Category Archives: Science Communication

Alternative to Plastic Water Bottle: Edible Water Bottle

Posted on September 29, 2018 by AnnaKwon | 3 comments

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic wastes flow into the ocean. One of the major plastic wastes is water bottle. For several decades, scientists have tried to find the replacement of plastic water bottle since plastic pollution emerged as global issue. We all know that the most common and easy way to reuse plastics is recycling. But, only 20% of total amount of used plastic water bottles is recycled because they should be treated in different processes depending on different types. What about rest of them? Most of them are burning and buried under ground and this occurs another harm damage to environment such as generating toxic chemicals.

Then, what is the Eco-friendly solution we have?

Photo Credit: Ooho! twitter

There is a revolutionary invention to replace plastic water bottles was introduced by Skipping Rocks Lab in 2013. Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and his team who create this edible water containers, called Ooho, were inspired by the strong amorphous membrane surrounding egg.

The idea is adopted one of the cooking technique which is spherification. The key point of making Ooho is making calcium alginate. When alginate acid reacts with sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate polymer is formed. After putting calcium lactate, it reacts with alginate polymer chains as 1:2 ratio. Then, cross-linked polymer chains are formed. This is how the membrane is formed when the high molecular chain, which was initially flexible, becomes less flexible.

Image Credit: American Chemical Society

Ooho consists of outer membrane and inner membrane which is in the form of gel. The outer membrane is formed by the cross-linked sodium alginate polymer chain. Alginates is refined from sea weeds and it is the reason why edible water bottle can be biodegradable. The jelly-like inner membrane keeps water hygienically without adhesive.

Likewise, this material is totally safe to human after swallowing it. What if you do not want to eat? It is totally fine! This water bottle will be naturally degraded in 4 to 6 weeks.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, researchers predict that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish and the amount of ocean plastic wastes will be 10 times greater by 2020. Now, we cannot put off the plastic pollution any longer. We must change the plastics that we use in daily life.

Still, this edible water bottle has considerable problem such that it cannot be resealed once it is opened. But, if this Eco-friendly water container is used instead of plastic water bottle, it will be the big step for our environment to be freed from plastics.

Written by Anna Kwon

3 Comments

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

Tagged edible bottle, environment, new material, ocean plastic pollution, spherification

The Development of Alzheimer’s Disease: Linked to the Air We Breathe?

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Loretta | 1 comment

Credit: iStockphoto/Michael Valdez
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071108135522.htm

Have you ever noticed the colour of the sky when the sun starts to set? That beautiful orange-pink colour is actually caused by the air particles of pollution, which researchers now found it to be closely correlated to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Research Study

Our air contains hundreds of millions of small particles, some harmless, others not so much. A new study obtained data from over 130,000 adults aged 50-79 years old (all registered to a family doctor on Jan 1st, 2005) and measured their exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels from their homes in London. NO₂ was used to measure this correlation because it is found from the emissions of burning fuels, like a coal burning stove, the cars we drive on a daily basis, power plant systems, and anything to do with fossil fuels being processed found worldwide. The results show that there was a positive correlation between high concentrations of air pollution and an increase in risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

The study couldn’t explain the effects of the variables that were hard to control but in this video narrated by Caleb Finch, professor at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, explains the biological aspect of how air pollution affects the brain:

Video Created by: USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

In summary of the video, the fine particles from fossil fuels first enter our nose, which then easily reaches the brain as well as the lungs. These particles create an effect on the brain cells, causing inflammation and swelling of the cells which accelerates the progression of Alzheimer’s. Experiments were conducted on rats that carried the Alzheimer’s gene in its DNA, called APOE e4, exhibiting a larger increase in brain amyloid (proteins in the brain that build up along the walls, causing dementia) than those without the gene.

