Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication
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'
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Latest Activity: yesterday
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 6, part-10, part-11, part-12, part 14 , part- 8,
part- 1, part-2, part-4, part-5, part-16, part-17, part-18 , part-19 , part-20
part-21 , part-22, part-23, part-24, part-25, part-26, part-27 , part-28
part-29, part-30, part-31, part-32, part-33, part-34, part-35, part-36, part-37,
part-38, part-40, part-41, part-42, part-43, part-44, part-45, part-46, part-47
Part 48, part49, Critical thinking -part 50 , part -51, part-52, part-53
part-54, part-55, part-57, part-58, part-59, part-60, part-61, part-62, part-63
part 64, part-65, part-66, part-67, part-68, part 69, part-70 part-71, part-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?
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
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
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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What telltale features—many inaudible to the human ear—separate one kind of cough from another? Scientists are on the verge of finding out with a new machine learning tool aimed at identifying the signature sounds of tuberculosis.
Cough is a leading symptom of respiratory infections. And because the pattern and frequency of cough episodes differ from one disease to the next, an effort is underway to develop a smartphone app that is sensitive enough to accurately discern coughs associated with TB.
An international team of researchers is testing the hypothesis that TB's unique pattern and frequency of coughing can provide sufficient data to screen for the highly infectious bacterial disease using technology engineered into a smartphone app.
Currently in the investigational phase, the app is not yet ready for distribution. At present it is a machine-learning tool called TBscreen, but given the rising numbers of TB cases around the globe, its development couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time.
The research team includes engineers and computer scientists as well as physicians and experts in infectious diseases.
When they entered audio of coughs through various microphones into TBscreen, the team found that TBscreen—the investigational app—and a smartphone mic identified active TB more accurately than when cough audio was fed through expensive microphones.
The machine-learning tool is being "trained" to recognize pattern and frequency in coughs caused by TB. The investigational app also is being trained to distinguish TB-related coughs from those caused by other respiratory disorders.
Researchers have found that there are numerous factors affecting the basic patterns of coughing, nuances—some inaudible to the human ear—that the tool must discern as a way to accurately screen for TB.
The mechanism of cough production varies according to mucus properties, respiratory muscle strength, mechanosensitivity, chemosensitivity of airways, and other factors resulting in diverse cough sounds.
Manuja Sharma et al, TBscreen: A passive cough classifier for tuberculosis screening with a controlled dataset, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi0282
Sleep is known to play a key role in facilitating various physiological processes, while also contributing to the healthy functioning of the brain. Lack of sleep and poor sleep quality have been linked to various chronic health and mental health issues, including high blood pressure, depression, stroke, obesity, and heart disease.
Sleep disturbances have also been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Interestingly, neurodegenerative diseases have also been associated with the dysfunction of microglia, the primary mammalian immune cells, yet the link between microglia and sleep has not been thoroughly studied yet.
Researchers recently carried out a study exploring the potential role of microglia in regulating sleep. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that microglia regulate sleep by modulating the transmission of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is known to contribute to arousal, attention and stress reactions.
These initial observations could soon pave the way for further studies investigating the role of microglia in sleep regulation, focusing on norepinephrine transmission.
As microglia dysfunction and sleep disturbances have been linked to Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, this work may also broaden neuroscientists' understanding of these diseases, potentially aiding the future development of new therapeutic strategies.
Chenyan Ma et al, Microglia regulate sleep through calcium-dependent modulation of norepinephrine transmission, Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01548-5.
The team says they weren't expecting this evolution and decrease in metabolic coupling, and it's far from clear as to why these changes occur in the way they do.
But it's easy to see why they think this drastic reprogramming could go awry, perhaps leading to some of the metabolic conditions that arise during pregnancy. The roles of all 91 pregnancy-adaptive metabolites were verified in human cell models and in 32 pregnant human's blood serum samples.
Those pregnant women with pre-eclampsia – a dangerous natal condition characterized by high blood pressure, severe swelling, and protein-laden urine – had a huge drop in levels of the metabolite corticosterone, which is involved in maturing the placenta.
