Volume 3 — Issue 2
The SSC’s Official Science Newspaper
thecurrent@westernssc.ca
BIOLOGY
A factor of life or death
Maternal and fetal blood types determine if childbirth will be successful Steven Robillard Editor-In-Chief
Circulating through our enclosed system of vessels is the thick ironcontaining substance we call blood. ‘Blood,’ however, is a crude term which fails to do justice to the many micro and macromolecular components that constitute it. Composed mainly of erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells) and platelets present in a liquid medium known as plasma, our blood is responsible for the transport of oxygen to bodily tissue, the removal of carbon dioxide waste products, phagocytosis and digestion of foreign molecules, clotting at sites of injury – I could go on all day. That being said, most of us are aware we have a ‘blood type,’ a specific classification of our blood constituting if it is compatible or not with other blood types. This blood type is defined by the presence or absence of antigens on the surface of erythrocytes, and the corresponding presence or absence of antibodies to those antigens in the blood plasma. Basically, if a red blood cell has an
antigen on its surface, the plasma DOES NOT have that antibody (proteins of the immune systems tagging molecules for destruction). So if an RBC has antigen A on its surface, but is lacking antigen B, the plasma will have antibodies to antigen B but not to A – easy enough to understand. However, a problem arises during pregancy that can place the life of the child at risk, called Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn (HDN). The Rh factor is simply another antigen that can be present on the surface of red blood cells. Therefore if a woman is Rh+, she has the antigen but NOT the antibody, and vice versa if she is Rh-. When a woman who is Rh- mates, does the no-pants dance, becomes the beast with 2 backs (whatever you want call it) with a male who is Rh+, it can give rise to an Rh+ fetus. Thus, the mother has the antibody to the Rh factor (because she is Rh-) and the fetus has the antigen of the Rh factor (because it is Rh+). Now you can see where this is going, right? In a typical pregnancy, maternal and fetal blood do not mix, so the health of the fetus is never in jeopardy. However, during childbirth, such phenomena as a fetomaternal hemorrhage may occur, which causes a mixing of blood
INSIDE THIS ISSUE, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND...
Science is the shit. Pop quiz: Use the knowledge of blood types presented above to select the blood type of a universal recipient (someone who can receive blood from anyone). ‘O’ means no A or B antigen and + and – denotes presence or absence of Rh factor. A) A+ B) AB+ C) OD) ABCourtesy ofSingularity Hub
DISCOVERY
One young traveler’s analysis of the differences between shamanic and traditional medicine. Page 3
How to drill deep........into the ocean.
between the child and the mother. Subsequently, the mother’s Rhantibodies develop and are capable of attacking the Rh+ fetus, which would cause an autoimmune response, and ultimately, its death. As well, the mother’s antibodies now pose danger to every succeeding Rh+ child they may have. Fortunately, an intramuscular injection of a solution of Rho(D) immune globin, which contains anti-RhD antibodies is successful in suppressing the immune system of the mother as to minimize the interaction between her antibodies and the fetal antigens.
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The removal of reproductive organs in animal can be a good thing? What?? Page 5 The meshworm - an interesting innovation in the world of robotics. Page 6 The effects of smoking upon short-term memory and recall. Page 7
Simple ideas
(and Western Science)
are usually the best Billy Silverstein
Current Contributor Frederick Banting. Nobel Prize Winner for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of insulin. Professor at the University of Toronto, and professor at the University of Western Ontario. That is right, Frederick Banting, one of the co-discoverers of insulin, worked on the very grounds you are perusing today. Now, the story of how Banting discovered insulin is really quite remarkable, and it probably could have happened to any one of you! To begin, Banting was a little
known surgeon who just held a Bachelor’s degree in medicine (BMSc students, does that seem familiar?), and he had an idea about how the model of diabetes worked. He postulated that pancreatic digestive juices could be harmful to the anti-diabetic secretion of the pancreas. Then, based on some nifty reasoning, he felt that if you were to close off the pancreatic ducts and stop the flow of the food to the pancreas for the digestive juices to get it, you would cause the pancreas to degenerate. The cells that produced this antidiabetic secretion could be isolated from the pancreas without being harmed. It was a simple idea, but as is
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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.