Credit: Martin Basinger https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cd611d7893ad257d1ee98e8d6d97732a

With dementia being one of the biggest health problems in the world, if the link between air pollution and Alzheimer’s disease is fully proven, preventing it through improving our air quality might be the only solution to at least reduce the numbers. Knowing that pollution easily comes from the cars and buses used on a daily basis, should we start wearing face masks to reduce our own risk of Alzheimer’s disease?

Loretta Huang

1 Comment

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

Tagged Air Pollution, Alzheimer's Disease, Correlation, New Research

Plastic Planet: The Uncontrollable Plastic Waste Problem

Posted on September 24, 2018 by NathanChua | Leave a comment

The Plastic Pandemic:

Ever since its incarnation, plastic has become one of the most ubiquitous man-made inventions ever, with 8.3 billion metric tons produced to date. An average person uses 85 kg of plastic every year and it has become integrated into our daily lives, from containers that keep our food, to bags to hold our groceries. With the ever increasing demand for plastic, it begs the question, where does it all go? Common plastics are not biodegradable, and their durability and resistance makes it almost impossible for it to decompose naturally.

A study done by Geyer et al., found three different fates for all plastic: recycled, incinerated, or accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. The most widely talked about solution for solving the plastic epidemic is recycling. In principle, recycling can be extremely beneficial, but in reality, it merely delays final disposal. In fact, only around 9% of plastic is recycled. To put it another way, we only recycle one plastic bag for every 200 we use. With the sheer amount being produced each year, plastic production would have to cease in favor of recycling to make any remarkable impact. However, this is not feasible because there would not be enough material to meet market demand. Another method is thermal destruction. Around 12% of plastic is incinerated and is the only way to permanently eliminate it. However, the emissions produced from this process can cause negative environmental and health impacts. Lastly, the most widespread method of disposal (with 79%) is simply discarding plastics in landfills or in the environment. This, of course, has severe effects on our planet. Plastic debris has been found in all major oceans, and it is estimated that 4 to 12 million metric tons of plastic waste entered the marine environment in 2010 alone.

Global production, use, and fate of plastics (credit to Geyer et al.).

Innovated Alternatives:

We need to rethink the effectiveness of current methods of plastic waste disposal. Earlier in 2018, Chile passed a law to ban the widespread, commercial use of plastic bags. In addition, a Chilean company called Solubag has come up with a biodegradable plastic bag, made with a type of alcohol (derived from limestone) that dissolves in water. Even the dissolved plastic bag is harmless as demonstrated in the video below. This is definitely a step in the right direction

Solubag creator demonstrating their biodegradable plastic bag’s ability to dissolve in water (credit to Positivr)

In North America, businesses are also making changes to reduce plastic waste. In particular, Starbucks plans to eliminate all plastic straws from their shops by 2020. Their replacements are polypropylene lids, which are recyclable plastics; unlike straws that are too small and light to be recycled. If this transition is successful, this could potentially eliminate more than one billion plastic straws a year.

Starbucks’ new lids could replace all plastic straws from their shops by 2020 (credit to The Guardian)

Our Plastic-Wrapped Future:

We definitely need to find solutions to the plastic problem. Plastic waste is exponentially increasing and current disposal methods cannot contain it. Geyer et al. estimate that 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will be in landfills or the natural environment by 2050. If left unresolved, plastic accumulation could rapidly engulf the planet.

Cumulative plastic waste generation and disposal in million metric tons (credit to Geyer et al.).

Written by: Nathan Chua

The Ketogenic Diet: The Key to Superior Athletic Performance?

Posted on September 24, 2018 by kevin fabian | 1 comment

Athletes are constantly looking for any kind of edge over their opponents. Could switching to the “keto diet” be the key to superior athletic performance?

The ketogenic diet or “keto” for short, is a diet that consists of low amounts of carbs and high amounts of fats. This drastic reduction in carbohydrates is meant to put your body into a metabolic state called “ketosis”. Ketosis sets in when your body does not have enough carbs to burn for energy, so it switches to burning fat instead.