Another key metabolite during pregnancy appears to be palmitoylcarnitine, which regulates immunity and is involved in processing fatty acids. Levels were up in the tissues of early- and mid-pregnant monkeys, across a range of organs including the liver, pancreas, heart, and kidney.
The researchers think that this metabolic shift may have some link to gestational diabetes, but more research is needed to confirm this.
This research was published in Cell.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01329-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867423013296%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
Part 3
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The samples from the non-pregnant monkeys provided a reference point for how certain metabolic pathways interact prior to pregnancy, with the other samples revealing the drastic extent to which these 'trade routes' changed course as the monkey's pregnancies progressed.
In fact, during pregnancy, 91 metabolites changed consistently across all 23 tissues sampled.
In non-pregnant monkeys, the metabolomes of skeletal muscles were highly correlated with tissues from the heart, spinal cord, adrenal gland, and uterus. But in the first and second trimesters, their coupling with heart tissues decreased.
In early pregnancy, the samples indicated that the uterus backs off from its ongoing metabolic 'agreement' with the heart and skeletal muscles, coupling with the developing placenta instead.
Fully formed by the second trimester, the placenta appeared to be sending metabolites to the pregnant monkey's heart, ovaries, and liver. Weirdly, the uterus, seemingly done with getting the placenta established, shifts its focus to a metabolic exchange with scalp skin tissue, of all things.
And for those monkeys in their third trimester, the samples showed the skeletal muscles had developed a significant exchange with the spinal cord.
Part 2
Scientists have mapped out the drastic changes pregnancy makes to the body's metabolic pathways in a closely related primate, and it could guide the way to better understanding pregnancy problems like recurrent miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes.
Little is known about this major disruption to the body's metabolic flow, but now a team of biologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing has studied crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) to create a map that charts at least some of the changes that occur during pregnancy.There's just one problem: alkali metals are highly reactive with liquid water, sometimes even to the point of explosivity.
The research team found a very nifty way to solve this problem. What if, rather than adding the metal to water, water was added to the metal?
In a vacuum chamber, the team started by extruding from a nozzle a small blob of sodium-potassium alloy, which is liquid at room temperature, and very carefully added a thin film of pure water using vapor deposition.
Upon contact, the electrons and metal cations (positively charged ions) flowed into the water from the alloy.
Not only did this give the water a golden shine, it turned the water conductive – just like we should see in metallic pure water at high pressure.
Water found in nature conducts electricity – but that's because of the impurities therein, which dissolve into free ions that allow an electric current to flow. Pure water only becomes "metallic" – electronically conductive – at extremely high pressures, beyond our current abilities to produce in a lab.
But, as researchers demonstrated for the first time back in 2021, it's not only high pressures that can induce this metallicity in pure water.
By bringing pure water into contact with an electron-sharing alkali metal – in this case an alloy of sodium and potassium – free-moving charged particles can be added, turning water metallic.
The resulting conductivity only lasts a few seconds, but it's a significant step towards being able to understand this phase of water by studying it directly.
You can see the phase transition to metallic water with the naked eye! The silvery sodium-potassium droplet covers itself with a golden glow, which is very impressive.
Metallic water prepared for first time under terrestrial conditions
The idea is that if you squeeze the atoms together tightly enough, the orbitals of the outer electrons would start to overlap, allowing them to move around. For water, this pressure is around 48 megabars – just under 48 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level.
These substances release their outer electrons very easily, which means they could induce the electron-sharing properties of highly pressurized pure water without the high pressures.
Part 1
However, the elasticity of the flagellum doesn’t fully explain how the cell is able to move, which is where odd elasticity comes in. This allows the cells to wiggle their flagella without expending much energy to their surroundings, which would otherwise suppress their motility.
The higher a cell’s odd elasticity score (or odd elastic modulus), the more able a flagellum is to wave sans large energy loss, and so the cell is better able to move forward – in a way that defies physics.
