SCIENCE

PHOTO CREDIT: ESO/S. Brunier

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious – the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”

– Albert Einstein

DISCOVERScience feeds our natural curiosity – it confirms our suspicions about

where we came from and unearths the mysteries of how things work.

DREAMWith every new advancement, discovery and limit pushed, we inch

closer to realizing our dreams and creating a new realm of possibilities.

UNDERSTANDThe point is that science exists outside theories. It manifests in

everyday events of both microscopic and galactic scale. It lives at the

very intersection of humanity and the universe, helping us appreciate

our collective best moments and make sense of our worst.

ADVANCEScience has allowed us to push the human body and experience

reality differently than we ever thought possible.

FLTR is designed to make sense of all the information created and circulated through social media during one moment in time, with a focus on one particular topic. This month, we look at science, specifically, how it helps us:

FLTR SCIENCE

HELLO, GOODBYE

Researchers from Australian National

University have discovered a tiny new

lizard species in Western Australia.

The six-centimeter-long coastal plains

skink (Ctenotus ora) has been found

just in time: Its only known habitat

is currently being developed for new

residential housing.3

FLTR SCIENCE | DISCOVER

SCARED THIN

Horror flicks are good for you? It’s all

relative. Watching a scary movie can

burn up to 200 calories, or almost

the whole bar of chocolate you have

to eat to get through the two hours of

suspense and nail-biting.2

DISCOVERScience is helping us discover what is out there, be it new species or planets. At the same time, it is showing us how much there is still left to find.

PHYSICISTS TESTIFY

And in an ironic twist for many

atheists, science may ultimately

prove the existence of God. Quantum

physicists are finding that we may be

more than just matter in motion after

all. And if they prove that the mind

exists beyond the body, then what if

the mind can exist without the body?

Whoa, that’s deep.4

NOBEL WORK

John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka

were awarded Nobel prizes in science

for their discoveries in cloning animals

and generating stem cells. Dr. Gurdon

was the first to clone an animal, a

frog, and Dr. Yamanaka discovered the

proteins with which an adult cell can

be converted to an egg-like state.1

AN ARM FOR AN EAR

Doctors at John Hopkins University

have leaped forward in reconstructive

surgery. Using cartilage pulled from

other parts of the patient’s body, they

constructed an ear and surgically

implanted it on her arm to allow skin

growth before re-attaching it to her

head. Can you hear me now? 6

TEETH MADE TO ORDER?

New technology has made a visit to

the dentist’s office a little less painful.

CAD/CAM — computer-aided design

and computer-aided manufacturing

— enable doctors to create a crown

while the patient waits. The result is

a ceramic crown that can be glued in

place on the spot.7

SOLDIERING ON ... FOREVER

Researchers from the Wyss Institute

for Biologically Inspired Engineering

at Harvard University have been

awarded a contract worth $2.6 million

to create a “wearable system that

would potentially delay the onset

of fatigue, enabling soldiers to walk

longer distances, and also potentially

improve the body’s resistance to

injuries while carrying loads.”5

MICRO MIDAS

Researchers at Michigan State

University are planning early

retirements. They’ve discovered a way

to use bacteria to transform a toxic

chemical compound found in nature

into 24-karat gold.8

Research and technology have allowed us to advance the human experience and change what we expect from reality.

ADVANCE

FLTR SCIENCE | ADVANCE

DREAM

A STONE’S THROW AWAY

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover came

across rounded rocks, leading to

revived hope that there was once life

on Mars. With two more years left in

the Rover’s mission, who knows what

else it will find … 11

PRINTIN’ PILLS

Goodbye long lines at the pharmacy.

Combining advances in 3-D printing

with biosynthesis and molecular

construction may lead to medicine

via printout, with printers that can

create vaccines and other drugs.12

With every step forward, we are compelled to think of how much more we can achieve. If recent accomplishments are any indicator, the future is very bright.

