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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 4, 2021 at 12:23pm

Expect more extreme short-duration thunderstorms caused by global w...

Climate experts have revealed that rising temperatures will intensify future rainfall extremes at a much greater rate than average rainfall, with largest increases to short thunderstorms.

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How do you know where volcanic ash will end up?

When the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland erupted in April 2010, air traffic was interrupted for six days and then disrupted until May. Until then, models from the nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) around the world, which aimed at predicting when the ash cloud interfered with aircraft routes, were based on the tracking of the clouds in the atmosphere.

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New approach to removing toxins from wastewater

The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) at Stony Brook University has made a series of critical discoveries regarding a new approach to protecting Long Island's drinking water, groundwater, and surface waters. Some of the discoveries involve the likely human carcinogen, 1,4-dioxane, which has been found at higher levels in Long Island drinking water than anywhere else in the U.S.

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Think all your plastic is being recycled? New research shows it can...

We all know it's wrong to toss your rubbish into the ocean or another natural place. But it might surprise you to learn some plastic waste ends up in the environment, even when we thought it was being recycled.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 4, 2021 at 12:20pm

How 'green' are environmentally friendly fireworks?

Fireworks are used in celebrations around the world, including Independence Day in the U.S., the Lantern Festival in China and the Diwali Festival in India. However, the popular pyrotechnic displays emit large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, sometimes causing severe air pollution. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology have estimated that, although so-called environmentally friendly fireworks emit 15-65% less particulate matter than traditional fireworks, they still significantly deteriorate air quality.

Environmentally friendly fire works aren’t really that friendly!

Fireworks are used in celebrations around the world. However, the popular pyrotechnic displays emit large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, sometimes causing severe air pollution. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology have estimated that, although so-called environmentally friendly fireworks emit 15-65% less particulate matter than traditional fireworks, they still significantly deteriorate air quality.

Fireworks displays can cause health problems, such as respiratory ailments, because they release high levels of air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide, heavy metals and perchlorates. As a result, some cities have banned their use. But because the displays are an important aspect of many traditional celebrations, researchers and manufacturers have tried to develop more environmentally friendly pyrotechnics, including those with smokeless charges and sulfur-free propellants. Although research suggests that these fireworks emit less pollutants, their impact on air quality has not been evaluated.

Now researchers wanted to see how green these fire works are.

The researchers estimated emissions of PM2.5, which is PM with a diameter of 2.5 μm and smaller, from the 160,000 environmentally friendly fireworks set off during the display, as well as emissions from traditional fireworks. They used information on the wind direction, wind speed, temperature and chemical composition of the fireworks to simulate the size, trajectory and peak PM2.5 values for the smoke plume resulting from the event. Then, they compared their simulated values with actual data on PM2.5 concentrations measured at 75 monitoring stations throughout the city following the fireworks display.

In agreement with the team's predictions, the data showed that the fireworks smoke plume began as a narrow band that traveled northward before being fully dispersed, with peak PM2.5 levels similar to the predictions. The researchers used their validated simulation to estimate that the use of environmentally friendly fireworks produces a much smaller, shorter-lasting plume, with 15-65% of the PM2.5 emissions of a display using traditional fireworks. However, the peak concentration of PM2.5 still greatly exceeds WHO guidelines.

This led the researchers to conclude that the number of "green" fireworks used at one time should be restricted.

"Are Environmentally Friendly Fireworks Really "Green" for Air Quality? A Study from the 2019 National Day Fireworks Display in Shenzhen" Environmental Science & Technology (2021). pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.0c03521

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 4, 2021 at 12:09pm

Color blindness-correcting contact lenses

Imagine seeing the world in muted shades—gray sky, gray grass. Some people with color blindness see everything this way, though most can't see specific colors. Tinted glasses can help, but they can't be used to correct blurry vision. And dyed contact lenses currently in development for the condition are potentially harmful and unstable. Now, in ACS Nano, researchers report infusing contact lenses with gold nanoparticles to create a safer way to see colors.

