TheScientificTriangle
What about the environment and science
Understanding Green Technology
What is green technology
Most often the laymen nowadays question about Green Technology.
What is green tech? People ask whenever they are told anything related to it. Small and medium business owners are also not much aware of it.
Our world is undergoing a massive threat right now. The environment is at its worst, and we are living in environmental debt hereon. Environmental debt means whatever resources we use in these coming days cannot be recovered by Earth by any means.
But the revival of the atmosphere is a must for the future that stays on. Several good initiatives1 over the years have resulted in some results. One such effort is termed Green Technology.
It is a brolly term and there is a whole world within it.
Understanding the concept of Green Technology -What is it?
Over the years, with massive exhaustion of resources, governments and countries realize using technology to build up empires is not going to help. Building the right technology, the environmentally friendly one is what can reverse the challenges.
In short, our environment was destroyed by the advancement of technologies and also war at the beginning of the 19th century. Now, the world aims to use technology but without troubling the environment in any way.
That’s where the term green technology was invented. Green means clean and clean would mean technology that is environment friendly.
Pretty young in the market but has many eyes fixed on it- It has found some major investors over the years. China is a leading investor in Green technology. They back technological advancements that use renewable energy sources, considered less harmful for the world.
Some stats & facts
Using green tech as a goal statement can massively improve the world’s inclination towards it. Even though it was the beginning of the 19th century saw scientists realizing the importance of carbon emissions. But, it could not be until the end of the 19th century that people actually could turn the wheel of technology towards the green world.
The nations have largely invested in producing and understanding green technology over the years since the beginning of 21 century.
Green technology investments as of 2017 have crossed over the mark of $200 billion2 as per the 2018 UN report. China stands first in such investments wherein almost $126 billion has alone been invested by China until 2017 on Green Technology.
The boom of the Green Technology market stats
Just look at the data to realize more.
- Almost 301.7 billion3 is invested in Green technology in 2019 alone.
- Almost 2% of growth is registered4 in terms of clean energy investments globally.
- It is estimated that the market size of green technology to grow from 11.2 billion5 as per estimates in 2020 and would touch USD 36.6 billion by 2025.
Some examples towards understanding green technology
Some examples of Green Technology involve clean water, use of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, water power, and use of green waste to produce useful objects of daily use.
The technology also gives way to green products, which are far less harmful to the environment. Replacing plastic cups with the ones built of orange peels- 3-D printed bio-plastic cups6 are a wonderful example of green technology. Carlo Ratti Associati7 used the concept to design and produce green cups for the world.
Starbucks is a wonderful example of corporate green tech adoption.
It was found that 70% of their emission was added from sources of electricity used. So, they slowly started altering the energy sources and in 20188 and 2019 they shifted to wind and solar energy sources.
Some evolving fields that are slowly embracing green technology include,
- The field of architecture
- The field of medicine
- Electric automobile industry
- Objects of daily use are being manufactured more and more from recycled wastes
- Engineers are even trying artificial photosynthesis.
It is supposed to be the starting of an environmental change. More and more people are taking up the responsibility of finding something useful for the environment. Scientists are contributing hugely and so are students in building these green devices and green products.
Renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy are inexhaustible sources as of now. Water is a renewable source of energy yet water is limited in the world.
It is just a matter of time that we would soon be all green. However, how fast we take the green mission forward is what is going to make all the difference to the world.
Citations
- https://atomic-temporary-142903702.wpcomstaging.com/2021/08/20/what-is-it-with-the-green-alternatives/
- https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/banking-sunshine-world-added-far-more-solar-fossil-fuel-power
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/186807/worldwide-investment-in-sustainable-energy-since-2004/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/502210/worldwide-investment-in-sustainable-energy-annual-growth/
- https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/green-technology-and-sustainability-market-224421448.html
- https://www.dezeen.com/tag/bioplastic/
- https://www.dezeen.com/tag/carlo-ratti-associati/
- https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/water-and-energy
What Is It With The Green Alternatives?
If you have read yesterday’s post with us1, you know an International Climate Summit is coming up in India. ICS 2021 will be an initiative that can alter a lot about our understanding of the environment. The main focus is going to be on the Greens.
It would be all about the Greens- not only the environmental green but also the green alternatives. Green steel, green refinery & green hydrogen.
What are exactly these green alternatives? Let us understand a bit more about them.
Green alternatives
Here’s a little about the different greens.
1) Green Hydrogen
The element hydrogen is everywhere in the world- from the water, we drink to the air we breathe. You cannot eliminate hydrogen from our environment ever. Instead, it is important, and extremely essential for our survival. It is as much important as is nitrogen and oxygen.
But the new buzzword is the green hydrogen as the green alternative.
There are two questions to solve- what is green hydrogen and how in it different from normal hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is artificially produced, of course, by splitting water into elements hydrogen and oxygen. The split is powered by an electrolyzer (a machine used for splitting any molecule into its respective atoms). The electricity used to run the electrolyzer is derived from a natural, renewable source of energy. Primarily wind, water, or solar power is used to produce the electricity being used for these electrolyzing machines.
