NASA Mission Sheds New Light On the Sun

Bale SD et al. “Highly structured slow solar wind emerging from an equatorial coronal hole.”

Howard RA et al. “Near-Sun observations of an F-corona decrease and K-corona fine structure.”

Kasper JC et al. “Alfvénic velocity spikes and rotational flows in the near-Sun solar wind.”

McComas DJ et al. “Probing the energetic particle environment near the Sun.”

Nature, December 2019.

Although the sun sits at the center of our solar system, its most basic behaviors still remain a big mystery. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, aimed to address some of the fundamental questions about the sun: Why is the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, so hot? Where does solar wind come from, and what causes it to be shot out of the corona? What makes the sun flare up sometimes, shooting even more excited particles out into space? These are some of the questions that scientists hope Parker can answer before its mission ends in 2025. Meanwhile, Parker got very close to the Sun for several days last November and in April 2019. Parker Solar Probe during its two encounters traveled within 15 million miles of the Sun’s surface, far surpassing the 25-million-mile record first set by NASA’s Helios 2 mission in 1976. Parker has also claimed the title of the fastest human-made object in history from Helios 2, as it surfed near the Sun at over 153,000 miles per hour. Its first batch of released results came from measurements of the corona, which is, remarkably, hotter than the surface itself. The corona extends millions of miles from the surface into space. The region is only visible to the naked eye during a solar eclipse as a golden ring hanging in a darkened sky. The corona emits powerful streams of high-energy particles, known as solar wind, which can be felt all across the solar system. Parker’s data shows that solar winds are far more turbulent near the sun than in our own vicinity. The wind drags the sun’s magnetic field out into space, and even bends the field enough for magnetic forces to completely flip around for a few minutes at a time, pointing back at the sun itself instead of into space. The strength of this effect was completely surprising and puzzling. Scientists also found that shifts in the sun’s magnetic field speed up the particles flowing away from the sun much faster than any of their models had previously predicted.

This really highlights the idea that proximity is everything for studying the sun. Parker continues to edge closer to the sun. As its orbit shrinks, it will eventually reach a perihelion distance of just 6.16 million km in 2025, where it will experience temperatures of nearly 1400°C. Thanks to the protection provided by its specially-designed, carbon-composite heat shield, the probe won’t melt and the spacecraft and its instruments will be kept at a temperature of about 29°C.

Science Stands Behind Bilingual Children

Nicoladis et al. “How to use a wide variety of words in telling a story with a small vocabulary: cognitive predictors of lexical selection for simultaneous bilingual children.” Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, October 2019.

A new study shows that bilingual children use just as many words while telling a story in either language as do children who only speak one language. Past research showed that bilingual children score lower than monolingual children on traditional vocabulary tests. However, these new findings may change the understanding of multiple languages and cognition in children. Learning a word is directly related to how much time is spent in each language. For bilingual children, time is split between languages. As expected, they tend to have lower vocabularies in each of their languages. However, this new research shows that as a function of storytelling, bilingual children are equally strong as monolingual children. Researchers examined a group of French-English bilingual children who had been taught two languages since birth, rather than learning a second language later in life. They used a new, highly sensitive measure for examining cognitive flexibility, a participant’s ability to switch between games with different rules, while maintaining accuracy and reaction time. Their study builds on previous research examining vocabulary in bilingual children who have learned English as a second language. Overall, the bilingual children used just as many words to tell a story in English as monolingual children. The children also used just as many words in French as they did in English when telling a story. Their analysis suggests that the number of words that bilingual children use in their stories is strongly correlated with their high levels of cognitive flexibility—the ability to switch between thinking about different concepts. Researchers emphasize that parents of bilingual children do not need to be concerned about long-term school achievement. Vocabulary is a strong predictor of success in education, and so is storytelling. In a storytelling context, bilingual kids are able to use this flexibility to convey stories in creative ways.

New Tomatoes Engineered for Urban Gardens and Outer Space

Kwon CT et al. “Rapid customization of Solanaceae fruit crops for urban agriculture.” Nature Biotechnology, December 2019.

Humanity have a massive problem: feeding our future selves. As a result of rising population, continued destruction due to climate change, and the fact that sustainable land use is becoming ever-more challenging, learning how to grow enough food for everyone is a burning question to address in the agriculture field. In an effort to grow more crops in smaller and less-than-ideal locations, scientists developed new genetically-modified “urban” tomatoes that ripen in compact bunches similar to grapes. These tomatoes resemble a bouquet whose roses have been replaced by ripe cherry tomatoes. They also mature quickly, producing ripe fruit that’s ready for harvest in less than 40 days. Scientist utilized the CRISPR gene-editing technology and produced the new tomatoes by fine-tuning three genes that control the switch to reproductive growth and plant size: 1) the SELF-PRUNING (SP), 2) SP5G, and 3) SIER genes. While the first two genes have the duty prevent growth, flowering and fruiting of the plant sooner, the SIER gene is in charge of controlling the length of the plant’s stems. Altering the first two genes resulted in tomato plants that didn’t produce a lot of fruit and tasted poorly. It was not until the scientists identified the third gene that they were able to produce the desired plant. This study demonstrates that we can produce crops in new ways, without having to tear up our land as much or add excessive fertilizer that runs off into rivers and streams. This could also be a complementary approach to help feed people locally and with a reduced carbon footprint. Climate change is expected to change growing conditions on Earth, worsening conditions for many crops.

Farmers could soon be growing tomatoes bunched like grapes in a storage unit, in a shipping container, on the roof of a skyscraper, and – as humanity stretches out past low Earth orbit toward the moon – eventually, in Mars.

Animals such as butterflies, turtles, and birds are given the ability to perceive the Earth’s magnetic field and navigate themselves accordingly. Migratory species also benefit from the sun, stars, and even scents in nature as they from one place to another.

Magnetic fields and poles

Modern studies have focused on how animals perceive the Earth’s magnetic field and act accordingly. We need to look closer at the Earth’s “magnetic polar points” to understand how magnetic fields work exactly.

It is important not to confuse geographic and magnetic poles. There is a layer called the “inner core” in the center of our Earth where all substances are in a fluid state, similar to those seen in volcanic eruptions. Volatile and molten elements such as nickel and iron form a magnetic electric field above the Earth. This is also the force that is responsible for causing our compasses to point north. At the center, the Earth’s magnetic field changes due to these fluid substances. That is, our compass does not always show the “true north,” i.e. the exact geographical north.

As of the last decade, the Earth’s magnetic pole has kept moving at a rate of about 55 km per year. The magnetic north pole, found in Canada in 1831, has now shifted 2300 km and approached Siberia. Scientists say that about 780 thousand years ago, today’s southern and northern magnetic poles were exactly the opposite. Although the magnetic poles shift, the Earth’s magnetic field continues to function properly. This is imperative for protecting all life on Earth, as a balanced magnetic field protects our planet from the magnetic effects of solar flares and solar winds.

