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JWST Unleashing a New Frontier in Astronomy

Dr Salman Hameed
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JWST Unleashing a New Frontier in Astronomy

The universe we know today is immense, both in size and time. It contains hundreds of billions of galaxies. And yet, there was a time when there were no stars and no galaxies. We are a curious species, so we want to know the unknown: when did the first stars light up the universe? When did some of the extensive collection of stars first assemble into galaxies? And how do stars and planets form in the first place?

There is a genuine excitement for those interested in these questions as a phenomenal new telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has launched into space on December 25, 2021, and has successfully reached its destination point Lagrange 2, a million miles from earth in 29 days.

JWST's home, Lagrange 2 point. Photo, NASA.
JWST’s home, Lagrange 2 point. Photo, NASA

Telescopes have altered the way we think about our place in the cosmos. It was only a little over 400 years ago that Galileo pointed a small telescope to the skies and found splotches on the sun, mountains on the moon, and observed that Venus goes through phases just like our moon.

But the most amazing discovery was that of four never-before-seen objects. Instead of the Earth, they orbited Jupiter. This was stunning. It helped overthrow the existing view of Earth being at the center of the universe. Today, we know that these are the four largest moons of Jupiter.

But this was just the beginning. We are now accustomed to hearing about the discoveries of asteroids, exploding stars, strange galaxies, and even the faint murmurs from colliding black holes. The most famous telescope has been the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, which revolutionised astronomy.

It took many iconic images. But I was blown away by the Hubble Deep Field. I was in graduate school at the time the image was taken. The telescope had stared at a small portion of the sky, about 100th the size of the full moon, for over 140 hours. Astronomers did not know what they would find in this seemingly blank piece of sky.

The result was astonishing! Hubble revealed this tiny patch on the sky to be full of galaxies. Every little smudge is a galaxy containing tens of billions of stars. Some of these galaxies are very young and so far away that their light started its journey when the universe was less than a billion years old.

But can we find some of the very first galaxies, perhaps only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang?

This is where the JWST comes in. It is a marvel of creativity and human ingenuity. The work on this telescope started 25 years ago. Most of the technology that went into building the telescope had to be invented and the cost soared to over 10 billion dollars.

It is a worthy successor of Hubble. The main mirror of the Hubble Telescope was about 2.4 meters in diameter. In fact, astronomers use the diameter of the primary mirror to describe the size of a telescope. The mirror of the JWST is 6.5 meters across. This means that it has five times the light gathering ability of Hubble!

One big difference is that JWST will only look in the infrared spectrum, light that is not visible to humans. But it can provide crucial information about the universe. Don’t worry, those infrared images are still going to be turned into beautiful images to be appreciated by human eyes. Hubble, on the other hand, worked primarily in visible light.

The JWST will be located about 1.5 million km from Earth, much further than the distance between the Earth and the moon. Such a distance will allow the telescope to be shielded from the infrared glow of the Earth and will keep the instruments very cold, something that is required for it to work with high sensitivity. The telescope is also equipped with a light five-layer sun-shield, the size of a tennis court, that will provide added protection from the heat from the sun.

The telescope mirror itself is a combination of 18 hexagonal mirrors. They are made up of beryllium with a fine coating of gold. Beryllium was picked as it is stiff and yet ultralight, and it can retain its shape even in the cold temperatures of outer space. Light reflects off gold with higher efficiency than most other elements. Since light is the primary currency for astronomers, a gold coating is simply worth the price.

If something goes wrong, and I am already trembling while writing the sentence, the telescope is too far for any astronaut mission to fix it. However, the engineers have provided the telescope with the ability to shake and shimmy. There is some comfort in knowing that, when all else fails, our own solution to fixing a toaster or a television set is not that different from a cutting-edge instrument exploring the universe.

The first images from the telescope are expected in six months. But what do we expect to see?

One of Hubble’s deepest images of space led astronomers to the discovery of well-formed galaxies going back only 400 million years after the Big Bang. Most theories predicted a much longer time for the formation of the first galaxies.

The detection by Hubble was a fluke. The expansion of the universe would make the light from these young galaxies shift predominantly to the infrared (this is called the Doppler effect and we have all experienced it in sound waves when the pitch of an ambulance increases on its approach to you and then decreases when it is moving away from you). The instruments on the JWST should be able to detect the population of these nascent galaxies and allow us an insight into the processes through which galaxies grow and develop. In fact, it may even find the indirect signatures of the very first stars that lit up the universe.

There is more to discover in our own galaxy as well. Stars like our sun are born in clouds of gas and dust. The beautiful Orion Nebula in the winter skies is a stellar nursery. However, the same gas and dust absorb much of the visible light and hide the details of the birth of these stars. But infrared light peers through dust. Through its infrared eyes, JWST is expected to lift the veil of dust and allow us a peek at the processes that not only form stars but also the planets around them.

Then there are the exoplanets — planets that orbit other stars. During the last 25 years, astronomers have identified more than 4,000 exoplanets! An astounding number. In fact, one of the exoplanets has officially been named by Pakistan. Called Perwana, it orbits a star now named Shama. But we don’t know if any of the exoplanets are suitable for life. The JWST will be able to identify the composition of the atmospheres of some of these planets.

It will not detect life directly, but it will be able to see if elements such as methane, water, and carbon dioxide are present in quantities that may support life as we know it. One of the first targets of the telescope will be the Trappist-1 system that hosts at least seven Earth-sized planets. Three of these are in the habitable zone, meaning that they orbit the star at a distance where water can exist in liquid form on the surface. Now the JWST will have a chance to give us the first look into these alien atmospheres.

We all have busy lives. We are also inundated with news about politics, wars, and, lately, about the devastating pandemic. But for a change, let’s take a moment to appreciate the imagination and creativity that has gone into the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope. All for the purpose of answering some of humanity’s fundamental questions about our origins.

The article originally published in EOS, Dawn, reshared with the permission of the author.

Also, Read: Gazing at the stars and beyond with Dr. Salman Hameed

Space and the Human Body: An Overview of Research at ISS

Dr. Syed Hunain Riaz
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Space and the Human Body: An Overview of Research at ISS

The vastness of space charms everyone and many of us probably dreamed of becoming astronauts at one or many points in our lives. Such is the fascination of that which lies beyond our beloved earth. But little do many people realize that being an astronaut is probably the toughest job in the world or should we say ‘The Universe’. Only the toughest of the toughest both in terms of physical and mental aspects are selected. Being fit and skilled enough to go into space is just the beginning since the actual test of the human body and brain begins thereafter since space is vast, cold, harsh, and inhospitable. 

This piece will cover the challenges faced by the human body in space and what lies ahead for us.

An illustration of how does space affects the human body.
An illustration of how does space affects the human body.

EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY

  1. FROM EXTREME GRAVITATIONAL FORCE TO ZERO GRAVITY

When humans leave the earth in capsules/shuttles piggybacking on rockets they are exposed to extreme gravitational energy of the earth since the energy is equivalent to the energy with which the rockets are blasting upwards through our atmosphere. The bodies of the astronauts are subjected to these ‘G’ forces which can even cause unconsciousness/blackouts.