India is a chief player on this front. On 15th August, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi announced the National Hydrogen Mission in his Independence Day speech.
Ideally, it is being projected that our country would promote greener power sources2 by reducing the tariff rates for the electricity generated from the sun or the wind as opposed to the energy generated by coal or conventional fuel sources.
Now, this could be a big step towards change. A discom can always purchase green energy and sell it at cheaper tariff rates compared to conventional energy sources. There is a lot that has been drafted about green power implementation.
The advantages of green hydrogen are many
- Green hydrogen can stabilize heat and electricity supply.
- It is one of the most versatile energy sources.
- Green hydrogen can remarkably reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Do you know about Blue Hydrogen? Well, undoubtedly there is one. Know about it more in later posts.
2) Green Refinery
Eni S.p.A. is an Italian oil & gas company (O&G) unit headquartered in Rome.
Eni S.p.A cleverly manipulated the hydrodesulfurization segment of the Venice refinery under it into a biorefinery. The EcofiningTM technology previously developed by Eni in Saint Donato Milanese laboratory in partnership with Honeywell-UOP was implemented in the refinery.
Well, the story went on to weave high quality biofuels. Green diesel, green naphtha, LPG, and to an extent even the unimaginable green jet fuel came into existence.
How are they produced to fall in the category of green fuels? Well, they are derived from raw material or substrate. These green fuels have to meet the EU (European Union) Directives which mandated 10% of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
So the green refinery gave way to different biofuels3. Eni put forth a strategy to obtain these biofuels in no time- conversion of biological feedstock, basically non-conventional sources like vegetable oil and biomass into green products.
3) Green Ammonia is claimed to be the future fuel
We all know the environmental impacts of producing ammonia are huge and almost irreplaceable.
Therefore, the concept of green ammonia developed. Green ammonia defined as a zero emission fuel holds promise.
Using renewable resources of energy to generate ammonia called green ammonia can be used to produce a carbon-free fertilizer.
Green ammonia is chemically called NH3. You can see it’s one atom of nitrogen and three atoms of hydrogen which make one molecule of ammonia. So in the case of green ammonia, hydrogen would be obtained from the electrolysis of water using an electrolyzer as mentioned in the Green hydrogen section.
Nitrogen would be extracted in return from the air.
Now, these elements would come together to produce green ammonia through the Haber-Bosch process (the conventional process was designed by Haber and since then the process of manufacturing ammonia is known as Haber’s process).
Currently, the ingredients used in manufacturing the rotten egg smelling gas are not so green.
4) Green Steel
Wow! Can steel be green? Green steel?
Yes, not the green color steel, instead environmentally friendly steel is what you can call it more accurately.
Iron ore needs to be stripped off from the oxygen to produce pure iron. Coal or natural gas is primarily used to strip steal off oxygen. But with green steel, hydrogen made from renewable energy sources would be used to strip oxygen from the ore instead of coal or natural gas..
The result would be zero carbon-dioxide emission.
Voila! This is where we are trying to reach.
Every attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can save our planet from facing an early death. The human population definitely has a boon in disguise as a green, healthy Earth can support more and more generations of human life in the future.
5) Green Chemicals as green alternatives
Green chemicals are a broad term and envelop a lot of different kind of chemicals under the banner of green alternatives.
It includes many varieties of chemicals, starting from green biocatalysts, medicines, paints, biodegradable substances, to computer chips- everything will go with the tag of Go Green.
Metatheses6 (simply known as double decomposition in Chemistry7), an initiative that earned a Nobel Prize in 2005 is a green catalytic chemical process.
Chicken feathers for a computer chip can be strong and light, durable and slender. Computer chips will also get a makeover due to the heavy amount of fuel needed to produce a single chip. An estimated 630 times the weight of the chip is wasted to create just one chip.
Medicines have broader coverage and a lot of work in terms of green medicine has already been started all across the globe.
Biodegradable plastics! Well, some of us are using the first of its kind already!
Oil based paints use a synthetic resin will get replaced with soya oil and sugar in near future.
Basically, the world is fighting a lot of challenges at one time. There cannot be an easier solution to the damage man has brought to nature knowingly. But with time, there is hope a significant population would understand that their children too need what they needed to survive.
Fresh air, clean waters (using water from free sources without fear instead of purchasing sparklingly clean waters), green mountains (the friendliest color of all to our eyes), and a smoke free, stable, competent earth is all they would need to start.
Question is, are these present generations really interested in giving their children this beautiful gift? Or are we too happy being busy fighting our odds in the world?
