Category Science & Technology

Researchers at Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, have identified two strains of plastic-eating bacteria which have the potential to decompose polystyrene – a key component in Single-Use Plastic (SUP) items such as disposable cups, cutlery, packaging materials, etc.

The bacteria species, Exiguobacterium sibiricum strain DR11 and Exiguobacterium undae strain DR14, were isolated from the wetlands adjoining the University. Upon coming into contact with the polystyrene, the bacteria strains use it as a carbon source to create biofilms – an assemblage of bacterial cells which grow as communities – allowing for targeted action of enzymes that alter the physical properties of polystyrene and initiate natural degradation.

India consumes about 16.5 million metric tonnes of plastic annually. Of the 300 million tonnes of plastic discarded every year, only about 10 per cent gets recycled. Researchers note that the use of both indigenous and genetically-modified bacteria could lead to eco-friendly, alternative clean-up methods for plastic waste.

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In an effort to save local plant species around Vijayawada, the Department of Botany at the Siddhartha College of Arts and Science tagged trees in the college grounds with QR (Quick Response) codes that give students information about the tree – from its scientific name to its medicinal value. Students only need to scan the code using their smartphones.

“Students now do not have the time to learn about the things around them via books. To keep up with the digital trend, we collected the database of all the trees in the college and assigned QR codes to them, making it easier for everybody to learn about a plant or a tree at the tip of their fingers,” said Ch. Srinivas Reddy, Head of Department, Botany.

The department has also brought in a few trees found mainly in the forests of the region, like the Gloriosa superb, and the Gyrocarpus americanus (or Nalla Poniki), used to make the famous Kondapalli toys.

“The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) categorizes the status of every plant species ever year. If we mention the status in the QR code, whether species is vulnerable, endangered or nearing extinction, we hope it will encourage people to grow more of these trees and conserve them,” says Srinivas.

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Did you know that our hunter-gatherer ancestors used to devour foods that were rich in sweets and calories, as they were few and far between? In fact, there is a gorging gene theory that attempts to explain our current eating habits, which continues to be high on sweets and calories, by tracing it back to those very ancestors. Gorging or not, sweets constitute an important portion of our diet and it is for this reason that both sugar and artificial sweeteners continue to play a crucial part in how we live.

Artificial sweeteners, however, are a rather recent phenomenon. Saccharin, which is the oldest to be discovered, came about only late in the 19th Century and having become the first such commercially available substance, it dominated the scene until second half of the 20th Century.

Remsen meets Fahlberg

The discovery of saccharin takes us back to the 1870s when Ira Remsen, an American chemist, returned to the U.S. and accepted a professorship at the John Hopkins University. As the university was founded only in 1976, it was, in fact, Remsen who set up the Department of Chemistry at the university.

Russian chemist Constantin Fahlberg entered the picture in 1877 when a firm that imported sugar enlisted him to analyse the purity of an import. That same firm put Fahlberg in touch with Remsen, getting him permission to use the latter’s laboratory for tests. Fahlberg and Remsen got along rather well and by 1878, Fahlberg took part in Remsen’s research at the institute.

Out-sugared sugar

On one of those days, Fahlberg was so sucked up in his lab work that he almost forgot his supper till quite late. When he broke a piece of bread and bit into a remarkably sweet crust, he merely assumed it must have been some cake. When he washed his mouth and dried his moustache with a napkin, he found that the napkin was even sweeter than the bread!

Puzzled, he next took his goblet of water. As luck would have it, he placed his mouth where his fingers had held it only moments previously, and the water tasted like a sugary syrup. Realising then that he was the cause of the universal sweetness, he licked his thumb, confirming his suspicion.

Knowing then that he had stumbled upon a coal-tar substance that “out-sugared sugar”, Fahlberg ran back to the laboratory and tasted everything that was on his worktable. He found the source and it took him weeks and months of work to determine its chemical composition, characteristics and reactions.

Even though Fahlberg previously synthesised saccharin by another method, he had no reason to taste it back then. By 1879, Fahlberg and Remsen published a joint article describing both methods of synthesising saccharin.

Sweeter than sugar

Saccharin, an organic compound which goes by the chemical formula C7H5NO3S, is nearly 300 times as sweet as sugar. Though it seemed initially that neither discoverer was interested in its commercial potential, Fahlberg applied for German and American patents after leaving Remsen’s lab and without informing Remsen.

Fahlberg received his U.S. patent for saccharin on September 15, 1885 and soon set up shop, selling it as pills and powder. Entering the fray as an artificial sweetener, saccharin soon became a viable alternative to sugar. The sugar shortage and its price rice during the World War paved the way for saccharin to be a sugar-substitute and it soon became more than just that.

Saccharin’s tale, however, is also inextricably woven with the rise of consumer consciousness, food control and regulation, especially in the U.S. With scientific evidence from both sides – for and against saccharin – no clear-cut demarcation has been possible with regard to its usage. The lingering threat hovering over a possible saccharin ban therefore spawned research into alternatives. Meaning that when saccharin was finally pushed off its perch, it was to give way to a new generation of artificial sweeteners.

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Moses found on rocks and trees in cities around the world can be used to measure the impact of atmospheric change and could prove a low-cost way to monitor urban pollution, according to Japanese scientists.

Moss responds to pollution or drought-stress by changing shape, density or by disappearing, allowing scientists to calculate atmospheric alterations.

Mosses are a common plant in all cities so this method can be used in many countries; they have a big potential to be bio-indicators.

The scientists studied the effect of nitrogen pollution, air quality and drought-stress on moss found over a 3 sq km area in Hachioji City in north-west Tokyo. The study showed severe drought-stress tended to occur in areas with high levels of nitrogen pollution, which raised concerns over the impact on health and biodiversity.

The World Health Organization says 88% of city dwellers are exposed to annual pollution levels that exceed its air quality guidelines.

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University of Texas researchers asked study participants to take a series of tests to measure their available cognitive capacity – that is, the brain’s ability to hold and process data at any given time. Participants randomly placed their smartphones (in silent mode) either on the desk, in their pocket or personal bag, or in another room.

The participants who left their phones in another room significantly outperformed those who had placed the phones on the desk, and these in turn slightly outperformed participants who had their phone in a pocket or bag. The results suggest that the mere presence of the devices is enough to drain somebody’s mental resources and impair cognitive capacity, even though participants felt that they were completely immersed in the task.

“Your conscious mind isn’t thinking about your smartphone, but that process of requiring yourself to not think about something uses up some of your limited cognitive resources. It’s a brain drain,” says assistant professor Adrian Ward.

Whether the phone was turned on or off didn’t seem to matter, nor if it is on the desk lying face up or face down – all that was needed to reduce a participant’s ability to focus was to have a smartphone within reach.

The researchers say it doesn’t come down to us delegating some cognitive processes over to the devices and losing on brain ‘exercise’; rather, it’s a matter of self-control. We’ve become so attached to smartphones that the brain actually has to give up part of its processing power to keep the urge of picking them up at bay.

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Astronauts abroad the International Space Station (ISS) have a new robotic companion. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Int-Ball is a spherical camera that resides in the Japanese module ‘Kibo’ on the ISS. Manufactured entirely by 3D printing, and using existing drone technology, it can move around autonomously or be controlled from Earth by JAXA Tsukuba Space Centre. The images it takes re transferred in near real-time allowing JAXA to quickly evaluate problems an offer solutions to ISS residents. It has cut the amount of the work done by Japanese astronauts on the ISS by about 10 per cent – photographing work and equipment for evaluation that otherwise would have to be done manually. In the future it will be able to check supplies and help with onboard problems.

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