Researchers from Harvard T. H. Chan School of
Public Health discovered that people who consume a more plant-based diet have
23 percent less chance of conceiving Type 2 diabetes than those who eat lesser
vegetables. It was also noted that this association was higher for people whose
diets highlighted healthy plant-based foods.
This research is also published in JAMA Internal Magazine.
Frank Qian, who carried out the research in his MS Nutrition, remarked that such diets were rapidly becoming popular among the masses, so it was rudimentary to quantify its corporation with the risk of diabetes. That was because such diets differed greatly in their compositions.
Previous studies have indeed indicated a relationship between diets based in plants and the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, but, but we cannot be sure due to an insufficiency of epidemiological proof. The researchers say that the current and latest study is the strongest indication of this affiliation.
The scientists involved carried out 9 experiments, which were then published in February 2019. Their analyzed data included that from 307099 participants, with 23544 Type 2 Diabetes cases. They worked with a variety of plant-based foods. Healthy choices included fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, while less healthy ones comprised of potatoes, refined flour, sugar and ample amounts of animal products. “Healthful” diets included a mixture of both, but healthy predominating the less healthy.
Heart shape by various vegetables and fruits
Healthy plant-based foods improve Insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, weight issues, and systemic inflammation and thus minimize the risk of diabetes.
Associate Professor of Nutrition, Qi Sun, elucidated that the data collected overall pointed to the fact that plant-based food plays a key role in the maintenance of good health. People should include fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, tofu, etc as the main constituent of their diets for the betterment of their health.
Fireballs and blazing meteor showers are a rare sight. But this month, on 4th August, we got to witness an alpha capricornids meteor shower in the night skies and we have collected some images taken around the world of this striking phenomenon.
Meteor showers usually happen when the debris of comets and asteroids fly by the earth which lights up the sky. Upon entering the atmosphere of our planet, they burn up at the height of around 100 km and appear as flaming fireballs or shooting stars. The alpha capricornids were discovered by Hungarian astronomer Miklos von Konkoly Thege and these showers usually occur between the months of July and August. These meteors date back to approximately 5000 years ago, which eventually formed a cloud of dust around Earth’s orbit.
The word monsoon is derived from the Arabic word ‘mausim’, means a sudden shift in winds. The monsoon sets in summer season when a large sea breeze, occurs, the wind blows from the cooler ocean to the much warmer land area. This seasonal weather pattern is the outcome of changes in the atmosphere cycle, the warmth of both the land and the sea results in a heavy downpour.
Roads in Karachi after a recent heavy downpour
Although in Pakistan, most people associate monsoons with rain due to the lack of sufficient scientific knowledge and awareness. However, these winds can also result in dry phases as well. A monsoon may not cause much change at all in the weather, while in some cases it can turn a desert into lush, green grassland, entirely dependent on the location.
Global warming and climate changes are the concern of every nation. Pakistan is also under severe climate changes for more than two decades and many parts specially Sindh and Baluchistan provinces have been facing drastic draught for more two years. In Sindh, the Monsoon brings heavy rains in the summer season, unfortunately, there had been fewer rains for the last two years in Karachi and rural Sindh.
During monsoon, there are weather hazards that people should be aware of including but not limited to downburst winds, lightning, dust storms, thunderstorms, wildfires, electrocuting, extreme heat and flash floods. Karachi has recently faced a fresh spell of heavy rains as finally, the monsoon set in after a wide gap of more than two years. Several causalities like urban flooding specifically in old parts of Provincial capital, traffic jam, and road sliding/accidents had been reported but a piece of shocking news was the death of two brothers who died due to electrocuting.
Karachi is particularly famous because of its debris, open flicker, streets rubbish , improper drainage system, and several epidemics during summer and monsoon season. After recent massive urban flooding, the authorities are shifting the blame on others and none has real concern how can such situation be dealt wisely in future to avoid death toll and massive destruction. Here is a debate around it.
Senior Journalist Fawwad Raza discusses the current situation with renown social activist Mr. Syed Zafar Abbas
To avoid an electrical hazard in the rainy season some safety measures are necessary like:
Check your electrical fittings before monsoon season sets in.
Avoid electrical work or chores during rains.
Make sure that the wires outside your home and in your street are working well if you find something that can results in causality during rainy season inform to the electric supply company of your area.
