Colorado State wine hopeful to be sold in local stores soon

Although this blog is centered on scientific studies and breakthroughs scientific fields, I decided to branch off from the original side of things and look at ‘scientific studies’ from a new angle. Being a student of Colorado State University, why not make a post about local news?

Colorado State University has the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, and one of the concentrations available through the department is viticulture, which is the science, study, and study of grapes, and enology, the science and study of wine and wine making. So this post does have the original concept of scientific studies in mind!

The department was developed back in 2008 by CSU professor Stephen Menke. He says that the two purposes for the program are to help students get a good background in enology to further help them get a job in the field, and to also help the Colorado industry viticulture and enology grow. ‘[We want the students] to take charge of making and deciding which vines to produce and implementing their innovative ideas’ said Menke.

CSU actually owns its one winery, called the Ram’s Point winery, which is located in Grand Junction, and is ran by Menke and the department’s students. The students are actually given the ability to grow grapes at a Fort Collins vineyard that are used at the winery.

So far, Ram’s Point wine is only sold online, but Menke hopes that with the department growing in popularity the CSU campus will embrace its own wine brand, and then demand it to be sold on the shelves of local stores. As of now, there is no definite date or time frame when Ram’s Point wine will actually be sold in local stores, but as a Fort Collin resident and a newly turned 21-year-old, I can only hope that it happens sooner than later!

MIT and Harvard scientists create matter from light

Physics professors Mikhail Lukin of Harvard and VladanVuletic of MIT have successfully created a scenario where photons of light bond together to create mass, a logically impossible, but scientifically probable outcome.

The two scientists filled a vacuum chamber with rubidium, and then laser cooled the chamber to near absolute zero. This temperature is 0 Kelvin, where the very particles of atoms have no movement, thus rendering the atoms frozen. Lukin and Vuletic fired single photons of light into the atomic cloud of rubidium, which made the photons give off energy to the unmoving rubidium atoms, thus drastically slowing the photons of light.

When two photons of light were fired into the rubidium cloud, they emerged bound together as a molecule. Because of this breakthrough, there is now talking of one day creating 3D crystals out of light itself.

There are nerds, like myself, who see this breakthrough as a scientific milestone toward the eventual creation of lightsabers. A man can dream, right?

Racism linked to firearm ownership and resistance to gun control

In a recent study by the University of Manchester in Britain, Monash University in Australia, and a few other universities, a link between firearm ownership by white Americans with racism and resistance to gun control. As obnoxious as it sounds, the study actually has some compelling explanations to hold up the findings.

Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), which gives information about voters such as age, gender, education, opposition to gun control, income, and anti-government sentiments, the study researchers put in this information into logistical regression models along with indicators of racism and stereotypes about violent black men and looked for a correlation between the two factors. The regression model showed that for each one point increase in symbolic racism, there was a 50% increase in the odds of a white American having a gun in their home.

This does not mean that owning a gun makes you racist, but that racists are more likely to own guns and oppose the restrictions of gun control. The researchers believe this is tied with the fear of ‘the criminal black man’.

This study did not examine the historical role of racism in gun control legislation targeting black citizens.

Vegetative patient found aware of surroundings and able to pay attention

A new study, conducted by scientists at the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambria, was studying patients in a vegetative state and whether they were able to attend to target words. The testing was done through electrical measurements of the patient's scalp while the patient was read a series of words, such as moss moth and worm, and asked to alternatively attend to the word 'yes' or the word 'no'. If the patient was able to attend to the correct target word, the patient was considered aware of their surroundings.

Of the 21 patients that the researchers studied, one vegetative patient was able to filter out the unimportant words and focus on the relevant words that they were asked to focus on.

Using fMRI brain scanning, the scientists conducting the study also discovered that the patient followed simple commands to imagine playing tennis. This suggests that the patient was not only aware of his surroundings, but also able to pay attention.

These findings are hopeful in opening the door to specialized devices in the future that would allow vegetative patients to interact with the outside world.

40 billion possible Earth-like planets in the Milky Way galaxy

A recent study run by astronomers of NASA has brought up the estimate that there are roughly 8.8 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting suns common to ours that have the chance of harboring life in the Milky Way galaxy alone. These planets are shown to be in the Goldilocks Zone, an area where it is neither too hot nor too cold, thus being a possible habitable zone. To put that into context, there are more of these possible life-sustaining planets than there are people currently living on Earth.

