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Science Simplified!

                       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: 5 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 6part-10part-11part-12, part 14  ,  part- 8

part- 1part-2part-4part-5part-16part-17part-18 , part-19 , part-20

part-21 , part-22part-23part-24part-25part-26part-27 , part-28

part-29part-30part-31part-32part-33part-34part-35part-36part-37,

 part-38part-40part-41part-42part-43part-44part-45part-46part-47

Part 48 part49Critical thinking -part 50 , part -51part-52part-53

part-54part-55part-57part-58part-59part-60part-61part-62part-63

part 64, part-65part-66part-67part-68part 69part-70 part-71part-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?

i. mycotoxicoses

j. immunotherapy

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

n.vaccine-woes

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

t. the-detoxification-scam

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

Discussion Forum

The Parallax Effect

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 5 hours ago. 1 Reply

Q: Why an airplane flying in the sky  appears to be stationary at the same time while we are traveling in a vehicle?Krishna: Yes, when  you are travelling in a car and suddenly look out the window…Continue

What is a three body problem?

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply

Q: What is a three body problem?Krishna: I don't know about  science fiction or movies that are made based on the theme, but I will tell you what it is based on science.  Systems with two objects…Continue

Your Biological Age Can Be Different From Your Actual (Chronological)Age!

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 6 Replies

Recently I have seen an old lady teasing an young girl who became breathless after climbing up a few steps.  "Look I am 78. But still I can climb steps with ease. I can go anywhere I want without any…Continue

How Soil Microorganisms Can Combat Desertification

Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply

 Soil Microbiology is the specialized subject I studied during my Post…Continue

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You need to be a member of Science Simplified! to add comments!

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 1, 2022 at 9:46am

Turning methane into methanol under ambient conditions using light

An international team of researchers has developed a fast and economical method of converting methane, or natural gas, into liquid methanol at ambient temperature and pressure. The method takes place under continuous flow over a photo-catalytic material using visible light to drive the conversion.

To help observe how the process works and how selective it is, the researchers used neutron scattering at the VISION instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source.

The method involves a continuous flow of methane/oxygen-saturated water over a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) catalyst. The MOF is porous and contains different components that each have a role in absorbing light, transferring electrons and activating and bringing together methane and oxygen. The liquid methanol is easily extracted from the water. Such a process has commonly been considered "a holy grail of catalysis" and is an area of focus for research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Details of the team's findings, titled "Direct photo-oxidation of methane to methanol over a mono-iron hydroxyl site," are published in Nature Materials.

 Sihai Yang, Direct photo-oxidation of methane to methanol over a mono-iron hydroxyl site, Nature Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01279-1www.nature.com/articles/s41563-022-01279-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 11:48am

Tearless onions

How are they created and do they actually work?

Slicing through an onion damages cells, causing enzymes and other substances that are normally kept apart to spill out and react together. In standard onions the result is a sulphur-containing chemical called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which resembles tear gas. This forms an irritating acid when it comes into contact with water in your eyes.

Some research groups have created onions that are genetically modified to lack an enzyme that leads to syn-propanethial-S-oxide, but these have not yet made it to market.

The tearless onions – Sunions – now in shops were created by repeatedly cross-breeding milder varieties containing lower levels of pyruvate. This substance is a by-product of the same reaction that forms syn-propanethial-S-oxide and also has a good measure of pungency.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 10:29am

First known case of COVID from a cat

Scientists in Thailand have established that a cat passed SARS-CoV-2 to a veterinary surgeon. Given the scale of the pandemic and the close contact between cats and people, some researchers are not surprised. But establishing the direction of viral spread — from cat to person or from person to cat — is tricky. In this case, a cat belonging to a COVID-19-positive family sneezed in the face o.... Such cases of cat-to-human transmission are probably rare, and researchers emphasize that people should care for their cats — and perhaps take extra precautions when handling cats that might be infected — and not abandon them.


Reference: Emerging Infectious Diseases paper
Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 9:21am

Life in the Earth's interior is as productive as in some ocean waters

Terrestrial and marine habitats have been considered the ecosystems with the highest primary production on Earth by far. Microscopic algae in the upper layers of the oceans and plants on land bind atmospheric carbon (CO2) and produce plant material driven by photosynthesis. Since sunlight does not penetrate into the subsurface, hardly any such primary production is to be expected.

