Category Archives: Science Communication

Super Glue Which Saved Wounded Soldiers in The Battlefield

Posted on November 10, 2018 by | 3 comments

Everyone has used for super glue at least once when fixing a broken object. This plastic glue was not only used for the quick fix but also a medical product that saved lots of patients on the battlefield. Moreover, the interesting fact that reported by The Newyork Times, is that today professional athletes also use the super glue to seal their shallow cuts.

Great accidental invention: “Super glue”

Credit: cbsnews.org

Super glue, that is a chemical compound, was accidentally invented by Dr Harry Coover in 1942. During World war 2, he was working on making clear plastic lenses to precise gun sights for soldiers. Unfortunately, cyanoacrylate(CA) was excluded as a material since it was extremely sticky. However, after 6 years, he realized that this chemical permanently glues anything. This chemical, CA, is what we know as super glue.

 

Fast way to stop bleeding: “Super glue”

Credit: Simple History

Dr Coover studied how to hold human muscle tissue together with the possibility of CA being used for medical purpose, and in 1964 he applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the CA for medical use.  While not yet approved because of potential toxicity, spray type of CA was used as a temporary treatment in the Vietnam War, to seal soldiers’ wounds to preventing bleeding, and many lives were saved.

Properties of  “Super Glue”

Credit: Wikipedia

The main ingredient in super glue is cyanoacrylate which is clear gel-like liquid. CA is acrylic resin rapidly polymerized when it reacts with hydrogen that is represented as ‘Nu+’ in the picture. When its exposure in presence of water, then it makes stronger and longer chain which is called poly-cyanoacrylate. Through this reaction, it transforms from liquid to solid, from the surface to deep inside. Due to humidity in the air, it can also explain why the glue harden when you forget to close the cap after use it.

Safe medical glue for surgery

Super glue is considered dangerous to use on serious wounds such as deep cuts to two main side effects:

  1. Curing is an exothermic reaction which releases heat; it could cause damage to surrounding tissues.
  2. This curing process creates CA and formaldehyde, which irritate eye, skin and respiratory.

The original super glue is not allowed to use to heal the cuts officially. But there is an alternative that was invented for a medical purpose. In 1998, FDA approved a 2-octyl-cyanoacrylate, an improved medical adhesive that was less irritating. As commercializing this new safer medical adhesive,  we can expect fast recovery without stitching.

 

Written by Anna Kwon

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Extraterrestrial Earthling: Life’s Cosmic Origin

Posted on November 3, 2018 by | 1 comment

Small Beginning from Outer Space

The origin of life on Earth has been pondered and debated by many throughout the ages, and remains a prominent mystery. There have been many hypotheses presented. One that is gaining attention is the panspermia hypothesis, which states that life did not begin on our planet, but rather was transported from somewhere in outer space. This may seem like a ludicrous claim, but evidence of meteorites and the conditions of ancient Earth support the theory that it is likely that life on this planet had a cosmic origin.

The panspermia hypothesis is based on a probability that meteorites and comets housing primitive cells and organic molecules, crashed into our planet and settled here. A period in Earth’s history known as the Late Heavy Bombardment period was characterized by intensive meteor bombardment. This occurred around 4.1 to 3.5 billion years ago. Coinciding with this time frame is the discovery of fossilized bacteria in Australia that has been dated back to 3.5 billion years.

Artist’s rendition of the Late Heavy Bombardment period (credit to NASA)

Can Life Even Exist in Space?

The panspermia hypothesis is challenged by the belief that space is a lifeless void. While it is true that most organisms cannot survive the vacuum of space, there are cases of bacteria surviving in extreme conditions (arctic terrain, volcanic vents, oxygen-free oceans).

To test these limits, scientists at the International Space Station performed an experiment using spore-forming bacteria. They exposed these bacteria to the harsh conditions of space for a few hours, and found that the bacteria managed to survive by encasing themselves in an impenetrable spore that protected its genetic material from the unforgiving space environment. It may be that a variation of these spore-forming bacteria were the first living colonizers of Earth.

Image of a bacterial spore (credit to nicerweb.com)

Life Inside a Meteor

Organic molecules (the building blocks behind proteins and DNA) are found everywhere in our solar system, including primitive Earth. Therefore, there must be something in meteorites that led scientists to believe it is the most likely origin of life on Earth.