Color blindness-correcting contact lenses

Imagine seeing the world in muted shades—gray sky, gray grass. Some people with color blindness see everything this way, though most can't see specific colors.

Now researchers report infusing contact lenses with gold nanoparticles to create a safer way to see colors.

Some daily activities, such as determining if a banana is ripe, selecting matching clothes or stopping at a red light, can be difficult for those with colour blindness. Most people with this genetic disorder have trouble discriminating red and green shades, and red-tinted glasses can make those colors more prominent and easier to see. However, these lenses are bulky and the lens material cannot be made to fix vision problems. Thus, researchers have shifted to the development of special tinted contact lenses. Although the prototype hot-pink dyed lenses improved red-green color perception in clinical trials, they leached dye, which led to concerns about their safety. Gold nanocomposites are nontoxic and have been used for centuries to produce "cranberry glass" because of the way they scatter light. 

To make the contact lenses, the researchers evenly mixed gold nanoparticles into a hydrogel polymer, producing rose-tinted gels that filtered light within 520-580 nm, the wavelengths where red and green overlap. The most effective contact lenses were those with 40 nm-wide gold nano particles, because in tests, these particles did not clump or filter more color than necessary. In addition, these lenses had water-retention properties similar to those of commercial ones and were not toxic to cells growing in petri dishes in the lab. Finally, the researchers directly compared their new material to two commercially available pairs of tinted glasses, and their previously developed hot-pink dyed contact lens. The gold nanocomposite lenses were more selective in the wavelengths they blocked than the glasses. The new lenses matched the wavelength range of the dyed contact lenses, suggesting the gold nanocomposite ones would be suitable for people with red-green color issues without the potential safety concerns. The researchers say that the next step is to conduct clinical trials with human patients to assess comfort.

Ahmed E. Salih et al. Gold Nanocomposite Contact Lenses for Color Blindness Management, ACS Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c09657

https://phys.org/news/2021-03-blindness-correcting-contact-lenses.h...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 4, 2021 at 12:06pm

Animals fake death for long periods to escape predators

Many animals feign death to try to escape their predators, with some individuals in prey species remaining motionless, if in danger, for extended lengths of time.

Charles Darwin recorded a beetle that remained stationary for 23 minutes—however the University of Bristol has documented an individual antlion larvae pretending to be dead for an astonishing 61 minutes. Of equal importance, the amount of time that an individual remains motionless is not only long but unpredictable. This means that a predator will be unable to predict when a potential prey item will move again, attract attention, and become a meal.

Predators are hungry and cannot wait indefinitely. Similarly, prey may be losing opportunities to get on with their lives if they remain motionless for too long. Thus, death-feigning might best be thought of as part of a deadly game of hide and seek in which prey might gain most by feigning death if alternative victims are readily available.

The study, published today in science journal Biology Letters, involved evaluating the benefits of death-feigning in terms of a predator visiting small populations of conspicuous prey. Researchers used computer simulations that utilise the marginal value theorem, a classical model in optimization.

 Hide-and-seek strategies and post-contact immobility, Biology Letters (2021). royalsocietypublishing.org/doi … .1098/rsbl.2020.0892

https://phys.org/news/2021-03-animals-fake-death-periods-predators....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 4, 2021 at 8:23am

Structure and dynamics of key receptor in migraine pain determined, paving way for better treatment options

A research team determined the shape and kinetics of an important cell surface (membrane) receptor called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which has long been implicated in migraine. The researchers  determined the structure of the receptor alone and in combination with its natural target molecule (CGRP). This gives us a clear understanding of how the receptor works during its normal function in the body. The work has been published in the journal Science.

Future studies will expand the investigations towards potential drug targets.

