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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 9:13am

ISS matures as science hub

ISS matures as science hub

Scientists aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have conducted about 3,000 experiments. More than 40% have been biology or biotechnology experiments. The studies have produced various insights into how humans and animals adapt to lengthy spaceflight. Male mice, for example, can still produce healthy offspring after floating in space for 35 days. A comparison of various biological factors of two identical twins — one an astronaut aboard the ISS for a year and the other on Earth showed that being in space changes telomere length, gene expression, the gut microbiome and the dimensions of the artery that brings blood to the brain. Many, but not all, of these reverted to normal levels after the astronaut returned to Earth. A lot of people don’t realize how much research has been done on the International Space Station around human health

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6436/eaau8650?utm_source...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 8:47am

Effective science communication

A good first step in science communication is understanding your audience. Recognize that people who have limited science knowledge aren’t any less smart than you; they just have expertise in different areas. Approach each conversation assuming that the person you are talking with is curious and wants to learn. You may be proven wrong, but you’re unlikely to be heard by anyone if you don’t start from this place of mutual respect. 

 Think about what your audience knows, and start there. Explaining a scientific concept is a bit like climbing a ladder—you can move from simple to more complex, but you can’t bring anyone with you if they can’t grasp the first rung. Analogies can be a particularly effective way to provide that first rung. If you can relate the science you are about to explain to something that people already know about, they are more likely to understand and to want to learn more.

It’s also important to think about what is most critical for people to understand and what is not necessary. For example, you can help someone understand how an antiviral drug works without diving into the details of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis images and crystal structures.

Another important step is to own your expertise. You may feel hesitant to talk about a topic that doesn’t perfectly align with your specific area of research specialization. However, it’s important to recognize that even if you work in an adjacent field, you have access to much more information on the topic than does most of the public. Additionally, you have expertise in how to find reliable information. In areas where you’re not equipped to interpret the primary scientific literature on a topic, you know how to access a commentary or perspective article in a reputable scientific journal, read and digest that, and then share the information with others. And it’s OK to not have all the answers. Even if you can only partially explain something before you hit the limit of your understanding, you are likely to be able to help someone gain more accurate information than they would get from a potentially 

dubious rumor on social media.

Above all, remember that every conversation matters. Whether you have a big stage or you’re having a casual chat over your next holiday dinner, you can have a huge impact on the lives of those around you. 

 https://cen.acs.org/careers/employment/re-science-communicators-s-b...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 7:39am

Scientists find harmful chemicals in household dust

Since the 1970s, chemicals called brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been added to a host of consumer and household products, ranging from electronics and mattresses to upholstery and carpets. While they were intended to improve fire safety, one form—polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs—has proved harmful to human health, specifically our hormonal systems.

the process used to add this chemical to manufactured goods attached the particles very loosely. As a result, the compound tends to shed over time through normal wear and tear.

A growing body of evidence suggests that concentrations of this chemical are higher indoors and that it is present in dust.

It is not feasible for people to rid their homes of all products and materials containing BRFs. But if dust is one source of our exposure, how can you reduce this exposure? Public awareness is very important. Maybe we need more frequent vacuuming of all the dust.

These findings point to the need to identify—and make consumers more aware of—safer alternatives that are free of brominated compounds. 

Peter Blanchard et al. Evaluating the use of synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy in investigating brominated flame retardants in indoor dust, Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10623-4

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-chemicals-household.html?u...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 7:16am

Researchers recover 75,000 'deleted' files from pre-owned USB drives

Highly sensitive tax returns, contracts and bank statements were among 75,000 "deleted" files recovered by cybersecurity researchers as part of an  investigation into the risks of selling used USB drives over the internet.

The team made the startling discovery after purchasing just 100 devices on a popular online auction site and examining them further.

98 of the USBs seemed, at face value, to be empty. However, with publicly available tools it is worryingly easy to retrieve data.

Only 32 of the drives had been properly wiped. Partial files were extracted from 26 devices and every single file was extracted from the remaining 42 USB drives.

Many of the files extracted were determined to be of  high sensivity, and included files named "passwords", contracts, bank statements and tax returns. Other USB drives contained images with embedded location data.

so the researchers say, the way many computers delete files doesn't actually remove them. What happens is that the file is removed from the index so that they are effectively hidden from view. They're still there though and if you know how, you can easily recover them using publicly available forensics tools. Software is freely available that can permanently wipe USB drives, so if you are going to sell a device we would strongly recommend using that. If you're planning to discard a USB device without selling it, you should destroy it with a hammer—make it impossible for a third party to get hold of the data it stores. If you're planning to buy a new USB drive, the best way of mitigating the risks is to buy an encrypted device.

James Conacher et al. Caveat Venditor, Used USB Drive Owner, SSRN Electronic Journal (2020). DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3631441

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-recover-deleted-pre-owned-usb.h...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 7:05am

Study finds environmentally-friendly' tableware harms marine animals

A new  study compares the effects of two types of disposable dishes on the marine environment—regular plastic disposable dishes and more expensive bioplastic disposable dishes certified by various international organizations—and determines that the bioplastic dishes had a similar effect on marine animals as regular plastic dishes. Moreover, the study finds that bioplastic does not degrade rapidly in the marine environment.

People buy expensive disposable dishes and utensils with the special bioplastic standard seal of compliance on the assumption that they are being environmentally responsible. This study proves that while this may be good for their conscience, it can still damage the environment.

