ISSUE 14
Science And Technology News And Views Magazine
In this issue, we unearth the intricacies of SCIENCE IN N ATURE
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR At the end of last year, the BBC nature documentary Planet Earth II was met with an incredible reception. Now, just last month, the first episode of Blue Planet II received over 14 million viewers, making it the most watched TV programme in the UK this year. Even though advancements
in technology can often obscure the natural world, this is a case in which it has helped remind us of its sheer beauty, vastness and complexity. In this issue, Science in Nature, we asked our writers to do the same. With such a broad theme, we have received an eclectic mix of articles: from explorations of natural phenomena to insights into human interference. This year, one of our big aims is to collaborate with other societies on campus. We've made a great start so far by collaborating with the University of Birmingham Linguist Magazine to organise a pub quiz, which was a
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fantastic night. If you missed it, don't worry! We're sure to have more where that came from. Still to come, SATNAV will be covering both the EPS Annual Christmas Lecture and the EPS Distinguished Lecture, given by Simon Singh and Professor David Phillips. Given the series' past lectures and the accolades of both lecturers, they are bound to be brilliant! We would like to take this time to thank everyone who contributed to this issue of SATNAV—without our writers, artists and photographers, we wouldn't have a magazine to print. We would also like to thank the University of Birmingham Linguist Magazine for the fantastic opportunity to do an 'article swap', in which we explored both the Science of Language and the Language of Science. Make sure you pick up a copy of Linguist Magazine's Issue 24 to see their incredible work and read
SATNAV's contribution. If you'd like to get involved in the magazine, let us know. As well as writing articles for each issue of SATNAV, we've decided to begin publishing online-exclusive articles, which are not bound to any theme. You could interview an academic on campus, cover a scientific event, or anything else you can think of that relates to science. As always, don't hesitate to drop us an email or Facebook message if you have any thoughts or suggestions—we'd love to hear from you. I very much hope you enjoy SATNAV: Science in Nature.
Daniel Thomas Chair of SATNAV
CONTENTS THE SATNAV TEAM: Chair
Daniel Thomas
DXT439@student.bham.ac.uk
Vice Chair Bethany Rothwell
BCR462@student.bham.ac.uk
Treasurer
Matt Scourfield
MRS493@student.bham.ac.uk
Secretary Isabelle Hayden
ILH600@student.bham.ac.uk
Layout Editors Dawid Hampel
DXH565@student.bham.ac.uk Federico Abatecola FXA551@student.bham.ac.uk
Life Sciences Editor
Chyi Chung
CWC420@student.bham.ac.uk
Physical Sciences Editor Bethany Rothwell
BCR462@student.bham.ac.uk
Technology and Review Editor
Jahan Hadidimoud
JXH759@student.bham.ac.uk
Copy Editor Isabelle Hayden
ILH600@student.bham.ac.uk
Publicity Officer
Zane Ali
ZXA507@student.bham.ac.uk
Website Manager
Ayesha Hashim
AXH728@student.bham.ac.uk Front and Back cover pictures by Dawid Hampel
Issue 14
ARTICLES
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Magnetoreception: Nature's Invisible Map Bruce Saleeb-Mousa Society Spotlight The UOB Linguist Magazine In the Palm of Monoculture Chyi Chung Branching Out to Nature Marion Cromb CRISPR/Cas9 and its Natural Inspiration Jayde Martin Nature's Very Own Nuclear Reactor Bethany Rothwell The Salton Sea: California's Wasteland John Dunsmuir How Nature Connects the Dots Jonny Wise Biomimetics: Holy Mother of Pearl! Marriyum Hasany Geoengineering: A radical way to fix the climate or an imminent threat to humanity? Nicholas Folidis Spotty Stars and Exoplanets James Miller Biomimetics: A marriage of science, nature and‌ philosophy? Ayesha Hashim Can carbon capture and storage solve climate change? Ronan Dubois The Scientific Erosion of Nature Artwork by Memoonah Hussain
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Magnetoreception: Nature's Invisible Map Bruce Saleeb-Mousa explores an extraordinary way animals are able to navigate
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he ease with which we navigate towns, cities, continents and oceans is owed to our ability to manipulate the laws of physics and engineer tools and gadgets that help us reach our destinations. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. Those before us faced the frequent, painstaking task of plotting a course and constantly getting lost. This is because, as humans, we rely heavily on visual aids and memory to help us navigate, whether it be landmarks or the night sky. The major problem with this, being that, over large distances, landmarks may become indistinguishable, our memory may not serve us well, or simply our navigating techniques may be inadequate. Fortunately for many critters across the animal kingdom, this is not a problem—they can use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate land and sea. This field is generated by the Earth’s liquid outer core. It has characteristics akin to that of a huge bar magnet placed at the Earth’s centre, oriented at around 11 degrees to the rotational axis. The strength of the field ranges from around 25 microtesla at the equator, to around 60 microtesla at the
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poles. In comparison, a standard fridge magnet is around a hundred times larger at about 5 millitesla—so Earth’s field is pretty weak. Thus, in order to navigate using the variation in this field, the method of sensing must be able to resolve small changes of up to ~35 microtesla. Navigation using the geomagnetic field has been established experimentally for certain animals [1]. Behavioural patterns in migratory birds, for example, suggest that they use magnetic sense to find their way south in autumn, and north in spring. The underlying mechanism involved in magnetoreception, however, is not fully understood. Three main processes may play a part: mechanical reception, where a magnetic field exerts a torque on a ferromagnetic material (the reason why a compass needle rotates); electromagnetic induction, where a change in magnetic field through a conductive material induces a voltage; or chemical reception, where variations in magnetic fields cause changes in the spin states of certain molecules. Of these three, most evidence seems to support
a chemical reception mechanism [2]. There is debate as to whether humans are able to sense magnetic fields [3]. Theories based on the mechanical reception mechanism suggest that tiny compass-like needles made of a material called magnetite sit in animal receptor cells, and that these can trigger nerve endings. The same material can be found in humans—unfortunately our ability to manipulate or even sense this seems to have been lost. [1] SCHULTEN K, FESTKÖRPERPROBLEME, VOL 22, PP. 61-83. [2] SCHULTEN K, ET AL., Z. PHYS. CHEM, VOL 111, PP. 1-5. [3] HAND E, DOI:10.1126/SCIENCE. AAF5804
"Behavioural patterns in migratory birds, for example, suggest that they use magnetic sense to find their way south in autumn, and north in spring."
