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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

The Parallax Effect

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago. 1 Reply

Q: Why an airplane flying in the sky  appears to be stationary at the same time while we are traveling in a vehicle?Krishna: Yes, when  you are travelling in a car and suddenly look out the window…Continue

What is a three body problem?

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

Q: What is a three body problem?Krishna: I don't know about  science fiction or movies that are made based on the theme, but I will tell you what it is based on science.  Systems with two objects…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 yesterday. 6 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

How Soil Microorganisms Can Combat Desertification

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

 Soil Microbiology is the specialized subject I studied during my Post…Continue

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You need to be a member of Science Simplified! to add comments!

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Old immune system becomes young again
Antibodies rejuvenate immune responses in old mice by targeting stem cells that replenish white and red blood cells. The balance of these stem cells changes as mice (and humans) age — this might be one reason why older animals mount less of an immune response against pathogens. Aged mice that received the antibody treatment had a stronger reaction to vaccination, and were better able to fend off viral infection, than untreated rodents.

Nature | 
Read an expert analysis by developmental biologist Yasar Arfat Kasu and stem-cell biologist Robert Signer in the Nature News & Views article 
Reference: Nature paper

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Climate change is slowing Earth’s rotation
Melting ice caps are slowing the rotation of the Earth and could delay the next leap second by three years. Adding or removing seconds every few years keeps official atomic-clock time in line with the natural day, which varies slightly in line with the planet’s rotation rate. Since the early 1990s, the flow of water away from Earth’s axis of rotation and towards the Equator has worked to slightly slow down its spin. “It’s yet another way of impressing upon people just how big a deal [climate change] is,” says geophysicist and study author Duncan Agnew.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00932-w?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 5 hours ago

Google Street View reveals how built environment correlates with risk of cardiovascular disease

Researchers have used Google Street View to study hundreds of elements of the built environment, including buildings, green spaces, pavements and roads, and how these elements relate to each other and influence coronary artery disease in people living in these neighborhoods.

Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal recently, show that these factors can predict 63% of the variation in the risk of coronary heart disease from one area to another.

Coronary heart disease, where a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries interrupts the blood supply to the heart, is one of the most common forms of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers say that using Google Street View can help provide an overview of physical environmental risk factors in the built and natural environments that could help not only in understanding risk factors in these environments, but ultimately help towards building or adapting towns and cities to make them healthier places to live.

The research revealed that features of the built environment visible on Google Street View images could predict 63% of the variation in coronary heart disease between these small regions.

The association of residential location with outcomes often supersedes that of known biological risk factors. This is often summarized with the expression that a person's postal code is a bigger determinant of their health than their genetic code. However, our ability to appropriately classify environmental risk factors has relied on population surveys that track wealth, pollution, and community resources.

Zhuo Chen et al, Artificial intelligence-based assessment of built environment from Google Street View and coronary artery disease prevalence, European Heart Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae158

Rohan Khera, Artificial intelligence-enhanced exposomics: novel insights into cardiovascular health, European Heart Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae159

Researchers have shown that  they can use computer vision approaches to help identify environmental factors influencing cardiovascular risk and this could play a role in guiding heart-healthy urban planning. The fact that they  can do this at scale is something that is absolutely unique and important for urban planning.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 5 hours ago

'Exhausted' immune cells in healthy women could be target for breast cancer prevention

Risk-reducing surgery, in which the breasts are removed, is offered to those at increased risk of breast cancer. This can be a difficult decision for young women to make and can have a significant effect on body image and conjugal relationships.

Late-stage breast cancer tends to be very unpredictable and hard to manage. As we make better and better drugs, the tumors just seem to find a way around it.