Effects of polar shift

A new magnetic map of our planet is released every five years due to the fact that our magnetic poles are constantly shifting. This does not affect most people on a daily basis, however it does present a challenge for people and vehicles that rely on a compass. Due to the shift, a difference called “magnetic declination angle” occurs between the magnetic north pole and the geographic north pole. This angle varies according to the location. For example, in Canada the magnetic deflection angle is 13 degrees whereas in Brazil it is 20 degrees. In order to determine their exact location, military and civilian aircraft and ships manually or automatically calculate their location based on the angle of deviation and navigate accordingly. Even if we are not aware, our mobile phones are automatically updated according to this calibration. In physics, the formula known as Lenz’s Law, or a tool called a gaussmeter, can be used to calculate the Earth’s magnetic field.

Cryptochromes

This complex and intricate system affects most animal life on Earth, including birds, insects, and fruit flies. So, if these magnetic poles keep changing how do animals find their way? Most creatures utilize cryptochromes, a type of flavoprotein that affects their body clock.

Cryptochrome (CRY) [1] is found to play a leading role in this regard. Cryptochrome-2, one of the two cryptochrome photoreceptors, has been proven to be instrumental in regulating the daily life rhythm of beings by fine-tuning their body clocks and assisting certain animals such as migratory birds, king butterflies, and fruit flies to navigate their migratory paths accurately.

Years of research conducted by Steven Reppert and his team at the University of Massachusett’s School of Medicine on fruit flies and butterflies revealed the function of cryptochrome-2.

According to the research published in Nature magazine in 2009 [2], Dr. Reppert and his team found that flies could not adjust themselves to a new magnetic field without any form of cryptochrome, but that they could regain their sensitivity to a magnetic field only after cryptochrome-2 production.

During the study, the genetic structure of fruit flies was examined and it was ensured that they produced cryptochrome-2.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr. Reppert emphasized that they developed a system to understand how the perception of the magnetic field works in fruit flies. They sought the answer to the question, if cryptochrome-2 was to be transferred from animals to flies, can these proteins act like magnetic sensors in other forms? They have found out that human beings were the most effective option among all vertebrates to yield cryptochrome for this purpose. Their experiment with butterflies yielded the same results. They observed that flies without cryptochromes did not show any signs of magnetic field detection only until their genetic structure was intervened to produce a human version of the molecule.

In another experiment carried out by scientists, a group of migratory birds had iron nuggets, some of which were magnetized to scramble the Earth’s magnetic field, attached to their feet. It was observed that the birds with magnetized nuggets lost their migration path and the birds with unmagnetized nuggets could navigate as easily as usual.

Of course, birds could not know these exact calculations that many people do not even know. Pathfinding skills are “programmed” into birds before they are born so that even if the magnetic field shifts this wonderful mechanism in animals always delivers them to the right location.

The loggerhead sea turtles

As soon as they hatch on the east coast of Florida, the loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta Carettas, swim into Sargasso Sea, migrate into the North Atlantic Circle, and then subsequently into the Atlantic Ocean. The turtles first swim to the northeast towards Europe, then to the south, and return to North America after spending 5-10 years in this hot and nutrient-rich migratory loop.

Dr. Kenneth Lohmann and his team at the University of North Carolina wanted to observe whether loggerhead sea turtles used regional magnetic fields to find their migration paths. They set up a mechanism in a large water tank that was installed with coils in order to form multiple magnetic fields. 79 newly hatched turtles were then clad in cloth vests with wires connected to a computerized monitoring system and left in the same tank. Juvenile turtles were subjected to magnetic fields equivalent to those that exist at critical points of the North Atlantic Cycle, such as in the north of Florida, off the coast of Portugal, and at the southern end of the cycle. As a result, it was observed that in every magnetic field simulated in the experiment, the turtles begin to swim in the opposite direction. For instance, when the magnetic field in the northeastern part of the loop was applied, the animals headed south. In a real ocean setting, this direction keeps them on the right track and prevents them from entering icy waters and dying of hypothermia.

How do animals do it?

There are several research works documenting that not only birds, but also bats, ants, foxes, deer, and even cows feel magnetic fields.

Animals generally migrate to find more suitable reproductive, feeding and living areas for themselves. It is amazing how they know which way to go as soon as they are born. How do they decide that a place they’ve never been to is most suitable for them? How did they learn those navigational skills?

It is amazing to observe this intricate and interlinked system between the Sun, the Earth, and all the living things in it: while the rays of the Sun are needed for life, the harmful ones among them need to be shielded away from the Earth with a magnetic field, a field which is detected by a protein in animals so they can travel to places to continue their lives.

Human cryptochrome

Cryptochrome proteins are also present in the human body [3]. Cryptochrome-2 is especially functional and is linked more to adjusting biological rhythm rather than perceiving the Earth’s magnetic field.

Dr. Aziz Sancar, Chemistry professor and Nobel Prize winner, observed in his experiments of circadian clocks [4] that the cryptochrome pigment located in the eye, skin, and part of the brain regulated the circadian rhythm of mammals.

Currently, many theories are proposed and experiments are conducted on discovering the extent that human beings can perceive the Earth’s magnetic field.

Meanwhile, the wisdom behind the constant shift in the Earth’s magnetic pole awaits to be revealed.

Notes

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptochrome
2. Buchen, Lizzie. “Butterflies’ Migrational Timekeeper Found.” Nature, September 24, 2009.
3. Discovered between 1996 and 1998 in humans by Aziz Sancar and his colleagues, cryptochrome is one of the four genes that set the circadian clock in mice. This protein is also a member of a family of proteins including photolyase, DNA’s repair enzyme, on which Prof. Aziz Sancar has worked throughout his scientific career.
4. Rhythmic behavior and physiological changes that have a 24-hour cycle and regulate the day and night cycles of living beings. 

Further reading

Attenborough, David. 1998. The Life of Birds, Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey.

“The most beautiful system [the universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” (Isaac Newton)

The Newtonian physics, quantum mechanics, and the theory of relativity took the modern community to the boundary of the two realms of physical and metaphysical existence. Nevertheless, the nature of the fundamental physical dimensions still remains an open question resting on the related areas of science

The fundamental concepts of Newtonian physics are Time, Length, Mass, and Electric Charge by means of which all the other classical physical quantities such as velocity, force, momentum, energy, current, electric field, magnetic flux, etc. can be derived and expressed as their combinations. Classical physics stands on the assumption that material, having two basic intrinsic properties of mass and charge, and immaterial phenomena are all contained in an absolute space and an ever-flowing absolute time. These four physical dimensions, without asking the nature of them, provide a practical framework for a description of the gravitational and electromagnetic forces and thus a description of the physical world and an interpretation of the events occurring in it up to a certain degree. However, the Newtonian picture of the universe is neither adequate for a deeper understanding of the corporeal reality nor appropriate for linking that reality to the ones possessing higher degrees of the Universal Existence.