Issue 14
SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT
The Science of Language “We cannot tell as yet what language is.” - Max Müller, M.A.
SATNAV and Linguist Magazine have collaborated for an article swap! Check out our sister article, “The Language of Science”, in Issue 24 of Linguist.
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efining language is complex, but as we have come to know, language is a central feature of human society. In its simplest form, we understand language as a method of interaction with others, either spoken or written. To fully decipher the definition and origins of language, it is important to consider how humans have evolved to use and understand it. Theories of the origins of language have included the idea that language could be a divine gift from God, a human work of art or a product of nature. Supposing that language is a gift from God, this implies that it was invented as a way of worshipping and communicating with God. If language were a work of art, the human artist would be considered a seraphic creator. As a product of nature, language is inferred to come as second or even first nature to us. Toddlers and children learn the subtleties of language through hearing others use it, suggesting it only requires a stimulus to develop within us. Animals also develop their own language skills and mechanisms to communicate with others of their kind: fireflies glow to attract mates, cobras inflate their hood to scare enemies, ants use pheromone trails to follow each other, and wolves howl to call others from their pack. Looking back millions of years, we have evidence of cavemen communicating with their tribes and others through drawings and etchings on walls. Language through art has been a common occurrence throughout
history. Reaching its height in the 15th century, the Renaissance was an artistic period in Europe, most commonly known as the rebirth of art. The reawakening of the past became a guide to the future, and the development of a new language through art. Artists used their works to communicate and showcase their talent. Art patrons would flaunt their wealth and status to those around them through the display of their commissioned artworks. Giorgio Vasari, a contemporary art historian of the Renaissance wrote a book devoted to the ‘artistic genius’, as he called it. He focused on the biographies of ‘great’ artists and gave special emphasis to Michelangelo, whom he believed to be the greatest artist of the Renaissance. Vasari spoke of Michelangelo as a ‘divine creator’ and an ‘artisan’, and he demonstrated Michelangelo’s talent of translating language through Renaissance art in his paintings and especially his religious murals on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Humans have been able to use language in a way to fascinate, educate and captivate their audience, not only through art but also in literature. An example of this would be Tránsito (1948) by Max Aub. Aub uses language to create a sense of realism when expressing the aporia of his loss of identity whilst being in exile in Mexico. Aub is highly celebrated for his works, and as he considers the possibility that language is a humane work of art, the author could be named a divine creator
like Michelangelo. The 21st century has been the birth of technology and its advancements. Mobile phones, the internet, and social media have all shaped the way we communicate with each other, thus changing the way we use language. Although emoticons express some feelings and emotions, the language used in text, email and social media prove different to the language in previous generations. The language expressed through literature, art and even face-to-face interaction seems to convey more emotion than the language translated through technological advancements. It is possible that through technological advancements, language is changing and taking a new form. The origins of language may always be debatable, and as the human lifestyle consistently develops, language and the way we use it will also develop and change. – Valentina Somers Kohli
The UoB Linguist Magazine is a student-run magazine for language learners and culture vultures at the University of Birmingham. Available online and in print, it’ll keep you updated with world affairs, culture, style and all things international.
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In the Palm of Monoculture Chyi Chung investigates the place of oil palm monoculture in nature
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grew up in Malaysian Borneo. I remember the long drives to the airport on the outskirts of town. I remember where the urban sprawl relents to a sea of prickly green, dominating the car window for the rest of the journey. I remember admiring row upon row of short, stunted trees with fans for leaves, seemingly reaching beyond the horizon. Having moved away, the oil palm trees are my first sight of welcome out of the plane window. From this bird’s eye vantage, their monoculture is an impressive mark of agricultural science in nature. Oil palm (E. guineensis) is native to an area between modern-day Gambia and Angola. It was introduced as a cash crop to South-East Asia by British and Dutch colonialists in the 20th century. A productive perennial crop, it yields up to 3.6 tonnes of oil annually from the stones of its kernels—seven times of what soy and rapeseed can achieve per hectare of land. It exists as a semi-solid state at room temperature (a property associated with more expensive animal fat), hence allowing fractionation for different uses. In 2014, WWF found that half of the packaged goods from British supermarkets contain palm oil, an unsurprising statistic considering its versatile applications, ranging from chocolate bars and biscuits, to detergents and cosmetics. The global palm oil market stands at 48 million tonnes; 85% of which comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, the two countries that share Borneo with oilrich, land-locked Brunei. The world’s peatland forests, concentrated in Southeast Asia, harbour masses of carbon dioxide. From 1990 to 2010, peat forest cover in the region fell from 77% to 36%, coinciding with the
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rise of oil palm plantations. To clear land, slash-and-burn is often callously adopted out of ease, despite its illegality.
