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: 1 hour 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 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
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 1 hour ago. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Q: Why don't we see mentally challenged animals?Krishna:Cognitive specialization makes cross-species comparisons more complex, while potentially identifying human cognitive uniqueness that is…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 21 hours ago. 15 Replies 2 Likes
What might happen when you take lots of medicines...One of our uncles died of liver cirrhosis ten years back. He never touched alcohol in his life. He didn't have any viral infection to cause this.…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Q: The fact that I was born because I never existed in the first place suggests that, if I never existed after death, I may eventually exist again in the future. But what about the uncertainty of…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Q: Humans are thousands times more intelligent and prudent than animals and birds. But why do animals and birds sense natural disasters, earthquakes and storms before they occur? Why don't humans…Continue
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https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/cheese-preservative-slow...
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How media algorithms try to manipulate your decisions and how to overcome them
https://theconversation.com/do-social-media-algorithms-erode-our-ab...
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https://www.sciencealert.com/echoes-from-black-holes-could-be-the-n...
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https://phys.org/news/2020-10-chemists-crystal-insecticide-boosting...
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Scientists are discovering how microbes ‘speak’ with the body
https://massivesci.com/articles/gut-bacteria-immune-system-protein-...
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Messing with our gut microbiome could hurt us
https://massivesci.com/articles/probiotics-microbiome-supplements/
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In the context of nanomedicine, nanoparticles are effective because they can be endowed with multiple functions and are able to hit their target without the need for extremely high doses, which are associated with dangerous side effects. However, they tend to remain in the body for an indefinite time, with important risks to the health of patients. Ideally, nanomedicines should behave like a 4-D material, developing nanoparticles for diagnosis (for example by magnetic resonance imaging or CT scan) and cancer therapy that have as their main requirement the ability to biodegrade, not to accumulate in the body, limiting it in this way the side effects.
inorganic nanoparticles based on an alloy of gold and iron, two biocompatible elements, which are therefore particularly suitable for applications in the biomedical field, are able to biodegrade spontaneously in living organisms.
how the possibility of capturing these "4-D nano-comets" is fundamental in the field of nanomedicine, and especially for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, showing that metastable gold-iron-based nanoalloys could be ideal candidates for the purpose.
The research, which started with a theoretical-computational investigation, has shown how the atoms of gold and iron, two biocompatible elements that are particularly suitable for applications in the biomedical field, must be arranged inside the nanoparticles so that the latter biodegrade spontaneously in living organisms. The key to the whole study was to find a way to "force" iron and gold to coexist in proportions that are not practicable in nature. For this purpose, laser synthesis techniques in liquid were used to produce bi-metallic Au-Fe nanoparticles capable of biodegradation. These metastable nanoparticles have also been tested in vivo, where they have been shown to leave the organism after a not excessively long period, as opposed to other nanoparticles based only on gold or only on iron oxide, which instead tend to persist for much longer times.
Having a 4-D nanomaterial exploitable as a multimodal imaging agent is particularly important at a clinical level because it allows reducing both the dose administered to the patient and the waiting time before the imaging itself, which are crucial in the treatment of tumors. The next step will be the investigation of the theranostic (i.e., diagnostic and therapeutic) potential of these 4-D nanomedicines.
Veronica Torresan et al. 4D Multimodal Nanomedicines Made of Nonequilibrium Au–Fe Alloy Nanoparticles, ACS Nano (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03614
https://sciencex.com/news/2020-10-d-nanoparticles-perspectives-safe...
Having more bacteria-fighting immune cells in the nose and throat may explain why some people are more likely to be infected by respiratory viruses.
researchers found that volunteers who succumbed to infection from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) had more specialized white blood cells called neutrophils in their airways before exposure to the virus, compared to those who staved off infection. According to the researchers, this type of neutrophil-driven inflammation in the nose and throat—typically associated with fighting off bacterial infections—may compromise our ability to fight off invading viruses and make us more susceptible to viral infections. The findings could help researchers to understand why people respond differently to the same viral threat, predict who is more at risk of infection, and even lead to preventative treatments to protect against RSV and potentially other respiratory viruses, including influenza and coronaviruses. when they analyzed samples from participants' airways taken before they were exposed to the virus, the team found evidence of neutrophil activation in the nasal mucosa—the cells lining the inside of the nose—in those who became infected with the virus. These immune cells are known to release proteins which help create an antibacterial environment in response to a threat. But the researchers believe this antibacterial immune response may come at a cost, making a host more susceptible to viruses by effectively switching off the early warning system, letting them slip through the net to cause infection.
Neutrophilic inflammation in the respiratory mucosa predisposes to RSV infection. Science, science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.aba9301
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-bacteria-fighting-cells-airw...
A new publication from researchers advises daily washing of cloth masks to reduce the likelihood of contamination and transmission of viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Cloth masks must be washed daily at high temperatures to be protective against infection, a new analysis shows. It was found that if cloth masks were washed in the hospital laundry, they were as effective as a surgical mask.
It is important to note that given the study was conducted over five years ago, the researchers did not test for SARS-CoV-2—instead, they included common respiratory pathogens such as influenza, rhinoviruses and seasonal coronaviruses in their analysis. It is based on self-reported washing data and was conducted by health workers in high risk wards in a healthcare setting.
"While someone from the general public wearing a cloth mask is unlikely to come into contact with the same amount of pathogens as healthcare worker in a high risk ward, we would still recommended daily washing of cloth masks in the community. COVID-19 is a highly infectious virus, and there is still a lot that we don't know about it, and so it's important that we take every precaution we can to protect against it and ensure masks are effective.