Starting from late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Newtonian picture of the world has been changed due to two revolutionary theories, which have been proved both experimentally and theoretically that they are superior to and not compatible with the classical descriptions and assumptions. They are the relativity theory and the quantum mechanics. In physics, a field is a physical quantity associated with each point of Space-Time. For example, the Newtonian gravitational field is a vector field specifying its value at a point in Space-Time, which requires three numbers, the components of the gravitational field vector at that point. Quantum field theory constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parameterized by an indefinitely big number of degrees of freedom, namely fields, is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics. The current set of fundamental fields and their dynamics are summarized in a theory called the Standard Model. All particles and their interactions observed to date can be described almost entirely by the Standard Model although most particle physicists believe that it is an incomplete description of nature, and that a more fundamental theory, the Theory of Everything, awaits discovery. Figure 1 represents an overview of the various families of elementary and composite particles, and the theories describing their interactions.

The relativistic quantum field theory of the subatomic world does not only include the strong and weak nuclear forces in addition to the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions of the classical picture, but also provokes some ideas about the nature of the fundamental concepts of the classical physics. Symmetry of a physical system is a physical or mathematical feature of the system that is preserved under some change. The Standard Model says, for instance, that the electric charge is the generator of the U(1) symmetry of electromagnetism. U(1), the unitary group of rank 1, is the simplest internal symmetry group of the Standard Model. It can be visualized as the rotational symmetry of a circle about a perpendicular axis passing through the center of the circle. It represents a continuous symmetry because a circle can be rotated by an angle and remains unchanged. It is an internal symmetry since this circle does not lie in the physical space but in the complex plane of mathematics. More abstractly and more generally, a charge is any generator of a continuous symmetry of the physical system under study. When a physical system has a symmetry of some sort, Noether’s theorem implies the existence of a conserved current. The thing that flows in the current is the charge; the charge is the generator of the symmetry group. This converts our classical concrete idea of electric charge into a mathematical abstraction. Conservation of energy and conservations of linear and angular momenta are nothing but the applications of Noether’s theorem to the translational symmetry in time and translational and rotational symmetries in space, respectively.

Classically, which is equivalent to macroscopically, mass is associated with matter and can be defined as a quantitative measure of an object’s resistance to the change of its speed. But in the Standard Model of the subatomic scale, the mass of the elementary particles are explained by the Higgs mechanism which refers specifically to the generation of masses for the W and Z bosons through electroweak symmetry breaking. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is currently searching for Higgs bosons, and attempting to understand the electroweak Higgs mechanism. The Higgs mechanism is the process that gives mass to elementary particles. In 1905, Einstein proposed mass-energy equivalence (E=mc2) in his paper entitled “Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy-content?” In relativity, all of the energy that moves with an object (that is, all the energy which is present in the object’s rest frame) contributes to the total mass of the body, which measures how much it resists acceleration.

When we come to the remaining two fundamental concepts of Newtonian physics, we see that Time and Length, which we know instinctively, are no exceptions. The modern physics challenges our classical understandings of them too. Relativity theory argues that Time and Space are of equal ontological status; the reality is the 4-dimensional unity of Space-Time. Physics could no longer be understood as Space by itself, and Time by itself. It also states that simultaneity is relative, so there is no objective way to define a “Now” that would be the same for all states of motion which substantially affects the idea of causality. In addition, this Space-Time is not flat but rather curved due to the material and energy contained in it and not static but dynamic. Time and Space are neither uniform nor absolute.

The missing part of the so-called Theory of Everything is the quantum gravity, which attempts to develop scientific models that unify quantum mechanics describing three of the four known fundamental interactions with general relativity describing the fourth, gravity. The following quotation is from one of the leading quantum gravity researcher, Carlo Rovelli, stated in 1997:

“I believe that we are going through a period of profound confusion, in which we lack a general coherent picture of the physical world capable of embracing what or at least most of what, we have learned about it. The fundamental scientific view of the world of the present time is characterized by an astonishing amount of perplexity, and disagreement, about what time, space, matter, and causality are. But if a new synthesis is to be reached, I believe that philosophical thinking will be once more one of its ingredients. Due to the vastness of the problem involved, the generality and accuracy of philosophical thinking and its capacity to clarify conceptual premises are probably necessary to help physics out of a situation in which we have learned so much about the world, but no longer know what matter, time, space, and causality are.“

Lee Smolin, another theoretical physicist named as #21 on Foreign Policy Magazine’s 2008 list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals, stated the following in 2001:

“Atoms do fall, so the relationship between gravity and the quantum is not a problem for nature. If it is a problem for us, it must be because somewhere in our thinking there is at least one, and possibly several, wrong assumptions. At the very least, these assumptions involve our concept of space and time and the connection between the observer and the observed.”

It is true that quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity were born and are growing in the nontraditional atmosphere of the scientific enterprise. Thus, they can be considered as sharing the reductionist character of the Newtonian physics by having no direct reference to the hierarchy of physical and metaphysical existence. Nevertheless, we consider them as an improvement since they took the modern scientific community to the boundary of the two realms, by asking the old question of ancients about the nature of the fundamental physical dimensions. The mystery of them is still an open question resting, we believe, on the related areas of science and metaphysics.

We encountered Judaism at the local synagogue, Hinduism at a Vishnu temple in a nearby city, and Islam at a mosque in the suburbs. We could also have studied Buddhism, Sikhism, and two other branches of Hinduism since there was a meditation society, a Gurdwara, and Shirdi and Jain temples in the city, as well as five additional mosques. Religious pluralism surrounded us, but we knew nothing about it because religious dialogue was not an ordinary activity.

Since taking students on such interfaith field visits was not common practice at the time, it stirred a mix of reactions. Many students approached the project with eager curiosity; they were rainbow optimists, following an arc of hope and expecting good at its end. Other students were reluctant, apprehensive, and afraid of the unknown; they armed themselves with intellectual rocks of protection for their worldview. Some parents even called my office to express their concern about the nature and purpose of such study for their children. Could curiosity weaken their child’s faith, the parents wondered. Even though religious pluralism has been a reality throughout human history, and is certainly an element of our societies today, for many people, then as now, it has remained a distant reality, remote from the routines of daily life. When the opportunity for an interreligious encounter is offered, it can evoke both curiosity and fear. As human beings we are equipped to wonder about and seek the new or unknown, but we are also endowed with a certain caution about, even fear, of what is different. Both of these reactions have characterized the debate about religious dialogue today, often to the irritation of one another, as students have encountered in classes. But both of these approaches have something important to share and should be heard.