The best way to prevent breast cancer is to really understand how it develops in the first place. Then we can identify these early changes and intervene.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created the world's largest catalogue of human breast cells, which has revealed early cell changes in healthy carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

Everyone has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but mutations in these genes—which can be inherited—increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

The study found that the immune cells in breast tissue of healthy women carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations show signs of malfunction known as exhaustion. This suggests that the immune cells can't clear out damaged breast cells, which can eventually develop into breast cancer.
This is the first time that exhausted immune cells have been reported in non-cancerous breast tissues at such scale—normally these cells are only found in late-stage tumors. The results raise the possibility of using existing immunotherapy drugs as early intervention to prevent breast cancer developing, in carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

The researchers plan to trial this preventative approach in mice. Existing drugs have serious side effects, so testing in mice is necessary to find the right safe dosage. If effective, this will pave the way to a pilot clinical trial in women carrying BRCA gene mutations.

The research  results suggest that in carriers of BRCA mutations, the immune system is failing to kill off damaged breast cells—which in turn seem to be working to keep these immune cells at bay.

Scientists are very excited about this discovery, because it opens up potential for a preventative treatment other than surgery for carriers of BRCA breast cancer gene mutations. Drugs already exist that can overcome this block in immune cell function, but so far, they've only been approved for late-stage disease. No one has really considered using them in a preventative way before.

Using samples of healthy breast tissue collected from 55 women across a range of ages, the researchers catalogued over 800,000 cells—including all the different types of breast cell. The resulting Human Breast Cell Atlas is now available as a resource for other researchers to use and add to. It contains huge amounts of information on other risk factors for breast cancer including Body Mass Index (BMI), menopausal status, contraceptive use and alcohol consumption. Researchers found that there are multiple breast cell types that change with pregnancy, and with age, and it's the combination of these effects—and others—that drives the overall risk of breast cancer.

A single-cell atlas enables mapping of homeostatic cellular shifts in the adult human breast, Nature Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01688-9

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

In fact, two of these seven genetic findings are located in this particular region containing the genes of the XG blood group, and that region is highly atypical because it is shared by both X and Y sex chromosomes. This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.

It is with this kind of comprehensive, holistic approach—and once we had taken into account the effects of age and sex—that three emerged as the most harmful: diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol.

This research sheds light on some of the most critical risk factors for dementia, and provides novel information that can contribute to prevention and future strategies for targeted intervention.

The effects of genetic and modifiable risk factors on brain regions vulnerable to ageing and disease, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46344-2

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Risk factors for faster aging in the brain revealed in new study

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigated the genetic and modifiable influences on fragile brain regions by looking at the brain scans of 40,000 UK Biobank participants aged over 45.

Previously, the researchers had identified a 'weak spot' in the brain, which is a specific network of higher-order regions that not only develop later during adolescence, but also show earlier degeneration in old age. They showed that this brain network is also particularly vulnerable to schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

In their latest study, the researchers examined 161 risk factors for dementia, and ranked their impact on this vulnerable brain network, over and above the natural effects of age.

They classified these so-called 'modifiable' risk factors—as they can potentially be changed throughout life to reduce the risk of dementia—into 15 broad categories: blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialization, diet, physical activity, and education.

We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study researchers  have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution—increasingly a major player in dementia—and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.

They have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Scientists discover how caterpillars can stop their 'bleeding' in seconds

Fully grown tobacco hornworms, ready to pupate, are between 7.5cm and 10cm long. They only contain a minute amount of hemolymph, which typically clots within seconds

Blood is a remarkable material: it must remain fluid inside blood vessels, yet clot as quickly as possible outside them, to stop bleeding. The chemical cascade that makes this possible is well understood for vertebrate blood. But hemolymph, the equivalent of blood in insects, has a very different composition, being notably lacking in red blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets, and having amoeba-like cells called hemocytes instead of white blood cells for immune defense.

Just like blood, hemolymph clots quickly outside the body. How it does so has long remained an enigma. Now, materials scientists have shown in Frontiers in Soft Matter how this feat is managed by caterpillars of the Carolina sphinx moth. This discovery has potential applications for human medicine, the authors said.

