Communicating Science (15w211)

Is it possible to have sex in space?

Posted on January 25, 2016 by ganna12 | Leave a comment

https://www.harwin.com/markets/space/space-craft/

Whenever we watch the movies like ‘Martian’ or ‘Interstellar,’ we want to know having sex in space will be possible or not. This is one of the most famous questions from the astronauts. Before understanding the scientific knowledge of gravity, we might think that we can have sex in space. However the answer for this question is no it is impossible to have sex in space. The reason is that the micro-gravity environment in space causes many problems. In this blog, I want to introduce the four main problems.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/shuttlestation/station/microgex.html [Micro-gravity in Space]

The first problem is with the regulation of blood flow. Low gravity affects the blood flow throughout the body unlike the way as on the Earth. Gravity normally helps our blood flow to reach the lower parts of our body on the Earth. However in space, blood rises to your head and chest first. Therefore it will be much more difficult for males to achieve an erection. As we learned from CAPS 390, erection is related primarily to blood flow and regulated by the relaxation and contraction. However, the blood flow is so slow to reach the lower part of our body. It is impossible to contract.

The second problem is sweat. This will be disgusting example if we have sex in space. Sweat tends to make many layers around the astronauts and making them sticky and wet. The reason is that the low gravity causes the sweat droplet do not fall to the ground and stick to the body. There is no pushing force like gravity; the droplets are only influenced by the adhesion force.

The third problem is that male testosterone levels decrease in space. This will diminish the sex hormones in space. NASA still could not discover why the testosterone levels decrease. However, when the astronauts return to the Earth, the testosterone levels reach to the normal state.

The last problem is with our heart and muscle. In space, our heart does not need to pump blood faster to the rest of our body. The reason is that the gravity does not push any blood flow to the lower part of body harder. Therefore, our hearts shrink when we are in space. Also our muscles become weaker because we do not use muscles to overcome the gravity. This is a huge problem when you have sex. The reason is that your heart rate suddenly increases and you breathe harder. Therefore, your body will become tired and muscles will decrease.

In the conclusion, through the micro-gravity issue, it is impossible to have a sex in space.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Science Communication

Tagged micro-gravity, NASA, sex in space

My low memory computer is too slow to process this graphics intensive video

Posted on January 18, 2016 by ivan fong | Leave a comment

The 6th Gen Intel Core i7-6500U processor gives the Razer Blade Stealth 2.5GHz of processing power and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1GHz.

Above is a picture with a quote taken from Razer – introducing it’s latest laptop. After reading that, you’ll probably fall into one of the two categories: “What on earth does this mean,” or “Razer is obviously ripping people off.”

It intrigues me that most people still know so little about what they’re using at the palm of their hands on a daily basis. Yet it is understandable as to why this is, the jargons that are supposed to help customers make better choices have become the barriers themselves.

Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 by Microsoft

Does it matter if you laptop can split in half?

And some of the biggest companies (Apple, Microsoft, etc.) intentionally leave out the specifications of their products. Imagine buying a furnished house without knowing the capacity of the washing machine.

Fret not! Hopefully, this “guide” will help you up your game so you won’t need to waste hours of your life deciding on a new computer. Some fun stuff will be lying around so to not bore you.

CPU: Central Processing Unit, the brain of the computer, responsible for processing things in your computer, the speed is measured in Gigahertz (GHz). Below is a video of Steve Jobs holding a CPU.

You might also have heard of cores. I will leave that to one of my favourite tech YouTuber to explain, take it away MKBHD:

Fun fact: The evolution of CPU (sounds weird I know), was governed by the Moore’s Law until recently, this means that we will only see a significantly faster CPU every two years.

GPU: Graphic Processing Unit, the visual cortex of the computer, responsible for processing visual information. Things that are graphic intensive include videos, games and 3D modelling.

Fun watch: embedded is a video of the legendary Mythbusters explaining the difference between CPU and GPU, though it is old, it is still very relevant now.

