Issue 17

ISSUE 16

Science And Technology News And Views Magazine

In this issue, we explore beautiful and mysterious OTHER WORLDS.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR In the previous issue of SATNAV, we explored the many mysteries of time.

We were taken on an intriguing journey from ancient evolution and the era of the dinosaurs to more current concepts of time, like how sloths move so slowly and the importance of bees. We even covered the topics of immortality and the death of the universe.

In light of our exploration of time, we decided that the idea of ‘Other Worlds’ would be an intriguing and related topic. This idea means different things to different people, but that is its inherent beauty: the writer can dictate their own story within the theme. With topics like climate change, microbiology and astronomy, we guarantee this new issue to be hard to put down.

Within the next two issues of the magazine, you will be able to read about the many different collaborations and events that have occurred in the University and the EPS College. It is always so exciting to attend and share

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these amazing events such as the EPS Trophy, WISE and oSTEM conferences and many more.

As the current committee’s year draws to a close, I would like to take the time to not only reflect on the amazing year SATNAV has had but also to thank everyone involved. Our goal for the year was to have a better outreach across the student body, and to encourage more people to take up writing or an interest in science communication. I am so happy and proud to say we have accomplished that as this year we had the greatest number of submissions to date! We also run a very successful workshop on how to write a science article and more about science journalism which I believe really helped open eyes to the possibilities of writing about science.

I would like to thank every single person who contributed to the magazine this year. I would like to extend a special thanks to all of my committee, I couldn’t have done it

without you guys – you’re all amazing.

Thank you again to all the writers who sent in their articles, there is such a fantastic range of interesting topics and it is your input that truly makes the magazine. I hope you all continue to write, be creative, be inquisitive and have a passion for science like we do.

If you would like to get involved in the magazine, let us know. We always welcome new voices and members.

Don’t hesitate to drop us an email or Facebook message should you want to find out more. You can also join our Facebook group or follow us on Twitter to be updated on everything we do.

Finally, I would like to wish the best of luck to the new committee of SATNAV. I look forward to seeing where you will take the magazine.

And now, here is SATNAV’s ‘Other World’s’ Issue. Happy reading!

Isabelle Hayden Chair of SATNAV

CONTENTS

THE SATNAV TEAM: Chair Isabelle Hayden ILH600@student.bham.ac.uk Treasurer Emily Hayward ECH620@student.bham.ac.uk Secretary Claire Fletcher CXF717 @student.bham.ac.uk Layout Editors Luke Kurowski-Ford LSK709@student.bham.ac.uk Courtney Kousser CAK500@student.bham.ac.uk Life Sciences Editor Farhana Alam FXA576@student.bham.ac.uk Physical Sciences Editor Marriyum Hasany SMH656@student.bham.ac.uk Copy Editor Isabelle Hayden ILH600@student.bham.ac.uk Publicity OďŹƒcer Abigail Joyce AXJ830@student.bham.ac.uk Website Manager Cameron Scott CXS792@student.bham.ac.uk Front cover artwork by Yujing Yang

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ARTICLES

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Iceland: a model for a green world?

Nadia Farag The world of taste and how to manipulate it: molecular gastronomy Pia Mayer A symbiotic way of life: the lichen Lara Williams The mathematics of immortality Nicholas Folidis The other worlds beneath our feet Mia Wroe Venus: the second planet of the Solar System Eloise Smith How bats help the world, and why we should help them Sophie Titman Do we need a virtual reality check?

Eleanor Roshier Our world without bacteria Phoebe Buxton The Kraken: truth behind the mythos Harry Holmes Working with the 'other world': the noble work of Nikolay Semyonov Marriyum Hasany Crossword puzzle

Will China lead the way in future space exploration and discovery?

Sean O'brien

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Iceland: a model for a green new world? thus converting the kinetic energy of the turbine into electrical energy.

Nadia Farag provides a potential solution to the In recent years, there has even been talk of using Icelandic renewable ultimate problem of climate change. sources to send power to us poor souls he UN sent out shockwaves in stead of using heat from coal, steam is here in a fossil fuel dependent Britain.

2018 when they made an an- used to power the process instead. Geo- It is being theorised that magma from a nouncement which those in- thermal reservoirs (i.e. active volcanoes molten magma lake in northern Iceterested in environmental issues had as heat sources) in Iceland heat the wa- land (2km below the earths crust) could long suspected; there are only 12 years ter up, meaning no external fuel source be used to form ‘supercritical steam’. left to prevent climate change reaching is required for heating. The steam from ‘Supercritical steam’ is water that is uncatastrophic levels. With limited time the water then turns a generator, thus der high enough temperature and presleft to change our ways, what can we converting the heat energy into elec- sure that it exhibits properties of both a do? Perhaps the answer has always been trical energy. Heat from residual geo- liquid and a gas. This could be used to in front of us - or slightly north west - thermal fluids is then often used to generate power (using the same methods the Icelandic people use for themin Iceland. heat Iceland’s famous outdoor pools.

