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: 20 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 21 hours ago. 10 Replies 0 Likes
The term 'near-death experience', or NDE, refers to a wide array of experiences reported by some people who have nearly died or who have thought they were going to die. It is any experience in which…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Image source: WIKIPEDIACoconut trees are iconic plants found across the…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Pathogen transmission can be modeled in three stages. In Stage 1, the…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Monday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Q: Science does not understand energy and the supernatural world because science only studies the material world. Is that why scientists don't believe in magic, manifestation or evil eye? Why flatly…Continue
Comment
Estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria for prediction of cardiovascular outcomes: a collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587%2815...
Kidney function tests help in measuring over all health
If health care providers have data on kidney damage and kidney function - which they often do - they should be using those data to better understand a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease. Cholesterol levels and blood pressure tests are good indicators of cardiovascular risk, but they are not perfect. This study tells us we could do even better with information that often times we are already collecting.
The most common assessment of kidney function checks the blood for creatinine, a waste product of the muscles, and reflects how well the kidneys are filtering it out (called an estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR). Another key test measures albuminuria, or how much of the protein albumin leaks out of the kidney and into the urine. Higher amounts indicate the presence of kidney damage. It is also a fairly common test, particularly in patients with diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease.
The researchers now found that both eGFR levels and albuminuria independently improved prediction of cardiovascular disease in general and particularly heart failure and death from heart attack and stroke, but albuminuria was the stronger predictor. It outperformed cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure - and even whether someone is a smoker - as a risk factor for heart failure and death from heart attack or stroke.
Poorly functioning kidneys can lead to a fluid overload that may result in heart failure. People with kidney disease tend to not receive certain medications that can reduce heart ailments, such as statins, likely because patients with kidney disease frequently are excluded from clinical trials performed to prove the efficacy of these medicines.
People with chronic kidney disease are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those with healthy kidneys and roughly half of them die from it before they reach kidney failure.
A vaccine to lower blood pressure? Scientists have devised one for rats, at least.
Scientists jabbed hypertensive rats with three doses of the formulation. It's a DNA vaccine—containing DNA fragments from angiotensin II—a hormone that boosts blood pressure, as well as fragments from hepatitis B, to guarantee the immune system’s attention. Cells suck up the vaccine's DNA, and start pumping out the proteins the DNA codes for. When the host’s defenses gets a whiff of the proteins, it reacts. It really revs up against the hepatitis B fragments. And while it’s at it, it starts taking out some angiotensin II as well.
The result is a reduction in angiotensin II's usual blood pressure raising effects—similar to what blood pressure meds like Benicar do. Less angiotensin II means more relaxed blood vessels, and a drop in pressure. That effect lasted six months in the vaccinated rats, and lengthened their lifespan by eight weeks. Necropsies on the vaccinated rats revealed healthier heart tissue than normally found with high blood pressure, and no damage to their kidneys or livers. The results are in the journal Hypertension
"Long-Term Reduction of High Blood Pressure by Angiotensin II DNA Vaccine in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats"
http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/early/2015/05/26/HYPERTENSIONA...
Why ovarian cancer treatments fail ...
Ovarian cancer cells can lock into survival mode and avoid being destroyed by chemotherapy, an international study reports.
Professor Sean Grimmond, from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said ovarian cancer cells had at least four different ways to avoid being destroyed by platinum-based chemotherapy treatments.
"One way involves breaking and rearranging big groups of genes - the chromosomes," Professor Grimmond said.
"This is fundamentally different to other cancers where the disease is driven by smaller but more gradual changes to individual genes.
"It is essentially shattering big chunks of the cell's hard drive and moving them around, rather than just changing bits in the files."
The research used whole genome sequencing to analyse tumour DNA samples from 91 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC).
The study's results are published recently in Nature.
‘Plastic Rice’. 'Synthetic rice'. Have you heard these terms before? One more rice contaminant!
Several Indonesian regions are on alert after lab tests confirmed rice found in the West Java city of Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, contained plastic compounds.
Lab results from state-controlled inspection firm Superintending Company of Indonesia, or Sucofindo, revealed that two rice samples collected from Mutiara Gading market in Bekasi contained contained benzyl butyl phthalate, 2-ethylhexyl phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, also known as plasticizer.
“The two samples of rice look the same; results of our tests show that both contain plastic compounds,” Adisam Z.N., Sucofindo’s laboratory examinations head, said in Jakarta on Thursday.
“Plasticizers are usually used in the production of cables and plastic pipes. In Europe, these substances have been banned for use in children’s toys, let alone as food substances,” he added.
Long-term consumption of the synthetic rice, dubbed “plastic rice” by local media, can cause abdominal pain and even cancer.
Fears of the so-called synthetic rice have spread across the country after a police raid at Mutiara Gading found evidence of it mixed with real grains of rice.
Synthetic rice had slightly different physical attributes compared to natural grains, such as sharper tips.
