Author Archives: mohamed salik hasan rushdy

The Toba catastrophe

If you trekked through the mountains of northern Sumatra you might see one very long, serene lake and a sizable oblong island in its middle. The whole thing looks very peaceful until you realize it came to be through a cataclysm of unimaginable proportions.

Around 74,000 years ago in those mountains, a supervolcano was brewing world changing fires that erupted suddenly and violently. 

Around 2800 km³ of material was released in an outpouring of hot gasses and volcanic ash that wreaked havoc on an area of approximately 20000 km² around the volcano. This means that an area the size of modern day Slovenia was vaporized, since the temperature of these initial volcanic ejections can reach upwards of a 1000 °C.  Ash deposits are found today as far away as the eastern parts of Africa.

Scientists say that a global winter ensued which devastated human populations around the

world, leaving only a few surviving groups in the denvse forests of Africa. Investigations of the human genome have revealed that modern humans within Africa possess much higher genetic diversity than do humans outside of Africa. Evidence from studies of mitochondrial DNA suggests that humans passed through what is known as a genetic bottleneck: a profound decrease in genetic diversity and a fall in the total human population to a few thousand breeding pairs. This is known as the Toba catastrophe theory.

In recent years, more evidence and more precise dating of the eruption timeline paints a different, more interesting picture. Some researchers posit that human beings didn’t just survive, but even thrived after the eruption. We have found ancient tools on African coastlines both above and below the layer of ash deposited by Toba. Interestingly, a greater number and diversity of tools seem to be found after the explosion. 

The climate data is complicated. Studies of ice cores reveal that the earth cooled drastically right after the eruption and there followed several years of lower precipitation. But other data suggest that certain species of plants recovered quickly after the event, and fossil evidence indicates that orangutang populations close to the area didn’t drop much either.

Scientists now believe that Toba didn’t release a huge amount of sulfuric acid aerosols as compared with other volcanoes, which contribute significantly to the cooling effect. The chemical composition of the magma might have been such that proceeding winter was substantially less intense, and it is theorized that a lot of water vapor might have been released which actually would have counteracted the cooling effect.

The mystery is far from solved. A recent 2021 study looked at the effect of the eruption on the ozone layer, and concluded that it would have made possible for a lot of dangerous UV light to reach the surface of the earth, killing off a lot of humans in the process. Then there is the glaring observation that Neanderthals went extinct only 30000 years ago, long after Toba. 

So, there are a lot of unknowns. The only thing we know for certain is that earth will see another Toba at some point in the future, and the fallout could be much, much worse.

The Fentanyl fire

Fentanyl was responsible for the most deaths by overdose in British Columbia from 2019-2022. It’s not just our homeless population. Young professionals, our youth, and new parents have all been affected; in short, all those who choose to partake can fall victim.

This is terrifying but hardly surprising when you consider that a dose of only 2milligrams can kill you. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid: a man-made drug with effects similar to that of morphine and heroin. Fentanyl is 50 to a 100 times more potent than morphine and relatively speaking, frighteningly simple to synthesize. It makes sense then that it is used medically as both a pain reliever and sedative. In fact, it is on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines.

It seems almost trite to remark here that fentanyl, like all drugs, has the potential for abuse. 

Figure 2 shows the percentage of deaths attributed to a number of drugs between 2019-2022. Fentanyl clearly takes the cake here, and it’s not even close. Figure 1 below graphs the total deaths by illicit drugs per year, from 1996 to 2022. A truly disturbing, upward trend.

 

Figure 1: Deaths caused by illicit drugs from 1996 to 2022

Figure 2: Percentage of 2648 deaths in which fentayl and other drugs were found postmortem (Source: Government of Canada)

But why? Why are so many people dying? It’s not like people are purchasing fentanyl in droves. Surely they know how dangerous this is? 

Fentanyl enters Canada in one of three ways: illegal import, illegal manufacture and theft of medical products.

The truth is, there are individuals who recreationally consume fentanyl. They have their methods; such as through transdermal fentanyl patches, lollipops or nasal sprays. These are all relatively safer options, all things considered, as they are all illegally sourced medical products going under brand names such as Actiq®, Duragesic®, and Sublimaze®.

Actiq, a popular orally bio available method of consumption.

These delivery methods first gained popularity in the 90’s, and soon after that, criminal organizations began making fentanyl analogues to avoid identification as an illegal substance. Even more potent than regular old fentanyl, analogues such as carfentanil and 3-methylfentanyl fueled the fire.

Most people are exposed unwittingly. The first illicit pills and laced drugs containing fentanyl and its analogues appeared in the market around 2013, and drug related deaths began to skyrocket at the same time (Figure 1) and a majority of these deaths are attributable to fentanyl (Figure 2).

But what can we do? While fentanyl test strips are certainly progress, there are limitations; false negatives, false positives, and the simple reality that most people probably won’t be bothered. We must first and foremost draw light to how pervasive and serious this problem really is. This should also be dealt with at the root. We must push for working with other countries including China, the US and Mexico to implement stricter drug measures and export regulations.

