of self; for example, octopuses have a certain level of awarenes which helps them know how to defend themselves Damasio discusses whether computers could be capable of consciousness. He says tha for computers to have consciousness, they would need to have a sense of vulnerability, whic

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Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio

environments, then we would be on the way to creating feelings in computers.

Sydney Eisenstein ’22

References Carrol E. Izard, 2022, “Emotion Theory and Research: Highlights, Unanswered Questions, and Emerging Issues,” US National Library of Medicin JP O'Malley, 2022, “‘Feeling & Knowing’ explores the origin and evolution of consciousness,” ScienceNews 2022, “‘Feeling & Knowing’ explores the origin and evolution of consciousness,” Funtitech

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they do not have right now. If computers were homeostatic and could sense changes in thei

Due to its intense surface heat of around ten million degrees, which reaches about 27 million degrees at its core, researching the sun up close presents a dif cult challenge for space explorers and engineers. Historically, the closest anyone has gotten to the sun was between 1974 and 1976, with the Helios 1 and Helios 2 probes developed by NASA in partnership with Germany. A ‘space probe’ is an unmanned device that is sent into space to gather data then return it back to Earth for further study. Helios 1 and Helios 2 were groundbreaking in terms of studying the sun in close proximity; however, there has since been no signi cant progress in observing the sun up close, and potentially answering some of its many questions. The sun’s atmosphere is composed of several layers. The outermost of which, known as the Corona, was reached by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker), and this is the rst time anyone or anything has reached such a contiguity to the sun. Not only that, but the sun’s corona is in fact hotter than its actual surface. Hopefully the probe will help scientists nd an answer as to why this is. The fact that NASA has not only broken the long-lasting distance record, but has also successfully sent a probe to last ve hours inside the extreme conditions of the solar corona is an incredible feat. In 2019, this same probe discovered the zig-zag patterns of solar winds, known as switchbacks, which are charged particles taking the form of steam near the sun’s atmosphere. With this achievement, however, scientists will now have more information at their disposal regarding solar evolution, as well as the rest of the universe it impacts, namely stars in the solar system. It will also study the magnetic properties of the sun, and in addition hopefully answer some more of science’s remaining questions about the sun.

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Breaking Down The Sun’s Heat Barriers

References American Physical Society. "A spacecraft has 'touched' the sun for the rst time." ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily.com, 14 December 2021. Johnson-Groh, Mara. “NASA Enters the Solar Atmosphere for the First Time.” NASA, NASA.gov, 21 Dec., 2021. Sharp, Tim. “How Hot Is the Sun? The Temperature Varies More Than You Think.” Space,com, Space, 19 Oct. 2017. Sharp, Tim. “The Sun’s Atmosphere: Photosphere, Chromosphere and Corona.” Space.com, Space, 2 Nov. 2017. Strickland, Ashley. “NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Becomes First Spacecraft to ‘Touch’ the Sun.” ABC7 New York, WABC-TV, Dec. 202 Williams, Matt. “The Sun Is Actually One of the Most Dif cult Places to Reach In the Solar System. Here’s How the Parker Solar Prove Will Do It.” Universe Today, 13 Aug. 2018

