Communicating Science (12w111)

Finally, no more shark-fin soups!

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Jeremy Cheng | 2 comments

Recently, the Vancouver city council has suggested a new rule that will ban the sale or trade of any shark fin products. In Toronto and many cities around the world, shark-fin products are already banned. Although this rule causes many Chinese communities to protest, it receives supports from many animal-protecting groups and scientists.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/shark-fins-are-loaded-with-a-neurotoxin-study-finds/

Myths and Facts about sharks and their fins

There is a ridiculous myth suggesting that sharks do not develop cancers; and therefore, shark-fins are great for fighting cancers. This claim is obviously untrue because sharks also develop cancers like human do, and no researches have been done that suggest eating shark-fins will help to fight cancers. In fact, researchers have discovered that almost all types of shark-fins contain high amount of mercury and β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). BMAA is produced by many species of cyanobacteria in the water environment while mercury comes from water pollution. Cyanobacteria are blue-green algae that use photosynthesis to produce energy. Researchers have found that BMAA is linked to brain disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and is considered as a neurotoxin.

Moreover, the concentration of mercury and BMAA will accumulate as one animal eats another animal. Sharks are known to be at the top of the food chain; their eating habits are varied just like human. Therefore, almost all shark species contain high concentration of mercury and BMAA, and when we consume shark fins, these harmful substances will likely stay within our body.

http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/shark-fin-soup-facts.htm

Another strange belief that some people have is that sharks are dangerous so there is no problem that they are extinct. This is clearly false because every species in the food chain is important, especially animals that are at the top like sharks. If all sharks are extinct, the number of their prey will increase significantly. This affects the species at the middle and bottom of the food chain. The whole ecosystem will become disrupted. Furthermore, it is true that some sharks attack human, but statistically, the number of death caused by shark attack is very small. According to International Shark Attack File (ISAF), the fatality rate of shark attack is only 1.5% while the fatality rate of alligator attack is 4.3%.

One interesting fact about the shark-fin soup is that it is actually tasteless, but people who ‘enjoy’ shark-fin soup actually care more about the symbolism than the taste. Shark-fins represent power in Chinese culture. Shark-fin soup has been around since the Ming Dynasty, and it was only consumed by powerful and wealthy people because they believe shark-fins were beneficial for their health. It is sad to see the sharks being cruelly finned just because some people still have those false beliefs.

I am glad that our government steps up and finally ban the trade of shark fins. Who would feed their family with food that is full of mercury and BMAA??

This is a video that discuss the effect of killing sharks for their fins:

Posted by Jeremy

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged BMAA, brain, Food chain, human health, shark fins

An underground garden in New York City

Posted on November 11, 2012 by rsjamie | 1 comment

New York may not have the first hanging garden, but may have the first underground garden. In October, 2012, CNN reported that New York is planning to raise 60 million dollars for developing “the world’s first underground park” at the Manhattan’s Lower East area.

The LowLine Park

In the most densely populated area of Manhattan, New York City, most people works and lives at high-rise buildings; yet, there is a need for fresh air and relax space. To cope with the city’s needs, two engineers, Dan Barasch and James Ramsey of RAAD studio came up with the LowLine Park proposal earlier in February 2012 at the Kickstarter campaign. The project aim to transform vacant underground space, a historical Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, which opened in 1903 and closed in 1948, into an extraordinary subterranean public park.

According to Scientific American, the two engineers aim to use a remote skylight technology, an advanced fiber-optical system, to gather sunlight and funnel them down to underground, which would provide just enough UV light to support plants growth. As the light source comes directly from the ground above, the light would change just like the natural sunlight throughout the day. This technological advancement would overturn traditional dark and humid impression of an underground space.

This YouTube shows a video demonstration of the LowLine project.

A sample sized installation of this LowLine Park project has been built in the former Essex Market Building on Delancey Street for public viewing in September. As stated by Meghan O’ Rourke, an American writer of online magazine Slate, the space “feels like Alice in Wonderland looking around after her long fall into the depths of the earth. There, inside the cavernous warehouse and sustained by light cells out of “Star Trek,” is a mossy knoll, complete with a Japanese maple and a praying mantis (which Barasch and Ramsey have dubbed “Zoltan”)”.

This may be the world first underground park, however, this innovation was from the High Line Park project, which was built on an old elevated train platform in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan West side. It has brought in more than 4 million tourist attraction and 12 thousands employment opportunity since the opening of the park’s second section.

Building more accessible green space for public has been a fast-growing field in many capital cities; however, this project may not be approved by New York City councils as there are security risks associated with underground park like this. This may be a great place for homeless and illegal actions. Public support and community involvement is needed for this project to work.

