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: 11 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 on Friday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Why do type 2 diabetics sometimes become thin if their condition is not managed properly?Earlier we used to get this answer to the Q : Type 2 diabetics may experience weight loss and become thin due…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Movies and TV serials shaped how many people imagine a heart attack—someone clutching their chest and collapsing dramatically. But those portrayals are misleading and shouldn't be expected, say the…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Recent measles outbreak in the California state of the US ( now spread to other states too) tells an interesting story.Vaccines are not responsible for the woes people face but because of rejection…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Thursday. 5 Replies 0 Likes
When I was a very young school girl, I still remember very well, my Dad used to tell me to bear the pain out and not to scream and cry whenever I hurt myself and was in severe pain. I never ever saw…Continue
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Brief period of 'blindness' is essential for vision
Fixational eye movements are tiny movements of the eye—so small we humans aren’t even aware of them. Yet they play a large role in our ability to see letters, numbers, and objects at a distance.
In a new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers further cement the evidence for the important role of these tiny movements. By studying how a type of fixational eye movement called a microsaccade affects the foveola, a small region at the center of the retina, the researchers provide important foundational information that can lead to improved treatments and therapies for vision impairments.
Although the foveola is tiny, it is essential for seeing fine details and conducting everyday tasks such as searching for a friend in a crowd or reading distant road signs while driving. Because the region is so small, however, we need to constantly shift our gaze to allow the foveola to get a full view of the world, similar to rotating a telescope to get a full view of a scene. Unlike when we might rotate a telescope, however, our eyes make most of these gaze shifts, especially the smallest ones, on their own, often beneath our awareness. But the gaze shifts are critical for vision. How well we see at any given moment is tightly linked to how and when we shift our gaze.
The researchers focused on microsaccades, tiny rapid gaze shifts that frequently occur when we’re examining fine details. It’s long been known that vision is transiently impaired during larger gaze shifts, such as those we are aware of making, for instance looking back and forth between two computer screens. This phenomenon of transiently impaired vision is known as saccadic suppression. Until now, however, it was unknown whether a suppression also occurs during microsaccades and whether that would affect visibility in the foveola.
The researchers recorded microsaccades in human observers who were engaged in a computer task— searching on the screen for “fleas” jumping in a patch of “fur,” a task that resembles social grooming in primates.
What the researchers found was surprising.
Immediately before and immediately after participants’ gaze shifted, the participants could not see the fleas, even when they were looking directly at them.
Researchers observed that microsaccades are accompanied by brief periods of visual suppression during which people are essentially blind. However, the researchers found that vision recovered rapidly at the center of the gaze and continued to improve, so that vision was overall transiently enhanced in this region after the saccade.
The results show that the very center of gaze undergoes drastic and rapid modulations every time we redirect our gaze. This brief loss of vision likely occurs so that we do not see the image of the world shifting around whenever we move our eyes. By suppressing perception during saccades, our visual system is able to create a stable percept.
Future research will determine more about this phenomenon and how humans control eye movements to balance the saccadic suppression with the visual enhancement that follows.
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/37/e2101259118
https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/brief-period-of-blindness-is-e...
https://researchnews.cc/news/10116/Brief-period-of--blindness--is-e...
Light pollution impacts mating success and courtship behavior in fireflies, says recent study.
According to a 2019 study, artificial light impacts fireflies in a big way. Fireflies find mates through a courtship process that involves flashing their “lights.” And not just any light: the courting process involves a series of flashes, which are unique to each male and female. Females will choose their mate based on their unique flashing patterns. The females, in turn, will start a flashing “dialogue” with the mate of their choosing. It’s an amazing sight to see.
So how does this courtship process clash with the lights we keep on at night? Fireflies rely on light to communicate, which has led scientists to wonder if light pollution impacts them in some way. Prior studies by the researchers confirmed this, as well as a substantial body of research. So the next logical question, and the one that the researchers tackled, was how this lighting impacts fireflies at the most basic level: courtship.