HDD/SSD: Hard Disk Drive/Solid State Drive, governing the long term memories of the computer. Measured in Gigabytes (GB) or Terabyes (TB). Trust me on this when I say you don’t want to have a small capacity (<250GB), don’t say I didn’t warn you when you have to start deleting adorable cat pics just because you didn’t listen to me.

Fun read: Scientists have found another use for helium, which is to fill them in HDD to give HDD a higher capacity!

RAM: Random Access Memory, the short term memory of the computer. They will help store tidbits used for short time like booting up a computer or the amount of tabs you have on your browser (seriously, don’t blame the computer for being slow when you have 30 tabs opened all at the same time). <– Funny Joke

To sum up: Everything is better with higher numbers.

And that’s it for today! Maybe I’ll expand on each aspect in the future blog posts, but until then!

Ivan

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Posted in Science Communication, Science Communicators, Science in the News

Tagged computer, cpu, gpu, graphics, hdd, intel, memory, mythbusters, processor, ram, razer, ssd

Mathematics – The magic behind animated movies

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Ryan Tran | Leave a comment

Nowadays, most animated movies are made by using computer animation techniques instead of hand-drawn animation. When we watch these computer animation movies, we usually think the producers are artists with a creative mind and great drawing skills. However, not many of us have noticed that some of them are also great mathematicians. So the question is how maths is used in computer animation?

Creating an animated movie is like creating a new virtual world, where new planes need to be defined in a coordinate system. A plane is described by a set of three points or a point and 2 vectors. But imagine a world where everything is on a flat infinite plane, well, this must be a boring world. Therefore, hills, mountains, rivers, valleys are added. It sounds like an easy task, but in fact it isn’t easy at all. First, the objects are sketched by using wire skeletons which are composed by simple polygons. A mathematical methods called Non-uniform rational basis spline (NURBS) is then used to smoothen surfaces of the objects. In a TED-ed talk, Tony DeRose, a Senior Scientist and Research Group Lead at Pixar, gave a presentation about how Non-uniform rational basis spline (NURBS) was used in Pixar’s animated movies. In a paper called Subdivision Surfaces in Character Animation, which was published in 1998 by Tony DeRose, Michael Kass and Tien Truong, the application of NURBS in creating subdivision surfaces was described in detail.

Now it’s when coordinate systems get involved. As the objects are put together, coordinates are required to make sure the objects locate at where they’re supposed to be. Vectors are used to define the location of every point with respect to the origin of the chosen coordinate system. To describe the motion of an object in space, transformation matrices are used. Depending on the elements of the matrices, the transformation can be rotation, translation, enlargement, reflection or a combination of these.

Some examples of simple transformation matrices

The following video shows how maths is use to create more realistic animations

The above mathematical methods are only a few main methods that are used in computer animation. There are many other mathematical methods that are useful for computer animation, such as Fourier Transformation, Complex Analysis, and so on. Mathematics plays an important role in computer animation. It makes a significant contribution to the success of computer animated movies.

Ryan Tran.
Continue reading →

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Posted in Science Communication, Uncategorized

Tagged complex analysis, computer animation, computer science, Mathematics, NURBS, PIXAR

Self-Driving Cars: The future of transportation?

Posted on January 18, 2016 by daryl | 3 comments

Vehicles, trains, ferries, planes – just examples of the wide range of transportation methods available in the modern day. All of these methods require a human operator, however, we are soon to be introduced to a method seldom heard of: self-driving cars. In 2009, Google launched the Self-Driving Car Project and began development of a vehicle that drives itself from point A to point B without the need of a driver.

Image: Wikimedia (by Michael Shick); Google Self-Driving Car in Mountain View, CA, USA.