Location of the LowLine park

Post submitted by Jamie Tsai.

1 Comment

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science in the News

Tagged Green, Manhattan, Park, Underground park, urban planning

Worrying about math literally hurts

Posted on November 11, 2012 by celineh | 2 comments

Math. Image Source: Cliff Mass Weather Blog

A lot of us grimace at the thought of doing math. Some people’s heart start to beat faster, while others start to feel nauseated from just worrying about the math homework that is still calling out their name. With this math anxiety problem happening not only in kids but adults as well, it leads us to wonder whether math is really that painful to do.

Math phobias are usually developed in schools. It typically arises from poor teaching or bad experiences in math. This leads to limited understanding on the subject which makes the person want to avoid it even more. Unfortunately, further avoidance causes less exposure to math practice, enhancing the anxiety.

Region of Posterior Insula activated in brain from math anxiety. Image Source: Science Daily.

Recent research gives a possible explanation on why people with math anxiety have such a hard time overcoming this fear and jumping straight into math problems. Researchers found that the anticipation of doing math and threats of bodily harm activates the same region of the brain. Using fMRI scans, they tested adults who were shown to have math anxiety and examined their brain activity when given mathematical equations to verify. The scans show that the anticipation of doing math, not doing math itself, caused a response in brain similar to physical pain. It activates the posterior insula in the brain that registers direct threats to the body as well as the experience of pain. As a matter of fact, increase of math anxiety activates more of the posterior insula. This suggests that people with math anxiety experiences painful dread before they even start the problems which makes them want to avoid it even more. It indicates that the anxiety from the prospect of doing math may arise from negative psychological reactions and not just because the person have poor math ability.

There are several solutions on how to overcome math anxiety. Perhaps most people have already heard of these tips. One way to overcome this anxiety is to not dread over the mistakes that you make from doing math problems but be persistent. One of the most effective way of learning is to learn from your mistakes. Another way is to is do lots of practice, especially when you are having difficulties.

So the next time you feel anxious about tackling your math homework and procrastinate by going on facebook, tumbler, twitter or even just staring into space, think about how the longer you put it off, the more pain your brain actually feels. Doing math doesn’t hurt but thinking about it does!

Here is a video on the symptoms of math anxiety and how it prevents math learning:

Post Submitted by: Celine Hsin

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

Tagged math, Math anxiety, negative psychological reactions, posterior insula

Snakes on a plane! (The good kind).

Posted on November 7, 2012 by jromeyn | Leave a comment

Samuel L. Jackson in the movie “Snakes on a Plane”.

No need to call Samuel L. Jackson about this one! British jet engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, is developing robots with a snake-like appearance for use in the detection and repair of damage to aircraft engines.

A typical jet plane engine consists of a vast number of sensors to monitor engine conditions such as pressure, temperature, and vibrations. These sensors are monitored by ground-based machines that use intelligent algorithm technology. However, what if a bird were to hit a fan, or debris damage a compressor blade? For issues such as these, engine inspection is required.

Engine inspection is currently the job of a fibre-optic device called a borescope, which can be manually placed into a jet engine port by a borescope specialist. Unfortunately, there are far too few of these specialists available to operate borescopes within the 14,000 Rolls-Royce engines, flown by 500 airlines on 4000 aircraft worldwide.

“We don’t have enough specialists to go around so we need to automate this capability,” says Rolls-Royce senior vice-president Pat Emmott.

Another problem with the borescope is that once it detects an engine issue, the plane must be entirely taken out of commission in order to disassemble and repair the engine. This process is a setback that costs airlines millions of dollars.

Rolls-Royce aims to mitigate these challenges through the use of robotic snakes. This initiative is part of a €4 million European research project called “MIRoR”, which aims to be completed by July 2014. The hope is that these robots will potentially save significant time and money when airlines run into engine problems.

A typical robot snake.

Wondering how they work? The snake robots enter an engine and are remotely controlled to relay images to an expert. Keep in mind that a running aircraft engine can reach up to 3,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures. “These cameras won’t have to operate at engine temperatures — just survive them,” says Emmott. “So we’re going to need some interesting ways to keep them cool.” In addition to a camera, the snakes will also exhibit a UV laser to detect blade fractures, and an apparatus to sand down damaged compressor blades.

The snake will have to be of a substantial length in order to be effective for use in a jet engine. Rob Bukingham, director of OC Robotics in the UK, sees battling gravity as the biggest issue in this innovation, since the longer the snake, the more difficult it will be to control. According to Buckingham “the more joints you add, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the curviness.”