Once in space, the lack of gravity is what they are exposed to in their space vehicle or the space station where they dock. This zero ‘G’ can have varied effects on the human body, we are used to earth’s gravitational pull ever since we are born. Astronauts can experience nausea, light-headedness, and disorientation to which they get used to overtime. The same ‘G’ forces plus the heat are also experienced by astronauts when they re-enter in earth’s atmosphere.

2. CHANGE IN MUSCLE AND BONE PHYSIOLOGY

Weightlessness has effects on human bones and muscles. Since the body needs to sense pressure and weight-bearing on muscles and bones in order to maintain normal strength and composition. In the absence of gravity, the body senses no weight bearing on the bones, muscles, and joints.

As a result, it considers them not necessary to maintain in terms of nutrition and growth. Thus, the muscles, bones, and joints start to waste. There the calcium is taken up the bones, muscles grow thin and the high calcium and other chemicals in the blood can result in other consequences as well. To counter this, astronauts on the International Space Station ( ISS) undergo regular fitness sessions where they work out on machines that ‘tie them down’ in zero gravity so that they can work out. 

3. EFFECTS ON SLEEP

Astronauts on the ISS as it is in continuous low orbit around the earth experience 16 sunrises and sunsets during 24 hours. This may sound fascinating to see but it greatly interferes with the sleep mechanisms of the body. Since our brains & bodies are tuned to the gradual fading of sunlight and release of the ‘melatonin’ hormone which facilitates sleep, the many sunrises and sunsets astronauts experience impairs the whole process.

Plus, the extreme noise aboard the station doesn’t help either. How do they counter this? They follow the Greenwich meantime as a time zone for day and night and are allocated 6-8 hours of sleep per day. They sleep in sleep-cabins the size of telephone booths mostly vertically, weightless (yes vertically!), and use earplugs and eyeshades. Sleeping does prove to be challenging in space.

4. EFFECTS OF RADIATION

This is by far the most important health hazard faced by astronauts. Skipping the technical stuff, cutting long story short, radiation in space is composed of highly charged particles that can run through matter unhindered. Examples are X rays, Gamma rays, Galactic cosmic rays. The sources are stars, quasars, and also our sun (solar flares especially). These are called IONIZING since they basically just run through matter and change the atomic structure of matter. This is what our bodies experience when getting an XRAY or CT scan imaging done.

Obviously, we don’t actually feel anything physically in space and our atomic/molecular structure does get disturbed when exposed to such high-energy particles. Imagine being exposed to 100s and even thousands of X rays during stay aboard the ISS. This can cause acute radiation sickness much like which can happen in cancer patients who get radiation therapy. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, and skin changes. Long exposures can lead to increased risk of developing cancers, brain degeneration diseases, damage to the heart and blood vessels and the list goes on.

5. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

Space is lonely especially since the astronauts are confined to small spaces with people who they have to get along in functional terms for months. It takes a heavy toll on a person’s mind living in such an environment on earth let alone in the emptiness of space. Astronauts are trained beforehand for such a situation while on earth and are adept at handling tough mental conditions.

Working in coordination with colleagues putting aside any differences while at the same time having the thoughts of loved ones at home. Put this on repeat for months or even years when humankind ventures farther into space. It may put a heavy toll on mental health.

6. EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN, VISION & OTHER SENSES

Space flight and its hazards especially radiation may lead to damage to the areas of the brain which are concerned with memory, both old and new. It has been observed in studies that astronauts who travel to space develop structural changes in the brain as seen by MRI. The changes are proportionate to the number of visits to outer space. Astronauts develop problems with the balance due to disturbances in the balance organs of the internal ear. They also report changes in taste while being on space missions. Vision is a sense of ours that is prone to be lost especially during future long-duration missions in space (as MARS missions).

Due to zero Gravity and reduced blood supply to the eye during space travel, the eye as an organ may start to reduce the perception, and eventually, vision may diminish leading to blindness. This is a serious risk that astronauts may face. However, all is not bleak. A study conducted in 2020 showed that a few Russian astronauts who spent time on the ISS had developed new motor skills and correspondingly changes in the structure of the brain. Showing that the brain has the ability to adapt to the alien environment of space and its habitat1.

What happens to the human body in a space flight or living at ISS?
What happens to the human body in a space flight or living at ISS?

ASTRONAUT EXPERIENCES

Up till Jan 2022, almost 600 astronauts from 41 different countries have been in space. With their duration of space varying. The longest individual duration in space is logged by Valeri V. Polyakov, a Russian who spent 437 days in space on the SOYUZ missions in 1994. The longest total duration logged by an astronaut is 878 days, by Russian Gennadi Padalka from 1998 to 2015 in different missions.

A Tragedy struck the SOYUZ 11 mission to the Russian space station SALYUT-1 ( first space station in earth orbit ) in 1971. When three Astronauts ( Cosmonauts as the Russians call them) Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev died during the return trip to earth. The capsule returned to earth but when the hatch was opened, they were found dead and the cause of death was ascertained to be suffocation due to a faulty seal in the capsule leading to rapid decompression. 

A survey by NASA on 300 male and female astronauts showed that 49 % of long flight astronauts had near and distant vision problems during the missions. Some even admitted to the problems persisting for years afterwards2. Considering the exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation in space it is predicted that astronauts will be suffering from effects when they return.

However, recent studies show quite surprisingly no relation with the doses of radiation to which astronauts were exposed and proposed cancer and cardiovascular deaths3. This probably has to do with the increasingly fit physical condition of the astronauts are in and the aggressive health surveillance for these they undergo. Space vehicles and space suits with increased protection against ionizing radiation (dampening them though not elimination risk) probably reduce the exposure.

Diagnostic techniques will probably be needed which will detect DNA damage in response to radiation and interventions done immediately with nanobots. These bots will detect the damage and instantaneously correct the defects. 

The same cannot be said when we will embark on long-duration missions like one to Mars where the low dose exposure for a longer duration may lead to health complications. Studies conducted on astronauts who had been to the moon (APOLLO missions) concluded that they were dying mostly of cardiovascular diseases.

Although the deaths from cardiovascular mortality were higher in lunar astronauts, the sample size was small and there was no ‘statistical difference’ from the general population but considering that astronauts are in peak physical condition this may be alarming and pointing to radiation & weightlessness probably being contributive towards developing serious health conditions.

Space exploration now entering an exciting new era now after so many satellite missions now deployed in and beyond our solar system (Voyager 2). We will eventually have to ensure that humans can travel across long distances in space with as little harm as possible to their bodies. The following could be ways forward.

ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY AND SHIELDING

Using the principle of centripetal force any space structure when revolving around its axis can generate artificial gravity and this may be extremely useful in dampening the effect of zero-G on humans. Gravity on earth certainly has profound effects on our lives than just giving us solid footing on earth.

Since we as species are in tune with the gravitational force of the earth, being without its influence especially when traveling across larger distances (take for example to Mars for starters) may be harmful to us any countless ways. Which probably we will find out when we finally set sail for planets beyond the moon. Gravitational field generators on space crafts will be another alternative to provide the necessary attractive force.

Radiation exposure as previously mentioned is probably inevitable in space. Though the exposure can be minimized by an appropriate lining of the space crafts (lead is used for shielding). The harmful effects of ionizing radiation may be reduced but the hazard cannot be eliminated.