Though it is the major responsibility of electricity Supply a company like K-electric, to devising a safety plan for the masses, individually people can make efforts for their safety before a monsoon season starts.
Electrical companies, in particular, disseminate information regarding electrical hazards to ensure the safety of their client base, as well as other people.
Researchers at the University of Warsaw in Poland measured the distance between Sun and thousands of individual bright pulsating stars know as cepheids-massive young stellar bodies, to chart galaxy on a larger scale. Scientists used cepheids as cosmic yardsticks due to their periodic variation in brightness. By determining the 3D coordinates of each star relative to Sun, scientists created a 3D map of the Milky Way. The map was published in the journal Science on Thursday.
Researchers used this telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile to image the entire Milky way and find “cepheid” stars. K. Ulaczyk / J. Skowron / OGLE / Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw.
According to the newly created 3D map of the galaxy, the disc is not flat instead of the edges of the Milky way bend slightly, giving the warped stellar disc of the Milky way an S like structure. Warping of the disc has been detected before but scientists for the first time used individual objects to trace its shape in three dimensions.
“Our map shows the Milky Way disk is not flat. It is warped and twisted,” co-author of the paper Przemek Mroz said in a statement. “This is the first time we can use individual objects to show this in three dimensions.”
The Milky Way’s disk is not flat, but curves at the edges in an S shape. Photo Credit: J. Skowron / OGLE / Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw.
Scientists believe that the warping of the Milky way is mainly caused by torques or rotational forcing by the inner disc or past interactions with smaller galaxies within the Milky way or as a result of intergalactic gas and dark matter.
Thereare simply too many ways our skin can get damaged like cuts, scrapes, blisters, and burns are just a few examples. The usual treatment involves the simple principle of covering the wound with a band-aid or adhesive gauze. This is effective because it does not permit infectious microorganisms to enter into our bloodstream via the skin and also helps in healing.
Bio-inspired wound dressing contracts in response to body heat
Recently, advanced wound dressings allow the optimum pH and temperature for healing to be kept in mind as well. But are not common because they can not easily manufacture and supplied since they are expensive and beyond the approach of the public.
To improve and accelerate wound healing, heat-responsive hydrogels are being looked into. Active Adhesive Dressings (AADs) are elastic, strong and antimicrobial. They encourage fast healing of wounds and inhibit the growth of bacteria without further preventive measures. The researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, the Harvard John A. Paulson School for Engineering and Applied Sciences and McGill University just came across another technique to heal the wounds.
David Mooney is a founding core faculty member of the Wyss Institute and the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS, speculates how it can also be used for chronic wounds including diabetic ulcers, pressure sores, for drug delivery and as components of soft robotics-based therapies.
The inspiration for creating AADs comes from developing embryos, whose skin has the capacity to completely heal without forming a scar. The embryonic skin cells produce actin fibers around the wound and pull its edges closer, similar in mechanism to a drawstring pouch being closed. Once the fetus develops pass a certain point, this characteristic is sadly lost, and healing involves inflammation and scarring.
To mimic this beautiful mechanism of nature, scientists added thermoresponsive polymer PNIPAm to the hydrogels, which is hydrophobic and shrinks at 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The result is a hybrid hydrogel which contracts when exposed to body heat, transferring the forces of the contracting polymer to the tissue beneath through strong bonds between the tissue and the hydrogel. As well as this, AAD has silver nanoparticles embedded in it, which offer protection against microbes.
Benjamin Franklin is a post-doctoral fellow in the Mooney lab and a leader in the project. He exclaims that AAD has 10 times the binding strength of usual Band-Aid and preventing bacterial growth. Ignoring its wound-closing properties, this invention is still a lot better than ordinary first-aid products.
Researchers tested AAD on patches of mouse skin and were pleased to discover that wound area size reduced by 45 percent and healer much faster than not treated or treated with microgels, chitosan, gelatin, and other hydrogels. AAD is safe for use on living tissue as it causes no swelling or immune response. Researchers are also able to adjust the amount of the wound closed with AAD by modifying the amounts of acrylamide monomers while manufacturing.
Co-first author Jianyu Li commented on how this particular property could prove useful upon application to the elbow area, which requires movement compared to the static areas like the shin. Jianyu Li is a former postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute and presently holds a post as an assistant professor at the McGill University.