Bioplastics are made of natural, renewable materials, and biodegrade relatively fast under certain conditions. Disposable dishes and utensils made of bioplastics were granted various international standard seals and are marketed to consumers as environmentally friendly. However, they don't meet these expectations. 

In the short term, both types of plastic have a similar detrimental effect, according tot eh study. Bioplastics are made of natural materials and, in that sense, they are more beneficial environmentally speaking. But they may also contain toxins just like regular plastic dishes and they do not biodegrade quickly in the aquatic habitat. 

Guillermo Anderson et al, Potential effects of biodegradable single-use items in the sea: Polylactic acid (PLA) and solitary ascidians, Environmental Pollution (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115364

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-environmentally-friendly-tableware-ma...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 6:47am

Using quantum properties of light to transmit information

Researchers have taken an important step toward developing a communications network that exchanges information across long distances by using photons, mass-less measures of light that are key elements of quantum computing and quantum communications systems.

The research team has designed a nanoscale node made out of magnetic and semiconducting materials that could interact with other nodes, using laser light to emit and accept photons.

The development of such a quantum network—designed to take advantage of the physical properties of light and matter characterized by quantum mechanics—promises faster, more efficient ways to communicate, compute, and detect objects and materials as compared to networks currently used for computing and communications.

Arunabh Mukherjee et al. Observation of site-controlled localized charged excitons in CrI3/WSe2 heterostructures, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19262-2

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-quantum-properties-transmit.html?utm_...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 5, 2020 at 5:55am

Early big-game hunters of the Americas were female, researchers suggest

For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story, according to new research conducted.

An archaeological discovery and analysis of early burial practices overturns the long-held 'man-the-hunter' hypothesis.

These findings are particularly timely in light of contemporary conversations surrounding gendered labour practices and inequality. Labour practices among recent hunter-gatherer societies are highly gendered, which might lead some to believe that sexist inequalities in things like pay or rank are somehow 'natural.' But it's now clear that sexual division of labour was fundamentally different—likely more equitable—in our species' deep hunter-gatherer past.

During archaeological excavations at a high-altitude site called Wilamaya Patjxa in what is now Peru, researchers found an early burial that contained a hunting toolkit with projectile points and animal-processing tools. The objects accompanying people in death tend to be those that accompanied them in life, researchers said. It was determined that the hunter was likely female based on findings by the team's osteologist, James Watson of The University of Arizona. Watson's sex estimate was later confirmed by dental protein analysis.

 The surprising discovery of an early female hunter burial led the team to ask whether she was part of a broader pattern of female hunters or merely a one-off. Looking at published records of late Pleistocene and early Holocene burials throughout North and South America, the researchers identified 429 individuals from 107 sites. Of those, 27 individuals were associated with big-game hunting tools—11 were female and 15 were male. The sample was sufficient to "warrant the conclusion that female participation in early big-game hunting was likely nontrivial," researchers said. Moreover, the analysis identified the Wilamaya Patjxa female hunter as the earliest hunter burial in the Americas.

Statistical analysis shows that somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of hunters in these populations were female, the study said. This level of participation stands in stark contrast to recent hunter-gatherers, and even farming and capitalist societies, where hunting is a decidedly male activity with low levels of female participation, certainly under 30 percent

R. Haas el al., "Female hunters of the early Americas," Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abd0310

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-early-big-game-hunters-americas-femal...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2020 at 10:42am

Baking Soda Boosts T Cells’ Ability to Fight Leukemia

Infusions of donor T cells to fight the cancer often fail, but sodium bicarbonate can counter lactic acid produced by leukemia cells, potentially improving remission rates in mice and humans.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/baking-soda-boosts-t-cel...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2020 at 10:38am

Researchers discover how birds deal with gusty conditions

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2020 at 10:31am

Radical diagnostic could save millions of people at risk of dying from blood loss

In a world-first outcome that could save more than two million lives globally each year, researchers have developed a diagnostic using a glass slide, Teflon film and a piece of paper that can test for levels of fibrinogen concentration in blood in less than four minutes. Fibrinogen is a protein found in blood that is needed for clotting. When a patient experiences traumatic injury, such as a serious car accident, or major surgery and childbirth complications, fibrinogen is required in their blood to prevent major haemorrhaging and death from blood loss. Typically, heavily bleeding patients must be transported to a hospital or emergency centre where they undergo diagnostic tests before being treated. These tests are time consuming and costly as they require expensive equipment, specialised/trained personnel and can take up to half an hour.

When a patient is bleeding heavily and has received several blood transfusions, their levels of fibrinogen drop. Even after dozens of transfusions, patients keep bleeding. What they need is an injection of fibrinogen. However, if patients receive too much fibrinogen, they can also die.

This new diagnostic can eliminate the preparation time, labour and transportation difficulties of traditional techniques used in the hospital. It can diagnose hypofibrinogenemia in critically bleeding patients anywhere in the world, and can drastically reduce the time to treatment needed for fibrinogen replacement therapy. The test can take less than four minutes, about five times faster than the current gold standard methods.

1. Marek Bialkower, Clare A. Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rico F. Tabor, Gil Garnier. Paper Diagnostic for Direct Measurement of Fibrinogen Concentration in Whole Blood. ACS Sensors, 2020; DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.0c01937

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201029105018.htm#:~:t....

https://researchnews.cc/news/3377/Radical-diagnostic-could-save-mil...

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