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'
Members: 22
Latest Activity: 15 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 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 15 hours ago. 1 Reply 0 Likes
When news broke last week that US political influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot at an event at Utah…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 16 hours ago. 1 Reply 0 Likes
COVID-19 vaccine responses show four patterns, with 'rapid-decliners' at higher infection riskTwo health care workers get COVID-19 vaccinations on the same day. Both show strong antibody responses…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 16 hours ago. 1 Reply 0 Likes
How did the ostrich cross the ocean?We have long been puzzled by how the family of birds that includes African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, New Zealand kiwis and South American rheas…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Research suggests that cultural evolution has become increasingly influential, sometimes even outstripping the rate and impact of genetic evolution in humans due to culture's rapid, socially learned,…Continue
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Simply wearing a mask may not be enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 without social distancing.
In Physics of Fluids, researchers tested how five different types of mask materials impacted the spread of droplets that carry the coronavirus when we cough or sneeze.
Every material tested dramatically reduced the number of droplets that were spread. But at distances of less than 6 feet, enough droplets to potentially cause illness still made it through several of the materials.
"A mask definitely helps, but if the people are very close to each other, there is still a chance of spreading or contracting the virus".
Without a face mask, it is almost certain that many foreign droplets will transfer to the susceptible person. "Wearing a mask will offer substantial, but not complete, protection to a susceptible person by decreasing the number of foreign airborne sneeze and cough droplets that would otherwise enter the person without the mask. Consideration must be given to minimize or avoid close face-to-face or frontal human interactions, if possible."
The study also did not account for leakage from masks, whether worn properly or improperly, which can add to the number of droplets that make their way into the air.
"Can face masks offer protection from airborne sneeze and cough droplets in close-up, face-to-face human interactions? A quantitative study," Physics of Fluids, aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0035072
https://phys.org/news/2020-12-masks-covid-distancing.html?utm_sourc...
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University report findings on an advanced nanomaterial-based biosensing platform that detects, within seconds, antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to testing, the platform will help to quantify patient immunological response to the new vaccines with precision.
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There are many different events which may lead to excessive and uncontrolled bleeding within the body. This can occur as a result of inflammation and ulcerations, abnormalities in the blood vessels or trauma-related injuries. Individuals with predisposing conditions, such as cardiac patients, are at particular risk of internal bleeding due to the anticoagulants they are often prescribed as a preventive measure. They are also prone to gastrointestinal bleeds, affecting 40% of patients who are on cardiac assistance devices. In addition to the need for an effective treatment for these conditions, there are also indications for controlling the blood flow that contribute to aneurysms and tumor cell vascularization.
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Scientists recently announced a significant advance in our understanding of an early onset form of dementia that may also progress our understanding of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.
Adult onset Leukoencephalopathy with axonal Spheroids and Pigmented glia (ALSP) is an ultra-rare condition characterized by mutations in a gene called Colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R). The condition manifests initially with psychiatric and behavioral changes in patients followed by a rapid progression of dementia in the third or fourth decade of life. While the condition is very rare, for affected families it can represent a devastating diagnosis.
As the condition involves the degeneration of white matter in the brain, scientists previously thought that immune cells within the brain termed microglia were the primary culprits in driving pathology observed in this condition.
However, the Trinity team, working with patient samples as well as pre-clinical models, were able to show that dysfunctional circulating white blood cells were the key driver of neurodegeneration.
These findings have shed light on a novel mechanism of neurodegeneration that may ultimately teach us more about common forms of dementia. Importantly, the work has identified that a disruption in CSF1R function in patients, as well as in pre-clinical models, induces damage to the so-called blood-brain barrier (BBB). This damage can subsequently change the integrity of capillaries in the brain, causing them to leak and spark the deterioration of the brain. Intriguingly, dysfunctional white blood cells seem to be the main driver of this BBB breakdown.
EMBO Molecular Medicine (2020). DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202012889
Researchers discover how the brain 're-wires' after disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-scientists-mutations-early-o...
Scientists have discovered a gene-regulating snippet of RNA that may contribute to the spread of many breast cancers. In animal experiments, the researchers could reduce the growth of metastatic tumours with a molecule designed to target that RNA and trigger its destruction. The same strategy, they say, could be used to develop a new breast cancer treatment for patients.
They identified dozens of RNA molecules that were more prevalent in breast cancer cells than in noncancerous cells of the same type. All were long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)—RNA molecules that do not encode proteins and are thought to play various regulatory roles inside cells. The current study investigated how one of these, Mammary Tumor-Associated RNA 25 (MaTAR 25), impacted breast cancer cells' behavior in mice.
Experiments indicate the molecule contributes to cancer's progression in several ways—revving up cells' growth as well as their ability to migrate and invade tissue. These effects may be due to changes in the activity of the tensin1 gene, which the team found is one of MaTAR 25's targets. Tensin1 helps connect a cell's internal cytoskeleton to the external matrix that surrounds it and is therefore positioned to influence a cell's movement as well as its growth-regulating pathways.
Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20207-y
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-regulatory-rnas-breast-cance...
Using years of data collected from ice-covered habitats all over the world, a research team has discovered new insights into the processes that support microbial life underneath ice sheets and glaciers, and the role those organisms play in perpetuating life through ice ages and, perhaps, in seemingly inhospitable environments on other planets.
The work examines the ways water and microbes interact with the bedrock beneath glaciers, using samples of sediment taken from glacial sites in Canada and Iceland.
The researchers found organisms in these systems that were supported by hydrogen gas.