"Chopping down accessible vegetation before setting the rest ablaze is an effective method, but with a catch: fires on peat are almost unquenchable, releasing dense, toxic clouds ofgreenhouse gases." In 2015, El Niño drove warmer waters of the Western Pacific along the equator eastward to accumulate in the coastlines of South-East Asia. El Niño is the term dedicated to a climate cycle beginning in the Pacific Ocean which can have consequences across the globe. This warming effect merely added fuel to the forest fires raging across Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and the neighbouring Sumatra Island, resulting in thick haze smothering the region. In the worst affected areas, residents lived in a sepia-tinted world, where Pollutant Standard Index rose to six-fold above hazardous levels. Water bombs were dropped to cleanse the air by inducing rain. Under international pressure, the Indonesian government imposed a ban on cultivating oil palm on peat, but lifted it within a year, belying their environmental responsibility over commercial interests. The world is ravenous for palm oil, with demands expected to double by 2050. A push for a better industry resulted in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil forming in 2004,
which works on a certification system like Fair Trade’s. But detractors are quick to highlight that the skew in its committee—a third being goods manufacturers with oil producers making up less than a fifth—may just be a smokescreen for multi-national companies to hide behind. From heavy timber logging in the early 1900s to the current palm oil boom, the Bornean rainforest has been shrinking to its core, along with its delicate ecology. Animals indigenous to the island include the pygmy elephant [1], sun bear [2], and orang-utan [3]; all three are at least vulnerable, with the critically endangered orang-utan adopted as mascot for anti-deforestation campaigns. A 2008 ecological study by E.B Fitzherbert, shows that an oil palm plantation only sustains 15% of its natural forest diversity, in which lies the fallibility of monoculture (single crop cultivation). From the Great Irish Famine to the decline of the South American rubber trade, leaf blights and other diseases have obliterated whole populations of monoculture crops in the past. For example, recently, there have been concerns about the susceptibility of the Cavendish banana to a new strain of Panama Disease. Agriculture sustains our ever-growing human population, but monoculture is a short-term solution. Polyculture and different alternatives of commodities should be encouraged. Only then can science imposed on nature become more in line with science in nature.
[1]
PYGMY ELEPHANT (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS BORNEENSIS): MEASURING AROUND 9 FEET IN HEIGHT, THEY ARE THREE TIMES THE MINIATURE OF THEIR ASIAN COUNTERPART, FROM WHOM THEY DIFFERENTLY EVOLVED AFTER BEING ISOLATED AS BORNEO BROKE AWAY FROM THE EURASIAN MAINLAND 300,000 YEARS AGO. [2] SUN BEAR (HELARCTOS MALAYANUS): NAMED
PHOTO: CHYI CHUNG CULTIVATION OF YOUNG OIL PALMS DOMINATE THE VIEW ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN. ONLY THE HILL ON THE DISTANT RIGHT, YET DEVELOPED, REMAINS COVERED IN PRIMARY FOREST.
Issue 14
AFTER THEIR DISTINCTIVE YELLOW COLLAR OF FUR AKIN TO A RISING SUN AGAINST THEIR COAT OF BLACK, THEY ARE ACTUALLY, NOCTURNAL. [3] ORANG-UTAN (PONGO PYGMAEUS): A DIFFERENT SPECIES TO THEIR SUMATRAN COUNTERPART (P. ABELII), THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO TRAVEL ON FOREST GROUND DUE TO FEWER LAND-ROAMING PREDATORS, E. G. SUMATRAN TIGER, AND HAVE A SHORTER HAIR TRIM.
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Branching Out to Nature
Marion Cromb uncovers the logic behind the branching patterns of trees
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ave you ever noticed that on trees small twigs tend to stick out from thick branches at right angles, but branches of the same size split from each other at smaller angles? This is not a feature that is unique to arboreal branching, and in fact can be understood with a model for the human vascular system: Cecil D. Murray’s physiological principle of least work. Work is the energy transported by a force, so this principle is about finding the configuration that expends the least energy. In other words; nature is lazy. Just as the arteries Murray studied transport blood throughout the body, we can model tree branches as a transportation network for water. Moving fluid along a narrow tube encounters larger frictional resistance (and thus takes more work) than moving fluid the same distance along a wide tube. So, to move from one point to another, taking a direct route in a small channel can be a lot less efficient than taking a longer, less direct route along a large channel then a short perpendicular hop in a narrow channel.
"This principle ofleast work reveals a relationship in the angles between the channels and their diameters, which can be generalised to two cases." If two equal sized branches fork off the trunk on opposite sides, they do not deflect the trunk and emerge at the
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same angle. If just one branch emerges from the trunk, this will deflect the trunk, often considerably. Depending on the relative diameter of the trunk, branches come off at an angle between 70° and 90° to the original trunk, and the trunk is deflected between 0° and 90°. To have a network that fills the available space efficiently (e.g. to collect the most sunlight), it is necessary to minimise the length of inefficient narrower channels (that can fill gaps between larger channels) whilst minimising the overall material used. This results in the branches that ‘feed’ the biggest areas being the thickest. Leonardo da Vinci observed that as a rule of thumb, the cross-sectional area of a branch is equal to the sum of the areas of the branches it splits into. Of course, the trees themselves have not predetermined a high efficiency network to grow into, but grow in a modular fashion, obeying the same simple rules of cell division in the meristem at every stage of growth. But despite this fixed process trees don’t turn out as completely uniformly repeating structures because environmental factors come into play, for example competition for resources such as sunlight, and twigs snapping off in the wind. Those trees with growth rules that combine with these external factors to create efficient branching networks are those that evolution favours and that we see thriving today. Branching is a result of very different mechanisms in many
different physical phenomena: Lichtenberg figures, lightning and river systems to name a few. These branched networks all have similar properties and statistics to purely mathematical networks generated by random numbers, hinting that effective branching patterns are more dependent on the geometry of space itself than the processes behind them.
