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Science Simplified!

                       JAI VIGNAN

All about Science - to remove misconceptions and encourage scientific temper

Communicating science to the common people

'To make  them see the world differently through the beautiful lense of  science'

Members: 22
Latest Activity: 2 hours ago

         WE LOVE SCIENCE HERE BECAUSE IT IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING

     THIS  IS A WAR ZONE WHERE SCIENCE FIGHTS WITH NONSENSE AND WINS                                               

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”             

                    "Being a scientist is a state of mind, not a profession!"

                  "Science, when it's done right, can yield amazing things".

         The Reach of Scientific Research From Labs to Laymen

The aim of science is not only to open a door to infinite knowledge and                                     wisdom but to set a limit to infinite error.

"Knowledge is a Superpower but the irony is you cannot get enough of it with ever increasing data base unless you try to keep up with it constantly and in the right way!" The best education comes from learning from people who know what they are exactly talking about.

Science is this glorious adventure into the unknown, the opportunity to discover things that nobody knew before. And that’s just an experience that’s not to be missed. But it’s also a motivated effort to try to help humankind. And maybe that’s just by increasing human knowledge—because that’s a way to make us a nobler species.

If you are scientifically literate the world looks very different to you.

We do science and science communication not because they are easy but because they are difficult!

“Science is not a subject you studied in school. It’s life. We 're brought into existence by it!"

 Links to some important articles :

1. Interactive science series...

a. how-to-do-research-and-write-research-papers-part 13

b. Some Qs people asked me on science and my replies to them...

Part 6part-10part-11part-12, part 14  ,  part- 8

part- 1part-2part-4part-5part-16part-17part-18 , part-19 , part-20

part-21 , part-22part-23part-24part-25part-26part-27 , part-28

part-29part-30part-31part-32part-33part-34part-35part-36part-37,

 part-38part-40part-41part-42part-43part-44part-45part-46part-47

Part 48 part49Critical thinking -part 50 , part -51part-52part-53

part-54part-55part-57part-58part-59part-60part-61part-62part-63

part 64, part-65part-66part-67part-68part 69part-70 part-71part-73 ...

.......306

BP variations during pregnancy part-72

who is responsible for the gender of  their children - a man or a woman -part-56

c. some-questions-people-asked-me-on-science-based-on-my-art-and-poems -part-7

d. science-s-rules-are-unyielding-they-will-not-be-bent-for-anybody-part-3-

e. debate-between-scientists-and-people-who-practice-and-propagate-pseudo-science - part -9

f. why astrology is pseudo-science part 15

g. How Science is demolishing patriarchal ideas - part-39

2. in-defence-of-mangalyaan-why-even-developing-countries-like-india need space research programmes

3. Science communication series:

a. science-communication - part 1

b. how-scienitsts-should-communicate-with-laymen - part 2

c. main-challenges-of-science-communication-and-how-to-overcome-them - part 3

d. the-importance-of-science-communication-through-art- part 4

e. why-science-communication-is-geting worse - part  5

f. why-science-journalism-is-not-taken-seriously-in-this-part-of-the-world - part 6

g. blogs-the-best-bet-to-communicate-science-by-scientists- part 7

h. why-it-is-difficult-for-scientists-to-debate-controversial-issues - part 8

i. science-writers-and-communicators-where-are-you - part 9

j. shooting-the-messengers-for-a-different-reason-for-conveying-the- part 10

k. why-is-science-journalism-different-from-other-forms-of-journalism - part 11

l.  golden-rules-of-science-communication- Part 12

m. science-writers-should-develop-a-broader-view-to-put-things-in-th - part 13

n. an-informed-patient-is-the-most-cooperative-one -part 14

o. the-risks-scientists-will-have-to-face-while-communicating-science - part 15

p. the-most-difficult-part-of-science-communication - part 16

q. clarity-on-who-you-are-writing-for-is-important-before-sitting-to write a science story - part 17

r. science-communicators-get-thick-skinned-to-communicate-science-without-any-bias - part 18

s. is-post-truth-another-name-for-science-communication-failure?

t. why-is-it-difficult-for-scientists-to-have-high-eqs

u. art-and-literature-as-effective-aids-in-science-communication-and teaching

v.* some-qs-people-asked-me-on-science communication-and-my-replies-to-them

 ** qs-people-asked-me-on-science-and-my-replies-to-them-part-173

w. why-motivated-perception-influences-your-understanding-of-science

x. science-communication-in-uncertain-times

y. sci-com: why-keep-a-dog-and-bark-yourself

z. How to deal with sci com dilemmas?