The study was conducted by having the Kepler telescope look at 42,000 stars and see how many Earth-like planets there were, then extrapolated that amount to the rest of the galaxy’s hundreds of billions of stars. The study only looked at suns that were roughly the same size as our own though, which is not the most common type of star.

If the Kepler study was concerned with Earth-like planets orbiting other sized suns in their Goldilocks Zone, the study’s co-author, Geoff Marcy estimated that there are roughly 40 billion right-sized and right-placed planets out in the Milky Way galaxy.

Marcy questioned why, if there were so many possible Earth-like planets, there is a deafening silence in our galaxy from advanced civilizations?

Men need two social nights a week with their bros

The Oxford department of Experimental Psychology has recently found that men need at least two days a week with their male friends to maintain good health. Robin Dunbar, the director of the Oxford University’s social and evolutionary neuroscience research group, also suggests that men should meet with four friends to recap the benefits of male friendship, and to grab a few drinks while they’re at it.

Dunbar also suggests that this bonding will also benefit men’s health through faster recovery times when faced with illnesses and higher levels of generosity. If the men also do some physical activity, such as playing a sport together, entertainment and laughter will cause the release of endorphins, which are responsible for the health benefits of the male bonding time.

Recently in the United Kingdom, one in three men cannot find the time to meet with their male friends once a week, and 40% of men are able to make a 'guy's night' only a weekly affair.

The truth of 'the cheerleader effect'

In a new study run by The Association of Psychological Science, the perceived ‘Cheerleader Effect’ has been proven to be true. This psychological phenomenon, which was first dubbed on the famous television show How I Met Your Mother by lady-killer Barney Stinson, states that a group of people, rather than individually, is perceived as more attractive.

Two of the scientists working on the study, Drew Walker and Edward Vul of the University of California in San Diego, say that people ‘average out’ the features of the people in a group, which makes each person seem more average that they truly are.

Walker expects that, since this averaging out of the faces also averages out the unattractive idiosyncrasies, it explains why the groups of average people are seen as more attractive. So, the researchers conducted five experiments with over 130 undergraduate students.

Individuals were shown electronic pictures of people individually and in groups, and the group photographs made each individual look more attractive than in their solo photograph.

New blood-scanning camera to help solve violent crimes and sexual assaults

Recently in a study of forensic sciences, a team of ‘blood detectives’ are looking into creating a working model of a camera that can detect and date blood traces more accurately. Since blood samples and splatter patterns are some of the most commonly used forms of prosecution evidence in violent crimes, these scientists are hoping to use this new camera to better date blood samples and create a more accurate chronology of events, let alone a precise time of death. This technology could also be used to detect and date other fluids, such as saliva, sweat, and semen, which could help improve conviction rates in rape cases and other sexual assaults.

Dr Meez Islam, the leader of the team working on the project, said forensic teams are still using techniques devised over a century ago because there currently is no effective way of dating blood. These include what is commonly seen on television where forensic scientists paint on chemicals to areas where blood is believed to be and hope a color reaction takes place due to the iron found in the hemoglobin of the blood.

He also stated that the forensic scientists often go to a crime scene and what appears to be blood is actually not. Blood on dark backgrounds are hard to see, and there are also traces of blood that are not visible to the naked human eye, so this new camera will allow for a fast, at-the-scene identification of the blood to speed up the investigative process. This imaging will scan the crime scene for blood and make the chances of missing a bloodstain very low.

A prototype built in Teesside University has apparently shown extremely high accuracy in blood sample laboratories. So far, police forces have shown a very high interest in the creation of these cameras, but Dr Islam says his team needs about 100,000 euros to fund the creation of a working model. This small investment though would lead to a large societal impact.

New machine chills beverages in 45 seconds

Have you ever wanted a machine that would actually chill your drink for you? Well the technology has been found, and the ‘reverse-microwave’ has been created! This machine was created by V-Tex, a United Kingdom company, and funded from the European Union.