An operating software works alongside the sensor seen visibly on top of the vehicle. The sensor consists of lasers and cameras, and it is able to differentiate surrounding objects by a combination of size, speed and shape. With this information, the software is able to anticipate what happens next (for example, if a cyclist passes by). In the current prototype, the car has no pedals nor steering wheel – the only way humans can control the driving is a red button for emergencies. Google’s prototypes have been released in California and are expected to be released to the public by 2020.

Other examples of self-driving vehicles include Tesla models, which have been on the roads of Canada. Compared to Google’s project, Tesla’s models are not entirely automatic, as they still require a driver to command lane changes and they require a driver to be present and touching the steering wheel periodically. Nonetheless, it still contains functions such as cruise control, automatic parking,

2013_Tesla_Model_S_(11322176214)_cropped

Image: Wikimedia (by Niels de Wit); Tesla Model S, first Tesla to have autopilot software.

hand-free lane changes, and top speed limit.

Apart from not needing a driver, what else does a self-driving car offer? Google’s prototype is environmentally friendly because it is completely battery powered. The computer of the vehicle is also programmed to drive safely, although Google has the ability to set the aggressiveness of the drive. Consultancy firm KPMC predicts self-driving cars can reduce accidents by 80% and an estimated 2500 fewer deaths due to car accidents between 2014 to 2040.

The self-driving car still has it’s limitations though. The software in all models are still to be perfected and we are still seeing accidents in prototypes. Questions have also been raised about common driving circumstances, such us backing up a few feet for convenience, or deciding if someone should be let into your lane. If every car on the road was programmed, perhaps we could little to no car accidents. However both the hardware and software is fairly expensive, such as Tesla’s software requiring a $3000 add on. In addition there are various legal issues. Ontario still requires a driver to be in the driver’s seat at all times. Responsibility of accidents are still to be decided between the user and manufacture.

With many factors still unknown, the popularity of the self-driving car in the future is still debatable. However, we can continue to expect steps in development and new self-driving models to appear.

Daryl

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Posted in Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged accidents, automatic, car, Google, Self-driving, Tesla, traffic

Know the Causes, Symptoms, and Remedies of Abdominal Pain?

Posted on January 16, 2016 by shayini | Leave a comment

I just recovered from a pretty sharp pain in my abdomen! I usually have these pains frequently and they last from 2 to 12 days. I decided to do some research on this topic to figure out the origin of this pain. After looking through some news websites and peer-reviewed journal articles, I found a great deal of information regarding abdominal pains.

Anatomy of the abdomen: Wikimedia Commons by Tvanbr

Abdominal Pain, is a very common pain that occurs between the chest and pelvic regions of the human body. As you can see from the image to the right, the pain comes from organs within the abdomen such as the small intestine, stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, colon and gallbladder. It can be mild or severe, ranging from crampy to sharp.Some of the symptoms of the abdominal pain are chest pain, heartburn and indigestion. Infection, inflammation, and intestinal disorders can cause these symptoms.

One of the main root causes that I want to focus on is the bacterial infection. The infection in the stomach originates from bacterial gastroenteritis, which causes inflammation in the stomach and intestines. The term gastroenteritis is also known as stomach flu with symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. Bacterial infection results from coming in contact with contaminated water, food, and animals, as well as having poor hygiene.

Person having abdominal pain: Wikimedia Commons by CDC

Abdominal main affects mainly children, elderly persons, and pregnancy women. However, it also affects the general human population, even students like myself! Abdominal pain in children eases faster than in pregnant women and other adults.

The pain is a serious problem in elderly people. A study states that abdominal pain is a growing concern since the population of elderly persons is increasing, and people are living to an older age. Among the elderly persons who consult the doctor for abdominal pain, at least 50% are hospitalized and 40% have surgery because of the severe pain. Similarly, many diseases can causes abdominal pain during pregnancy, which can be threatening to both the mother and the baby.

What’s the solution to this problem? You can prevent or reduce abdominal pain by reducing your per meal intake (eat more meals but less amount of food in each meal), exercising frequently, avoiding excess amount of alcohol consumption, and avoiding smoking. Good hygiene also reduces the chances of abdominal pain due to bacterial infection.

