THE ERA
Science
SUCCESSFUL BREAKTHROUGH
HEART TRANSPLANT FROM PIG TO HUMAN
MARIA BEATRICE VILLASANA
Earlier this month, on the 7th of January, 2021, the first-ever successful animal-to-human heart transplant happened. David Bennet, a 57-year-old patient, is already in his 6th week at the hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
He has been bedridden with cardiac support for the past two months and is diagnosed with a heart disease called arrhythmia, wherein a person's heart beats irregularly, which can lead to death. (https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2022/jan/25/are-animals-the-future-of-human-organ-transplantation-podcast)
Bennet's condition needs an immediate surgery heart transplant but unfortunately, he is ineligible to have an artificial heart pump because of his arrhythmia and a conventional heart transplant, also known as the traditional heart transplant using another person's heart that is suitable for his body. He is considered too ill to have one of those two options or ways to survive.
(https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00111-9)
In this case, the procedure called xenotransplantation has entered the situation. Xenotransplantation is the process of transplanting organs, tissues, or cells between two different species.
(https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/xenotransplantation)
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/xenotransplantation)
Porcine (pig) heart transplants are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); however, they made an exception and authorized the surgery on new years eve. They called it "compassionate use" as no other options were remaining for the patient.
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," Bennett said before the surgery. (https://www.dicardiology.com/article/first-human-receives-pig-heart-transplant)
A heart of a genetically modified pig is used to replace Bennett's. A genetically modified species means that the gene of a certain animal or species has or is changed. On January 7, 2022, the 9-hour surgery was conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC)
According to the reports, they carry on 10 different genomes or genetic modifications in the pig's heart for it to be compatible with the human system for it to function normally just like the heart of a human.
After the 9-hour surgery, Dr. Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin, a Pakistani-born doctor and the director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Programme at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and also the one who lead the breakthrough surgery, said that the surgery went well and the heart function looks great.
Two weeks after Bennett's heart transplant surgery, he is said to be alive and recovering well with his new heart beating soundly and is being monitored by Mohiuddin's team. The pig's heart inside his body is being supported by an ECMO machine but eventually, this will be removed for his body to fully adapt to his new heart.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/01/11/pig-heart-transplant-genetically-modified/)
“This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” Dr. Bartley Griffith, who surgically transplanted the pig heart into the patient, said in a statement. (https://hospitalnews.com/man-gets-genetically-modified-pig-heart-in-world-first-transplant/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThis%20was%20a%20breakthrough%20surgery,Dr.)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
The Journey of Medicine through Human Body: 4 stages
MA.LORAINE RIVERA
Have you ever wondered what happens after you swallow a pill or a drug?
​
Within the body, drugs go through four stages: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Elimination, also known as (ADME stages). A medication gets absorbed into the bloodstream when it is delivered. The medicine is subsequently distributed throughout the body by the circulatory system. Then the body metabolizes it. After that, the medication and its metabolites are eliminated.
(https://sunrisehouse.com/cause-effect/path-drugs-take-body/)
​
1st STAGE: ABSORPTION
The first stage is Absorption. When medicines enter the body's circulation from the place of administration, they are absorbed. Medicines ingested orally go via a specific blood channel from the digestive tract to the liver, where a major portion of the medicine is broken down. Other ways of medicine administration should not use the liver at all, instead of entering the circulation directly or through the skin or lungs.