And how much exposure will cause disease and harm is yet to be known when we travel long distances. Individual genetic variations may exist as to how much radiation may result in effects in different individuals. This will need extensive research when our interplanetary exploration commences.

NANOTECH AND FURTHER ADVANCES

Space travel across long-distance is and may not be as simple as is shown in science fiction. Such travel will need humans to be resistant to the harsh environment of space. Humans will need to be ‘upgraded’ probably by genetically enhancing our genetic makeup to face radiation poisoning, to reduce our need for sleep, and perform efficiently during the long haul.

Astronauts would probably be genetically tweaked to lose the stress and fear response so that they would remain calm. During space travel, medical teams with expertise in highly advanced medicine will need to be on board to make sure that medical issues are taken care of. Diagnostic techniques will probably be needed which will detect DNA damage in response to radiation and interventions done immediately with nanobots. These bots will detect the damage and instantaneously correct the defects. 

Stem cell procedures would have to be developed and polished before embarking on long space travel. So that when the need arises to deal with organ failure/cancer diagnosis, stem cell techniques would regenerate tissues/organs during space flight. 

Finally, cryogenic sleep is one highly stylized and fictionalized concept in modern film and Sci-Fic literature. We might eventually need it to put whole crews into hibernation during long-distance travels in our solar system initially and then maybe even beyond!

 Bibliography

  • Jillings, S., et al. (2020). “Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts’ brains after long-duration spaceflight.”  6(36): eaaz9488.
  • “NASA Finds that Space Flight Impacts Astronauts’ Eyes and Vision”. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2013-07-10.
  • Elgart, S.R., Little, M.P., Chappell, L.J. et al. Radiation Exposure and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer in Early NASA Astronauts. Sci Rep 8, 8480 (2018). 
  • Delp, M., Charvat, J., Limoli, C. et al. Apollo Lunar Astronauts Show Higher Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Possible Deep Space Radiation Effects on the Vascular Endothelium. Sci Rep6, 29901 (2016).

Also, Read: Astronaut Scot Kelly’s stellar year in the outer space

A Tour to Spellbinding Wildlife Moments of 2021

Aniqa Mazhar
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A Tour to Spellbinding Wildlife Moments of 2021

Earth is an incredible place, bursting with wonders and mysteries. Researchers and wildlife photographers continue to show us how amazing life on our planet really is. In 2021, amid increasing climate changes, disasters, and the urge to social distancing due to COVID19, when sometimes coverage of new science discoveries seems impossible, researchers mesmerized us with some astounding news.

Here are a few animal discoveries that got attention in 2021.

This Sea Slug Can Chop Off Its Head and Grow an Entire New Body--Twice - Scientific American
This Sea Slug Can Chop Off Its Head and Grow an Entire New Body–Twice – Photo Scientific American

Sea slugs

Some of these creatures have the astounding capability of detaching their head part from their bodies, and then the head grows a new body. Most slugs do this when their previous body has been infected with life-threatening parasites.

Aldabra Giant Tortoise at tropical island in Seychelles. Photo Katiekk2
Aldabra Giant Tortoise at tropical island in Seychelles. Photo Katiekk2

Giant tortoises

These animals may look subtle and soft from their appearance, but they can prove you wrong once hunting is concerned. A video shows their savage behavior as a tortoise chomps down a baby bird fell to the ground. An interesting fact about tortoises is that they are solitary roamers, which means they become independent of their mother as soon as they hatch and explore the world all by themselves.

An elephant had sprayed himself with mud. Photo Andrew Rice South Africa
An elephant had sprayed himself with mud. Photo Andrew Rice South Africa

Elephants

Somehow these animals look gigantic and clumsy, but they can use their trunks extremely tactfully and with cunning dexterity to do basic tasks like picking up things or twisting things, etc.; their trunks might look big and powerful. Still, they can manage to hold and pick up small and delicate things without damaging them. The elephants’ trunks have almost 40,000 muscles, making it their main organ for smelling, breathing, touching, and grabbing things.

Bruce the Parrot Uses Tools to Survive Despite a Broken Beak. Photo Smithsonian Magazine
Bruce the Parrot Uses Tools to Survive Despite a Broken Beak. Photo Smithsonian Magazine

The Bird with the Broken Beak

A parrot named Bruce captured our hearts with its charm this year. Despite his beak being broken, he has learned to cope with life by using several different tools to help himself. An example is how he scraps hard food against other objects to soften it and make it easier for itself to eat.

Birds Steal Hair From Live Predators. Photo Science Alert
Birds Steal Hair From Live Predators. Photo Science Alert

Naughty thieves

Birds are literally always on the hunt for anything they can find to build their nests. From twigs and leaves to tiny pebbles and straws, they can use almost anything for building their homes. One such group of birds called Pharids stole hair from dogs and inculcated them in their nests!

Also, Read: What’s the worth of life for zoo animals?

Mubashir Rehmani includes in Top 1 Percent of Researchers Worldwide

Saadeqa Khan
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Mubashir Rehmani includes in Top 1 Percent of Researchers Worldwide

Dr. Mubashir Husain Rehmani, a Pakistani origin researcher from Munster Technological University (MTU), Ireland, has been selected for inclusion on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2021 list from Clarivate.


Dr. Mubashir’s work focuses on wireless networks, blockchain, cognitive radio networks, smart grids, and software-defined networks. He has written over 132 peer-reviewed articles, of which 11 feature among highly cited articles by Clarivate. His performance in this context features in the top 1% in Cross-Field. More precisely, in the domain of Computer Science, Telecommunications, and Engineering. His research work has been recognized internationally, and he is the recipient of several best paper awards. The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields by publishing multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. 


This year’s list includes 24 Nobel laureates, including five announced this year. Also included are 77 Citation Laureate: individuals recognized by Clarivate, through citation analysis, as ‘of Nobel class’ and potential Nobel Prize recipients.

Below are excerpts of his recent conversation with our Chief Editor Saadeqa Khan.

Saadeqa: Let us know about your early life and education in Sindh? What was your primary motivation to you for becoming a world-class researcher?

Dr. Rehmani: I was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. My early school education (Matriculation) was from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Secondary School. I did my intermediate (FSc) from Government National College, Bahadurabad, Karachi.

My motivation for becoming a world-class researcher is to achieve excellence in my field of research so that my parents, my country Pakistan, and Muslims, in general, are proud of it and I can show that our religion does not stop us from acquiring scientific knowledge.


Saadeqa: Would you like to share an unforgettable experience of life that influenced your career?

Dr. Rehmani: It was the last semester of my Engineering Degree when I attended a bayan (sermon) and I was so excited to leave my studies and start learning about Islam. Though in the sermon, nobody asked to leave my studies but due to my personal feelings, I thought to leave my studies and start learning about Islam. Before making this decision, I thought to consult with a Mufti sahib (Mufti Muhammad Naeem Memon Sahib) and when I shared this intention then Mufti sahib suggested I forget about leaving my studies and instead fully focus on my studies. That was an unforgettable experience of my life and I believe that whatever I am now is just because of that correct guidance given to me by Mufti sahib at that time.

