Top Ten Science Stories

Top Ten Science Stories of 2007

1)Rx for the FDA- Because of past controversies with certain drugs the drug agency now has the authority to require companies to conduct follow up studies on pre approved drugs and change the current drug labels. The pharmaceutical company which is generally such a respected field is now being so significantly shunned because of recent controversy. http://www.dr-rath-foundation.org.za/news/pharma.htm

2)Australia Faces a Waterless Future- Australia is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in history. This is more than likely a result of global warming which unfortunately is only getting worse as time goes on. Since this “waterless future” is due to global warming, there is a high probability that many nations around the world are going to have to learn to deal with less water in the future. Not only are they going to have to learn to deal with less water, but they are going to have to adapt in a short period of time.http://www.aspo-australia.org.au/References/Senate-ASPO/fleaysupp.pdf.

3)Astronomers Find Huge Hole in Space-Astronomers led by Lawrence Rudnick, have now discovered what they think is the “biggest bubble of all.” They have known that there are many giant holes in space, however, “nobody expected to find on that large.” This giant whole was originally discovered because of a cold spot in the microwave background that was carefully looked at by one of Rudnick’s graduate student assistants. So far is this is the ONLY supervoid to be detected. http://www.physorg.com/news107109720.html

4)Quantifying Global Warming- Al Gore Jr. is trying to help governmental institutions to work on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment. Even though efforts have definitely showed some improvement, the data shows that there are still some negative effects sure to global warming. For example, in Antarctica a California size piece of snow has melted sure to warm air that has been blowing in. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/264/5156/243

5)Controversy over Cervical Cancer Vaccine- The new HPV vaccine has been mandated in 24 states, due to that fact that it protects against 70 percent of cervical cancer and 90 percent of genital warts. It is absolutely ridiculous for people to think that a vaccine has promote sexual promiscuity, when in actuality it is everything around us that promotes this behavior. It is extremely important that more states continue to mandate this vaccine to help preteen girls avoid future cervical cancer problems. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v13/n4/full/nm0407-392b.html

6)Why Loneliness Is Bad for You- Loneliness can lead to cardiovascular problems, viral infections and higher mortality. The study found that loneliness desensitizes the glucocorticoid receptors, which cuts off the immune control and the release of cortisol ( a stress related hormone that helps turn carbohydrates into energy) http://biosingularity.wordpress.com/2007/08/18/loneliness-is-bad-for-your-health/


7)Human Genome Reveals Signs of Recent Evolution- Recent skin pigmentations pathways probably is a result from Humans spreading out into Africa and other parts of the world. This new pigmentation will allow them to adapt to their local environment. This along with genome topics of research have showed that even today able to reveal signs of extremely recent evolution. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/5940588.html

8)How to Erase a Single Memory- This experiment was recently conducted on a group of rats, in which place two separate traumatic memories in the rats’ brains were signaled with two types of sounds: a beep and a siren. Because mice don’t have the ability to communicate with humans, it is hard to tell whether one of these “memories” were truly erased or not. http://digg.com/general_sciences/Scientists_wipe_out_a_single_memory_in_mice

9)Arctic Thaw- The melting of the Arctic Sea is accelerating like it never has before; as a result the countries with claims on the Arctic Circle territory are now going insane. They are racing to send mapping expeditions to the Antarctic on a “sovereignty operation.” As a result of this melting ice in Greenland, there has been a diamond rush and the “black gold” or oil in the Arctic is said to contain about 3% of the worlds reservoir, so as you can imagine this race is more intense than ever. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101722.html

10)Functions of Appendix Explained- A group of researchers at Duke have now declared that the appendix is actually a “safe house” for beneficial bacteria. Although it is attached to the intestine, it has NO affect with digestion and was therefore first conceived as having no purpose (also known as vestigial). The shape of the appendix also backs up the fact that it indeed does have a purpose; it is narrow and has great inaccessibility and therefore is a perfect sanctuary for bacteria. http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail-episode/463181/96-and-heres-why-you-have-an-appendix

Nanotechnology

My Interviewee,Muhil Prabakar, is currently an undergrad at University of Miami where she is majoring in microbiology and immunology in the college of Arts and Sciences. Muhil hopes to one day get accepted to the Miller Medical Program at the University, where she will then follow her dream of working in the medical field. Currently, she has an intense technological interest on the development and application of nanotechnology. While interviewing here on her growing interest in nanotechnology, I learned more about our future and how much advancing technology really has to offer our generations and the ones to come.