Following an oil crisis in the 1970s Iceland’s unique geography is what selves) and sent via under sea cables the Icelandic government made the de- allows the country to utilise hydro- across the north Atlantic. It is worth cision to transition the country from power to such a significant degree; just noting, though, this is not without its hurdles and is cerbeing largely dependent on coal and oil over 75% of all the "...there are only 12 years left tainly far from beto becoming completely independent electricity generto prevent climate change ing a ready to go of fossil fuels. Due to its extensive geo- ated comes from reaching catastrophic levels." solution. thermal and hydro resources, Iceland hydropower.

Whilst replicating Iceland initially now gets 100% of its electricity from Around 11% of the country is covered renewable sources. In fact, 81% of the in glaciers and 20% of all precipitation seems like it could be the solution we country’s electricity, heat and trans- in the country contributes to the form- need, it must be emphasised that it is portation needs are met by reservoirs ation of the glaciers. An increase in the due to the unique Icelandic landscape and geothermal sources alone. volume of a glaciers significantly af- that they are capable of using these Generating electricity from geo- fects the streamflow of glacial rivers, sustainable methods of generating thermal sources is relat- resulting in the generation of even power on such a large scale. However, it ively similar to more hydropower. Hydropower works is an example of how we should all be ‘standard’ coal by using currents to turn turbines reconsidering our energy sources and methods. Inwhich are connected to a generator, investigating alternatives, for which the resources may already be at our disposal.

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The world of taste and how to manipulate it: molecular gastronomy Pia Mayer introduces the science and art of molecular gastronomy.

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verything has a distinct taste. An apple tastes like an apple, an olive taste like an olive and meat tastes like meat. But our tongue is only able to detect five different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami.

While the first four are relatively well known, umami might be new to some people. The term was created by a Japanese chemist in 1908, called Kikunae Okeda, was used to describe a pleasant savoury flavour. All of us prefer different combinations of these basic tastes and it is a cook’s most challenging task to find the perfect combination of each to please their guests.

But if there are only 5 fundamentally flavours then how are we able to taste so many flavours and tell them apart? Well, we know what an apple looks like and therefore we know what combination of flavours to expect due to previous experience in tasting it. This is where molecular gastronomy comes in. Physicist Nicholas Kurti and physical chemist Hervé founded the term “molecular gastronomy” in 1988. But what exactly does it mean?

Let’s start with the term gastronomy. Under the term gastronomy we can combine nutrition, art of selecting, preparing and the serving of food. The behaviour of molecules in solids, liquids and gases is well-known and is integrated in the food preparation processes. You may think “Oh yeah I already know this! It’s called food technology and I can get a degree for that.” Well, not exactly! Molecular gastronomy is a mix of food technology, chemistry and physics sized down and expressed within the contents of a plate. It takes familiar tastes and presents them in new and adventurous ways.

Most of us have experienced at least one example of molecular gastro-

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nomy whether we know it or not. For example, bubble tea.

The soft bubbles that pop in our mouths and have different flavours. The process to make such bubbles is called spherification, gel pearls of various sizes with liquid centres. This structure is adopted from caviar and can be achieved by dropping a flavoured base mixed with sodium alginate (a gum like substance extracted form brown sea weed) into a calcium chloride solution. As soon as the alginate gets in contact with the calcium chloride, gelation occurs. This process works "In molecular from the outside to the inside gastronomy of the droplet. The calcium everything is chloride mix causes the longpossible. Even chain alginate polymers to something that cross-link. The longer the looks like an apple pearls remain in the solution but tastes like the firmer and less liquid the duck." centre becomes. But not only pearls are possible. From jelly-shelled caviar sized bubbles, to recreating the shape of gnocchi, a wide variety of shapes are possible.

Another example is transparent ravioli. Instead of savoury filled ravioli in a pasta mantling, molecular gastronomy chef Ferran Adria created a sweet and transparent ravioli in 2009. A super thin oblate that looks like a plastic foil which can be filled with anything of low water content, looking not only amazing but also proving that we cannot always rely on our eyes to experience flavours. In molecular gastronomy everything is possible.

Even something that looks like an apple but tastes like duck.

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A symbiotic way of life: the lichen Lara Williams takes a closer look at the miniature ecosystem within the ubiquitous lichen.

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ichen are often mistaken for plants, or glanced at without a second thought, yet the way they thrive is fascinating. Only about 200 years ago did botanists themselves lump lichens together with mosses under the Latin name ‘Muscus,’ meaning ‘moss’. However, despite growing in similar locations, mosses and lichens are completely different kinds of organism.

A symbiotic relationship is where two organisms come together in order to survive, and to be able to thrive. This is done by having somewhat of an ‘exchange’. They take from each other to better themselves…but they are friends. The symbiosis of a lichen is between a fungus and one or more partners, known as photobionts. The fungal component of lichen is called the mycobiont, whilst the photobionts are either an algal or cyanobacterial species.

The structure of the lichen comprises an upper cortex composed of the fungus, with the algae/cyanobacteria growing right below it. Below the algal layer is the medulla; the widest layer of heteroamorous thallus, composed of loosely arranged interlaced hyphae.

