An urban city does not seem like it would be the best place for most animals. Through research, scientists have discovered that cities actually drive species to evolve on a rapid scale to accommodate for pollution, traffic, and shrinking habitats.
Evolution on a genetic level is when genes change in response to their environment. Issac Wirgin of New York University has theorized that urban environments speed up the process of evolution, a process that most scientists believe to be very slow. Wirgin also adds that this can be both a good and bad thing. Another take on the definition of evolution is "survival of the fittest". Many species can last the cities, but not the other animals adapting to their environment that impact their own lives.
An example of urban evolution in action would be cliff swallows in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over the course of 30 years, scientists saw a steady decrease in the death toll of swallows around a specific underpass. The traffic patterns had not changed and the location of these cliff swallows hadn't either, their genes evolved to adapt to their environment in relatively short time. Birds that ended up being killed by vehicle collisions had significantly longer wings than live birds that were caught in nets for research. According to Charles Brown, an ecologist at the University of Tulsa, says this is no coincidence. The short-winged birds are able to dodge traffic much easier than the long-winged birds. Comparing these findings with the data trend of the number of decreasing bird deaths over the last 30 years these researchers can credit the numbers to evolution.
While cities are still not the most ideal environments for most animals to call home, evolution is helping to make their chances or survival much faster than most scientists had originally thought.
-Wainam
Monday, April 17, 2017
Sunday, April 9, 2017
More Smoke, Less Smokers
A recent study suggests around 1 billion people smoke every day. That is nearly 1/7th of the world's population.
Smoking rates have actually decreased greatly in the last 25 years. However, due to a fast growing world population, the number of actual smokers has continued to climb. In 1990 there was roughly 5.3 billion people on the planet. When the study was concluded with the census in 2015, that number has climbed to 7.1 billion.
The study showed that 80% of the smoking population were men. Looking at the amount of men on Earth as a whole, it has been found that 1 in 4 men are daily smokers. In comparison, the amount of daily smokers that are women make up 20% of the roughly 1 billion people. According to the study, about 1 in 20 of the world's women population are daily smokers.
While many smaller countries have higher smoking rates, the countries that smoke the most in general are China, India, the United States, and Russia. The highest smoking rate for any country is Serbia, with about 33% of the adult population being smokers.
The United States has done a great deal to combat smoking rates including a tobacco tax and raising the minimum age to buy tobacco in some states and select cities. The plethora of ant-tobacco advertising has also had a massive impact on our country. However, other countries do not have the same anti-tobacco workings in society quite like the United States. While our country is doing well relative to the rest of the world, if the World Health Organization wants to see deaths from smoking become lower than the cause of 11% of all deaths worldwide, other countries need to realize the danger smoking can be.
-Wainam
Smoking rates have actually decreased greatly in the last 25 years. However, due to a fast growing world population, the number of actual smokers has continued to climb. In 1990 there was roughly 5.3 billion people on the planet. When the study was concluded with the census in 2015, that number has climbed to 7.1 billion.
The study showed that 80% of the smoking population were men. Looking at the amount of men on Earth as a whole, it has been found that 1 in 4 men are daily smokers. In comparison, the amount of daily smokers that are women make up 20% of the roughly 1 billion people. According to the study, about 1 in 20 of the world's women population are daily smokers.
While many smaller countries have higher smoking rates, the countries that smoke the most in general are China, India, the United States, and Russia. The highest smoking rate for any country is Serbia, with about 33% of the adult population being smokers.
The United States has done a great deal to combat smoking rates including a tobacco tax and raising the minimum age to buy tobacco in some states and select cities. The plethora of ant-tobacco advertising has also had a massive impact on our country. However, other countries do not have the same anti-tobacco workings in society quite like the United States. While our country is doing well relative to the rest of the world, if the World Health Organization wants to see deaths from smoking become lower than the cause of 11% of all deaths worldwide, other countries need to realize the danger smoking can be.