Interested to see these cool snakes in action? Take a look at this video to see a similarly designed robot snake designed by OC robots. This particular snake is able to cut metal and concrete!

Post submitted by Jackie Romeyn (group C).

Disaster Strikes: Hurricane Sandy

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Arman | 1 comment

Is this Armageddon-like picture from a movie or is it really a shout of New York City (Courtesy of ddddd)

Is this Armageddon-like picture from a movie or is it really a shout of New York City
(Courtesy of International Business Times)

So, is the picture above really from a movie? Shockingly, this is actually a picture of Hurricane Sandy on the eve of the day it barged its way through New York City (NYC) and the eastern seaboard. The picture taker, Jason Otts captioned the picture, “Nature is so powerful, yet so beautiful” on his Facebook page. The state expected its worst flooding in 70 years and it was possible that this could be the worst storm to hit the east cost in history according to The Telegraph. The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was over 120 killed, $60 billion in damage, and 4 million without power. How does a storm as devastating such as this come to be? Well the environment needs to be in a perfect mixture of temperature, moisture, and wind pattern.

Diagram of air flow before a hurricane
(Courtesy of Sci Jinks)

The most important ingredient in creating a hurricane is having an adequate temperature. Hurricanes require a hot enough temperature as warm air and warm waters make conditions right for a hurricane. Hurricanes start when warm, moist air from oceans rise rapidly and they they meet cooler air. This interaction is important as the cooler air causes the warmer air to condense and forms clouds as well as rain drops. This unexpected rain releases a special type of heat, called latent heat, which warms the cool air above, making it rise and make way for more humid air form the ocean below.

Pictured is the view of a hurricane from space. When enough winds converge the spiral shape we are accustomed to appears.
(Courtesy of Atlanta Blackstar)

The direction of winds are also important when considering the formation of hurricanes. Converging winds, winds that are moving different directions that run into each other, collide at the surface pushing warm downward and moist air up. This is against usual flow as hot air sinks and cold air rises, hence a disturbance is created. With this necessary rise in air, rising air begins to compound. This turbulence increases the wind speed all while strong winds blowing at high speeds and altitudes help remove hot air rising in the newly formed storm centre.

The damage left by Hurricane Sandy
(Courtesy of Global Post)

As previously stated the United States and its neighbouring countries were left severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Many people lost their lives while others are left to rebuild them. If you would like to donate do the relief fund please visit the Red Cross.

1 Comment

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science in the News

Tagged heat, hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, natural disaster, nature, New York City, NYC, science in the news, USA, weather, winds

Excess calories = obesity,really?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by lfan | 3 comments

For so many years, we were told that dieting keeps weight and over-eating gains weight. But, there must be several people around you that do not get fat no matter how much they eat.

Typical calorie-dense food

99.9 percents of old studies about obesity have been conducted on people who were already overweight, but an expanding number of researchers, recently, have started to look at the obesity problem from a different angle.

Will “naturally slim” people gain weight if doubling their daily calories intake? A BBC Horizon documentary titled Why are thin people not fat? operated an experiment on a group of thin people in 2009, and the results showed that there were indeed a portion of people just could not gain weight as easy as some others can.

During the experimental period of 4 weeks, these naturally thin people were asked to eat at least double their usual calories, targeting 5000 kcal per day per person (a recommended calories daily intake is 2700 and 2100 kcal for men and women respectively), and to avoid any physical exercise. In order to reach their calories target, participants basically only ate calorie-dense foods like cakes and chocolate which were well-known weight boosters. Doctors monitored their health, precisely determined percentages of body fat they had, and measured their weights as well as waist-lines.

Calories for 1 Lindor milky chocolate ball

LINDOR Truffles Milk Chocolate 19 oz. (450g) Bag

It was expected that such high intakes should gained weight dramatically, especially when all kinds of physical exercise were banned. After 4 weeks, actually, none of participants were over-weight. It was found that some of the participants gained more weight than others. The participant who gained the most weight increased 6.5kg which was a 9.5% weight gain. The lowest weight gain was only 5.5%, which was almost half of the highest weight gain – 9.5%. Surprisingly, one gained almost no fat but muscle and his appearance did not change at all. Moreover, after one month, all participants returned to their original weights without doing any extra physical exercise to try to lose weight.

It seems really true that some of us stay slim more easily than others, even they eat excess calories, and some of them do not even do any exercise. Why does this happen? The documentary explained four primary factors that were believed largely related to it. Firstly, sizes of babies are dependent on genes and mothers’ ages, weights and diets. Secondly, appetite and eating desire are determined during childhood, and naturally thin people tend to prevent over-eating instinctively in childhood. Thirdly, each person’s body has its own weight standard, and, in order to maintain the weight it aims, body would produce more heat and do some involuntary movements such as moving your legs to burn extra fat. Lastly, number of cells which store fat influences people’s feel of hunger, and only possibly increases but never decreases.