From the structure, it is evident that the fungus provides the protection,

producers of food for both themselves and the fungus. The relationship is still a mutual one, however, as the fungus allows for the algae/cyanobacteria to grow in places that it could not possibly grow alone. This allows lichen to grow most commonly on bark, leaves and mosses, which the fungus enables by providing the photobionts with optimal living conditions. This allows for the photobionts to have a larger population size within the symbiotic relationship than they would "A symbiotic relationship is where two organisms come together in order alone. Photobionts also gain access to mineral nutrients to survive, and to be able to thrive" from fungal digestion that caused by grazing animals. This is occurs outside of their cells (extracelluachieved through the presence of rich lar digestion).

The symbiosis within lichens secondary fungal chemicals within lichens, which cannot be found any- provides a living environment that would not be possible alone. Together, where else in nature!

This relationship arose due to the the fungi and photobionts achieve balfungus being unable to produce food ance by combining their qualities to for itself, i.e. the fungus is heterotroph- create a new little world; a harmonious ic, meaning it requires an external food environment where they can be mutusource. The algal species, however – like ally better adapted to life. most plants – can manufacture their own food simply from carbon dioxide and water, via photosynthesis (i.e. they are autotrophic). For this reason, the fungus is slightly more dependent on the algae or cyanobacteria than the other way around; the algae are the building the structure of the lichen thallus, and the algae/cyanobacteria supply the source of nourishment.

Their symbiotic nature affords them the remarkable ability to tolerate complete desiccation for extensive periods of time, as well as being able to survive in extreme heat and cold. Although no growth will occur at these times, they persist in a form of suspended animation. They are also able to withstand UV radiation and damage

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The mathematics of immortality Nicholas Folidis imagines a world where we could cheat ageing and cure disease.

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mmortality has been a subject of imagination in popular culture for many years. From novels like José Saramago’s “Death with Interruptions” and Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to movies and TV series such as “Groundhog Day,” “Peter Pan” and “Doctor Who,” death and immortality have a central role in our cultural narrative.

Ageing has been a natural part of life since the beginning of the Universe. However, that has not stopped scientists embarking on efforts to try and find the secret of eternal life or ways to reverse or slow down the natural process of ageing.

Over the last five decades, life expectancy has increased dramatically and the population has more than doubled worldwide. For every 150,000 people that die roughly every day all over the planet, around 360,000 more people are born. Advances in medicine and technology within the last 50 years have significantly improved our quality of life by curing diseases and making healthcare and lifesaving treatments more widely available. Despite all the efforts of the scientific community and the advances in science, only two diseases, according to the World Health Organization, have been completely eradicated; smallpox and rinderpest.

Nevertheless, one cannot help but

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wonder what would happen in a world where all diseases could be eradicated.

Scientists believe that even if we managed to cure all diseases and we never suffered any serious injuries, we would only manage to extend our life expectancy by a few more years and, eventually, we would still die due to ageing. So why hasn’t evolution put a stop to the process of ageing?

Our evolutionary history has always depended on a continuous race against the pathogens that plague us. Evolution is all about organisms surviving long enough to reproduce and create more offspring for the continuation of their species. This constant battle has, over the years, ensured the survival of the fittest and weeded out traits that make organisms more likely to die. Human intervention to the process of natural selection may have a negative effect on our evolutionary robustness, although there are no certain indications that this would be the case.

"...why hasn’t evolution put a stop to the process of ageing?"

Furthermore, according to researchers at the University of Arizona, immortality is mathematically impossible for complex multicellular organisms, like humans. It all comes down to two major changes taking place in ageing cells: the cell growth rate slows down,

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making cells more sluggish and poorly our cells continuously divide and age, functioning – a process known as sen- until they become unviable. This pheescence – or cell growth rate speeds up, nomenon of growth arrest after a pericausing cancer cells to form. Con- od of normal cell proliferation is trolling either one of these two pro- known as the Hayflick limit. When cesses will negatively affect and cells reach their Hayflick limit they eventually enhance the other. If we then enter a senescence phase before manage to stop cells from slowing eventually dying. The process of tedown, we could get rid of problems like lomere shortening could be reversed wrinkles and grey hair, but fast-grow- with the use of the enzyme, telomerase, ing cells will take "...according to researchers at which counteracts over and eventuthe shortening of the University of Arizona, ally kill us; if we immortality is mathematically telomeres and is manage to stop active in normal impossible" cancer cells from human stem cells proliferating, poorly functioning, slug- and reproductive cells. Unfortunately, gish cells will accumulate and, again, however, telomerase is also active in kill us. This means that human beings most cancer cells and allows them to would either die due to a cancerous replicate indefinitely, without their growth or the failing of cells, which chromosomes getting damaged, which would eventually lead to the dysfunc- is what leads to the formation of tution of organs. mours.