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ARTWORK: MARION CROMB
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CRISPR/Cas9 and its Natural Inspiration
Jayde Martin highlights the role of evolution in developing the genome editing tool
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hat’s natural about genetic engineering? That’s the first question I hear you ask. I would like to argue that it is, indeed, nothing short of organic. CRISPR/Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence. Significantly, its inspirational origin is based on that of a type of mutational change - a natural development consequently, this type of genome editing can be classed as ‘natural’. CRISPR/Cas9 is modelled off an entirely organic process in bacteria: scientists have learnt to utilise the adaptive immune response of Staphylococcus aureus to a viral infection, as a genetic modification template. This is important to help the human species overcome predisposed genetic conditions that could lead to rapid degenerative decline and early death. Here, we have a case of a scientific technique derived from a natural process, to further manage and expand human life expectancy. For this alone, I would like to state that genetic engineering is, in fact, natural.
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The immune response of a bacterium, such as S. aureus, to a viral infection is the result of prokaryotic evolution. The bacteria create two RNA strands, one of which mirrors the DNA sequence of the virus in question. These two RNA strands then form a complex with Cas9, which is essentially a nuclease, the cut and paste enzyme of the biological world. Cas9 takes a section of the viral DNA, severs it, and then matches the RNA to the viral DNA. It essentially robs the virus of its original DNA, without which the virus cannot replicate. Cas9 and its mischievous RNA strands have a 20 set base pair to match the viral DNA–many of these Cas9 enzymes will take different sections of the virus to fully incapacitate it, by snatching strands of its entire DNA sequence. So how does this relate to the manipulation and mutation of the human genome? Instead of 20 base pairs of RNA that matches virus DNA, Cas9 can be used to target 20 base pairs of the human genome, replicate it, and cut. Controlling what and where CRISPR/Cas9 cuts is how we exploit this natural process as a tool for our own means–just like we did with fire and the invention of the wheel.
"From the very discovery ofgenetics itself, we have known that mutation and adaptation are entirely natural processes, which all species undergo."
The prevailing fear of changing our genes is arguably outdated, so the important question to pose is: why does our control over it scare us? Yes, there are fears of neo-eugenicism (an ideology concerned with improving a species, through influencing or encouraging reproduction with parents that have desirable genetic traits). However, through awareness and consideration of disability studies, identity politics, and even the study of post-colonialism, we, as the next generation of researchers, can avoid the mistakes of the past. It is time to change the way in which we perceive genetic engineering. Shedding the image that dystopian science fiction has painted it to be, I believe we can make it something different. We can inclusively adapt genetic engineering to our advantage: its potential application in genetic therapies is promising for carriers of genetic disorders, such as phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell syndrome. Instead of the messy idea of eradicating ‘disease’, we can develop a genetically-diverse spectrum of individuals, and reinstate the right to a full and longer life in individuals who would otherwise succumb to genetic disorders. Genetic modification should always be considered alongside identity politics and ethics. But instead of blindly fearing advances in biotechnology, we should opt to utilise it sensibly to improve the quality of living–after all, it is of a naturallyoccurring process!
Issue 14
Nature's Very Own Nuclear Reactor Bethany Rothwell looks back on how Mother Nature beat nuclear scientists to the punch
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ankind has been harnessing the power produced by nuclear fission since the 1950’s. While this may seem like a man-made concept, it turns out that nature got there billions of years before us! In 1972, it was discovered that a mine in Oklo, Gabon, is home to 17 natural nuclear fission reactor sites that operated nearly two billion years ago. The discovery was made when scientists found that the mine contained significantly less fissile uranium than expected during a routine mass spectrometry. With this being such a rare and useful fuel, they were keen to know where the missing 200 kg (enough to make 6 nuclear bombs) had gone. As it turned out, the uranium had been used up in natural fission reactions over the course of several hundred thousand years. Nuclear fission occurs when an unstable nucleus splits into smaller parts, releasing huge amounts of energy. The most common fuel is the isotope uranium-235. Upon impact by a neutron, a uranium-235 nucleus fissions to produce two lighter nuclei, plus a few more neutrons; these then go on to cause further fissions in a chain reaction under three main conditions. One: Enough concentrated uranium is present to allow for a self-sustaining reaction. Two: There is a significant
abundance of uranium-235 within the sample. Three: A moderator, such as water, is available to slow down the neutrons—if they’re travelling too fast, it’s unlikely they’ll be absorbed. Over the decades, significant research has ensured nuclear reactors meet these conditions perfectly—this shows how remarkable it is that Mother Nature did it all by herself! So how was this achieved? When the Earth was formed, there were no significant uranium concentrations—the sandstone in Oklo contained only tiny samples dispersed amongst its layers. When the atmosphere became saturated with oxygen two billion years ago, that uranium was transformed into its soluble oxide. Once water could seep through the sandstone, the samples were dissolved and became mobile, resulting in deposits concentrated enough to satisfy the first condition. A natural fission reactor couldn’t operate today, due to the insufficient natural uranium-235 concentration of 0.72%; for uranium-235 to be used as a fuel source, power stations often enrich it to achieve a concentration of 2-4%. However, when the Earth was younger, this abundance was higher—the relatively short half-life of uranium235 has caused its fast decay. When the Oklo reactor began fissioning all that
time ago, the concentration was a healthy 3.6%, thus fulfilling the second condition perfectly. The final condition was met by oxygen-bearing water that acted as a suitable moderator, allowing fission to occur until the reaction exotherm caused it to boil away. Fission could only then begin again, once the water had cooled enough to flow back into the reactor. This continuous, stable cycle allowed the reactor to continue producing energy for such a long period (similar to the negative feedback mechanism used to keep modern reactors safe). It’s clear that this natural reactor was remarkable. Perhaps even more astounding is its ability to safely contain the radioactive products underneath Oklo for nearly two billion years. With investigations on the effects of nuclear waste disposal on its surrounding areas taking place, Oklo mine emerges as the best long-term study scientists could have hoped for. There is no doubt that mankind can learn a lot from this incredible discovery—it seems that Mother Nature still has lots to teach.
