Excessive Blue Light Emitted by LED Can Adversely Impact Human Health said AMA

On 14 July 2016, a report released by the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health claims that excessive blue light emitted by light emitting diodes (LED) can adversely impact human health. AMA report looked at the LED street lighting on US roadways. It also adopted guidance for communities on selecting among LED lighting options to minimize potential harmful human and environmental effects. A large amount of blue light emitted by the high-intensity LED lighting appears white to the naked eye but it can create worse night time glare than conventional lighting. Discomfort and disability from intense, blue-rich LED lighting can decrease visual acuity and safety, resulting in concerns and creating a road hazard. Blue rich LED streetlights that operates at a wavelength adversely suppresses melatonin during night, thus it directly have an impact on drivers.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Attained Criticality

                On 10 July 2016, the second reactor of Kandankulam Nuclear Power Project attained criticality. On commencing the First Approach to Criticality on 8 July 2016 by withdrawing the control rods from the reactor, boron dilution started a few hours later to allow neutron concentration

to go up, which eventually led to the criticality of the reactor. The KKNPP had submitted its reports to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and received the nod for criticality after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change experts inspected the second unit. They submitted their report to Supreme Court. At present, India operates 21 reactors that can generate 5780 MW of electricity besides giving the country its atomic weapons.

What is Criticality?

·         Criticality is a nuclear term that refers to the balance of neutrons in the system.

·         When the neutron population remains constant, this means there is a perfect balance between production rate and loss rate. Therefore, the nuclear system is said to be critical.

·         The criticality of a system can be calculated by comparing the rate at which neutrons are produced to the rate at which they are lost through absorption and leakage out of the reactor core.

Scientists Developed Bio-Ink for 3-D Printing With Stem Cells

                A group of scientists developed a new stem cell containing bio-ink that allows 3D printing of complex living tissues. The new stem cell-containing bio-ink allows 3D printing of Living tissues, known as bio-printing.

Highlights:

•         The bio-ink used contains a natural polymer from seaweed and a sacrificial synthetic polymer used in the medical industry.
•          The seaweed polymer offers structural support when cell nutrients are introduced.
•          The synthetic polymer changes the bio-ink from a liquid to a solid as temperature is raised.
•          The special bio-ink formulation was extruded from a retrofitted bench top 3-D printer as a liquid that transformed to a gel at 37°C. The formulation allows construction of complex living 3-D architectures.
•          Stem cells were differentiated into osteoblasts and chondrocyctes.

Fungi to Recycle Rechargeable Batteries Soon

                Scientists have found a low-cost and environment-friendly method to recycle waste rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – using fungi. Although rechargeable batteries in smartphones, cars and tablets can be charged again and again, they do not last forever. Old batteries often wind up in landfills or incinerators, potentially harming the environment. Now, researchers are turning to fungi to drive and environmentally friendly recycling process to extract cobalt and lithium form tones of waste batteries.

This Security Wall Will Turn Your Smart Car Hack-Proof

                Scientists have created a security protocol to protect smart cars – equipped with GPS, Bluetooth and internet connections – from being hacked. A car can be fully controlled by the hackers if it is not protected. Researchers also built an experimental environment that simulates communication system in a smart car, which allow the security protocol to be tested through simulations. The research focused on protection of the Controller Area Network (CAN), an internal communication system in vehicles. They are proposing to add a layer of security, so if an unauthorized person accesses it they still would not be able to control your vehicle. The security protocol protects CAN in two ways. Firstly, it authenticates message sent through the network by creating an authentication code. This code allows nodes on the network to differentiate between a valid message and an attacker’s message. The second feature protects against replay attacks, when a hacker attempts to breach the network by repeatedly sending messages. The protocol uses a times tamp to calculate when the network last received message.

Better And Safer Painkiller than Morphine Soon

                Scientists unveiled a synthetic drug on 18 August that appears to neutralize pain as effectively as morphine but without side effects that make opioids so dangerous and addictive. The big data methods used by the researchers also open up a promising avenue in drug innovation. In experiments with mice, the new compound – identified after screening “trillions” of candidates – activated a known molecular pathway in the brain that triggers pain suppression. But unlike morphine and prescription drugs such as oxycodone or oxycontin, it did not switch on a second pathway that can slow or block normal breathing.

                Respiratory suppression caused by opioids results in some 30,000 deaths every year in the United States alone, where opioid use and abuse has taken on epidemic proportions. Nor did the new drug – dubbed PZM21 – produce addiction in the lab mice, which get hooked on morphine and pharmaceutical painkillers as easily as humans. In experiments, the rodents showed no preference between a cubicle in which they had been administered PZM21 or one in which they received a neutral saline solution. PZM21, the researchers summed up, offers “long-lasting analgesia coupled to apparent elimination of respiratory depression.” A third advantage of the new compound is that it does not cause constipation.

NASA Lauched First Asteroid Sample Return Mission

                NASA is set to launch its first mission to return pristine samples of an asteroid to Earth, which will study how planets formed and how life began. The finding may also improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) spacecraft will travel to the near Earth asteroid Bennu and bring a sample back to Earth for intensive study. Launch was scheduled for September 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 2,110-Kilogramme fully-fueled spacecraft will launch aboard and Atlas V 411 rocket during a 34-day launch period that begins September 8, and reach Bennu in 2018. After a careful survey of Bennu to characterize the asteroid and locate the most promising sample sited, OSIRIS-Rex will collect between 60 to 2,000 grams of surface material with its robotic arm and return the sample to Earth via a detachable capsule in 2023