In 2005, the Deep Impact Mission probed Comet Tempel 1 and discovered a mixture of organic molecules and clay particles inside. The most interesting property about clay is that it can speed up chemical reactions, such as the reaction in which amino acids (a type of organic molecules) come together to form more complex proteins. These proteins are the structural and functional building blocks behind all life. Although clay did exist on prehistoric Earth, it was far more prevalent in meteors. Therefore, it is more probable that Earth’s first proteins were formed in meteors rather than on the planet. According to researchers at Cardiff University, “The odds of life starting on Earth rather than inside a comet are one trillion trillion to one against.”

Artist’s impression of the Deep Impact comet probe (credit to NASA

The paspermia hypothesis points to meteorites, containing primitive life, crashing into many planets during the Late Heavy Bombardment period, but thriving on Earth because of its ideal atmospheric composition and becoming the planet’s first inhabitants.

 

Written By: Nathan Chua

 

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Sun Sneezing: “Cross Wiring” in Our Nerves?

Posted on October 8, 2018 by | 3 comments

Your nose starts to twitch just as you step out of a dark room and into the sun. The mild tingle inside the nasal cavity soon turns into an uncomfortable itch.

“ACHOO!”

What you just experienced is the Photic Sneeze Reflex, otherwise known as ACHOO (Autosomal Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst) syndrome or “sun sneezing”. It is estimated to occur in 18 to 35 percent of the population. The condition tends to be most intense after one has spent a considerable length of time in a dark environment. Yet, due to its seemingly harmless nature, there has been surprisingly scarce study on the subject.

In his Book of Problems, Aristotle was one of the first to ponder about this curious phenomenon in 350 BCE.  He speculated it may have been due to the heat of the sun on the nose, which led to sweating inside the nose, prompting a sneeze to remove the moisture. Nearly 2000 years later, English philosopher Francis Bacon tested Aristotle’s idea by walking into the sun with his eyes closed. The sneeze was no longer there, despite the presence of the heat. He then hypothesized that the heat causes the eyes to water, which then seeps down to the nose, triggering a sneeze. Amusing as his idea may seem, it was considered plausible until our modern understanding of physiology made it clear that the rate of which our eyes water,and the speed of fluid travelling through tear ducts is much, much slower compared to how quickly the sneeze occurs.

Nowadays, most scientists agree that “cross wiring” in the brain are most likely behind the Photic Sneeze Reflex. It was first hypothesized in 1964 that the reflex was a cause by the nervous system, perhaps a confusion of nerve signals. The theory states that the trigeminal nerve, which triggers sneezes and is responsible for facial sensation and motor control, lies closely to the optic nerve, which would sense a sudden flood of light entering the retina. Some of the signal within the optic nerve is picked up by the trigeminal nerve, mistaken by the brain as irritation in the nose, leading to a sneeze. Further studies suggested a genetic basis for the symptoms, revealing that the trait is autosomal-dominant, meaning if one parent exhibits the trait, about half of his or her children will too. But as of now the genetic culprit has yet to be identified.

YouTube Preview Image

The Sun Sneeze Gene by Veritasium (Youtube)

Are there any risks? Although sneezing itself is merely an annoyance and usually does not present any risk of injury, concerns have been raised regarding the combined threat of sudden increase in light intensity, an induced sneeze, and subsequent eyelid closure, which could be dangerous for some occupations, such as vehicle operation at high speeds.

Despite the phenomenon still being poorly understood, scientists are taking an increasing interest in trying to solve the mystery. Nonetheless, if you are one of the many of us affected, perhaps consider shielding your eyes with hats or sunglasses more often.

James Wang

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Telescopes and Spacecrafts: Exploring the Great Unknown

Posted on October 8, 2018 by | 2 comments

Humankind has always been fascinated with the stars. To unveil the mysteries that could be hiding out there beyond our planet, we first invented the telescope, an optical instrument that allows us to observe distant objects, and later on, spacecrafts and rockets, the vehicles that allow us to travel through space.

THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

In 1610, Galileo was among the first scientists to use a telescope and the discoveries he made completely changed what we knew about our world. Today, telescopes have become so advanced that they can not only observe in the visible spectrum, but in the near infrared and near ultraviolet spectra as well. One of the most famous and most useful modern telescopes is the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which was launched into Earth’s orbit in 1990 and is still in use today. Since it is high above Earth’s atmosphere, it is unaffected by light pollution and rain clouds, which allows it to capture perfect photos of our universe.

File:Star-forming region S106 (captured by the Hubble Space Telescope).jpgStar-forming region S106 (photo from HST) Image Credit

SPACECRAFTS AND COLONIZATION

However, being able to see the stars and planets is not enough; we created spacecrafts that could take us beyond the confines of the Earth, with the dream of one day establishing a colony on another planet. This is the ultimate goal of SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company founded by Elon Musk. SpaceX intends to colonize Mars, which is the planet most habitable for humans due to similar surface conditions and solar days (the calculated time with respect to the sun). Although the temperature and composition of the atmosphere differ greatly from Earth, scientists are optimistic about colonization because of Mars’ close proximity and water has been found in the form of ice below its surface.

