(Los Angeles, CA – October 24, 2019) — Future astronaut, space diplomat, pioneering polar explorer and artist, Monaco based, Namira Salim, will be releasing her first single “Follow Me To The Moon” on October 25, 2019.
Namira is widely known as the first future South Asian Space Tourist and is the only Pakistani member and Founder Astronaut of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial space liner. As Namira prepares for her sub-orbital flight next year as “Astronaut in transition” and soon to be fitted with the World’s First Exclusive Spacewear System for Private Astronauts, unveiled by Richard Branson last week – Namira is tapping into another inborn talent with “Follow Me To The Moon” to honor the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 in a NewSpace Age and to honor the work of space industry colleagues in returning mankind to the moon and beyond. NASA recently announced the Artemis Program to return the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, in partnership with a coalition of nations.
The release of “Follow Me To The Moon” also comes in conjunction with and during the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington DC, where Namira co-chaired a high-level panel “0G (ZeroGravity) Summit – Man’s Return to the Moon in the NewSpace Age.” The music video for “Follow Me To The Moon” will premiere at the closing ceremony of the Conference on October 25th.
“Follow Me to the
Moon” was launched in partnership with the International Astronautical
Federation and Space Trust, a non-profit and non-partisan organization founded
by Namira, which advocates Space as the New Frontier for Peace on Earth. Space Trust will benefit from part of the
proceeds of the song.
“Space makes up my DNA. As a child growing up in Pakistan, I was first introduced to the stars by my late father when he navigated me through the constellations of the Northern Sky and pointed out the Pole Star. Since then, the beauty and majesty of the stars have inspired me to break orbits,” said Namira. “’Follow Me To The Moon’” is a tribute to my beloved father who carved me into the empowered woman I am today, and who inspired me to reach for the stars,” adds the future astronaut.
“Follow Me To The Moon” was written by Namira Salim, with
music by Atif Ali and composition by Namira Salim and Atif Ali. The single was mixed, recorded and mastered at
Playback Lounge in Dubai. The music video for “Follow Me To The Moon” was
edited at Digitally Studio in Dubai.
“Follow Me To The Moon” single will be available on all streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, iTunes on October 25th. For the link to Namira’s official music video for “Follow Me To The Moon” Click here!
ABOUT NAMIRA SALIM:
Namira Salim has made news worldwide for breaking orbits as a future astronaut, space diplomat, pioneering polar explorer, and artist. Namira is widely known as the first future South Asia Space Tourist, personally introduced in 2006 by Sir Richard Branson to the global press in Dubai to show early consumer confidence in space tourism. Her launch landed Virgin Galactic its biggest stakeholder worth $380m. Additionally, Namira is the first Pakistani and first woman from Monaco to have reached the North Pole in April 2007, the South Pole in January 2008, as well as the first Asian to skydive (tandem) over Mount Everest during the historic First Everest Skydives 2008.
When someone is going through cancer, a few words of motivation can uplift and even provide a mantra for life. As an effort to inspire hope for those waging a brave fight against cancer, who need a helping hand during hard times. Scientia Pakistan magazine is sharing excerpts of a recent conversation with Mr. Waqas Usman Hingoro, a Ph.D. scholar and young scientist who hails from Liyari, a small, thickly populated area in Karachi. Mr. Hingoro had attended Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS), held in January 2019 in Singapore.
Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS), held in January 2019 in Singapore.
The young cancer scholar started his professional career as a medical laboratory technologist in the clinical laboratory of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). In 2013. He was awarded the Chinese government scholarship to pursue a research-based Master’s degree in Molecular biology and Biochemistry. He joined the Institute of Cancer Stem Cell of Dalian Medical University China and supervised by two well-recognized researchers of Harvard medical school (USA). This worthy supervision led him to publish his first peer-reviewed article in the journal of BBA Reviews on Cancer, followed by another research paper published in the Journal of Cell Death and Disease.
In 2016, He secured his Ph.D. position in the institutionally funded Ph.D. program of the City University of Hong Kong under the supervision of Dr. Minh Le. In 2018, along with a team of international researchers, he made groundbreaking research in the field of cancer biology that featured in the prestigious science journal ‘Nature Communication’ in July 2018. His team has unleashed the ability of red blood cells’ components called extracellular vesicles, which can successfully carry drug delivery nanoparticles (NPs) into the affected human body parts.
Do you recall any interesting stories of the early time you spent in Liyari (Karachi), where you were born and raised?