Enthusiasts for religious dialogue bring a desire for mutual enrichment and learning, and a confidence that coming to know one another better will bring benefits for all. The rock-wielding cautious fear that interreligious dialogue is a dangerous and misguided endeavor brings a deep sense of what is treasured and unique in our own traditions that must not be lost or sacrificed to the inevitable encounter. In listening to the concerns and hopes raised by both voices, it can become clearer what interreligious dialogue is not and also what it is intended to be; caution and enthusiasm together can shape encounters among various believers that are fruitful and inspirational.

The mirror of dialogue A frequent concern raised about dialogue is that it will be a disguised effort at proselytizing for conversions to one faith or another. This is certainly not the intention of genuine interreligious dialogue, and this approach should not be brought to the table of dialogue. Faithful and committed believers of a religious tradition are asked to respect the faithful believers of other religious traditions who share a similar devotion and joy in their commitments.

The holy Qur’an states, ‘O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.’ (49:13) The Roman Catholic Church also exhorts her members that ‘through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions…they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among them.’ (Nostra Aetate, 2)

Of course, believers engaged in dialogue will explain with great enthusiasm the faith that they hold dear, but the primary goal of interreligious dialogue is simply to listen to and come to know others. Far from converting believers away from their faith, interreligious experiences usually deepen original commitments. It has been suggested that ‘those who know only one, know none.’ In comprehending another faith, we come to a far deeper understanding and appreciation of our own belief. In our reflection in the Other, we come to see ourselves anew.

In my own experience over the years, leading dozens of classes on field visits to various houses of worship, I observe similar outcomes each time. Though the fear of parents that their children might be lured into a conversion by a persuasive speaker would seem to have even more ground today, since students often have very little religious knowledge when entering the classroom, the common response of students is not conversion to a new tradition but rather a renewed interest in the faith traditions of their own families. Even when students have been raised by their parents to make their own choice, as if a faith tradition were simply a matter of consumer preference in the marketplace, I have found that they want to ‘come home.’ If home does not provide much religious substance, to find spiritual roots students are more likely to turn to their grandparents than to convert simply because of exposure to a new tradition.

Not the baking method Sometimes the cautious question if interreligious dialogue is aiming to bring religions together in a way that creates a new and improved religion, a combination of the ‘best of all,’ so to speak. The technical term for this is syncretism, but it is also (derisively) known as the ‘baking method’—take a little of this and a little of that and a little more of something else and bake it into a new tasty religion for all to follow. This approach, too, is certainly not an element of genuine interreligious dialogue but rather is an attitude born in the individualism of consumer culture—finding something that suits my taste. True interreligious dialogue takes places among faithful and committed believers of established religious traditions who intend to remain that way. It is not a casual comparison of recipes, but a sincere effort to know one another as we are.

Again, in my own field visit experience with classes, it is precisely when faced with the devotion of a believing community at worship that students are inspired to look at their own tradition to see what they have missed. The prayer practice of Islam has led students to discover the Angelus and the Liturgy of the Hours in the Catholic tradition, or the practice of daily scripture devotion in other Christian traditions. This is not syncretism, but rather interfaith inspiration that strengthens.

But can we disagree? Two other objections I have heard raised about dialogue seem to be from opposite sides of the same coin. First, some fear that participants from other traditions will judge our beliefs or practices and condemn them unfairly because they are based in a different set of values or cultural apprehension. The second worry is that as we listen to others we may hear some things with which we profoundly disagree but, prevented from expressing this by the ‘etiquette’ of dialogue, be reduced to tacitly supporting relativism. I believe the question raised by both objections is essentially the same—where is Truth to be found and how do we act upon it? Can we truly listen to one another without discovering all the places we disagree? And what then do we do with that disagreement?

In response to these foundational questions, two points must be kept in mind. One is that each of us has the human obligation to sincerely seek for Truth, for the objective reality at the heart of the universe. This will necessarily entail that we must make judgments for ourselves in regard to various Truth claims. However, it is important to be clear that the basic purpose of interreligious dialogue is simply coming to know and understand those varied claims made by religious traditions; we are not expecting to reach agreement on them in regard to religious doctrine or practice.

The second point clarifies this further. In coming to know one another we may find real and significant differences in the lived moral consequences of our beliefs and practices. It is very important to remember that we do not grapple with these differences in interreligious dialogue. Rather, the proper sphere for that work is in political debate. In a multicultural democracy we engage one another in political discussion, convincing one another of the value and efficacy of our moral vision and why it should prevail in law. It is at the table of interreligious dialogue that we come to understand one another, but it is at the table of political discourse that we try to persuade one another, not for a religious conversion to our Truth claims, but for a moral consensus regarding lived values. The conversation at each table is better because of the work of the other.

Wisdom of the heart With these cautions and clarifications in mind, we are better able to hear the enthusiasts in explaining the benefits of dialogue. At center is the inspiration that dialogue can renew our own spirituality. I certainly see this result in the classroom. Most parents have encountered a stage in their adolescent children’s development when they listen to advice with greater openness if it comes from someone other than their parents. Interreligious experience is a similar inspiration, and not just to questioning teens, but to developed believers as well. Hearing others share their deepest convictions about the Divine can renew the vigor of our own quest for holiness. Often in dialogue our hearts meet before our heads agree and we find that it is in the wisdom of the heart that God’s presence is made known. Understanding one another and how very much our traditions hold in common can bring mutual enrichment on local and global levels as well. Citizens in society are better equipped to live in peace and work for justice when they have had interreligious encounters to share and learn about one another. Prejudice is exposed and broken. In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, I received several email messages from former students who expressed their gratitude for the field visits they had made to mosques in earlier years. Having met Muslims as prayerful, welcoming human beings was helping them, at that difficult national moment, to share with others that Islam is not a religion of terrorism and all Muslims were not responsible for, nor rejoiced in, the events of that tragedy. They were able to be voices of peace in the midst of great national confusion.

Sustained encounters When it is possible for interreligious dialogue to become a sustained encounter among individuals or groups, over time it can begin to reshape those who participate in profound and beautiful ways. Though most of my students are only able to have one or two field experiences during their study, I am privileged to be on every trip, returning year after year and building friendships with the generous believers who host our visits. The encounters have gradually ceased to be between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ learning about their ways and teaching them our ways. Instead, as we have continued to listen and share, we find ourselves becoming a ‘we’ in our common humanity, a commonality that honors, and yet also transcends the differences of culture and faith, of geography and economics. I am deeply grateful to my dialogue partners for the depth and strength they have added to my own faith journey.

Religious pluralism is a reality; it surrounds us and permeates the culture. But interreligious dialogue is a choice. Burying our heads in the sand and throwing rocks when we come up for air will not change anyone’s heart, including our own. Instead we can choose to move toward a mind of greater perception, a heart of greater love, a world of greater peace, by accepting the invitation to know one another, carefully and respectfully crossing the arc of dialogue into mutual understanding.

