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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: 16 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

Cancer Questions

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 16 hours ago. 1 Reply

Q: Is it a fact that cancer is also genetically inherited? If so, how much percentage of cancer affected patients have genetically inherited cancer? K: While most cancers are not directly inherited,…Continue

What are wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures?

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 19 hours ago. 1 Reply

Q: What are wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures?Krishna: Dry bulb temperature is the temperature of the air as measured by a standard thermometer, while wet bulb temperature is the temperature…Continue

Vaccine woes

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 12 Replies

Recent measles outbreak in the California state of the US ( now spread to other states too) tells an interesting story.Vaccines are not responsible for the woes people face but because of rejection…Continue

Ask any astronaut whether what he is sensing in space is objective reality or subjective reality.

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

Q: What is the definition of subjective reality? What is the definition of objective reality?Krishna: A person asked me this question sometime back:Why does our thinking differ so much? We are from…Continue

Comment Wall

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

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 25, 2024 at 7:09am

Replicated, long-term studies from natural populations, including research on the famous Darwin's finches, are rare.

Because most of this work is restricted to one or few populations, it is difficult to draw inferences on repeatability among multiple evolutionary independent populations.

Such studies are challenging to implement not only because they take concerted effort, but also because you can't rush time.

Patrik Nosil et al, Evolution repeats itself in replicate long-term studies in the wild, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3149www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl3149

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 25, 2024 at 7:08am

Biologists observe recurring evolutionary changes, over time, in stick insects

A long-standing debate among evolutionary scientists goes something like this: Does evolution happen in a predictable pattern or does it depend on chance events and contingency? That is, if you could turn back the clock, as celebrated scientist Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) described in his famous metaphor, "Replaying the Tape of Life," would life on Earth evolve, once again, as something similar to what we know now, or would it look very, very different?

Now researchers  report evidence of repeatable evolution in populations of stick insects in the paper "Evolution repeats itself in replicate long-term studies in the wild," in Science Advances

The team examined three decades of data on the frequency of cryptic color-pattern morphs in the stick insect species Timema cristinae in ten naturally replicate populations in California. T. cristinae is polymorphic in regard to its body colour and pattern. Some insects are green, which allows the wingless, plant-feeding insect to blend in with California lilac (Ceanothus spinosus) shrubs. In contrast, green striped morphs disappear against chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) shrubs.

Hiding among the plants is one of T. christinae's key defenses as hungry birds, such as scrub jays, are insatiable predators of the stick insects.

Bird predation is a constant driver shaping the insects' organismal traits, including coloration and striped vs. non-striped.

Scientists observed predictable 'up-and-down' fluctuations in stripe frequency in all populations, representing repeatable evolutionary dynamics based on standing genetic variation.

A field experiment demonstrates these fluctuations involved negative frequency-dependent natural selection (NFDS), where cryptic colour patterns are more beneficial when rare rather than common. This is likely because birds develop a 'search image' for very abundant prey.

At short time scales, evolution involving existing variations can be quite predictable. You can count on certain drivers always being there, such as birds feeding on the insects.

But at longer time scales, evolutionary dynamics become less predictable.

The populations might experience a chance event, such as a severe drought or a flooding event, that disrupts the status quo and thus, the predictable outcomes.

On long time scales, a new mutation in the species could introduce a rare trait. That's about as close to truly random as you can get.

Rare things are easily lost by chance, so there's a strong probability a new mutation could disappear before it gains a stronghold. 

Indeed, another species of Timema stick insect that also feeds on chamise either never had or quickly lost the mutations making the cryptic stripe trait. Thus, the evolution of stripe is not a repeatable outcome of evolution at this long scale.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 12:41pm

How gut microbes drive tumour growth
Scientists have long known that obese people have poorer cancer survival rates. Now they have some idea why. A high-fat diet increases the number of Desulfovibrio bacteria in the gut of mice. These release leucine, an amino acid, which encourages the proliferation of a kind of cell that suppresses the immune system. With a suppressed immune system, tumour growth can increase. In breast cancer patients, poorer outcomes were seen for women with higher body-mass index, who also had higher levels of Desulfovibrio bacteria in their gut and leucine in their blood. It’s a provocative finding that will open up new avenues that we should be thinking about.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306776121?utm_source=Live+Au...

----

Biggest risk factors for disease spread A meta-analysis of five ways that humanity’s environmental footprint spreads disease — biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, climate change, invasive species and deforestation/urbanization — suggests that conserving biodiversity, controlling invasive species and lowering greenhouse-gas emissions would reduce disease spread the most. This evidence can be used in international policy to spur action on climate change and biodiversity loss due to their negative impacts on disease.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07380-6?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:52am

Micro-ballistics research has shown metals hardening as they are heated, under extreme strain rates.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:39am

Strange  bacteria defy textbooks by writing new genes

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:37am

Bizarre bacteria scramble workflow of life
Bacteria have stunned biologists by reversing the usual flow of information. Typically genes written in DNA serve as the template for making RNA molecules, which are then translated into proteins. Some viruses are known to have an enzyme that reverses this flow by scribing RNA into DNA. Now scientists have found bacteria with a similar enzyme that can even make completely new genes — by reading RNA as a template. These genes create protective proteins when a bacterium is infected by a virus. It should change the way we look at the genome.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.05.08.593200v1

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:18am

Atomic-resolution imaging shows why ice is so slippery

A team of physicists  has uncovered the reason behind the slipperiness of ice. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group used atomic force microscopy to get a closer look at the surface of ice at different temperatures.