I still remembered my childhood days when I used to spend my evenings at the football stadium with my grandfather. At that time, Liyari was a really peaceful place to live in, comprising a blend of different communities and ethnicities, sharing grieves and happiness with each other. But then there was a paradigm shift of the childhood memories of self-discipline healthy sports activities to an unknown fear of non-healthy culture and incidents going around. However, due to the motivation of my parents, especially of my mom, such terrific events never distracted my attention from future endeavors.
Dr Hingoro with his fellow researchers
Previously you spent time
in SUIT, how was that experience and do you have any advice for junior
scientists mainly interested in cancer biology research?
Well, SIUT is the parental institute that provided me with a base of research and made me passionate to explore in the newly emerging field of cancer biology. It’s a well-equipped institute with cutting edge technologies. Their motto to treat the patient with dignity always keep me motivated to pursue my career to serve the humanity beyond the cultural and ethnic borders. The time I spent in the SIUT is a real asset of my life.
I would like to advise my juniors that to pursue a career as a scientist, the firsthand knowledge about the latest advancement in the prescribed field is mandatory. Cancer biology is a multidisciplinary research area, it covers almost every aspect of the life sciences from computational biology to the Nano-scale targeting of the cancer disease using robotic arms. Researchers are keeping exploring new avenues and with every unique insight into the field, creates a lot of opportunities for young scientists. All you need is to search such opportunities, prepare yourself to compete with the growing challenges in this field.
How do you think we can reach out to our younger generation and encourage more young bright minds into scientific research?
I think a simple yet attractive way to reach out to the young generation is to establish the innovation and technology centers at the secondary school level. Where students are invited to share their innovative ideas and have a discussion on the recent advances in their field of interest. I firmly believe that such steps will not only encourage bright young minds to come forward but also reduce the uncertainty regarding their future career prospects.
Let us know about your recent research on efficient RNA drugs
delivery to cancer cells, how could it contribute to controlling the rapid
growth of various types of cancer?
In our recent work, we unleashed the ability of red blood cells component, extracellular vesicles (RBCEVs), to act as carrier particles for drug delivery. These extracellular vesicles can carry different types of drugs, which can be in the form of RNA, protein, or DNA, and can be effectively used to target a variety of cancers.
In this study, we successfully showed that this versatile drug delivery platform is capable of treating leukemia (blood cancer) and breast cancer in the pre-clinical models. If we look at the other methods for gene therapies, they are still under development for specific and personalized treatment with the primary concern to the delivery of RNA and DNA molecules to the target sites. The delivery of gene editing machinery using RBCEVs will overcome the hurdles of gene therapy and provide the new avenue for personalized cancer treatment.
What are extracellular
vesicles and how they may act effectively in gene therapy?
Extracellular vesicles are mainly comprised of the Nano-scale particles. In the normal physiological process, these particles act as a natural carrier to deliver different molecules to neighboring or distant cells. Beyond science jargon, we can say that cellular machinery uses these vesicles to convey their messages to other cells. They offer significant benefits in gene therapy because of their capability to deliver the gene-editing mechanism to the target site with low toxicity, low immunogenicity, and excellent biocompatibility.
Dr Hingoro, on his routine work
Since cancer consists of an enormous spectrum of diseases, would you like to elaborate on various causes and classes of cancer?
Cancer can generally be defined as an uncontrolled and faster division of the cells than the average rate. These changes mainly occur due to the alteration of specific genes, which are controlled by the broad spectrum of cell signaling molecules and the surrounding microenvironment. Cancer can be classified based on the origin and nature of the cells; it can be carcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma, leukemia, or lymphoma. Besides the inherited genetic disorders, several other factors cause the normal cell to behave like cancer.
A recent study shows that the central aspect is the lifestyle of a person, a healthy diet, well maintain health, and avoiding bad habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol significantly cut down the cancer risk.
What are the major reasons behind the growing number of cancer cases in Pakistan?
In Pakistan, although we
lack technological advancement on the therapeutic side, but based on the
availability of treatment options, we have the same drug formulations as in the
US or any other developing country.
I do agree that despite these facilities, there is a gradual increase in cancer cases. I think the main reason behind it is the lack of awareness about cancer. The majority of our population is totally unaware that what are the symptoms of the disease, and when should they visit the doctor? Moreover, many among us don’t want to visit a doctor, I saw too many patients who have poor health because of their wrong decisions but too often they needed was a doctor to point them out in the right direction.
To overcome these challenges we should run the cancer awareness campaigns, should go to local schools/colleges and community centers, have the discussion with cancer victims and let them know the severity of disease if not properly treated. I do believe that individuals will achieve a healthier lifestyle when prevention and awareness programs are accessible in their own place. Therefore, I am planning to start such awareness campaigns from my own community and local schools/colleges very soon.
