) ... I Mean ;)

And also math is a common language for spanish and chinese people. The original esperanto :)

Cooking With Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Origami, 3D printing merge to make complex structures in one shot

By merging the ancient art of origami with 21st century technology, researchers have created a one-step approach to fabricating complex origami structures whose light weight, expandability, and strength could have applications in everything from biomedical devices to equipment used in space exploration. Until now, making such structures has involved multiple steps, more than one material, and assembly from smaller parts.

“What we have here is the proof of concept of an integrated system for manufacturing complex origami. It has tremendous potential applications,” said Glaucio H. Paulino, a professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a leader in the growing field of origami engineering, or using the principles of origami, mathematics and geometry to make useful things. Last fall Georgia Tech became the first university in the country to offer a course on origami engineering, which Paulino taught.

Read more.

ISS Expedition 54 crew land safely in Kazakhstan

Houston TX (SPX) Feb 28, 2018 Three members of the Expedition 54 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, returned to Earth on Tuesday after months of performing research and spacewalks in low-Earth orbit. Vande Hei, Acaba and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed at 9:31 p.m. EST (8:31 a.m. Feb. 28 in Kazakhstan) sout Full article

Carrying and releasing nanoscale cargo with ‘nanowrappers’

This holiday season, scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) – a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory – have wrapped a box of a different kind. Using a one-step chemical synthesis method, they engineered hollow metallic nanosized boxes with cube-shaped pores at the corners and demonstrated how these “nanowrappers” can be used to carry and release DNA-coated nanoparticles in a controlled way. The research is reported in a paper published on Dec. 12 in ACS Central Science, a journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

“Imagine you have a box but you can only use the outside and not the inside,” said co-author Oleg Gang, leader of the CFN Soft and Bio Nanomaterials Group. “This is how we’ve been dealing with nanoparticles. Most nanoparticle assembly or synthesis methods produce solid nanostructures. We need methods to engineer the internal space of these structures.”

“Compared to their solid counterparts, hollow nanostructures have different optical and chemical properties that we would like to use for biomedical, sensing, and catalytic applications,” added corresponding author Fang Lu, a scientist in Gang’s group. “In addition, we can introduce surface openings in the hollow structures where materials such as drugs, biological molecules, and even nanoparticles can enter and exit, depending on the surrounding environment.”

Read more.

Two most important phenomens to live for: coffee and ISS in the space

Coffee in Space: Keeping Crew Members Grounded in Flight

Happy National Coffee Day, coffee lovers! 

On Earth, a double shot mocha latte with soymilk, low-fat whip and a caramel drizzle is just about as complicated as a cup of coffee gets. Aboard the International Space Station, however, even just a simple cup of black coffee presents obstacles for crew members.

Understanding how fluids behave in microgravity is crucial to bringing the joys of the coffee bean to the orbiting laboratory. Astronaut Don Pettit crafted a DIY space cup using a folded piece of overhead transparency film. Surface tension keeps the scalding liquid inside the cup, and the shape wicks the liquid up the sides of the device into the drinker’s mouth.

The Capillary Beverage investigation explored the process of drinking from specially designed containers that use fluid dynamics to mimic the effect of gravity. While fun, this study could provide information useful to engineers who design fuel tanks for commercial satellites!

The capillary beverage cup allows astronauts to drink much like they would on Earth. Rather than drinking from a shiny bag and straw, the cup allows the crew member to enjoy the aroma of the beverage they’re consuming.

On Earth, liquid is held in the cup by gravity. In microgravity, surface tension keeps the liquid stable in the container.

The ISSpresso machine brought the comforts of freshly-brewed coffees and teas to the space station. European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti enjoyed the first cup of espresso brewed using the ISSpresso machine during Expedition 43.

Now, during Expedition 53, European astronaut Paolo Nespoli enjoys the same comforts. 

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren celebrated National Coffee Day during Expedition 45 by brewing the first cup of hand brewed coffee in space.

We have a latte going on over on our Snapchat account, so give us a follow to stay up to date! Also be sure to follow @ISS_Research on Twitter for your daily dose of space station science.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

LISTEN UP YALL

scientists are saying we have about three years before all climate change effects are completely irreversible (meaning we are absolutely FUCKED). that’s just to avoid the worst of it (yes, all this shit with the fires and hurricanes is NOT the worst of it). so, i made a quick list of things people can do to start reducing their energy use and in turn, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and what not! -line/hang dry clothing - dryers use so much energy as it is and switching to the actually makes your clothing last so much longer! aka less energy spent on manufacturing and shipping clothing. -eat less meat - when i say this, it’s not specifically for the save the animals idea, but that is a huge bonus! factories that slaughter, process, and package meat use an insane amount of energy (another reason to switch to local as much as possible!!) -use less hot water - wash clothes in cold water, take shorter showers (or cold ones if you can handle that) -switch to reusable grocery bags -efficient light bulbs -carpool, walk, ride a bike, public transit -unplug electronics not in use - don’t leave things charging for too long. unplug your tv when it’s not being used. 40% of an item’s energy use is spent when it’s on standby!! -buy only what you need (look into minimalism guys, it’s real neat and saves money) -recycle -get a reusable water bottle instead of buying cases of plastic bottles - i bought one at walmart for 98 cents and i use it every single day. -plant your own garden or start a community garden! -composting -maintain air in car tires for better gas mileage -drive instead of taking airplanes -buy used items if they’re in good condition - why spend $20 on a shirt that you can find at goodwill for $1? same goes for books, CDs, and pretty much anything! save money AND cut down on energy use! -yall know that saying “reduce, reuse, recycle” -most importantly: TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THIS ISSUE - i mean your friends, your family, your local government, everyone!! these are all small things and it’s just a start but if we can get everyone in on habits like these, we could reduce the population’s carbon footprint by SO MUCH! we don’t wanna end up like that movie wall-e guys. this is serious!!