For more complete and detailed information, I recommend you to watch Why are thin people not fat?

3 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication

Tagged calories, Obesity

Energy Drinks Contain More Caffeine Than Advertised

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Mandy Choi | 2 comments

Some Brands of Energy Drinks

I’m pretty sure we all know what energy drinks are, and most of us probably drink it for that energy boost to stay awake at night to study for a midterm, final or to write a paper that was left till last minute to do. Everyone needs to be careful about how much caffeine they are consuming, but this is hard to do when the amount of caffeine aren’t even shown correctly on energy drinks. The reason why some companies don’t list caffeine levels is because there is no requirement to do so.

Researchers at Consumer Reports bought 27 top-selling energy drinks and shots and measured the amount of caffeine in each of them. They found that caffeine levels per serving ranged from about 6 mg to 242 mg per serving, some containing more than one serving. 5-hour Energy Extra Strength contained the highest amount, whereas 5-hour Energy decaf contained the lowest amount. They measured that Arizona Energy, Clif Shot Turbo Energy Gel, Nestle Jamba, Sambazon Organiz Amazon Energy and Venom Energy had about 20% more caffeine in it than advertised. Whereas Archer Farms Energy Drink Juice Infused was 70% below the amount of caffeine advertised. For most drinks though, numbers were within 20% of what was listed.

Caffeine In Energy Drinks

According to an article on Live Science, doses between 200 to 300 mg of caffeine aren’t harmful for adults, but exceeding 500 mg can lead to fast heartbeat, insomnia, and muscle tremors. Pregnant women should consume less than 200 mg daily, and children should not even drink energy drinks, and keep their caffeine consumption to about 100 mg daily. But the amount of caffeine a person can consume before it becomes harmful varies widely.

Even though it is quite scary to think of the outcome of drinking too many cans of energy drinks, it doesn’t mean you should stop drinking them completely. There are still benefits of drinking energy drinks, such as alleviating fatigue and increasing mental alertness which can improve a person’s concentration and focus. But just remember that energy drinks actually contain 20% more caffeine in it than shown on the can, so drink wisely!

Health Canada’s Warning About Energy Drinks

Post Submitted By Mandy Choi

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged caffeine, energy, energy drinks, human health, insomnia

Vampire Bats Inspiring New Treatments

Posted on November 5, 2012 by teepundora | Leave a comment

Close up shot of a Vampire Bat
Source

As Halloween happened just last week, I wanted to write about one last spooky creature, vampire bats! While some vampire bats can cause disturbance to humans by attacking their livestock, researchers have discovered that vampire bats may actually be able to provide something useful in return.

Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association published an article written by Liberatore et al.. The article discusses an enzyme found in the vampire bat’s saliva which can help stroke patients. According to research, when a vampire bat feeds, their saliva contains an enzyme called desmoteplase and other anticoagulants that stops blood from clotting. This allows the blood to flow continuously so the bat can feed easily and quickly.

How can this help us?

What happens during an Isochemic Stroke
Source

When a person experiences a stroke, it is because blood flow to a part of the brain is stopped. If the brain does not receive any blood, it cannot get any oxygen which will then lead to brain cell damage. The specific type of strokes that researchers are hoping to utilize desmoteplase for are known as ischemic strokes. Desmoteplase can be used to dissolve the blood clot at the blocked artery allowing blood flow to resume.

Currently, the approved FDA-approved drug for treating blood clots contains tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). However, tPA can cause injury to the brain by damaging or killing nerve cells or by restricting blood flow. After countless experiments by Liberatore and Reddrop, results show that desmoteplase does not promote these injuries.

Which developmental stage is desmoteplase in?

Desmoteplase is being tested as two trials, DIAS-3 and DIAS-4 in phase III. They are determining if desmoteplase is a safe treatment for patients with acute ischaemic strokes by issuing the drug within 3-9 hours after experiencing stroke symptoms. So far, 400 participants per trial are being tested with doses of 90 μg/kg. Final collection results are expected to be taken in December 2012 for DIAS-3 and December 2013 for DIAS-4. More information can be read upon in these two links:

Hopefully, the results from these two trials will advance the field of stroke treatment and verify desmoteplase as safe for usage in the near future. Lastly, this is a video that briefly talks about the process of modifying desmoteplase to the updated version of the drug.

