Should you buy a Hydrogen or electric car for the environment?

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Jay Wong | Leave a comment

If you are looking to buy a new car and want to protect the environment, you have two exciting new choices to power your car: Hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric. they are both considered as “green” and can save you money in the long run. So which one should you buy?

Fuel cell car. Source: Wikipedia

What is hydrogen fuel cell car?

There are several types of fuel cell cars but they all work in similarly. It has a cathode, anode and electrolyte that allow electrons to pass through. It works like your AAA batteries except it uses hydrogen as fuel. It has no emission and the only byproduct is water that you can drink! (If you are really thirsty)

Electric car. Source: Wikipedia

What is battery electric car?

Battery electric cars usually use battery Lithium ion battery to store the electricity. The first electric car was invented 130 years ago but it wasn’t until recently that we have technology to mass produce these vehicles. Like hydrogen fuel cell cars, it has no emission so they don’t produce any pollution at the tailpipe.

Hydrogen fuel cell vs Battery efficiency comparison. Source: Wikipedia

Green comparison

According to a study by Stephen and James Eaves of Arizona State University, battery electric cars are much more efficient than Hydrogen fuel cell cars. To supply 60kWh to a hydrogen fuel cell car, 202 kWh has to be produced from power plants, while only 79 kWh is needed for battery electric cars. The main reason is that the Li-ion battery has a 94% efficiency, while hydrogen fuel cell has only 54%. The findings is similar from another study by Tesla motor (see picture above).

On the other hand, producing Hydrogen is very energy intensive. The most common method is called steam-methane reformation, it involves mixing natural gas with high temperature steam to produce Hydrogen, Carbon Monoxide (toxic) and Carbon Dioxide (greenhouse gas), while the electricity for electric cars can come entirely from renewable sources. For example, according to Tesla Motors, all of their super chargers will be supplied by solar power.

All in all, Hydrogen is only a means to store energy instead of a energy source. Considering the low efficiency and the use a nonrenewable natural gas, electric battery cars seems to be a better choice for your next car.

Yiu Leung Wong

Driverless Car, the Future of Transportation?

Posted on February 9, 2015 by daniel yung-tse hsiao | 5 comments

When talking about driverless cars, most people immediately think about Google’s driverless cars. However, Google isn’t the only company that is currently developing driverless cars; many other companies, like Volvo, Audi, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and possibly Apple have been developing their own autonomous cars. Base on the actions of those big companies, driverless cars seems to be the next milestone of transportation.

Google’s driverless car: Credit to: Humans Resources Establishment on Flickr Common

Driverless autonomous cars are capable of safely transporting passengers to designated locations with very minimal driver control. Google’s driverless car, for example, is equipped with video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder to detect the surroundings of the vehicle, according to Google. A more detailed description of Google’s driverless car can be found in the following video:

Safety is always the top concern about driverless cars. How reliable is the autonomous system? For the past few years, Google’s driverless cars have logged over 700,000 accident-free miles. However, there was one accident involving Google’s driverless car in 2011. This article stats that the accident happened when the car was manually driven. As for the concern for safety, Google seems to do a great job at preventing accidents caused by its driverless cars.

Sensors on Driverless Car. Credit to: Pallavi Srinivasareddy on Flickr Commons

Traffic congestion is another big concern, especially when driver licence is not required for driverless cars in UK. The number of cars on the road will significantly increase. To solve the problem of traffic congestion, autonomous cars can effectively utilize the road to reduce traffic congestion. The autonomous car can communicate with each other, or even to the traffic lights, to result in a smoother traffic flow. However, potential hacking can occur, and researchers are currently working towards a more secure autonomous system.

Comfort should be another concern of the general public regarding driverless cars. While traveling in driverless cars can provide extra rest time, the passengers will feel uncomfortable if the transportation involves frequent sudden stops. Researchers have simulated different traffic scenarios to evaluate the smoothness of the rides. The researchers found that in order to provide comfort in the ride, a cost of traffic congestion cannot be avoided.