As you can see, abdominal pain is a very serious concern that affects a range of individuals.It is important to consult a doctor to avoid long term complications, and to avoid turning an acute condition into a chronic one. It is unfortunate that the public dismiss abdominal pain as they do not view it as a serious health concern. When the pain is long-term and severe, it is important to diagnose the cause as soon as possible to avoid further complications.

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

Tagged abdomen, bacteria, biology, human body, infection, pain, scientific

Howdy, Dr. Robot?!

Posted on January 16, 2016 by AlexB | Leave a comment

Human health…. People spend tons of money to maintain

Image from pixabay.com

their health in a good condition and even more when something goes wrong. Therefore, one would expect the accurate diagnosis and adequate treatment from the cohort of specialists available on the market nowadays, especially when it comes to the early stages of the most hardly detectable, but lethal diseases, like cancer. Till the latest time, there was no other alternative for the patients than to throw themselves into the hands of the most skillful, knowledgable, and experienced medical specialists in the field. But is it all shine and no rain?

According to a recent research, medical errors are on the third place among the all fatality causes in medical community. Among the main reasons are miscommunication, inability to keep track on the patients’s extensive medical history and history of drug consumption, and misreading the data patterns received from the tests. The latest peak of notorious cases occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and related to the doctors who continuously misdiagnosed their patients with breast cancer and prescribed the unnecessary treatment or no treatment at all, when it was needed. The biggest issue there was lack of “quality control”, so, no one questioned or reviewed the diagnostic processes!

At the same time, the progress in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning brought to life several brilliant projects, which have a better accuracy in diagnosing patients than the doctors have. For instance, the IBM Watson Health system gathers different types of information, including the recognition of the medical images, into one immense database. From that, the “self-learning” analytical technology recognizes the patterns and makes more accurate predictions. In general, the machines are better in interpreting the patients’ symptoms and medical history. And it costs less money!

More on how the machines may “outsmart” people in the video below (Herbert Chase, MD, MA on TEDMED Day CUMC, Youtube).

Among the benefits of having machines, if not as “doctors”, but at least as the doctor’s “assistants”, are the better interpretation of the clinical tests, control over the prescribed treatment, ability to fast-track the possible negative reactions or, so-called, adverse effects, and creating a continuous medical history, which is easy to review. And that’s what the scientists at MIT Artificial Intelligence lab work at.

The only possible draw back is creating a sufficient “learning pool” for the

Bodymedia device collects data about the person’s activity and burnt calories. Image from flickr.com.

Artificial Intellect, as an enormous amount of data is required to predict the most possible outcomes. However, as the technological progress moves on, the problem of data collecting becomes less and less significant, as the personal wearable devices open the new opportunities in this case.

As seen from above, new technologies are rapidly moving into the health industry. I hope, soon we all can step into the era where doctors and machines will work together for the benefit of society and where it will be no place for the medical errors.

~ Alex Budkina

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Posted in Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged AI, health, Machine learning, medicine, technology

Celebrity Advocacy: The “Experts” Weigh-In on the Vaccine Controversy

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Brigette Wee | 2 comments

Have you ever purchased a product because you saw your favorite celebrity on television use it? The idea behind this marketing strategy is called celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement involves a well-known person using their fame to advertise and promote a product, service or idea. To a certain extent, this is not bad at all. However, it takes a toll in society when a celebrity advocates for their belief on a controversial topic that is beyond their field of expertise.

Jenny McCarthy is an American model, actress, television host and as some may say, an anti-vaccine activist. She claimed, “Time magazine’s article on the autism debate reports that the experts are certain ‘vaccines don’t cause autism; they don’t injure children; they are the pillar of modern public health.’ I say, ‘that’s a lie and we’re sick of it.’ ”

Jenny McCarthy via buzzfeed

Since Jenny McCarthy is under great public attention in the media, she brought attention and awareness to the vaccine controversy but in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons. She failed to realize that, if we stop vaccination, many diseases would come back. This bad publicity could result in reduced vaccine uptake and the return of many diseases.