Prior research and day-to-day experiences  have shown that ice is slippery, even when temperatures are well below the freezing point. Research has suggested this is because of a pre-melt coating that develops at the surface, which serves as a lubricant.

In this new study, the research team used an atomic force microscope fitted with a carbon monoxide atom on its tip to get a better look at the structure of normal ice and its pre-melt coating.

The researchers began by chilling ice inside the microscope chamber to -150°C and then using the microscope to look at its atomic structure. They could see that the internal ice (known as ice Ih), and the ice at the surface were different.

The ice Ih, as expected, was arranged in stacked hexagons. The ice on the surface, by contrast, was only partially hexagonal. The researchers also found defects in the ice at the border between the two types of ice that occurred as the different ice shapes met one another.

The researchers then raised the temperature in the chamber slightly, which resulted in more disorder as the differences in shape became more pronounced. The team then created a simulation showing how such disorder would impact the surface as a whole unit—it showed the disorder expanding all the way across the surface, giving the ice a liquid-like appearance that would be slippery if trod upon.

 Jiani Hong et al, Imaging surface structure and premelting of ice Ih with atomic resolution, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07427-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:05am

And the team think that the new device could help speed up the search for notoriously elusive particles known as axions, which are so far only theoretical, but proposed by many as the secret ingredient of mysterious dark matter.

 The squeezed noise itself could even be used in future quantum computers.

It turns out that squeezed vacuum noise is an ingredient to build a certain type of quantum computer. Excitingly, the level of squeezing they've achieved is not far off the amount needed to build such a system.

 Arjen Vaartjes et al, Strong microwave squeezing above 1 Tesla and 1 Kelvin, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48519-3

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 11:05am

How a world record 'squeeze' could offer comfort for dark matter hunters

Quantum engineers have developed a new amplifier that could help other scientists search for elusive dark matter particles.

Imagine throwing a ball. You'd expect science to be able to work out its exact speed and location at any given moment, right? Well, the theory of quantum mechanics says you can't actually know both with infinite precision at the same time.

It turns out that as you more precisely measure where the ball is, knowing its speed becomes less and less accurate.

This conundrum is commonly referred to as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, named after the famous physicist Werner Heisenberg who first described it.

For the ball, this effect is imperceptible, but in the quantum world of small electrons and photons the measurement uncertainty suddenly becomes very significant.

That's the problem being addressed by a team of engineers who have developed an amplifying device that performs precise measurements of very weak microwave signals, and it does so through a process known as squeezing.

Squeezing involves reducing the certainty of one property of a signal in order to obtain ultra-precise measurements of another property.

The team of researchers  have significantly increased the accuracy of measuring signals at microwave frequencies, like those emitted by your mobile phone, to the point of setting a new world record.

The precision of measuring any signal is fundamentally limited by noise. Noise is the fuzziness that creeps in and masks signals, which is something you may have experienced if you've ever ventured out of range when listening to AM or FM radio.

However, uncertainty in the quantum world means there is a limit as to how low noise can be made in a measurement. 

Even in a vacuum, a space void of everything, the uncertainty principle tells us we must still have noise. We call this 'vacuum' noise. For many quantum experiments, vacuum noise is the dominant effect that prevents us from making more precise measurements.

The squeezer produced by the research team now can beat this quantum limit.

The device amplifies noise in one direction, so that noise in another direction is significantly reduced, or 'squeezed.' Think of the noise as a tennis ball, if we stretch it vertically, then it must reduce along the horizontal to maintain its volume. Researchers  can then use the reduced part of the noise to do more precise measurements.

They showed that the squeezer is able to reduce noise to record low levels.

Squeezing is very difficult at microwave frequencies because the materials used tend to destroy the fragile squeezed noise quite easily.

What they've done is a lot of engineering in order to remove sources of loss, which means utilizing very high-quality superconducting materials to build the amplifier.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 24, 2024 at 10:41am

Nanoparticle vaccines: A potential leap forward in veterinary medicine

Classical vaccines often rely on traditional technologies, such as live attenuated or inactivated pathogens, which carry inherent risks including reduced immunogenicity under certain conditions and potential safety concerns. This has spurred the need for innovative approaches that can provide safer and more effective prophylactic solutions in veterinary medicine.

Self-assembled protein nanoparticles (SAPNs) emerge as a cutting-edge solution, harnessing the power of nanotechnology to revolutionize vaccine design and implementation.

In an article published on 10 May 2024 in Animal Diseases, researchers at Zhejiang University's Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, delve into the development and application of SAPNs and virus-like nanoparticles (VLPs), offering a detailed discussion of their potential in veterinary medicine.

The article focuses on various types of SAPNs, including natural and synthetically designed nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are tailored to enhance the immune system's ability to recognize and respond to pathogens more effectively.

Key highlights include the use of animal virus-derived nanoparticles and bacteriophage-derived nanoparticles, which have shown the potential to elicit strong cellular and humoral responses. The nanoparticles' ability to mimic pathogen structures enables them to trigger a more substantial immune reaction, potentially leading to long-lasting immunity.

Researchers have documented successes in using these nanoparticles to protect against diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever, showcasing their broad applicability and effectiveness.

Veterinary nanoparticle vaccines have broad implications, with the potential to extend the benefits beyond veterinary applications into human health. The enhanced safety and immunogenicity of these vaccines could lead to the development of advanced vaccines for human use.

Additionally, by reducing the environmental impact of livestock diseases, this technology may contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices globally.

Meiqi Sun et al, Toward innovative veterinary nanoparticle vaccines, Animal Diseases (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s44149-024-00119-w

 

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