 A+. sci-com-what-makes-a-story-news-worthy-in-science

 B+. is-a-perfect-language-important-in-writing-science-stories

C+. sci-com-how-much-entertainment-is-too-much-while-communicating-sc

D+. sci-com-why-can-t-everybody-understand-science-in-the-same-way

E+. how-to-successfully-negotiate-the-science-communication-maze

4. Health related topics:

a. why-antibiotic-resistance-is-increasing-and-how-scientists-are-tr

b. what-might-happen-when-you-take-lots-of-medicines

c. know-your-cesarean-facts-ladies

d. right-facts-about-menstruation

e. answer-to-the-question-why-on-big-c

f. how-scientists-are-identifying-new-preventive-measures-and-cures-

g. what-if-little-creatures-high-jack-your-brain-and-try-to-control-

h. who-knows-better?

i. mycotoxicoses

j. immunotherapy

k. can-rust-from-old-drinking-water-pipes-cause-health-problems

l. pvc-and-cpvc-pipes-should-not-be-used-for-drinking-water-supply

m. melioidosis

n.vaccine-woes

o. desensitization-and-transplant-success-story

p. do-you-think-the-medicines-you-are-taking-are-perfectly-alright-then revisit your position!

q. swine-flu-the-difficlulties-we-still-face-while-tackling-the-outb

r. dump-this-useless-information-into-a-garbage-bin-if-you-really-care about evidence based medicine

s. don-t-ignore-these-head-injuries

t. the-detoxification-scam

u. allergic- agony-caused-by-caterpillars-and-moths

General science: 

a.why-do-water-bodies-suddenly-change-colour

b. don-t-knock-down-your-own-life-line

c. the-most-menacing-animal-in-the-world

d. how-exo-planets-are-detected

e. the-importance-of-earth-s-magnetic-field

f. saving-tigers-from-extinction-is-still-a-travail

g. the-importance-of-snakes-in-our-eco-systems

h. understanding-reverse-osmosis

i. the-importance-of-microbiomes

j. crispr-cas9-gene-editing-technique-a-boon-to-fixing-defective-gen

k. biomimicry-a-solution-to-some-of-our-problems

5. the-dilemmas-scientists-face

6. why-we-get-contradictory-reports-in-science

7. be-alert-pseudo-science-and-anti-science-are-on-prowl

8. science-will-answer-your-questions-and-solve-your-problems

9. how-science-debunks-baseless-beliefs

10. climate-science-and-its-relevance

11. the-road-to-a-healthy-life

12. relative-truth-about-gm-crops-and-foods

13. intuition-based-work-is-bad-science

14. how-science-explains-near-death-experiences

15. just-studies-are-different-from-thorough-scientific-research

16. lab-scientists-versus-internet-scientists

17. can-you-challenge-science?

18. the-myth-of-ritual-working

19.science-and-superstitions-how-rational-thinking-can-make-you-work-better

20. comets-are-not-harmful-or-bad-omens-so-enjoy-the-clestial-shows

21. explanation-of-mysterious-lights-during-earthquakes

22. science-can-tell-what-constitutes-the-beauty-of-a-rose

23. what-lessons-can-science-learn-from-tragedies-like-these

24. the-specific-traits-of-a-scientific-mind

25. science-and-the-paranormal

26. are-these-inventions-and-discoveries-really-accidental-and-intuitive like the journalists say?

27. how-the-brain-of-a-polymath-copes-with-all-the-things-it-does

28. how-to-make-scientific-research-in-india-a-success-story

29. getting-rid-of-plastic-the-natural-way

30. why-some-interesting-things-happen-in-nature

31. real-life-stories-that-proves-how-science-helps-you

32. Science and trust series:

a. how-to-trust-science-stories-a-guide-for-common-man

b. trust-in-science-what-makes-people-waver

c. standing-up-for-science-showing-reasons-why-science-should-be-trusted

You will find the entire list of discussions here: http://kkartlab.in/group/some-science/forum

( Please go through the comments section below to find scientific research  reports posted on a daily basis and watch videos based on science)

Get interactive...

