Abstract
Informative papers are papers we created in which we found scientific articles that interested us using the New York Times or peer-reviewed articles on the CCNY Library Database. I preferred using the New York Times website. We chose an article, summarized its content and also used the information we got to respond to it. By doing this we were able to educate the reader on the scientific topics brought up in the chosen article. Below is the first and third informative papers. The first paper talks about a gadget that can produce energy even after the sun sets, something solar panels aren’t able to do. It goes more in-depth on how this gadget was created and the amount (watts) of energy it produces. The third paper is about a controversy being brought up that there is no solid proof that decreasing our consumption of red meat or processed meat will lessen the likelihood of diseases/cancer.
Transformative? New Device Harvests Energy in Darkness
A gadget that produces even the smallest power after the sun sets, when the demand for natural light is high, would be essential. Transformative? New Device Harvests Energy in Darkness by Rebecca Boyle on the New York Times writes an informative article on how scientists are slowly figuring out a way to generate electricity in the dark, something solar panels cannot do.
In 2013, Dr. Aaswath Raman, an electrical engineer at the University of California was driving by Sierra Leone when he realized that the village, he was passing had no electricity. He didn’t even realize he was in a village till he heard voices from shadowed human figures. “There wasn’t a single light on.” He said. It was as if a “light bulb [was] switching on” when an idea came to him. (Boyle, 2019) Dr. Raman was curious to see if he could use all that darkness as a way to generate light whilst solar panels use sunlight and heat to create electricity. According to the article, he did. Dr. Raman exhibited an approach to utilize a dark sky to control a light bulb. The way he achieved this was using a prototype device that “employs radiative cooling, the phenomenon that makes buildings and parks feel cooler than the surrounding air after sunset.” (Boyle, 2019) As Dr. Raman’s gadget discharges heat, it happens to do so unevenly, the top side cooling more than the base which then helps to convert the heat into electricity. He also states that the device and the energy it was producing was able to power a white LED.
The article goes on to explain that “everything emits heat according to the law of thermodynamics” and the author provides examples on how this is possible. (Boyle, 2019) If there were no clouds present one night to trap in warmth, things on Earth can lose so much heat that they stay at a lower temperature than the air encompassing them. “Humans have taken advantage of this effect for millenniums. Six thousand years ago, people in what are now Iran and Afghanistan constructed enormous beehive-shaped structures called yakhchal, which used this passive cooling effect to create and store ice in the desert.” (Boyle, 2019) Scientists have used this information and studied ways to harness energy from the changes in temperature during day and night, which they say is still theoretical. Federico Capasso, an electrical engineer from Harvard University discovered that only 4 watts of energy are transmitted from a square meter of cold space. When comparing that to solar panels that generate up to 200 watts per square meter when given direct sunlight.
In any case, a gadget that could deliver any measure of electricity around nighttime would be profitable; after the sun sets, sun-based cells often don’t work, and winds can die down. A challenge that they might face is to keep the pricing of these gadgets low while also trying to increase the gadget’s efficiency. Even though these devices are less efficient and more expensive than photovoltaic cells, they are proven to be more durable. Nonetheless, Dr. Raman says these devices “could complement solar-powered lights in areas where changing batteries is a challenge, like on street lamps or in remote areas far from electrical grids.” (Boyle, 2019) So, these devices can be a huge help to villages in Sierra Leone to generate some type of electricity when it’s dark at a cost that they can afford.
References
Boyle, R. (2019, September 12). Transformative? New Device Harvests Energy from Darkness. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/science/solar-energy-power-electricity.html on September 13, 2019.
That Perplexing Red Meat Controversy: 5 Things to Know
The creators of a new report claim that there is no convincing proof that lessening the utilization of red or processed meats will be favorable to our wellbeing. Which then instigated a very intense discussion. The New York Times article, That Perplexed Red Meat Controversy: 5 Things to Know by Gina Kolata dated September 30, 2019 goes on to discuss how this may be possible. Dietary rules from the Department of Agriculture to the World Health Organization encourages that we all put an effort to eat less red meat, substantially less. Yet, the authors of four new pieces of research, distributed on Wednesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, announce that there is no convincing proof that decreasing the intake of red or processed meats will be valuable to a person’s lifestyle. With this conclusion, the creators offered a lot of suggestions that the vast majority could proceed with their present levels of meat utilization.
According to the article, nutritional studies often don’t abide with even the most rigorous scientific standards because many of its studies are purely based on observation. When surveyed, many study participants struggle to accurately describe what they eat on a daily basis which can impact the reliability of their study. (Kolata, 2019) A meat-eater may vary from an individual who doesn’t eat meat, or eat less, in an assortment of ways that additionally impact their wellbeing not just with only eating meat. Components such as what else is included in their diet, consistently working out, and even genetics may play a role in how one’s body processes meats. Analysts attempt to address those varieties in their nutritional study but it’s not very reliable in a framework as mind-boggling as human sustenance. Even in the best of conditions, observational studies don’t demonstrate precise logical results, they only suggest a concurrence.
Some of the results referred to by the authors of the new research states that, “If people were to reduce meat consumption by three servings a week, there might be one to six fewer heart attacks per 1,000 people. But there would be no effect on deaths resulting from heart disease or any cause overall.” (Kolata, 2019) They also continue by saying, “For cancer, the group reports that decreasing meat consumption by three servings a week might result in seven fewer cancer deaths per 1,000 people. But there would be no effect on the risk of getting breast, colorectal, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic or prostate cancer.” (Kolata, 2019) Even though these reductions aren’t small and can help save thousands of American lives, Dr. Dennis Bier of Baylor says the study of meat consumption performed by nutritional researchers is “so flawed that it is naïve” to think that eating less meat is the only element for health risk reductions.
To evaluate deaths from any causes, the researchers assessed 61 articles that reported from 55 populations, regarding more than 4 million participants. They also looked at randomized trials connecting red meat to cancer and heart disease, along with articles that linked red meat with cancer and mortality. In each examination, the researchers inferred that the connections between eating red meat and death were little, and the nature of the proof was “low to very low.” The new analyses are known to be one of the strongest assessments ever attempted and may impact future dietary suggestions. In a lot of ways, it increases unpleasant questions on dietary counsel and nutritional research, and what kind of criterions these researches ought to be held to.
References
Kolata, G. (2019, September 30). That Perplexing Red Meat Controversy: 5 Things to Know. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/health/red-meat-questions-answers.html.