Furthermore, I will request the government officials to prioritize investment in cancer prevention and should restrict the sale of all cancer-causing agents including tobacco, pan, and cigarettes or banned them at all.
Why Red blood cells
(RBC’s) of the human body are taken as ideal for clinical application against
cancer?
Since the production of extracellular vesicles from other cell types is an expensive and daunting task. It requires billions of cells to get the small number of vesicles. In comparison, red blood cells are the most abundant cell type of the human body and readily available from RBC units and even from patients’ own blood to treat the underlying diseases.
Furthermore, the use of RBC, EVs cut off the risk of horizontal gene transfer as they lack DNA content and thereby providing a desirable platform for the delivery of RNA molecules in future clinical applications.
What would you like to advise to cancer sufferers and their loved ones during the prolonged the course of treatment?
As a cancer researcher, I can feel the pain they are going through, not only the one who is suffering but their loved ones as well. Quite often, I come across with the family members of a cancer patient, I usually advise them that ‘with every difficulty there is ease,’ your strength is the real source of courage for the patient. During the prolonged course of treatment, a lot of changes occur in the patients’ behavior, and it’s quite natural. They develop many psychological issues, and the least one is getting irritated with small things. How you respond to those issues really matters, dealing with such things wisely will add up a lot of benefits in patient’s health and behavior.
Well, my advice for cancer patients is to remember that only you can fight your cancer. Though you are jam-packed with friends and loved ones, those can even wipe your tears, but no one can resist this battle as well, as you can. There is no doubt that cancer changes everything around you, but it’s up to you that the change will mean in your life and how good will you appear after survival.
Dr Hingoro with his team of international researcher
How cancer tumor cells
transmit their features to daughter cells and maintain malignant phenotype?
As long as its concern with the transferring of information to daughter cells, cancer cells use the same phenomenon as any other cell type of the human body. In general physiology, the cell grows and divides accurately so that the resulting daughter cells are precisely the same as the old one. These newly formed cells further go through the number of checkpoints to make sure that each and every information is accurately copied.
Sometimes a few undestroyed cells successfully escape these checkpoints and become cancerous, and with time these cancerous cells accumulate more and more mutations. They transfer their malignant features to their daughter cells in each attempt of division to maintain the malignant phenotype.
How a cancer cell stay
dormant for years and why do some cancers regress spontaneously?
Well, this behavior of cancer cells basically contradicts their definition of rapid and uncontrolled growth. Same with other living beings, cancer cells also adopt survival tactics. Dormant cancer cells can remain silent for decades and start dividing once they get adopted with the surrounding microenvironment. These cancer cells wisely use their “accelerator and brake” system to survive.
In contrast, failure to survival provokes the complex network of immune mediators, which eventually leads to the spontaneous regression of rapidly growing tumors. Though the process of spontaneous regression of cancers is mainly considered as a natural remedy, there is a variable extent of opinions. To me, the patient’s psychological behavior and will to defeat cancer is the first step to conquest the fight against cancer disease.
Would you like to share your
memories while studying MS in the Institute of cancer stem cells Dalian
University China and also the City University of Hong Kong during your Ph.D.?
I had everlasting memories from my very first visit to China as a master’s degree candidate. Initially, it was a cultural shock. Still, with time, it’s proven to be an excellent opportunity to explore the daily norms and traditions of one of the tremendous and fast-growing nations of the world. It grew up a Challenging spirit into me, which is one of the real assets I acquired during my study tenure at Dalian Medical University (DMU) China. My master’s supervisor, Professor Pixu Liu, was a Harvard University graduate, rigorous and cautious regarding punctuality, extra working hours, and gradual progress in research. Consequently, adaptation to such an academic environment bore fruitful and resulted in two excellent cancer research publications in reputable international scientific journals.
I started my Ph.D. career with lots of experimental failures, but never gave up. The continuous support of my Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Minh Le, and my team members always keep my morale high. The research skills I learned during my early educational and professional at SUIT and DMU are very much helpful in tackling the challenges I encountered in my Ph.D. tenure so far.
The second year of my Ph.D. was proved more arduous in terms of work-life balance. It was a time in early November 2017, when I was away for my wedding vacations, and due to some urgency, I had to come back right after the wedding celebrations. Anyhow after two years of struggle, I end up with my recent groundbreaking research work with a couple of International awards and very much hopeful for such opportunities in the future.
Fighting breast cancer needs a team of experts who know how to target and destroy cancer cells with effective treatment. It calls for the support of caregivers who stand beside the patient and assist her as a whole mind, body, and spirit.