Scientists have also investigated, at Although, there is a lot more releast in theory, the possibility of ex- search that needs to be done in order to tending human life by cheating ageing. better understand biological phenomThere are, after all, examples of various ena such as ageing, that probably will organisms that can live for hundreds – not help us to avoid death. We can defeven thousands – of years. By making initely improve the quality of human cells healthier with the help of insulin life, and some scientists predict that signalling genes, for example, natural the average life expectancy will continselection could be forced to choose ue to increase; however, for now the these healthier cells over non-function- best we can do is embrace the finite ing ones. time we have and make the most of it.

Another avenue that has been explored is the prevention or reversal of the shortening of telomeres, the regions at the ends of our chromosomes that protect them from fraying and fusing with neighbouring chromosomes. Telomere shortening occurs as

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The other worlds beneath our feet

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leven hours’ round hike from the nearest town, isolated deep in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, sits one of the most important scientific sites in the world.

The Walcott Quarry is known for producing the Burgess Shale; an extremely fossiliferous rock that is between 505 and 510 million years old (for context, the dinosaurs went extinct a mere 66 million years ago). This is a ‘KonservatLagerstätten,’ or ‘site of exceptional preservation,’ meaning that soft tissues have been fossilised here.

The organisms represented by the Burgess Shale offer an insight into a period of time known as the Cambrian explosion, when we see the sudden appearance of most of the major animal phyla we still see today. Life before the radiation consisted mainly of colonies of cells and primitive multicellular animals, but the rapid diversification of the Cambrian brought with it life that would look somewhat more recognisable as what we would call ‘animals’ today. Colourful sponges and corals lay on the seafloor beside odd worms and primitive mollusc burrows. Higher in the water column, early arthropods, like the iconic trilobite, became some of the first actively swimming predators and scavengers, stalking the seafloor, on the lookout for

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Mia Wroe delves into a past world on a journey through the fossil record. their next meal. now believe to be two sets of spines that Whole books have been dedicated actually run along its top. Hallucigenia to the fauna of the Burgess Shale and was placed in the rather broad phylum its array of unusual organisms from Lobopodia, classifying it simply as deep time. One specimen from the Bur- “worm with legs.”

The Burgess Shale is the site most gess Shale clearly shows an arthropod whose new cuticle had not hardened people think of when they hear ‘excepquick enough after its "Whole books have tional preservation,’ but last moult to protect it been dedicated to the it is not unique. Fifty from a cluster of carni- fauna of the Burgess minutes on the number vorous (and affectionShale and its array of X8 bus from Birmingately named) penis unusual organisms ham’s Broad Street, towards Wolverhampton, worms. Others are less from deep time" will take you to another recognisable, like Anomalocaris; an early arthropod whose quarry; Wren’s Nest. Here, you can find body parts had been incorrectly identi- the Wenlock Limestone Formation, fied as three separate and unrelated Dudley’s own site of exceptional prespecies until British palaeon- servation. Head to ‘Fossil Trench’ (you tologist, Harry Blackmore can recognise it by the steep rock face Whittington corrected with massive, distinct ripples) and you the error in 1985. Now can collect your own fossils. The site is we know that the mys- an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interious ‘headless terest), so hammering is not permitted, shrimp’ were attached but plenty of weathering means that to the ‘jellyfish’ mouth you can pick up almost any loose rock of this metre-long top there and find it full of fossilised predator.

Silurian corals, bryozoans, brachiopods Perhaps the most famous and, if you’re lucky, a trilobite or two. mystery that arose from the Burgess Shale was that of Hallucigenia. When it was first fully described by Simon Conway Morris in 1977, it was reconstructed upside down, walking on what we ARTWORK: JACK WOOD

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Venus: the second planet of the Solar System Eloise Smith uncovers past and present of Earth's so-called 'sister planet'.

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enus has always been romanticised in fiction from early history to the 20th century.

Named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar), it is also sometimes referred to as the ‘morning star’. It’s a similar size to Earth – albeit slightly smaller, with a mass of 4.869 x 1024 kilograms, (roughly 80% of Earth’s mass) and a radius of 6,052 kilometres. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was discovered that Venus had a similar chemical composition to Earth, and it was also thought to have a habitable atmosphere as well. As such, many science-fiction stories that depicted Venus (especially in the 1930s), described it as how Earth was during the Carboniferous and Permian periods – a prehistoric place with jungles, deserts, oceans, volcanoes and dinosaurs. Venus was the exciting new frontier to be colonised.

However, this imagining of Venus as a habitable planet was proved false after a spacecraft flew by the planet. NASA’s Mariner 2 was the first to fly by Venus in 1962 and took basic measurements of the atmosphere. The Magellan (also a

NASA spacecraft) mapped 98% of Venus’s surface by radar, showing that most of the planet’s surface is covered by volcanic flows. Venus has the most volcanoes of any planet in the known solar system.

Venus has average surface temperatures of 462°C and it has a surface pressure of 90 atmospheres– the equivalent of being 1.6 kilometres underwater on Earth. It’s theorised that Venus may have had a shallow liquid water ocean and a survivable surface temperature it its early history, but the ocean has now boiled off and contributed to its thick atmosphere. Venus’s atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide with small amounts of nitrogen gas. There are clouds of sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide that are up to 80 kilometres thick, contributing to the greenhouse effect that results in extreme surface temperatures.

