SCI-TECH Science magazine(flipbook) Bal Bharati Public School, name of participants_ Ritu and Jividha; Class IX

SCI-TECH

Name of event: SCI-TECH School name: Bal Bharati Public School Name of participants: 1. Ritu chundawat, 2. Jividha Suthar Class: IX- ‘A’ ⟴ Biggest single-celled bacterium Bacteria normally dwell in the microscopic world. Not Thiomargarita.magnífica Averaging about a centimetre long, this newfound bacterium is visible to the naked eye (SN: 7/16/22 & 7/30/22, p. 17). T.magnífica , which lives in the mangrove forests of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles, is about 50 times larger than other species of big bacteria and about 5,000 times larger than typical bacteria. Why this species evolved into such a giant is unknown. Thiomargarita magnífica bacteria (several shown next to a dime for scale) average about 1 centimetre long. ⟴ First plants grown in lunar soil In May, scientists at the University of Florida successfully grew plants in soil from the moon, a first in human history and a milestone in lunar and space exploration. On loan from NASA, the 12 grams of soil was collected during

the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions to the moon. To grow their tiny lunar garden, the researchers used thimble-sized wells in plastic plates normally used to culture cells. Each well functioned as a pot. Once they filled each “pot” with approximately a gram of lunar soil, the scientists moistened the soil with a nutrient solution and added a few seeds from the Arabidopsis plant. While nearly all of the lunar plants sprouted, there were differences between the plants grown in lunar soil and the control group. For example, some of the plants grown in the lunar soils were smaller, grew more slowly or were more varied in size than their counterparts. These are all physical signs that the plants were working to cope with the chemical and structural make-up of the moon’s soil, something confirmed when the researchers analysed the plants’ gene expression patterns. ⟴A rechargeable cyborg cockroach for search and rescue Using ultrathin electronics and flexible materials, researchers at RIKEN (Japan) engineered a system for creating remote

controlled cyborg cockroaches, equipped with a tiny wireless control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell. The researchers attached the wireless leg-control module and lithium polymer battery to the top of the insect on the thorax using a specially designed backpack, which was modelled after the body of a model cockroach. The backpack was 3D printed with an elastic polymer and conformed perfectly to the curved surface of the cockroach, allowing the rigid electronic device to be stably mounted on the thorax for more than a month. The ultrathin 0.004-mm-thick organic solar cell module was mounted on the dorsal side of the abdomen. The ultrathin and flexible organic solar cell, and how it was attached to the insect, proved necessary to ensure freedom of movement. While cyborg cockroaches have a multitude of applications, search and rescue missions are chief among them. ⟴Closest black hole By sifting through data released by the Gaia spacecraft, astrophysicists discovered a black hole that’s just over 1,560 light-years from Earth (SN Online: 11/4/22). Dubbed Gaia BH1, it’s about twice as close as the previously nearest

known black hole. But that record may not stand. About 100 million black holes are predicted to exist in the Milky Way. Since most are invisible, they’re hard to find. But when Gaia, which is precisely mapping a billion stars, releases its next batch of data in a few years, even closer black holes may turn up. ⟴ Climate change: Now or never In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the third and final part of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change, with IPCC Working Group III Co- Chair Jim Skea saying, “It’s now or never if we want to limit global warming…without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” In the scenarios assessed by the team, limiting warming to around 1.5°C (2.7°F) requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third. Even if humans do this, it is almost inevitable that we will temporarily exceed this temperature threshold, but could return to below it by the end of the century. The global temperature will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions reach net zero. For 1.5°C (2.7°F), this means

achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s; for 2°C (3.6°F), it is in the early 2070s. The report looks beyond technologies and demonstrates that while financial flows are a factor of three to six times lower than levels needed by 2030 to limit warming to below 2°C, there is sufficient global capital and liquidity to close investment gaps. However, it relies on clear signalling from governments and the international community, including a stronger alignment of public sector finance and policy. THANK YOU !