Cancer in Women
A few years ago, Sheryl had a healthy, peaceful life. She lived with a daughter in her 15, in a small cottage in Chicago. In February 2018, when her annual mammogram was due, she went to CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Chicago) for a screening. Although her mammogram did not detect any sign of cancer, Shryle’s physician recommended her an ultrasound due to her more than normal breast density. Fortunately, that ultrasound detected early signs of breast cancer, and through further testing, she diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS).
“I have has my annual mammogram for the last ten years, so in 2018, it was just another day to me, but when I diagnosed with DCIS, I was mentally blown away“, said Sheryl. “I realized that no matter how familiar you are with cancer and its treatment, it is devastated to know about your cancer diagnosis and equally for your loved ones. I was lucky enough to have a brave daughter who inspired hope into me, and I fought against cancer like a warrior.“
Though DCIS is the most common type of cancer, about one five cancer cases are breast cancer in the US. It is effectively cured with lumpectomy, followed by some radiation therapy sessions to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. The journey to complete recovery is challenging with mental, emotional, and physical stresses and with a realization that sooner or later, cancer may come back. However, the patient can kick-start to embark on the path that ultimately provides tools that effectively assist her in moving through breast cancer. Subsequently, such strategies enable her to move on in life, altering situations with much ease and grace.
“After coming out from a debulking surgery, my doctor started chemotherapy for a low-grade ovarian cancer, I initiated my search for cancer support groups in India. Since the gap between effective medical treatment and healing is wider enough, sometimes surmountable, a newly diagnosed cancer patient, especially a woman, needs assurance that she is not the only one who has cancer, what society interprets as a death sentence. Even right after her recovery and chemotherapy sessions, she needs support to learn how to move on with life with a conscious awareness that cancer can come back in any phase of her life.” Said Anjeli Mathur based in Mumbai.
“The only Indian cancer group that I found after scrolling social media was “Teal Warriors,” based in Dehli, which is effectively providing emotional and technical support to cancer patients and survivors”. Gender-related types of cancer like low-grade ovarian cancer have an overwhelming sense of shame due to taboo attached to them, and more often, the biggest hurdle in treatment is the perceptions of societies more than the disease itself.
In Iran, according to the latest research entitles “taboo of cancer,” many patients, their family members, even the physicians would believe that cancer disclosure is dangerous and can destroy patients’ loved ones both mentally and physically. A 54 years Old Iranian lady, when diagnosed with incurable gastric cancer, was afraid to face her young son, but her husband supported. “In the past, we cannot speak out about our disease and often avoided cancer indicative terms in our gossip with family, friends, and relatives.” Gradually Iranian society realized that it is somewhat necessary to face the situation with grace and not only patient, but her family members should try to get the latest updates in cancer treatments”. The more they inform about the prognosis and advancement in medical sciences, the easier it will be the battle against cancer.
In Pakistan, there is an overwhelming sense of shame with woman cancer types like breast, skin, and ovarian cancer because it is related to reproductive health. The patients never allowed to disclose their treatment experience or to join some cancer support group.
“My parents intentionally hospitalized me in Dubai, after my first diagnosis with triple-negative breast cancer in Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital Lahore. This is a virulent cancer type that is difficult to treat.” Said Aisha, a 24 years old young IT student based in Rahimyar Khan. “My parents were much afraid of society than the seriousness of my prognosis, so the whole treatment process was like, I hospitalized, got surgery, followed by chemotherapy sessions, and caught the next flight to Lahore.”
Similarly, it is relatively traditional in Pakistani society to hide cancer diagnosis from the patient herself as a safety measure. In most cases, family members of patients don’t have enough knowledge about cancer prognosis, and they think that if the patient is informed of her cancer, she will eventually lose hope, and it will negatively affect different aspects of her life and further deteriorate her psychological wellbeing.
Like most Asian countries, in Pakistan, cancer is a taboo
subject. The world “taboo” stands for cultural believes or customs
that do not allow people to open up and talk of a particular thing or act
because our society finds it offensive, inappropriate, or embarrassing without
proper justification.
Though cancer is a life-threatening disease, causing a heavy annual death toll globally, it is curable. Cancerous cells develop in the body when it’s normal mechanism stop working with an uncontrolled growth of new abnormal cells, also during this specific period, the old cells in the body stop dying. These extra cells in the human body gathered and form a mass of tissue or tumor. Some cancers like Leukemia or blood cancer do not form tumors; in other forms, these mass tissues may occur in any part of the body. According to a report of the World Cancer Research Fund, around 18 million cancer cases were recorded in 2018, of these 9.5 million cases were in men while 8.5 in women. Global cancer increased in women indicates that breast cancer is the most occurring cancer type in women, followed by skin and ovarian cancer.
