Falling Pennies Are No Real Threat to Innocent City Sidewalk-Walkers

Due to the physical forces acting on it, studies show that a penny falling from a skyscraper would not cause any serious injury to people on the sidewalk below

Article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=could-a-penny-dropped-off

Image: google images

Louis Bloomfield, a University of Virginia physicist, recently conducted research to provide a definite answer to the falling penny turned dangerous weapon myth. He replicated the skyscraper scenario using wind tunnels and helium balloons. Ultimately, he found that the small, flat shape of the penny prevented it from becoming a torpedo, forcing it to flutter harmlessly to the ground instead. People who believe the myth assume that the force of gravity on the penny accelerates it to a dangerous speed during its descent. However, this could only happen in a vacuum. As it is, the penny’s flat surface collides with air molecules which slow it down. Air resistance creates a “drag force” which counteracts gravity. As gravity makes the penny fall faster, the air resistance increases. At maximum velocity, the air resistance and gravity working on the penny are equal and opposite, making the penny fall at a constant speed, or terminal velocity, until it reaches the sidewalk (or a passerby). This terminal velocity, 25 mph, is reached after about fifty feet. In a vacuum, the penny would reach a speed of 208 mph, which could cause damage to a skull. Though a falling penny has been proved harmless by this study, the same cannot be said of ballpoint pens. If a pen was thrown off a skyscraper and happened to have a design which caused it to shoot down like an arrow, it could hit the ground at 200 mph, causing quite a bit of damage.

This study may not earth-shattering or exactly life saving. However, our generation is interested in myth busting (the success of the show Myth Busters acts as evidence to this claim). We have all heard the warning not to throw anything off very tall buildings for the safety of those below. This warning remains valid. However, the myth which was created as a result of this warning has been busted by Bloomfield’s study. Now, when one has the urge to litter from the top of the Empire State Building, we know to throw harmless pennies and definitely not writing utensils.

I was drawn to this article because it mixes humor and pop culture with science. Many of the articles I’ve read for this assignment are interesting, but very serious. Some are more exciting, detailing new discoveries about the human body or a new species of animal, but they are rarely very funny. The title of this article made me laugh. I have heard the falling penny myth many times and even saw it in action during a performance of Avenue Q. I enjoyed learning what it was that made this myth untrue and how it can be applied instead to objects like ballpoint pens. I may no longer have to beware falling penny-torpedoes, but those pen-arrows sound pretty terrifying. Thankfully, I don’t have much to worry about in Clemson.

The (Somewhat Rare) Early Bird College Student Should Skip Their Afternoon Starbucks

A recent study indicates that caffeine intake may be linked to “chronotype,” or the time of day during which a person is most awake

Image: Austin Public Library

Article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=caffeine-disrupts-sleep-f

In this study, fifty college students recorded their caffeine intake and sleeping patterns. They wore devices to monitor movements and the moments in which they awoke after initially falling asleep. Their saliva was measure for caffeine levels throughout the week during which the study was conducted. Since college students in generally sleep deprived, the individuals in the study slept well whenever they were able to get to bed, regardless of caffeine intake. However, those who were morning people spent more time awake after falling asleep the more caffeine they consumed. The same was not found in those that are more alert later in the day. This is the first study that connects caffeine intake with “chronotype,” which categorizes people by the time in the day during which they are more active. Morning people are more likely than night owls to toss and turn during the night. Now, researchers must see if this same trend is found in people who are not college students. Some people rid their bodies of caffeine quicker than others, varying the caffeine levels a person has at bedtime. This makes it difficult for researchers to determine if an individual could avoid the negative effects of caffeine on sleep by passing on coffee or tea in the afternoon or evening.

Our society has become quite obsessed with caffeine. You can find a Starbucks at most popular intersections and every restaurant and fast food places offer tea and coffee. During its hours of operation, Cooper Library’s Java City is rarely, if ever, empty. Due to this reliance on caffeine, it has become increasing more important to research the effects it has on our bodies. This study offers extremely important and relevant information about caffeine’s relationship to sleep, especially for college students. College students have enough trouble getting a reasonable amount of sleep without being kept up at night due to caffeine. Students may drink tea and coffee to make up for the loss of sleep from drinking tea and coffee, creating a vicious circle. Hopefully, this cycle will be interrupted due to the information gained from studies like this one.

I have never enjoyed the smell, let alone the taste, of coffee, and I drink tea rarely. However, I am constantly surrounded by tea drinkers and friends asking me to coffee dates. After reading this article, I am glad I do not rely on caffeine. I am one of the morning people this article shows would be negatively affected by regular caffeine intake. If I have a restless night, I cannot blame my afternoon Starbucks, but my fellow students may.