 These caterpillars, called tobacco hornworms, can seal the wounds within a minute. They do that in two steps: first, in a few seconds, their thin, water-like hemolymph becomes 'viscoelastic' or slimy, and the dripping hemolymph retracts back to the wound.

Next, hemocytes aggregate, starting from the wound surface and moving up to embrace the coating hemolymph film that eventually becomes a crust sealing the wound.

To seal a wound, caterpillars transform blood from a viscous to a viscoelastic fluid in a few seconds, Frontiers in Soft Matter (2024). DOI: 10.3389/frsfm.2024.1341129www.frontiersin.org/articles/1 … fm.2024.1341129/full

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

During the week required to complete the inflammatory process, the mouse memory-encoding neurons were found to have changed in various ways, including becoming more resistant to new or similar environmental stimuli.

This is noteworthy because we're constantly flooded by information, and the neurons that encode memories need to preserve the information they've already acquired and not be 'distracted' by new inputs.

Importantly, the researchers found that blocking the TLR9 inflammatory pathway in hippocampal neurons not only prevented mice from forming long-term memories but also caused profound genomic instability, i.e., a high frequency of DNA damage in these neurons.

Genomic instability is considered a hallmark of accelerated aging as well as cancer and psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's.

Drugs that inhibit the TLR9 pathway have been proposed for relieving the symptoms of long COVID. But caution needs to be shown because fully inhibiting the TLR9 pathway may pose significant health risks, say the researchers. 

 Jelena Radulovic, Formation of memory assemblies through the DNA-sensing TLR9 pathway, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07220-7www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07220-7

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Triggering inflammation to make memories

Further analysis showed that DNA fragments, along with other molecules resulting from the DNA damage, were released from the nucleus, after which the neurons' TLR9 inflammatory pathway was activated; this pathway in turn stimulated DNA repair complexes to form at an unusual location: the centrosomes.

These organelles are present in the cytoplasm of most animal cells and are essential for coordinating cell division. But in neurons—which don't divide—the stimulated centrosomes participated in cycles of DNA repair that appeared to organize individual neurons into memory assemblies.

Cell division and the immune response have been highly conserved in animal life over millions of years, enabling life to continue while providing protection from foreign pathogens.

It seems likely that over the course of evolution, hippocampal neurons have adopted this immune-based memory mechanism by combining the immune response's DNA-sensing TLR9 pathway with a DNA repair centrosome function to form memories without progressing to cell division.

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Making long-term memories requires DNA damage, researchers discover

Just as you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that you can't make long-term memories without DNA damage and brain inflammation. Their surprising findings were published in the journal Nature in a paper titled "Formation of memory assemblies through the DNA sensing TLR9 pathway."

Inflammation of brain neurons is usually considered to be a bad thing, since it can lead to neurological problems such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. But these new findings suggest that inflammation in certain neurons in the brain's hippocampal region is essential for making long-lasting memories.

The hippocampus has long been known as the brain's memory center.  Researchers found that a stimulus sets off a cycle of DNA damage and repair within certain hippocampal neurons that leads to stable memory assemblies—clusters of brain cells that represent our past experiences.

The researchers discovered this memory-forming mechanism by giving mice brief, mild shocks sufficient to form a memory of the shock event (episodic memory). They then analyzed neurons in the hippocampal region and found that genes participating in an important inflammatory signaling pathway had been activated.

Researchers observed strong activation of genes involved in the Toll-Like Receptor 9 (TLR9) pathway. This inflammatory pathway is best known for triggering immune responses by detecting small fragments of pathogen DNA. So at first scientists assumed the TLR9 pathway was activated because the mice had an infection. But looking more closely, they found, to their surprise, that TLR9 was activated only in clusters of hippocampal cells that showed DNA damage.

Brain activity routinely induces small breaks in DNA that are repaired within minutes. But in this population of hippocampal neurons, the DNA damage appeared to be more substantial and sustained.

Part 1

 

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