PHYSICS: So, how is the balance in your life? Here’s our discussion of net force, equilibrium, and equilibrants. Were you experiencing a little déjà vu? Great job today!
Image source phoenix.fanster.com/…/2009/08/tug-o-war1.jpg
Physics 10-20-22 Forces & Equilibrium
Researchers were able to use a wind tunnel and physics equations from ballistic studied to collect data on spiraling football throws. They were able to find that in an average football throw the ball either wobbles one time or five times per second. Once they determine if the ball is wobbling one or five ties per second, they can better guess where the ball will land. When the ball wobbles five times per second, the faster wobbling causes generates a lift that can push the ball sideways.
http://www.sciencenews.org/article/football-spiral-wobble-frequency-physics
During deep-sea dives, wildlife biologist in Zurich began to notice bottlenose dolphins routinely rubbing up against coral reef and their interest was sparked. After more observation and research, scientists found that these dolphins could be using the reef as “private pharmacies.” The dolphins have been rubbing up specific corals such as the gorgonian corals, sea leathers, and sea sponge. Research shows that these have compounds that will help the mammals heal and avoid skin irritations and infections. Overtime, this research has developed and more have become involved in proving that this habitual “massage” is for a purpose for these bottlenose dolphins.
source; https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dolphin-coral-antibacterial-skin-care-health-infection
In a test of NASA’s ability to successfully deflect any asteroids that may head towards Earth, their DART spacecraft smashed into the asteroid known as Dimorphos. The mission ended up being successful, with Dimorphos’ orbit around another asteroid, Didymos, being shortened by 32 minutes. Even though neither asteroid posed a threat, the mission marks a great achievement for our ability to defend the planet from other celestial bodies.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dart-mission-deflected-asteroid-for-planetary-defense
Conducting research on the flight pattern of shearwater seabirds nesting off the coast of Japan, Emily Shepard and her team of researchers saw a shocking revelation when looking at the GPS data for these birds when a storm or hurricane approaches. This revelation was that most of these birds would either fly near the edge of the storm to avoid the storm or they would fly straight into the storm / hurricane to get to the eye of the storm (calm area). This shocked the researchers because this pattern has not been seen in other kinds of birds, and, although Emily and her team plans to research more on this phenomenon, one research suggested that the birds could be doing this to conserve energy by riding within the winds of the storm.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/seabirds-typhoons-shearwaters-survival
Researchers are testing new forms of hearing aids by using dental implants. They have found that dental implants are better at transmitting frequencies than mastoid bone implants and traditional hearing aids. The results of the experiment also concluded that dental implants in the front teeth help with hearing more than the back due to the thickness of the jawbone in the front of the mouth.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/false-teeth-hearing-aids-jaw-bone-sound
Researchers have discovered that light in space is capable of moving dust at rapid speeds, sometimes up to 6.5 million kilometers per hour. These clouds of dust push against each other when the orbits of the stars are closer and pull away from each other when the orbits of the stars are further. Scientists are not sure how this affects space research yet, but they are going to continue to investigate this unique phenomenon.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dust-stars-space-starlight-stardust-astronomy
New research has provided insight on the natural immunity that was gained against the Black Death and its adverse effects on people today. Researchers studied the bodies and DNA of over 500 people during the medieval period, and they discovered that the genetic mutations developed against the Black Plague helped increase survival odds by over 40% but slightly increases the odds of suffering from afflictions such as Crohn’s Disease today. This helps them understand that while genetic mutations could have been helpful in the past, they can be detrimental down the line.
Source:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/black-death-immunity-gene-crohns-disease-health
In science news, scientists believe they’ve found the protein that makes particular fungi poisonous. This toxin tends to grow on produced foods and causes diseases in the liver, pancreas, and in some instances cancer. They believe if they can identify and isolate this particular protein, they can make an “antibody” that can be used to remove that essential protein
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/aspergillus-fungi-mycotoxins-aflatoxin-food-contamination
My SITN was about how researchers/surgeons in NYU Langone Health in New York City surgically installed pig hearts in two brain-dead people. The first test subject was a 72-year old Vietnam veteran, and the second test subject is not described with much detail. The surgeons installed hearts from genetically-modified pigs into the the chests of the test subjects. The hearts managed to keep the test subjects alive for 72 hours until the experimenters took the subjects off of life support. The article describes an experimental procedure with fully living patient David Bennet, who also had a pig heart transplant. He lived for 2 months before dying of heart failure. The article ends by stating that the research team wants to perform more pig heart-transplants on brain-dead people.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pig-heart-organ-transplant-brain-dead-people
Recently, scientists have discovered that sea anemones and coral turn oxybenzone, a common ingredient in sunscreen, into a toxin in the presence of light, which can make them vulnerable to death. It’s still unclear about how much oxybenzone is toxic to coral reefs, and many scientists are now wondering if other sunscreen ingredients that are similar in structure to oxybenzone have the same effects on nature.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sunscreen-damage-coral-reef-oxybenzone
Researchers studied the color change of over 85,000 blue lakes by using satellite photos and climate data from 2013-2020. They found that the warmer the summer was in the region, the more green or brown the normally blue lakes became. They concluded that this was due to the increased blooming of algae and other plant species in warmer weather. Due to global warming, the researchers suspect 14% of the lakes they studied will turn green or brown by the end of the century.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/climate-change-lake-color-blue-green-brown