Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 10:02am

Lighting fires using ferro rods

Ferro Rod

Ferrocerium (also known in Europe as Auermetall) is a synthetic pyrophoric alloy of mischmetal (cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, other trace lanthanides and some iron – about 95% lanthanides and 5% iron) hardened by blending in oxides of iron and/or magnesium. When struck with a harder material, the mixture produces hot sparks that can reach temperatures of 3,315 °C (6,000 °F) when rapidly oxidized by the process of striking the rod. Striking both scrapes fragments off, exposing them to the oxygen in the air, and easily ignites them by friction heat due to cerium's remarkably low ignition temperature of ~170 °C (338 °F).
Its easy flammability gives ferrocerium many commercial applications, such as the ignition source for lighters, strikers for gas welding and cutting torches, deoxidization in metallurgy, and ferrocerium rods. Because of ferrocerium's ability to ignite in adverse conditions, rods of ferrocerium (also called ferro rods, spark rods, and flint-spark-lighters are commonly used as an emergency fire lighting device in survival kits.The ferrocerium is referred to as a "flint" in this case despite being dissimilar to natural flint as both are used in conjunction for fire lighting, albeit with opposite mechanical operation.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 9:35am

Sunlight-absorbing organic compounds are produced on the wet surfac...

Heterogenous oxidation reactions can occur upon mixing chemicals that are in two different physical states, such a liquid and a gas; for example, in the atmosphere the reaction of gaseous nitrate (NO3) free radicals reaching the wet surface of aerosol particles containing aromatic pollutants from wildfires.

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Can cosmic inflation be ruled out?

A team of astrophysicists say that cosmic inflation—a point in the universe's infancy when space-time expanded exponentially, and what physicists really refer to when they talk about the "Big Bang"—can in principle be ruled out in an assumption-free way.

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Mars: Could life itself have made the planet uninhabitable?

Four billion years ago, the solar system was still young. Almost fully formed, its planets were starting to experience asteroid strikes a little less frequently. Our own planet could have become habitable as long as 3.9 billion years ago, but its primitive biosphere was much different than it is today. Life had not yet invented photosynthesis, which some 500 million years later would become its main source of energy. The primordial microbes—the common ancestors to all current life forms on Earth—in our planet's oceans therefore had to survive on another source of energy. They consumed chemicals released from inside the planet through its hydrothermal systems and volcanoes, which built up as gas in the atmosphere.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 9:23am

Why Does Climate Change Matter?

A scientist explains

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 9:17am

How magnetism could help explain the Earth-moon system's formation

There are several theories about how Earth and its moon were formed, most involving a giant impact. Now scientists have analyzed the dynamics of fluids and electrically conducting fluids and concluded that Earth must have been magnetized either before the impact or as a result of it.

They claim this could help to narrow down the theories of the Earth-moon formation and inform future research into what really happened. Their work is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This new idea is to point out that our theoretical understanding of the Earth's magnetic field today can actually tell us something about the very formation of the Earth-moon system. At first glance, this seems somewhat surprising, and previous theories had not recognized this potentially important connection.

This new assessment is based on the resilience of Earth's magnetic field, which is maintained by a rotating and electrically conducting fluid in the outer core, known as a geodynamo.

A peculiar property of the Earth's dynamo is that it can maintain a strong magnetic field but not amplify a weak one.

The scientists therefore concluded that if Earth's field were to get switched off, or even reduced to a very small level, it would not have the capability to kick in again.

It is this remarkable feature that allows us to make deductions about the history of the early Earth; including, possibly, how the moon was formed.

This work says any realistic model of the formation of the Earth–moon system must include magnetic field evolution. 

Fausto Cattaneo et al, How was the Earth-Moon system formed? New insights from the geodynamo, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120682119

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 9:10am

New research discovers new role for blood clotting protein in triggering inflammation

Scientists have discovered a new role for the blood clotting protein known as von Willebrand Factor (VWF), which could lead to the development of new treatments for patients with inflammatory and blood clotting disorders.

The research finds that VWF plays an important role in regulating immune responses at sites of blood vessel injury. This means that the protein has a newly discovered role in repairing damaged blood vessels in addition to its role in blood clotting.

Deficiency in VWF is called "von Willebrand Disease" and occurs in about 1 in 1,000 people in Ireland. People with this condition have increased risk of serious heavy bleeding. In contrast, people with high levels of the protein in their blood are at risk of developing serious blood clots. For example, very high VWF levels have been implicated in the unusual blood clots seen in the lungs of patients with severe COVID-19.

This research shows, for the first time, that VWF not only regulates blood clotting at the site of damage but also triggers local immune responses. Understanding this new biological role for VWF in regulating inflammatory responses may offer the opportunity to develop entirely new treatment options for patients with inflammatory and blood clotting disorders, such as von Willebrand Disease, deep vein thrombosis and myocardial infarction.

von Willebrand factor links primary hemostasis to innate immunity, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33796-7

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 8:29am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2022 at 8:15am

Researchers find that 60% of home 'compostable' plastic doesn't fully break down and ends up in our soil instead

In a recent study, researchers have found that 60% of home-compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate in home compost bins, and inevitably end up in our soil. The study also found that citizens are confused about the labels of compostable and biodegradable plastics, leading to incorrect plastic waste disposal. These results highlight the need to revise and redesign this supposedly sustainable plastic waste management system.

