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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 25, 2022 at 10:07am

Why flush toilets are wasteful 

Power-free frequency tuner

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 25, 2022 at 10:01am

Despite its slow pace, land subsidence is known to cause losses worth billions of dollars all over the world due to damage to infrastructure, roads, pavements, and underground utilities such as drainage systems, aggravated flood risks and more frequent water-logging.

 Shagun Garg, Mahdi Motagh, J. Indu and Vamshi Karanam, Tracking hidden crisis in India's capital from space: implications of unsustainable groundwater use, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04193-9

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-hidden-subsidence-crisis-india-capita...

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 25, 2022 at 10:00am

Hidden land subsidence crisis in Delhi unveiled using satellite data

Using satellite data, researchers have found that around 100 sq km in and around Delhi has high risk of land subsidence. Groundwater extraction is causing parts of the city to sink, with the largest area experiencing subsidence just 800m away from Delhi international airport.

Land subsidence is a severe often overlooked geological hazard and is a widespread global problem. It can be attributed to underground extraction of minerals, oil, gas and water, as well as natural events such as soil compaction, earthquake, and loess deposits. According to U.S. Geological Survey, more than 80% of land subsidence across the world is caused due to excessive groundwater extraction. When water is extracted from aquifers, the clay between pockets of water collapse gradually, leading to land subsidence.

A study titled "Tracking hidden crisis in India's capital from space: implications of unsustainable groundwater use," published in Scientific Reports co-authored by researchers from IIT Bombay, German Research Centre for Geosciences, University of Cambridge and the Southern Methodist University US have found that the rate of land subsidence near Delhi airport is accelerating rapidly.

During the years 2014–2016, the subsidence was found to be approximately 11cm/year which rose significantly by almost 50% over the next two years to around 17cm/year. The trend remained almost the same during 2018–2019, the study found.

The airport requires stable ground because of the risk of major disruption if there's significant ground movement," Garg said. "Kuala Lumpur airport is an example to understand the implications of land subsidence where cracks on taxiways, and water-logging emerged due to soil settlement. Continuous monitoring of Delhi International airport and its connecting roads is therefore crucial."

The growing population expansion and urbanization require an enormous amount of water to fulfill the demand. There is a huge gap of 750 million liters a day between the demand and the supply. Millions of residents do not have access to a piped water supply and rely on groundwater for their daily needs. In some places, the water depth is as high as 120m below ground level. The groundwater shortage is further complicated by Delhi's unchecked urbanization, which is disrupting the rejuvenation of the city's aquifers. Concrete and other infrastructure have overtaken the city, blocking rainwater from absorbing into the ground.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 24, 2022 at 8:58am

Research:humans have given wild animals their diseases nearly 100 times

An international research team has found that humans might give viruses back to animals more often than previously understood.

In a study published March 22 in Ecology Letters ("Assessing the risk of human-to-wildlife pathogen transmission for conservation and public health"), the authors describe nearly one hundred different cases where diseases have undergone "spillback" from humans back into wild animals, much like how SARS-CoV-2 has been able to spread in mink farms, zoo lions and tigers, and wild white-tailed deer.

In their new study, Albery and colleagues found that almost half of the incidents identified occurred in captive settings like zoos, where veterinarians keep a close eye on animals' health and are more likely to notice when a virus makes the jump. Additionally, more than half of cases they found were human-to-primate transmission, an unsurprising result both because pathogens find it easier to jump between closely-related hosts, and because wild populations of endangered great apes are so carefully monitored.

Disease spillback has recently attracted substantial attention due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in wild white-tailed deer in the United States and Canada. Some data suggest that deer have given the virus back to humans in at least one case, and many scientists have expressed broader concerns that new animal reservoirs might give the virus extra chances to evolve new variants.

Assessing the risk of human-to-wildlife pathogen transmission for conservation and public health, Ecology Letters (2022).

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-humans-wild-animals-diseases.html?utm...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 23, 2022 at 8:20am

These countries have the most polluted air in the world, new report says

Not a single country met the World Health Organization's quality for air in 2021, a new study suggested. And consequently, millions are breathing polluted air that does not satisfy WHO health guidelines, according to the report that analyzed real-time air quality of 6,475 cities.

Bangladesh was the most polluted country, while New Delhi, India, is the world's most polluted capital. The countries with the worst air pollution were India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all exceeding WHO guidelines by 10 times.

Air pollution is considered the largest environmental threat, leading to 7 million deaths per year and other respiratory problems such as asthma and lung cancer

The top 10 best air quality countries or regions

1. New Caledonia
2. U.S Virgin Islands
3. Puerto Rico
4. Cape Verde
5. Saba
6. Finland
7. Grenada
8. Bahamas
9. Australia
10. Estonia

The top 10 worst air quality countries or regions

1. Bangladesh
2. Chad
3. Pakistan
4. Tajikistan
5. India
6. Oman
7. Kyrgyzstan
8. Bahrain
9. Iraq
10. Nepal

Source: Various News Agencies

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-countries-polluted-air-world.html?utm...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 23, 2022 at 8:13am

New Lightweight Coating to Reduce Wood Flammability

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-wooden-materials-fire-resistant-eco-f...

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What are the Trojan Asteroids?

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 23, 2022 at 8:07am

Researchers store a quantum bit for a record-breaking 20 milliseconds

Computers, smartphones, GPS: quantum physics has enabled many technological advances. It is now opening up new fields of research in cryptography (the art of coding messages) with the aim of developing ultra-secure telecommunications networks. There is one obstacle, however: after a few hundred kilometers within an optical fiber, the photons that carry the qubits or "quantum bits" (the information) disappear. They therefore need "repeaters," a kind of "relay," which are partly based on a quantum memory. By managing to store a qubit in a crystal (a "memory") for 20 milliseconds, a research team  has set a world record and taken a major step towards the development of long-distance quantum telecommunications networks. This research can be found in the journal npj Quantum Information.

Antonio Ortu et al, Storage of photonic time-bin qubits for up to 20 ms in a rare-earth doped crystal, npj Quantum Information (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41534-022-00541-3

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-quantum-bit-fora-record-breaking-mill...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 22, 2022 at 12:24pm

You Don't Actually Know How Water Works

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 22, 2022 at 11:44am

Effectiveness of antibiotics significantly reduced when multiple bugs present

A study has found that much higher doses of antibiotics are needed to eliminate a bacterial infection of the airways when other microbes are present. It helps explain why respiratory infections often persist in people with lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis despite treatment.

According to this study, even a low level of one type of microbe in the airways can have a profound effect on the way other microbes respond to antibiotics. 

The results highlight the need to consider the interaction between different species of microbe when treating infections with antibiotics—and to adjust dosage accordingly.

Thomas James O'Brien et al, Decreased efficacy of antimicrobial agents in a polymicrobial environment, The ISME Journal (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01218-7

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-effectiveness-antibiotics-significant...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 22, 2022 at 11:42am

This work solves a paradox around auxotroph success by revealing how auxotrophs are very valuable to their communities. They increase the metabolic interactions within the communities, and by doing so, increase the tolerance to drugs. Additionally, the increase in metabolic flow also leads to an enrichment of the shared environment, with more supplies available that can be used for growth and survival.

Mohammad Alam, Microbial communities form rich extracellular metabolomes that foster metabolic interactions and promote drug tolerance, Nature Microbiology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01072-5. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01072-5

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-microbial-cells-cooperate-drug-tolera...

Part 3

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