The creation cools drinks in all kinds of containers, including wine bottles and soda cans, from room temperature to a low of four degrees in a matter of seconds. The drink, once put into the machine, is rotated at a low speed in water to keep the beverage from fizzing while the water quickly brings down its temperature.

According to V-Tex, their machine uses around 80 percent less energy than standard machines used in grocery stores and markets to keep beverages cool. A commercial product is currently being used in retail outlets across the UK, but a domestic product is currently being created for the average household to purchase. The V-Tex site even has a prototype gallery!

Possible AIDS vaccine found, 10 years until mass-production

According to researchers who attended the 13th Aids Vaccine Conference last week in Barcelona, providing a commercial product to the world markets to combat AIDS might finally be a possibility. Scientists and drug companies say that consumers will have to wait for about 10 years if said vaccine was created and effective; but since AIDS has been around for only 30 years and has already killed over 36 million people, any hope in a widespread vaccine is good news.

This new vaccine, RV 144, as created by combining two previous vaccine's approaches at combating the HIV strain. The RV 144 combines a DNA vaccine with a protein vaccine effectively protecting the immune system 31% more than a placebo. This jump in efficiency sparked the creation of the Pox Protein Public-Private Partnership, (P5), a combination of companies and nongovernmental organizations that hope to make RV 144 a licensed product.

Other researchers, although ecstatic with these findings, wonder if governments should be investing in a concentration on prevention and treatment strategies instead of investing in a possible vaccine

Air pollution causes lung cancer

A new study scientifically confirmed a commuter’s worst fears last week: air pollution directly causes lung cancer. The ultimate decision was chosen by an expert panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), based in Lyon, France.

The IARC confirmed that air pollution is a carcinogen (a cancer causing agent) such as asbestos, tobacco, and ultraviolet radiation. Previously, the IARC had classified components of air pollution, such as diesel fumes, to be carcinogens; but this is the first air pollution in its entirety has been classified as such.

The researchers are concerned that, unlike secondhand smoke, the population is not able to just maneuver their way around air pollution. This hopefully will prompt governments and other agencies to create and implement stricter controls on spewing fumes.

Smoking is more dangerous than previously believed according to Australian study

A new Australian study on the effects of smoking shows that this bad habit is even more deadly than scientists previously thought. According to the study, supported by the National Heart Foundation in collaboration with Cancer Council NSW, smoking cuts ten years off of the average smoker's life and it is directly linked to two-thirds of deaths in current smokers.

The study involved 200,000 Australians and states that even moderate smoking is deadly, and the risk of complications increases with the number of cigarettes smoked each day. The good news is that at any age, completely stopping smoking reduces the risk.

The scientists believe that this new study will help smokers realize just how dangerous this habit is and give them an incentive to quit. According to The Heart Foundation’s Dr. Rob Grenfell, a worker on the study, smoking is the single-most preventable cause of death in Australia and kills 15,000 people a year.

Haitian cholera survivors sue United Nations

A very deadly strain of cholera has recently been reported in Haiti, a country that has not known cholera for over 100 years. So far, there have been roughly 700,000 deaths from this outbreak, and the survivors and family members of these Haitians are suing the United Nations for billions of dollars in unspecified damages. These include  over 679,000 victims of personal injury, wrongful death, and loss of use of property and natural resources.

The UN has stated that they have legal immunity from the compensation claims, even going so far as not allowing a resolution to the claims using its own internal procedures, which is why proceedings for the court action are being held in New York.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is beyond any serious doubt that UN peacekeeping troops are the culprit in the outbreak of cholera. This strain has been found to be entering other countries too, such as Venezuela, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, killing more than 8,500 people there.

The lawsuit states that the cholera was brought by UN troops from Nepal, in which cholera is an epidemic and recent infections have already been reported.

Nationwide tobacco use and health concerns study

Within the past few weeks, I have been a part of a new scientific study through the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH). This study, in collaboration between The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was announced in October 2011 and aims to teach the public why and how people are using – or not using – different types of tobacco products and how use may affect health. The PATH’s goal is to interview about 59,000 people aged 12 and older, which makes this new study the largest of its kind ever done.