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The Current— September 2012
LIFE NOT AS WE KNOW IT Our planet is home to many awe-inspiring organisms. If you’re fascinated with life on Earth, but don’t want to get out of your chair to explore the world, here is a glimpse of a few bizarre, exotic, or unconventional creatures your lazy eyes might have otherwise never seen.
THE BOX JELLYFISH
The box jellyfish is most famous for its role in the hit Hollywood movie Seven Pounds where it is referred to as “the most deadly creature on earth”. Venom from the jellyfish’s sting has severe neurotoxic and cardiotoxic components. Enough contact with the tentacles of the animal can lead to cardiac arrest within minutes while less severe stings can send the victim into shock, which often leads to fatal drowning. The nematocysts or stinging cells
are found on the 60 or so tentacles each box jellyfish has divided up amongst the four corners of its cube shaped head. Each tentacle can grow to almost 3 meters in length. Unlike most jellyfish the box jellyfish can propel itself forward reaching speeds of 2 meters/ second in the water and also have sophisticated clusters of eyes of each side of their cubed head that allow them to see under the water. —Scott Botsford
THE STAR-NOSED MOLE At a glance, one may wonder how it is possible that Mother Nature could have created a creature as unfortunate looking as the star-nosed mole. However, this little beast that resembles a mouse with a miniature starfish attached to its nose leads the animal kingdom in a couple of important categories, which can all be attributed to its elaborate sniffer. Unlike the traditional two nostrils that most animals possess, this little guy’s snout is composed of eleven appendages. It has a higher density
The Bot Fly is a particularily stomach-churning member of the family Oestridae, the reason being that its larvae act as obligate parasites inside the flesh as mammals. That means that the larvae feed, grow, and mature underneath the epidermal layer of the skin, until they burst forth a fully formed adult. If you don’t already possess a deep-rooted hate of mosquitos, the fact that the bot fly uses them as a vector to transport its eggs will probably solidify that hatred.
When a mosquito lands on the skin of a mammal (unfortunately, humans are no exception), the heat exuding from the host’s skin promotes the eggs to drop off the vector and burrow their way underneath the skin. Better stock up on bug spray. —Steven Robillard
—Kevin Zhao
Image Courtesy of Marian UniversityGeographic Science Blog Courtesy of National
Image Courtesy of My Opera
THE BOT FLY
of receptors than the noses of other moles and is in fact the most sensitive organ in the entire animal kingdom. This wondrous muzzle has another trick up its sleeve though. By exhaling and subsequently sucking back in a series of bubbles, it allows the starnosed mole to smell underwater – a feat previously thought impossible.
DAYLIGHT CACTUS OWL What’s small, ferocious and lives in a sauguro cactus? If you thought the honey badger was badass, think again. The cactus ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) can take on doves twice its size and nests in prickly beasts of plants. Oh, and it’s only 6.5 inches tall. It’s a daylight owl that competes with lizards, rodents and insects along with things ten times its size in desert scrubs and the Tuscan forests of Arizona. Talk about being gutsy. Despite its toughness however,
this fighter is having a hard time battling humans in its habitat. It is slowly becoming harder for this owl to find a good home due to urban development. What makes life even harder for these tiny tanks is that they don’t migrate-so the home they have in their habitat is all they’ve got. As friends of the pygmy owl, we can only hope it continues to resist being threatened.
Image Courtesy of DSU Zoology
Current Staff Steven Robilliard — Editor-In-Chief
Your name could be in this box....it’s pretty awesome. Visit westernssc.ca for editorial applications
—Akemi Liyanage
Courtesy of National Geographic
Current Contributors Billy Silverstein, Scott Botsford, Kevin Zhao, Akemi Liyange, Rajiv Lakhani, Kevin Chen, Caitlin Martin Newnham, Cecilia Kwok, Ivan Urosev, Vikram Kalia, Simon Oh, Joseph Ryu Make like an acid and contribute to our base: thecurrent@westernssc.ca
The Current— September 2012
POPULAR SCIENCE
Symphony of scents Composing a masterpiece for the nostrils Rajiv Lakhani
Current Contributor According to fragrance designer Michael Papa, creating the next new fragrance for household products is like comprising a symphony. Just as composers have their musical notes, fragrance designers have their chemicals. Fragrance designers must possess a high level of creativity as well as chemical knowledge in order to mix and match thousands of individual chemical aromas harmoniously. In some instances, 'fragrance notes', which are few chemical aromas that unfold over time, are incorporated into household products. Similar to musical notes, these fragrance notes must complement each other to form the correct overall scent. This niche industry becomes even more diverse as different types of scents are required for different household products. Mouthwash should be refreshing and lingering while laundry detergent should be clean and light. For these different requirements, different fragrance notes are utilized with top notes delivering light citrusy aromas and bottom notes producing deeper, fruity or woodsy aromas. Scents are extremely important to the human experience throughout the day. Specific aromas may stay with us through our entire life.