Driverless cars may provide a more convenient and a safer way of transportation. However, there are still many obstacles for driverless cars to overcome. After all, we live in a stochastic world where there are accidents even a perfect computer system can’t avoid.

-Daniel Hsiao

5 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged autonomous cars, cars, driverless cars, google, transportation

Juiced? Nah Bro, More Like Oiled.

Posted on February 8, 2015 by kevin nand | 3 comments

What comes to mind when you think of a drug that most body builders use? Most likely the answer is steroids, but in today’s body building competitions a new substance has surfaced known as Synthol (75% oil). This compound was initially introduced for filling in wrinkles and breast augmentation, but is now being used to enhance the cosmetic appearance of muscles all over the body (Journal of Medical Case Reports).

Synthol is injected into the muscle an individual wishes to cosmetically enlarge and over the course of many treatments the muscle appears to have grown in mass.However there is no increase in muscle performance or overall strength according to the Journal of Medical Case Reports. Since oil is being injected into the area that surrounds the muscle it appears bigger. The muscle itself does not grow and become stronger, therefore in a hypothetical situation a body builder may lift as much weight as a person half the size, who does not use Synthol. Essentially, this substance is only beneficial to those who compete in visual body competitions. The following video was uploaded by Mo lbr and depicts synthol leaking out of a man’s shoulder during a competition.

In many of the cases where bodybuilders inject oil into their muscles there have been many negative side effects. The workouts become more painful as the amount of oil injected into the body increases and in some patients the muscle has to be amputated in parts to cause the severe pain to subside, such as the example in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. In other words, by injecting oils into specific muscles in order to enhance their appearance some bodybuilders end up losing their muscle a large portion of their muscle mass as a negative side effect. If too much oil is injected and/or injected incorrectly leads to deformed appearance in muscle (Academy of Dermatology). The only positive side effect is enhanced muscle appearance in a competition where you are judged on the size of your muscles and by using Synthol you are cheating (in my opinion, others may feel differently). In summary, some of the negative consequences include painful workouts, muscle deformation, and surgery to remove a large portion of the muscle. Yet, some bodybuilders go so far and inject over 1500 mL of oil into their body over a three month span according to the Academy of Dermatology.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/30169963@N06/7889797140/in/photolist-d2cgPb-4uirB7-9qDm7T-o5dmFR

Image from Flirckr uploaded by snowlepard

Personally, I think the natural muscle definition looks better. Hard work and dedication may take longer to show the effects but there are virtually no negative side effects to building muscle normally. The all natural method allows for non-painful workouts and is much cheaper than purchasing oil and syringes constantly over time. To end with a well-known quote, “no pain, no gain”.

Kevin Nand

3 Comments

Posted in Public Engagement

Tagged bodybuilding, oil, synthol, weight lifting

Tiny Toxins

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Anne Persson | 1 comment

Microbeads measure less than 5mm Image Source: orangesparrow on Flickr

For many of us, face washing is part of our daily routine, along with washing our hands and brushing our teeth. What if I told you that some of the products you use for these everyday tasks may be harming marine species? Would you be willing to change the products you use?

Many face washes that advertise their “scrubbing” or “exfoliating” properties use microbeads, which typically are small fragments of plastic belonging to a group called microplastics. Microplastics vary in size, but are generally smaller than 5mm in diameter. They are most commonly composed of polyethylene (PE), which is the most prevalent material used in commercial and industrial plastic products. PE can take hundreds of years to degrade, and therefore poses a significant environmental threat when present in landfills and marine settings.

Products containing microbeads Image Source: Google Images

Microbeads are also found in some soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and body washes. After using these products, the microbead particles that get washed down your household drain are too small to be filtered by water treatment plants, allowing them to enter rivers, lakes and oceans.