According to the analysis, handwashing the masks did not provide adequate protection. Healthcare workers who self-washed their masks by hand had double the risk of infection compared to those who used the hospital laundry
The WHO recommends machine washing masks with hot water at 60 degrees Celsius and laundry detergent, and the results of our analysis support this recommendation.
Washing machines often have a default temperature of 40 degree or 60 degrees, so do check the setting. At these very hot temperatures, handwashing is not possible. The clear message from this research is that cloth masks do work—but once a cloth mask has been worn, it needs to be washed properly each time before being worn again, otherwise it stops being effective.
There is much research on the design, fabric and construction of masks, but washing is also key for protection.
Chandini Raina MacIntyre et al. Contamination and washing of cloth masks and risk of infection among hospital health workers in Vietnam: a post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial, BMJ Open (2020). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042045
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-masks-machine.html?utm_sourc...
Seismic waves, commonly associated with earthquakes, have been used by scientists to develop a universal scaling law for the sense of touch.
Rayleigh waves are created by impact between objects and are commonly thought to travel only along surfaces. The team discovered that, when it comes to touch, the waves also travel through layers of skin and bone and are picked up by the body's touch receptor cells.
Using mathematical modelling of these touch receptors the researchers showed how the receptors were located at depths that allowed them to respond to Rayleigh waves. The interaction of these receptors with the Rayleigh waves will vary across species, but the ratio of receptor depth vs wavelength remains the same, enabling the universal law to be defined.
The team also found that the interaction of the waves and receptors remained even when the stiffness of the outermost layer of skin changed. The ability of the receptors to respond to Rayleigh waves remained unchanged despite the many variations in this outer layer caused by, age, gender, profession, or even hydration.
For most mammals, touch is the first sense to develop. They must feel vibrations on the surface of their skin to enable them to respond to various stimuli in their environment, a process called vibrotaction. But how do mammals perceive these vibrations? Through mathematical modeling of the skin and touch receptors, researchers showed that vibrotaction is dominated by “surface” Rayleigh waves traveling cooperatively through all layers of the skin and bone. Applying their model to experimental data, they identified a universal scaling law for the depth of touch receptors across multiple species, indicating an evolutionarily conserved constant in the sensation of vibrations.
J.W. Andrews el al., "A universal scaling law of mammalian touch," Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abb6912
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-universal-law-enable-advances-virtual...
Researchers have recently carried out a study investigating the effectiveness of existing methods for algorithmically estimating the wiring of neural networks. Their findings suggest that even the most sophisticated among these methods are biased and tend to infer connections between neurons that are not actually connected, but rather highly correlated.
Because it is difficult to directly measure the wiring diagrams of neural circuits, there has long been an interest in estimating them algorithmically from multicell activity recordings. But this study shows even sophisticated methods, applied to unlimited data from every cell in the circuit, are biased toward inferring connections between unconnected but highly correlated neurons. This failure to 'explain why' connections occurs when there is a mismatch between the true network dynamics and the model used for inference, which is inevitable when modeling the real world.
Abhranil Das et al. Systematic errors in connectivity inferred from activity in strongly recurrent networks, Nature Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0699-2
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-reveals-methods-infer-neural...
Some Fish Can Regenerate Their Eyes. Know what? Mammals Have Those Genes Too to do that.
But, they are switched off! Scientists want to switch them on again.
Damage to the retina is the leading cause of blindness in humans, affecting millions of people around the world. Unfortunately, the retina is one of the few tissues we humans can't grow back. Unlike us, other animals such as zebrafish are able to regenerate this tissue that's so crucial to our power of sight. We share 70% of our genes with these tiny little zebrafish, and scientists have just discovered some of the shared genes include the ones that grant zebrafish the ability to grow back their retinas.
The genes activated were involved in containing the injury, calling in immune cells to clean up damaged tissue and fight off potential invaders.
But then, a network that suppresses these genes kicked in only in their mouse subjects, keeping them from transforming into cells that produce other kinds of retinal cells. Researchers suspect that the loss of this ability may be linked to a trade-off between regenerating central nervous system cells and parasite resistance. Glia help restrict the spread of infections, and if they're turned into neuron-producing cells, they can't do this.
The researchers also noticed that after a retinal injury glial cells in all three species stopped making nuclear factor I (NFI), a protein that stops the cell from accessing bits of DNA, essentially turning genes off.
But in mice, this molecule started appearing again fairly soon. So, the team stopped Müller glia cells producing NFI and the cells started making retinal neurons in adult mice after injury.
This is a highly complicated system with many independent mechanisms involved that need to be further explored. But understanding these pathways may one day allow scientists to help us better repair damaged sight.
Gene regulatory networks controlling vertebrate retinal regeneration
A bird is male on one side and female on the other
Male rose-breasted grosbeaks have some red-pink feathers while females’ are yellow and brown
A rose-breasted grosbeak has a pink breast spot and a pink “wing pit” and black feathers on its right wing — tell tale shades of males. But on its left side, the songbird displays yellow and brown plumage, hues typical of females.
Gynandromorphs are found in many species of birds, insects and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters. This bird is likely the result of an unusual event when two sperm fertilize an egg that has two nuclei instead of one. The egg can then develop male sex chromosomes on one side and female sex chromosomes on the other, ultimately leading to a bird with a testis and other male characteristics on one half of its body and an ovary and other female qualities on the other half.
Unlike hermaphrodites, which also have genitals of both sexes, gynandromorphs are completely male on one side of the body and female on the other.
We don’t yet know if these birds behave more like males or females, or if they can reproduce
R.J. Agate et al. Neural, not gonadal, origin of brain sex differences in a gynandrom.... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 100, April 15, 2003, p. 4873. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0636925100.
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