The team also computerised wound closure with the help of AAD and predicted that it causes human skin to contract at a comparable rate to that of the mouse. This shows that it has higher chances of showing clinical benefit in the case of humans.
The research continues along with studies that help to learn further about how AAD mechanically affects the bioprocess of healing and how it is affected by body temperature and body locations. Additional studies revolve around AAD’s future in medicine, and whether it is worth commercialization.
The day 20th July 1969 was a remarkable date when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin got the privilege and became the first astronauts who stepped onto the moon. The spaceship named as Apollo-11 lunar lander took them into space and paved the new ways for exploration of the wonderful and fascinating world of space. The spaceship was a masterpiece developed through the power of human wisdom. Approximately the team of 400,000 people comprising of scientists, engineers, intellectuals, were involved in the mission known as ‘’Apollo Program’’, which was started by NASA in 1961. Ultimately, it was the Apollo 11 mission that got success.
NASA had given the name Eagle to specially designed spacecraft that sent through Saturn 5 rocket in the quest to explore nature.
A huge financial budget was spent on the dream of landing on the moon
History about everything starts by discussing its pioneers, Orville and Wilbur, American aviation pioneers, gave a new dimension by implementing the idea of flying after observing birds in 1903. Later, curious, imaginative and thinking nature of human beings shaped the technological pathway to fly not only on earth but also to other planets. During the Apollo mission, the personal luggage of Neil Armstrong includes some pieces of wood and fabric from the flying machine created by Wright brothers.
Apart from NASA’s efforts and application of emerging technologies, the huge financial budget spent on the dream of landing on the moon. On the other hand, the expensive mission was also criticized by some of the social activists; their opinion was to spend that amount for the welfare of society instead of spending on such unpredictable experiments. They also believed that even in case of success, that achievement would not have useful future implications for humanity. Due to this social pressure, president Richard Nixon had written a speech in advance in case of having an unexpected failure.
No doubt, the mission was of great importance and gained a lot of popularity not only in media and public of the United States but around the globe. The event was broadcasted live on TV and watched by almost 650 million people according to an estimate.
Spacecraft carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins flew from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 16th July 1969. When they reached to their desired destiny, only one module of spacecraft having Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while another module revolved around it where Michael Collins served as a pilot. In this way, Michael Collins performed his assigned duty with full dedication and professionalism without experiencing himself the happiness of walking on the moon.
The crew for Apollo 11 mission
All the astronauts lived in quarantine for 21 days after safe come back. The reason behind this action was the expected chance that astronauts might have carried some disease or micro-organism from the moon.
The spacecraft was programmed for safe landing of astronauts on the moon. Upon reaching the point, they realized that it’s not a suitable place to land has a lot of rocks. Therefore, both astronauts analyzed the area in order to find a suitable place for landing and managed to land safely on the location of their choice. During the search of the appropriate location, more fuel had been consumed and they landed just before 25 seconds of fuel remaining.
Many belongings of human beings like pictures and sound recordings were left on the moon to symbolize their adventurous journey. Total time expenditure of astronauts on the neighboring planet was twenty-one hours and thirty-six minutes.
Astronauts gathered some samples of rocks and soil from the moon’s surface during their extravehicular activity (EVA). EVA is total time spend by astronauts outside the earth’s atmosphere to perform some activity in space. They collected a total of about 22 kilograms material that comprised of about 50 rocks. They found two major types of rocks, basalts, and breccias, from their area of landing but later analysis of these samples showed that there was no occurrence of water and micro-organisms ever on the moon.
Rocks that were carried by astronauts to earth were 3.7 billion years old
according to the information obtained from their analysis.
Planting the US flag on the moon was a difficult task
Astronauts embedded America’s flag on the moon’s surface and that was a difficult task due to its hard-rocky surface. Before leaving from the earth, it was a point of discussion that whether it is suitable to place a flag of a single country or not. Finally, it was decided that the American flag would be embedded with a board having written the words “came in peace for all mankind.”