When we smell certain aromas, parts of our brain responsible for olfaction are triggered and interestingly, the amygdala is as well. The amygdala is responsible for emotion, and therefore this is why certain aromas make us feel certain emotions. Evoking these pleasant emotions is the ultimate goal for fragrance designers. However this goal is not easily achieved as anywhere from 800 to 1500 chemicals can be found in a product. Just something to think about the next time you reach for that Mediterranean lavender scented Febreeze!
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BIOLOGY
Mosquito mania Rainy days don’t apply to some Kevin Chen
Current Contributor With the mention of summer we often think of the sunny weather or a vacation, however an annoying problem that most people have experience with is mosquitoes. An inconvenient truth is that they seem to survive outside no matter what the weather. This seems odd due to the fact that if a human was subjected to comparably destructive weather he/she would most definitely perish. Researchers at Georgia Tech were interested in how mosquitoes were able to survive extremely large impact forces. A group of engineers and biologists were interested specifically in how mosquitoes could survive under rainy conditions. One of the primary reasons of interest is how mosquitoes thrive in rainy and humid areas, but yet able to survive in a torrential downpour. Many people would suggest that mosquitoes just dodge the raindrops, but in fact in a thunderstorm they would be hit a few times every minute. In order to simulate such a storm, researchers constructed a “flight arena” to allow mosquitoes to fly in a space where simulated raindrops would fly at terminal velocity. At first the researchers shot jets of water faster than terminal velocity
and the mosquitoes survived suggesting that they could in fact survive impact with raindrops. Tests with more realistic raindrops suggested that most raindrops produce glancing hits that quickly roll off the wings and legs of the mosquito. When a direct body hit occurred the expected outcome was death. The biggest question by the public is usually why such research is important. Current knowledge of how insects and birds fly through rain is not comprehensive. Previous study on bats showed that energy expenditure was doubled under rainy conditions to maintain flight. Likewise, studies on aircraft also showed that rainy conditions reduce lift and increase both drag and potential of stalling. This mosquito research would help elucidate how other insects survive in rainy weather and most importantly provide important information about constructing air vehicles to withstand inclement weather. Unfortunately the weather doesn't seem to provide any immediate solution to summer mosquitoes. Until it starts raining fire or dragonflies you'll probably have to stick with using repellent or eating garlic.
INTERNATIONAL
A world we know so little about Is the shamanic art of healing better than western medicine? Caitlin Martin Newnham Current Contributor
If there is one place that any scientist should go, it’s the amazon. The leafy canopies are teeming with an endless number of questions to be answered by scientific minds. On a recent trip to Peru, I discovered that Shaman’s tend to be central to any conversation about scientific and medical discoveries that arise from the rainforest. My trail guide, Edwin, had many stories about all of the different uses that Shamans have for plants and animals. We could not walk past a plant without him telling me that it could repel mosquitos or make scars disappear. At the base of a giant Strangler Fig tree – which had a trunk wider than a car – he explained to me that after his friend was treated at a hospital for a broken leg, he developed gangrene. The doctor’s told him that he would have to have his leg amputated. Terrified to lose a leg, the man immediately escaped the hospital and sought a Shaman in hopes of an alternative treatment. After following his prescription for a boneless-toad bandage to be left wrapped around his leg for three
weeks, his bone healed perfectly and the gangrene disappeared altogether. This same shaman has also reportedly cured two individuals of their cancer and another two of AIDs. One shamanic concoction that has baffled and consumed the fields of pharmacology, chemistry, botany, therapy and psychology is that of the mysterious and psychedelic ayahuasca vine. Shamans create the potent ayahuasca drug through a time-consuming, and laborious process that involves boiling down a liquid multiple times over approximately 24 hours. “I have tried ayahuasca four times. It is not a drug that you take for fun,” Edwin looks at me with a daunting expression that tells me that this medicinal therapy is not something to take lightly. “When you begin the trip, sitting in that dark room with a shaman, you experience an introspective realization. By the end of the trip, you recognize that you are a horrible person and how to change to become a better person.” This drug has been used in drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation centers in South America to help addicts to realize their potential. Self-realization is not the only use for ayahuasca: shamans utilize the medicine to access a spiritual level of consciousness to determine treatments
for their patients, religions such as Santo Daime and União do Vegetal utilize the medicine in their practice, and recent research has even shown that the ayahuasca vine can cure depression. Ayahuasca has been one of many frequently studied drugs to stem from the amazon, and will not be the last. Shaman’s understand important meth-
“
ods and means of healing that Western medicine has yet to discover. We could learn from their knowledge that has developed from an ancient forest that to this day holds an infinite number of mysteries, waiting to be solved.