Citations for green alternatives
- https://atomic-temporary-142903702.wpcomstaging.com/2021/08/19/all-about-the-international-climate-summit-2021/
- https://www.bmp-greengas.de/knowledge/advantages-of-green-hydrogen/?lang=en
- Carbon EU
- https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/low-carbon-energy-programme/green-ammonia/
- Green steel
- http://ncpc.co.za/what-is-green-chemistry/examples-green-chemistry
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1247399/
All About the International Climate Summit 2021
The International Climate Summit 2021 is all set to be held on September 3, 2021, in New Delhi, India. The ICS 2021 is an initiative by the Environment Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and industry. The event is also being co-organized by NITI Aayog, Ministry of Environment, Forest Climate Change, CSIR, Department of Scientific Industrial Research, and the Department of Science Technology, Government of India. The International Climate Summit 2021 is being organized by India’s leading organizer of energy events, the ITEN Media. It will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi.
Other than this, the Global Summit is also being backed by the Indian Ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Power, Coal, Earth Sciences, Petroleum & Natural Gas, and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise. The government of Norway has agreed to become a partner country at the ICS 2021.
This Global Summit aims to declare India’s readiness for transitioning into clean energy. In this year’s budget, the Government of India announced the launch of the National Hydrogen Energy Mission to boost India into becoming the world’s most inexpensive producer of hydrogen by 2050.
According to climate experts, India has got all the right ingredients needed to transform to “Green Hydrogen” strategies. India is full of natural resources, favorable climatic conditions, and apt geography.
Shri. Prakash Javadekar, Indian Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change believes that India is capable of creating an economy and environment that can run on clean air quality, reduced carbon emissions, and clean energy.
Green Hydrogen is the energy of the future. The CEO of Niti Aayog, Shri. Amitabh Kant has stated that the world today is demanding green products and India can become a global leader in producing and supplying “green refining, green ammonia, green steel, and green chemicals.”
The Agenda for the International Climate Summit 2021
In present times, India is ranked third among the world’s biggest carbon emitters. Given the delicate situation of Earth’s climate currently, India has come forward to reduce its carbon footprint in the coming times. India has emerged as a global leader in climate change and so she has embarked upon her journey to produce renewable clean energy from solar and wind sources.
The International Climate Summit will focus on building up India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem. The primary agenda of this Global Summit will be to set up an “International Hydrogen Alliance.”
Other than this, the ICS 202’s objective would also be to set up Excellence Centres in some prestigious educational institutions and universities of the country to aid in building up a strong knowledge base and R&D units. The summit also aims in bringing together world leaders, Nobel laureates, Policy Makers, Regulators, Scientists, Climate Experts, and Industry Leaders to come to an agreement about the effective steps and solutions for climate sustainability. Overall this global event will help in building the roadmap to guide India in building its Hydrogen Economy. It will also serve as the right platform in framing the policies and enabling the much needed regulatory frameworks to provide a boost to the Make in India initiative.
What would the ICS 2021 sessions focus on?
The International Climate Summit sessions will be about the following;
- Finding solutions to store and transport pressurized and liquefied hydrogen.
- Ways of building India’s hydrogen economy and supply chain.
- Exploring the possibilities of producing and storing blue & green hydrogen.
- Developing heavy-duty transportation based on hydrogen fuel cells.
- Making hydrogen-use clusters for steel, refineries, fertilizers, cement, ports, logistics, etc.
- ‘Self-Reliant India – Harness the Power of Hydrogen,’ a special book authored by Dr. Karen Landmark and her team from Norway, will be unveiled at this event.
Eminent speakers at the ICS 2021:
- Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog
- Dr. Karen Landmark, Chair of the Board, Greenstar Asia, Norway
- Nobuo Tanaka, Ex ED, IEA, Japan
- Sturle Harald Pederson, Chairman, Greenstar Hydrogen Asia, Bergen
- Prof. Vijay Raghavan, PSA to Govt. of India
- Dr. Vijay Saraswat, Member (Energy), NITI Aayog
- R. R. Rashmi, Former Special Secretary, MoEFCC & Distinguished fellow TERI
- Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary Department of Science & Technology
- Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D) IOCL
- Dr. Ashish Lele, Director National Laboratory, Pune
It can be said that the International Climate Summit 2021 is a precursor event to the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), scheduled to be held in Glasgow this year. The ICS 2021 will serve as a common platform to bring the world together to produce, store, transport, distribute, and deploy hydrogen-powered technologies in the next 20 years span. The International Climate Summit 2021 aims to build a future that is powered by clean energy and green products.
Read more about Duitin app.
Duitin App – An Incentivized Way to Recycle Trash
Read more on how you can incentivize the Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle machine. Could there be a better way to manage and recycle waste? Would it ever be possible to motivate people to recycle inorganic waste?
Well, before the age of smartphones, I am not sure if the above questions had possible answers, but in modern times certainly, there is a positive answer to the above questions. But before discussing the answers, let’s get to discussing some facts first.
The problem of inaccurate dumping of plastic and inorganic waste is eating up the environment of earth. Overall, 2.01 billion tonnes1 of solid waste is generated all across the world annually. Whereas, if you look at the per person per day waste generation, then an average of 0.74 kg of waste is generated. These figures look quite alarming and it is even more terrifying to look at the future estimates based on present trends.