My personal work has contributed in many directions in my fields of expertise. Photo Credit Mubashir Rehmani

Saadeqa: What is the significance of the top 1% list issued by the Clarivate?

Dr. Rehmani: Clarivate is a kind of regulatory body within research. No matter how much research is done worldwide, and where it is published, this organization monitors these publications or journals and only makes lists after ensuring quality.

At present, there are about 18,000 to 20,000 science journals in the world. Each year Clarivate controls their impact factor and also issues details about their quality. In 2021, they collected data of researchers and scientists from the last tens years; their number is around 8 million. Then they arranged the best of them field-wise and selected the top 1 percent for each field.

In 2020, only 124 computer scientists worldwide could get in this category out of thousands of computer scientists. Clarivate ensures that the scientist doesn’t claim false or try to misguide in the wrong direction. Also, that scientific research should not last for one or two years, but he has written more research articles for a long time and those should be among well-cited ones.

Saadeqa: Would you please share details of your highly cited research papers in 2021?

Dr. Rehmani: I have several highly cited papers in 2021. These highly cited papers were on the topics of blockchain, privacy preservation, energy trading, smart grid, and cognitive radio. These papers were published in top-ranked journals in the field of Telecommunications, Computer Science, and Engineering.

Saadeqa: Do you encounter obstacles in your life and career? How do you manage, and what will you suggest for young researchers in Pakistan?

Dr. Rehmani: Yes, of course, I encountered obstacles in my life and career, and each passing day, I face new challenges. I try to discuss each of these challenges with elders and get advice from experienced persons in my scientific domain and try to follow the right path. Once I requested a piece of advice from Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani sahib and he suggested I do “رجوع الی اللہ”, i.e., always try to seek help from Allah against all difficulties and challenges, to seek to please Him, to seek protection and forgiveness from Him, and to be grateful and humble to Him.

My suggestion for young researchers in Pakistan is that they should always follow the right path, do not look for shortcuts, and never ever compromise on ethical principles.

Dr. Rehmani has several highly cited papers in 2021. Photo Credit, Mubashir Rehmani

Saadeqa: Your major research work is in wireless networks, cognitive radio, IoT, and blockchain. Which of them do you enjoy working on the most?

Well, I enjoy working on cognitive radio and blockchain.

Saadeqa: What contribution do you think your personal work has provided to your fields of expertise?

Dr. Rehmani: My personal work has contributed in many directions in my fields of expertise. Here, I mention a few: For instance, my work (a) helps to address the wireless radio spectrum scarcity problem, (b) helps to protect the critical infrastructure such as smart grid (or simply the electricity grid) from cyber attacks, (c) helps to protect the privacy of users, (d) improves the detection of stomach cancer, and (d) addresses the energy harvesting problem.

Saadeqa: What are the challenges and future research directions in blockchain specifically concerning privacy preservation?

Dr. Rehmani: From the perspective of privacy preservation in blockchain, the identity of mining nodes is still a challenge and there is a need to propose new mining solutions that protect the privacy of miner nodes. Similarly, achieving the balance between privacy-utility trade-offs is still an open issue and work is required in this area as well.

In order to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society, researchers and scientists need to focus on education and public engagement (EPE) activities.

Saadeqa: Let us know about the latest developments and challenges in the IoT?

Dr. Rehmani: In the Internet of Things (IoT), there are numerous latest developments. First, with the massive deployment of IoT devices, one can see these IoT devices in every field of life ranging from the health sector to industry, and from food provenance to smart agriculture. Second, with low-cost hardware, new applications are envisaged. Third, with the incorporation of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the computing capability of these IoT devices has improved. However, these massive deployments of IoT devices bring some challenges as well. For instance, how to manage this huge data being generated by these IoT devices?

Moreover, how can authentication of these IoT devices be done in an efficient manner? Since IoT devices are memory and energy-constrained, how complex machine learning algorithms can be executed on these devices? One of the important challenges is that these IoT devices will be everywhere and monitoring fine-grained details, thus, they will also increase the attack surface and thus require a lot of work to protect these devices from potential cyber-attacks.

Saadeqa: Pakistan’s telecom market has been struggling for a long time due to inadequate infrastructure. Foreign investment plays a vital role in its growth. Still, the process is doomed. What could be an effective strategy in this regard?


Dr. Rehmani: Currently, I don’t have sufficient experience in policymaking, thus, I prefer not to comment on this.

Saadeqa: What do you think are the primary reasons our educational institutions fail to nurture scientists? What are the essentials to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society?  

Dr. Rehmani: If our educational institutes want to compete globally and want to be internationally recognized, then they need to follow and adopt the same scientific standards and metrics which are internationally recognized, and acceptable. Moreover, our educational institutes should design and develop policies that promote quality research and discourage unethical practices in scientific research.

In order to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society, researchers and scientists need to focus on education and public engagement (EPE) activities. In developed countries, it is essential for scientists and researchers to engage in such EPE activities to explain their complex scientific research to the general public and school students in simple words. The same practice can also be performed in Pakistan and this will help to develop scientific thinking in the long term in Pakistani society.

Saadeqa: What are your future targets to achieve and research plans for 2022?

Dr. Rehmnai: My future plans are to focus on my research work and try to excel as much as I can. More precisely, I will try to publish my research work in the world’s top-ranked scientific journals in my domain.

James Webb Space Telescope: A curious urge of humanity to know itself

Fouz Siddiqui
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James Webb Space Telescope: A curious urge of humanity to know itself

It all started with Galileo making one of the first telescopes and changing the view of the church and the world, the father of modern observational astronomy. Today, humans having the urge to look back in time, to ask our questions of our own origin, the earliest stars, the first formations galaxies, and the creation of the universe itself is the uttermost curiosity we all seek. We are the species of present times, we want to know what was it like when the time began itself? This Christmas, we launched the most expensive and breakthrough telescope of mankind, the $10Bn James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). 

Photo 2: Northrop Grumman engineers lower the James Webb Space Telescope segment onto the shield and spacecraft. (NASA/CHRIS GUN)
Northrop Grumman engineers lower the James Webb Space Telescope segment onto the shield and spacecraft. (NASA/CHRIS GUN)

Almost 25 years, were spent in the construction of this time machine, the telescope is the most difficult telescope ever built, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The telescope is made of two mirrors; primary being 6.5 meters of 18 hexagonal, segmented gold-plated beryllium mirrors and secondary being beryllium of rounded shape, unlike the primary mirror. The reason that every mirror is 0.12 ounces gold-plated is to increase the reflection of mirrors as naturally, the beryllium doesn’t have very efficient reflecting characteristics. So, that is what the JWST’s camera would capture or see. 

Photo 3: A thin layer of gold on each of the JWST’s 18 mirror segments reflects mostly infrared light. (Drew Noel/NASA) 
A thin layer of gold on each of the JWST’s 18 mirror segments reflects mostly infrared light. (Drew Noel/NASA) 
An illustration showing the mirror size comparison between HST and JWST.

The sensitivity of JWST can be realized that it contains a huge 22 by 10 meter cover of Kapton Sun-Shield, as the eyes of the telescope will be observing the infrared wavelength, which requires protection from the sun, earth, moon, and its own heat radiation, for cool and smooth operations. The observatory will remain in shadow all the time, for efficiently collecting the light from the deep space. 