Breast cancer is a popular form of cancer in which cells in women’s breasts grow out of control, but its severity depends on which cell in breast turns into a tumor. The two most common types of are invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma. According to a report of the World Health Organization, Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer than any other Asian country with around 9000 new cases are diagnosed annually, out of which 4000 die due to lack of health facilities and the taboos around cancer that prevail in our society. According to a senior cancer researcher at Agha Khan Hospital, more research is the need of the hour to fully understand why breast cancer is a taboo subject in our society? In middle and lower-middle classes, it is like an unwritten rule that “illness like cancer should keep within the family and patients are not allowed to share their survival story even after recovery. There are religious and social believes behind cancer as a taboo subject, and they run in society quite deep.
But there is still hope, we should put confidence in, that things would not always be this way. Sooner or later, society will realize that mutual concern of patient’s family members and physicians can contribute to reinforcing taboo that surrounds breast and gender-related cancer types. In western countries, closed ones to patients used to hide the cancer prognosis with the patient, but their main concern would be the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the patient. Whereas in Pakistan, our family members afraid of society more than the seriousness of disease or death threats to patients.
Although making strict decisions against the taboo around cancer are harder enough, considering the limited conclusive evidence that is specified in Pakistan’s societal context. As an effort, October 2019 is celebrating as breast cancer awareness month worldwide, critics are emphasizing that awareness comes at the expense of more substantial efforts to connect deceased women with health care and awareness centers.
Our women should be up-to-date for the latest research in medical sciences and realize that cancer is not fatal, and it is curable. Most of the cancer types, especially breast cancer, can be detected in an early stage if a routine mammogram is done. Life remains the same just as before the diagnosis and worth living, patients only need a helping hand and full support of her family, friends, and love ones.
In this era of the digital world, where connectivity with the world is increasing with every single day provided by the internet, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and smart glasses, this comfort has come as a less rewarding profit. The current lot is paying its price by the trade of their privacy. We- humans, are risking our privacy in exchange for this convenience. The security of data is the primary concern of today, and if not dealt properly, it will eventually lead to severe threats such as National and global security.
Is Your Data Privacy Getting Compromised?
It is the need of the moment to decide whether we want to be the Master of Technology or the slaves. Researchers- while they are coming with new inventions every single day to ease human life in different aspects and changing the world into a global village, must consider the threats coming along and the solution to counter these threats. Encryption of streaming data is one of the most robust and applicable solutions to this merging problem of data breaching. End to End encryption of all communicating and streaming data will make the data transmission all safe and secure
End to End Encryption of Data
Mohammad Nadeem Siddiqui, a renowned Pakistani Journalist, and researcher have presented some great ideas to encrypt the text message applications. He invented a spectacular technology named NET ( Natural Encryption Technology), which secures the digital data using Intangible Time Medium.
Mr. M Nadeem Siddque
Natural Encryption Technology
The Natural Encryption Technology (NET) uses time interval technique, based on the fact that time is a universal physical quantity accessible to everyone without any restrictions and laid the foundation of end to end encrypted text message applications. NET uses the medium of time, codes, and decodes signals with time via a sound beep or breaking signals. This technology makes the transmission data-free; in case a hacker tries to decode the signal, he won’t get anything other than the encrypted time interval because the signal does not contain data or information.
Information Security Black Holes
The NET provides the users with information black holes to protect the data from being stolen. No hacker can decrypt the signal; even if he succeeds to hack the signal, he won’t get any information as the signal is just a sound beep. Even the information superhighway and information tunnels are not able to secure the data altogether, the information security black hole idea is ideal for information security.
Intangible Time Medium
According to Einstein, Time is the fourth dimension in space, and both time and space are working together. Through the invention of NET, Nadeem Siddiqui has proved the importance of time by using it as an intangible medium in transferring data.
He presented the Law of Intangible Time Medium which states that “The Universe all living and non-living things existed, being creating will soon be destroyed when a divine encoded a message to be received by all things existed. The encoded divine message which is already released, transferred to all things via Intangible Time Medium”.
Muhammad Nadeem Siddiqui presented his ideas in four international conferences and three national and international competitions, where it was accepted and reviewed. Pakistan needs more enthusiasts like him to set a benchmark in the field of information technology.
For the first time in space history, an all-female spacewalk was conducted by astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir at the International Space Station.
A series of spacewalks have been arranged after Luca
Parmitano from Italy took over as the commander at ISS when Alexei Ovchinin
from Russia left. The ISS system is being upgraded and this Friday the two females
hailing from the United States of America, left the Quest airlock to work on
the failed power systems and replace the batteries. The expected time of the
spacewalk was around six hours, but it lasted successfully for seven hours.