"Perhaps even more astounding is its ability to safely contain the radioactive products underneath Oklo for nearly two billion years."
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PICTURE: PATRICK KILBORN
Issue 14
The Salton Sea: California's Wasteland
John Dunsmuir reports on a disastrous consequence of mankind’s interference with nature
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he Salton Sea is a 900 km2 lake located in the middle of the Colorado Desert of California—but its existence is the result of a complete accident. In 1900, the California Development Company attempted to divert the Colorado River, in the hope of fertilising the arid desert and creating an agricultural basin. Hence, the 23 km Alamo Canal was built. At first the plan succeeded; the Salton Sink became fertile and crops were planted. However, the water received was from the highly saline Imperial Valleys, and the Alamo Canal became filled with silt. Attempts were made to alleviate blockages and divert the canal, but to no success. The winter of 1905 caused damage, as heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused the canal to swell and burst. For the next two years, the entire Colorado River flowed freely into the Salton Sink, filling it with water—an ecological disaster had begun. Governmental lawsuits against the California Development Company’s mismanagement ran for a decade. But where they found disaster, others found an opportunity. As the engineers left, developers moved in. They built houses, roads, schools, and all the other creature comforts of a modern society. One advert has described the Salton Sea developments as “a Palm Springs wit h water” and “a miracle in t he desert ”—for many years, this was true. However, the only inflow of water was the agricultural run-off from ancient salt deposits, which would result in increasing salinity and pollution. A body of water in the desert this large was a recipe for disaster. By the 1960s, evaporation caused the water to become saltier than the sea. Even the
most resilient fish populations, introduced in the early 20th century when the lake was deemed as fresh, were beginning to suffer. Massive dieoffs occurred as tens of thousands of fish washed up on the shore each year. Beaches became filled with crushed fished bones, with a smell described by the US Geological Survey as “noxious” and “objectionable” as they began to rot. Temperatures often reached 48°C, making the air humid and unbreathable, while fertiliser run-off caused eutrophication (excessive enrichment of a body of water with nutrients). This led to an increase in algal blooms and bacteria levels, which posed a health risk to the local populations who had migrated to this desert haven. Furthermore, the location of the lake over the San Andreas Fault resulted in mudpots and even mud volcanoes, turning the landscape into a bubbling, hellish environment. During the 48°C summers, there was also uncontrollable flooding. Residents of the local towns were forced to flee their homes, often abandoning belongings. What were once miracle cities, were now becoming ghost towns. Today, only a few thousand residents remain, with around 30% living at or below the poverty line. Roads sit named, waiting for developments that never came. The only tourism is from those interested in seeing a real ghost town. The lake itself has served as a reminder: to remain responsible with nature, to not put profit above wellbeing, and to consider the unconsidered consequences of our actions.
"However, the only inflow of water was the agricultural run-offfrom ancient salt deposits, which would result in increasing salinity and pollution."
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How Nature Connects the Dots
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Jonny Wise muses on the parallel networks in life n an ever-growing and modernising society, connectivity becomes more and more important. Not only do we rely on it as individuals but also entire infrastructures depend on it. We live our lives - often without realising it through interactions with a multitude of both natural and artificial networks. From the network comprising our social circles to the complex neural network that makes us conscious; from the circuitry built into our computers to our vascular circulatory system; and from the veins in the leaf of a tree to the Internet. In academia, a network is anything represented by a set of nodes and connections. The goal of a network is to transport something between the nodes according to some overriding optimisation, which may be dynamic. For example, when designing a network of roads, the nodes are junctions, and the edges are the connecting roads, while the goal is for vehicles to travel as quickly as possible from one node to any other node in the network. Of course, restrictions arise since vehicles may not occupy the same space, so one has to think about how to reduce flow on popular routes. One may think that the obvious solution is just to build more roads, however this is not always beneficial and may actually result in increased journey time – see Braess’s paradox. The true significance of network science becomes apparent when its universality is considered. The above example is not particular to traffic; it does not matter whether we consider cars, blood, or even information. Similar sorts of features may be observed to produce certain properties
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such as flow efficiency, robustness to link loss and energy cost in production. It is often this principle that motivates and justifies the study of very specific and niche networks. The study of naturally occurring networks in biological systems is of particular interest since they are often the product of millions of years of evolution. These networks are studied since they may be worth mimicking when artificial networks with certain characteristics are desired. For example, physicists at Technische Universität Dresden are investigating the liver as a system of two non-overlapping networks of pipes – one that transports blood to every cell and one that transports bile away from each cell. The networks are classified and compared based on statistics such as average link length, channel width, junction planarity and ‘loopyness’. It’s possible to simulate events such as link impairment due to alcohol and observe how the network re-routes in the most optimal way. Researchers hope that this study will not only lead to better biological understanding of the organ, but also offer motivation for the design of modern supercomputers. This is just one example of where a very specific area of natural science is being studied with the confidence and expectation that the findings may be far-reaching. The recent explosion in artificial intelligence technologies is another testament to the advancements being made in network science and will unequivocally affect how we interact with machines. Existing within nature we are fortunate to have the universe as a playground for scientific analysis and, ultimately, inspiration when building new things.