Should make a Webbinar about it

Webb 101: 10 Facts about the James Webb Space Telescope

Did you know…?

1. Our upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will act like a powerful time machine – because it will capture light that’s been traveling across space for as long as 13.5 billion years, when the first stars and galaxies were formed out of the darkness of the early universe.

2. Webb will be able to see infrared light. This is light that is just outside the visible spectrum, and just outside of what we can see with our human eyes.

3. Webb’s unprecedented sensitivity to infrared light will help astronomers to compare the faintest, earliest galaxies to today’s grand spirals and ellipticals, helping us to understand how galaxies assemble over billions of years.

Hubble’s infrared look at the Horsehead Nebula. Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

4. Webb will be able to see right through and into massive clouds of dust that are opaque to visible-light observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. Inside those clouds are where stars and planetary systems are born.

5. In addition to seeing things inside our own solar system, Webb will tell us more about the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars, and perhaps even find the building blocks of life elsewhere in the universe.

Credit: Northrop Grumman

6. Webb will orbit the Sun a million miles away from Earth, at the place called the second Lagrange point. (L2 is four times further away than the moon!)

7. To preserve Webb’s heat sensitive vision, it has a ‘sunshield’ that’s the size of a tennis court; it gives the telescope the equivalent of SPF protection of 1 million! The sunshield also reduces the temperature between the hot and cold side of the spacecraft by almost 600 degrees Fahrenheit.

8.  Webb’s 18-segment primary mirror is over 6 times bigger in area than Hubble’s and will be ~100x more powerful. (How big is it? 6.5 meters in diameter.)

9.  Webb’s 18 primary mirror segments can each be individually adjusted to work as one massive mirror. They’re covered with a golf ball’s worth of gold, which optimizes them for reflecting infrared light (the coating is so thin that a human hair is 1,000 times thicker!).

10. Webb is so sensitive, it could detect the heat signature of a bumblebee at the distance of the moon, and can see details the size of a US penny at the distance of about 40 km.

BONUS!  Over 1,200 scientists, engineers and technicians from 14 countries (and more than 27 U.S. states) have taken part in designing and building Webb. The entire project is a joint mission between NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies. The telescope part of the observatory was assembled in the world’s largest cleanroom at our Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Webb is currently being tested at our Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, TX.

Afterwards, the telescope will travel to Northrop Grumman to be mated with the spacecraft and undergo final testing. Once complete, Webb will be packed up and be transported via boat to its launch site in French Guiana, where a European Space Agency Ariane 5 rocket will take it into space.

Learn more about the James Webb Space Telescope HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Tumour Markers

Chemical biomarkers that can be elevated by the presence of one or more types of cancer,  produced directly by the tumour or by non-tumour cells as a response to the presence of a tumour. Really great tests as can use just blood/urine, but aren’t the most specific and false positives do occur.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) 

Glycoprotein synthesised in yolk sac, the foetal liver, and gut - will be high in a foetus and during pregnancy. 

<10 ng/mL is normal for adults

>500 ng/mL could indicate liver tumour

Normally:

Produced primarily by the liver in a developing foetus 

Thought to be a foetal form of albumin

suppress lymphocyte activation and antibody production in adults (immune suppressant)

Binds bilirubin, fatty acids, hormones and metals

In cancer:

Detects hepatocarcinoma (liver cancer)

Risk factors: haemochromotosis, hep B, alcoholism - cell repair and growth from this damage leads to cancers

Present in non-pathogenic liver proliferation, including the growth and repair response to the above. This makes it hard to differentiate - AFP levels can be raised in patients with liver cancer risk factors due to the factors themselves, not a cancer. Not very diagnostic!! Used in combination with other tests/factors. Sensitivity and specificity ~75%

Other hepatocellular carcinoma markers:

γGT (γ-glutamyltransferase) - biliary damage

AFP mRNA (not always together with AFP! Might not be activated)

γGT mRNA elevated

Raised cytokines (IL-8, VEGF, TGF-B1) 

ALT and AST elevated - liver disease

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

a set of highly related glycoproteins involved in cell adhesion. Potentially associated with innate immune system.

Normally:

produced in gastrointestinal tissue during foetal development 

production stops before birth

present only at very low levels in the blood of healthy adults. 

Cancer:

Elevated in almost all patients with colorectal cancer

Can monitor recurrence of cancer (when compared to previous test results for that patient) with a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 70%

levels may also be raised in gastric, pancreatic, lung, breast and medullary thyroid carcinomas

also some non-neoplastic (not cancer) conditions like ulcerative colitis, liver disease, pancreatitis,  COPD, Crohn’s disease, hypothyroidism - again, high risk groups for colorectal cancer - not a diagnostic test

Levels elevated in smokers.

Carbohydrate antigens (CA)

Including:

CA 19-9 - Pancreas

CA 15-3 Breast

CA 50 - Colorectal

CA 125 - ovarian

Levels rise only in disease states and particularly cancer, but will not rise in all patients.

Part 2 coming soon!

“It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”

— James Baldwin, The Price of the Ticket (via quotespile)