Drugs aren’t evil. They are neither good or bad, how could they be? But some drugs are worse than others. Much, much worse. We are left with a fire that we must put out while we still can. The good news is we have ways to deal with this. We have science and people who care.

 

 

The Gore-Tex Enigma

Gore-Tex is a highly versatile material that has garnered a lot of publicity in recent years.

It is a magical material in many respects. Water simply glides off it, leaving it bone dry. Being also very breathable and light, it is no surprise that it is the ideal material for water resistant clothing.

First invented in 1968 by Wilbert and Robert Gore, it is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon. Not the hard stuff though. It’s basically Teflon that has been stretched… a lot.

With the likes of Adidas and Nike incorporating it into their outdoor wear products, its worldwide use and popularity has called into question the manufacturing process and its environmental impacts.

Teflon is a very durable material that does not degrade easy and lasts for a long, long time. This is a good thing right? Well, yes… But what happens when that fifteen year old jacket you own is discarded or lost, and finds itself buried in the dirt outside an abandoned parking lot?

It persists. And doesn’t degrade. For centuries.

 

PFC’s or perfluorinated compounds are those that contain only carbon and fluorine atoms. Teflon is made from these compounds.

Chemical structure of Teflon: repeating units of carbon and fluorine atoms

The problem with PFC’s is that they tend to accumulate within our bodies and the environment. They are difficult to break down as they are quite unreactive.

A class action lawsuit at a DuPont Teflon plant found a very strong association between working with PFC’s and two types of cancer. Since then, many other studies have found a correlation between exposure to certain PFC’s and negative health outcomes.

To be clear, it isn’t the wearing of Gore-Tex products that is concerning. Also, not all PFC’s are harmful. However, the manufacturing process dispels many harmful PFC’s into the environment.

Gore-Tex jackets are also near impossible to recycle. They are made in complex ways, and the design process involves multiple layers, glues, and components.

Gore-Tex must not be completely written off though. Gore and company have assured investors and the public that they are stopping the use of many harmful PFC’s in their manufacturing process. However, the effects of this are yet to be seen.

There are also other, more intriguing applications of this remarkable material.

What is not talked about nearly enough is the role of Gore-Tex in medicine. It has shown to be ideal for use inside our bodies.

Being so unreactive, it allows the body’s cells and tissues to grow through it without any side effects. This makes it a viable material for many medical applications.

Like most technologies, Gore-Tex is complicated in many ways. Its strengths in one regard prove to be its downfall in another. It seems the jury is still out on this one

– Salik Rushdy

The Gore-Tex enigma

Gore-Tex is a highly versatile material that has garnered a lot of publicity in recent years.

Gore-Tex Logo. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:GoreTex&action=edit&redlink=1

First invented in 1968 by Wilbert and Robert Gore, it is made of polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon. Not the hard stuff though. It’s basically Teflon that has been stretched… a lot.

It is a magical material in many respects. Water simply glides off it, leaving it bone dry. Being also very breathable and light, it is no surprise that it is the ideal material for water resistant clothing. 

With the likes of Adidas and Nike incorporating it into their outdoor wear products, its widespread use and popularity has called into question the manufacturing process and its environmental impacts.

Teflon is a very durable material that does not degrade and lasts for a long, long time. This is a good thing right? Well, yes… But what happens when that fifteen year old jacket you own is discarded or lost, and finds itself buried in the dirt outside an abandoned parking lot? 

It persists. And doesn’t degrade. For centuries. 

 

PFC’s or perfluorinated compounds are those that contain only carbon and fluorine atoms. Teflon is derived primarily from such compounds.

Chemical structure of Teflon: repeating units of carbon and fluorine atoms. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Alhadis

The problem with PFC’s is that they tend to accumulate within our bodies and the environment. They are difficult to break down as they are quite unreactive.

A class action lawsuit at a DuPont Teflon plant found a very strong association between working with PFC’s and two types of cancer. Since then, numerous other studies have found a strong correlation between exposure to certain PFC’s and negative health outcomes.

To be clear, it isn’t the wearing of Gore-Tex products that is concerning. Also, not all PFC’s are harmful. However, the manufacturing process dispels many harmful PFC’s into the environment. 

Gore-Tex jackets are also near impossible to recycle. They are made in complex ways, and the design process involves multiple layers, glues, and components. 

Gore-Tex must not be completely written off though. Gore and company have assured investors and the public that they are phasing out the use of many harmful PFC’s in their manufacturing process. However, the effects of this are yet to be seen. 

There are also other, more intriguing applications of this remarkable material.

What is not talked about nearly enough is the role of Gore-Tex in medicine. It has shown to be ideal for usage within our bodies.

Being both porous and unreactive, it enables the body’s cells and tissues to grow through it without any side effects. This makes it a viable material to be used in sutures, grafts and other applications. 

Like most technologies, Gore-Tex is exceedingly complicated in many ways. Its strengths in one regard, prove to be its downfall in another. It seems the jury is still out on this one

– Salik Rushdy