-Wainam
The History of Earth's 5 Mass Extinctions
Detailed in Elizabeth Kolbert's book, The Sixth Extinction, an Unnatural History, there is evidence of 5 natural mass extinctions that destroyed the majority of biodiversity on the planet. Her book primarily is focused on how humans as a species have put the Earth into a period of a sixth mass extinction, slowly but surly killing biodiversity of our planet and our planet as a whole. However, that is not to say she undermines how powerful and important the previous 5 mass extinctions were.
Ordovician: 440 million years ago. 86% of species lost.
Killing about 86% of all species, this was the second most brutal to biodiversity at the time. All life was sea creatures, so when a sudden lack of CO2 in the atmosphere comes from growing mountains and a lowering of the sea level. With no CO2, an ice age occurred.
Devonian: 350 million years ago. 75% of species lost.
At this point in time the majority of life were still ocean creatures. However, plants were now abundant on land. The plants that grew along the coast ended up spilling nutrients into the oceans which caused the evolution of different algae. This algae sucked up the oxygen in the oceans which lead to many species suffocating.
Permian: 250 million years ago. 96% of species lost.
The most devastating to biodiversity on the planet with 96% of species becoming extinct, the Permian era mass extinction is one that gets compared to the sixth extinction numerous times in Kolbert's book, as what killed most of these species can be attributed to climate change. Due to a combination of volcanic eruptions and freak weather patterns, the greenhouse gasses that were emitted into the environment were too great for most species to handle. Causing a global climate change and catastrophe for most life.
Triassic: 200 million years ago. 80% of species lost.
No clear cut cause for this extinction has been confirmed by scientists. However many speculate that it was a series of different extinctions from changing weather patterns, to more greenhouse gas emissions, and a loss of habitat and food for the species on Earth.
Cretaceous: 65 million years ago. 76% of species lost.
While creatures of this era were already under great stress due to climate change, a giant impact from an asteroid is what ultimately did in the dinosaurs and many other species in. After the impact, a blocking out of the sun in a state similar to that of a "nuclear winter". The only survivors are what deviated to form into all species that roam the Earth today.
Humans need to take a look at the history of the world and realize what could happen if we as a species continue down the slippery slope we are already on.
-Wainam
Ordovician: 440 million years ago. 86% of species lost.
Killing about 86% of all species, this was the second most brutal to biodiversity at the time. All life was sea creatures, so when a sudden lack of CO2 in the atmosphere comes from growing mountains and a lowering of the sea level. With no CO2, an ice age occurred.
Devonian: 350 million years ago. 75% of species lost.
At this point in time the majority of life were still ocean creatures. However, plants were now abundant on land. The plants that grew along the coast ended up spilling nutrients into the oceans which caused the evolution of different algae. This algae sucked up the oxygen in the oceans which lead to many species suffocating.
Permian: 250 million years ago. 96% of species lost.
The most devastating to biodiversity on the planet with 96% of species becoming extinct, the Permian era mass extinction is one that gets compared to the sixth extinction numerous times in Kolbert's book, as what killed most of these species can be attributed to climate change. Due to a combination of volcanic eruptions and freak weather patterns, the greenhouse gasses that were emitted into the environment were too great for most species to handle. Causing a global climate change and catastrophe for most life.
Triassic: 200 million years ago. 80% of species lost.
No clear cut cause for this extinction has been confirmed by scientists. However many speculate that it was a series of different extinctions from changing weather patterns, to more greenhouse gas emissions, and a loss of habitat and food for the species on Earth.
Cretaceous: 65 million years ago. 76% of species lost.
While creatures of this era were already under great stress due to climate change, a giant impact from an asteroid is what ultimately did in the dinosaurs and many other species in. After the impact, a blocking out of the sun in a state similar to that of a "nuclear winter". The only survivors are what deviated to form into all species that roam the Earth today.
Humans need to take a look at the history of the world and realize what could happen if we as a species continue down the slippery slope we are already on.
-Wainam
The Works of Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert has spent the majority of her adult life informing the public about issues that impacted their lives in some way, shape, or form.