Christina had red stripes on her spacesuit wearing the helmet marked number 18 and Meir had no stripes and wore the helmet marked number 11. This was done so that the two can be differentiated during the spacewalk as the control room watched them from the earth through the cameras installed on the Station.
Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch preparing on the ISS for the first all-female spacewalk Credits: NASA
Astronaut Christina Koch is an electrical engineer who is also going to break the record soon as the longest single spaceflight by a woman, as reported by the US space agency NASA. Jessica Meir, a marine biologist, recently joined the crew station at the International Space Station for the first time and this was her first spacewalk and she became the 15th woman to walk in space. Last year, such a spacewalk was canceled due to a lack of spacesuit of the right size.
After completion of the tasks, the failed system will be returned to the earth after it is loaded by the ISS team members on to the next SpaceX Dragon resupply ship so that it can be further analyzed.
An out of this world achievement!
NASA live-streamed the event which was watched by many viewers from around the world and Ms. Koch and Ms. Meir also took questions from a girl scout group and from the public on twitter and were congratulated live by the US President Donald Trump for this historic achievement.
Many space enthusiasts and prominent personalities appreciated the successful and significant achievement.
Space brings out the best in us. Congrats to Astronauts Koch & Meir, first spacewalk featuring 2 women. Looking forward to the day when it’s routine. 👍🏻👍🏻 https://t.co/LtiMzkU1Ld
A grand Science festival “Lahore Science Mela 2019” has recently been organized by a nonprofit organization, Khwarizmi Science Society (KSS) in collaboration with Ali Institute of education on 12 and 13 October 2019 at the Ali Institute, Lahore. From CERN to LAST (Lahore Astronomical Society), many incredible organizations and groups participated.
Thousands of residents of Lahore and other cities visited LSM 2019
The festival focused on the wonders of Chemistry, including elements, mining, mineral compounds, and significant industrial processes, for celebrating the 150th anniversary of the periodic table of elements. The Mela successfully provided an excellent platform for scientific organizations to introduce themselves to the public and hosted 70 schools from around Punjab this year. The Mela equally inspired kids, youngsters, and adults. Thousands of residents of Lahore and other cities visited in two days.
(L to R) Dr. Sabieh with Dr. Mustafa at Lahore Science Mela 2019
A significant highlight of the Mela was the collaboration with CERN’s Media Lab, its representative Dr. Joao Antunes Pequenao visited Pakistan and exhibited the Large-Hadron Collider Interactive Tunnel. Moreover, the audience of the Mela had enjoyed with a live virtual tour of CERN’s CMS from the Ali Auditorium.
Dr. Joao is the chief troublemaker at the CERN Media Lab. He has a background in physics but spends most of his professional time conceiving interactive applications for science visualization and education. Over the years, his 3D animations, simulation images, and scientific illustrations have been frequently featured in several major media outlets worldwide. His main approach for science communication is the creation of visual and personalized metaphors for complex scientific concepts.
Joao has been key in establishing
state-of-the-art multimedia installations for science centers and visit points
at top research institutions worldwide. He regularly collaborates with artists
developing science-inspired pieces, coaches’ scientists on public outreach and
mentors many students. One of his big side projects is “Phantom of the
Universe” (http://phantomoftheuniverse.com/), an award-winning planetarium show about
Dark Matter viewed by over 10 million people in more than 500 planetariums in
82 countries and 22 languages.
Dr. Joao Antunes Pequenao visited Pakistan and exhibited the Large-Hadron Collider Interactive Tunnel
Here are some excerpts of his recent conversation with Scientia’s editorial team member Abdullah Khan on the first day of Lahore Science Mela 2019.
Q. What can you tell us about the Large Hadron Collider?
A: So, I’ll start with the Accelerator. The Large Hadron Collider is a 27 km long accelerator where we accelerate very fast protons (which are the nucleus of hydrogen atoms). We push them very fast with lots of energy, two beams going in opposite directions, and we make them collide at four precise points. At these points, we have detectors to observe and measure what comes out of these collisions. One of these detectors is the CMS detector (or the CMS experiment as we call it). CMS stands for Compact Muon Solenoid and is one of two generic detectors, the other one being the ATLAS detector, which is the bigger one. This detector, together with ATLAS, was responsible for the discovery of the famous Higgs boson in the year 2012.