As per The World Bank, by 2050, humans would be contributing to the generation of 3.40 billion tonnes of solid waste2. The East Asia and Pacific region are the highest generators of waste in the world contributing 23% of garbage collected in recent times. Reportedly, Indonesia alone contributes to 7.8 million tons of plastic waste3 annually out of which 4.9 million tons of plastic waste is not responsibly managed. While the whole planet is dealing with the issue of waste management, Adijoyo Prakaso, owner of the Duitin app has emerged with a brilliant way to manage waste just like a lotus blooms in the muddy swamp. So, let’s see what this Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle machine is all about and how does it offer to solve the age-old problem of waste management in a smarter way.
The primary challenge and its smart solution
Indonesians are still not habituated to recycle waste. Although they do sell their waste for cash yet many still lack the awareness to recycle waste for the sake of the environment. Some just collect the garbage and throw it out while some others are aware of waste recycling but they don’t know who they should reach to in order to recycle their solid wastes.
Thus, the start-up Duitin came into the picture in 2019. It is a smartphone app that has been in operations since July 2020 and has so far managed to recycle 70 tons of solid, inorganic waste including plastic, paper, cardboard, glass wastes.
Duitin is helping Indonesians easily recycle their household garbage. Duitin, is in fact, motivating people with some incentives, including cash rewards to use the simple ride-sharing app to recycle more and more waste.
The start-up led by Chief Operation Officer, Adijoyo Prakaso, has a goal of reducing the environmental problems caused by improper disposal of waste. Their goal is in line with the government’s goal to reduce 70% plastic waste by 2025.
Other than this, Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle machine has also started a novel idea of business in modern times by collecting garbage and making profits out of it. They are also supporting the spirit of the National Waste Care Day which is celebrated every year on February 21.
Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle machine
Other than this, Duitin is also generating jobs to empower the youth. Duitin is employing garbage collectors known as Duitin Pickers who are not only being given financial support but would also be given a scope to become a sociopreneur. Thus, from being a picker of garbage and waste, those working with Duitin will also be given a scope to enhance their livelihoods and profession by becoming a collector and then setting up their own solid waste recycling factory.
Thus, in this way, Duitin is accomplishing the following:
- Aiding to raise awareness about environmental pollution and the degrading role of plastic to cause soil and water.
- Systematically managing recyclable waste to reduce soil and water pollution.
- Increasing social and economic benefits.
Duitin – The smarter way of recycling the garbage
Duitin is a smartphone-compatible ride-sharing app that leverages Big Data, Fintech, and Greentech technologies. It works in a simple incentive-based model. People have to separate their wastes first and then use the app to request a pickup. The picker arrives at the requested location to collect the waste and then the waste contributors can earn bonuses including cash rewards. Thus, it’s a win-win situation for all.
This trash collecting app makes it easy for trash sellers to schedule a time for garbage picking from their own homes or shops. They no longer have to carry the trash to a particular point. All these facilities provided by the Duitin app enhances the convenience for people.
The app is available for download on the Google Play Store for Android smartphones. Apart from this, there are several APK files available. So far, Duitin has about 15 business partners and 1,200 trash collectors. The app has been downloaded by more than 100,000 users during this period.
How to sell trash using the Duitin app?
The Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle bin lets people sell inorganic waste. People have to first segregate the waste and then sort it weight-wise. They can make waste bags of three kgs and then request for the Duitin picker to come to their location to take the trash. The trash collector will then weigh the waste and approve its value:
- Plastic waste of one kg – IDR 1,500
- Paper waste of one kg – IDR 1,000
- Glass waste per kg – IDR 300
- Aluminium can per kg – IDR 3,500
- Multi-layer box per kg – IDR 250
Duitin contributors earn Duitin Coins as rewards. Meanwhile, Duitin pickers get 20% of the sale amount. Duitin app users can redeem the rewards earned by them including the cash amount to buy credit, internet data packs, electricity tokens, or even cash out the balance amount to their bank accounts.
Conclusion of Duitin app
Duitin Indonesia app for waste recycle bin is a novel, incentivized, and innovative way of solid waste disposal. Not only can the environment benefit from this way but the waste generators, trash collectors, and even the start-up business can make fortune for themselves. Thus, it is time that the world starts looking towards smart technology to take care of Earth’s environment.
Read more about the BB Bot here.
The beach cleaning robot project: Bot BB
Pollution is rising but so is technology! You can clean beaches with robots nowadays. Meet us here to learn more about that beach cleaning robot project.
Humans are no longer capable of cleaning the debris they create. As consequence machines are being built to clean them off. Recently a project which caught our attention revolves around a beach cleaning robot project– Bot BB. Let’s dive in, a bit more into the topic through the article.
Phu Quoc, Vietnam is labeled as the dirtiest beach in the world. But, there are other dirty beaches in and around the globe. Beach littering is a common practice. People just love to leave a piece of them back at the beach each time they visit it.
Over time, the beaches become extremely polluted and the pollutants range from simple biodegradable products like straw hats, porcelain cups, glasses, mugs, dresses to non-biodegradable plastics. You can find a lot of stuff on the beach; name them and you can spot them.