According to their observations, the moon had a unique smell like wet ashes in a fireplace or a pungent metallic smell. The computer system used in the spacecraft was less advanced in technology as compared to our commonly used items like smartphones nowadays. Drinking water remained bubbly throughout the journey in space due to some issue of hydrogen gas filters in spacecraft. Aldrin disclosed the fact that ‘’communion wafer’’ was the first food
item enjoyed by astronauts after leaving earth. It is a bread having
ingredients like flour, yeast, salt. etc.
Armstrong words had not been heard properly on earth. His phrase reached as “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. According to him, he said that “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. It was just the confusion of sound ‘a’.
Aldrin and Armstrong were optimistic for successful landing but still, they signed many papers to secure the future of their families in case of facing any unexpected accident. Luckily, they returned safely.
Astronauts placed a mirror after stepping on the moon to perform a lunar laser ranging experiment. Purpose of this experiment was to calculate the distance of the moon from the earth by throwing a beam of laser and recorded time of its return to earth. An important circuit of spaceship had been damaged by Aldrin mistakenly. That was the time when only they can help themselves to get rid of this problem. Armstrong quickly set a pin in the hole of that broken circuit and succeeded in resolving it.
Stepping on our neighboring planet moon was the first step in the exploration of the space world. President J.F. Kennedy stated about the Apollo 11 mission:
“No single project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space, and none [other] will be so difficult to accomplish.”
Fifty years ago, Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the moon and bring sci-fi fabrication to an end. His one infamous words, ‘’ one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” now spread like fire all over the world, to approximately 530 million spectators.
The world will experience the celebration of this day again in a few weeks’ time, thanks to half a century of space reconnaissance and augmentation.
In honor of this revolutionary accomplishment, we peek into the history of lunar landings and analyze the future of space exploration and the niche of private companies in the thriving space economy.
Which countries have undergone lunar landing?
The most famous mission is Apollo 11, but other successful yet emasculated ones include the Soviet Union’s Luna 2 in 1959 and the Luna 9’s soft-landing in 1966.
Infographics: Which countries have been on moon?
NASA’s Surveyor 1 also soft-landed quite flourishingly four months later, as well as four more such missions.
After a 14-year stressful space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, Apollo 11 triumphantly went to and back from the moon, setting an example for generations to come.
After this, NASA sent 6 more missions to the moon, 5 of them being fruitful. 37 years after Luna24, China also soft-landed successfully on the moon in December 2013.
The US sent the most missions to the moon, 38 of them were got successful followed by the former Soviet Union, had 56 missions on its credit.
Infographics; MIssions to the Moon
Future missions to the moon
The present US administration has zealous schemes for getting human beings onto the moon by the year 2024, four years earlier than the initial agenda. The program is called Artemis and it includes 8 launches and a mini station around the moon by 2024.
On the contrary, Russia plans on sending barricaded flights to the moon beginning in 2025 and setting up a lunar colony by 2040 and a pre moon- war has already set between the former space rivals.
India is struggling to be the fourth one to soft-land on the moon and successfully launched its second mission to the moon, Candrayan 2 and scheduled launching of another mission somewhere in September.
The space race saga doesn’t just end with the dominating world powers. Private companies are in at the game as well, like Space X, which also wish to meet the goal of traveling to Mars. Elon Musk’s Space X looks forward to sending a group of artists around the moon in 2023, while Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin hopes to make it by 2024.
Infographics: Future missions to the Moon
Is Privatised Space Travel the Future?
Since these ardent space probing missions are extremely pricey, NASA is increasingly hoping for private companies to chip in. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Paul Allen are some of the billionaires devoting generously in the economic space stratum.
There are more than a hundred space transport companies worldwide at the moment, according to SpaceFund’s launch database. A bulk of them are based in the US, followed by the UK, then China.
Infographics: worldwide companies planned to space travel
It is the assumption of many that private-public partnerships between NASA and private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are the future of spacecraft. As a matter of fact, commercial launch traffic into low-earth orbit has experienced a steep rise over the past 10 years.
Infographics: Launch traffic in low earth orbit, so far
Your Turn
What are your thoughts concerning the future of space travel? Will a rise in the exploration of space be beneficial in the distant future? Or will it divert us from more serious problems to be addressed here on the Earth? Please share your thoughts and views concerning these issues.