It is an experiment that has over 4000 scientists and engineers from all over the world, including Pakistan. Pakistan is an Associate Member State of CERN, which means that Pakistani engineers and scientists have the same standing at CERN as those from any Member State or Associate Member State. As seen in the virtual visit, physicists work at the CMS experiment. In CMS, all these collisions that happen at a rate of many millions of times per second generate massive data, and what researchers do is analyze the data and try to find patterns that indicate the presence of particles which can be vital for us to understand the universe.
The Large Hadron Collider is a 27 km long accelerator
Q: So, the purpose of this work is what Stephen Hawking said, “Small questions, big answers.” Does it base on finding new particles?
A: It’s more than finding new particles! It dives deep into some critical questions like, why is the universe the way as it seems, and how did it become like that — trying to find a logic behind it. There must be a logic somewhere. Laws are governing this universe, we are already aware of a few of them, but we don’t know what is behind them. So, we are finding little by little, what may be at its origin. For example, do you know that 80 percent of the matter in the universe is dark matter? We don’t know much about it or even what it is. We are trying to find out why is it that most of the universe is made up of matter, not antimatter. Every particle has a mirror image particle (like an evil twin), which is its antiparticle. Why is it that there are only particles and not antiparticles outside the laboratory? These are the kind of questions which are fundamental for us to understand why the universe is the way it is.
Q:But there are some particles whose life is concise, like nanoseconds. How could we detect them?
A: That’s an excellent question. We don’t detect these particles directly, even the famous Higgs boson, and we can’t see those directly. What we see is the products of the disintegration of these particles. You see, these particles are very short-lived, which means that after a fraction of a second, they die and break down into something else. And it is that “something else”, which has a pattern, that we detect. Research in experimental particle physics in great part consists of finding such techniques, of distinguishing these patterns, in the middle of all the noise that is generated.
Q: That’s great! So, how many Pakistani scientists are working at CERN, and do you know any of them?
A: I know half a dozen at CERN, but there are many more. I can’t give you the exact number. That can be found online.
Q: So, the CERN’s lab and Large Hadron Collider is between borders of Switzerland and France. Who’s funding it?
A: The Member States fund CERN. It’s an international organization, like the UN. CERN has a council and the Member States, and they contribute an equal proportion of their GDP. But Pakistan is not a Member State; it is an Associate member state. Pakistan also contributes, but not in proportion; it is different in that case.
CERN is one of the world’s largest centers for scientific research
Q: How can Pakistani students visit and work at CERN? What are the opportunities for researchers?
A: For students, there are many options. Just go https://careers.cern and there is a zone that says, “students opportunities” where one can find many programs. There are short term internships, summer student programs for undergrads, and there is a technical student program which is an excellent one-year job for students who can be integrated into a research team with attractive salaries. It is a life-changing experience! As for researchers, the best is to coordinate with the Pakistani universities and research institutes already involved with the organization.
Q: Let us know about your career and achievements and who inspired you most in pursuing such an off-beat career?
A: When I was 14 years old I had a little accident. During the weeks I spent at the hospital, someone offered me a copy of “Cosmos”, by Carl Sagan. That book changed radically the way I perceived the Universe and made me decide to pursue a scientific career. I also had a neighbor who was an engineer and since the age of 4 gave me great playful lessons on rocket science, planetary dynamics, and Flash Gordon! I was very influenced by Sci-Fi movies and the cool graphical representation of scientific interfaces and physical phenomena. At the age of 15, I started coding and doing visualizations. I always liked art and storytelling, so it was just a little step to put Science, Technology, Storytelling, and Art together to build my career a few years later.
Global Cat Day is an exciting event held in October to celebrate the furry creatures – CATS! This year too it was celebrated with full zeal by cat enthusiasts. Before we share the public comments on “World Cat Day”, let’s take a look at why cats are good for health!
How cats are good for health
Cats can also bring physical health benefits to their owners. For instance, one study that Medical News Today previously covered found that people who live with cats have a lower risk of experiencing a heart attack.
Research has shown that cats can protect you against allergies, asthma, and heart attacks. While this may simply be because “cat people” are naturally calmer and better able to handle stress, it is quite possible that having a feline friend is soothing and reassuring, and this ultimately contributes to protecting heart health.
Another study that MNT covered argued that infants who grow up with furry pets, including cats, are less likely to develop allergies and obesity.
This, the researchers explain, maybe because infants exposed to such animals had more abundant populations of two gut bacteria — Ruminococcus and Oscillospira — which appear to have protective effects.
Cats are one of the most beloved pets
Early exposure to cats is also associated with a lower risk of asthma in children, according to research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology last year.
The authors believe that this is due to the fact that interaction with cats contributes to children’s absorption of a type of sialic acid, which does not naturally occur in the human body but which does appear to regulate inflammatory reactions.