Tracy M. Josephs et al. Structure and dynamics of the CGRP receptor in apo and peptide-bound forms, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abf7258

Migraine is more than a simple headache; more than 3 million migraineurs—more than 60% of whom are women—have at least one attack per year. A smaller subset experience chronic migraine, defined by migraine pain that occurs 15 days or more per month, for three or months in a row. While sufferers experience many different symptoms of varying intensity—usually nausea, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound, and intense pain on one or both sides of the head—the physiological process of migraine onset and pain is different from other types of headache, such as muscle tension or sinus pain. While migraine was long believed to be a neurovascular disorder that involved dilation of vessels in the skull, face and cerebral membrane, research has excluded vasodilation as a factor in this type of pain. More recent work has identified increased CGRP in the trigeminal se... that results in headache.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-dynamics-key-receptor-migrai...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 3, 2021 at 12:46pm

People Are Accidentally Poisoning Themselves Trying to Treat COVID With a Horse Drug

People are trying to treat and prevent COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a medication commonly used to de-worm horses – and they are poisoning themselves in the process.

The buzz around ivermectin has been generated by the FLCCC, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), which formed at the start of the pandemic. It comprises critical care workers who previously bonded over the controversial use of vitamin C for sepsis, MedPage Today reported.

US regulators say there is not enough robust evidence or safety data to recommend ivermectin as a cure, treatment, or preventative medicine for COVID-19.

While the FLCCC has held press conferences saying studies show the drug could fight against the novel coronavirus, public health agencies and many experts say the research is lacking. 

Ivermectin can be tolerated in small doses but can poison an adult in large quantities 

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/coronavirus-people-are-accidenta...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 3, 2021 at 12:36pm

The Oldest Known Mummification 'Recipe' Has Been Unearthed, And It's Intense

In an exciting discovery, researchers have discovered an original 'how to' manual, hidden inside an ancient text, which explains the crucial steps to embalming and creating a mummy.

The guide to mummification has been found on a 3,500-year-old piece of papyrus called the Papyrus Louvre-Carlsberg manuscript, so called because half of it, primarily containing medical information.

Among the details that Schiødt has teased out of the document is a list of instructions for embalming the face of the deceased person, which was done with a piece of red linen coated in a special plant-based solution.

The solution included aromatic substances as well as binders for holding the mixture together, and the saturated cloth was intended to keep the face protected from insects and bacteria while also smelling sweet. This process hasn't been documented before, but does match up with some of the mummified remains that have been found.

This manuscript also lays out the full 70-day schedule for embalming, split into two halves: a 35-day drying period and a 35-day wrapping period, which were themselves divided into four-day intervals. Common treatments to the body included applying a mixture called natron, after the removal of the organs and the brain. 

https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2021/02/ancient-egyptian-manual-reveals...

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-oldest-known-mummification-recipe-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 3, 2021 at 12:02pm

Biomass-based plastics

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 2, 2021 at 12:34pm

Huge, Global Study of Plastic Toys Finds Over 100 Substances That May Harm Children

The potential health risks of chemicals used in plastic toys have had scientists concerned for years, but new research reveals just how widespread the risk of harm to children remains.

In an international study, researchers assessed the chemical compositions of toys and estimated levels of human exposure to the substances, ultimately finding over 100 "Chemicals of Concern" in plastic toy materials that could pose a non-negligible health risk to children.

Out of 419 chemicals found in hard, soft, and foam plastic materials used in children toys, researchers identified 126 substances that can potentially harm children's health either via cancer or non-cancer effects, including 31 plasticisers, 18 flame retardants, and 8 fragrances.

According to the researchers, while laws in many countries regulate the use of certain potentially toxic chemicals in plastic toys, there is no consistent approach internationally, and current protections don't adequately prohibit the vast extent of potentially harmful substances that toys are made from

In addition, some toxic and banned additives are still found in plastic toys also on regulated markets, for example in case of recycling contaminated plastics, unawareness by producers, or absence of regulations in the producing country.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020321498

https://www.sciencealert.com/plastic-toy-study-finds-over-100-subst...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 2, 2021 at 12:30pm

Carbon Capture Research 

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