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Noa Essner ’25

For the rst time ever, astronomers have watched a supernova as it was happening, as opposed to only seeing its effects subsequently. The average star lives about ten billion years. During its lifespan, it undergoes a series of changes to reach the stage of stars we recognize today and often see in the night sky. This is a process known as stellar evolution. The process begins with the formation of a nebula, a massive cloud of dust and gas, which is composed primarily of hydrogen. Gravity then pulls the gas and dust together to form a young star, otherwise known as a protostar, which slowly collects mass as it develops into a regular star. During a separate process called nuclear fusion, the star’s core maintains its heat by releasing energy. This produced energy counteracts the gravity pulling the star inwards, which leaves it in a state of equilibrium for several billion years. These are the stars we see in the sky. After this stable phase, the hydrogen used by the stars in nuclear fusion will have all been used, leaving the energy-gravity ratio out of balance. This allows the gravity to compress and expand the star. In this new state, the star develops a red surface. Depending on its size, it then becomes either a Red Giant or, if it has a higher mass, a Red Supergiant. Red Giants turn into white dwarf stars, and Red Supergiants undergo a great stellar explosion, called a supernova, where it is either destroyed completely, becomes a black hole, or becomes a neutron star, which is the core of a star which has caved into itself, and is made up of densely packed neutrons. But what happens to a star before it explodes? In other words, what exactly does it do, and how does it behave in the days prior? A supernova isn’t something easy for astronomers to see, as they are dif cult to predict and locate, and they occur at random points in time. Not only did astronomers just recently overcome this challenge and witness the explosion of a star, this particular star they saw and observed was unique in the sense that it contained ten times the mass of the sun, which isn’t something common. The star that the scientists watched explode was located in the NGC 5731 galaxy, approximately 120 million lightyears away from planet Earth. Before it exploded, the Red Supergiant was observed for 130 days using a telescope in Hawaii. The scientist’s studies found that, contrary to evidence suggested beforehand, before they undergo the supernova, stars also undergo a series of “violent eruptions.” This is because before exploding, the internal structure of Red Supergiants stars change, which makes them release gas, causing them to collapse and then explode in a supernova, information that wasn’t known prior to this scienti c breakthrough. This discovery and observation is the rst of its kind, which goes without saying that it also most certainly won’t be the last.

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What Does A Star Look Like Before A Supernova?

References Bartels, Meghan. “Death Star: In Cosmic First, Scientists Observe Red Supergiant Just Before It Explodes.” Space.com, Space, 7 Jan. 2022 Gregersen, Erik, and Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Star Formation and Evolution.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Live Science Staff. “How Long Do Stars Live?” Livescience.Com, Live Science, 30 Nov. 2012, Sky News Editors. “Astronomers Spot Dying Star Just Before It Explodes and Record Supernova.” Sky News, Sky, 7 Jan. 2022

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Noa Essner ’25

On Tuesday December 14th, an Israeli Research team from Tel Aviv University had announced a major breakthrough regarding ALS! ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a fatal disease in which one’s brain and muscles lose connectivity. ALS causes nerve cells to break down, which causes weakness and atrophy of muscles. Yearly, over 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS, and lose their ability to eat, talk, and eventually, breathe, being given a life expectancy of 2-5 years. Currently, there is no cure for ALS, but with the breakthrough uncovered by an Israeli research team, the path to creating a cure is in sight. In collaboration with other research teams, they discovered a core mechanism that causes ALS – an abnormal buildup of a protein TDP-43 near neuromuscular junctions. TDP-43 translates brain signals into physical movements. This buildup of the protein in the neuromuscular junctions degenerates and eventually kills the nerve cells. This affects the activity of the mitochondria, which is essential to the function of a cell. “The paralysis caused by the disease results from damage to the motor neurons, which leads to the degeneration of nerve endings and to the loss of muscle innervation,” said the leading professor of the study, Prof. Eran Perlson The team discovered that the buildup of TDP-43 occurs during the early stages of ALS, which means that the nerve cells are damaged even before the patient develops serious symptoms. As ALS progresses, and the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord deteriorate further, more serious symptoms are seen in ALS patients. This is a huge breakthrough in the eld of ALS research and treatment because prior to their discovery, scientists and doctors could not understand the biological mechanism that caused the damage to nerve cells in the spinal cord The research team led an experiment, in which they used an experimental molecule, initially developed to help neural regeneration after brain injuries, to break down TDP-43 in certain animals. In this experiment they were successful in stopping the building of TDP-43 and restoring motor neuron activity, thereby restoring almost complete muscle activity. This discovery, and the success of their experiment, brings hope to cures being developed that can reverse ALS by dissolving the TDP-43 proteins or by creating a drug that overpowers the proteins by increasing the proteins that help the mitochondria function, thereby healing the nerve cells before they are majorly damaged in the spinal

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On Our Way To Reversing ALS!

which could prevent the fatal degeneration caused by ALS

Ariella Goloborodsky ’23

References https://www.timeso srael.com/liveblog_entry/tel-aviv-university-breakthrough-touted-askey-to-reversing-als https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/1639549833-israel-university-breakthroughtouted-as-key-for-als-reversa