In order to establish a colony on Mars, SpaceX is developing an interplanetary transport system that will shuttle people and supplies between the two planets. This system, the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), will be reusable and it will be capable of not only transportation, but orbital and interplanetary missions as well. It is intended to be the ultimate launch vehicle and spacecraft and will render all other rockets obsolete.

Additionally, to minimize the enormous costs of space travel, SpaceX has also been developing a reusable launch system. In order to explain how this works, the terms “spacecraft” and “rocket” must first be differentiated and defined. The spacecraft is the vehicle used by astronauts to travel through space and the rocket is the vehicle that propels it off of Earth’s surface. When a launch is successful and both the spacecraft and rocket exit the atmosphere, the latter is jettisoned. However, the rocket is the most expensive part of the launch, so reusing it can save millions of dollars. SpaceX has managed to create a rocket that can withstand reentry of Earth’s atmosphere without burning up and land safely before flying again.

YouTube Preview Image Video of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Reflight from National Geographic

Lawrence Liang

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A DNA Tool to Predict the Future

Posted on October 7, 2018 by | 1 comment

A common fear among parents is the risk of their children being diagnosed with serious illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. Fortunately, a DNA tool created by Michigan State University has been shown to accurately predict people’s height and bone density. This tool could also potentially assess people’s risk for illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.

Figure1. A new tool, created by Michigan State University, capable of predicting height. Used with permission, © 2018 Science Daily.

The Potential:

This amazing tool uses an algorithm to predict human traits including height, bone density and even the level of education an individual might achieve, entirely based on one’s genome. Lead investigator of the study Stephen Hsu mentions, “This is only the beginning.” There are plans in motion to apply this tool to predict more relevant matters like heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer. These are major diseases that impact a large amount of people. Heart disease, for instance, is the second leading cause of death in Canada. About 1 in 12 Canadian adults live with diagnosed heart disease alone! Hence, this tool could greatly impact and advance healthcare. Doctors would be able to step in during the early stages of illnesses to prevent or delay them!

Creating and Testing:

Stephen Hsu and his team’s research used machine learning, where a computer learns from data, to analyze the entire genome of around 500 thousand adults in the United Kingdom. The genome’s obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank, an international resource for health information, were used to put the algorithm to work. The algorithm evaluated each individual’s DNA and taught the computer to identify unique differences. “The algorithm looks at the genetic makeup and height of each person, learns from each person, and ultimately produces a predictor that can determine how tall they are from their genome alone,” said Hsu.

The computer was able to accurately predict everyone’s height within about an inch. However, predictions for bone density and educational achievement were not as accurate. Nevertheless, they were accurate enough to identify outliers in the population who were at risk of having problems in school and low bone density, which is associated with osteoporosis.

Future Plans:

Hsu’s team plans to continue to improve the algorithm by obtaining larger, more diverse data sets for the computer to learn. This would increase the algorithm’s capability to understand and interpret the combination of genes responsible for risks against specific diseases.

With increasing technology, the bright future of healthcare is considerably closer than originally believed. “What was once thought to be 5 to 10 years out, is now a lot closer when it comes to this type of work,” Hsu mentioned.

Figure 2. Collecting DNA using mouth swabs. Used with permission, © 2015 InfoLaw.

It is quite possible in the near future that a simple swab of the cheek could save families millions of dollars in treatment costs and more importantly, the lives of their children through early interventions of genetically based diseases.

Trevor Shen

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Say Goodbye to Artificial Trans-Fat: The “Great Move”

Posted on October 1, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Image Cedhttp://shqip.republika.mk/?p=194461

Have you ever considered why a tub of margarine lasts for 4-5 months while a stick of butter only lasts for 1-2 months? In simple terms, margarine contains trans-fat while butter doesn’t.

As of September 17th, 2018, Health Canada has banned artificial trans-fat from all food supplies. A specific industry produced trans-fat called Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) is a health hazard and therefore, removed from all industry manufactured foods to imported goods to meals served in restaurants across Canada, taking a step forward in the “Great Move.”

The ban of artificial trans-fat in Canada will take 2 years to phase out all of the pre-existing foods containing PHOs. Through this movement, World Health Organization (WHO) is one step closer to globally eradicating artificial trans-fat. So why is WHO so determined to eliminate trans-fat?