The five-layer sun shield will keep the sunlight from interfering with the sensitive JWST instruments. (Northop Grumman)
The five-layer sun shield will keep the sunlight from interfering with the sensitive JWST instruments. (Northop Grumman)

Interestingly, if we compare the JWST with its predecessors; Hubble and Spitzer, the JWST will observe the universe in a different wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble operated in the visible spectrum, Spitzer was in far-infrared-near but JWST will observe the universe from slight visible to whole to mid-far-infrared (Ranging from 0.6 – 28.3 microns). This is due to the conversion of wavelengths of the oldest objects within the universe, as with time the wavelength increases to what we call “redshift”. It’s for what began in the universe as blue light, would reach us as invisible infra-red radiation. 

Diagram showing the different wavelengths ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum of Hubble, JWST, and Spitzer. (NASA)
Diagram showing the different wavelengths ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum of Hubble, JWST, and Spitzer. (NASA)

Sophisticatedly, the telescope will be operating in less than 45 degrees Celsius but above absolute zero – so that its own heat does not interfere for us to detect the most fainted stuff in the space, hence with its shield, it will live in ice-cold darkness. 

An engineer standing by the primary mirrors of the JWST.
An engineer standing by the primary mirrors of the JWST.

The telescope has to go through immense challenges once, it sits on the huge Ariane -5 rocket from getting folded to function in space, it has to reach its orbiting/working position, which is Lagrange point – 2,  a point in space where the gravity of the sun and earth-moon system balances each other so that it can have its shield facing the sun – this is a distance of around a million miles away. According to NASA, there are almost 344, possibilities of critical-single points of failure for the JWST before it reaches L2. It will take around 29 days to reach there and then undergo the unfolding of mirrors and instruments, optical aligning, testings, and calibrations, from now it will begin observations of the universe in around six months, we can unravel the secrets and unknowns.    

An infographic showing the Lagrange Point - 2, the orbit of the JWST. (NASA)
An infographic showing the Lagrange Point – 2, the orbit of the JWST. (NASA)

It’s worth remembering that the JWST was supposed to launch a decade ago in 2010, but delayed till 24th Dec 2021, its constructions and testing went huge failures, many new technologies were invented in this struggle of mankind, which raised huge questions even on its name and the delays made the space community exhausted, but people argue that it happened the same with its predecessors – Hubble, but it was all worth it, Hubble changed our view of the universe, and gave us unimaginable knowledge and data, a lot has to be remeasured with JWST, the earliest stars – which were thought to be made of -hydrogen and helium only, the first galaxies, the new value of the Hubble constant which gives us the expansion rate of the universe, a lot of new science has to be done, the studies on the dark matter. Finally, we are now waiting for the JWST’s results as it was the best Christmas and new year gift from science to humanity. 

The JWST leaving for L-2 after detaching from the Ariane-5 rocket.
The James Webb Space Probe leaving for L-2 after detaching from the Ariane-5 rocket.

Massive efforts were made by NASA, ESA, and CSA as thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians from 14 countries contributed to build, test, and integrate JWST. In total around, more than 250 different companies and universities participated from all over the world. It’s an international collaboration. Starting from the launch site repeating ‘nominal’ during the launch of the JWST, confirming that everything is going as planned till the Arian-5 rocket’s fairing is released and JWST starts heading toward its destination. 

Also Read: WHAT’S THE WORTH OF LIFE FOR ZOO ANIMALS?

The Beauty of Pakistan’s National Parks is on the Verge of Destruction

Saadeqa Khan
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0
The Beauty of Pakistan’s National Parks is on the Verge of Destruction

Chitral Goal national park is a hub to several rare species, especially famous for snow leopards and Kashmiri Markhor has been on IUCN’S Red alert list since 2015. Last year in Oct, it was widely reported in mainstream media of Pakistan that the incidents of Kashmiri Markhor hunting have increased to an alarming level, and the culprits were none other than local communities who should be the protector to rare species having the threat of extinction for a long.

Here, the question arises whether the local communities in Chitral and nearby are aware of the significance of a national park? Declared as a national park in 1984, under Protected Area Management Project (PAMP), Chitral Goal national park has provided a safe habitat to many rare species of flora and fauna in the region. The government has also introduced a trophy hunting program as an effort to involve the local communities in the conservation process. As per official announcements, approx. 80 percent of the money raised from the trophy hunting project was distributed among the local community. Still, the project wouldn’t bear fruit, and the Markhor population is dwindling in Chitral Goal national park.

According to KPK’s wildlife department, the population of Kashmiri Markhor had reached a higher number of 2868 in 2019. As per available resources, 23 watchmen were recruited in 2016 to safeguard rare species in Chitral Goal national park, and each watchman was getting paid a monthly salary of PKR 15,000 (USD 90). This strategy worked in biodiversity conservation, and a slight increase was observed in the number of Markhors. There has been a dramatic decline in their population under PTI’s government, mainly because the government has stopped paying these forest watchers.

The financial crises of staff led to more incidents of poaching with the alleged involvement of the wildlife department and local communities. Consequently, the population of these species has dropped to one thousand or even less; however, no accurate official statistics of authorities are available so far.

Chitral National Park
Declared as a national park in 1984, under Protected Area Management Project (PAMP), Chitral Goal national park has provided a safe habitat to many rare species of flora and fauna in the region.

In a recent report published in Express Tribune on 29 Oct 2021, an official of KPK’s wildlife department (the name is hidden) told that “the responsibility should be fixed and Chief Conservators since 2016 should be made an example for others because due to their negligence the population has dropped to less than 800 animals. The department has issued wrong figures of 2,000 animals to cover the wholesale destruction of the animal in its native habitat,” he said, adding that funds should be released by the government for Parks Association and an independent survey should be conducted to ascertain the actual numbers of Markhor in the protected forests.”

Located in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Chitral Goal national park covers about 77.5 sq kilometer area, is surrounded by high mountains, and provides protection to four of our national symbols, namely, Markhor (national animal), Deodar (national tree), Chakor (national bird) and Jasmine (national flower).

The department has issued wrong figures of 2,000 animals to cover the wholesale destruction of the animal in its native habitat. ~Express Tribune

According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category VI, “a national park is a protected area with sustainable use of natural resources that conserve ecosystems and habitats, together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems.”

National parks are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where all the proportion is under sustainable natural resource management. The low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims of these protected areas. They may be set aside for public recreation because of their natural beauty, historical and scientific interest.

William Wordsworth was the first person who sketched a model for national parks in 1810, and the very first national park of the world was established in the US in 1872, named as “Yellow Stone national park”. At the moment, worldwide, there are approx. 6555 national parks, among them Park Greenland national parks are the largest comprising about 972000 Square kilometers.

Detailed pictorial map of Yellowstone National Park from 1904
Detailed pictorial map of Yellowstone National Park from 1904

Pakistan has around 29 national parks; 22 are under government control, whereas the remaining 7 are managed by the private sector. Pakistan’s landscapes have been famous for their rich biodiversity. A report of the World Bank released in 1999 alerted the authorities to conserve Pakistan’s natural resources. The inappropriate urban planning, factories and industries near localities and natural habitat of animals, air and water pollution, and most notably, climate changes have negatively impacted the natural ecosystems in Pakistan. Still, the sheer effort was undertaken to save the natural habitat of several rare species of flora and fauna.