Here is a look at how the “Global Cat Day” 2019 was celebrated on Twitter!
16th Oct marks #GlobalCatDay. When it comes to cat advocacy, one of the best things to do is to get your cats neutered by a qualified veterinarian, and to encourage others to do the same. This helps to reduce stray cats problems.#KSPCA#AnimalWelfare#CatsLoverpic.twitter.com/i7vieBTVMl
As we started to detail NASA’s Space Apps challenges for this year in our previous article(Part One), let’s continue to explore the other categories.
Our Moon
The Moon has been an inspiration for mythical stories, tales of adventure and romance throughout human history! This category provides you with NASA data related to our neighbor for finding creative solutions to certain challenges. The challenges in this category are as follows:
Fans of interplanetary travel rejoice! This category provides you with NASA data on our neighboring planets and asks you to solve different challenges based on the exploration of planetary systems, near and far from our home planet! The challenges are:
Team RaheQamar at last years NASA Space Apps Challenge
To the Stars
This category goes a step ahead of the previous one, it provides the participants with an opportunity to study and explore the vast Universe with their Scientific, technologic and artistic viewpoints! It allows you to design space missions with an entrepreneurial and creative mindset. The categories are:
Fly by wireless
Orbital scrap metal-video game
The Trans-Neptunian spaceway
Up, out and away
Invent your own challenge
This final category allows you to go full-throttle with your creativity! It gives you the freedom to create your own challenge and apply it to any Space problem. This is an exciting way to show-off your space science and technology prowess!
So these are the categories in the NASA Space Apps challenge 2019. We hope to see you at work solving challenges and taking the next giant leap at this global event!
“Hunter’s moon” has been a favorite topic among stargazers and astronomers. This term is used for a full moon that rises in the skies during the month of October. It was named after traditional folklore where it was said that hunters killed prey during the bright moonlight, saving food for the following harsh winters.
Below we have gathered some pictures of this year’s hunter moon from all around the world. Take a look!
Often times, people confuse the Harvest moon and Hunter’s moon with each other. Although the harvest moon precedes the latter in the month of September, it usually comes in October after every four years. To avoid such mixing up, different names have been given to each month’s moon across different regions.
This Hunter’s moon is linked with feasting as well. In some native tribes of the Northern Hemisphere region, a big feast used to be held to mark the appearance of this October moon. But, there this is a long-forgotten tradition now. However, there is a yearly festival associated with it held in September or early October every year since 1968 in Lafayette, Indiana.
ESA has established a two missions space program, ExoMars to address the possibility of extra-terrestrial life by investigating the Martian environment. This program is in coordination with the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The first mission consisting of trace gas orbiter and Schiaparelli (an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module) was launched on 14 March 2016 on a Proton rocket.
The ExoMars rover. Credit: ESA
The main objective of this mission is to search for the sign of trace gases, mainly methane and their geological and seasonal distribution in the Martian atmosphere. You might be wondering why the signs of methane are essential; it is because it can signify active or past biological processes on mars as most methane produces as a by-product of microbial metabolism in the decomposition of biomass.
The subsequent mission, includes a European rover and a Russian surface platform, will fly to Mars in 2020. This mission is first of its kind to have the combined capability of moving across the surface and studying mars at depth for two specific types of subsurface life signatures, morphological and chemical. The TGO used in the previous mission will operate as a rover’s data relay satellite.
Since the principal motive for this mission is to land the rover at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, so ExoMars drill is designed to extract various soil samples at a depth of 2 meters while investigating mineralogy of borehole using an infrared spectrometer. The acquired samples then deliver to the inlet port of the Rover Payload Module for analysis.
Panoramic camera system (PanCam) designed for digital terrain mapping includes two broad-angle cameras for multi-spectral stereoscopic panoramic imaging and a high-resolution camera for high-resolution color imaging. Stained Glass will ensure the prevention of color change from ultraviolet radiation, thus providing exact colorful images of the surface of the red planet.
The main priorities of the Russian surface platform are imaging of landing-site, climate monitoring, and atmospheric investigations. LARA (Lander Radio science experiment) will provide details of the internal structure of Mars such as a change in angular momentum due to mass redistribution like the movement of ice from polar caps to atmosphere and HABIT (Habitability, Brine Irradiation, and Temperature package).
These will examine the exchange of volatile between surface and atmosphere, radiation environment and compare it with investigations made by ExoMars 2016 TGO.On 21 October 2015, the landing site for the 2018 launch was Oxia Planum since launch got delayed by 2020. Mawrth Vallis also selected in addition to the former site as possible locations. The final site will be selected approximately one year before launch.