"The recent explosion in artificial intelligence technologies is another testament to the advancements being made in network science and will unequivocally affect how we interact with machines."
Issue 14
PICTURE: PAMANDEEP SANGHA
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Biomimetics: Holy Mother of Pearl! Marriyum Hasany discusses emerging developments in biomimicry
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atural selection has allowed organisms to evolve into having various systems and attributes that have a great deal of efficiency and resistance towards harsh elements of the environment. Hence, scientists have been looking towards such systems to imitate their properties in synthesising new materials—a science referred to as biomimetics.
PICTURE: PEGGY AND MARCO LACHMANN-ANKE
Examples of biomimetics are abundant, from the design of velcro being inspired by cockleburs attaching themselves to a dog to looking at the hydrophobic properties of lotus leaves to create a sealant with analogous properties. Now, research is being conducted to understand the structure of nacre, also known as Mother of Pearl, to eventually synthesise nacre-mimetic materials which would have the soughtafter mechanical properties of their inspiration. Found in the inner layer of mollusc shells, nacre has a rather aesthetically pleasing iridescent look that made its use historically popular in architecture,
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musical instruments and other decorative items. However, scientists around the globe find this material more fascinating for its strength and light weight rather than beauty. Nacre is an organic-inorganic substance, made of polygonal aragonite (calcium carbonate) nanograins and ductile biopolymers, which respectively make up 95% and 5% of its volume. The aragonite nanograins are held together to form a single layer of nanoplates, and each plate is layered upon each other, with the adhesive biopolymers fastening the entire structure together. This forms a rather “brick and mortar” structure that gives nacre most of its strength, measured to be three times that of calcium carbonate.
PICTURE: FABIAN HEINEMANN
Research into nacre-mimetic synthesis is warranted due to its desirable properties including its high tensile strength, toughness, fracture resistance, lightweight and sustainability. In order to synthesise a nacre-like material, six main categories of techniques have been developed: conventional method for bulk ceramics, freeze casting, layer-by-layer deposition, electrophoretic deposition, mechanical assembly and chemical selfassembly —each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Nacre’s properties allow it to have several applications, especially in biomedicine—it can be injected into
bones to amend defects in bone substitution, and be used as a coating for metal implants. Additionally, when added to soft materials it increases their strength and elasticity without compromising on mass, and therefore can be used in construction and aerospace engineering. Nacre-mimetic materials could be a valuable resource, so understandably many scientists are tirelessly researching techniques to improve and accelerate synthesis of the material. Who knows how long before this, technology with origins in molluscs found by the sea, may be employed on a much larger scale.
"Nacre-mimetic materials could be a valuable resource, so understandably many scientists are tirelessly researching techniques to improve and accelerate synthesis ofthe material."
Issue 14
Geoengineering: A radical way to fix the climate or an imminent threat to humanity?
Nicholas Folidis explores how geoengineering could save our planet
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t was November 2015 when delegates from 195 countries gathered in Paris in light of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. On December 12, of the same year, all parties finally reached a consensus; a landmark agreement called the ‘Paris Climate Accord’. Simply put, the Paris Agreement is a pledge by all UN member-countries to reduce their emissions and greenhouse gases in an effort to prevent the Earth’s average temperature from rising and maintain it well below 2 oC above preindustrial levels. The Paris Agreement may be one of the greatest, and most ambitious, diplomatic victories in history, but it is far from perfect. Scientists believe that the temperatures are highly likely to breach the 2 oC threshold and reach as high as 2.7oC or even 3 oC above preindustrial levels. Emission caps are still too loose and, on top of that, the agreement is not legally binding, meaning that signatory countries can easily withdraw from the pact (just like the United States earlier this year on June 2017). Perhaps we need to take more radical measures to protect our environment, or at least consider a ‘Plan B’ before it is too late. Geoengineering, otherwise known as ‘climate engineering’, is the rapidly emerging field concerned with counteracting the effects of climate change, or even averting global warming altogether, through deliberate large-scale intervention on the Earth’s climatic system.
"The whole concept of geoengineering seems farfetched and over-optimistic or even rather terrifying; it might as well be the plot of a science-fiction movie."