MY GOD, IT’S FULL OF STARS

Thousands of separate pictures of the

Milky Way were combined to create

one giant photo. If printed, it would

easily cover the side of a three-story

building. The image contains 10 times

more stars than previously captured

and will allow scientists to perform

statistical analyses of the color,

temperature, mass and age of the

different stars in the galaxy.9

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER

Japan is planning a $1 billion mission

to drill 3.7 miles beneath the seafloor

to reach the Earth’s mantle. The goal

is to bring back the first-ever fresh

samples, which will enable scientists

to clarify many of the assumptions we

have about how our planet works.10

FLTR SCIENCE | DREAM

In just one month, we witnessed two historical events that illustrate the vast role that science plays in our lives. We saw the peak of human achievement and the devastation of Mother Nature. One man fell and the tides rose, and we watched, listened and shared it all together. Our insatiable curiosity pushes us forward, and yet we still sit in awe of life’s mysteries in our never-ending quest to discover, advance, dream and understand.

UNDERSTAND

On October 14, 2012, a record-breaking 8 million people tuned in to watch a live-stream broadcast of the Red Bull Stratos mission. Felix Baumgartner completed a 24-mile skydive from the edge of space, shattering several world records and captivating audiences around the world.13

DISCOVER

A team of the world’s leading minds in aerospace,

medicine, engineering, pressure-suit development,

capsule creation and balloon fabrication

collaborated on the mission, conducting extensive

research and test missions to ensure a successful

jump. The full-pressure suit was designed to

provide protection from temperatures of +100°F to

-90°F and to maintain pressure around Felix’s body

to prevent the liquid in his tissues from turning to

gas and expanding. 14

ADVANCE

The space jump shattered several records:

• First person to achieve the speed of sound in

freefall without mechanical assistance

• Freefall from the highest altitude: 128,100 feet

• Longest freefall time: 4 minutes and 22 seconds

• Highest manned balloon flight: float altitude of

approximately 128,100 feet 14

DREAM

Beyond an all-encompassing brand experience and

scientific feat, the space jump could mean one very

important thing: individual atmosphere re-entry.

With the help of a new generation of pressurized

space suits, protocols for exposure to high altitude/

high acceleration and a new understanding of the

effects supersonic acceleration and deceleration

have on the human body, it’s possible. One

day, a pressurized suit like Felix’s could help

save astronauts who are forced to bail out of a

malfunctioning rocket post-launch. 15

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH

FLTR SCIENCE | UNDERSTAND

Hurricane Sandy left a wake of devastation and destruction throughout the Northeast. From the time #Frankenstorm first hit Twitter streams to the height of the storm, when 10 images were uploaded on Instagram per second, the world watched and communities came together through social media.16

DISCOVER

How could a Category 1 hurricane cause so much

damage? Here’s the science:

• Most storms approach from the south: Sandy

made a direct hit from the east

• The full moon created a tidal tug that fueled

a surge of as much as 12 feet

• A vast high-pressure system over Canada

blocked Sandy from continuing north

• The jet stream created a vacuum above

the storm, which allowed it to strengthen17

ADVANCE

Due to its complex nature, Sandy was difficult to

track. However, a new predictive model has already

been released. Developed by researchers at North

Carolina State University, the new model has the

ability to forecast a season’s hurricane activity 15

percent more accurately than existing methods.

By entering historical data into this new algorithm,

researchers have confirmed they can predict

hurricane activity with 80 percent accuracy.18

DREAM

As quickly as the tide rose during Sandy, so did

the human imagination rise to the challenge of

envisioning designs that could protect buildings

and people. What will the future hold? A network

of parks, wetlands and tidal salt marshes designed

to absorb incoming water around Manhattan, a

system of artificial reefs full of oysters to act as an

“ecological glue” in Brooklyn, or perhaps a storm

barrier drawbridge, moonlighting as a generator,

suspended from New Jersey to Staten Island.19

ALL EYES ON THE STORM

FLTR SCIENCE | UNDERSTAND

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Mario Natarelli

EDITORIAL AND DESIGN TEAM

Daryl Drabinsky

Scott McLean

Tara Mastrelli

Special thanks to the entire team

at MBLM for their contributions,

observations, insights and input —

their FLTR work on science made

this report possible.

