It is that time of the year again, for brief introspection and a long list of unattainable resolutions. In this vein, we would like to review the weekly science tidbits 2016 brought to you through this page.
We have had a fair bit of physics pieces. A battery which charges up while you are working out at the gym – imagine running on a treadmill to keep your laptop or mobile going! We also talked about quantum physics being used to secure internet connections via entanglement. There was an article about the potential of drones delivering stuff from the supermarket to your front door.
Indeed, about two weeks ago, we saw Amazon carry out its first successful unmanned delivery! And, talking about physics, we also had the comprehensive article on how to shoot a football and the many forces in play there. We wrote an article describing nature’s fundamental elements and how these are studied by Maltese researchers at Cern.
We have also had many biomedical and molecular biology articles. From the increasingly important part computers have in the search for new drugs, to an explanation of our genetic make-up (and the critical role this plays in many diseases, e.g. diabetes, blood disorders etc.). We discussed how your genetic code can be edited using a breakthrough technique called CRISPR. We also had an article on determining protein structure which was tweeted by the major protein structure repository (PDB).
Cancer was also a recurring topic in this page. Scientists now tailor treatment to individual and evolving tumours (personalised therapy). Nanorobotic agents have been developed, which are capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with precision by specifically targeting the active cancerous cells of tumours.
We described the Internet of Things, where many small interconnected devices work together to achieve a goal. Your beer is running low and there is a Champions League match in the evening, so a message is sent (automatically by your smart fridge) to the supermarket, which activates its delivery drone with a load of cold brew. We live in exciting times indeed.
We featured an article describing the interface between art and science – and how artists use science to achieve new means of expression. And another piece on the subtle interplay between sex and disgust. We also tackled local issues on how to treat historic Maltese limestone.
Recently we started a maths series, in which we explained the historic origins of pi (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter).
Overall, it has been a good year – one over which we touched upon a variety of topics we hope you found interesting. Get in touch with us if you are interested in a particular area we have not covered yet.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the scientists and researchers (mostly from the University of Malta) who contributed to Sounds of Science.
We thank you all for your hard work.
Did you know!
• Engineers that designed the Voyager Space Mission planned things out so it would avoid planetary encounters during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Most of Santa’s reindeers have male-sounding names, such as Blitzen, Comet and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrated.
• Christmas purchases account for 1/6 of all retail sales in the US.
• The first printed reference to a Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany.
• During the Christmas season, nearly 28 sets of Lego are sold every second.
• The traditional three colours of Christmas are green, red and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolises the blood of Christ and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.
For more trivia see: www.um.edu.mt/think
Sound bites
• Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry. The wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.
http://www.factretriever.com/christmas-facts
• Santa Claus is based on a real person, St Nikolas of Myra (also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker, Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna, and Nikolaos of Bari), who lived during the fourth century. Born in Patara (in modern-day Turkey), he is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint, and artists have portrayed him more often than any other saint except Mary. He is the patron saint of banking, pawnbroking, pirating, butchery, sailing, thievery, orphans, royalty and New York City. Early illustrations of St Nicholas depict him as stern, commanding and holding a birch rod. He was more a symbol of discipline and punishment than the jolly, overweight figure children know of today.
http://www.factretriever.com/christmas-facts
• For more soundbites, listen to Radio Mocha on Radju Malta 2 every Monday at 1pm, Friday at 6pm. www.facebook.com/RadioMochaMalta/