Please contact us if you want us to add any information or scientific explanation on any topic that interests you. We will try our level best to give you the right information.

Our mail ID: kkartlabin@gmail.com

Discussion Forum

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Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 21 hours ago. 1 Reply

The trillions of bacteria that call your body home—collectively known as the microbiome—appear to be unique to you, like a fingerprint. That's one conclusion of a detailed study of the gut, mouth,…Continue

STEM Home work? Even parents are unable to do that!

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 23 hours ago. 1 Reply

According to a new study , parents and grandparents who have completed their academic careers long back are unable to help their children and grandchildren with their homework and studies…Continue

It’s a myth that male animals are usually larger than females

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply

Q: What is the evolutionary reason that most mammals including humans have stronger and bigger males and weaker females?Krishna: It’s a myth that male animals are usually larger than females…Continue

Your Biological Age Can Be Different From Your Actual (Chronological)Age!

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Thursday. 5 Replies

Recently I have seen an old lady teasing an young girl who became breathless after climbing up a few steps.  "Look I am 78. But still I can climb steps with ease. I can go anywhere I want without any…Continue

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

The researchers also found that people differed from each other in terms of how much glucose fluctuations impacted their cognitive speed, and some people—including older adults and adults with certain health conditions—were much more impacted by glucose fluctuations than others.

These results demonstrate that people can differ a lot from one another in how their brains are impacted by glucose.

This work  found that minimizing glucose fluctuations in daily life is important for optimizing processing speed, and this is especially true for people who are older or have other diabetes-related health conditions.

One surprise discovery was that participants' peak cognitive performance coincided with glucose levels that were slightly above their normal range, though performance dropped off as glucose levels rose even further.

 Dynamic associations between glucose and ecological momentary cognition in Type 1 Diabetes, npj Digital Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41746-024-01036-5 , www.nature.com/articles/s41746-024-01036-5

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Study shows glucose levels affect cognitive performance in people with type 1 diabetes differently

A new study  used advances in digital testing to demonstrate that naturally occurring glucose fluctuations impact cognitive function in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Results of the study, published in npj Digital Medicine, show that cognition was slower in moments when glucose was atypical—that is, considerably higher or lower than someone's usual glucose level. However, some people were more susceptible to the cognitive effects of large glucose fluctuations than others.

In trying to understand how diabetes impacts the brain, this research shows that it is important to consider not only how people are similar, but also how they differ.

T1D is an autoimmune disease characterized by glucose variability. Previous laboratory studies have shown that very low and very  impair cognitive function. However, technological limitations made it difficult to study the impact of naturally occurring glucose fluctuations on cognition outside of the laboratory, preventing researchers from obtaining repeated, high-frequency measurements within the same individuals over time. High-frequency measurements are necessary to understand whether glucose fluctuations impact cognition similarly for everyone.

In the new study, researchers used digital glucose sensors and smartphone-based cognitive tests to collect repeated, high-frequency glucose and cognitive data in 200 individuals with T1D. Glucose data were collected every five minutes and cognitive data were collected three times per day for fifteen days.

Collecting glucose and cognitive data unobtrusively, as participants went about their daily lives, allowed researchers to examine the cognitive impact of naturally occurring glucose variability. With many data points from each individual, they were able to use machine learning to test whether the impact of glucose on cognition differed from person to person.

The study showed that cognitive function was impaired when glucose was considerably higher or lower than usual, and this effect was observed for processing speed but not sustained attention. It is possible that processing speed is impacted by short-term, moment-to-moment fluctuations in glucose, whereas sustained attention is impacted by high or low glucose that persists over longer periods of time.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Two artificial intelligences talk to each other

Performing a new task based solely on verbal or written instructions, and then describing it to others so that they can reproduce it, is a cornerstone of human communication that still resists artificial intelligence (AI).

A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has succeeded in modeling an artificial neural network capable of this cognitive prowess. After learning and performing a series of basic tasks, this AI was able to provide a linguistic description of them to a "sister" AI, which in turn performed them. These promising results, especially for robotics, are  published in Nature Neuroscience.

Performing a new task without prior training, on the sole basis of verbal or written instructions, is a unique human ability. What's more, once we have learned the task, we are able to describe it so that another person can reproduce it. This dual capacity distinguishes us from other species which, to learn a new task, need numerous trials accompanied by positive or negative reinforcement signals, without being able to communicate it to their congeners.