and governments worldwide to cutting emissions and believe that geoengineering approaches are our best bet in reducing some of the climate risks that come from the accumulated carbon dioxide. Comparatively, scientists like Pat The truth is that geoengineering can Mooney, of Ottawa-based ETC Group, be as simple as planting a lot of trees to an international non-profit decrease CO2 levels in the atmosphere organisation monitoring the effects of or as complex as seeding heat-trapping emerging technologies, oppose such clouds with ice crystals to drastically intervention. Mooney is afraid of not cool them down; or even spraying only the unforeseen impact of such sulphate particles into the stratosphere techniques but also the possible to mimic the cooling effect of recklessness with which governments volcanoes, where, combined with water and big corporations are going to vapour they would create a haze that in address the issue. turn would surround the planet and As promising or pioneering these reflect roughly 1% of the sunlight away approaches may sound, their effects from the Earth. remain still unknown. Clear guidelines There are plenty of other techniques and safeguards for research must be set proposed, such as deploying massive first to ensure scientific integrity and space shields to deflect the sun’s rays, safety. According to a report on climate increasing the reflectiveness of clouds intervention experiments, published by and, in many cases, crops to reflect heat the American Chemical Society, it was back into space, or even refreezing parts recommended that “countries establish of the Arctic that have been affected by international governance and oversight climate change and fertilising the for large-scale field tests and ocean with iron fillings to stimulate experiments that could significantly CO2-eating plankton. modify the environment or affect Such strategies have been at the society” in order to avoid causing centre of scientific discussions for irreversible damage to the climate and many years but due to the severity of the environment. In fact, the Royal the subject those conversations mainly Society is currently in collaboration took place behind closed doors until with various organisations trying to only recently. Opinions continue to develop such guidelines to ensure differ and the science is not settled yet. research is carried out in an Scientists like Canadian solar environmentally responsible manner. geoengineering expert, and Harvard Surely geoengineering is an exciting professor of applied physics and public and promising field but also equally policy, David Keith, are frustrated by controversial that, for the time being, the so-far slow response of countries should only act as our last resort.
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PICTURE: KANENORI
Issue 14
Spotty Stars and Exoplanets
James Miller considers the role of spotty stars in our search for habitable planets
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ave you ever wondered if one day humans could live on another planet? Until the discovery of exoplanets, some thought our Solar System was the only one with planets. The Kepler telescope quickly changed this view, discovering countless different families of systems. As it turns out, our meagre system is quite unique compared to the zoo of others out there. Some have huge ‘Hot Jupiter’ planets whizzing around close to their host stars at unimaginable speeds. Others have strange half-andhalf worlds where one side of the planet is tortured by its star while the other is left to freeze, facing the emptiness of space. It becomes a real struggle, then, to find any potential habitable planets. How can spots help us with this? It turns out that studying another star’s spots may give us insight into the potential habitability of its exoplanets. The Sun has a major effect on the Earth’s climate—by extension, so will other stars on their respective exoplanets. But what are these ‘spots’? We have known about sunspots for a very long time. It’s not that the Sun is unwell, nor has it recently tried some bad skin cream. Unfortunately for the Sun, its spots are unavoidable and are caused by variations in its magnetic field. The important thing to know about these spots is that they are cooler than the rest of the Sun’s surface (despite still being some 3800 degrees Kelvin!). Many solar flares and storms originate from sunspots, so it’s crucial they’re monitored. From observing these spots and various other changes, we know that the Sun has a roughly 11-year cycle of activity. The spots form at high
latitudes, slowly moving inward over time until disappearing as they reach the Sun’s equator. These movements can be plotted with time to produce a ‘butterfly diagram; this gives a deeper insight into the Sun’s magnetic activity lifecycle. It is believed that the change in the Sun’s spot activity even contributed to the ‘Little Ice Age’ experienced in the 15th century. So, do these spots exists on other stars? And if so, how can we track them? Despite these being perfectly reasonable questions, they are incredibly difficult to answer. The light we receive from other stars is represented by a few tiny pixels on a screen, rendering it impossible to distinguish any details. There have been successful attempts, however, at indirectly observing other stars’ spots, so we know they exist. These techniques vary from detecting slight variations in temperatures over time, to measuring small differences in spectral observations of the star’s light. But these techniques cannot provide important information about where the spots are on the surface, or how they move—here come the exoplanets! As a planet transits in front of its host star, it blocks out some of its light. This causes noticeable dips in brightness, which can tell us all sorts about the planet and its star. Now, imagine the star has spots. A planet that transits in front of a spot will give a slight rise in these brightness dips, as the spot is cooler and hence less brightness is blocked. That little bump in the spectrum is how a star spot can be tracked. There are, of course, many other complications, but this is the underlying principle. By plotting the butterfly diagram for the star, we can
then begin to analyse its effects on surrounding exoplanets. One day, this may enable us to find the perfect host star for a new human colony!
"Many solar flares and storms originate from sunspots, so it’s crucial they’re monitored."