Even though biodegradable waste is processed automatically inside the Earth, to our discomfort, the non-biodegradable materials aren’t.
This often takes me back to a question about
‘Who is the first?’
Have you ever thought about first who’s?
The first person who built the fire?
The person who carried a piece of plastic to the beach for the first time?
Someone flew the plastic bag in the air like it was some air balloon?
So, from then on, seeing one another, imitating each others’ behavioral patterns, humans began littering the beaches.
Still, different beach cleaning methods came into practice, but none could help us much.
Of late, it has been established that the litter can never be cleaned from all the beaches around the world manually anymore. It has gone that far.
Technology is being tried next and hopefully, they will have solutions and answers better than we ever had. Have you heard of the beach cleaning robot by any chance?
Yes, it’s true, the bot is a real robot built by scientists to primarily clean beaches.
Now, that’s an incredible landmark people have reached in the history of technology, isn’t it?
What is the beach cleaning bot all about- Bot BB
The robot is developed by the Dutch tech start-up Tech Tics, and the beach cleaning robot can follow instructions like all of us. You just need to order it and it will pick the stuff from the beach on its own.
All you need to do is order the beach bot to search and pick the cigarette butts from the beach and place them in your trash bin for us.
Your work gets done faster, quicker, and with greater efficiency and accuracy level than those normal hands could merely achieve.
Designed and led by two entrepreneurs, Edwin Bos and Martijn Lukart, the prototype of the beach cleaning robot has made to the world of beach cleaning finally this year in July. It is in its preliminary phases and uses Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI) system to pick up cigarette butts from the beach, as of now.
What can the beach cleaning robot so far do
The beach cleaning robot project led to the design of Bot BB, an 80-centimeter wide robot. It will simply not scroll the surface of the beach for cigarette butts but is smart enough to look within the sand too.
It eventually would be expanded to search for other types of wastes. The cigarette butt is the first baby step into the beach cleaning project. Microsoft mentioned the tech start-up on 19th July 2021 and introduced the prototype.
Which phase is the beach cleaning robot in
Microsoft further ascertained that the bot is in the learning process. The learning process is being carried out using Microsoft’s giant trove AI system.
It appears that right now, the beach cleaning robot– Bot BB is learning from humans. So using the giant Trove, Tech Tics introduced the robot to the cigarette butt first. Next, with a set of carefully chosen images, the robot was made to learn more about cigarette butts. The beach cleaning robot can pick up all forms of cigarette butts, whether small or big.
Based in Hague, Netherlands, Tech Tics experts revealed during the launch of the prototype that they have used almost 2000 cigarette butt images in the process of learning.
Built mechanics of the robot- Bot BB
The beach cleaning robot– Bot BB is made of two onboard cameras. It has two robotic arms suspending out of the body. With their help, the butts can be put into the onboard trash can. The trash collected requires being disposed of manually.
Tech Tics believes in spreading global awareness about littering alongside the project.
What else are they planning with the beach cleaning robot
The robot is not where it ends; in fact, it starts from the building of the robot.
They want your co-operation in making the robot learn more about beach cleaning.
Thus, they have built a game app. By playing it, you can feed the memory of the beach cleaning robot– Bot BB and make it smarter.
What can you do to help bots clean up the beach better?
- During the beach cleaning project, normal humans can interact with the robots and can make them learn faster.
- After the beach cleanup, you can still train the beach cleaning robots using the app.
- Few beach cleaning sessions have already happened and the last one of them was on 15th August, in Zandvoort Beach Bar Ahoy/Talassa.
What’s new in the beach cleaning project- Bot BB!
MAPP robots are also part of the beach cleaning robots and they are in news!
Their use of artificial intelligence allows them to map the area efficiently to collect litter data.
In fact, they are one step ahead of BB.
Not only do they use the mapping technology, MAPP robots can communicate with each other while hunting for litter on the shore.
Now, isn’t this the new step forward?
The beach cleaning robot project is undoubtedly the gen-next step into the future and whether it leads to the world of Wall-E is surely a test for humanity.
Read about modern wound sealing method here.
Seal wounds fast with this MIT bio-inspired life saving glue
This article about the MIT bio-inspired glue gum inspired by none other than the neglected barnacles is stirring up the science world. Stay tuned to know more!
Nature is replete with information we need. Recently, MIT bio-inspired glue gum is catching people’s attention. It was developed by closely observing the barnacles. Barnacles use a special sticky gum like gooey substance to stick to rocks. Now, who believed these barnacles could even be a source of inspiration for some? It appears they were for those who were searching for a source of inspiration.
Details of the life saving glue
Seeing these barnacles, MIT engineers have developed life saving glue that is compatible with our biological system and is effective and strong. It is enough to stop bleeding in people in just as little as 15 seconds. Unbelievable, isn’t it! Well, the truth is, it’s true.