Image by: Anna Shepulova via Shutterstock

Celebrities and professional athletes alike have turned to the keto diet in the hopes of losing fat while maintaining muscle mass. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kim Kardashian are just a few of the names that have turned to the new diet.

The keto diet is also becoming more popular for the “everyday man” and not just professional athletes. This is due to the fact that ketosis is a popular weight loss strategy. In addition to the fat burning benefits of the diet, it also makes you feel less hungry and helps you maintain muscle.

Researchers from the University of Saint Louis conducted a study on the anaerobic performance of 16 subjects that followed either a low-carb ketogenic diet or a high carb diet for 4 days. The study found that: “subjects following the low carb “keto” diet performed 4-15% worse than those adopting the high carb diet, depending on the task.”

The study author Edward Weiss, PhD, says that the keto diet could have a negative effect athletes involved in sports that require short burst anaerobic activities such as basketball and soccer.

Image: Bevko Vitamins

However, the opposite may be true for endurance athletes who rely more heavily on aerobic fitness. Jeff Volek, PhD, found that long-term use of the keto diet may not only lead to a boost in performance for endurance athletes but it can also help with overall health. This is only true however, if there has been a “long-term adaption period to the ketogenic diet.”

As it turns out, “recreational athletes tend to see more consistent benefits from adopting a ketogenic diet,” says Volek. “In part because, on average, they have a greater emphasis on weight loss, metabolic and health benefits.”

Written by: Kevin Fabian

1 Comment

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

Tagged Athletics, Health, Ketogenic Diet, Nutrition

Our Potential Future Home, the Moon

Posted on September 24, 2018 by jerry liu chi chen | 1 comment

Have you ever hiked to the top of a mountain and was rewarded to a beautiful view of nature? One of the first thoughts I got from this view is how vast Earth is. It houses millions of different species with each one falling within a phylum with unique and defining traits. However with the rapid expansion of human society, depletion of resources and the human nature to conquer the unknown, it is only natural for us to worry about potentially searching for a new home. One of the most common places people have looked to colonize is our closest neighbor, the moon.

Advantages of Moon Colonization

Having influenced many science fiction works such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, the moon is the closest celestial body to Earth and it offers some of the greatest advantages for colonization. Not only does this mean a shorter travel time, it also means less spending of resources on transportation as well as more responsive drone control from Earth and quicker communication with Earth. Spacecrafts like the SELENE and NASA’s Clementine Orbiter discovered many areas near the poles where it stays mostly illuminated which means those areas are great for setting up solar panels. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is also areas of permanent shadow regions discovered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Many of of these areas are craters with water source trapped in them, which can be harnessed and be used by colonists.

Craters on the moon permanently shrouded in shadow. Source NASA

Drawbacks of Colonizing the Moon and the Limitations of our Technology

However, even with all of these advantages, there are still many drawbacks to choosing the moon as our next home. The moon has a surface boundary exosphere, meaning that it offers no atmospheric protection from asteroids and radiation, making colonization very dangerous without proper protection. Another issue is the extremely low gravity of the moon, which negatively impacts the human body by decreasing bone mas when the body is under low gravity for extended period of time. Due to this issue, proper habitation modules must be constructed. Not only does it need to shield us from the external dangers such as radiation and asteroids, it also needs to accommodate many internal factors such as, health management, life support, environmental management, etc. This can be extremely expensive and difficult to construct.

European Space Agency’s “Moon Village” concept. Credit: ESA/Foster + Partners

How Likely is it to Colonize the Moon?

Interplanetary colonization is a fascinating topic and will definitely be an obstacle humanity will have to overcome in the future. However I believe it is something that we can achieve in the near future. According to NASA’s Alexandra Hall and NextGen Space‘s Charles Miller, we can send another group of people to the moon and set up a colony in 3-5 years from now. The moon is currently our closest option, it offers many advantages as well as many disadvantages.