Have you ever wondered, while looking at the moon in a dark night, if our closest companion is habitable? Can lunar soil support life? Is lunar soil fertile? Can lunar soil composition allow the growth of plants? NASA actually conducted several experiments on lunar soil samples, brought down by the Apollo missions, to answer these questions. In order to understand the lunar soil composition and to check if it is safe to keep lunar soil on earth, NASA conducted these little known but vitally important experiments. Scientists were already sure that there were no potential germs, viruses or bacteria living on the moon, but still, these experiments were vital for the safety of astronauts who had embarked on this historic journey.
Scientists are experimenting on Mice & Cockraoches
“We had to prove that we weren’t going to contaminate not only human beings, but we weren’t going to contaminate fish and birds and animals and plants and you name it,” Charles Berry, who was in charge of medical operations during Apollo, said in a 1999 oral history. “Any of the Earth’s biosphere, we had to prove we weren’t going to affect it. So we had to develop an amazing program that was carried off really for three flights’ worth. A lot of trouble.”
The astronauts returning from this space travel were quarantined for three weeks. A collection of mice, who were injected with lunar material, were also quarantined and monitored along with astronauts to study any potential adverse effects.
But NASA scientists were not content with these experiments and designed more experiments to ensure the safety of all terrestrial life. First, different species to be used for testing were selected which included: Japanese quail to represent birds; oysters and brown shrimp for shellfish; houseflies and German cockroaches for creepy-crawlies. Mice and quail got the injection of lunar soil, insects had the lunar soil mixed into their food and moon-dust was added into the water of the aquatic life, in which they lived. All of the species survived except for the oysters, which the scientists concluded had died due to other reasons.
Scientist haveplanted Tomato in Lunar soil
In addition to testing on various species of the animal kingdom, NASA worked with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test any harmful effects of lunar soil on plants. Lunar soil growing plants included tomatoes, tobacco, onions, cabbage, and fern. All of the experiments concluded that lunar soil composition was perfect for the growth of plants.
Meanwhile, search for any microorganisms was also carried out by preparation of cultures on Petri dishes to look for any microorganisms that flourished. No microbial growth was found in lunar soil and finally, in 1971, NASA was confident that lunar soil was harmless and doesn’t contain any contagious, harmful microorganisms.
Nadia Drake recently discussed the Theory of Relativity proposed by Einstein and how it applies to the behavior of a black hole as well as the effect of a black hole on a star passing by.
An image of Black Hole globally released in April 2019
Einstein’s theory states that light loses energy when struggling in an extremely strong gravitational field. Black holes are regions of space with an intense gravitational field which lets no object or any kind of radiation escape, pretty much similar in concept to the Bermuda triangle.
Experiments performed to directly test the effects of a black hole on gravity illustrate that as stars whip around a black hole stationed at the center of our galaxy, there is an obvious decrease in the speed of the starlight.
Astronomers, though, are hoping to find evidence against general relativity working in environments with extreme gravity. Presently, Einstein rules.
Further insight into the theory of relativity shows that gravity affects light as well and that massive objects warp any light moving around them. Astronomers are excited to share that even though not true for the whole galaxy, at its center stars are actually moving due to the potent gravitational speed. Sagittarius A* is moving around it, completing an oval-shaped orbit in 16 years time at a speed of 15.5 million miles/hr, nearly three percent of the speed of light. The main star is called So-2. After gathering further data since 1995, scientists have computed a 3D model of the shape of the orbit.
Ghez’s team’s findings simply show that when So-2 is closest to SgrA*, the black hole acts like a speed breaker, slowing the star’s light as it escapes into the cosmos. This causes So2’s light to stretch towards less energetic red wavelengths, slowing down by 125 miles/s.
Scientists used this procedure previously to test general relativity on weaker gravitational fields in our solar system. Other scientists like the GRAVITY team from Max Plank Institute of Extraterrestial Physics in Germany also detected the same redshift in So2’s light. Even though both teams concluded with the same results, the principal investigators do state differences in interpretations. Ghez suspects errors in the data while team GRAVITY is positive about the future of this area’s research.
Steve is one of the beautiful phenomena that grace the night sky along with the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. It looks like a long purple streak and is caused when gases in the upper atmosphere are charged and ionized. It has a speed of approx. 7 km/s and a temperature of 6,000oC and was discovered by a group of amateur astronomers in Canada. Feast your eyes with some beautiful clicks of Steve below.