A sub-field of artificial intelligence (AI)—Natural language processing—seeks to recreate this human faculty, with machines that understand and respond to vocal or textual data. This technique is based on artificial neural networks, inspired by our biological neurons and by the way they transmit electrical signals to one another in the brain. However, the neural calculations that would make it possible to achieve the cognitive feat described above are still poorly understood.

Currently, conversational agents using AI are capable of integrating linguistic information to produce text or an image. But, according to researchers, they are not yet capable of translating a verbal or written instruction into a sensorimotor action, and even less explaining it to another artificial intelligence so that it can reproduce it.

The researchers have now succeeded in developing an artificial neuronal model with this dual capacity, albeit with prior training.

This model opens new horizons for understanding the interaction between language and behaviour. It is particularly promising for the robotics sector, where the development of technologies that enable machines to talk to each other.

 Reidar Riveland et al, Natural language instructions induce compositional generalization in networks of neurons, Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01607-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 21 hours ago

Plastic World

In more than 200 people undergoing surgery, scientists found that nearly 60 percent of patients had microplastics or even smaller nanoplastics in the plaque build-up in the main neck artery. Those patients were 4.5 times more likely to experience a heart attack, a stroke or death in the approximately three years after the surgery than were those whose arteries were plastic-free.
 Microplastics are everywhere. These plastic particles, which range from smaller than a single virus particle to as large as the width of a pencil, have been found in the trillions in oceans and tissues of sea animals, as well in drinking water, rain, air, human tissue and breast milk. Since they don’t break down quickly and cells in the body that manage waste can’t degrade them, microplastics accumulate in organisms. According to conservative estimates, most people ingest between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles every year, likely more. But the effect that all these plastic pieces have on human health is still an area of ongoing research. 
Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

What Comes After 5G? Developing New Technologies to Enable 6G

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Saturday

Plastic chemicals include all chemicals found in plastic, in addition to additives, impurities and chemicals that are used during production.

The advice of researchers:

The researchers have formulated four points that they believe decision-makers must address:

  • Regulate the use of problematic substances in plastics.
  • Create more transparency around which chemicals are used in plastic production.
  • Make plastics less complicated so we don't have to deal with so many chemicals.
  • Increase impact and capacity to make it easier for authorities, industry and researchers to work together to make better plastics.

The report will play a crucial role in tackling the problem of plastic pollution.

Martin Wagner et al, State of the science on plastic chemicals - Identifying and addressing chemicals and polymers of concern, Zenodo (2024). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10701706

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Saturday

More than 16,000 chemicals can be found in plastic, and many are harmful: Report

Researchers have found more than 16,000 chemicals in plastics. A new report shows that about a quarter of these chemicals can be hazardous to health and the environment.

Plastic pollution is an international environmental crisis, and the researchers behind a new report are becoming increasingly concerned about the health consequences of plastic. There are many problematic chemicals in plastics. They pose a threat to both human health and the environment. Therefore, we must make plastic safe and sustainable.

We can only deal with the plastic problem if we take the chemicals in the plastic into account, and manage them in a responsible manner.

The United Nations is in the process of negotiating a global treaty on plastics. The goal is to end plastic pollution and develop plastics that are safer and more sustainable. That makes it very important for decision makers to know as much as possible about the chemicals in plastics, and take them into account when making decisions.

The key findings of the new report:

  • At least 4,200 plastic chemicals, approximately 26%, pose a health and/or environmental hazard.
  • 400 of the chemicals that are of concern to the researchers are found in all types of plastics, including plastic food packaging. All plastics can leach hazardous chemicals.
  • To make plastic materials safer, we need new methods to regulate the chemicals. This includes identifying the hazardous chemicals and regulating hazardous groups of plastic chemicals.

In addition to being a database of problematic substances, the document also provides a method for identifying and managing chemicals of concern in plastics.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Saturday

We can simply change the amount of water vapour in the system to regenerate the entire material in this new process. In this way, we can minimize the energy we put into the process.

The researchers examined ways to control and modify the materials at the nano-scale to enable more efficient moisture-swing carbon capture. They found that loading the pores with highly basic, negatively charged ions such as phosphate and carbonate yielded the highest capacity for carbon capture.