Frances M. Leap is associate professor of religious studies at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

(continued from the previous issue)

Using the distinct groves and folds on the hemispheres as a guideline, a map drawn on the cortex identifies focal points, where the various senses are concentrated, and activities in particular regions. Each of these different colored schematic centers has a specific name and performs specific functions. For example, the region above the neck at the back of the head (occipital lobe) is the field of sight; the sections that coincide with the temporal region is the field of hearing; immediately in front of this, on the left, is (generally) the field of speech; in the forehead region (frontal lobe), on the anterior wall of the middle canal is the initial center of planning of movement; on the top section of the front region is the field of complex movement; immediately behind here, in the middle-side region, is the field of simple movement; the area behind this, next to the hearing field and extending upwards, is defined as the touch receptive field. However, these areas are not confined, but rather spread out, and have a very complex connection network. The duty of the adjoining areas of these regions is to display and decipher the meaning of the signals received from the nerves. As the received signals regenerate past experiences and memories, the object or event sending the signal is recognized. To perform voluntary complex movements, the plan of movement must initially be defined in the mind and then the combination of this plan is conveyed through my nerve fibers to the movement regions. As complicated activities in humans, such as talking, and activities that involve the sensory integration mechanisms are miracles in themselves, it is quite astonishing that certain people claim that humans evolved from apes, later learning how to speak. The spinal cord (medulla spinalis) that extends from the skull in the form of a long cord, is the central nervous system sending signals to the body regions under the neck. The grey matter of the brain is located on the surface, while the white matter lies beneath the cortex; however with the spine, the butterfly shaped grey matter is inside, and the white matter on the surface covers the grey matter. In this central nervous system, all of the sensual messages that are received from the entire peripheral system, in particular from your skin and muscle, are immediately connected with the synapses or connections of the movement cells, and thus a spinal reflex is produced. As a section of the connecting cells (synapses) responds with a reflex, the other section transmits the signal to me to determine the appropriate voluntary response. For instance, if you tread on a nail, as the nail goes into the foot, a signal is transmitted by the sensor fibers to the spine, and to avoid a loss of time, the spine immediately signals the movement nerves before me, and a command is transmitted to your muscle you to raise your foot. And after your foot is saved by instant reflex, you begin to perform the other conscious activities, for example; you avoid putting weight on the foot, and bandage the wound if it is bleeding.

31 pairs of nerves (right and left) emerge from the spinal cord; 12 pairs from the brain area lay beneath the skull. These are all nerves that emerge from the central nervous system, and are distributed to various organs of the peripheral nervous system. All of the head nerves that emerge from the skull, with the exception of the tenth nerve, called the vagus nerve, control activities related to movement and senses in the head and neck region. Each of the 31 nerves exit from a space in the side of the vertebrae, and each of these nerves has two roots, an afferent nerve (sensual nerve), and an efferent nerve (movement nerve). These roots join immediately outside the spinal cord, and form the cords that carry the sensual and movement nerve fibers. These nerve cords are distributed in a plan and system that is specific for each organ. For example, the receptor sensor cells that sense a needle pricking your finger transmits this signal to the spinal cord through the receptor cell of the arm. The responsive reflex of pulling the hand away, a reflex from the spinal cord, is sent to the arm and hand muscles, and you pull your hand away. This is an example of a simple reflex. The movement nerve cells of the peripheral nervous system are divided into two, the somatic nervous system, which is distributed to the skeletal muscles, and the autonomic nervous system, which is distributed to the inner organs. Whilst the majority of the activities of the somatic systems occur voluntarily at the conscious level, the activity of autonomic systems is mainly involuntarily, or below the level of consciousness. The autonomic nervous system controls the smooth muscles of the heart, glands, blood vessels, respiration, digestion, urination and reproduction systems without our even realizing it. Dear Peter! Could you manage to do all this if you were in control? Your self control can only intervene until you place food in your mouth. Then the digestive secretions, the stomach and bowel activity, and the excretion of waste are all conducted automatically, totally beyond your control. Your breathing continues while you sleep, your kidneys never cease to function, your heart never rests, and your liver never relaxes while you sleep; your pancreas continues to produce insulin. All of your internal organs and blood vessels continue to function with the smooth muscles whenever necessary. And all this activity is conducted without you even being aware of it. If you tried to do all this, you would become exhausted within five minutes, lose interest and become unable to cope.

The nerve cords of the autonomic nervous system are divided into two, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. These two systems have been created in such a way that they respond in opposition to one another, and every organ is provided with a stem from both. Therefore, no organ of the body is left uncontrolled. Whilst one signals and encourages the organ to function quicker and generate more outcomes, the other acts to the contrary, sending signals that encourage the organ to slow down. In which case, with these two contrasting signals, the organ protects its optimal functioning tempo according to the situation and conditions. The sympathetic system generally responds in cases of stress and shock, preparing the body for the effects of such situations. For example, an increase in your blood pressure, blood-sugar level, and perspiration, the dilation of your pupils, and an increase in the flow of blood in your muscles all occur from the effect of the sympathetic fibers. The parasympathetic system sends adverse signals, such as reducing blood pressure and so on, so that the organs return to their neutral state and continue their normal functions.

From the very beginning I have described many of my sections and signals, but I have not yet told you about my key to life, my nerve cells, and how my nerve cells function. 30 billion cells, known as neurons, are the actual units that function in every part of my system. A neuron has a cell body and emerging filaments like tree branches. The single thicker filament like the tree trunk is called the axon, and the thinner filaments that emerge in larger quantities like tree branches are called dentrites. The nerve signals advance from the axon to the dentrite in the form of an electrical pulse. In the space between the connection point (synapses) of a nerve cell axon and the other cells, the dentrite, a chemical substance, called the neurotransmitter, is released. When these substances, in the form of neuropeptides, amino acids, acetylcholines, and monomines, reach the wall of the opposite cells, it an electrical pulse is immediately ignited in the dendrite. Just like a row dominos, falling down one after the other, or football fans performing the Mexican wave, a wave-like effect is generated and these electrical messages are fired with great speed from one end of the cell to the other, advancing in the form of tiny electrical pulses to be transmitted to neighboring cells. While a cell at rest has a potential of 70m V, the action potential of up to +30 – +40m V can transmit all types of information. Every cell can transmit up to 1,000 signals per second.

While you still do not recognize the true value of what you call the memory, which records hundreds of experiences every day, various theories are presented regarding how this bank which stores information in your brain actually functions. But we all know that the answer to this question lies within the millions of neurons that constitute me. Just as all of the senses, thoughts and actions occur from electrical and chemical signals that are transmitted from one cell to another they are presumably recorded in the same way, that is, with electrical and chemical signals.