By the end of the trip, you recognize that you are a horrible person and how to change to become a better person.
”
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The Current— September 2012
FEATURES
The benefits of NOT using a condom Maybe not the best thing to say to university students...
Cecilia Kwok
Outgoing Editor-In-Chief Spurned by advancement made towards the equality of gender in Canada and many first world countries, more and more women are facilitating their education, dedicating themselves to their career, and rising to roles with higher salaries. Let’s face it; women want their piece of the pie, and are ready to put the notion of a family on the back burner until they step into their deserved roles as leaders and visionaries. I mean, really. “Practice safe sex!” was a mantra preached by every single phys-ed teacher I’ve had since grade 6, beat into our heads time and time again by inconceivably awkward videos of less than stellar quality. However, consider a few reasons why you shouldn’t practice safe sex (so-to-say). Before you get all gung-ho, "where does she get off!" on me, bear in mind that we are simply looking at the benefits of the ugly side of a common issue - much akin to less recognized courage and heart of the sorrowfully hideous Hunchback of Notre Dame. Research has shown that for up to 27 years after a baby’s birth, the child’s fetal cells remain in the mother’s body. This is a result of the bi-directional traffic of cells across the placenta, also known as microchimerism—two genetically different groups of cells that
Courtesy of Student Midwife
reside in the same individual. This is a very common phenomenon of pregnancies. These fetal cells have stem cell-like regenerative properties that can have effects on infections and can change the course of diseases. When tagged with GFP they have been shown to migrate from peripheral circulation into most of the mother’s organs, including the liver, kidney, brain, and heart. Many studies on both animals and humans have shown their localization on injured or wounded tissues. Now, the million dollar question is: what are they doing there? Their purpose lies
shrouded in controversy. One particular study has shown the fetal cells’ localization at the mother’s damaged heart, differentiated into cardiac lineages with the ability to beat in syncytium with other cardiomyocytes. In fact, 50% of women recover from heart failures spontaneously. There is strong evidence to show the protective role of these fetal cells. Additionally, they have also been found at sites of skin inflammation in participating in angiogenesis and the repair process. On the flip side, there seems to be a strange trend of autoimmune diseases in middle-aged, child bearing wom-
INNOVATIONS
Into the abyss
Overcoming the obstacles of deep-sea mining
Ivan Urosev
Current Contributor
Join London’s Light the Night Walk! When: October 20th Where: Victoria Park "Walk as if your life depends on it, because someone's does."
There was a moment this past summer - just prior to the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and just after the premier of a surprisingly successful film on the subject of winged-mammals – when years of concentrated effort, applied innovation, and a $2.5 billion investment resulted in the successful touchdown of a rover on mars. The herculean nature of this achievement cannot be overstated, and it resulted in one of those all-too-rare periods during which the work of science steps out of the laboratory and into the public eye. At the same time, however, a Toronto-based company was recently working on a project to reach a world that is equally as alien and inhospitable to us. And when they get there they plan to mine it. Nautilus Minerals Inc. seems more amenable than your usual mining conglomerate, at least to those of us with an interest in the ever-expanding boundaries of human industry. The company's flagship project, Solwara 1, is a plan to extract copper and gold from the bottom of the Bismarck Sea, 1600 meters below the island of Papa New Guinea. As you might expect the technical challenges of such an endeavour
are not slight. Great distances and the harshness of space must be overcome to land a rover on Mars; on the seafloor, crushing pressures and minimal light provide their own obstacles. Nautilus' solution to these problems comes in the form of a $407-million series of rovers which will be remotely operated from a control room above the mining operation, much like Curiosity. However, the similarities end there as these machines will stand approximately three-stories tall once they are completed. Designs are currently in the prototype stage, and despite budgetary setbacks the company hopes to begin mining in 2013. Although the stated goal of Solwara 1 is to provide access to reserves of important and sometimes dwindling resources, the project's ultimate contribution might be somewhat less terrestrial. The harsh environment of the seafloor will be a proving ground for technologies that might later be used to establish a viable extraterrestrial industry. This is important, because as the recent budget cuts to NASA have shown, government grants cannot be relied upon to cover the exorbitant costs of space exploration. As with many other things, profit might have to be the impetus that pushes the boundaries of human frontiers.