In these lighted zones, the fireflies were less likely to engage in courtship flashes, and mating success was reduced. The researchers also investigated whether light pollution affected predator-prey relationships, but no significant impact was found.
Outdoor LED lighting spaces, like the one used in this study, can also act as demographic traps, say the researchers. That means that immigration (or the amount of fireflies coming into the area) far exceeds emigration (the amount of fireflies leaving the area) – meaning that fireflies, barring other circumstances, will stay in the lit areas. While the fireflies may be loving the bright LED lights, the lighting affects courtship behaviors, which are significantly reduced, and also likely reduces mating success.
Fireflies are attracted to light but this light “sucks” them in. It’s like how a warm, cozy house is where you want to be on a cold winter day. It attracts you and you don’t want to leave. In the same way, fireflies are attracted to our bright LEDs and don’t want to leave the light. More fireflies enter the area, and then leave. They are attracted to it like a trap. But, like how it’s not healthy for us to stay home all the time, it’s not healthy for fireflies to stay attracted to this light. Fireflies rely on ambient light cues to know when to start courtship flashing, but when the environment is always lit, there is a problem. Courtship behaviors go down and breeding success is also likely to go down.
This is a huge problem – light pollution is one of the fastest growing types of environmental degradation
https://next.massivesci.com/articles/artificial-light-led-impacts-f...
**
Frozen turkeys—or any kind of frozen meats, for that matter—contain a lot of ice. Raw meat can be anywhere from 56% to 73% water. If you have ever thawed a frozen piece of meat, you have probably seen all the liquid that comes out.
For deep-frying, cooking oil is heated to around 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 C). This is much hotter than the boiling point of water, which is 212 F (100 C). So when the ice in a frozen turkey comes in contact with the hot oil, the surface ice quickly turns to steam.
This quick transition is not a problem when it happens at the very surface of the oil. The steam escapes harmlessly into the air.
However, when you submerge a turkey into the oil, the ice inside the turkey absorbs the heat and melts, forming liquid water. Here is where the density comes into play.
This liquid water is more dense than the oil, so it falls the bottom of the pot. The water molecules continue to absorb heat and energy and eventually they change phases and become steam. The water molecules then rapidly spread far apart from one another and the volume expands by 1,700 times. This expansion causes the density of the water to drop to a fraction of a percent of the density of the oil, so the gas wants to quickly rise to the surface.
Combine the fast change in density together with the expansion of volume and you get an explosion. The steam expands and rises, blowing the boiling oil out the pot. If that weren't dangerous enough, as the displaced oil comes into contact with a burner or flame, it can catch fire. Once some droplets of oil catch on fire, the flames will quickly ignite nearby oil molecules, resulting in a fast-moving and often catastrophic fire.
Every year, thousands of accidents like this happen. So, should you decide to deep-fry a turkey for this year's Thanksgiving, be sure to thoroughly thaw it and pat it dry. And next time you add a bit of liquid to an oil-filled pan and end up with oil all over the stove, you'll know the science of why.
https://theconversation.com/why-do-frozen-turkeys-explode-when-deep...
Part 3
**
While different materials have different densities, liquids, solids and gases of a single material can have different densities as well. You observe this every time you place an ice cube in a glass of water: The ice floats to the top because it is less dense than water.
When water absorbs heat, it changes to its gas phase, steam. Steam occupies 1,700 times the volume as the same number of liquid water molecules. You observe this effect when you boil water in a tea kettle. The force of expanding gas pushes steam out of the kettle through the whistle, causing the squealing noise.
Part 2
Deep-frying a turkey is a great way to get a delicious, moist meal for Thanksgiving. But this method of cooking can be a very dangerous undertaking.
Every fall, millions of dollars of damage, trips to the ER and even deaths result from attempts to deep-fry turkeys. The vast majority of these accidents happen because people put frozen turkeys into boiling oil. If you are considering deep-frying this year, do not forget to thaw and dry your turkey before placing it in the pot. Failure to do so may lead to an explosive disaster.