(https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/drugs/administration-and-kinetics-of-drugs/drug-absorption)
​
2nd STAGE: DISTRIBUTION
Once a drug has been absorbed, the nest stage is distribution. The bloodstream is frequently used to transport medications throughout the body. Side effects can develop during this step if a medication has an impact at a place other than its target. The target organ for a pain reliever could be a sore muscle in the leg; stomach irritation could be a side effect. Drugs intended for the central nervous system must pass through a nearly impenetrable barrier known as the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from potentially harmful chemicals such as toxins or viruses. Fortunately, pharmacologists have found a variety of methods for getting medications beyond the blood-brain barrier. Protein and fat molecules are two more components that can alter distribution.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567736/)
​
3rd STAGE: METABOLISM
After a medicine has been distributed throughout the body and completed its function, the drug is broken down, or metabolized Everything that enters the circulation, whether swallowed, injected, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, is delivered to the liver, the body's chemical processing unit. Substances are chemically pounded, twisted, cut apart, stuck together, and transformed by enzymes, which are proteins. Genetic variances can influence the function of specific enzymes, influencing their ability to digest medicines. Herbal items and meals, which have a high concentration of active substances, can impair the body's ability to metabolize other medications.
(https://ocrc.net/how-does-the-body-metabolize-medication/)
​
4th STAGE: EXCRETION
The now-inactive drug enters the final stage of its life in the body. This stage is called Excretion.
This is accomplished through the elimination of urine or feces. Clinical pharmacologists can assess how a person is processing a drug by measuring the levels of a drug in urine (as well as blood), which may result in a change to the prescribed dose or even the treatment. A higher dose may be required if the drug is being eliminated quickly.
(https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/drugs/administration-and-kinetics-of-drugs/drug-elimination)
​
These 4 stages are the Journey of Medicine in the Human Body.
The body's ability to process medicine is influenced by genetics, age, diet, disease, and even pregnancy.
Routine DNA tests may one day be able to dial in the precise dose of medicine matched to your liver efficiency and other factors. but for now, reading the label or consulting your doctor or pharmacist is your best choice, and taking the recommended amounts at the recommended times is your best bet.
(https://www.ted.com/talks/celine_valery_how_does_your_body_process_medicine/transcript?language)
​
Medicines are so helpful in many ways.
People use drugs to fight illness, to feel better while they are unwell, and to avoid getting sick.
​
When determining which drug to give a patient, a doctor considers what is causing the patient's problem. Some people may need to take more than one sort of medicine at the same time to fight an infection and to feel better.
Merck Manual Consumer Version
THE LINK BETWEEN (CELL) PHONES AND CANCER: IS THERE A RISK?
MA.LORAINE RIVERA
In the 1990s, cellular phones (also known as cell phones or mobile phones) became widely available in the United States. Since then, the amount of time individuals spend on their phones has increased significantly, along with the huge and still growing number of cell phone users, both adults and children.
Cell phones emit a type of energy known as radiofrequency (RF) waves, which has caused some worries about the safety of cell phone use. The main issue has been whether cell phones raise the risk of brain tumors or other tumors in the head and neck area, because these are the locations closest to where the phone is frequently held while talking or listening on a conversation.
(https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html)
RF waves are used by cell phones to send signals to (and receive them from) neighboring cell towers (base stations). This is a type of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum that exists between FM radio waves and microwaves. Radiofrequency waves, FM radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and heat, are examples of non-ionizing radiation. They increase the energy by directly destroying the DNA (genes) inside cells. RF waves are distinct from more powerful (ionizing) kinds of radiation such as x-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet (UV) rays. Ionizing radiation has the potential to damage the chemical bonds in DNA.
(https://www.mskcc.org/news/do-cell-phones-cause)
The RF waves are generated by the cell phone's antenna, which is part of the phone's body. The waves are strongest at the antenna and rapidly lose energy as they travel away from the phone. When a person is on the phone, the phone is frequently held against the person's head. The more the user's expected exposure to RF waves, the closer the antenna is to their head. The tissues nearest to the phone absorb more energy from RF waves than any of those further away.
HUE OF THE SUN - STAR OF THE GOLDILOCKS PLANET
MARIA BEATRICE VILLASANA
The Sun is one of the stars of Goldilocks planet also known as Earth that has an average distance of 93 million miles or 1 astronomical unit from our planet. The Sun appears yellow from our perspective here on earth but according to astronomical observations and studies, the real hue of this star is white.
