7th text commentary. Tesla is "pet friendly"

Tesla developes a mode for his cars called "Dog Mode"

Summary: We all know about the innovation that Tesla has bringed to the electric cars market, but is this too much? 

Tesla announced a software update that came with the "Dog Mode". This mode has created some controversy about if is really needed or not. This mode is bassicaly a mode that sets the car temperature to a specific one when you have a pet inside the car. Now, is that overbuilding or a useful gadget that makes Tesla drivers live easier?

Well, there's people that will use it and some that not, but for certain cases it "could" be useful. In my point of view, it's definetly a quirk rather than a driver help.

Link or reference:
https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2019/02/14/motor/1550142888_389502.html

Date: 14/2/19

Scientific scope: Technologic

6th text commentary. Google makes it again!!!

Google sells security sistem devices without mentioning the incorporation of microphones on it's products.

Summary: We have confirmed the autenticity of the famous sentence"google hears more that he should do" with the discover of microphones on Nest Secure, a product that acts as a security sistem. 

Although some people think that the microphones may be there to hear sounds so he can know when is people in or out, the majority of the people think that is there to spy the customers, and it doesn't seem that much strange coming from google. There has been more tries from google of trying to sneek into people's houses. Google has said that the microphone is there for a future coming google assistant, but that doesn't make any sense being a security sistem. It would be like asking for the weather to your bacuum.

One thing is certain and is that there's something strange happening with google because of his desperate tries of spying. But we can be completely sure about that, not yet.

Link or reference:
https://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20190221/46613953195/google-microfono-privacidad-sistema-seguridad-nest-asistente.html

Date: 21/2/19

Scientific scope: Technology

7thText commenary: THAUSANDS OF BRITISH STUDENTS DECLARE THEMSELVES "ON STRIKE FOR THE WEATHER"

Header

Thousands of British students declare themselves "on strike for the weather"

Summary

The news refers to the demonstrations carried out by thousands of students in more than 270 cities around the world. The most important have occurred in the United Kingdom where it was decided to raise their voices for the problem of climate change and call a strike for this reason. The purpose of the mobilization is to put pressure on the national parliaments to motivate them to act moved by popular pressure and decide to act. The message of the students is shocking: there are only 12 years left to act because maybe after that time it will be too late to save the planet.

Link o Reference

https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/ciencia/2019/02/15/5c66df02fdddff4b4d8b45d9.html

Publication date

15/02/19

Scientific scope 

Environmental

Glosari

The subject of this news did not contain a very specific vocabulary that I did not understand.

Text commentary 

This news seems to me of special interest for several reasons. First, because of its social importance. It is evident that this is a problem that interests us all. Secondly, because it reflects the interest of young people to act in defense of society as a whole. Third, because it is a topic that we have dealt with lately in class and I think it is interesting to reflect this news here.

The news refers to the student strike initiated in the United Kingdom and extended throughout the world. It is basically an initiative of students, although probably this kind of struggle would be supported by the rest of the population and, especially, by the political parties and world leaders. It is about demonstrating that society is willing to act for  the important problems that humanity faces. It only takes someone to raise the torch and show us the process of change. It's great that in this case it's the young people.

The seriousness of the problem of climate change is evident. We probably do not know how old we are in order to solve the problem. Maybe it's 12 years as the students say. If so, it means that both myself and all my colleagues will be 28 years old when climate change can no longer be solved. It would be a tragedy like that. It seems clear that the solution is not to pretend that none of this is happening, when it comes to something very real, but that we can change between all of them.

In my opinion I think the change starts from oneself doing small things that improve the environment such as recycling, controlling the consumption of plastics, cardboard or paper or avoiding throwing garbage or waste out of the right places. Personal actions may seem like small grains of sand, but together they can create a worldwide change that can change this situation together. For that it is important to believe in it and know that the change begins in you.

7th TEXT COMMENTARY: Pandas ate meat some thousand years ago - Esther Salvador

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Pandas used to eat meat, then went vegetarian, but now just eat bamboo

SUMMARY
Panda's diet nowadays is basically based on bamboo. It had been accepted that they have been feeding on bamboo for the last two million years, but this statment was wrong.
It has been shown that they had a more varied diet until just a few thousand years ago. The oldest pandas ate only meat. Then they started to eat both meat and vegetation until five thousand years ago, when they switched completely to their actual diet for a reason yet unknown.
Pandas have a carnivore dygestive system, and by analyzing the composition of stable isotopes found in their teeth, bones and hair, and looking for different isotope ratios, scientist can tell insights into their habitat, enviromental conditions and diet. This way they analyzed some pandas nowadays and some other from different archaeological sites from five to seven thousand years ago. The results were difference in their isotope radiation, suggesting this change on diet.
The fact their diet has changed over the years has been studied and proved, but the mystery of the reason of the switch still remains. Bamboo is not the most nutritious food. It makes their metabolic rate lower and it leads to a very lazy lifestyle. Plus they must eat around twenty five kilograms of it each day which is a huge amount. To find the reason, they are going to keep looking at panda fossils. There's a thought that the reason for the switch is a mix of climate change results, human encroachment and species competition for resources.