en. These cells have been shown to be at the site of autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis and lupus disease, leading us to question whether these fetal cells are responsible. Could it be that the localization of these cells is what triggers the mother’s own defence mechanism to kick into action? It is nearly heartbreaking to imagine. Fortunately, emerging studies are supporting the former hypothesis; that the cells that these babies leave behind are in fact the force of good. Research in the past decade has been focused on the geography of these cells, exposing the fact that fetal cells are not only in affected organs at the development of autoimmune diseases, but also in other tissues. Equally strong evidence against it playing a role in mommy’s destruction is presented as they are found in all types of injured tissue regardless of the origin, such as a liver suffering from hepatitis. So generally, these baby cells eventually may just take a restoration role and come to the rescue when the mother is at a time of need. I don’t want to end this by making the appropriate implications on stem-cell research, so there is really only one right way to conclude: have babies. The more you have, the more protected you’ll be. Take that safe sex.
The Current— September 2012
MEDICINE
Procreation Prohibited Exploring a world where testicles on your pet are optional
Steven Robillard Editor-In-Chief
“Hey man, what are you doing with that scalpel?” Now before I’m bombarded with a slew of complaints pertaining to the ‘mutilation’ of animals, step back and forget your bias for a moment. Forget the fact that you may or may not believe in maintaining the sanctity of the animal form (if sanctity is contained in the testicles), or oppose the unwarranted removal of the ability to reproduce, and consider the benefits of spaying and neutering your pet upon both their life and your own. Certainly I am no diehard advocate for these procedures (I mean, I’ve never hosted The Price is Right), but the advantage of such a removal of reproductive organs is undeniable. These benefits extend much farther than just the prevention of unexpected and unwanted puppies or kittens. Don’t get me wrong, puppies and kittens are never unwelcome (I would roll around in a pile of them with minimal clothing if I could), but they lay extensive financial burdens on those looking after them, and demand lengthy and arduous searches for pos-
sible homes. For one, according to Laura J. Sanborn. M.S. of Rutgers University, approximately 7% of older intact (balls and all) male dogs develop testicular tumours, 6-14% of which are capable of metastasis (spreading).The neuter procedure removes the testicles of male dogs, thus removing entirely the propensity to contract testicular cancer and contributing to the longevity of your pet. Similarly, mammary cancer, which is related to the production of estrogen via female reproductive organs such as the ovaries and to a more moderate degree, the corpus luteum (an endocrine structure formed after the ovulatory phase of the female menstrual cycle), is of high incidence in older female animals, constituting 53% of all malignant tumours in female dogs. The spay procedure drastically reduces the risk of mammary cancer in female pets, the degree of which is determined by the number of estrus cycles prior to its completion. We begin to notice, then, a trend in the tendency of spay and neuter pro-
cedures to reduce the risks of various types of cancers in Fido, and thus assist the probability of your pet to live to an older age. The advantages continue to spill over into other aspects of the animal’s life. For example, a neutered male dog, which has lost its ability to produce testosterone, will lose its instinctual urge to roam and find females to uhm….. well…..you know… and the risk of losing your cat or dog to the calls of its loins greatly decreases. As well, female cats and dogs are still female, which means that once a month there will be bloody discharge from the vagina and she’ll probably be pretty mean and hissy during that time (this isn’t actually proven, I’m just applying what I know from the past….. an apology to all ex-girlfriends and my mom). On the other side of the coin, there are certain supposed predispositions of spayed and neutered animals to various health defects such as diabetes and obesity, but these problems are accompanied by lack of scientific verification and typically result mostly from owner negligence. So should you spay or neuter your cat or dog? I say yes, barring the fact you wish to breed them, but in the end it is an owner’s decision, and as long as they are well informed of the benefits underlying the fake mask of ‘mutilation,’ they can refrain from the procedure if they see fit. An unspayed female dog, her mate, and all of the puppies if none are ever spayed or neutered, can add up to: 1 year: 16 2 years: 128 5 years: 12,288 Source: Nova Scotia Homeless Pet Project