First writing for The New York Times to inform the New York city area on Political Profiles of candidates for government office and issues that touched the New Yorkers from water pipe construction news to local gardening city plans. Notable profiles she has conduced are Hillary Clinton and former mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani. She then moved into column opinion piece writing before starting her science journalist career as an investigative researcher journalist.
The author of 3 books, her first material varies greatly in what her final two books are about. Published in 2004, her book The Prophet of Love describes the unique personalities and profiles of the different types of New Yorkers that make the city run. Political satire or investigative journalism, Elizabeth is able to blur the lines of these two vastly different types of books.
Kolbert's second book, Field Notes from a Catastrophe, is an investigation and first-hand accounts of the debate within the world about man made climate change. The book shows the cause and effects of what society is doing that are causing a man made climate change, as well as potential consequences.
Her final book, and the book I will be reading and doing a review and critique of, is titled, The Sixth Extinction, an Unnatural History. This 2014 book, which won the Pulitzer Prize of nonfiction in 2015, has been praised by critics and the scientific community alike. It recalls that the Earth has gone through a period of 5 mass extinctions, the most recent being the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs. However, Kolbert claims since the industrial era of man, humans are currently putting the Earth through a sixth extinction.
Her investigations have touched a general audience in America that never may have never thought about such things as the consequences of their lifestyle.
-Wainam
Monday, March 20, 2017
Memory Training, Does it Work?
Do you sometimes find yourself not being able to remember something? Do you wish your memory was stronger, even borderline photographic memory? Many claim that the right food and rest improves brain function and memory. While this is true, a new study out of University of California Irvine shows that with the right methods, "Brain training turns recall rookies into memory masters." https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-training-turns-recall-rookies-memory-masters
Through a 6 week training program, people with average memory became so called "experts" at memorization.
Participants of the study with average memory went through a training method called "Loci". This is a memorization strategy used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. This technique involves a memorable mental picture or scene, then littering that image with memorable images or things that can be related in some way to the words needed to be memorized in the study.
After 6 weeks of studying and practicing this technique, the participant's memorization skills were compared to the world's best memories. These strong memory individuals placed extremely high at the World Memorization Championships.
For a list of 72 words and 20 minutes to look at the list, the memory experts recalled accurately on average 70.8 words, while at the start of the study those with average memory only remembered 39.9 words.
At the conclusion of 6 weeks, the participants were tested again and the results are very comparable to those with the expert memory average. (Exact numbers for the 2nd quiz not provided).
Brain scans were also done at the beginning and end of the study to the experts and non-experts to show what parts of the brain neuron activation was. Much more activity overall was detected in the experts compared to the non-experts. However at the conclusion, the brain activity of the experts and Loci participants were extremely comparable.
This goes to show with the right methods and proper guidance, the human brain is capable of learning new ways to process information and can consistently become stronger.
-Wainam
Through a 6 week training program, people with average memory became so called "experts" at memorization.
Participants of the study with average memory went through a training method called "Loci". This is a memorization strategy used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. This technique involves a memorable mental picture or scene, then littering that image with memorable images or things that can be related in some way to the words needed to be memorized in the study.
After 6 weeks of studying and practicing this technique, the participant's memorization skills were compared to the world's best memories. These strong memory individuals placed extremely high at the World Memorization Championships.
For a list of 72 words and 20 minutes to look at the list, the memory experts recalled accurately on average 70.8 words, while at the start of the study those with average memory only remembered 39.9 words.
At the conclusion of 6 weeks, the participants were tested again and the results are very comparable to those with the expert memory average. (Exact numbers for the 2nd quiz not provided).
Brain scans were also done at the beginning and end of the study to the experts and non-experts to show what parts of the brain neuron activation was. Much more activity overall was detected in the experts compared to the non-experts. However at the conclusion, the brain activity of the experts and Loci participants were extremely comparable.
This goes to show with the right methods and proper guidance, the human brain is capable of learning new ways to process information and can consistently become stronger.
-Wainam
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Interview of Dr.Alan Robock
This week I found my interviewee and it was not who was mentioned in the blog titled "Interviewees/Ideas".