However, genetic analyses of microorganisms in  have indicated that even here many microorganisms are capable of primary production. In the absence of light, they must obtain the energy from oxidizing , like from reduced sulfur of the surrounding rocks. However, the role of primary producers in the subsurface had never been confirmed before.

Groundwater is one of our most important sources of clean drinking water. The groundwater environment of the carbonate aquifers alone, which is the focus of the study, provides about ten percent of the world's drinking water. With this in mind, the researchers carried out measurements of microbial microorganism carbon fixation in a subsurface aquifer, 5 to 90 meters belowground.

Based on the measured carbon fixation rates, the researchers conservatively extrapolated global primary production in carbonate groundwater to be 110 million metric tons of carbon per year. Collectively, the net primary productivity of approximately 66 percent of the planet's groundwater reservoirs would total 260 million metric tons of carbon per year, which is approximately 0.5 percent that of marine systems and 0.25 percent of global net primary production estimates.

Since there is very little energy available in these nutrient-poor and permanently dark habitats, even a small percentage of the global primary production is a surprise.

The researchers also sought to identify the microorganisms responsible for fixing carbon and generating new biomass within the aquifer. Metagenomic analyses point to a highly abundant microorganism not closely related to previously studied bacteria, within an uncharacterized order of Nitrospiria. As food, these organisms are thought to form the basis of life for the entire groundwater ecosystem with all of its thousands of microbial species, similar to the role algae play in the oceans or plants on land.

Kirsten Küsel, Carbon fixation rates in groundwater similar to those in oligotrophic marine systems, Nature Geoscience (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-022-00968-5www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00968-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 29, 2022 at 11:57am

Bacteria's shapeshifting behaviour clue to new treatments for urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections are both very common and potentially very dangerous. Thousands of women  suffer from a UTI in their lifetime, and most of these women will have an infection requiring treatment with antibiotics. 

Around 80 percent of UTIs are caused by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. E. coli-related death due to antimicrobial resistance is the leading cause of bacterial fatalities worldwide.

In a bid to aid discovery of new treatment options, researchers are using state-of-the-art microscopy to pinpoint how these bacteria spread and multiply.

The latest research examined the shapeshifting behavior of UPEC. During a UTI infection cycle, the bacteria form spaghetti-like filaments hundreds of times their normal lengths before reverting to their original form.

The study, which is published in Nature Communications, used a human bladder cell infection model to generate the filaments, and look at their reversal back to rod shape.

While we don't fully understand why they do this extreme lifestyle make-over, we know they must revert to their original size before they can reinfect new bladder cells.

Researchers  used advanced microscopy to follow two key cell division proteins and their localisation dynamics during reversal. We found that the normal rules for regulation of cell division in bacteria does not fully apply in filaments.

By giving the first clues into how the reversal of filamentation is regulated during infection, scientists may be laying the foundation for identifying new ways to combat UTIs.

 The long filaments formed by the bacteria appeared to break open the infected human cells, through a previously unknown mechanism called infection-related filamentation (IRF).

The devastating eruption of these bacteria from the cells of the bladder that they invade probably contributes to the extensive damage and pain experienced during a UTI.

If scientists identify why and how the bacteria shifts their shapes this enables alternative treatments or preventions.

 Bill Söderström et al, Assembly dynamics of FtsZ and DamX during infection-related filamentation and division in uropathogenic E. coli, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31378-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 29, 2022 at 9:35am

The analyses carried out now yielded many interesting findings. Most notably, the results showed that the functional connectivity between large-scale brain networks can predict age with good accuracy and that it varies across the lifespan. More specifically, they found that the connectivity between ECN and DMN brain regions accounts for a significant portion of age variability.

Interestingly, the researchers found that when they also included the SN (a set of brain regions that selects salient external or internal stimuli for the brain to focus its attention on) in their analyses, they could predict a person's age with even greater accuracy. In the future, their work could help to better understand the brain connectivity  patterns associated with the decline in cognitive abilities observed in older age.

Evangelia G. Chrysikou et al, Large-scale network connectivity as a predictor of age: Evidence across the adult lifespan from the Cam-CAN data set, Psychology and Aging (2022). DOI: 10.1037/pag0000683

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 29, 2022 at 9:30am

Functional connections between different brain networks can predict a person's age

Neuroscientists have been trying to understand for decades how the human brain changes over the lifespan. This could ultimately help to devise more effective treatments for neurological and cognitive disorders primarily observed in the elderly.