Global plastic pollution remains one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. A new OECD report shows that plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past 30 years. Globally, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, while 50% ends up in landfills, 22% evades waste management systems, and 19% is incinerated.

In response to this pollution crisis, several countries have set targets to eliminate all single-use plastics and to make plastic packaging 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.

Compostable plastics are becoming more common as the demand for sustainable products grows. The main applications of compostable plastics include food packaging, bags; cups and plates, cutlery, and bio-waste bags. But there are some fundamental problems with these types of plastics. They are largely unregulated, and claims around their environmental benefits are often exaggerated.

Now, in a new study published in Frontiers in Sustainability, researchers   have found that consumers are often confused about the meaning of the labels of compostable plastics, and that a large portion of compostable plastics do not fully disintegrate under home composting conditions.

"Compostable plastic" describes a material that can undergo biological degradation in a compost site at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, leaving no visible (toxic) residues.

However, compostable plastics are currently incompatible with most waste management systems. There exists no harmonized international standard for home compostable plastics. The fate of these plastics, when they are thrown away or sorted for recycling, is therefore either incineration or landfill.

Frontiers in Sustainability (2022). DOI: 10.3389/frsus.2022.942724

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 3, 2022 at 11:52am

Cats May Be Harboring Crime Scene DNA

 New research suggests that our little feline friends could be surprising sources of evidence when a crime has been committed.

Specifically, a cat's fur can retain enough DNA shed by a person who has been in their vicinity to serve as evidence of a fleeting meeting between the two. This could mean that, even though cats can't be questioned, they might still be able to help identify perpetrators of crime.

The new study is the first to examine how household pets can contribute to DNA transfer, so there's a lot more work to be done. But it represents a positive step towards the future collection of more comprehensive forensic evidence – which, obviously, would be really helpful police investigations.

The companion animals can be highly relevant in assessing the presence and activities of the inhabitants of the household, or any recent visitors to the scene.

In recent years, DNA analysis technology has become so sophisticated that even the most minute traces of genetic material can be relevant for a crime scene investigation. And we messy humans leave our DNA everywhere. Even just brief contact with an object can transfer traces of our genetic material. So-called touch DNA isn't enough on its own to positively identify a suspect, but it can be used to support other lines of evidence, or rule people out.

Touch DNA obtained from a surface doesn't even require the person to touch that surface, necessarily. It can be transported by a number of means, in skin cells or hairs that drift from a passing body, for example. Which is where household pets may play a role.

Researchers found detectable levels of DNA  in 80 percent of the cat swab samples. For all cats, there was no significant difference between the amount of DNA present, and the time since last contacted by a human, or length of hair on the cat.

https://www.fsigeneticssup.com/article/S1875-1768(22)00056-7/fulltext

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 3, 2022 at 9:28am

Adverse effects of hand sanitisers

Despite many benefits of hand sanitiser, it also possesses some side effects

 if used extensively:

• Irrational use of hand sanitiser can lead to moisture loss on our skin. It can further result in dry, flaky, and cracked skin. Many studies have shown that dry skin is more prone to germ attack.
• Overusing hand sanitiser may cause red or discolored itchy patches on our skin. This patch is also called eczema.
• Direct exposure to hand sanitiser on the eye may result in irritation and redness of the eyes. If not washed immediately, it can damage the outer layer of our eyes.
• When we use hand sanitiser more, pathogens and germs start building up resistance to the drugs, putting us at risk for several infections.
• Hand sanitiser approved for use contains a high amount of alcohol (60-95%) and other ingredients. So if swallowed in a significant amount, they may show symptoms similar to alcohol poisoning.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 3, 2022 at 9:22am

The new Chandra study led by Ilic approached this problem by looking at double-star (or "binary") systems where the stars are widely separated but only one of them has a hot Jupiter orbiting it. Astronomers know that just like human twins, the stars in binary systems form at the same time. The separation between the stars is much too large for them to influence each other or for the hot Jupiter to affect the other star. This means they could use the planet-free star in the system as a control subject.

It's almost like using twins in a study where one twin lives in a completely different neighborhood that affects their health. By comparing one star with a nearby planet to its twin without one, we can study the differences in behavior of the same-aged stars.

The team used the amount of X-rays to determine how "young" a star is acting. They looked for evidence of planet-to-star influence by studying almost three dozen systems in X-rays (the final sample contained 10 systems observed by Chandra and six by ESA's XMM-Newton, with several observed by both). They found that the stars with hot Jupiters tended to be brighter in X-rays and therefore more active than their companion stars without hot Jupiters.

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