These clouds also give Venus its bright white appearance from space. Although further from the sun, Venus has a hotter surface than the planet Mercury; it’s so hot that spacecrafts that land on the surface don’t last long –

IMAGE: THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCAN OF MAAT MONS TAKEN BY THE MAGELLAN

Venera 13 (Soviet Union) lasted the longest, at just over 2 hours before its electronics overheated.

Recently, it’s been thought that if there is life on Venus, it may be in the cloud layer 50 kilometres above the

Fun Fact Venus has over 1600 major volcanos with numerous other smaller ones that are estimated to total somewhere between 10,000 and a million volcanoes. Compared to the total of 1500 on Earth.

surface, where the temperatures are cooler and more typical of Earth’s surface. However, at the top level of clouds, the wind speed is about 350 kilometres per hour.

To date over 40 spacecraft have visited Venus, with the most recent being the JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) Akatasuki, which entered Venus’s orbit in December 2015 to study its atmosphere and surface conditions in order to further our understanding of how Earth’s atmosphere formed and to predict how it may develop in the future. As such, although we may not be able to live on Venus, the data we gather from it will still be useful in determining how we can continue to live on our own planet or others in the future.

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ARTWORK: 'ANOMALOCARIS CANADENSIS' BY JACK WOOD

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How bats help the world, and why we should help them Sophie Titman explores the intricate world of bats and advocates for increased conservation efforts to protect these underrated flying mammals.

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he UK countryside teems with wildlife all day, including birds, fish, and insects; but this hustle and bustle does not stop when night falls. Just as we are settling down in bed, a whole new set of animals come out to play. Bats are just one of these nocturnal creatures - often the one with the worst reputation. Actually, bats play an important role in the ecosystem, and need our help.

Bats are pollinators

netic diversity, as well as a reduced food source for the bats.

Bats are pest controllers

Bats are indicators of biodiversity Bats account for almost a third of all mammal species in the UK and live in a wide range of habitats. There are eight species of bat that are official indicator species. Bats face several pressures, including landscape changes, development, harmful agricultural practices and habitat fragmentation. As they are so sensitive to changes in the environment, they are great indicators of the wider biodiversity for the rest of the wildlife in an area.

All 18 species of bat in the UK are insectivores, often using their echolocation to catch flying insects in the air. This means bats are great for keeping bugs away from crop fields, or other areas surrounding their roost. In a single night, one bat can eat up to 3000 bugs. Unfortunately, there are several agricultural practises that disrupt this.

The use of pesticides can result in lack of prey and bats going hungry. Destruction of woodlands and hedgerows also affects bats, which use these for roosting and hunting.

Over 500 plant species rely on bats to pollinate their flowers, including mango, vanilla, banana and cocoa (that’s right, bats can be thanked for chocolate bars!).

Whereas bees are attracted to bright flowers, bats favour pale nocturnal Bats are seed dispersers flowers that are often large and bellLike birds, bats play important roles shaped. Several species of bat have in the spreading of seeds from trees evolved extremely long tongues, spe- and plants. Some tropical fruit bats cifically to reach nectar at the bottoms carry seeds inside them after eating the of flowers. Some bats’ tongues are even fruit, and then excrete the seeds far longer than their body! away from the original location. This Not only do plants rely on bats, but can be especially important for helping bats also rely on plants; many species regrowth of forests after clearance, or have evolved to after forest fires.

"Bats account for almost a third of feed on only Tentmaker bats all mammal species in the UK" in Central and one or two specific plants. For example, the lesser South America play a vital role in dislong-nosed bat pollinates agave plants persing large seeds, from up to 44–65 in Mexico. As a consequence of farmers plant species, throughout forests; this is harvesting agave plants before they of particular importance when large flower, the plants have evolved to re- animals such as deer or macaws, which produce asexually, meaning lower ge- would usually aid dispersion of these

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seeds, have been lost.

Bats need our help Humans have caused the extinction of several bat species over time, the most recent in 2009. All bats are legally protected in the UK because of their rapid decline in recent years. The public can help in several ways: by putting up bat houses, putting out food and water, reducing use of pesticides, and avoiding disturbing bats, especially during their winter hibernation. Bats have been helping the global ecosystem for hundreds of years, and now it is our turn to help them. Each small step can make a difference!

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Do we need a virtual reality check?

