Volume 2 — Issue 3
The SSC’s Official Science Newspaper
uwoscience.ca/thecurrent
PHYSICS
In a galaxy far, far away Akemi Liyanage External Editor
Every step forward in physics shifts reality a little bit. Newton found that energy doesn’t just appear or disappear. Einstein went on to show that matter can be converted to energy. Likewise, this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics took the idea of the expanding universe to a whole new level. In the 1990’s, cosmologists Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess strived to map the universe. Part of their research was to detect the presence of type Ia supernovae star via light waves. However, what they measured over time was something quite interesting. Compared to the frequency of light waves from the past, light waves measured in the present from the same type Ia supernovae were getting longer and longer. Other than experimental error, this finding pointed towards a special phenomenon called the red shift. Think about how sound waves lengthen as their source moves away from a stationary listener due to the Doppler Effect. In a similar manner,
AGRICULTURE
Petridish burgers unlimited To eat meat...or not to eat meat?
Kevin Chen Wire Editor
Courtesy of Space Nation Archives
the red shift describes how a star’s light waves shift in length from the high energy, purple side of the electromagnetic spectrum to the low energy, red side as the star moves away from a point of reference. Therefore, the ever-stretching
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND... How to get out of depression! Yeah... a much needed reminder around this time of the year. Page 2
A recap of Movember, accompanied by some of the most outstanding ‘staches we could find. Page 3 A little bit slow on the Christmas spirit? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Page 4-5 An introduction to the megalodon... all the more reason to switch majors to cryptozoology. Page 6 A list of 101 things to do during your holiday break—at least that’s what we’ll be doing anyway. Page 7
Even with the increasing popularity of vegetarian diets and greater public health awareness about eating vegetables, it is still safe to say that around the world, the consumption of meat products is increasing. As countries around the world grow more affluent, it is only natural that their citizens begin to adopt a meatheavy diet that was previously only seen in first-world countries. However, this raises new concerns about how we can possibly support this meaty demand. Beef notoriously requires a large amount of land to sustain, while pork and poultry are not much better. Interestingly, the solution of the future may lie in a simple plastic plate. The current livestock-based agricultural system is unsustainable with respect to developing trends in meat consumption. Although the costs of producing meat from tissue culture is currently extremely prohibitive, the hope is that eventually the better technology and understanding of stem cell development will lower costs to an acceptable level. To put things in perspective, creating enough burgers for your friends using tissue culture would currently cost millions of dollars. Cost is only the primary hurdle, because a secondary challenge is
developing synthetic meat that has the same flavour and texture as real meat. Muscle tissue alone does not create delicious steaks, but the proper combination of blood, fat, and wear and tear contribute heavily to the final product. While stem cells for blood and fat have been identified, the process of culturing multiple cell types and ensuring proper cell differentiation increases both cost and complexity. Culturing these tissues requires a carefully measured out recipe of salts, minerals, hormones, and signalling molecules. Currently, the best way to create an optimal environment relies on feeder cells that are derived from blood serum. Ironically, tissue culture relies on the same animal slaughter that it is trying to replace. Although the prices for producing an appropriate serum for tissue growth are decreasing, they are still extremely high. There are a lot of issues with laboratory produced meat, and it may not be market-ready for years. However, with rising demands for meat products, synthetically grown meat seems to be one of the few solutions available. Living in Canada, chances are that you have relatively easy and affordable access to most kinds of meat products. We can already see rising prices for food in general and there may come a day when eating meat daily is no longer feasible. I’m hoping that in my lifetime, I won’t have to make the difficult decision of choosing between eating petri dish meat and eating only vegetables.
The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. Its contents do not reflect the opinion of the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario (“USC”). The USC assumes no responsibility or liability for any error, inaccuracy, omission or comment contained in this publication or for any use that may be made of such information by the reader.