In 2013, a study conducted by the organization 5Gyres found that some areas of Lake Erie, which had the highest microbead count of the sampled Great Lakes, contained over 450,000 beads per square kilometer. While you may think that this number is not very substantial when considering the size of the bead, each one can absorb and accumulate other toxic materials present in water systems, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Both DDT and PCBs are toxic to marine species and humans, causing adverse effects on bodily systems, and in some cases can be cancerous. So, these small beads can have large impacts on marine wildlife and humans who eat contaminated seafood.

Here is a video by 5Gyres about their study:

Removing microplastics from lakes and oceans is not practical due to their vast distribution and small size, so in order to reduce pollution, we must eliminate the source.

Illinois was the first (and so far, only) state to ban the sale and distribution of products containing microbeads, so companies have until 2019 to eliminate them from supply. This ban has encouraged the introduction of similar bills such as the Microbead-Free Waters Act in New York, which is paramount as this state is a major contributor to the contamination of Lake Erie. The European Union is also considering a ban. At the industry level, a few companies such as L’Oreal and Colgate have made the commitment to eliminate the use of microbeads in the coming years. Some alternatives include bamboo, rice, walnut shells and apricot seeds.

Although we are starting to put an end to microplastic pollution, more progress needs to be made, starting with commitment at the individual level. So next time you are out buying personal hygiene products, be sure to check the ingredients!

– Anne Persson

1 Comment

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Public Engagement

Tagged Great Lakes, marine wildlife, microbeads, microplastics, pollution

Pesticides in Your Produce

Posted on February 7, 2015 by selamawit joseph | 1 comment

Before you buy your next apple, consider how that apple was grown. Pesticides are agents such as herbicides and insecticides that are used in food production for the purpose of killing things such as weeds and insects. They are used commonly on produce such as fruits and vegetables to allow for better crop production.

The popularity of organic food is on the rise. Image source: Flickr Commons Posted by: risa bear

A recent survey indicated that 55% of Canadians buy organic foods. Although organic foods tend to be more expensive, people see the advantages of buying organic and consider it worth spending the money on.

It is generally known that organic produce contains less pesticides than non-organic, and studies support this. However, many may be surprised to find organic foods are not completely pesticide free. Researchers have in fact found organic produce to contain 30% less pesticide contamination risk than non-organic. Although organic food does contain pesticides, the levels are much lower, and that is what makes buying organic worthwhile.

Video Source: CBC

Health risks arise because pesticides contain organophosphates, which act in the brains of insects and humans to inactivate certain enzymes. Greater exposure to these toxic compounds can be dangerous and can under more extreme circumstances lead to poisoning. We should as a result avoid pesticides due to their potential harm.

Certain foods are better off eaten organic to minimize pesticide consumption. Image source: Flickr Commons Posted by: aloalo

It is recommended that fruits and vegetables that tend to have a higher amount of pesticide remains should be bought organic. This is found to include peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes. It may not be worthwhile to buy organic for produce that generally have lower pesticide levels if you’re on a budget. Another option is to buy organic for produce you consume more often.

Although many people already buy organic, there is still a large market for non-organic produce. With health risks being associated with non-organic foods, consumers should aim to buy organic when possible.

– Selamawit Joseph

1 Comment

Posted in Public Engagement, Science in the News

Tagged food, health, non-organic, organic, pesticides

Influenza Vaccine Really Worth It?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Gagandeep Gill | Leave a comment

Local media, schools, and healthcare professionals can always be seen urging people to stay up to date with their vaccinations. More specifically, every Fall, a new influenza vaccine, more commonly known as the flu shot, is made, which promises to benefit those who decide to get vaccinated. So, every year around November and December, people have the option of receiving this vaccine. However, for people like myself, getting vaccinated is not an option, but rather a requirement for my work setting.

When it comes to the flu shot, the questions I see myself asking are: Will this vaccination actually protect me? Will I get sick from it, or react negatively to it? Often times, the second question is the one I worry the most about because flu season usually starts around the time I begin thinking about final examinations.