Researchers  have recently carried out a study investigating the relationship between age and the functional coupling between specific neural networks in the brain. Their paper, published in Psychology and Aging, shows that the connectivity between certain brain regions can predict people's chronological age with a high level of accuracy.

The differences in cognitive functioning among people of different ages are well documented. The idea that these differences are associated with changes in brain connectivity (i.e., the way in which brain regions and networks communicate with each other) was introduced and discussed in many neuroscience papers.

The present one deals with the Q:Can we use patterns of brain connectivity when people are not doing any tasks to predict their age?

Scientists analyzed data collected from a large cohort of 547 participants between 18 and 88 years old, part of a publicly available brain imaging dataset compiled by the Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience (CamCAN). By analyzing these data, they  firstly investigated whether connectivity between the executive control network (ECN) and default mode network (DMN) regions in the brain can predict age.

To do this, they used a well-established statistical technique called multiple regression analysis. They further examined how connectivity between ECN, DMN, and another region, the salience network (SN)—which is thought to mitigate how ECN and DMN regions talk to each other—impacts the strength of the connections between ECN and DMN areas.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 28, 2022 at 9:46am

Oceans saved us, now we can return the favour

Humanity must heal oceans made sick by climate change, pollution and overfishing in order to rescue marine life and save ourselves, experts warned ahead of a major UN conference.

By absorbing—decade after decade—a quarter of CO2 pollution and more than 90 percent of excess heat from global warming, oceans have kept Earth's terrestrial surface liveable.

Our species has returned the favor by dumping mountains of plastic waste into the sea, emptying the deep blue of big fish, and poisoning coastlines with toxic chemicals and agricultural runoff that create dead zones bereft of oxygen.

"If we don't do the right things now, we might end up with a dead oceans”

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 28, 2022 at 8:59am

The newly discovered viruses that infect currently living Asgard archaea do have some features similar to viruses that infect eukaryotes, including the ability to copy their own DNA and hijack protein modification systems of their hosts. The fact that these recovered Asgard viruses display characteristics of both viruses that infect eukaryotes and prokaryotes, which have cells without a nucleus, makes them unique since they are not exactly like those that infect other archaea or complex life forms.

The most exciting thing is they are completely new types of viruses that are different from those that we've seen before in archaea and eukaryotes, infecting our microbial relatives.

The Asgard , which probably evolved more than 2 billion years ago and whose descendents are still living, have been discovered in deep sea sediments and  around the world, but so far only one strain has been successfully grown in the lab. To identify them, scientists collect their  from the environment and then piece together their genomes. In this latest study, the researchers scanned the Asgard genomes for repeating DNA regions known as CRISPR arrays, which contain small pieces of viral DNA that can be precisely matched to viruses that previously infected these microbes. These genetic "fingerprints" allowed them to identify these stealthy viral invaders that infect organisms with key roles in the complex origin story of .

We are now starting to understand the implication and role that viruses could have had in the eukaryogenesis puzzle.

Brett Baker, Genomes of six viruses that infect Asgard archaea from deep-sea sediments, Nature Microbiology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01150-8www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01150-8

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 28, 2022 at 8:57am

Virus discovery offers clues about origins of complex life

The first discovery of viruses infecting a group of microbes that may include the ancestors of all complex life has been found, researchers report in Nature Microbiology. The discovery offers tantalizing clues about the origins of complex life and suggests new directions for exploring the hypothesis that viruses were essential to the evolution of humans and other complex life forms.

There is a well-supported hypothesis that all complex life forms such as humans, starfish and trees—which feature cells with a nucleus and are called eukaryotes—originated when archaea and bacteria merged to form a hybrid organism. Recent research suggests the first eukaryotes are direct descendants of so-called A.... The latest research sheds light on how viruses, too, might have played a role in this billions-year-old history.

This study is opening a door to better resolving the origin of eukaryotes and understanding the role of viruses in the ecology and evolution of Asgard archaea. There is a hypothesis that viruses may have contributed to the emergence of complex cellular life.

There is a hypothesis called viral eukaryogenesis. It suggests that, in addition to bacteria and archaea, viruses might have contributed some genetic component to the development of eukaryotes. This latest discovery does not settle that debate, but it does offer some interesting clues.

Part1

 

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