Eleanor Roshier weighs the impact the virtual world can have on society.

ical condition. Arguably, it’s only been downhill since then considering that recently the WHO has suggested that playing Fortnight is a pohe idea of travelling tential driving force for this to other worlds disorder (due to the young age provided to us via of the players) and there are virtual reality software and over 8.3 million people playother gaming technology ofing it. Some evidence for this ten invites a barrage of negative ailment can be seen in MRI connotations. Some of these are scans. These reveal that the rejustified such as the dangers of gion of the brain that controls video game addiction and the need impulsive and reward-seeking behato police virtual realities with very viour, the amygdala-striatal system, real-life laws. However, often overwas found to be smaller in size and looked is the benefit to society such more sensitive for those with a diasystems grant. VR is being utilised in the gnosed gaming addiction - as is the case fields of medicine and clinical psychofor the amygdala-striatal systems of sublogy more and more for example as a stance addicts. This suggests the yearnform of exposure therapy to treat people ings elicited in individuals with these two with claustrophobia. But we must ask addictions might have a similar neurobiological ourselves, is our society perhaps teeming on the mechanism. verge of a dystopian future where the virtual world, Conversely, it has been suggested gaming has some is our only world? positive impacts on cognitive function. For example, it Such a dystopian future is presented in Jennifer Haley’s has been seen to increase the size of the prefrontal regions play ‘The Nether’. In this bizarre crossover of new and old of the brain which are involved in decision making and media, ideas about the real dangers of virtual reality and problem solving. Yet the phrase ‘silver lining’ does not come gaming worlds are explored. In short it is about the failure of to mind here in face of the list of extensive mental health the law to convict a man who commits paedophilic acts in problems, such as depression, that are linked to gaming and the virtual world. While this production is of course hyper- VR addiction. bolic in nature it raises important concerns about the moralLastly it is important to consider the dangers virtual reality of and demand for laws regulating ity poses not only to individuals but "...intense, misplaced emotional virtual worlds. These concerns are made society as a whole. Consider Mark investment...is characteristic of terrifyingly relevant in the very real case Zuckerberg’s recent advertisement of video game addiction." of Qiu Chegwei who murdered his friend the new Facebook virtual reality feaafter he stole virtual weapons from Qiu (in the online game ture. He proceeds to parade around Puerto Rico and explain Legend of Mir 3) and the police refused to intervene as they how great VR is in the wake of a natural disaster-stricken didn’t consider it theft. This kind of intense, misplaced emo- country. How can someone already be so out of touch with tional investment in a game is characteristic of video game reality to consider this appropriate? One of the richest men addiction. in the world no less? If such behaviour is left unchecked, perVideo game addiction is a term that was considered for haps that dark dystopian future in which virtual reality years until February 2018 when it became a recognised med- takes president is not so distant after all.

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ARTWORK BY KATE WILLIAMS, 2ND YEAR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

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Our world without bacteria Phoebe Buxton conducts a thought experiment, imagining a world in which bacteria suddenly cease to exist.

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t is hard to imagine that we share this planet with billions of species of bacteria, with trillions inhabiting our bodies this very second. The world of these single-celled, microscopic organisms seems inconceivable to us, but what would our world be like without them?

Bacteria: dirt; disease; danger. These are words that quite likely enter the mind in discussion of these omnipresent microorganisms. We may think that, on the surface, a life without bacteria means a life without infectious disease and, in part, this is correct. The majority of infectious diseases are caused by bacteria; if all bacteria disappeared, these would cease to exist, saving the lives of many.

But this would not last long. Both pathogenic and harmless bacteria have a vital role in defence against potentially more harmful infections. Bacteria share their microscopic world with other organisms, including archaea, protozoa and fungi, as well as viruses, many of which are pathogenic. Although the immediate effect may appear beneficial, cases of viral infectious disease would soon rise, potentially opening the doors to an increased number of infections with potentially more harmful outcomes.

The mutualistic relationship between bacteria and humans, as well as between bacteria and most other organisms, is essential for numerous bodily functions. For humans and

"Both pathogenic and harmless bacteria have a vital role in defence against potentially more harmful infections" many vertebrates, the microbiome is an imperative component of the digestive system. From the mouth to the gut, a plethora of specific enzymes produced by resident bacteria aid the breakdown of complex molecules. This helps to provide a sufficient level of essential vitamins and minerals IMAGE: HANDPRINT WITH PERMISSION FROM TASHA STURM @ CABRILLO COLLEGE

that could not be achieved solely from the diet. Thus, despite the complexity of vertebrate physiology, it cannot suffice without bacteria. Although the "...a catastrophic immediate effects may not be cascade of events, catastrophic for humans, a disrupting biological sterile body would lead to a functions, would quick death for many organeventually make our isms, mainly due to insufficient planet an immune responses. Furtheruninhabitable more, the extinction of crops and livestock would cause huge wasteland" disruption to food chains and ecosystems, leading to the gradual extinction of both plants and animals.

The sun, plants and chemical elements are widely recognised as playing an important role in the existence of life on Earth. However, less acknowledged is the crucial role of bacteria. Through complex cycles, these seemingly simple organisms form the building blocks for life; maintaining levels of nutrients such as phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen, which form essential components of DNA, proteins and thus life. Due to a lack of nutrient cycling by bacteria, decreased cycling of nitrogen would lead to plant death and ecosystem disruption, whilst a lack of bacterial decomposers would lead to excessive waste accumulation and accelerated global warming.

In a nutshell, bacteria are essential for sustaining life as we know it. However, if all bacteria were to disappear this second, effects are likely to take time. Existing pools of essential compounds are likely to sustain our environment, and human intelligence may result in temporary measures.