H3N2 virus Image Courtesy of: Life In Quebec

Well, recently there has been a series of articles being published about the 2014-2015 influenza vaccine and how it hasn’t been able to protect against the influenza virus. The vaccine for this year’s cycle was manufactured with a strain of H3N2 virus. However, the strain that has been causing the many influenza cases around the country is actually a mutated version of this virus, which the vaccine doesn’t offer protection against. According to laboratory tests, there are a large number of vaccinated individuals who have contracted the illness. So, essentially, this vaccination provides both vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated individuals with no protection. To add to this, oddly enough, it has been found by Dr. Dickinson from the University of Calgary that the vaccine actually increases your risk for catching the flu. This is summarized in a video in the above Global News article.

I have always been skeptical of flu shots, but these findings definitely puts the influenza vaccine in a grey zone for me. And, I actually believe it should not be a requirement at all for any work setting, let alone mine. In an article published in Life in Quebec, one of the researchers, Dr. Skowronski, discusses her results from her tests. Though her findings are different from what Dr Dickinson found, and what the global news video showed, the consensus is that this vaccine is not working. Because of this, in her interview Dr. Skowronski believes that the influenza immunization program should rethink their message. And, instead of telling everyone to get their vaccination every year, they should only release vaccines every couple of years. This is because she claims that whenever the dominant strain is the H3N2 strain, vaccinations are useless against protecting individuals from contracting the flu. So, there is no real point in getting vaccinated.

Personally I am in favor of Dr. Skowronski’s idea of rethinking the urgency of being vaccinated every year because, every year I worry as to whether or not I will get sick, if it’s even worth getting vaccinated, or whether there are any future unknown implications of getting the flu shot.

Gagandeep Gill

Image Citation:

Staff Writer. Completely Ineffective Flu Vaccine. Accessed February 2 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.lifeinquebec.com/completely-ineffective-flu-vaccine-10333/

Eating your mucous: a defence mechanism?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by gurtaj mahil | 2 comments

Mucous-ingestion by this man, although disgusting,may actually be aiding his immune system. Image by imgarcade. Source: Google Image

As much as everyone would like to hide it, you have all picked your nose at one point or another in your life. And each time, you’ve probably been reminded of how disgusting and unhygienic the act is. Some people even take this behaviour to the next level, proceeding to ingest the hidden treasures. Could ingesting the contents of your nose actually be the opposite of what your mother has told you? Even, healthy?

Professor Napper at the University of Saskatchewan hypothesizes that eating the pathogen-containing mucous from the nose can actually produce an effect similar to that of a vaccine. The mucous and the hairs in the nose are a part of the innate immune response, which is essentially the first line of defence against invading pathogens. When you ingest the mucous, you’re ingesting all of these pathogens, some of which are potentially very dangerous if they enter into your bloodstream. Once ingested, these pathogens skip the bloodstream and make their way to the gastrointestinal tract where they teach our immune system to defend, such as a vaccine would. Professor Napper’s work is still in the beginning stages and no formal study has been conducted.

S.aureus, common pathogen in nose: source Google commons

S.aureus is a common pathogen in the nose that may be ingested and induce an immune response. Raeky. Source: Wikipedia

On the other hand, Dr Bischinger’s work, which is summarized in this article , describes the mechanism with which the immune system is boosted. He believed that the pathogens that you introduce from the nose to the body, similar to those of vaccines, are already weakened. He suggested that there are bacteria-killing properties in the mucous of the nose that kill and weaken most of the bacteria, allowing it to be easily contained by our immune system. This mechanism produces antibodies that our body desperately needs when the full-strength pathogens enter the body.

Moreover, parallels could be drawn from this to that of mothers who kiss their babies in the hopes of boosting their child’s immune system. In the same way, pathogens that the baby is exposed to are weakened by the mother and then passed on to the baby, producing long-lasting immunity.