According to Muhil, nanotechnology is a form of applied science in which the goal is to control matter on both the molecular and atomic scale ( in nanometers).This applied science comes from all the fields of physics, chemistry, and even engineering. Nanotechnology deals with matter that can be considered invisible to the naked eye, however, with proper size enhancing tools these "invisible" molecules become large enough to manipulate into almost anything.

As Muhil was informing me, nanotechnology is still very much its developmental stages, nanotechnology has many promising solutions for the future. One prime example is nanomedicines, these infinitely small reformulated version of existing drugs can enable a new method for delivering the medicine throughout the human body. These nanomedicines will specifically be used for the treatment of cardiovascular (heart) disease, Parkinson's, tuberculosis, and even cancer. Obviously cancer being the most fatal out of those three diseases, scientists have specifically focused on conjuring up nanomaterials that could potentially be used as a cure.

Although, there are many positive consequences associated with the development of nanotechnology, there are also may controversies on the continuation on this applied science. For example, this technology could become so large and powerful that it could ultimately takeover all the major resource companies. Also, environmental activists worry how this development is ultimately creating something that doesn't exist in "nature."

Interview

What sparked your interest in nanotechnology?

While reading a magazine article, I came a across one of the newest accomplishments of nanotechnology and it completely blew my mind that such a task was able to be accomplished. This article explained how scientists have now been able to magnify matter so extensively that they were able to manipulate individual molecules to construct a nano-sized train that was capable of running through a single strand of human hair.

What are the exact components of nanotechnology that you are most interested in?

With most of my interest being focused in the field of medicine, I began to research the affects that nanotechnology has on assisting the cure of certain diseases and medical instruments. I know currently scientists are researching microscopic computer chips that are invisible to the naked eye and working on placing them inside cancer patients' body. Ultimately, the chip would move around the body and work on slowly destroying the cancer a little bit at a time.In addition to nano chips there are nanomaterials that are used to produce artificial tissues that will eventually be used to replace diseased kidneys and livers or possibly repair certain types of nerve damage.

How do you think this technology will help us in the future?

In the future, nanotechnology will take over many aspects of life and will ultimately become incorporated in everything from medicine to architecture, this technology is "flawless." With this they can manage infinite molecules and construct virtually anything. With this power many devices no longer need to be built with natural resources but instead only with the required molecules. Nano research could promote an industry that would mobilize around a billion dollars by 2015.

What could you possibly construct from these infinite molecules that would be so helpful?
By magnifying carbon molecules such as Buckminsterfullerene you could ultimately be able form certain materials such subjects of reaserch under the umbrella of nanotechnology. Certain as a rope. These nano-sized molecules would be compressed together using advanced scientific tools and would result in a rope that would be impossible to break. This subject of carbon structures is one of the major materials act differently under the the nanoscale then under the macroscale.
There are many controversial issues with nanotechnology especially with environmental activists is there anything that this technology does for the environment?
Nanotechnology is showing progressing methods of cleaning up polluted sites and for monitoring water supplies. There is also and effort to conserve energy throughout the globe with this technology. This conservation would occur by improving the efficiency in production and transmission of fossil fuels which could hopefully eliminate them as a power source. 'Nanotechnology has many possibilties and the growth for this applied science is even more exponential than the number of divisions that occur to get to a nanometer".

References

Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology

EurekAlert- http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/poen-nre041607.php

Youtube- Video journey into Nanotechnology

Google Image search- Nanotechnology