However, a catastrophic cascade of events, disrupting biological functions, would eventually make our planet an uninhabitable wasteland. The result: an unrecognisable world.

March 2019 | SATNAV | 17

The Kraken: truth behind the mythos Harry Holmes dives into a deep-sea world, on a quest to unveil the Kraken.

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or thousands of years, tales have been told of the fearsome oceanic creatures of the depths, from ancient sea serpents to the Loch Ness monster. It is no wonder that such legends evolved; the oceans are famously inhospitable to humans and, until 1919, we had no idea just how deep they can be.

Over the last century, we have come to learn much about the deep ocean.

Primarily, that life there thrives to a considerably greater extent than was expected. The oceans are home to the vast majority of life on Earth, but remain as mysterious to us as Outer Space. It is estimated that 91% of oceanic life has yet to be discovered and classified.

The deep sea can be categorised into several layers, colloquially referred to as the Twilight, Midnight, Abyssal and Hadal zones, reflecting the concentration of light able to permeate. Remarkably, despite incredible hydrostatic pressure and the absence of sunlight, life thrives within the Hadal zone, named after Hades, the Ancient Greek God of the Underworld.

Since the 12th Century, Scandinavian fishermen have told tales of the Kraken, a tentacled creature over a mile long that would emerge from the deep sea to pull sailors from ships, dragging them into the unfathomable

Twilight zone 200m

in length, the larger body of the colossal squid is more similar to the Kraken than the giant squid.

Reflecting the dangers of the submerged world in which they live, the giant squid and the colossal squid share the title for world’s largest eye, at 27 centimetres in diameter. These are thought to help them evade predation by sperm whales, which dive down into the Twilight Zone to hunt the elusive squid. Despite these Kraken-like features, both giant and colossal squid appear to be passive, scavenging and preying on fish that stray too close, as opposed to the aggressive monsters depicted in folklore. Perhaps one of these squid was spotted centuries ago and the story was embellished, or "It is estimated that 91% of oceanic life perhaps we have yet to has yet to be discovered and classified" discover the true Kraken.

The deep sea is expansive, and holds as a sharp beak, the squid have eight arms with suction cups lined with many secrets. Not only could these razor-like spines, and two long squid species grow to be larger than we tentacles. Should an unfortunate sailor currently estimate, but it would not be ever get caught in these, they would absurd to suggest that there is a true Kraken, living deep in the dark undernever escape.

Similarly nightmare-inducing and world of the Hadal zone. Until we exmysterious, colossal squid (Mesony- plore further, we will never know. choteuthis hamiltoni), are theorised to grow up to twelve metres in length and possess arms lined with hooked suction cups, and tentacles with rotating hooks, allowing them to rip into the flesh of prey and predators. Although shorter depths of the ocean. The Kraken was widely assumed to be a myth, until 1857, when a large squid beak was examined by Danish zoologist, Japetus Steenstrup. With this beak and the discovery of other specimens from the Bahamas, he determined that they belonged to a new species of giant squid, which he named Architeuthis dux, or “Ruling Squid”. This squid may have inspired the fables of the Kraken.

Though their existence has been established for over 150 years, very little is known about giant squid and the mysterious deep ocean world they inhabit. They are estimated to grow up to thirteen metres in length, rivalling Scandinavian fisherman boats. As well

Midnight zone

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Abyssal zone 4000m

6000m

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Hadal zone March 2019 | SATNAV | 19

Working with the ‘other world’: the noble work of Nikolay Semyonov Marriyum Hasany discusses the advances in chain reaction chemistry that emerged from the Soviet Union.

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he Cold War, a long period of worldwide unrest, caused by the political and ideological divide between the Soviet Union and the United States of America, has had in impact on global politics that can be seen to this day. A significant part of the battle to be the singular superpower involved the monopoly over scientific advancements, which is perfectly exemplified by the “Space Race,” won by the US through the historic Apollo 11 mission, allowing Neil Armstrong to become the first man on the Moon.

Whilst this was indeed a “giant leap for mankind,” the ‘other superpower’ was not entirely slacking when it came to scientific achievements.

During the reign of the Communist party, five Nobel Prizes were given to physical scientists, and two more were awarded later to Russian physicists, for their work done during the Cold War in the Soviet Union.

The first ever recipient of the Nobel Prize in the Soviet Union was Nikolay Semyonov, for his work on chemical kinetics and mechanistic analysis of chain reactions, in 1956. A chain reaction, as the name suggests, is comprised of a series of reactions that take place consecutively to potentially create an explosion due to the release of very

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large amounts of energy.

Measurements of the energy and gases released over the duration of the continuous reaction can be used to infer a lot of theoretical information. In his laboratory in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Semyonov studied explosions and built on existing theoretical frameworks to further understand properties of the reactants, mechanisms of reactions, and to predict reaction behaviours under different conditions. He developed a theory on degenerate chain branching; a peculiar type of chain reaction that progresses much more slowly than those previously studied. Understanding these reactions is deeply important, especially when it comes to knowing the limits of industrial processes and implementing practices that maximise the safety of workers.

