What I Learnt Last Week 16: Spinal Cord Recovery, New Arsenic Test, Combination of Natural and Artificial Cells, New Use For Graphene, & A Weak Hand Grip.

If I must confess, I need help. I've been struggling to write science posts even though I wish to. It all started when I had exams to write and I was hoping I'd be back after my exams. Finishing with my exams, fatigue came in and I got stuck on this series. I hope am able to cover up this week by writing "What I Learnt Last Week" and "What I Learnt This Week". Although that's not enough to balance it, it's definitely a way forward and it'll at least cover some spaces.

So....

Monday: Recovery from Spinal Injuries are predictable

_{Wheelchair picture}

I want to believe we know how connected the brain is to the spinal cord or if you don't you can check here or probably check out the central nervous system-that should help out on the connection between the brain and the spinal cord. The recovery of the spinal cord has become predictable because injuries to the spinal cord can lead to loss of tissues of both the brain and the spinal cord-not just like that.

Here's how it happens! The spinal injuries are neurodegenerative which means the damage caused are progressive. So, when there is a spinal cord injury, it spreads from that point to the other parts of the spinal cord and later to the brain. So, it's the involvement of the brain that made the application of the neuroimaging methods feasible for the analysis of the details of the injuries.

The analysis and details of the injuries made it known that the smaller the loss of nerve tissues initially, the better it is for recovery - meaning if fewer nerve tissues were traumatized, the recovery would be faster. One thing the scientists found surprising is that the rate of recovery is highest within the first six months of the injury and the rate of the neurodegeneration is at its peak during this same thing after a year or two. This simply shows the competition between the rate of recovery and the rate of degeneration that goes on within the first six months of an injury. The rate of recovery drops after the first six months but the rate of neurodegeneration might take not less than 2 years before it drops which means the rate of recovery would later give up the competition.

Here's a word from the discoverers:

We have now a tool to reliably predict recovery and determine the effects of treatments and rehabilitation measures as opposed to spontaneous neurodegeneration in humans Neuroimaging Specialist, Freund

Tuesday: New test for Arsenic in drinking water

_Arsenic

Usually, most sources of water contain arsenic which is considered to be unsafe. Arsenic in water poses its greatest threat to public health and some people have to drink it probably because they are unaware of the presence of arsenic in it. Of course, people wouldn't stop drinking water because of arsenic, we all need water to survive on this planet.

Arsenic is found in underground water sources in very unsafe proportions, people might not be paying attention to it in this part of the world but it is dangerous, very dangerous. Arsenic poisoning is responsible for about 20% of the deaths in Bangladesh and there has been a test for it, it's just expensive to purchase. This is the reason scientists had to fashion out an arsenic sensor that's easy to use and purchase as well for as low as $1. This would help places with bad economic conditions.

Testing for arsenic, you'd formerly need a laboratory and at least 30 minutes to have the test completed in addition to the time it takes you from your home to get to the laboratory. Who could probably do this because he/she wants to drink water at the moment? ....and if you need water to cook again, you'd repeat the same process? No one. That's another reason this device was made. You run it like a blood glucose test, you just put the water sample on a piece of paper, insert into the device, in the next one minute you get the digital reading of the arsenic level of the water, and that's all or maybe not.

Now, you found arsenic in the only water you could possibly drink, you can't drink it but you might if there's no option or probably a solution to the water containing arsenic. So, I thought it would only be complete if I added the solution. Arsenic can be removed from water by precipitation, or by simply adding lime to the water, osmosis - the use of membranes to filter it out and ion exchange processes.

Wednesday: Natural and artificial cells can now work together efficiently

_{A cell}

Trying to use artificial cells and biological ones are not completely novel in the world of science. They have been done in previous experiments but the % of the efficiency of their working together was not known and there was not a known way to calculate it. There was no way we would know if the experiment was successful or even if the two cells were working as expected or not.

To be sure they were not repeating things that had already been done, the scientists tried to make both artificial and biological cells work together and they also checked how well the system performed to see if it was above or below expectations. The scientists were able to make the system produce a "fluorescent chemical" at a time the system was placed in a copper-rich medium(copper-rich mediums are not toxic to biological cells). So, for the system to have survived and even remain operational in a medium toxic to biological cells, it is evident that the artificial cells are efficient.

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In a new paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers document the process of using microfluidics to encapsulate entire cells in artificial casings, resulting in a well-behaved “cyborg” system capable of withstanding the harsh environs of the body.

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To further utilize the artificial coating, they can try to make it be in the form of a membrane to help us deliver drugs within the body.

Thursday: Graphene finds new expression

_Graphene

One of the materials I love writing about remains the graphene because it's very very useful, stronger than steel, yet flexible. Graphene has always been surfacing in this series and might even be the most mention material n this series. First was for its ability and its importance in the manufacture of sensors for a plant, second was for its ability to resist heat when boron nitride is added to it.

According to Wikipedia, graphene is the strongest material ever tested, capable of conducting heat, electricity and is close to being transparent. I won't be surprised if by tomorrow someone finds graphene useful in an aspect of music because it has continued to be useful in different aspects of science. Last week, I found out that graphene could be used as a non-toxic and anti-static hair dye that lasts through many washes without fading.

Usually, most dyes are very effective when it comes to darkening the hair but ask me about the aftermath? Some of them usually have a toxic effect, some cause issues like conjunctivitis, most of them cause browning of hair, and damage of the hair's silky strands after too much usage which the graphene dye has come to correct.

Most of the dyes we use contain ammonia and bleach which are responsible for making the hair fragile in addition to the fact that they are quite toxic. Apart from that, they just use a mixture of small molecules that chemically alter the color of the hair as opposed to the graphene sheets that use to their advantage their softness and flexibility to wrap around each hair to get an even coat. Scientist Haung also added the edible non-toxic polymer binders to enable that the graphene sheets stick to the hair and last for at least 30 washes.

Friday: A weak hand grip could mean a failing heart

_{Weak hand grip might not be normal}

...and what I Learnt Last week Friday was a shocker. Just a weak hand grip could mean a failing heart. You're told to grip a device, dynamometer for just 3 seconds and the strength of your grip could determine if you have a failing heart or not. Scientists compared their results to detailed heart scans and their determinations and speculations were on point.

From the data analysis of about 5,000 people, people with low grip strength were the ones that either had an enlarged, damaged heart or a weaker heart that pumps less blood around the body. This was confirmed by the results of heart scans of the participants. The results helped the scientists find out the beat/pump rate of the participants - those with strong grip had higher beat/pump rate.

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They found that better hand grip strength was linked to higher volumes and proportions of blood being pumped by the heart and healthier heart muscle – which is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.

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Well, the usefulness of this cannot be overemphasized. This is a test people pay a lot of money to run and the result might even take a long time. Now, you're given the opportunity to get all these in a few seconds, with little or no price at all. The results are as accurate as the normal heart scans done so there's nothing to worry about.

The researchers proceeded to say that a limp handshake or trouble opening a bar does not mean you'll eventually have a
heart attack. You can see a doctor if you need to know more about your heart's health.

This will be the end of today's series.

Dated 23-03-2018

Thank you for coming around!!

That little boy, @pearlumie.