It is difficult to define a precise center for the boundaries of the memories in me; memory could be interconnected with all of my regions. The storing of certain memories, some voices, visions, smells, or dreams, or the sense of resentment, anger or joy, is all carried out in different forms. You could not even begin to imagine the greatness of the memory storage! I have two types of memory, one short and one-long term. In my short term memory, I can store up to between seven and nine different things at any one time. Nothing remains in my short-term memory for more than a few minutes. Everything that you remember after this is stored in my long-term memory. In my long-term memory things can remain for days, months or even years. Everything you know and learn is stored in your long-term memory. By the time you are eight years old, the information in your memory is enough to fill one million pages. However, this is a mere drop in the ocean; the long-term memory is so vast that it can never become full. Even when you reach a hundred, I will have the capacity to store new information, so never assume that you are overloading a child’s mind and never deprive them of education…Some presumptuous people say; “Never force a child to memorize at a young age, it will affect the brain.” Do not believe them! The learning of foreign languages, the Qur’an and religious education is recorded in my memory by electric pulses and this is so much easier and healthier in the early stages of life. In fact, such activities at a young age can even strengthen the memory. The event called ‘recollection’ is the repeat of the electric pulse codes that are recorded at the actual time of an event. Occasionally you try to remember a person’s name, and although the name is on the tip of your tongue, you just cannot remember. You struggle and eventually give up. Then suddenly, two days later the name comes to your mind. You are quite puzzled and of course pleased that you have remembered, but have you ever wondered how this happens? As you try to remember, you control each of my nerve cells individually, because you are not sure where you placed the files that bear this information. But you are unable to find which section of the millions of cells bears the information. As you have not used this information often, or because you did not consider it to be important, you did not register it in a particular place. But you would never forget your father’s name, as it is important to you and use it often, so the file is in front of you constantly. Well, you get frustrated at not being able to remember and stop searching; however, what you call the subconscious is in fact a much more mysterious mechanism. It begins to search without you being aware of it. Then to your surprise it produces the file two days later. The subconscious is a very mysterious place, it affects everything about you. Only the most sincere feelings are recorded in the subconscious; no veil, no hypocrisy, only actual thoughts are recorded. And also events that deeply affect you, the sad or bad memories you experience, and of course sins…The subconscious is what causes the sense of guilt or an inferiority complex; this is reflected in much of your behavior. But problems like guilt or an inferiority complex are something we can change; it all depends on you. If you are a person who has self-control, you perform good, favorable deeds, and are continuously patient; thus you can eventually renew the contaminated sections of your subconscious so that it will not upset you anymore. Indeed, this is the reason why, of all the creatures on earth, only humans were blessed with the sense of remorse and faith. If you suppress feelings of guilt and sin in the subconscious, the autonomic system affects the organs without you even realizing it; the thalamus, hypothalamus, or the pituitary gland (hypophsis), which are small in size, but bear a great responsibility; eventually this disturbs the balance of the whole body and you become ill. Although this may not be an organic complaint at first, due to psychosomatic symptoms which are caused by suppressing your subconscious, over time this will affect the functions of one of your organs and you become ill. Of course the exact opposite is also possible, with inspiration, pleasant thoughts and good actions the positive signals transmitted to the affected organ may possibly be the means to recovery.

Dear Peter! I have so many more facts and mysterious functions to describe to you, but unfortunately the pages here are not enough. Well, I suppose I must stop somewhere. I really wanted to talk to you about a number of different things, like dreams, mental illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, strokes, sleep, hypnosis, and the damage caused by drugs. However, each of these subjects is so vast, and many of them have already been explained in previous issues, so for now I will leave it to others to describe these subjects to you, and say my last words…

Dear Peter!… While your hand is writing and reading these words, or explaining what you have read to your friends, or learning all this information and passing it through the filter of thought, you are constantly using my nerves and my systems. There is not a single moment where I am not informed of events that occur in your body. Who knows just how much of the mysteries in me you will use in order to rise to the peak of accomplishment with the blessings that have been bestowed upon you by the Creator. Even the greatest computers made by human beings are mere toys compared to me. Nevertheless, the knowledge of engineers and craftsmen which design, plan, and place every piece into these computers with total accuracy is only possible because of me. Presumably you are not denying those who designed, constructed, and made the computer operate, are you? In which case you should thank God, the One who created me, an organ whose capacity exceeds that of thousands of computers, with His eternal power and wisdom; always remember to use me in good, blessed, and honest actions!…May God protect you!…

Irfan Yilmaz is a professor of biology at Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir. 

Nanoscience and nanotechnology started off in the early 1980s when scientists were able to detect materials on the nano-level through microscopic systems. This development enabled the synthesis of nano-level materials such as carbon nanotubes, nano crystals, and metal oxide nanoparticles. Nanotechnology is a type of technology, resulting from the research conducted on the atomic, molecular and macromolecular levels. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Nano-level studies are conducted with materials whose sizes range between one to a hundred nanometers. Studies on the nano-level are conducted in the contemporary science fields such as chemistry, materials science, physics, biology, etc. One of the most compelling reasons that renders the research with nano-level materials so significant is that nanoparticles reflect a lot more different characteristics than when they do at the macro-level. Due to their small sizes, nanoparticles, especially those under 20 nm, have magnificent optical, magnetic, and chemical properties.[1] Nanoparticles include much more energy than the macro-level materials; this is because the ratio of the surface area of nanoparticles to their volume is much more bigger than the ratio in macro-level materials. A significant amount of energy is stored in nanoparticles as free surface energy. This energy revealed on the nano-level not only increases the reactivity of iron nanoparticles (the propensity to chemical reactivity), but also renders the magnetic qualities of materials quite differently than they would be at the macro-level.

Many types of nanoparticles are widely used in our daily lives. Iron, gold, silver and cadmium sulphide nanoparticles are some of the most commonly investigated nanoparticles. Yet iron nanoparticles receive special attention from scientists essentially in the field of biotechnology. Iron nanoparticles demonstrating different magnetic features have a wide range of use in fields, including but not limited to health care and electric/electronic industry. Owing to its magnetic feature, iron is also used in magnetic recording. The production of needle-shaped iron nanoparticles with high magnetic features has facilitated the manufacturing of mobile electronic devices with a high recording capacity. In this paper, we will focus on the use of iron nanoparticles’ contribution to the advances in the field of biotechnology, among numerous other contributions of iron nanoparticles in other fields.

Nanobiotechnology

Nanobiotechnology, among other fields of nanotechnology, is the field that focuses on biological systems. Nano-level devices designed to work with biosystems, nano-level cell biology, cell and nanoparticle interactions are some of the applications used in nanobiotechnology. Through those applications, biochemical processes and reactions in living beings can be scrutinized in great detail, which, in turn, enables scholars to come up with innovations in both diagnosis and treatment of various illnesses.