LINK OR REFERENCE
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/pandas-used-to-eat-meat-then-went-vegetarian-but-now-just-eat-bamboo/

PUBLICATION DATE

February 1st, 2019

SCIENTIFIC SCOPE

Biology

TEXT COMMENTARY

Pandas as we know them today are naturally meek animals. It's surprising to find out they weren't some years ago. They are meek because of their metabolic rate caused by their alimentation, changed by a yet unknown fact.
With this study we can see that just by changing the alimentation, an animal can completely change its way of behaving. If they need meat to eat, they must hunt. If they are good hunters they can reproduce and pass the gene for hunting to younger generations. This generations do the same, leading to a constant surviving, making each generation "agressive". But for some reason, they had to change their alimentation. Or maybe the most agressive died and the most meek ones survived because they didn't face the predator or danger the others suffered because of their agressivity and the gene for hunting degenerated. Only meek pandas survived, so they started eating vegetals to avoid dying.
I don't really know the reason, but if we think about it carefully, why is it that nowadays human eating meat doesn't necessarily mean agressive behaviour? It's probably because our lives doesn't depend on the food. We don't need to be agressive. Now our most dangerous enemy is humanity. We don't think about food, our worries are social most of the times. We worry about other people's way of thinking, about liking others or if they like your way of doing things.
Our central worries are social, so we evolve around social behaviour, and not around alimentation.

GLOSSARY

None needed

Notícia 07: Un tumor no detectat activa el síndrome d'Alícia en el País de les Marevelles - Victor Garcia

- Heading:

Man's Undetected Tumor Triggers 

Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

- Summary:

    A 54-year-old man, is part of the very first AIWS to be caused by cancer, more specifically by a tumor in the left-occipital junction of his brain. Its symptoms started one morning when he was using his computer, the desktop icons started to move and jump out the screen. The icons did float around him and increase and decrease their size too. He also experienced a very intense headache and the inability to understand oral and written speech.

    This particular syndrome, also causes a vision of unreal surroundings full of colors that get flashy, objects appearing bigger or smaller and further and nearer, as the difficult ability to define boundaries. The patient can also get the sensation that their feelings and thought aren't properly theirs.

 - Link or reference:

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/mans-undetected-tumor-triggers-alice-in-wonderland-syndrome/

- Publication date: January 23^rd 2019

- Scientific field: Health

- Glossary:

    - AIWS (Alice In Wonderland Syndrome): This syndrome affects and involves the areas in the brain in charge of sensing information. Doctors say it is similar to the flashing light we get to see before we get an intense headache.

- Text commentary:

    I chose to comment this new because it makes me feel interested and intrigued about how unknown remains to us the inside of our brain to us as it is capable of so many things we don't even understand how. It was actually very interesting to know about the AIWS, as it has many different and peculiar effects to the patient (from making them see hallucinations to not knowing what is real and what not).

    Also, it is good that the man who suffered this AIWS because of his tumor is doing well, though he had to be treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but had no more strikes of the syndrome.

6th TEXT COMMENTARY: Oldest rock from Earth... In the Moon?! - Esther Salvador

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Oldest Rock From Earth Found On The Moon

SUMMARY
A lunar sample collected by the Apollo 14 astronauts almost 50 years ago has more terrestrial than lunar characteristics. The reason for it is that some billion years ago a large impact dislodged it from Earth and went to the Moon. Four billion years later we find this rock formed by quartz, zircon and feldspar, regular materials on Earth, in the Moon, crystallized in an Earth-like oxidized environment and at terrestrial temperatures.
Then, they also discovered the rock crystallized 20 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface, which implied a different distance between Earth and the Moon. They were more than a half the distance closer than they are nowadays.
The international team of scientist belive this kind of show us the period of intense bombardment in our Solar System’s history.
For this sample to be in the Moon's surface for us to collect it, it is thought that about 26 million years ago an asteroid hit the Moon, forming a big crater which we can still see, bringing this rock to the surface.