Bleeding and death are close allies. Accidents and other circumstantial conditions often have seen many patients bleed to death. Death is inevitable once heavy bleeding sets in. In the military, heavy bleeding is often the number one cause of death.
This process of mimicking nature to create something wonderful is a phenomenon widely known as biomimicry.
Biomimicry
It is a practice wherein various natural mimicking techniques are closely observed to solve the challenges faced due to human machine’s design. Solving them and finding a way for the human world is what biomimicry is all about.
Next, let us find out who is more prone to bleeding to death and exactly how does one bleed to death.
Bleeding and its causes
Blood loss is a pretty debilitating situation for mankind. Once bleeding sets in, it is often difficult to stop it quickly for long. This part of medical science is much ignored and there is a lot of difficulties involved with it.
Blood loss can be either internal or external to one’s body. Internal bleeding can often lead to death, even though there may not be any sign of blood on the outside. This life saving glue gum is supposed to help all these issues. External blood loss is being successfully targeted with this life saving glue gum. It claims to stop bleeding in just 15 seconds. This bio-adhesive technology holds a lot of promise even for internal bleeding prevention.
1) Bleeding from trauma
Traumatic bleedings can always vary in severity. Several accidents often lead to traumatic injuries like hematoma, laceration, gunshot wounds, and even crushing injuries. This is where the life saving glue can help.
Any injury to the deeper layers of your body can lead to a puncture wound or shock wound which can cause damage to your arteries and veins. Bleeding is consequential of arterial and venous damage. Deep-set organs can also cause blood loss in the human body.
2) Medical conditions or diseases
Here are a few very common reasons for bleeding.
- Low blood platelet count
Our blood is composed of three types of components.
- Plasma: The liquid part of the blood which contains proteins and other whole blood constituents even after being freed of blood cells and platelets.
- Blood cells: Red blood cells and white blood cells are the two main blood cell types. White blood cells can further be categorized into many different cell types.
- Platelets: Sponge like tissue, developed primarily in the bone marrow containing stem cells. It plays a huge role in the blood clotting mechanism.
When its content is low- either manufactured in fewer numbers or destroyed rapidly, it can cause spontaneous bleeding in people suffering from low platelet content.
- Vitamin K deficiency
Our body is regularly cooking recipes for our benefit. The blood clotting mechanism is also one such process wherein various products are produced one after the other. Different ingredients add to the process- platelets as described above are one such ingredient. Vitamin K is another. An insufficient supply of Vitamin K can hinder proper blood clot formation.
Remember leafy vegetables? Well, a rich source of Vitamin K of course apart from meat, and other flesh products.
- Menorrhagia
Heavy menstrual bleeding is a condition that can make life difficult for women. Often endometriosis (cystic ovary patients) can suffer from such type of heavy bleeding issues.
- Disease induced bleeding
Some diseases which can be a contributing cause of blood loss include the ones mentioned below.
- Von Willebrand disease
- Colon diverticulitis
- Lung cancer
- Acute bronchitis
- Brain trauma
Any external trauma to the brain box might dangerously impact us. Blood loss or blood clots in the head can risk your life.
3) Medicines and various drug forms
Various medicines and drug forms are also responsible for blood losses and blood clot development inside the body.
- Blood thinners, often prescribed to elderly individuals to prevent the risk of heart attack or blocks can cause bleeding in such patients.
- Radiation therapy is one such reason which often hampers the blood’s condition.
- Some antibiotics can cause blood loss in people.
- Aspirin and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are also responsible for such conditions.
Now that you are aware of all the different conditions which can cause blood loss, let us look deeply into this life saving glue.
What is this life saving glue all about
Hemostatic agents can prevent bleeding but the clotting factors present in these patches often stop the bleeding by naturally enhancing the process of the clotting mechanism. Now, that takes time.
Often large gaping wounds cannot be handled well with these small patches.
Almost two years back, Xuanhe Zhao, a professor of mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering, and his team developed a sticky adhesive widely known as the MIT bio-inspired glue gum called the spider’s glue, the one that they use to catch their prey. To make this life saving glue, their focus shifted to the barnacles. Barnacles are small crustaceans that can stick to almost anything. From ships, large aquatic animals, and ship hulls to rocks, these barnacles stick on wet, dirty surfaces easily. Worth noting is the fact, that wet, dirty surfaces should ideally be difficult surfaces to stick to.
The team of scientists noted that this creature was exactly doing the same thing- it was fighting a wet environment and also a dirty surface to ultimately stick to it. A new phenomenon arose from this observation that was inspired by the barnacles. They understood, this is what they exactly were supposed to work on, when developing the sticky glue.
Are you inquisitive within, to learn more about the sticky barnacle glue composition?
Composition of the barnacle glue
The barnacles’ glue has a unique composition that is used to develop the life saving glue. It comprises;
- A sticky protein molecule made of a polymer substance called poly (acrylic acid). It lies within an NHS (N-hydroxy succinimide) ester (a chemical compound. Herein at least one alcoholic (-OH group) is replaced by an -O- alkyl (alkoxy group). It functions as the barnacle glue adhesive.