Meanwhile, in 2001, the government launched the Protected Areas Management Project (PAMP) in Chitral Gol, Hingol, and Machiara national parks. Hingol National Park is the largest national park in Pakistan, covering an area of ​​about 619,000 acres. It is located 190 km from Karachi comprises three districts of Balochistan, Gwadar, Lasbela, and Awaran. The stretched area was declared a national park in 1988. Hingol National Park park is unique from other national parks of Pakistan due to its six entirely different ecosystems.

Dr. Shoaib Kiani, a marine sciences expert at Karachi University, said that the coastline of Balochistan and Sindh are the best habitat for green and olive turtles. Some rare species like Indo-Pacific Dolphin, Olive Ridley turtle, and Marsh Crocodile are also found in the coastal areas adjacent to Hingol National Park. Green and Olive turtles visited this beach in August to lay eggs. But due to increasing plastic pollution on the shores, they found difficulty digging holes in the sand. Now the female turtles leave the beaches without laying eggs. Since then, a slight decline in the population of green and olive turtles has been observed. Dr. Kiani showed his concern and demanded immediate efforts to preserve these shores and marine life from the devastating impacts of plastic pollution.

The Hingol national park, Hazar Ganji, and Chiltan national parks in Balochistan provide a safe habitat to several endangered species of flora and fauna. A few months ago, the Wildlife department of Balochistan had discovered a rare species of Persian Leopard in the Chiltan Mountains. Illegal poaching and hunting is the primary reason for the extinction of several rare species, especially Markhor, leopard, and migratory birds. The government had introduced a trophy hunting program in these areas as well to preserve wildlife, but the efforts are not sufficient as the widespread climate changes are altering the geographical composition and ecosystems of every part of Pakistan.

Quaid-i-Azam Science Society and its first big event!

Aniqa Mazhar
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Quaid-i-Azam Science Society and its first big event!

Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad saw its first Science Exhibition on 3rd December 2021, at the heart of the campus at the backside of the Central Library. QAU is Pakistan’s no.1 ranked university with over 13000 students currently enrolled from every corner of Pakistan.

The event was organized by the newly established QSS, the first scientific society of the university. Students from all departments of the university were invited to participate and showcase their projects. Here are a few glimpses of the events and promotions of the Fair:

The posters and decorations for the event.
Some members of QSS along with volunteers for the arrangement of the event.
This amazing science model by a student was about an automatic lawnmower driven by solar energy. A lot of effort was put into the model, and a very practical idea too!
This creative piece of hard work was about the mitochondria and the Kreb cycle.
This model was about the impact of climate change on the planet.
All the other projects were a creative combination of science and art as well, all prepared by groups of 2 or 4 students.
QAU Science Society
The judges had a hard time evaluating the projects as each one was a masterpiece. The results are yet to be announced in the closing ceremony of the event next week.
QAU Science Society
All the participants of the Science Model exhibition were gathered for a group photo with Dr. Mariam Anees, head of the Directorate of Student Affairs.
QAU Science Society
This picture shows the teams being questioned for the Science Quiz, which included questions from General Science. The winning team had the incentive of a cash price, whereas a certificate of participation will be given to everybody.

Scientia got a chance to interview the senior vice president of QAU Science Society, Hifsa Shadeed. She is also a student at the National Centre for Bioinformatics, QAU.

Q1. What were the main highlights and events of the Science Fair?

QAU Science Society organized “SCIENCE FAIR” under DSA Peace and Culture Festival QAU on 03 December.

Science Fair arranged two activities:

1) Scientific Model Exhibition (theme; Science in daily life)

2) Science Quiz Competition (theme; General Science)

Students from biochemistry, microbiology, electronics, and physics took part in the science model competition, and students from all departments of QAU visited and interacted with the science model presenters and appreciated them while for quiz competition students of diverse fields including natural sciences, biological sciences, and social sciences participated

Q2. How many people were included in the organizing team and how many days did it take you?

The organizing team consisted of 5 cabinet members and 7 volunteers of the QAU Science Society. It took us 2 weeks in promotions by arranging helping desks and other arrangements.

Q3. Which event was the most popular?

Both events were audience engaging and went very well but our main event was the science model exhibition. As the Science model exhibition was the first-ever scientific activity organized by any student society in QAU so it attracted a lot of audiences interested in science.

Q4. Who were the judges?

Dr. Jamil Aslam-Incharge QAU Science Society and Dr. Marium Anees-Director of Student Affairs QAU were the judges for the evaluation of science models. Apart from them Dr. Syed Sikander Azam-Chairman National Center for Bioinformatics also graced the event with his visit.

Q5. What problems did you face in organizing the event?

There is the least interest in students towards Science and as our society is aiming to promote science in university so being the founding year of society we are facing the audience problems because it might take a while to promote it in university. So, the engagement of students in scientific activities was a major difficulty in organizing this event.

Q6. Who came up with the initiative of making the society? How long did it take?

QAU Science Society (QSS) is the first student scientific society registered under the Directorate of Student Affairs (DSA) at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. It was founded in October 2020 under the supervision of Professor Dr. Jamil Aslam-Assistant Professor Physics QAU. The current cabinet came up with the idea of the QAU Science Society with the aim to increase scientific engagement both at the on-campus and national levels.

Q7. How much struggle did you have to face for the popularity of this Society?

Since QAU Science Society was founded in October last year and the university was closed soon after that due to COVID conditions, so we could not conduct any activity on campus to make it popular. Society increased its followers by conducting educational webinars and online poster competitions and as soon as educational activities resumed we organized a book reading session and symposium on campus to popularize our society. Finally, Science Fair was the first main event of our Society, so we tried our best in promoting it by arranging helpdesks in different spots of the university to assist students in registration and we promoted it department-wise as well to make it more successful.

Q8. What are the upcoming plans for the development of this Society?

Our upcoming events are Astronomy night and ABDUS SALAM SCIENCE FORUM. Astronomy night with activities (moon sighting, telescope handling, night sky observance) is expected to take place soon. And ABDUS SALAM SCIENCE FORUM is expected to be the biggest annual event of QAU Science Society at the national level, the 3-day event is set to be an unforgettable experience in the QAU Science outreach history.

Also Read: PROMOTING SCIENCE AND INNOVATION THROUGH “EDUTAINMENT”

Promoting Science and Innovation through “Edutainment”

Saadeqa Khan
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Promoting Science and Innovation through “Edutainment”

The concept of STEAM learning, teaching, and advocacy has always been crucial; the focus on learning both scientific concepts following the development of skill sets required for application to real-world concepts is much-needed. Pakistan’s educational system has been under criticism for a long due to an entirely inappropriate method of teaching, specifically science subjects, where teachers emphasize cramming without practical demonstration of complex concepts of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, mathematics, and other emerging fields of science.

After realizing the severity of this situation, the government of Pakistan has recently placed focus on science and technology learning at the forefront of the education agenda, with announcements being highlighted that 456 schools in Pakistan had to be converted into STEM schools in 2020, and the number has doubled this year.