LINK OR REFERENCE
https://www.iflscience.com/space/oldest-rock-from-earth-found-on-the-moon/

PUBLICATION DATE
January 25th, 2019

SCIENTIFIC SCOPE

ASTROBIOLOGY

TEXT COMMENTARY

This text show us our capacity of learning from the discovery of some rock sample and take conclusions from its conditions. Thanks to a 2 gram rock, we can know and confirm what happened 4 billion years ago, or at least have an idea of it. This makes you think how eventhough we haven't lived long in this universe, we can still learn from it and know what happened if we have samples. This conclusion lead us to another conclusion, which is: the Univers is simple to observe. It may not be really accurated, but the fact that the universe is made by materials well known on Earth, makes you think we can really learn more about this mysterious universe we live in.
A rock doesn't tell you much about anything. But it's compostition does, its condition does, also the size, trajectory... They are all variables we can study.
It is true we are very small in the universe, and the human being has been around for a really short amount of time, but if we can tell what happened 4 year billion years ago and visualize it by examining a 2 gram rock, I think we can learn a lot of things from the Universe if we can observe it and take samples.
It's a shame we need oxygen to live. If we didn't, we could go much farther and discover so much more. If we didn't destroy everything we touch, that would be, for sure, a great thing.

GLOSSARY

None needed

Notícia 06: Una nova una espècie de vespa converteix aranyes en els seus esclaus zombis - Victor Garcia

- Heading:

This creepy new wasp species turns social spiders into zombie slaves

- Summary:

  In the rainforest of Ecuador, some kind of zombie apocalypse is taking place. Spiders of the same specie (Anelosimus eximius), are behaving in an unusual way. Although these spiders don’t leave their colony as they live in groups, they are leaving them on their own and isolating themselves in a silk cocoon.

   These quirky behavior is because a new type of parasitoid wasps (belonging to the Zatypota genus). These wasps need to parasite another being in order to complete their life cycle.  The parasite process begins with the adult wasps laying an egg in the spider’s abdomen. Then, it hatches, and starts to feed on the spider’s blood to fatten itself and eventually it takes over the spider’s body. Before the spider dies, it isolates itself in a silk cocoon.

   After 11 days isolated in the cocoon, a fully formed wasp emerges from it, ready to restart its life-cycle.

- Link or reference:

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/this-creepy-new-wasp-species-turns-social-spiders-into-zombie-slaves/

- Publication date: November 28th 2018

- Scientific field: Animal world

- Glossary:

- Anelosimus eximus: a specie of spiders that live in colonies with its other same-specie mates.

- Zatypota species: a type of parasitoid wasps that need to parasite another being to complete its life-cycle.  

- Text commentary:

   I chose to comment this new because it makes me feel interested and intrigued about how unknown remains the wild life to us. The abilities of the animals we don’t even know they have are fascinating, just as fascinating as how the parasite being function. As they need another being as they actually cannot live by themselves, not until the fully develop their bodies.

   In my opinion, as there are a lot more parasite type of beings, the study focused on this specie of wasps because they do really control its host body. They control its physical and mental being as they are able to confront the host’s will.

6th text commentary: CONSUMING A LITTLE MARIJUANA ALREADY MODIFIES THE BRAIN OF A TEENAGER

Header

Consuming a little marijuana already modifies the brain of a teenager

Summary

The news exposes how the consumption of 1 or 2 marijuana cigarettes can affect the brain of an adolescent even if he never smokes again. This conclusion is contained in a study conducted by Hugh Garavan at the University of Vermont, in which he compared the brains of several 14-year-old boys who admitted to using cannabis. In addition, additional factors related to their physical characteristics and others such as sex or if they also consumed alcohol, tobacco or other substances were taken into account.  

Link or Reference

https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20190120/454214167308/consumir-poco-marihuana-modifica-cerebro-adolescente.html

Publication date

20/1/19

Scientific scope 

Health

Glosari

The subject of this news did not contain a very specific vocabulary that I did not understand.

Text commentary 

I have chosen this news because the use of marijuana in adolescents is very common nowadays. It is an activity that almost nobody is fully aware of the risk of consuming, even if it is a single marijuana cigarette in life. Indeed, as the news says, the brain is affected with the consumption of only 1 or 2 marijuana cigars. With this dose the effect on the brain is immediate and is reflected in the surface of gray color that increases rapidly affecting its development and can trigger future diseases as serious as schizophrenia.

The study was conducted in Ireland, but of course the results can be extended to the entire juvenile population of the world where marijuana use is unfortunately common. The problem consists in the erroneous perception that it is a substance that has no harmful effects. The study has shown, however, that this is not the case.

The solution to the problem of marijuana use is complex because young people do not know its harmful effects. That is why it is essential to act in two ways. First, informing young people and the general population of this kind of studies that report the danger of this substance. Second, it is necessary that the police act with more rigor against the consumption of marijuana, strictly sanctioning their consumption. In addition, it is important that the police act to prevent plantings and drug trafficking from other countries.