- Chitosan is a form of sugar that strengthens the adhesive.
How was the life saving glue made
The scientists were clever enough to grind this material. Grinding was done after freezing this particular material into thin sheets. After grinding it, these particles were suspended in the medical-grade silicone oil.
Several tests were conducted around it. Through these tests, they demonstrated the effectivity with which this glue stuck on wet surfaces like the tissues covered in blood and mucus. The oily layer can repel the blood and mucus allowing the adhesive micro-particles to crosslink with each other. This way, the adhesive can seal the wound easily. Another benefit of this MIT bio-inspired glue gum is its molding ability. You can virtually mold it to any shape to fit on any size of the wound easily.
Where all can you use this sealant
- Not only on traumatic injuries,
- You will be able to use it also to seal surgical wounds.
- People who have plastic tubes inserted in their blood vessels can also benefit from the MIT bio-inspired glue gum. Wounds that arise from the use of arterial or central venous catheters.
- Profound heart and lung failure patients can use the sealant’s power to seal their wounds.
- It can also be used on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients in whom the blood has to be frequently oxygenated.
If this life saving glue is manufactured, no longer will there be a requirement of sutures of any form, going forth.
Scientists are running some preclinical tests before commercially manufacturing the product.
Where has life saving glue been tested
In Mayo clinic, a test on the pigs shows rapid cease of bleeding from the liver.
- From this study, scientists have observed the life saving glue seal can remain intact for several weeks. This process would give enough time for the wounds to heal.
- They also found that the life saving glue causes a slight inflammation. But under no circumstances is it any greater than the one which develops from the application of hemostatic agents.
- Post the several weeks of healing, the life saving glue is self-absorbed by the body and this process can take a little over a few months.
- It can be removed earlier by applying a solution that can dissolve it if there is any repair of the wound required.
The end will begin again-Poem
Do you really think the end will begin again?
With the kind of swift ecological degradation, we are inching fast towards an ice age evidentially. So what good way to start a new phase or chapter in my renovated blog than a poem on Nature, the one which is standing on the brim of hope for a better world.
Here it it is!
I pulled my grey coat close.
I was not sure how long the gnawing wind could be stopped by a mere coat.
The temperature dropped and I grew colder.
The ice age was nearing.
“Run, run for your life,” someone screamed loud.
I ran home and started a hearth I knew would not end in a long while..
We had to live.
The temperature fell fast.
People fell faster.
I was though clever.
At 1500 metres above sea level I was all I could be.
then one day, all was white.
Almost five years of isolation grew my bones weary.
I needed to see a doctor first, I thought to myself. I needed to know I was still enough to move around, to hope, to dare again.
Then, I needed to breathe the new world.
I thought again, half of the world was lost.
A few peeks stood tall.
I was in one of them.
Among friends who had saved me somehow.
My family stood close.
I closed my eyes one last time to end the very night that stood between me and the new morn.
Next time, you come back there will be more than this poem here on this site.
Cancer stories- An encounter that holds meaning in this chaos
Talking about past, painful or pleasant is a common habit we fall into. I am covering cancer stories with the reason where I can bind people’s past with their present.
In this story I talk about the fearful disease. Even after all here years, people have not quite accepted a lot about this disease.
Striking a chord with life and cancer is not easy, life itself is so hard.
I often wonder the reason behind it.
Is it a social stigma or is it a human weakness.
Here is a bit of the story excerpt of the cancer stories which came up proud and lived all along the journey:
Souvenirs Excerpt
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I looked back, quite a handsome face stood tall behind me with a thin smile crossing his lips. I moved slightly away to catch a better glimpse of the bearded man. There he stood with a urine bag in his hand, in his hospital robes.
“Sorry, I did not get you.” I nodded my head sideways.
“The painting is a beautiful hamlet, isn’t it?” he spoke in a clear voice.
“Yes, indeed. I wonder who stays in such peace, someone who could paint such bliss.” I looked at the greens right in front of me. I had come to wash a few plates in the ward’s kitchen sink.
“Do you think our outward needs to be blissful to paint such lines?” He winked at me with a smile.
“Yeah, but who else can do so. I mean the way I am feeling, I won’t ever be painting anything good right now, or perhaps writing anything beautiful either.” I washed my plates as he stood beside a woman who had vomited just ten yards from us and was waiting for help. I was too concerned about hygiene and health and I was not sure if going around her vomit and pulling her up to her feet with the feeding plates in my hand was a good idea. I retraced my steps back.
“Scared to help her, your plates might catch her germs. Damn, I thought you’re a fearless young girl.” He nodded and was almost about to leave.
Souvenirs from Life’s Precious Pages
Eight infections (virus) that can cause cancer
5) Epstein Barr Virus
It is a virus class which is best known for the kissing disease called infectious mononucleosis. There are other ways in which this infection can pass from one person to another and that is through coughing, sneezing, shaking hands and so on.
EBV as a short form is one virus which leads to an infection that can cause cancer eventually, if left untreated.