The following are the primary application areas of magnetic nanoparticles in the field of bionanotechnology: development of magnetic resonance imaging systems, and cancer research. Especially, iron oxides (magnetite, Fe3O4, maghemite, Fe2O3), owing to their cohesion with the chemical structure of biological systems, are prevalently used in biotechnology.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

MRI, mostly used in the medical field, is the method to monitor the internal structure of living mechanisms. Through the magnetic area and radio frequency waves, the image of a living tissue is formed. MRI is a complex system that produces images based on the intensity and movements of hydrogen atoms in the tissue. The MRI technique is used to diagnose almost all sorts of illnesses today. Yet it is most frequently used with illnesses pertaining to the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord. It has also been used to diagnose muscle-related and skeleton-related medical conditions, such as meniscus and herniated disc symptoms, as well as all types of neurological illnesses. MRI has not been found detrimental to any living organism thus far.

It is the paramagnetic ions such as gadolinium that are most frequently used as contrast enhancement agents in MRI applications. Although gadolinium has a high moment, this moment is too low compared to superparamagnetic materials. For this reason, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are known to be more efficient MRI contrast enhancement agents. Known as such, those iron oxide nanoparticles are quite advantageous over gadolinium. Those nanoparticles can easily be functionalized to interact with biological samples. For example, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, which are not normally taken up by cells efficiently, can do so after being covered with another material (e.g. Dextran) that can ordinarily go into a cell. Thus, MR images of particular tissues could be obtained clearly, which enables us to make more accurate diagnoses and treatments.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are also deemed to be an efficient potential future method in cancer treatment. The results of several studies conducted to fulfill this goal are encouraging.

Iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles are being tested as a method in hyperthermia treatment. Hyperthermia is defined as an abnormally high body temperature, and its treatment is carried out through the removal of certain tissues by increasing its temperature up to (42–46) 0C for 30 minutes. For instance, cancer infected liver tissues are exterminated through the hyperthermia method, which sends biologically activated iron oxide nanoparticles to those infected tissues. Moreover, none of the healthy tissues are damaged during this process. You may find more detailed information in references [1, 2, 4, 6] on how nanoparticles are aptly sent to the cancer infected tissues only while the surrounding healthy tissues remain unaffected by them. Hundreds of researchers carry out experiments and publish their findings on this topic everyday. Yet, further research needs to be done in order to reach solid conclusions.

Iron, which seems to carry greater potential significance than we previously thought, should receive much attention from scholars due to the fact that a chapter (surah) in the Holy Qur’an is entitled “Iron” (Hadeed). The question is, why was a 29-line chapter in the Qur’an is called (Iron) when the word “iron” was only mentioned once throughout the entire chapter.

The chapter “Iron” first begins by drawing the reader’s attention to the attributes and praised names of God. It invites people to believe in God and his messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) by exalting God as the Almighty, Sovereign, Ruler, One whose existence is without a beginning and an end, Manifest and Hidden. Then, the chapter goes on to encourage believers to donate their wealth for the sake of God, for those who follow the word of God are rewarded with a place in Heaven. It also advises believers never to lose their ardor, while reminding them that even the earth will be resurrected after all has perished. And the wisdom behind the creation of iron is explained as such:

Assuredly We have sent Our Messengers with manifest truths (and clear proofs of their being Messengers), and We have sent down with them the Book and the Balance so that (relations among) humankind may live by equity. And We have sent down iron in [the essence] which is stern might and benefits for humankind, so that God may mark out those who help (the cause of) God and His Messengers, though they do not see Him. Surely God is All-Strong, All-Glorious with irresistible might. (57:25)

This particular verse includes several remarkable points. First, the very use of the phrase “sending down” for iron is so striking that it was also mentioned in [3, 5]. Another perplexing statement is, We sent down iron in [the essence] which is stern might and benefits for humankind, which might pave the way for thought-provoking venues regarding nanotechnology. The verse also indicates that which makes iron so special, its indiscernible or hidden qualities, rather than the outer surface of it. The specific reference to the “essence” of iron hints at this point. If the message of the verse had been related to the external qualities of iron, then the choice of the words would differ accordingly. Since the Qur’an is the word of God, there is wisdom behind the selection and sequencing of each word and letter. From this point of view, we can interpret that this verse informs us about the significance of the essence of iron on the nano level.

The significance of iron as stated in a single verse of the Qur’an has been briefly discussed. Numerous studies on the use of iron in nanotechnology seem to be on the horizon, which will only contribute to our admiration for the miracle of the Qur’an.

Kamil Ezgin is pursuing a PhD degree in chemistry in USA. For correspondence with the author kamilezgin@gmail.com.

References

1. Dale L. Huber. Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Iron Nanoparticles, small, 2005, 1, No. 5, 482-501.
2. An-Hui Lu, E.L. Salabas, and Ferdi Schuth, Magnetic Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Protection, Functionalization, and Application, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1222-1244.
3. Edib Masûkî. “Enteresan Bir Tespit: Demirin Sakladiði Sir,” Sizinti, 1985, No. 73.
4. Peter Majewski and Benjamin Thierry. “Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles- Synthesis, Properties, and Bio-Applications,” Critical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences, 2007, 32, 203-215.
5. http://www.mergeous.com/bullet.asp?tag=72
6. Volker Mailander and Katharina Landfester, “Interaction of Nanoparticles with Cells,” Biomacromolecules 2009, 10, 2379–2400.

In the early 1970s, a young graduate student, Richard Blakemore, observed an interesting group of bacteria in a mud sample collected from Eel Pond in Massachusetts. These bacteria were migrating through a certain edge of the microscope slide. Rotating the slide did not affect their motion; they were still moving through north. Repeating the experiment in the dark also showed that it was not light that affected the bacteria’s swimming direction. The experiments left one possible explanation to the directed motion of the bacteria and that was a crazy one-that they were sensing the magnetic field of the earth! It wasn’t hard for Blakemore to place a magnet next to the microscope slide and to prove that the crazy idea was indeed true. The bacteria were attracted by the south pole of the magnet and repelled by the north pole of it. This was the beginning of a new field of an interdisciplinary research, which attracted many scientists from very different fields such as, microbiology, physics, geophysics and paleogeology.

To understand how magnetotactic bacteria feel the magnetic field, it would be useful to check one’s transmission electron micrograph (Figure 1). The chain of magnetite (iron oxide) crystals forming a specialized organelle, called magnetesome, can be seen easily. The length of the whole chain is around one micron and each small crystal is around 50-60 nanometers. Each small crystal can be considered as a small magnet. These small magnets are aligned in a way that they support each other and the chain becomes a strong magnet. A lipid bilayer membrane surrounds this chain and holds them together. Forming chains on a straight line is not an expected behavior for small magnetite crystals. If they are produced synthetically, they accumulate together to form an aggregate. The pathways of chain formation in magnetesome are still an open question.