Mother kissing the baby: source Google commons

Mother kissing the baby in the hopes that she can provide the baby with weakened pathogens that can be more easily handled by the baby’s weak immune system. Image by Vera Kratochvil. Source Google Image

In conclusion, although pending actual scientific studies, I think that this just might be the natural immunity boost that we all need. However, I don’t think we are ready as a society to start picking away at our noses whenever we please!

-Gurtaj Mahil

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged disease, health, immunity, immunology, mucous, pathogens, S.aureus

Drinking soft drinks speeds the aging process?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Elice Xie | 2 comments

On a hot summer day, how do you quench your thirst? By drinking water? Or maybe an ice-cold glass of your favourite soft drink? If you choose the latter, you know that soft drinks contain high levels of sugar and it’s not good for your waistline, even though it may give you a boost of energy. Not only is it bad for your waistline, it may cause you to age faster.

Share A Coke
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Recently scientists at the University of California, San Francisco discovered that telomeres are responsible for this. Telomeres are repeated DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes. They protect DNA from being damaged. As they become shorter with each cell division, the cell may stop dividing and die. In fact, there’s a strong connection between short telomeres and cellular aging.

White dots are telomeres
Source: Wikimedia Commons

How did the researchers find that sugar-sweetened beverages are linked with shorter telomeres? They questioned participants about their diet and lifestyle and then measured the length of the telomeres. They also calculated the amount of sugar from the beverages each participant consumed. After factoring all the component of the study together, Cindy Leung, the lead researcher, concluded that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages inflicted 1.9 extra years on the age of your cells.

This new research adds to the growing body of knowledge of negative effects of sugar-sweetened beverages on our health. Sugar-sweetened beverages such as energy drinks, fruit-flavoured drinks, soda, and sports drinks are one of the major sources of added sugar in our diets. Consuming too much sugar is bad for our health. It’s associated with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and stroke. This information is commonly known by the general public. What the general public may not know about the other effects of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is that it speeds up the aging process of cells.

Here’s a video on the effects of soft drinks on our health uploaded by SAMIMY:

In short, choosing to drink that sugar-sweetened beverage is really not a good idea as it increases risk of diabetes and heart disease and now, it will speed up the aging of your cells. So think twice before picking up that bottle or can of soda and opt for water or tea instead.

– Elice Xie

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Public Engagement

Tagged health, soft drinks, sugar-sweetened beverages, telomeres

Sacrificing Marketability For Clear Communication

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Shikha Walia | 2 comments

A report by CTV highlighted that there may be an association between caffeine and an improvement in Parkinson’s severity ratings (based on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale) for Parkinson’s patients. Although I originally found this story two years ago, I still remember it today. The funny thing is that this is not because of its content, but because of the way it was presented and communicated.

When they first mentioned in the report that this study was performed on only 61 patients who had Parkinson’s, I thought, “That’s an awfully small sample size, how reliable can these data even be?” I remember being angry because I had seen one too many reports in the news that talked about miracle cures that household items can provide to devastating diseases without mentioning the limitations of the studies that were used to make these claims.

I thought this report was no exception. However, as I read further along the report, I was pleasantly surprised. In the second half of the report, it blatantly stated that authors of the study noted that:

“The number of patients they studied was small, and the length of their study was short. They say it’s also possible that the effects of caffeine may lessen over time.”

It wasn’t required for the report to mention this, but I appreciated that they did. When health studies like this one are presented in the media as being totally conclusive, it may lead people to replace professional medical care with the remedies presented in the news reports which can be detrimental to their health.

I sincerely enjoyed this report because it guided the reader by laying out for them what the implications of this study were and what they weren’t, which I find is rare for news reports. It sacrificed marketability for truth and this was further exemplified by the title of the report which was:

“Caffeine could help some Parkinson’s symptoms.”

Although the title didn’t make any extraordinary claims and was not as catchy as some I have heard in the past, I appreciated its honesty and how it didn’t extrapolate from the results of the study.