STUDENT SUCCESS
Getting your feet wet: a realization Exploration is the key to a successful life Vikram Kalia
Current Contributor Today I read a blog, it opened my eyes that I want to be a lawyer for the wrong reasons. In a convincing fashion he listed the most popular reasons people want to go to law school, and why each one is a load of shit using his experiences from himself and colleagues. Every typical reason to be a lawyer was there before me, including a few that I had thought of, and he was able to reveal them as fairy tales manufactured from the very little we know about the profession via friends, family, and TV shows. The way I see it is that I fall in a romance with the life that entails a certain profession, I never stand there in awe of what they are actually doing but more what they do BESIDES their job, the golf memberships, the vacations, materialistic things, and of course the status. The reason I am questioning this is that I was reading an interesting book known as “Good to Great”, and as the
title suggests it discusses how business evolve from good performance to great performance. To get to the point, as they present their findings of the leaders that are apart of this transformation they say that disciplined people, make have disciplined thought, who make disciplined actions. What that really boils down to is that these leaders were able to succeed regardless of external conditions because everything they did was thought out consciously and logically and each decision made steered them on the path to success. What I thought of as I read this book is why can’t you apply the same idea to what I will do in the future, because I don’t want to build a career like you bake a cake. Step 1. Undergrad 2. Law School 3.Article 4. Practice 5. Regret. Instead, why can’t I just try different things, consume what is around me, digest, and then think about whether or not I want to take another bite, because that what it seems to the fool-proof method to make a good decision. For example, this is a test to see how well I write, heck do I know if I ever
will write like this for a living. I feel like thats the strain of thought that needs to be more popular, the cancer that infects people today is that people make decisions emotionally, and justify them logically. Emotionally people want the status and all the romantic bull crap I said before, but do they logically weigh their options and question whether this is what they really want to do on a day-to-day basis? Exploring different paths, and getting my feet wet. Its such a simple answer to answer a complicated question. What one really needs to consider is; do I really enjoy what I do from day to day. Because following something that you enjoy paves the the road for your to be the best at whatever that may be. What separates people that thrive from others is a pure passion for whatever it is that they do, does it really get them hard? Success will figure itself out after all of the other stuff is taken care of.
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Numbers Game
200
Estimated number of microscopes made by Anton Von Leeuwenhoek over his life.
0.900
Career free throw precentage for basketball legend Rick Barry, whose infamous ‘granny shot’ allowed him to more accurately angle the ball into the net
38
times more likely you are to be struck by lightning as opposed to killed by a shark. As contrast, 73 million sharks are killed per year.
10.99
Depth in kilometers of the Mariana trench, located off the coast of the Phillipines and Japan, the deepest part of the world’s oceans.
26
Maxiumum number of Amur leopards left on the planet as a result of poaching and habitat destruction
(20-400) x 106 Postulated age of the Earth by Lord Kelvin in 1862. The Earth is actually 4.54 x 109 years old.