How it works is a household is chosen at random from any city across the nation and an interviewer contacts the residents of the home or apartment. Anyone, 12 or older, living at the address can take a quick survey to see if they are eligible. If the residents agree to take the survey, a residential interviewer sets up a date and time to come to the address and guide the residents through the survey. If you are chosen, you can then choose to be a participant in the study. As compensation, PATH offers a $35 debit card as a thank you for participating in the study.

David Hinson, a fellow CSU Ram randomly selected to partake in the study said that although he has never used a tobacco product before in his life, his participation was greatly encouraged and appreciated. His interviewer said to him that there were practically no participants so far who had not used tobacco products before, so it was very important to have his participation to account for at least 1,000 of our peers who have the same non-tobacco habits as him.

When I contacted PATH, the man who I spoke with said that I was a prime participant, for I am a college student of average height and weight with a part-time job. The man explained that since they are hoping for about 60,000 participants, I would roughly represent 1,000 of my peers.

Emily A. Gossner, the woman who conducted my study, also filled me in with other questions I had and gave me more insight about the study. Gossner said every year, for at least three years, I will be contacted and encouraged to re-participate in the study as a follow-up on tobacco their use. Also, for more of my heath information, PATH is asking me if they could acquire urine, blood, and saliva samples, or any combination of the three. I was allowed to decline though, and I did.

Gossner also said that the study will conclude and by published hopefully near the end of 2015.

California and Japanese researchers find new hope for delaying early menopause

Researchers at St Marianna University in Kawasaki, Japan and Stanford University in California have found a new hope for women diagnosed with early menopause. This breakthrough in ‘reawakening the woman’s ovaries’ is done by removing the ovary, activating them in the laboratory, and re-implanting the fragments of the ovarian tissue.

Until now, the only option for having children with women going through early menopause was to accept IVF treatment using donated eggs, which would mean that the baby would be the result of another biological mother.

So far, this procedure has resulted in one baby born and another expecting. The researchers now plan to help other age groups of women, mostly women who become infertile between the ages of 40 and 45.

Facebook linked to declining social well-being

A new study involving social media’s effect on mental health as correlated Facebook to an overall decline in life satisfaction. The study, created by the University of Michigan, had college students fill out a questionnaire about their overall life contentment, then over the course of two weeks, had these same students respond to five daily text messages asking them about their current mood.

The study found that, after using Facebook, students had a decline in overall well-being. The researchers decided to see if there was a relation with any form of social interaction, so the students were asked the text questions again after having a face-to-face social interaction. The findings were that the students actually felt an increase in well-being, thus confirming their findings.

This has yet to be proven as a causal claim though and is only based off of the correlation.

British scientists discover new universal flu vaccine

On September 23^rd 2013, scientists say they have found a new scientific breakthrough that could help protect the people of Britain from the flu. The found vaccine will protect from all forms of the flu too, not just the most common strain. The foundation for the new vaccine was found by scientists, led by Professor Ajit Lalvani, at the Imperial College London.

This vaccine attacks the core of the virus, which would effectively kill the existing kind of flu and also kill future strains, hopefully preventing future pandemics from occurring, such as the historical 1918 Spanish flu outbreak that killed millions of people all throughout Europe.

Because of the thousands of people in Britain who die every winter because of the flu, this new flu vaccine is sought to save lives.

Chinese create much more effective water filter

The most recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that the scarcity of available safe and pure potable water is increasingly becoming a reality in many countries. The WHO is linking this problem of less safe water to the increase in deaths from water borne diseases. Ningbo Qingin, a Chinese Electric Appliance Company, however, has announced that they have created a very efficient and highly potent water filter system that will give the consumers safe to drink pure and hygienic water.

Usually, filtering out tiny impurities and microorganisms is extremely difficult. But reverse osmosis experts at Ningbo Qingin say that their new water filters overcome this problem by taking the filtering process through multiple steps, including specific treatment for each type of impurity and microorganism.

Ningbo Qingin supplies water dispensers to many consumers every month, worldwide.

No magic cure for TBI

A recent study by the Pentagon and the Department of Veteran Affairs concluded yesterday that the use of a hyperbaric chamber did not help with mild cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The hyperbaric chamber is a pressurized chamber that forces oxygen into the subject's brain, and the study was conducted on tens of thousands of combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

These combat veterans were 60 Marines who suffered mild brain injuries in roadside bombs and mortars or rocket-propelled grenades. According to the Pentagon, over 230,000 troops have suffered mild TBI cases since 2000.