Further along, the report mentioned how more investigation was required until the suggestion to add caffeine into the treatment for Parkinson’s could be made. Since this report, a study on rats (2014) has shown promising results that there may be a correlation between caffeine consumption and a decrease in the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

The only negative thing I found in this report was the picture they included which is attached below.

Source: CTVNews.ca Credit to: Nathan Denette

I frankly found that it added nothing to the article and was rather distracting. Furthermore, it diverted attention away from the implications of the study.

To further illustrate why clear communication of science is important, below is a video that emphasizes why knowing what type of study is performed can affect the way one should interpret the results.

Credit: CurrentMedicine.TV from Youtube

– Shikha Walia

2 Comments

Posted in Science Communication, Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged caffeine, communication, limitations, objective, Parkinson's

Is Data Privacy an Illusion?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Siana Lai | 2 comments

Credit card data is not as private as it seems. In fact, you can be identified by just four transactions, three if prices are included finds a new study.

credit cards source: Sean MacEntee through Flickr

Even ‘anonymised’ credit card metadata can be used to identify you
Source: Sean MacEntee through Flickr

Researchers at MIT studied the ‘anonymised’ metadata where names and other personal information like account numbers were scrubbed. The data was provided by an unnamed bank in an undisclosed country and the researchers looked at the credit card transactions of 1.1 million people over 3 months.

Instagram can be used to identify people based on their purchases.
Source: Flickr

Each transaction was linked to a store and timestamped with the date of purchase. With just these two pieces of information about 90% of people could be re-identified using 4 transactions. After identifying the unique purchasing pattern of a person their real identity can be easily found through publicly available information such as social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Furthermore, if data like price of the purchase was included that increased the chance of identifying a unique purchasing pattern by 20%. They also found that women were more easily re-identifiable than men, although it is not known why.

These findings are the latest in a string of studies telling us that we expose ourselves more than we think we do. For example, Uber published their findings where they calculated the likelihood that their weekend riders were going to visit prostitutes based on local crime reports. Additionally, a group of researchers from Cambridge University found that your pattern of “likes” on Facebook is better at assessing your personality than your closest friends.

There is a lucrative secondary market for these large datasets. They provide a wealth of personal data for large companies that can then use it to create sophisticated marketing campaigns that target a specific demographic. In fact, data mining was used extensively by Obama to win the 2012 election.

It’s not to say that companies are offering up their credit card metadata for sale. In fact, there are rules set by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards group to protect credit card data. However, it seems as though approval by PCI does not necessarily mean your credit card information is safe. Neiman Marcus reported that they had been approved by PCI when customer credit card information may have been compromised during an eight month period. Target was certified just two months before the epic hack of their credit card data.

iPhone 6 or 6+ users can use Apple Pay to protect their credit card data through tokenization
Source: Peter through Flickr

Now, by this time you’re thinking… do I have to stop using credit cards to protect my identity? My answer for you is no; the solution to this problem is using tokenization. This is where sensitive credit card data information is replaced by unique identification symbols that retain all the important information without compromising its security. The best part of this solution is that it’s available now in the form of Apple Pay for iPhone 6 users and Google Wallet for Android users.

check out this video highlighting the dangers of “big data” by THNKR:

– Siana Lai

2 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Science in the News

Tagged credit cards, data privacy, identification, metadata, shopping

Communicating Science (14w212)

Should you buy a Hydrogen or electric car for the environment?

Driverless Car, the Future of Transportation?

Juiced? Nah Bro, More Like Oiled.

Tiny Toxins

Pesticides in Your Produce

Influenza Vaccine Really Worth It?

Eating your mucous: a defence mechanism?

Drinking soft drinks speeds the aging process?

Sacrificing Marketability For Clear Communication

“Caffeine could help some Parkinson’s symptoms.”

Is Data Privacy an Illusion?

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“Caffeine could help some Parkinson’s symptoms.”

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