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The Current—September 2012
POPULAR SCIENCE
The meshworm O-Week 2012 2013 presents: The mechanical worm - just as good, but without the slime! Simon Oh
Current Contributor According to Huffpost Tech, Researchers from Seoul National University, MIT, and Harvard have developed a robot that moves like an earthworm, but is much more resilient to external forces than an actual earthworm. This robot was named to be “Meshworm” because it consists of a tube like body with polymer mesh. It also has great flexibility similar to that of an actual earthworm. Also, the “Meshworm” can perform a type of movement called peristalsis. Peristalsis is squeezing and stretching of muscles which allow creatures such as earthworms to get around. It is also the type of movement that our intestines utilize to move food around. However, what makes Meshworm really special is its resilience to forces. MIT mechanical engineering researcher Sangbae Kim stated, “You can throw it, and it won’t collapse. Most mechanical parts are rigid and fragile at small scale, but the parts in Meshworm are all fibrous and flexible.” The researchers of Seoul, Harvard and MIT first made the body by rolling the sheet of polymer mesh. This mesh made from polymers al-
Courtesy of Tech2
lows the body to stretch like a spring. Then they made the muscle out of the nickel-titanium alloy, similar to that of an earthworm.The secret to Meshworm’s flexibility and resilience to forces is its nickel-titanium alloy. Researcher Kim stated, “It’s a very bizarre material, depending on the ratio, its behavior changes dramatically.” Using the alloy’s behavior, the researchers equipped the worm with a small circuit board and a battery to produce heat for the robot. The heat allows the alloy muscle to contract and stretch, which mimics the movements of an earthworm. The researchers hope to use this robot to explore in tight spaces. With its resilience to pressure and flexibility,
“
....the parts in the meshworm are all fibrous and flexible
”
WHAT’S YOUR SCI-DENTITY?
Airborne Amnesia The effects of smoking upon memory HEALTH
Joseph Ryu
Courtesy of drsharm.ca
Current Contributor Smoking cigarettes is part and parcel of many students’ university life. For some, lighting up in between classes is essential for concentration. For these students, the habit becomes decidedly more important when finals begin rolling in; the stress necessitates smoking and is needed to stay sane. Others smoke exclusively in social settings, usually after a drink/meal or at a party, where smoking is appropriate and even complementary. And some smoke for the kitschy aesthetic, attempting to achieve the blasé cool of Albert Camus. Yet, despite adopting very different smoking patterns, ironically enough, these said demographics are subject to the same level of memory loss that is caused by smoking. Studies from Northumbria’s School of Life Sciences have shown results which suggest that “restricting smoking to weekends makes no difference – smoking damages your memory”. The study recruited 28 “social smokers” – those who smoke around 20 cigarettes a week, typically when out at the weekend – 28 people who smoke 10-15 cigarettes daily, and 28 people who had never smoked, on a video-based prospective memory test. This test served to stimulate the
ry of brain development”, subsequently affecting cognition and decisionmaking. Perhaps in the broad scope of things, looking at these studies can bump up the priority of quitting for smokers. For me, in the final analysis, I can at least attribute my abysmal marks to the pre-exam smokes I had.
Smoking statistics - 1 out of every 5 people smoke worldwide - Only 3% of the funds available for tobacco control in the U.S. are actually used annually. same part of brain that is used during a student’s regular studies and during examinations (hippocampus, pre-frontal lobe, etc). Surprisingly, results dictated that both smoking groups performed significantly worse than the non-smokers. As such, even those who smoke occasionally are affected in the same way as regular smokers. Consequently, the lack of specific research notwithstanding, smoking may very well translate to a negative impact in school performance due to memory loss.
Dr. Tom Heffernan who co-conducted the aforementioned research states that the cause of smoking-related memory decline, by and large, “has been linked with increases in accelerated cerebral degeneration such as brain shrinkage”. Other previously recorded studies correlate short and long-term memory loss to high concentration of toluene in cigarettes. Some relevant studies have even shown that cigarettes can slow memory processing analogous to drinking a several shots and that “smoking during adolescence may influence the trajecto-
- Cigarettes contain more than 60 known carcinogens. - An average of 49,000 deaths are attributed to second hand smoke each year. - Smoking shaves an average of 14 years off the life of a healthy adult.
The Current—September 2012
2.29 million B.C: First evidence of tool-use by a homininae
1642: Sir Issac Newton is born
110 - 168 AD: Claudius Ptomely theorizes that the Earth is the center of the universe
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THIS MONTH IN SCIENCE HIST RY 1843: James Prescott Joule proposes the first law of thermodynamics
2011: The gods of genetics are cruel, blessing Snooki with a functioning uterus
September 5th 1977 September 9th 1737 THE LAUNCH OF VOYAGER 1
A space probe still active in transmitting information to Earth to this day, the Voyager 1 mission instituted and constructed by NASA was a roaring success. Generating over 150 watts of electric power (work done/s), the 722 kg space probe was launched in orbit using compressed plutonium-238 oxide spheres, capable of supplying enough heat to allow it to escape Earth’s atmosphere. Voyager 1 was the first probe to reach and image both Jupiter (in January 1979) and Mars (in March 1979), and is currently the furthest man-made object from earth, at a distance of 1.8x1010 km from Earth.