Yaguang Zhu et al, Confinement Effects on Moisture-Swing Direct Air Capture, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00712

Part 2

**

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Saturday

Researchers use moisture to pull carbon dioxide out of the air

A way to capture and release carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is by simply changing the surrounding humidity using a material.

The material could slash the energy costs associated with so-called direct air capture systems, which conventionally rely on energy-intensive temperature or pressure shifts to switch between carbon capture and release. By instead relying on humidity, the material could yield energy efficiency improvements over five times above current technologies. The researchers  report their findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

Direct air capture systems have been heralded as a way to combat climate change by pulling carbon dioxide out of the air to either store permanently underground or convert into a useful product.

Despite its promise, direct air capture has come under scrutiny since it requires more energy to perform than almost any other application of carbon capture. That is because the concentration of carbon dioxide in ambient air is extremely diluted, especially when compared to the waste gas from a point-source emitter such as a coal-fired power plant. One of the process' most energy-intensive steps is regeneration. After capturing carbon dioxide from ambient air, conventional systems require heat and/or pressure changes to release the gas into storage so that the system can be prepared to capture more carbon. In one approach using a liquid solvent, the regeneration step requires heating the carbon capture material to temperatures ranging from 300° to 900°C. By contrast, previous research has shown that regenerating carbon capture materials with humidity only requires adding or removing water vapor. Such an approach dramatically cuts the energy required to remove a ton of carbon dioxide, from up to 4.1 gigajoules using conventional techniques to just 0.7 gigajoules—an energy savings per ton.

To achieve the humidity-based approach, the Princeton team modified an existing type of ion-exchange resin, a material that can trade charged particles with the surrounding environment. These resins are already used for a range of commercial purposes, making them widely available and inexpensive.
Moreover, the surfaces of these resins are dotted with countless tiny pores, only 6 nanometers in diameter. The carbon capture process takes place inside these cavities. At low humidity, a series of chemical reactions occurs in the pores that allows them to capture carbon dioxide from a stream of incoming air. At high humidity, the opposite occurs: the material releases its bound carbon and is prepared for another round of capture.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Saturday

New research suggests that our universe has no dark matter

The current theoretical model for the composition of the universe is that it's made of normal matter, dark energy and dark matter. A new study challenges this.

A study, published recently in The Astrophysical Journal, challenges the current model of the universe by showing that, in fact, it has no room for dark matter.

In cosmology, the term "dark matter" describes all that appears not to interact with light or the electromagnetic field, or that can only be explained through gravitational force. We can't see it, nor do we know what it's made of, but it helps us understand how galaxies, planets and stars behave.

Physicists used a combination of the covarying coupling constants (CCC) and "tired light" (TL) theories (the CCC+TL model) to reach this conclusion.

This model combines two ideas—about how the forces of nature decrease over cosmic time and about light losing energy when it travels a long distance. It's been tested and has been shown to match up with several observations, such as about how galaxies are spread out and how light from the early universe has evolved.

This discovery challenges the prevailing understanding of the universe, which suggests that roughly 27% of it is composed of dark matter and less than 5% of ordinary matter, remaining being the dark energy.

Challenging the need for dark matter in the universe

The study's findings confirm the researchers' previous work (1) ("JWST early universe observations and ΛCDM cosmology") about the age of the universe being 26.7 billion years has allowed them to discover that the universe does not require dark matter to exist.

In standard cosmology, the accelerated expansion of the universe is said to be caused by dark energy but is in fact due to the weakening forces of nature as it expands, not due to dark energy.

"Redshifts" refer to when light is shifted toward the red part of the spectrum. The researcher analyzed data from recent papers on the distribution of galaxies at low redshifts and the angular size of the sound horizon in the literature at high redshift.

There are several papers that question the existence of dark matter, but this is the first one that eliminates its cosmological existence while being consistent with key cosmological observations that we have had time to confirm.

By challenging the need for dark matter in the universe and providing evidence for a new cosmological model, this study opens up new avenues for exploring the fundamental properties of the universe.

 Rajendra P. Gupta, Testing CCC+TL Cosmology with Observed Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Features, The Astrophysical Journal (2024). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad1bc6

Footnotes:

1.  R Gupta, JWST early Universe observations and ΛCDM cosmology, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2023). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad2032

 

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