Still, the governmental efforts are not enough, and the significant contribution goes to non-profit organizations for spreading scientific literacy and awareness among the masses. The Dawood Foundation is one of many which came forward a step ahead and founded Pakistan’s first interactive science center named “TDF magnify interactive science center.” The center was opened for the public in Sep 2021 and officially inaugurated by Mr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, on 13 Nov.

The MSC opened on 25 September 2021 to people of all ages and backgrounds. Photo TDF Magnifiscience center
The MSC opened on 25 September 2021 to people of all ages and backgrounds. Photo TDF Magnifiscience center

Our Editor-in-Chief Saadeqa Khan has recently interviewed its Director Mr. Christoph S Sprung, where he briefly shares the background, objectives, and future plans for the interactive science center. Below are excerpts of his conversation.

Saadeqa: What was the objective behind the establishment of Magnify science center? When was the project completed and opened for visitors?

S. Sprung: The MagnifiScience Centre (MSC) is the product of a five-year-long journey. 

It all started in 2016 with a science exhibition at the Dawood Public School, Karachi. The Magnificence exhibition went on and reached out to all sorts of schools in Karachi and some districts in Sindh and Punjab. It was meant to provide science literacy to pupils and students in a relatively informal educational way. Due to its success and fantastic response, The Dawood Foundation (TDF) opened in 2018 the MagnifiScience Studio on a floor of the Dawood Centre in Karachi with hands-on learning experiences. One year later, driven by the incredible response from schools and other visitors, it was decided to build a MagnifiScience Centre. The foundation stone was laid in May 2019. Because of Covid-19, it took TDF two years to open the doors of the MSC to its first visitors. The intention is to function as an inclusive science hub by offering “edutainment,” igniting an interest in science, and empowering people to understand scientific principles and think better.

The MSC opened on 25 September 2021 to people of all ages and backgrounds, and the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, officially inaugurated the MSC on 13 November 2021.

TDF will not stop dreaming of a society where the need to invest more in technology, innovation, and quality education will reach a level to let Pakistan reach its full potential. ~Christoph S. Sprung

Saadeqa: What is the overall response of children and parents when they visit the center? How much do they learn from science models? 

S. Sprung: The overall response of children and parents when visiting the MSC is very positive. This place usually takes children and adults reacting with joy from its positivity. The MSC recognizes that people with different knowledge, experience, and expectations are here. The exhibits are designed to sharpen senses, teach practical skills and help understand complex interrelationships. For various reasons, almost every exhibit was made in Pakistan.

The second floor of the TDF Magnifiscience center is dedicated to showcasing basic concepts of physics and maths. Photo TDF center
The second floor of the TDF Magnifiscience center is dedicated to showcasing basic concepts of physics and maths. Photo TDF center

Saadeqa: Which fields of science do You prefer while designated the center? Are these primary fields or subfields like sound, Light, Healthcare, Vaccination, etc.? 

S. Sprung: The MSC covers various fields of science. At the ground level, we have the “Kids World Karachi” and offer here learning from a young age about healthcare, transport, and construction systems. We facilitate in some sense their development and give them a better understanding of integrated systems in the world around them.

On the first floor of the MSC, visitors can learn about the “World Within Us,” a space to explore the components of the human body. For example, the human brain constructs a world inside our head based on what it samples from the surrounding environment – we present at the MSC some fascinating concept of illusions.

The second floor is dedicated to showcasing basic concepts of physics and maths. The carefully built hands-on exhibits will depict the laws of physics, solar energy, and other natural phenomena. Sound waves, magnetic waves, and electricity demonstrate primary physics-based concepts. Mathematical models and procedures shall help understand the “why” something works, not only the “how.” Our maths-based exhibits support understanding of how important its role is in daily life.

Saadeqa: Have you arranged models for environmental degradation that provoke children for environmental safety? 

S. Sprung: Right in the middle of the MSC, at the entry-level, we have showcased the only living exhibit inside the building: mangroves. We managed to have three out of four in Pakistan growing species and provide not only detailed information about this but also the impact on the environment at our coast.

There is a sizable garden within our premises with many explanations about flora and fauna and a lot of background information. Still, the actual exhibition about environment and degradation and climate change is actually planed on the MSC’s third floor. The floor is still under construction, but we plan to open it a few months, titled “Our World – Our Creation,” to learn about our national biosphere. We aim to provide information about the environment and engineering and where they work together. Exploring concepts like biomimicry will show visitors how art and architecture imitate nature and shows humankind’s ability to adapt to its surroundings.

At the ground level, there's a "Kids World Karachi" and offer here learning from a young age about healthcare, transport, and construction systems. Photo TDF Center
At the ground level, there’s a “Kids World Karachi” and offer here learning from a young age about healthcare, transport, and construction systems. Photo TDF Center

Saadeqa: Do you have plans to construct such a science center in other cities of Pakistan?

S. Sprung: MSC’s safe learning space will allow all members of the society to explore and engage with science in an informal, fun way. At the same time, it will facilitate the development of their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. TDF will not stop dreaming of a society where the need to invest more in technology, innovation, and quality education will reach a level to let Pakistan reach its full potential. There are certainly other cities in dire need of encouraging its youth to achieve higher levels of education, especially professional college education in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but at the moment, we will concentrate on this first interactive center in the country to establish ourselves as a platform for science for schools, universities, experts, interested people, business, like-minded not-for-profit organizations, and well-wishers.

Also, Read: LSM 2019: Interview with CERN’s Dr. Joao Antunes Pequenao

What’s the worth of life for zoo animals?

Aniqa Mazhar
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0
What’s the worth of life for zoo animals?

An outburst for animal rights and justice has been rocketing social media ever since the rare white lion died at the Karachi Zoo. According to the news, he was suffering from lung disease as well as starved. He had been neglected for quite a while and met his sad end, leaving everyone heart-wrenched. Demands rose to end zoo culture once and for all.

Why were zoos established in the first place? They were introduced so that humans could interact with animals to some level, observe and understand them to appreciate the beauty of other creations on this planet. Zoos have been favorite tourist spots and educational school trip destinations for many years, and rightly so!

I remember as a little child I would beg my parents every other weekend to take me to the zoo. I loved the excitement of beholding those great elephants, monkeys, and numerous birds sitting in their cages. To a child’s mind, this peek into wildlife and nature was so mesmerizing that the thought of what the animals went through never crossed our minds.

The most bewildering spectacle to behold however was always the lion. The ‘king of the jungle’ always attracted the most attention. His cage would be very big, and he would be rooted at the center, snoozing grandly, or viewing us with deep but powerful eyes. I always lingered close to the lion, gaping with reverence at the ‘mighty king’ of the jungle until some elder had to me pry me away.

Reading the horrible news that rightly made it to the headlines the other day made me feel both miserable and adamant at the zoos in Pakistan. How can we be so cold-hearted as to starve living things that are under our responsibility and care? As I grow up, I see the conditions of our zoos from the eye of someone who has empathy. Animals are kept caged up, given low-quality and scarce food, their hygiene is not maintained, and they often end up in depression.