Note: The last portion of the clip talks about having the results by 2011, however this has been changed as seen by the data from the two links above.

Post by: Tiffany Ho

Not everyone is a big fan of Daylight Saving Time

Posted on November 5, 2012 by nam2365 | 3 comments

Daylight Saving Time from: Grayson County News Gazette

Due to the annual Daylight Saving Time, twice a year the clocks move an hour forward or backward. Although this federal law was adopted expecting only positive outcomes such as saving energy, many studies have shown that there are negative effects as well. Through research, it has been stated that losing an hour of sleep and thus the change in circadian rhythms can have mixed effects on people’s health.

Daylight Saving Time increase road kills from: Creative Loafing Atlanta

During the transitions into and out of daylight saving times, sleeping patterns get disturbed, leading up to sleep deprivation. According to Charles Czeisler, sleep deprivation increases the rate of fatal car crashes. In other words, more car accidents take place as drivers adjust to the corresponding shift in sleep patterns. A study by Stanley Coren in 1996 showed that the spring shift to daylight saving time, and the concomitant loss of one hour of sleep, resulted in an average increase in car accidents of approximately 8 percent, whereas the fall shift resulted in a decrease in accidents of approximately the same magnitude immediately after the time shift.

Whether or not people prefer the system of daylight saving time depends on each individual:

Tips to overcome the effects of daylight saving time:

1) Rest: Go to bed and get up earlier. It is very important to sleep early to get your usual amount of sleep and to wake up early to have a leisurely morning.

2) Plan ahead: Plan your day before to make sure you are well rested and also give yourself an extra time to drive to and from school or work.

3) Exercise: Exercise releases serotonin and endorphin which help advance your biological clock and improve your mood. Exercise in the afternoon and not within three hours before bedtime since it can interfere with the ability to fall asleep.

4) Sunlight: Get sunlight as soon as you get up and avoid light before going to bed. Controlling light intake helps your body’s internal clock adjust to the earlier waking and sleeping times.

Hayoung Nam

3 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged accidents, car accidents, Daylight Saving Time, sleep, sleep deprivation, sleep pattern

Talking Elephant

Posted on November 4, 2012 by mokhan90 | 5 comments

Most people have heard a parrot imitate human language, but other than that, has anyone even imagined a talking elephant? Neither did the elephant trainer in Everland, an amusement park in Seoul, Korea when he first heard someone talking in an elephant cage, where no one was inside… Except Koshik, a 16-year-old elephant. This asian elephant was first heard “talking” in Korean words in 2006, but only recently has the research begun to find out why and how human words are produced from this unusual source. The researchers believe that Koshik was able to mimic the sound of Korean language by close interaction with the trainer throughout his juvenile days, when he was the only elephant in Everland. The team say that the juvenile ages for elephants are crucial for the their social behaviour and development, but since all he got to bond with was his trainer, he ended up with this fascinating trait.

Koshik, the talking elephant

Koshik’s vocabulary consists of five Korean words, “annyong,” “anja,” “nuo,” “choa” and “aniya”, meaning “hello,” “sit,” “lie down,” “good” and “no.” These words Koshik was able to produce were the most common words said by the elephant trainer, backing up the evidence that Koshik was able to make these sounds due to very close human interaction. He wasn’t the only elephant claimed to produce human speech, as there was an elephant that apparently could produce Russian words, but it was never scientifically investigated.

What is really interesting about Koshik is that, elephants, can not morphologically “say” those words that he is producing. Elephants have trunks, instead of lips, so they can not produce any pronunciation. They also have long larynx, only able to create a low-pitch noise. Koshik, however puts trunk in his mouth to produce this sound. Angela Stoeger, a head researcher says that it is very surprising to see that Koshik is able match both pitch and timbre of human voice, which are the two most important aspects. The accuracy of the pronunciation was confirmed by native Korean speakers writing down what they heard on the recorded playback.

Koshik’s new language skill, not yet used by any other elephants lead to a very important insight as Stoeger and her researchers dig deeper as how exactly this elephant is able to make this sound, why this elephant decided to do so, and his remarkable intelligence.

Mokhan Kim

5 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged Elephants, human speech, Korean, Koshik, mimic, pronunciation, talking elephant

Finally, no more shark-fin soups!

An underground garden in New York City

Worrying about math literally hurts

Snakes on a plane! (The good kind).

Disaster Strikes: Hurricane Sandy

Excess calories = obesity,really?

Energy Drinks Contain More Caffeine Than Advertised

Vampire Bats Inspiring New Treatments

Not everyone is a big fan of Daylight Saving Time

Talking Elephant

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