– Jerry Chen

1 Comment

Posted in Issues in Science, Science Communication

Tagged colonization, ESA, exploration, JAXA, moon, Nasa, space

Are Pet Store Puppies Breeding Ground for Drug Resistance?

Posted on September 23, 2018 by JocelynCheng | Leave a comment

You cannot catch the common cold or flu from dogs (and vice versa), but pet owners might be in for other troubles. According to a new study, the Campylobacter jejuni outbreak, which causes diarrheal illnesses, has been linked to antibiotic misuse in the commercial dog industry. Among 149 dogs investigated, more than half of the healthy dogs received antibiotics for prevention of bacterial infections. Antibiotic prophylaxis, a technique that is propelling the alarming rise of antibiotic resistance in the pet industry, might be to blame for this multidrug-resistant outbreak.

Labrador Puppies by Christian Mueller

“Antibiotics should only be used to treat illness, not to compensate for poor practices—whether it’s trucking dogs long distances and having poor hygiene in the process along the way…” said Matthew Wellington, the antibiotics program director for U.S. PIRG. “These are lifesaving medicines that should only be used to treat sick animals or sick people.” Likewise, in the video below, Dr. Rajapakse, an infectious diseases specialist states that a whopping 75% of antibiotics in the United States are used in animals and this heavy use of antibiotics encourages antibiotic resistance.

Infectious Diseases A-Z: Antibiotics in Animals by Mayo Clinic

In August, 2017, a multi-state investigation prompted the Florida Department of Health to notify the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of six Campylobacter jejuni infections linked to a national pet store based in Ohio. By February 28, 2018, the CDC identified a total of 118 people from 18 states, including 29 pet store employees that met the definition for Campylobacteriosis. An overwhelming majority – 105 of 106 (99%) infected people – reported having contact with a dog, with 101 (95%) having had exposure to a pet store puppy. The investigation implicated puppies sold through pet stores as the outbreak source.

The authors of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reported, “This outbreak demonstrates that puppies can be a source of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans, warranting a closer look at antimicrobial use in the commercial dog industry.”

Antibiotic administration records collected from 20 pet stores in 4 states during the outbreak investigation revealed that 142 of 149 puppies investigated (95%) were given antibiotics prior to or upon arrival to the pet store. Over half the treated puppies were given the drugs not because they were sick, but for prophylaxis only and a mere 1% received antibiotics solely for the purpose of treatment.

Campylobacter jejuni by De Wood (Agricultural Resource Service)

Although the vast majority of antibiotic use occurs in food animal production, the abuse of drugs in the commercial dog industry has been raising concerns of multi-drug resistant pathogens. The CDC have since issued campylobacteriosis prevention recommendations to retail pet stores, such as proper hand-washing techniques and correct use of personal protective equipment. With this outbreak under radar, public health authorities have also advised testing pet store puppies to veterinarians and encouraged pet stores to adhere to antibiotic stewardship programs. Pet owners, pet store employees, clinicians, and the broader scientific community should be aware of the scale of antibiotic use in the pet industry and the risk for Campylobacter transmission from puppies to humans.

Written by: Jocelyn Cheng

Category Archives: Science Communication

Alternative to Plastic Water Bottle: Edible Water Bottle

The Development of Alzheimer’s Disease: Linked to the Air We Breathe?

Plastic Planet: The Uncontrollable Plastic Waste Problem

The Ketogenic Diet: The Key to Superior Athletic Performance?

Our Potential Future Home, the Moon

Are Pet Store Puppies Breeding Ground for Drug Resistance?

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Category Archives: Science Communication

Alternative to Plastic Water Bottle: Edible Water Bottle

The Development of Alzheimer’s Disease: Linked to the Air We Breathe?

Plastic Planet: The Uncontrollable Plastic Waste Problem

The Ketogenic Diet: The Key to Superior Athletic Performance?

Our Potential Future Home, the Moon

Are Pet Store Puppies Breeding Ground for Drug Resistance?

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