What is so dangerous about putting even a partially frozen turkey in a deep-fryer?
The reason frozen turkeys explode, at its core, has to do with differences in density. Density is how much an object weighs given a specific volume. There is a difference in density between oil and water and differences in the density of water between its solid, liquid and gas states. When these density differences interact in just the right way, you get an explosion.
The first important density difference when it comes to frying is that water is more dense than oil. This has to do with how tightly the molecules of each substance pack together and how heavy the atoms are that make up each liquid.
Water molecules are small and pack tightly together. Oil molecules are much larger and don't pack together as well by comparison. Additionally, water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, while oils are predominantly carbon and hydrogen. Oxygen is heavier than carbon. This means that, for example, one cup of water has more atoms than one cup of oil, and those individuals atoms are heavier. This is why oil floats on top of water. It is less dense.
Part 1
This study on UTI was a proof of concept that whole-cell vaccines are more effective in this extreme, lethal-sepsis model. Showing that this works against recurrent UTI would be a significant breakthrough.
Beyond recurrent UTI or urosepsis, researchers think the antigen depot method could be applied broadly to bacterial infections, including endocarditis and tuberculosis.
Michael A. Luzuriaga et al, Metal–Organic Framework Encapsulated Whole-Cell Vaccines Enhance Humoral Immunity against Bacterial Infection, ACS Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c03092
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-scientists-vaccine-method-recurrent-u...
Part 3
**
Vaccines using whole-cell dead bacteria haven't succeeded because the cells typically don't last long enough in the body to produce long-term, durable immune responses.
That's the reason for this new MOF antigen depot: It allows an intact, dead pathogen to exist in tissue longer, as if it were an infection, in order to trigger a full-scale immune system response.
The metal-organic framework Gassensmith's team developed encapsulates and immobilizes an individual bacterium cell in a crystalline polymeric matrix that not only kills the bacterium but also preserves and stabilizes the dead cell against high temperature, moisture and organic solvents.
In their experiments, the researchers used a strain of Escherichia coli. There are no vaccines against any pathogenic strain of this bacterium. Uropathogenic E. coli causes about 80% of all community-acquired UTIs.
"When we challenged these mice with a lethal injection of bacteria, after they were vaccinated, almost all of our animals survived, which is a much better performance than with traditional vaccine approaches," Gassensmith said. "This result was repeated multiple times, and we're quite impressed with how reliable it is."
Although the method has not yet been tested in humans, De Nisco said it has the potential to help millions of patients.
part 2
Researchers are investigating the use of whole-cell vaccines to fight urinary tract infection (UTI), part of an effort to tackle the increasingly serious issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They recently demonstrated the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to encapsulate and inactivate whole bacterial cells to create a "depot" that allows the vaccines to last longer in the body.
The resulting study, published online Sept. 21 in the American Chemical Society's journal ACS Nano, showed that in mice this method produced substantially enhanced antibody production and significantly higher survival rates compared to standard whole-cell vaccine preparation methods.
Vaccination as a therapeutic route for recurrent UTIs is being explored because antibiotics aren't working anymore. Patients are losing their bladders to save their lives because the bacteria cannot be killed by antibiotics or because of an extreme allergy to antibiotics, which is more common in the older population than people may realize. If not successfully treated, a UTI can lead to sepsis, which can be fatal. Even if you clear the bacteria from the bladder, populations persist elsewhere and usually become resistant to the antibiotic used. When patients accumulate antibiotic resistances, they're eventually going to run out of options.
Vaccines work by introducing a small amount of killed or weakened disease-causing germs, or some of their components, to the body. These antigens prompt the immune system to produce antibodies against a particular disease. Building vaccines against pathogenic bacteria is inherently difficult because bacteria are significantly larger and more complex than viruses. Selecting which biological components to use to create antigens has been a major challenge.
Consequently, using the entire cell is preferable to choosing just a piece of a bacterium
part 1
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