Breathing pressurized oxygen raises the oxygen levels in the subject's brain, which boosts the health of damaged brain cells, improving brain functions and combating TBI. This system is similar to decompression chambers used on divers to combat decompression sickness and the bends.

Curiosity rover finds more evidence of water on Mars

On September 18^th, the Curiosity rover, first touching down on Mars last August, found significant evidence that water once existed on Mars, and the habitat at that time could have supported microbial life. Curiosity first found mudstone, a rock containing clay that is made of fine minerals that settle slowly, usually caused by water and wind.

The rover also found small sulfate veins on the surface that suggests a flow of water transported these sulfate-rich minerals to these veins from their original location. This process is very common in ancient rivers on Earth, so scientists believe these veins are a result of rivers on Mars’ surface millions to billions of years ago.

Massive aquifers found under drought-stricken northern Kenya

On Wednesday, September 11^th 2013, UNESCO drilling and the Kenyan government found two large aquifers of underground water, estimated at 200 billion cubic meters. This discovery was found using advanced satellite exploration technology.

This water is hoped to help the drought-stricken north region of Kenya, where just two years ago a drought pushed the malnutrition rate up to a staggering 37 percent. 17 million of Kenya’s 41 million population lack access to safe drinking water and 28 million lack proper sanitation.

UNESCO says that further studying is needed to learn of exactly how large the two aquifers are, and the United Nations are concerned about the quality of the water. Also, the UN is ‘seeking to confirm the presence of a further three aquifers in the region.’

Russian scientists create compound to fight autism and schizophrenia in newborns

Back in 2011, a young Russian named Malyshev, a graduate of Moscow State University, came up with the idea of artificially producing peptides, a compound of amino acids, of breast milk that would help the nervous system in young children develop normally. These peptides would, if successful, eliminate autism and schizophrenia in newborns.

The peptides are planned to be added into the ingredients of breast milk formulas in companies that are willing to partake in the study. The product, Lactocore, has so far partnered with a major dairy producer in Russia and is planning to launch its product by the end of 2013. A second partnership in Belarus is being formed.

Since the startup, it has raised about $70,000 in grant money to cover current research and wages. To start up an international expansion though, the group is looking for international partners along with $1.6 million for final testing, patenting, and marketing.

Genetically engineered Israeli plants resistant to drought?

Last month, a team of scientists from Israel accidentally came across new technology that might allow plants to survive droughts worldwide. The team, led by the Chancellor of Kinneret College: Professor Shimon Gepstein, were testing the longevity and shelf-life of vegetables by cutting off the tips of tobacco leaves when their genetically engineered tobacco plants lived three times longer than the normal plants.

To further test the phenomenon, the team left their genetically enhanced tobacco plants alone without water for three weeks. Normal tobacco plants need water every one to two days, but the genetically engineered plants, receiving water after the three weeks, began again to grow, showing no damage during the ‘drought period’.

These genetically engineered plants also proved to only needed one-third of the water usually required to keep tobacco plants alive.

This new technology is very important for countries with low annual rainfall, so it is no surprise that many international firms are interested in the technology for the safety and security of their nations.

E-cigarettes are as effective as nicotine patches

A new study, led by Professor Chris Bullen of New Zealand's University of Auckland, states that e-cigarettes are as effective as nicotine patches in helping smokers kick the habit.

According to the team’s findings, 7.3% of e-cigarette users had quit smoking after 6 months, whereas 5.8% of people using the patch had done the same. There is no evidence of e-cigarettes being more effective in helping smokers quit completely; but after 6 months, 57% of e-cigarette users had halved the amount of cigarettes smoked each day. The nicotine patch users had a 16% less success rate in doing the same.

One of the most interesting aspects of the study is that, according to popular response, e-cigarettes are more attractive to smokers than nicotine patches, which may lead to an even higher rate of use.

Because e-cigarettes are a relatively new phenomenon, Professor Bullen suggests long-term studies on the effects and consequences of using e-cigarettes.