Semyonov’s research paints an interesting picture that is contrary to that of a rather isolated Soviet Union.

While there was a distinct divide between the West and the USSR, scientists like Semyonov were collaborating internationally in carrying out the reactions, collecting data and investigating effects. Consequently, the Nobel Prize was jointly awarded to both Semyonov and the

English physical chemist, Sir Cyril Hinshelwood of Oxford. Furthermore, Semyonov’s theory on degenerate branching relied on the work done by: Ronald G. W. Norrish, a chemist working in Cambridge, who also became a Nobel laureate in 1967; Professor H. W.

"Semyonov’s work is full of wonderful ironies."

Melville, a physical chemist from our very own University of Birmingham; Princeton’s Robert N. Pease; University of Pittsburgh’s Guenther von Elbe, and many others.

It was very easy to think of people as ‘other,’ especially when they were from a completely different culture, and hailed from a country in which the communist ideology was not only completely different to Western ideology, but was also deeply ingrained into the social system. The Soviet Union, at the time, seemed like the epitome of ‘other’ and, while the Cold War did not help in this matter, scientific collaboration refused to draw borders between nations and generously gave credit where credit was due. Semyonov created and studied explosions to make the world safer for humankind, and worked with people that he (politically) should have been working against. Semyonov’s work is full of wonderful ironies.

Issue 17

Crossword puzzle

{Inspired by the articles in this issue}

ACROSS 2 The recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1957, along with Soviet Chemist Nikolay Semyono.

4 The number of bat species that are official indicator species for biodiversity.

7 The name of the crater in which the spacecraft Chang’e landed.

9 _________ fluid is when the temperature and pressure so high that the fluid behaves as both a gas and a liquid.

10 The name given to the photosynthetic component of a lichen.

11 The acid that makes up the clouds in Venus's admosphere.

DOWN 1 Sodium ________ is used as a gelation agent in Molecular Gastronomy.

2 The name given to the number of times a population of cells will divide before it stops.

3 A deep sea zone that is named after the Ancient Greek God of the Underworld.

5 An organism, found in the Burgess Shale, which was originally reconstructed upside down.

6 The region of the brain that controls decision making.

8 An ecological nutrient cycle for which bacteria are essential.

March 2019 | SATNAV | 21

Will China lead the way in future space exploration and discovery?

Sean O’Brien reports on the incredible achievement by CNSA of landing a probe at the far side of the moon.

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n the 3rd of January, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) achieved the first ever probe landing on the far side of the moon. This achievement has been widely regarded as incredible progress in lunar space exploration, putting China on the map of leading nations in space exploration.

Will this follow many other groundbreaking achievements by the CNSA? Landing a probe on the far side of the moon was no easy task. Firstly, Chinese scientists needed to figure out how they were going to communicate with the space probe Chang’e 4. Direct satellite communication was not possible by virtue of satellite signals are unable to go through the moon. To overcome this challenge, CNSA sent a

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relay satellite Queqiao into space to be positioned beyond the moon so that satellite signal would first be sent to Queqiao which would then have direct communication with Chang’e 4.

The next challenge was the most significant. Previously, major space players the United States and the former Soviet Union attempted to a probe to the far side of the moon but failed. A major difficulty is the actual landing due to the rough terrain on the far side of the moon. The Chinese developed a technology for Chang’e 4 that allowed the probe to direct its own landing using sophisticated cameras and laser measurements so that the probe would identify the optimal landing area which required a vertical landing by Chang’e 4. The probe decided the best place to land would be on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole Aitken Basin. The autonomous landing technology made this historic landing possible as the probe landing could not

Issue 17

have been operated from earth. Once Chang’e 4 had successfully landed, a rover equipped with sophisticated technology analytical tools, such as a panoramic camera and an imaging spectrometer for lunar discovery, was dispatched from the probe.

mission to Jupiter as hinted by Hou Xiyun, a professor from Nanjing University.

Throughout the last decade China has made it clear that space exploration has been a part of the country’s strategy to further its role as a global power.

President Xi Jinping "...the task of putting the first person of has said that “the Mars has yet to be achieved by any nation." space dream is part In recent years, there has been a re- of the dream to make China stronger”. focus on lunar space exploration, one Only time will tell if China is able to go of these reasons is because of the po- further than it was once imagined and tential value of the resources that could accomplish its space dream. be extracted from the moon. This includes rare earth elements and Helium3 which according to the European Space Agency (ESA) could be the answer to the world’s energy crisis as they believe it could be used as a non-radioactive fuel for a nuclear fusion reactor.

Today, the United States is still considered the global leader of space exploration and discovery. NASA recently captured images of an ‘object’ a billion miles further than Pluto in the Kuiper Belt. However, the task of putting the first person of Mars has yet to be achieved by any nation. With groundbreaking progress observed by this Chinese lunar mission, China will have their sights set on the Red Planet along with aspirations to carry out a

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