Rice traders in Jakarta have admitted to not knowing the difference before they were informed by authorities.
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/authorities-alert-plasti...
“Young Blood” Anti-Aging Mechanism Called into Question
A protein in the blood of young mice that seemed to rejuvenate older animals may do the opposite
http://www.nature.com/news/young-blood-anti-ageing-mechanism-called...
Scientists want contracts to guarantee they won't be muzzled
Canada’s muzzled federal scientists claim they are now being barred from meeting with their union at work to discuss its bargaining proposals to restore “scientific integrity” in government, says the union.
Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, is leading scientists Tuesday in a string of outdoor protests at labs and science-based departments across the country largely because the union can no longer get inside to meet with their members as it once did.
Federal scientists were a thorn in the Conservatives’ side during the government’s downsizing, accusing them of using federal policies to muzzle them, change or suppress their findings and undermine their ability to do their jobs.
The policy would touch on a range of issues and existing policies, but the key proposal is the “right to speak.” The union wants a clause guaranteeing scientists the right to express their personal views while making clear they don’t speak for government.
The other big demand is professional development, allowing scientists to attend meetings, conferences and courses to maintain their professional standards.
They also want contract changes so half of the revenues generated by their inventions and other intellectual property will be plowed back into government research to shore up budgets hit by spending cuts and to attract top talent.
PIPSC argues the changes would ensure science is done in the public interest, information and data are shared, and that scientists can collaborate and be protected from political interference, coercion or pressure to alter data. The policy would touch on a range of issues and existing policies, but the key proposal is the “right to speak.”
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/scientists-want-contracts-to...
Microbes with potential to cleanse waterways
17 hours ago by Amal Naquiah
A seven-year scientific study has revealed that microbial communities in urban waterways has the potential to play an important role in cleansing Singapore's waterways and also act as raw water quality indicators.
The study found that canals designed to channel rainwater host microbial communities that could remove and neutralise organic pollutants in raw water. These organic pollutants are currently at trace levels in raw water – well below the United States-Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) drinking water standards – which is removed during water treatment processes.
Researchers from the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) and the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have discovered that the untapped natural ability of microbial communities could be harnessed to treat raw water even before undergoing treatment.
This process is known as 'bioremediation', a treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down organic pollutants.
The study, which was published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, was conducted around the Ulu Pandan catchment area in collaboration with the Singapore's national water agency, PUB.
Developing the Critical Thinking Skills of Astrobiology Students through Creative and Scientific Inquiry
Scientific inquiry represents a multifaceted approach to explore and understand the natural world. Training students in the principles of scientific inquiry can help promote the scientific learning process as well as help students enhance their understanding of scientific research. Here, we report on the development and implementation of a learning module that introduces astrobiology students to the concepts of creative and scientific inquiry, as well as provide practical exercises to build critical thinking skills. The module contained three distinct components: (1) a creative inquiry activity designed to introduce concepts regarding the role of creativity in scientific inquiry; (2) guidelines to help astrobiology students formulate and self-assess questions regarding various scientific content and imagery; and (3) a practical exercise where students were allowed to watch a scientific presentation and practice their analytical skills. Pre- and post-course surveys were used to assess the students' perceptions regarding creative and scientific inquiry and whether this activity impacted their understanding of the scientific process. Survey results indicate that the exercise helped improve students' science skills by promoting awareness regarding the role of creativity in scientific inquiry and building their confidence in formulating and assessing scientific questions. Together, the module and survey results confirm the need to include such inquiry-based activities into the higher education classroom, thereby helping students hone their critical thinking and question asking skill set and facilitating their professional development in astrobiology. Key Words: Scientific inquiry—Critical thinking—Curriculum development—Astrobiology—Microbialites. Astrobiology 15, 89–99.
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2014.1219
If you hear some strange noises from the sky, don't worry! Here is why you hear them:
It is earth’s ‘background noise’ according to scientists!
The unsettling noises were heard recently from Europe to Canada, sounding like groans and powerful horns.
According to NASA, the Earth has ‘natural radio emissions’.
‘If humans had radio antennas instead of ears, we would hear a remarkable symphony of strange noises coming from our own planet. Scientists call them “tweeks,” “whistlers” and “sferics.”
‘They sound like background music from a flamboyant science fiction film, but this is not science fiction. Earth’s natural radio emissions are real and, although we’re mostly unaware of them, they are around us all the time.’
University of Saskatchewan physics professor Jean-Pierre St. Maurice said that it’s electromagnetic noise emitted from auroras and radiation belts.
'They sound like background music from a flamboyant science fiction film, but this is not science fiction. Earth's natural radio emissions are real and, although we're mostly unaware of them, they are around us all the time.’
For instance lightning can produce eerie-sounding radio emissions, Nasa added.
Earthquakes can also produce sub-audible sounds, according to seismologist Brian W Stump from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
© 2025 Created by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Science Simplified! to add comments!