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PICTURE: ZANE ALI
Issue 14
Biomimetics: A marriage of science, nature and… philosophy? Ayesha Hashim explores how the interplay of science and nature might accommodate a philosophical dimension
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reduce bird injury. However, perhaps more notable is the evolution of biomimetics, from the imitation of desirable isolated features to utilising advancing science to create entire definition of biomimetics (also known systems and structures. as biomimicry). Whilst this suffices as a Current research within localised description of the general methodology, contexts (primarily drug delivery, tissue the broader essence of the term is better regeneration, medical imaging) is encapsulated as follows: a design and suitably advanced, reflecting this engineering philosophy that seeks to evolution, but the expansion of capitalise upon, and in some respects biomimetics to architecture and the influence, the human powers of management of environmental observation and perception. resources is a relatively new occurrence Biomimetics, as a field, came to (consider Japanese bullet trains fruition in context of the study of nerve modelled on the aerodynamic propagation (the way nerves transmit kingfisher’s beak, the Helix Bridge electrical impulses) in squid, at the mimicking DNA structure, artificial hands of American biophysicist Otto photosynthesis). This is a product of Schmitt during the 1950s; this research cumulated progress across the sciences engineered the ‘Schmitt trigger’, a and engineering. As biomimetics device that converts analogue input weaves ever more intricately into the into digital output. However, the very everyday and into pragmatic first product attributable to conceptualisations of the biomimetics is possibly the aircraft future—emphasising the gold standard developed by the Wright Brothers in of functionality and efficiency set by 1903—it remains uncertain the extent natural selection (a standard to which the technology was due to unsurpassable by human observing eagles in flight, but the intelligence)—pertinent philosophical connection is certainly compelling: four questions arise: how far does the centuries earlier, da Vinci had produced appropriation of nature’s design illustrations of ‘flying machines’ principles increase our duties of earthly modelled on bird anatomy and flight. stewardship? If our anthropocentric Past applications of biomimetic approach to life (humans as the most principles have been as transformative important creatures of evolution) is no as they are fascinating:the creation of longer justifiable, does it threaten the Velcro fasteners was inspired bythe right to self-determine? Discussion of hook-like arrangements in cockleburr such questions in Freya Matthews’ seed casings; certain bacteria-repelling intriguing paper, ‘Towards a Deeper materials used in hospitals and Philosophy of Biomimicry’, results in a restaurant kitchens mimic patterns proposal for achieving ‘biosynergy’ that found on shark skin; the UV-reflecting urges a reconfiguration of our property of silk spun by spiders to fundamental desires to align with those protect ensnared prey features on the of environment. No doubt a radical exterior of certain buildings, helping to suggestion, but it is one that highlights he application of optimised, interdisciplinary and evolved systems, ideas and principles found in nature to facilitate t he creation of products and materials: a textbook
the part incredible, part devastating potential of biomimetics to supervene on human society and thought.
"Past applications of biomimetic principles have been as transformative as they are fascinating…However, perhaps more notable is the evolution ofbiomimetics, from the imitation of desirable isolated features to utilising advancing science to create entire systems and structures.”
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Can carbon capture and storage solve climate change? Ronan Dubois investigates carbon capture and its potential to revolutionise the fuel industry
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he 2016 Paris climate accord fixed a threshold of 450 ppm (parts per million) for the atmospheric CO2 concentration to limit the global temperature rise to 2°C by the end of the century. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecasted that reaching these targets will be 140% more expensive without carbon capture and storage (CCS). So, what exactly are they talking about? CCS was first used in American oil rigs in the 1970s. In short, it involves extracting carbon dioxide gas at polluting power plants or industries, transporting it to a storage facility and injecting it deep underground in a special geological formation. Today, 17 large-scale projects operate around the world, storing 40 million tonnes of CO2 underground annually. CCS has two main purposes; enhanced oil recovery (EOR), whereby CO2 gas is injected into an oil well to increase the reservoir pressure to extract more petroleum; and the permanent sequestration of CO2 in deep saline formations. It is estimated that these represent 95% of the global CO2 storage resource, which could amount to several centuries of global present-day emissions. Why, then, has CCS not yet been massively implemented? The answer is that the practical obstacles to its wide-scale implementation have, so far, proved more substantial than its reported benefits. One of the major challenges is reducing costs - the largest projects amounting to billions of dollars in investments and operation. This is
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compounded by the efficiency penalty suffered by power plants equipped with CCS, which are often too significant to justify it without financial incentives. In addition, population acceptance has shown to be a crucial factor in the success or failure of CCS pilot projects. Concerns have been expressed over the environmental impact of CO2 injection and the risks associated with induced seismic activity and leaks. Some may remember the 1986 ‘Lake Nyos disaster’ of Cameroon, in which the sudden discharge of a natural carbon dioxide cloud caused thousands to suffocate. Furthermore, there are ongoing legislation disputes in Europe to have CO2 reclassified as a commodity rather than a pollutant in order to enable its transport across borders. In spite of this, recent developments seem to signal a renewed momentum for CCS. The governments of India and Scotland have pledged to fund it, with others set to follow their lead. Three projects entered the operational phase this year; one being Australia’s Gorgon project, the world’s largest to date; China, whose power generation sector is largely reliant on coal, is leading the way in a new wave of projects and began the construction of its first plant in 2017; meanwhile Norway plans to turn CCS into a new pan-European industry within the next 5 years by collecting and storing European emissions below the North Sea. The challenge humanity now faces is to store 4 billion tonnes of CO2 annually by 2040, or 1% of what is stored today. For now, in the IEA’s
words, CCS remains “way off target”.
"Today, 17 large-scale projects operate around the world, storing 40 million tonnes ofCO2 underground annually."
Issue 14
Memoonah Hussain – “The Scientific Erosion of Nature� This piece serves as a stark reminder that although scientific advancement is necessary for human beings to make progress, we should not forget that what may seem like positive progression has in actual fact very negative consequences (such as climate change) for our natural world and that that is what will be our downfall if we do not intervene and inhibit further disintegration of nature and the natural world.
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What is SATNAV?
SATNAV is the student-led bi-annual science magazine at the University of Birmingham. If you have an interest in scientific writing then this is a great opportunity to get some experience and practice. We cater to a wide range of scientific tastes from Psychology to Quantum Physics! The committee provides editors and feedback aiming to create an informative, factual and interesting magazine, with an issue published at the end of the Autumn and Spring Terms. At SATNAV, we encourage creativity in expressing our interests in science. As well as accepting written submissions to the magazine, we also accept artwork submissions!
How can I get involved? Enjoy writing about your favourite science topics? Want to give it a go? We want to hear from you! Get in touch with us at satnav@guild.bham.ac.uk or alternatively, any of the committee members. Join our society at guildofstudents.com Join our Facebook group and like our page: S.A.T.N.A.V. Magazine Follow us on twitter: @satnav See our previous issues: issuu.com/satnavmag Read our website: tiny.cc/satnav