How would you like it if someone locked you up in a cage, deciding you were just a display of amusement, fed you little quantities now and then, and really did not care what happened to you? The overwhelming feeling of dejection would either kill you or make you go paranoid. The same is the case with these animals, who deserve their right to freedom and the wildlife.

I believe that zoos should be more like nature reserves. The animals should be provided a comfortable habitat, medical facilities, ample and delicious food, and restful space to roam around if they are to be kept for people to observe and enjoy. We cannot enjoy wildlife at the cost of its destruction and downfall. Children should be taught at school to respect and love the animals.

Zoos were introduced so that humans could interact with animals to some level, observe and understand them to appreciate the beauty of other creations on this planet.
Zoos were introduced so that humans could interact with animals to some level, observe and understand them to appreciate the beauty of other creations on this planet.

If the quality and standard of maintenance at a zoo cannot be sustained, then we have no right to keep the animals under our ‘protection’ and ‘care’. Starving them and mistreating them in the name of tourism, education, and recreation is a slap on Nature’s face. Also, in this era of media and technology, educational video coverages of animals living in the wild are not difficult to make, so researchers and students would have no problem if there were no zoos.

I agree with the spark that has ignited against zoo culture. Animals should not be kept inside limited space and resources. They belong to a whole separate world where humans have no right to interfere and disturb. In a country like Pakistan, animal welfare and integrity are of minimum concern as we are a developing nation and have other pressing issues. In such cases, we should not have zoos and nature reserves because we do not care to maintain them.

I decided to ask an economist that if zoos were to shut down, what impact this would have on Pakistan’s economy. Dr. Mazhar Iqbal is a professor of economics at Management Sciences, CUST, Islamabad. He has done his Ph.D. in Financial Economics from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA and his area of expertise includes Islamic economics, project evaluation, decision making under uncertainty, international economics, and corporate finance.

Q. How much do zoos contribute to the economy of Pakistan?

Dr. Mazhar: Zoos are a substantial part of the tourism industry. Although the economy of Pakistan is agriculture-based, tourism also contributes a hefty part to our income. Mountainous and geographical destinations are also numerous in Pakistan, but zoos are an important point of recreation and family trips. They are accessible as they are in the city and a source of education for children to interact with animals.

Q. How would the economy be affected in Pakistan if zoo culture ended?

Dr. Mazhar: We already have limited good-quality family recreation in Pakistan. Healthy amusement avenues like parks and zoos are already less in Pakistan. Nowadays recreation is shifting to cinemas, concerts, shopping malls, and the sort. I believe zoos are cheaper than all these and they are healthy as they help our children to understand the clean and natural side of entertainment. Zoos pose no risk to pollution of any kind; the whole family can enjoy them, and it would be a great social loss more than an economical one if zoo culture was put to an end.

Zoos are a substantial part of the tourism industry
Zoos are a substantial part of the tourism industry

In many instances, zoos are a representation of our culture. They display the species that are inhabiting our country and thus attract tourists and animal experts from other countries as well. Nature conservationists from abroad come to take photographs and promote the wildlife of Pakistan. This is very beneficial for our annual income and economy.

So, yes, I believe that completely demolishing all zoos would bring a gap in good quality recreation in Pakistan and adversely affect the economy.

Q. The staff at zoos declare that they are not provided funds by the government to feed animals. Do you think it is true or is it a case of corruption?

Dr. Mazhar: Yes of course there is always some corruption. I can’t say about the allotment of funds to zoos by the government, but one thing I can surely say is that zoos are not free. Tickets are taken from every visitor and tourist, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who still go to the zoo.

Even if funds are not provided, I am sure that there is enough money to buy food for the animals. This should be the first priority. Even cleanliness and maintenance come afterward. Enough money is earned that decent food can be purchased for all the animals.

Where does the money from our tickets go if it can’t even feed a bunch of animals? That’s where your concern, corruption, comes in!

Also Read: DEADLIEST IMPACTS OF ECOSYSTEM VARIATION ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES

Documentary Review: “Before the Flood”

Syeda Laiba Tayyab
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Documentary Review: “Before the Flood”

Whenever you try to have a conversation about climate change and its impacts on the environment, people will either try to wade off the discussion or show their lack of knowledge without hesitation. But the truth is that we have turned a blind eye to this situation for way too long. Now we are the ones to bear the consequences that are more enhanced and exponential. Politicians and media are not regarding it thoughtfully and thoroughly deny even accepting it as a global problem. We must act now, or it will be too late.

The documentary Before the flood was directed by Fisher Stevens and produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, it was first released in theatres in early 2016; it was aired in national geographic accessible to all. Having a run time of one hour thirty-six minutes, the documentary covers essential hidden aspects of global warming and climate change worldwide.

The documentary is star-studded, famous figures like Pope, Barack Obama, and Elon Musk were interviewed. When the producer would be Leonardo DiCaprio, an Oscar winner, one can arrange an interview with such famous personalities. DiCaprio uses his stardom to bring the world’s prominent people to talk about climate change, a topic neglected worldwide.

D Caprio himself is an environmentalist and has studied the subject of climate change in depth. He and his co-creator Fisher Stevens invested three years in researching, interviewing, and creating this documentary. D Caprio traveled around the world and visited the sites most affected by climate change to make things clear for the viewer.

Before the flood is the most up-to-date documentary on climate change, after Al Gore’s “An inconvenient truth,” which came out about a decade ago, the title depicts a warning “before the flood” that if we fail to act on climate change, the consequences will be uncontrollable. Tesla’s Giga factory is claimed to form 500,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2020. This will reduce fossil fuel consumption to a great extent.

According to Elon Musk, there should be 100 Tesla Giga factories worldwide to reverse the chaos that is about to happen. To turn this into reality, if big companies join together and work in unison. To achieve this, the government should also set rules for sustainable energy and tax those overusing fossil fuels.

Before the flood is the most up-to-date documentary on climate change, after Al Gore’s “An inconvenient truth,” which came out about a decade ago, the title depicts a warning “before the flood” that if we fail to act on climate change, the consequences will be uncontrollable.

A renowned scientist Michael E Mann published a hockey stick graph showing the increase in Earth’s temperature. İt showed how in the past 100 years, greenhouse gases have increased due to industrialization and the use of fossil fuels which consequently raised the temperature of our planet.

Dr. Piers Sellers is one of the few people who has been privileged to witness the Earth from space. In a recent interview in New York Times, he revealed how being diagnosed with terminal cancer has increased his ability to sense climate change. Dr. Sellers says that hot places will face drought, seas will overflow, and ice caps will melt in explaining climate change. This will persistently happen if we keep on using fossil fuels. But this can be averted if we stop burning all sources at once. For a time, Earth will continue to warm up before cooling down.
A climate war begins when climate change deniers and fossil fuel investors attacked the scientist and the people who published the graph, claiming it to be controversial. Michael was called a fraud, attacked by Congressman, and was threatened for his life. 

Long story short, this documentary informs about the undeniable urgency to act for restricting climate change and create awareness. I will highly recommend this documentary to people who are keen to learn about the current climate situation. In some interviews, I have mentioned some exciting personalities like the (Pope and Barack Obama) left for the viewers. After watching this documentary, one becomes more vigilant about their carbon footprint.

Also, Read: Deforestation and Climate Change

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