Picture from Toronto Public Health Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada

Instead, social media coverage and the public should focus their attention on reliable sources regarding the vaccine controversy and any future scientific topics.

Dr. Gregory A. Poland, a health care professional who holds a MD from Southern Illinois University, claimed that no credible scientific evidence supports the idea that Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines cause autism; More than 20 carefully-performed scientific studies supported this claim. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also concluded that there is no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics made similar conclusions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Af9rgAL-0

In this video, Dr. Gregory A. Poland talked about the importance of vaccines and the diseases that have been eradicated and controlled by the use of vaccination. He also addressed the dangers of opposing vaccination.

False beliefs and biases have lead to parents deciding not to immunize their children with vaccines because of the fear that autism is associated with Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. This puts children in the likelihood for acquiring measles and other diseases. The health of numerous children is at great risk because of continued misinformation and unscientific beliefs.

The way forward is that public health concerns should be addressed more carefully by the media. Claims that have no credible data must be ignored no matter how passionate an individual is about their belief. Social media should stop giving celebrities who comment on scientific controversies more attention than scientists who are experts in this field.

The public should not misunderstand celebrity status and fame for authority. We shall always seek for scientific claims that have been supported by experts in the field, peer-reviewed and supported with raw data before believing anything. Thus, we should not be quick to believe Jenny McCarthy’s campaign.

Brigette Wee

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

Tagged Autism, Celebrity Endorsement, Communicating Science, Jenny McCarthy, Pseudoscience, Vaccine

SCIE 300 Course Blog Section 211

Posted on December 29, 2015 by rebeccako | Leave a comment

Welcome to the SCIE 300 course blog!

Here are few things to make note of before you get started with your posts. First of all, you should read the blogging resources page under the Create menu. This will help you out a lot if you are brand new to using WordPress. On this page you will find video tutorials about writing posts on this blog, adding media to your posts, tagging, and categorizing. You will also find a link to the rubric we’ll use to grade your blog posts.

Next, check out the blogging guidelines. Here you will find the answer to the question: “What are we supposed to blog about?” You can also check out one of last term’s blogs for some additional inspiration.

There are a few important things to keep in mind when blogging. Please do not assume that just because something is online, it is OK for you to use it. For example, unless it is explicitly stated, an image on the internet can not just be copied, saved, and used in your own post without permission to do so. We’ve provided you with a lot more detail about properly using online content, but if you have questions, let us know.

This blog also contains a lot of resources for you. For example, still under the Create menu, there is a list of suggested software to use for your projects. We’ve also collected some writing and presentation resources. Basic audio/visual equipment can be borrowed from SCIE300. Contact the course coordinator for more info.

Under the Explore menu, you will find some sample podcasts and videos, links that may be of interest or assistance, a list of groups and associations related to communicating science as well as a list of local museums and science centres. The Explore menu also contains a library resources page, which you should definitely have a look at. Finally, there is a bookshelf that lists relevant books that are on reserve for you in Woodward Library.

Let us know if you have any questions about the blog or would like to see any other resources made available. Or, if you find something that you think would be useful to the rest of the class, tell us, and we can add it to the resources. Better yet — write a post about it!

Happy blogging!

The Science 300 Team

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Posted in Admin

Is it possible to have sex in space?

My low memory computer is too slow to process this graphics intensive video

Mathematics – The magic behind animated movies

Self-Driving Cars: The future of transportation?

Know the Causes, Symptoms, and Remedies of Abdominal Pain?

Howdy, Dr. Robot?!

Celebrity Advocacy: The “Experts” Weigh-In on the Vaccine Controversy

SCIE 300 Course Blog Section 211

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