Yet another reason to go to Fike

A new study suggests that exercise helps intracellular housecleaning


article from: http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=905664&f=25
image from: google images

Scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas experimented with two groups of mice to study a process called autophagy. During this process, cells clean away the broken and worn out cells, bacteria, viruses, and other debris. This trash is then taken to the lysosome, which breaks it down and burns it to create energy. If the body does not perform autophagy successfully, cells could become overcome by trash. These cells could then malfunction or die, perhaps leading to diabetes, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s, or cancer. Autophagy can also affect aging when the process slows. This system begins when the cells are starved and begin to consume broken and dead cells to generate energy and revive the hungry cells. When people exercise, they put physiological stress on the cell, jump starting the autophagy. In order to find and test this information, researchers treated mice so their cells glowed when undergoing this process and then had the mice run. After thirty minutes, the mice showed signs of accelerated autophagy. These mice were tested against another group that could not increase their autophagy during exercise. When both ran, the second group grew tired quickly because their muscles couldn’t get sugar from their blood. When both groups were given a diet that created a mice version of diabetes, the control group of mice was able to renew their health through exercise. The test group remained unhealthy and diabetic, even after running. The researchers discovered that exercise increases autophagy, which is accompanied by several health benefits. This study helps us understand at least one reason why exercise is healthy for our bodies.

Society stresses the importance of exercise to stay thin and healthy. However, we are rarely told how exercise helps our bodies. This study answers some of the questions we might ask about exercise and its relationship to health. According to the article, this information could also answer why some individuals do not respond as well to exercise as others. Some people may have slow or faulty autophagy systems which could affect their reaction to exercise. The study could also help in the development of drugs or exercise programs that could allow everyone the opportunity to benefit fully from exercise.

I am constantly being told to exercise more, from my parents, brothers, commercials, billboards, etc. However, this article has convinced me of the importance of exercise, much more effectively than any of them. I had never heard of autophagy before (which isn’t exactly surprising since I’m not a huge fan of biology) and was surprised by the number of problems that could arise when it did not work properly. I believe that everyone should have some knowledge of this process and the specific benefits that come from exercise. After reading about this study, I feel motivated to get off the couch and go down to Fike for some Zumba.

Seeing Sounds

Researchers interpret brain signals to decode words being heard by the subject

article and image from:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=word-of-mind-researchers-decode

Researchers in Berkeley and San Francisco were able to measure electrical signals in the language-processing center of the brain. These measurements allowed them to decipher words the subject was hearing. The researchers hope that the knowledge gained from this study could help severely disabled individuals regain their ability to communicate. Fifteen volunteers participated in the study. They listened to words, sounds, and sentences through a loudspeaker or headphones as the researches recorded the activity occurring in their brain’s auditory cortex. These volunteers were already being monitored for seizures, due to epilepsy or brain tumors. The researchers would not have been able to measure the brains of these volunteers if it were not for the brain scans already underway due to medical treatment. In this study, made possible because of medicine, researchers created an algorithm that mapped sounds heard by the subject to the electrode’s measurements. This algorithm was then able to match sounds to signals in the brain. In order to test the algorithm, they attempted to recreate the word a listener heard. The algorithm created a sound which could be interpreted after some work as a word. The study created two different versions of the algorithm for different aspects of sound. One version uses a linear representation of sound, showing frequency over time, while the other is nonlinear. The first conveys sound rhythms by oscillations in the brain. The second conveys rhythms by overall brain activity. The nonlinear version is more accurate than the linear model when studying faster speech rhythms. While the research from this experiment focuses purely on actual sounds a listener hears, future studies may be able to discover whether or not similar regions in the brain are used to decipher words we speak to ourselves, internally.

This study has provided further knowledge of the brain’s auditory and language functions which could be used to help the communication of disabled individuals and to improve speech recognition technology. This study was able to understand what someone was hearing by looking at that person’s brain. The researchers were then able to recreate words by simulating brain activity. This information could be used to restore communication to people who are currently unable to send or receive messages to or from their loved ones. Returning any ability to communicate to these individuals would greatly improve their lives. The study is also relevant to the general public in that the information gained could improve current technology for speech recognition. Siri, the technology which accompanies the iphone 4, has amazed many of us with its ability to read text messages and answer questions. The new information provided by this study could make this technology even more impressive.

I am constantly amazed by how much we still have to learn about the human brain. With each new study, we discover a little bit more about this amazingly complex organ. The discovery made in this particular study will help us learn about how we are able to communicate with each other. As an English major, I’m interested in communication and language. These researchers were able to see physical evidence of spoken words. They watched as the brain interpreted sounds and transformed them into words. This in itself is amazing, but the study could lead to even more remarkable discoveries. I can’t wait to learn what our brains still have to teach us.