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cord. Either way this is gone about, this discovery allows for potential early diagnosis and treatment

Men all around the world struggle with prostate cancer. This type of cancer is treatable by removing the prostate gland, radiation treatments, hormone therapy, and more. Although most males do survive the sickness, sadly when it reaches the fourth stage, there is not much hope left. The fourth stage is when the disease metastasizes, meaning when the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes of the patient, creating more tumors. This all started with Dr. Oliver Sartor at Tulane University School of Medicine, which is recognized for its rigorous research programs. Dr. Sartor himself is a respected professor who has focused mostly on advanced prostate cancer for over 30 years. His trial is called LuPSMA and works by using radiation in a new and unusual way. The rst step to the life altering technique is to take a picture of the prostate called a PSMA scan (prostate-speci c membrane antigen scan). This picture shows the doctor a detailed visual of the cancerous cells. They are looking to see if the cancer is on the surface of the cell so that the treatment would know where to go. The treatment that's used, PSMA-617, makes radiation when it nds its way to the infection. By doing this, the defected cells are being destroyed while the healthy ones remain safe. The outcomes of this trial have been exceptional, extending the lives of over 800 males. Sartor and his team hope that this method will not only be for people once they have no more options, but will be used as a common treatment for all men suffering from prostate cancer.

Sarah Kalimi ’2

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Prostate Cancer Treatment

https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/8-medical-advances-you-may-have-missed-duringcovid-1 https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2021/prostate-cancer-psmaradiopharmaceutical-visio https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/ drc-2035309 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuoyGyD0mi

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References

Protect the Earth from Asteroids Earth has many issues that compromise its safety and security. The most pressing news commonly discusses global warming and climate change, but recently NASA has been experimenting with security measures protecting our planet from asteroids heading our way. One of these measures is a satellite known as DART, which stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. In late 2022, it will arrive at the Binary asteroids, Dimorphos, and Didymos. Dimorphos completes one orbit of Didymos every 11 hours, 55 minutes, and DART's goal is to crash into Dimorphos, slowing it down and causing it to fall closer toward Didymos, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit, and seeing if it is possible to slightly alter an asteroid's speed and direction. Although neither is in any way a hindrance to our safety, they are being used as test pilots for the innovative ideas developed by NASA physicists and the John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. Asteroids have posed a threat to Earth in the past, most notably 65 million years ago, with the Chicxulub impactor killing off most of our early planet's living species, including dinosaurs. Likewise, were Didymos and Dimorphos to crash into Earth, it would cause worldwide panic, and if they landed in a metropolitan area, many deaths would ensue. This type of destruction is why NASA and its partner organizations feel that these kinds of preventative measures are necessary. The DART spacecraft lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California, on November 24th from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and cost a whopping 330 million dollars. There are over 26,115 asteroids that pass near Earth, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, with 2,000 of those being potentially dangerous Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs)that could hit Earth. Although there may be more pressing issues concerning our planet's survival, in the larger picture, scientists feel that this is a safe precautionary step to prevent large-scale annihilation from otherworldly objects. And one day, and it may be well off in the future, these types of innovative technologies will have been worth supporting and promoting.

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DART and NASA's Mission to

References Rincon, Paul. “NASA Dart Asteroid Spacecraft: Mission to Smash into Dimorphos Space Rock Launches.” BBC News, BBC, 24 Nov. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/scienceenvironment-59327293. Roulette, Joey. “NASA Launches New Mission: Crash Into Asteroid, Defend Planet Earth.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Nov. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/ science/nasa-dart-mission-asteroid.html. Wall, Mike. “Dart Timeline: What's next for NASA's Asteroid-Smacking Mission after Launch.” Space.com, Space, 24 Nov. 2021, https://www.space.com/dart-nasa-asteroid-missiontimeline.

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Sarah Silverman ’24

EDITOR Sydney Eisenstein ’2 Ariella Goloborodsky ’2

FACULTY ADVISO Ms. Lenore Bracho

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This publication which encourages science research is generously sponsored by The Harriet H. Cohen and Paul Milberg Science Research Program