It is White in outer space as seen from the view of NASA's Space Station. Light coming from the sun is called white light that consists of the seven colors of the rainbow combined.
It seems yellowish to us or red/orange during sunset and sunrise because of the Earth's atmosphere. The Earth's atmosphere has this thing called "Scattering".
Atmospheric scattering or Rayleigh Scattering named after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh is the scattering of light by particles small enough to render the effect selective so that different colors are deflected through different angles.
In other terms, this is where the sunlight scatters when it reaches the Earth's atmosphere with air molecules that cause colors like blue, which have a shorter wavelength than yellow, to scatter.
This is why the sky is blue because of the colors that scatter from the atmosphere and the sun is yellow because it has a longer wavelength.
As the sun is getting nearer to the horizon
more air molecules are produced that cause a scattering for more colors with short wavelengths to show from the sky leaving us with yellow, red, and orange.
But in outer space, the sun is pure white since no atmosphere will scatter its light.
(https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1164/how-big-is-the-solar-system/)
(The Sun comes into our sight as yellow https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/mobile/2013/07/03/what-is-the-color-of-the-sun/)
Photo Credits l Adobe Stock
RESEARCH FINALLY REVEALS A UNIVERSAL EQUATION FOR
The Shape of an Egg!
MA.LORAINE RIVERA
The egg shape described as "the most perfect thing "has always been considered the main food source of human history and nutrition. It is also one of the most recognizable shapes in nature and an example of evolutionary adaptation to the most varied environmental conditions and situations, and it has more than 10,500 species of creatures on Earth. These species have gone through several stages of evolution and have survived countless extinctions in prehistoric times.
Researchers have discovered a general mathematical formula that can describe any bird egg that exists in nature and this is not just to understand the shape of the egg itself, But also an important step in understanding how and why it evolved, thus enabling a wide range of biological and technological applications to become possible.
(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/2108271337948.ht)
From an analytical point of view, the egg shape has long attracted the attention of mathematicians, engineers, and biologists. This shape is highly praised because it has evolved to be large enough to hatch an embryo. Enough to safely and effectively extract from the body.
(https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/embryonic-development-day-by-day)
Egg shape analysis requires different principles from geometric research. According to a report by SciTechDaily, the shape of an egg contains many geometric figures, including oval, spherical, elliptical, and pear-shaped. However, all the physical structures of eggs have not yet been concluded from any comprehensive scientific materials.
The researchers introduced an additional function in the ovoid formula and developed a mathematical model to fit a new geometric shape, which is characterized by the final stage of sphere-ellipsoid evolution and is suitable for any egg geometry.
This new common mathematical method for egg shape is primarily based on 4 parameters: egg length, maximum breadth, the shift of the vertical axis, and the diameter at one-quarter of the egg length.
The study about the egg's shape doesn't aim to know the real and general appearance of the embryonic shells, but also to figure out how they evolved through time. In addition, the study aimed to determine technological and biological applications that could be used from the egg.
According to the study, the mathematical equations for the egg shape have been found useful for multiple areas of advancement including biosciences, food research, agriculture, engineering, and aeronautics (the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight)
This universal formula can be applied across fundamental disciplines, particularly in the food and poultry industries, and will serve as a force for further investigations inspired by the egg as a research object.
Photo Credits l Pinterest
Redolence Of The
7th Planet
MARIA BEATRICE VILLASANA
Faint rings, dark, narrow and It's an ice giant planet, made up of various gases. Helium, hydrogen, and lastly methane are the reason why it has its signature color blue. It makes a complete orbit around the Sun in about 30,687 days or 84 Earth Years. The first planet discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1781 using a telescope. The ice giant is called Uranus.