Small amounts of natural trans-fat are found in meat and milk, but the most consumed trans-fat is the one manufactured by the food industry. Artificial trans-fat is produced from a process where liquid oil is solidified, referred to as Hydrogenation. It’s typically found in packaged snacks, baked goods, and fried foods. PHOs is the very reason why your margarine can last for 4-5 months. It provides stability that increases shelf life, while maintaining the spreadable texture and savoury taste that everyone enjoys. But at what cost?

According to numerous research papers, high intake of trans-fat has proven to increases “bad” cholesterol, and decreases “good” cholesterol. This accumulates bundles of fat in blood vessels that result in heart diseases. Excess trans-fat is associated with diabetes and heart risks.

Why is this move so crucial?

Image Credit: Krenosky, S., L’Abbé, M.R., Lee, N., Underhill, L., Vigneault, M., Godefroy, S., & Ratnayake, N. (2013). Risk Assessment of Exposure to Trans Fat in Canada.

The image above displays the average trans-fat intake (g/day) of Canadians in the years 1995, 2004, and 2008 vs. WHOs recommended limit. As the graph indicates, the consumption of trans-fat in Canada has exceeded the recommended amount. Though the intake of trans-fat has reduced over time, it is still a major health issue in Canada. The image below shows that 25% of deaths in 2016 were due to cardiovascular diseases (28% if you include diabetes). By banning PHOs in the food industry, Heath Canada is eliminating a main cause of cardiovascular diseases, along with other health concerns.

Image Credit: WHO Canada – Proportional Mortality in 2016. *NCDs stands for Non-Communicable Diseases, which includes cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

Until artificial trans-fat is completely phased out of our diet, here are some helpful tips on avoiding artificial trans-fat.

  1. Read the nutrition labels carefully – Health Canada has enforced labelling on all packaged foods. Watch out for PHOs in the ingredient section!

    Image Credit: American Medical Association

  2. Opt-out for healthier alternatives – Natural vegetable oils such as olive or avocado oils have more benefits than harm to your body. Or you could always switch back to butter!

Jinny Jang

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Paralyzed man makes history: Implants allow him to walk again!

Posted on September 30, 2018 by | Leave a comment

To many, the concept of paralysis is terrifying. The simple thought of being conscious and aware, yet unable to move is enough to make even the bravest people uncomfortable. Unfortunately, for many people, this is their reality. An article by Cleveland Clinic  estimates that roughly one in fifty Americans suffer from some form of paralysis. Added up, this is almost six million people!

Paralysis is caused by nerve damage rather than physical damage. For example, your legs could be paralyzed without actually having any noticeable injury. The two main causes of paralysis are currently stroke (33.7%), and spinal cord injuries (27.3%). Jerred Chinnock, a 29 year old man from Wisconsin, was a victim of the latter. After a snowmobile accident in, he suffered a spinal cord injury, and was paralyzed from the waist down. There are many types of spinal cord injuries and based on the image below, it’s likely that Jerred suffered from an “L1 Injury”. An injury to his lower spine, that would result in waist down paralysis.

Image credit: Profusion Rehab

However, determined to not lose hope, Jerred visited doctors in Minnesota, where they were able to accomplish something never done before- allow Jerred to move again. Although technology helping paralyzed people regain movement is not something thats unheard of, this case was very unique. Up to this point, reacquiring movement had to be done with technology such as braces that were electrically powered. While it allows for movement, the actual “moving”  is done by the braces and not the human. It’s similar to using a remote to control your own legs! The doctors were able to overcome this by implanting electrodes into Jerred’s back. Since paralysis is mainly due to nerve damage, these electrodes are able to stimulate the existing nerves and allow control of legs similar to what was possible before the injury. Rather than relying on technology to walk for you, this method is much more similar to actually walking.

“The reason why this is important is because the patient’s own mind, thought, was able to drive movement in his legs. Just as important is that we were able to get him to stand independently and take his own steps.” – neurosurgeon Dr Kendall Lee

Video of Jerred and his treatment.

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Experts help paralyzed man walk again, with assistance, by reactivating spinal cord

 

Belowis an image of Jerred practicing walking with the implants. While he still require’s a front-wheeled walker, he has been able to reach a few milestones such as walking sixteen minutes without stopping, as well as a hundred meters.

Jerred being trained to walk again.
Image credit: Independent UK

 

Although this method of treatment is in its very early states of testing, the current results are promising. With further improvements these implants could solve one of medicines greatest roadblocks, and in America alone, save millions of lives.

Elvis Kuan

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