Check out other issues of FLTR:

FLTR Olympics

FLTR Travel

FLTR Education

DISCOVER UNDERSTAND

ADVANCE

DREAM

1. Wade, Nicholas. “Cloning and stem cell work earns nobel.” The New York Times, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/health/research/cloning-and-stem-cell-discoveries-earn-nobel-prize-in-medicine.html?pagewanted=all

2. “Watching horror films burns nearly 200 calories at a time.” The Telegraph, Web: 15 Nov. 2012.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9638876/Watching-horror-films-burns-nearly-200-calories-a-time.html

3. Platt, John R. “New lizard discovered in Australia and threatened by incoming housing development.” Scientific American, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2012/10/30/new-lizard-discov-ered-australia-threatened-development/

4. Barr, Stephen M. “Does quantum physics make it easier to believe in God?” Big Questions Online, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. https://www.bigquestionsonline.com/content/does-quantum-physics-make-it-easier-believe-god

13. Plunkett, John. “Felix Baumgartner jump: record 8m watch live on YouTube” The Guardian, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/15/felix-baumgartner-skydive-youtube

14. Red Bull Stratos. 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.redbullstratos.com

15. Levs, Josh. “After space jump, what’s the next big stunt?” CNN World, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://articles.cnn.com/2012-10-15/world/world_next-big-stunt_1_mars-rover-curiosity-felix-baumgartner-explorers/

16. Coscarelli, Joe. “Hurricane Sandy: A perfect social media storm.” New York Magazine, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/hurri-cane-sandy-perfect-social-media-storm.html

17. Drye, Willie. “Why full moon makes ‘Frankenstorm’ more monstrous.” National Geographic, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121029-hurricane-sandy-path-storm-surge-full-moon-nation-weather-science/

18. Howell, Whitney L.J. “N.C. State researchers develop model for better prediction of hurricanes.” Charlotte Observer, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.charlot-teobserver.com/2012/11/04/3643033/nc-state-researchers-develop-model.html#storylink=cpy

19. Feuer, Alan. “Protecting the city, before next time.” The New York Times, Web: 15 Nov, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/nyregion/protecting-new-york-city-before-next-time.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

5. Guerra, Carib. “Intel IQ: Researchers to smart suit that stop soldiers from get-ting tired.” PSFK, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.psfk.com/2012/10/suit-stops-soldiers-getting-tired.html

6. Murray, Peter. “Woman’s ear regrown in her forearm.” Singularity Hub, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://singularityhub.com/2012/10/05/womans-ear-regrown-in-her-forearm/

7. Kolata, Gina. “A new tooth, made to order in under an hour.” The New York Times, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/a-new-tooth-made-to-order-in-under-an-hour/

8. Hutchings, Emma. “Scientists produce gold using bacteria.” PSFK, Web: 15 Nov. 2012.http://www.psfk.com/2012/10/make-gold-with-bacteria.html

9. Mann, Adam. “9-billion-pixel photo of Milky Way’s center is full of stars.” Wired Science, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/9-gigapixel-milky-way/

10. Levitt, Tom. “The $1 billion mission to reach the Earth’s mantle.” CNN Tech, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/01/tech/mantle-earth-drill-mission/index.html

11. Grotzinger, John. “Mars and the science of skipping stones.” The New York Times, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/opinion/grotzinger-mars-and-the-science-of-skipping-stones.html

12. Ackerman, Evan. “Molecular 3D bioprinting could mean getting drugs through email.” DVICE, Web: 15 Nov. 2012. http://dvice.com/archives/2012/10/molecu-lar-3d-bi.php

PHOTO CREDIT: ESO/S. Brunier

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SOURCES