This interview took place with Dr.Alan Robock. A Ph.D researcher and instructor at Rutgers University.
We talked about his college experiences, his views about the world, and his Ph.D thesis and how his work there still impacts his work today.
The threat of nuclear war is something that humans sometimes forget about. While we are not living in the Cold War anymore and Nuclear weapons are rarely in the news nowadays, there are still thousands of warheads scattered around the world and if a minuscule of those warheads get used it can have profound effects on the environment and humanity itself.
Dr.Robock, a meteorologist, studies these theoretical situations through computer simulations. How they can potentially affect the stratosphere, blocking out light from the Sun and experiences a climate change caused by humans that has never been seen before. All potential repercussions from a nuclear winter.
He also studies with graduate students about climate data analysis and geothermal engineering.
As I continue to progress as a science writer, I thank Dr.Alan Robock for his time and the information he was glad to share with me.
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock/robock_bio.html
-Wainam
This interview took place with Dr.Alan Robock. A Ph.D researcher and instructor at Rutgers University.
We talked about his college experiences, his views about the world, and his Ph.D thesis and how his work there still impacts his work today.
The threat of nuclear war is something that humans sometimes forget about. While we are not living in the Cold War anymore and Nuclear weapons are rarely in the news nowadays, there are still thousands of warheads scattered around the world and if a minuscule of those warheads get used it can have profound effects on the environment and humanity itself.
Dr.Robock, a meteorologist, studies these theoretical situations through computer simulations. How they can potentially affect the stratosphere, blocking out light from the Sun and experiences a climate change caused by humans that has never been seen before. All potential repercussions from a nuclear winter.
He also studies with graduate students about climate data analysis and geothermal engineering.
As I continue to progress as a science writer, I thank Dr.Alan Robock for his time and the information he was glad to share with me.
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock/robock_bio.html
-Wainam
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Astronomical discovery, black hole feast
While a student at a large University, I pride myself and my school in having the ability to take a variety of science related classes. One of which is astronomy. I enjoy learning about all aspects of science and try to stay as up to date as possible, so when a news story hit ScienceNews this week, I was intrigued.
A black hole in a galaxy 1.8 billion light years away destroyed by sheer force of gravity, and has been eating at the remains of a star for over 10 years, a huge time gap from the average of less than 1 year for black holes to devour stars.
The long meal can be attributed to a combination of factors. How massive the star is, at about 10 times the mass of our Sun according to the ESA’s XMM-Newton spacecraft and NASA’s Chandra and Swift satellites, as well as how gradual the sequence was of the star slowly moving towards the black holes reach of gravity, just getting within the threshold of gravity to slowly be reeled in and be devoured.
It is truly astonishing how with such a relatively small budget, organizations like NASA and other space programs around the world continue to learn and discover the amazing things about the Universe and how it works.
At 1.8 billion light years away, it can be very humbling to the public and scientific minds alike to take a step back and ponder how minuscule and small our life is in such a vast, ever expanding universe. So many questions left to be answered, with nowhere to go but to answer them.
-Wainam
A black hole in a galaxy 1.8 billion light years away destroyed by sheer force of gravity, and has been eating at the remains of a star for over 10 years, a huge time gap from the average of less than 1 year for black holes to devour stars.
The long meal can be attributed to a combination of factors. How massive the star is, at about 10 times the mass of our Sun according to the ESA’s XMM-Newton spacecraft and NASA’s Chandra and Swift satellites, as well as how gradual the sequence was of the star slowly moving towards the black holes reach of gravity, just getting within the threshold of gravity to slowly be reeled in and be devoured.
It is truly astonishing how with such a relatively small budget, organizations like NASA and other space programs around the world continue to learn and discover the amazing things about the Universe and how it works.
At 1.8 billion light years away, it can be very humbling to the public and scientific minds alike to take a step back and ponder how minuscule and small our life is in such a vast, ever expanding universe. So many questions left to be answered, with nowhere to go but to answer them.
-Wainam
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