(https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus/in-depth)
Voyager 2 is the first and only spacecraft that went to Uranus. The spacecraft went to Uranus to disclose the uncovered secrets of what gasses and chemicals the clouds of this planet are composed of. The Gemini observatory discovered that the cloud tops or atmosphere of Uranus is rich in Hydrogen Sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide, also known as H2S, is known for its unpleasant smell. It is a colorless gas that produces a pungent "rotten egg" odor at low concentrations. Farts also have a combination of Hydrogen Sulfide and other different kinds of gasses.
Because of the fact that Hydrogen Sulfide smells like a fart and rotten egg, Patrick Irwin a physicist said that "If an unfortunate human were ever to descend through Uranus's clouds, they would be met with very unpleasant and odoriferous conditions".
Thus researchers concluded that Uranus has a stinky smell because of the confirmed presence of the said gas.
BIRTH OF
Mesozoic
ROAR
MARIA BEATRICE VILLASANA
Mesozoic Era, the period where Dinosauria or commonly known as Dinosaurs inhabited the Earth. Asteroid impact and natural disasters have been the reason for the food chain imbalance that caused their extinction, said, researchers. The Mesozoic Era lasted from 245 to 65 million years ago; that they even existed before humans, which resulted that no one has ever heard of the real sound of a dinosaur. (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dinosaur-extinction.html)
Roaring is the one that most people hear in the movies, especially Jurassic Park, but all of this is created by the sounds of elephants, crocodiles, and tigers combined.
Phil Senter, a paleontologist, said that even the sounds that we have been accustomed to are that dinosaurs may not be able to do it e.g. hoots, roars, and chirps. (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/did-dinosaurs-roar-48438337/)
According to History Biology research performed by Senter, there's no concrete evidence of what is the real sound of the dinosaurs due to their larynx or voice box that cannot be fossilized because it is not a bone.
10 million years after the dinosaurs went extinct, the crocodiles evolved and 95% of the birds today have evolved from small dinosaurs based on their DNA said by paleontologists. These two animals became the biggest hint of what their ancestors sounded like. These two creatures have two different organs to vocalize.
Crocodiles vocalize using their larynx while birds use their organ, called a syrinx. The difference between the two organs is that the larynx can’t fossilize; the syrinx is hard to fossilize to but still can. Senter concluded that both creatures evolved independently.
Paleontologists say that most of the dinosaurs had nasal cavities, mouth, and nose. These three parts can still produce sound even if they lack the presence of a voice box. Hissing and other low-noise sounds are said to be produced by these parts.
Photo Credits l Pinterest
Photo Credits l ABC News
AFTER A 90- DAY SPACE JOURNEY,
CHINESE ASTRONAUTS HAVE RETURNED
MA.LORAINE RIVERA
On Friday, September 17, three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth after a 90-day journey to an unfinished space station, the country's first crewed mission since 2016.
The three men – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo – landed safely in the autonomous area of Inner Mongolia in northern China at 1:34 p.m. (0534 GMT) in a tiny return capsule, according to state media.
As China builds its first permanent space station, the Shenzhou-12 mission was the first of four crewed flights planned for 2021-2022. Eleven missions are required to complete the procedure, which includes the launch of the station's three modules.
The Tianhe module, the space station's future residential quarters, was launched in April, signaling the start of construction. Tianhe, a spacecraft about the size of a city bus, has been home to Nie, Liu, and Tang since mid-June, making it China's longest space mission.
The astronauts used their time in orbit to conduct spacewalks check Tianhe's life-support system, test the module's robotic arm, and sort supplies for future crewed missions. The second crewed mission is set to launch in October, with the next group of astronauts expected to spend six months on Tianhe.
China will deploy an automated freight spaceship – Tianzhou-3 – to Tianhe ahead of the Shenzhou-13 mission, bringing supplies for the next crew.
According to official media, Tianzhou-3 will be launched in the near future.
China has spent the last decade building technologies to build its own space station after being barred by US law from working with NASA and, by implication, the US-led International Space Station (ISS).
China's space station, which is projected to be finished by the end of 2022, will be the only option to the 20-year-old International Space Station, which could be retired in 2024.