A team of researchers later discovered that through a series of physical and chemical processes, hydrogen gas is produced as the silica-rich bedrock underneath glaciers is ground into tiny mineral particles by the weight of the ice on top of it. When those mineral particles combine with glacial meltwater, they let off hydrogen.
What became even more fascinating was that microbial communities under the glaciers could combine that hydrogen gas with carbon dioxide to generate more organic matter, called biomass, through a process called chemosynthesis. Chemosynthesis is similar to how plants generate biomass from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, although chemosynthesis does not require sunlight.
As they use hydrogen gas to generate energy the microbes also pull CO2out of the air to create biomass, replicate and grow. That ability to "fix" carbon is a critical climate regulation process, another similarity to photosynthesis in plants.
The newfound knowledge that self-sustaining microbial communities can flourish in icy environments through the generation of hydrogen gas is a critical step toward identifying potentially habitable environments on other planets.
Lithogenic hydrogen supports microbial primary production in subglacial and proglacial environments PNAS; doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007051117
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It was also found that not only was it possible to track the communities' growth in the lab environment but also that the type of bedrock underlying a glacier influenced how much hydrogen gas was produced, which in turn led to the presence of microbial communities that were better adapted to metabolizing hydrogen.
https://phys.org/news/2020-12-hydrogen-supported-life-beneath-glaci...
In new proof that 2020 has been a crappy year basically everywhere, scientists have captured video evidence of octopuses randomly punching at fish, possibly for no reason other than being spiteful.
While this remarkable, rather nasty-sounding behaviour might seem like it comes from a place of direct conflict between different animal species, that's not the whole story, researchers say.
In fact, this antisocial fish-punching phenomenon – which scientists term "active displacement" of fish – occurs in the midst of collaborative hunting efforts, in which octopuses and fish team up to chase and trap prey together.
https://twitter.com/OctoEduardo/status/1340076579108646913
https://twitter.com/ESAEcology/status/1341125791359373313?s=20
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.3266
Researchers to resuscitate eyes, speed up clinical research for vision impairment
Researchers to resuscitate eyes, speed up clinical research for vision impairment
Researchers are developing a new method to bring eyes back to life from deceased body donors for clinical research purposes.
They are creating a device that resuscitates eyes from the dead.Vision impairment affects over 250 million people worldwide, with thirty-six million people being blind. Retinal degeneration is often incurable, and ageing populations worldwide are major social and economic challenges.
The device, codenamed ECaBox, will be a transparent, cubic box that mimics conditions in the living human eye, maintaining the eye’s temperature and pH levels while avoiding blood clots and removing metabolic waste and toxins. Inside the ECaBox will be donor human eyeballs. The immediate goal is to test novel stem cell therapies without fear of risking patient harm on this platform.
Artificial blood will also be developed to provide cells with oxygen and nutrients, kick-starting the activity of nerve cells and restoring total eye function. Artificial vitreous humour will maintain the eye’s ocular pressure.
The health of the eyeball will be continuously monitored to confirm retinal function and regeneration. Beyond this scope, this technology can be extended to keep donor eyes intact for transplantation purposes, extending the current 48-hour window limit.
For many patients whose hope to restore their vision rests on emerging therapeutics, this research will mean a quicker and safer development cycle that will lead to the treatments becoming available sooner
Current technological limitations mean that eyes can only be kept at 4ºC for a period of 48 hours before irreversible degradation. This greatly limits their use for experiments, particularly to test the effectiveness of new drugs and treatments.
While advances in human organoids, growing tissues in a petri dish, are successfully mimicking the function of the eye, they fail to encapsulate the eye’s physiological complexity, such as its immune, vasculature, and metabolism systems.
There are a huge number of potential new treatments and therapies for eye damage and vision loss, but the eyewatering cost of running a clinical trial can mean they never reach the market.”
This new method can greatly improve the preclinical validation steps for these treatments, supporting the screening of a larger number of candidates and helping promising drugs escape the ‘valley of death’ imposed by cost-benefit analyses in the pharmaceutical industry.
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/researchers-to-resuscitate-eyes-speed-up...
https://researchnews.cc/news/4226/Researchers-to-resuscitate-eyes--...
Cancer risk from obesity differs for men and women
large study, published in BMC Medicine, included over 100,000* people. They found that a higher BMI (body mass index; a measure of total fat) is more dangerous for men, whereas a higher waist-to-hip ratio (your waist circumference divided by your hip circumference; a measure of abdominal fat) is more dangerous for women. To discover this, they used an approach, called Mendelian randomisation, that uses genetic information as a proxy measure for weight to investigate the effect of different body fat measures on colorectal cancer risk in men and women. An increase in BMI of about five kg/m2 raised the risk of colorectal cancer by 23 per cent for men, but only nine per cent for women. Whereas an equivalent increase in waist-to-hip ratio raised the risk for women by 25 per cent, this was only five per cent for men.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2020/december/obesity-cancer.html
https://researchnews.cc/news/4229/Cancer-risk-from-obesity-differs-...
The global food system could drive rapid and widespread biodiversity loss if not changed, new research has found.
The findings show that the global food system will need to be transformed to prevent habitat loss across the world. It shows that what we eat and how it is produced will need to change rapidly and dramatically to prevent widespread and severe biodiversity losses.
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The study estimated how food systems would affect biodiversity at a finer spatial scale than previous research (2.25 km2), making the results more relevant to conservation action by highlighting exactly which species and landscapes are likely to be threatened.
It did so by linking projections of how much agricultural land each country will need with a new model that estimates where agricultural expansion and abandonment are most likely to occur.
Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion, Nature Sustainability (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-00656-5 , www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00656-5
https://phys.org/news/2020-12-current-food-production-far-reaching-...
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