Curiosity September 2023

E47

September= Septem, seven. 7th month when year was of 10 months in Roman calendar system, BC times

Month of Forget me not, Aster, and Morning Glory. Florigraphy: Language of flowers

Last month’s science news

1. Successful Lunar Soft landing of Chandrayaan 3 (23rd Aug). This day will henceforth be commemorated as National Space Day
2. SpaceX sends 4 astronauts to ISS
3. Torrential Rains and Landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, more than 240 deaths, linked with rising temperature
4. Discovery of Tharosaurus indicus, plant eating dinosaur from Thar Desert, Rajastan dated 167 mya
5. W Jason Morgan, 87, Plate Tectonics
6. Henrietta Lacks family settles with company that marketted HeLa lines without PIC
7. Instead of 10,000 steps/day new research shows close to 4000 steps/day is enough to lower all cause mortality risk
8. Minor planet named after Kerala astronomer Aswin Sekhar-IAU formalise
9. Massive die off in Antarctic emperor penguin colonies. More than 10,000 deaths. Already Endangered
10. Mass exodus of scientists ~50,000 from X after Elon Musk take over

Vikram Lander Moon

This month’s Discoveries

1. A new European study has found that 90% of so-called eco-friendly paper straws contain “forever chemicals,” compounds that don’t — or barely — break down and can accumulate in our bodies, leading to health problems.
2. Waste coffee grounds make concrete 30% stronger | Researchers have found that concrete can be made stronger by replacing a percentage of sand with spent coffee grounds.
3. Microplastics cause behavioural changes in mice
4. 18 years after a stroke, paralysed woman ‘speaks’ again for the first time — AI-engineered brain implant translates her brain signals into the speech and facial movements of an avatar
5. Better parental supervision of children in early adolescence was associated with higher household income of the child at age 35. Children of parents who did not engage in adequate supervision earned approximately $14,000 less per year compared to those who did.
6. People who have a natural preference for staying up late tend to have poorer health habits, including sleep habits, which in turn is associated with reduced wages, according to new research.
7. Dogs can age healthier by socializing with humans and pets, study says
8. Adding bananas into smoothies led to 84% lower levels of flavanols in the body.
9. Researchers successfully transferred a longevity gene from naked mole rats to mice, resulting in improved health and lifespan extension. Naked mole rats are known for long lifespans and exceptional resistance to age-related diseases. This may pave the way for improving health and lifespan of humans.
10. Dirty air is biggest external threat to human health, worse than tobacco or alcohol, major study finds | Analysis using data from more than 100 countries spanning nearly two decades, indicates that increased air pollution is linked with rising antibiotic resistance across every country and continent.| Antibiotic resistance is linked with declining Air Quality
11. Boarding school students get 40 minutes more sleep most nights than day students, due to fixed bedtimes and stricter policies around technology use. The structured routine of a boarding school — with set times for sport, dinner, study, socialising, and lights out — was more conducive to sleep.
12. Hookworms successfully prevent type 2 diabetes in human trial
13. Blue light blocking glasses may not actually help with eye strain or sleep quality, researchers find
14. New research uncovered evidence that the thymus is critical for adult health and for preventing cancer and autoimmune disease. The thymus gland is often regarded as nonfunctional in adults, and sometimes removed during cardiac surgery for easier access to the heart and major blood vessels.

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Observances

• 1 Aurigid meteor shower
• 2 Launch of Aditya L-1
• 5 Moon-Jupiter Conj
• 7 Clean Air for Blue Skies
• 8 Literacy
• 9 Protect Education from Attack, Epsilon Persaid meteor shower
• 15 Democracy
• 16 Ozone Layer
• 18 Venus
• 19 Neptune
• 21 Peace
• 23 Sign Languages, September Equinox, Mercury
• 26 Total Elimination of N Weapons
• 27 Moon-Saturn Conjunction
• 28 Universal Access to Information
• 29 Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, Harvest Moon-Supermoon
• 30 Translation

Opportunities

• Swiss Govt PhD and PostDoc Scholarships, 10th Nov
• American Association for University Women scholarships, 15th Nov
• Mitaak Globalink 12 weeks internships in Canada, 21st Sep
• Marie Curie PostDoc fellowship, 30 Sep 2023
• Australia-India student exchange program, 13th Oct 2023
• Several JRF/Project position calls shared in facebook group

My latest book “Biostatistics and Mathematical Biology” just got published by Pearson. Soon will be available in bookstores. “Life Skills” is now on sale, Rs. 435 only. Order here. YAI Fb page lists more exciting curiosity-driven research news every day, do subscribe.

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