Sperm and algae are not the only cells in possession of a flagellum – many microorganisms have one (they can make bacteria sound like they’re playing tiny drums) – which means there are likely other rule-breakers out there to be discovered. Being able to understand and classify other cells or organisms capable of non-reciprocal movement could be very useful, the team behind the study told New Scientist.
Their approach could even help in the design of small elastic robots with the ability to break Newton’s third law, according to one of the study's authors, Kenta Ishimoto of Kyoto University in Japan.
Moreover, the odd elastic modulus can be calculated for any closed-loop system, meaning it could be applied to a wide range of biological data, including active elastic membranes and bulk dynamics, the authors explain in their conclusion.
Breaking the law has never been so beneficial.
The study is published in PRX Life.
https://journals.aps.org/prxlife/abstract/10.1103/PRXLife.1.023002
https://www.iflscience.com/sperm-caught-breaking-the-law-newtons-th...
Part 2
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Some biological cells swim freely in a way that apparently breaks one of Newton’s laws of motion – but only if they have strange elastic properties
HUMAN sperm cells and some microorganisms swim by deforming their bodies in a way that breaks Isaac Newton's third law of motion - and we are closer to understanding how they do it. The findings could inspire tiny swimming robots that also violate this law.
he laws of physics have been broken (or appear to have been broken) by all manner of things, from balancing rocks to Seinfeld’s apartment, and now, by human sperm. The latest law-breakers defy Newton's third law of motion, distorting their bodies as they swim in a way that elicits no response from their surroundings.
Newton's third law states that when one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force back. In other words, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. However, for biological swimmers such as sperm, this may not be the case.
In a new study, scientists analyzed Chlamydomonas algae and data on human sperm cells, identifying non-reciprocal mechanical interactions, which they call “odd elasticity”, that go against Newton’s third law.
Both Chlamydomonas and sperm cells use hair-like appendages called flagella to move around. These protrude from the cell, almost like a tail, helping to propel it forward by changing shape as they interact with the surrounding fluid. They do so in a non-reciprocal way, meaning they don’t provoke an equal and opposite response from their surroundings and therefore, flout Newton’s third law.
Part 1
An international team of geologists, Earth scientists and mineralogists has found evidence suggesting that volcanic lightning may have fixed huge amounts of atmospheric nitrogen, allowing life on Earth to get its start.
In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group collected and analyzed ancient volcanic deposits to learn more about how ancient eruptions may have produced nitrates that could have been used to create amino acids.
Prior research has shown that the development of life required fixing nitrogen, a key component of amino acids, during Earth's early years. In modern times, there is plenty of nitrogen in the atmosphere but plants cannot use it directly; it must first be fixed by bacteria that can convert it to nitrates or other nitrogen compounds.
That raises the question of how bacteria and then other life forms originated. In this new study, the researchers found evidence that nitrogen in the atmosphere could have been fixed by volcanic lightning interacting with ash.
Prior research has shown that lightning, whether due to thunderstorms or volcanic eruptions, can lead to the formation of nitrates under the right conditions. Lighting from thunderstorms has been ruled out as a candidate for production of the nitrates that led to the beginning of life due to the limited amounts that are produced.
To find out if the same held true for lightning produced during volcanic eruptions, the research team ventured to sites in Turkey, Italy and Peru, known to host ancient volcanic deposits. Samples from these sites contained large amounts of nitrates. Testing showed that they were atmospheric and had not come directly from the volcano—that left lightning as their likely source. But the thing that truly bolstered their theory was the huge amounts of nitrates they found, which were more than enough to serve as a source for creating amino acids.
The team notes that prior research efforts have led to theories that life began near volcanoes—and one team even found some evidence that suggested volcanic lightning interacting with volcanic gases could produce molecules used by living things, such as amino acids.
Adeline Aroskay et al, Geological evidence of extensive N-fixation by volcanic lightning during very large explosive eruptions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309131121
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