As well, it carries a gold-plated audio/visual disc containing aspects of human culture in the event that extraterrestrial life is encountered. On the disc are such things as greetings in many languages, music such as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” and common ‘sounds of Earth’ such as whale calls and a baby crying. Voyager 1’s primary mission ended November 20th 1980, but the probe still continues to transmit high resolution photos and information on planetary frequencies and wavelengths back to its home base.
Courtesy of Space Today
Frederick Banting ...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the case with many ‘simple’ scientific ideas, the implications were profound. Now Banting took his idea to a professor at the University of Toronto, Dr. John Macleod, who was, at the time, a leading figure in diabetes research. there is an IMPORTANT lesson to be learnt here, kids. At first, Dr. Macleod thought Banting was out of his mind and dismissed him for being cray, if you will. However, Banting persisted, and eventually, Macleod gave him 10 dogs, a small amount of lab equipment, and a lab student (summer undergrad student whaddup!). Just think, your summer job in a lab could have led you to a Nobel Prize! Dr. Maclachlin would be very impressed. To begin, they removed a pancreas from a dog, and it got diabetes (awkward...). They then worked on another dog’s pancreas and managed to extract a filtrate from the pancreas, which they in-
FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS: LUIGI GALVANI The Italian proprietor of such scientific concepts as the galvanic cell and the phenomenon known as galvanization, Luigi Galvani was many things; a physician, physicist, renowned research expert on bioelectricity, and possible influence on Mary Shelley’s all-time classic novel, Frankenstein. Galvani is most notably famous for his artificial stimulation of muscle fibres in the legs of a frog through the use of electricity. He proposed the concept of ‘animal electricity,’ which assumed the presence of a charge-carrying fluid which ferried its charge to the muscle cells of the frog. This theory was hotly disputed by Galvani’s associate,
Alessandro Volta, who argued that there was no fluid, and that animals simply have an intrinsic electrical stimulation system. Their rivalry was so intense, that Volta literally invented the first battery (now known as a Voltaic cell) in order to disprove Galvani, at which he succeeded. In 1797, after the French occupation of Northern Italy, all University Professors (which Galvani was at the time) were required to swear loyalty to the new authority. Galvani refused, and all research funds provided to him were removed, and his scientific days were over.
Courtesy of Unson Research
jected into the diabetic dog, and this kept the dog free of symptoms and it was healthy (breakthrough what what?). Banting showed his results to Macleod, and while Macleod was impressed, he still had some reservations, and told them to do more trials This time, they used cows, and they obtained enough extract to keep several diabetic dogs alive. Macleod was convinced (finally), and the project really amped up. They recruited Dr. Collip (another Western alumnus) to convert the ‘extract,’ which they named insulin, to be suitable to be used in humans. After some initial testing on themselves, they injected insulin into a 14 year old diabetic named Leonard, and he,miraculously experienced a quick recovery from his symptoms. Prior to the insulin, he was near death, and afterwards, he was healthy as can be. As a result, Banting won the Nobel Prize. What I want y’all to take from this is that no idea is too simple in science.
Banting’s simple idea about an anti-diabetic secretion led him to one of the most significant discoveries in scientific history, and it saved millions of lives.
Oh yeah, and he worked at Western (ftw!)
IN 2009, STEVE SPANGLER, A PHYSICS ENTHUSIAST, SET THE GUINESS WORLD RECORD FOR THE LARGEST PHYSICS LECTURE. Participants: 5,401 Length: 51 min 1. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s ‘A stroke of insight’ A marvelous story of a brain researcher’s stroke
TOP FIVE SCIENTIFIC
TALKS
2. Craig Venter’s ‘Future biology’ The creation of life at our fingertips
3. Arthur Benjamin’s ‘Mathemagic’
Fantastic application of mathematical concepts
4. David Gallo’s ‘Underwater life’
Exploring a world few of us know much about
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s inspiring lecture takes top prize
5. Ken Robinson’s ‘Schools kill creativity’ An astute measuring of our educational system
Page 8
The Current—September 2012
GET YOUR CELL-WALL SADDLES READY! WE’RE CONJUGATING TO THE COMICS SECTION!! Science crossword
Social science need not attempt
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