As it is with other Herpes agents, EBV is also lifelong and it infects (causes infection) in certain B cells of our body.
What are B cells?
Well, they along with T cells form the natural defense mechanism of our body.
So they are part of the immune cells which create first and second line defense system of our body. So the virus is quite clever, it attacks you by attacking your B cells.
Well, if you look at viruses you will always feel they are cleverer than us.
Variations is their strength and variants is what they bring every day to the human population. This is what makes their treatment difficult.
Neither is their a treatment, medicine or a vaccine for EBV. Unfortunately the body is left to cope with it. Sometimes, as always the body fails to cope with it and lo! We can become susceptible to cancer.
What kinds of cancer come up with EBV
Nasopharyngeal cancer
Lymphoma
Hodgkin Lymphoma
Stomach cancer
Susceptible races: Africa and some sections of South East Asia.
6) Human Immunodeficiency disease (HIV)
Does this disease need any introduction? I guess no! It doesn’t need an introduction.
Let us see what kind of cancers show up from a weak immune system?
- Kaposi’s sarcoma
- non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Cervical Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Mouth or oral cancer
- Throat cancer
- Skin cancer
- Liver Cancer
- But, it is definitely a disease in itself and then comes the cancer (Virus brings the disease)
7) Human Herpes 8 (HH-8)
Do you see the number after Herpes? It is a human herpes virus as Herpes is common in many other species of animals.
Slow growing Kaposi’s sarcoma or lymphoma is what comes up.
8) Other viruses
Like the Human T-lymphotropic virus 1, Merkel Cell Polyoma Virus (MCPV), Simian Virus 40 are some of the other viruses which can be cancer causing agents.
Read about the first 4 viruses here.
Eight Infections that cause cancer
There is a lot of infections that cause cancer.
Cancer is infectious?
In my earlier post, I had strictly criticized people for not cooperating with patients and their families many times.
I think now, you might be understanding why they choose to do so. No one is sure if the patient suffered from cancer due to one of these infectious agents. So, you must know which infectious agents are responsible for which types of cancer.
Next time, you can at least ask people what or which type of cancer they have suffered from, and why to understand if they suffer from a cancer that can be caused by infections. It must be alarming for some, that there are even infectious agents which can cause cancer.
Infectious agents cause almost 15% of the total new cancer cases every year.
But then not all cancers are caused by infectious agents. Let’s see which types of cancer are caused by infections.
Astonishingly almost two-third of these infectious cancer types are found in developed nations and the rest in developing nations.
More than cancer, therefore it is more important to learn about the infectious agent first. There are more than what I am mentioning below. But these four are more common and are contracted from person to person contact easily much before someone can know.
Infections that cause cancer
There are four infectious agents which can cause cancer in individuals. What are they?
- Human Papilloma virus (HPV)
- Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
- Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
- Helicobacter pylori (bacteria)
So, these are the four different types of infectious agents that can cause cancer.
First, let me brief you about these infectious agents, and in the next post, we would be telling you more about the cancers that can be caused by these infectious agents.
1. Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
This is a virus that is passed from one person to another through skin-to-skin contact. There are 100 HPV varieties.
Now, here is the catch- almost more than 40 of them are transmitted through the genitals, mouth, or throat.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says HPV is the most potent sexually transmitted disease. It is common, so common that almost all at some point all sexual partners contract it.
Some genital HPV do not cause infection at all and they just pass off normally but others do cause harm and the harm can be as big as cancer.
Genital warts, cancer of the throat, neck, cervix, and anus are caused by the human papillomavirus commonly.
The most commonly transmitted routes are the anal, oral, and vaginal sex routes. Most symptoms caused by the virus recede within two years from their appearance.
2. Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
Hepatitis B Virus is again a virus like the previously mentioned virus. It is again a sexually transmitted virus and there is even a vaccine for its prevention. Fatigue, stomach pain, jaundice, vomiting are some of the symptoms which progress to cancer most often. So, this is the second infections that cause cancer. But you can prevent it by getting vaccinated.
3. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
The virus can cause liver disease which is another type. Hepatitis C is not always sexually transmitted and often can cause both acute or chronic infections.
Hepatitis C is a primary cause of liver cancer.
The commonest mode of transmission unsafe injection practices, transfusion of blood and blood products that are not screened appropriately, injection drug use, so on and so forth.
Additionally, it also gets transmitted through unsafe sexual practices.
4. Helicobacter pylori (infections that cause cancer)
According to reports, almost two-third of the population in the world have it. Most stomach ulcers in the world are caused by the Helicobacter pylori infection and not stress, spicy foods, smoking, etc., etc.
Helicobacter pylori are common and can enter through food sources. It was discovered for the first time in 1982 and since then has been found to cause diseases including stomach cancer in many.
Antibiotics, chemical histamine, acid pump blockers kill the virus easily helping in the recovery of the disease.
Stomach lining cancer (infections that cause cancer) (the thin lining of the stomach) is primarily due to the virus.
To be continued…..
TheScientificTriangle 
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