Magnetotactic properties are not limited to a certain species. There are many different bacteria that have magnetotactic properties. Therefore the magnetesomes may differ in size, length and even in chemistry. Some magnetotactic bacteria have greigite (iron sulfide) minerals instead of magnetite. Alsothere are magnetotactic bacteria that have more than one magnetesomes. (Figure –2)

Magnetesomes passively align bacteria parallel to the geomagnetic field but do not exert a force on bacteria to change their speed. Aligned with the magnetic field, the bacteria decide to either move towards south or north. Interestingly, almost all magnetotactic bacteria in northern hemisphere are north seeking, almost all magnetotactic bacteria in southern hemisphere are south seeking, and magnetotactic bacteria living around the geomagnetic equator consist of almost equal number of bacteria of each magnetic polarity. The bacteria in northern and southern hemispheres may have different polarities but they have one thing in common; they both move downwards. The geomagnetic field is not exactly parallel to the earth’s surface except around the geomagnetic equator. As it may seem in figure-3, the magnetic field lines are tilted up and down respectively in southern and northern hemispheres. Therefore the north seeking bacteria in northern hemisphere end up at the bottom of the water and so do the south seeking bacteria in southern hemisphere. Most of the magnetotactic bacteria cannot survive in atmospheric oxygen levels, so sensing vertical position and moving downwards, where oxygen concentration is low, is crucial for them.

Being north seeking or down seeking, i.e. polarity, is a genetic property for magnetotactic bacteria. Almost all progenies (descendants) of a north-seeking cell are also north-seeking cells. However this requires partition of magnetesomes to each daughter cell during the division. Occasionally, daughter cells may have no magnetesomes or they maybe too small to have a magnetic moment, so they develop their own magnetesomes. When these progenies develop their own magnetesomes they may have either polarity. Therefore any natural population of magnetotactic bacteria has less than 0.5% “wrong” polarity members. Wrong is written in quotation marks because without that “mistake” magnetotactic bacteria would live only in one hemisphere of the earth.

Magnetotactic bacteria are not the only creatures that can sense geomagnetic field. For example birds, also, can sense geomagnetic field and find their direction while they are migrating. However, birds use other factors such as sun and the horizon to find their direction and their body is much more complex. Also they do not sense magnetic field in a mechanical way like magnetotactic bacteria do, but probably they have some complex chemical ways of magnetic reception. That is another research field by itself and this article’s volume is not enough to go into it.

Everything, every entity that we see around us calls us to reflect upon their Creator. The ones that we see with electron microscopes or high-tech tools are not exceptions. Magnetotactic bacteria synthesizes magnetite crystals from scratch and then puts them in an order like beads hitched on a string. Could it be possible for them to manage this incredible task on their own accord and without acting in the name of God? To this day we cannot even understand the basic principles of that process to its complete degree in order to mimic it. In fact, the more we understand the more we esteem and at awe we become from the great craft of Supreme Artist.

Auroras (northern lights), with their beautiful colors, make long winter nights more bearable in Arctic Circle. They are emitted by charged particles, something very harmful for living creatures if ever reached to earth’s surface and trapped in earth’s geomagnetic field. (Figure-4) While thinking about magnetotactic bacteria I remember those beautiful scenes I had seen in pictures that had caught my awe and wonder and can’t help but express deep gratitude once more to the Creator and Sustainer of it all, of us all, who guides the tiny little cells to more livable environments with the very same geomagnetic field that He protects us from harmful solar winds. Extraordinary is the ordinaries we are surrounded by!

Ahmet Uysal is a PhD candidate in Physics at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

References

1. Richard P. Blakemore, 1982, “Magnetotactic bacteria”. Ann. Rev. Micrbiol. 36:217-238
2. Dirk Schüler, 2008, “Genetics and cell biology of magnetesome formation in magnetotactic bacteria”. FEMS Microbiol. Rev., 32:654-672
3. Arash Komeili, 2007, “Molecular mechanisms of magnetesome formation”. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 76:351-366
4. Thorsten Ritz, Salih Adem, and Klaus Schulten, 2000, “A model for photoreceptor-based magnetoreception in birds”. Biophysical Journal. 78:707-718
5. http://www.birdgeo.com/images/CTE1810.jpg
6. http://solar-center.stanford.edu/images/solar-wind-magfield_b.gif

Who are gifted students?

Gifted students display distinctive qualities in many ways. They usually think differently than their friends; they can come up with extraordinary ideas and self-developed thoughts; details are important for them; they have the ability to learn quickly and progress in academic and intellectual fields; they display high performance in one or more type of art. However, these talented people only make up 2% of the society. These individuals do not like to overexert themselves to increase their grades in education, nor do they study in a systematic manner or do homework. They tend to choose practical solutions, produce new ideas, and try to develop these ideas. They analyze and question whatever they learn, but nevertheless they can still be disorganized. They are often the students who cause problems at school. Awkward and disruptive in the classroom, they can be argumentative or uninvolved in activities. Research into the lives of many people who throughout history have caused great change has discovered that the outstanding talent of these famous people usually passed unnoticed by their teachers, and they were actually problematic children in their early years as students. Edison, for example, was taught at home by his mother, an experienced teacher, because he could not conform to or thrive in school life.

To help teachers to recognize gifted students, various tests have been introduced into the education systems of schools in the West. One of these exams is the IQ test. Some consider IQ tests as the most efficient way of discovering the abilities of students, while some other educationalists say that the only “skill” an IQ test indicates is the ability to take IQ tests; in fact the more you take, the higher you score.

In general, gifted students are recognized by the following qualities:

1. They are quick to learn; they understand and learn the topics in which they have greater ability more easily than other pupils, and they comment on or question the information provided.

2. They try to improvise on whatever they learn; they ask questions that will assist them in progressing in the topics they learn and constantly try to develop on these subjects.

3. They enjoy speaking with older people and usually choose the company of friends older than themselves. They obtain pleasure from discussing with older people, usually teachers.

4. They have the ability to judge and transform information.

5. They have extraordinary desire for intellectual activity.

6. As well as being energetic or overactive, they can also be introverted individuals who prefer their own company.

7. They absorb even the tiniest detail in subjects in which they have an interest.

8. They study only to satisfy their overwhelming desire to learn, and not to please their families or teachers.

9. They are curious, continually asking why and how and other similar questions.

10. They have very good memories.

11. They easily figure out complex objects and events.

Gifted individuals may have many more qualities than those listed above. Another aspect to consider is that if a child has one or a few of these qualities we should not come to the conclusion right away that he is a gifted child. A child could be talented in one certain topic. An individual who shows outstanding performance in mathematics could be completely unsuccessful in social studies and even worse in art, and a student who is successful in art may be very poor at physics. The understanding that an intelligent student must be successful in every field of education is misleading because this is not the case with all individuals. Further, methods of discovering a student’s ability in one field may not be suitable for other subjects.

Types of education for gifted students

In different countries of the world there are various kinds of education for gifted students. These can be categorized as separate education, combined education, and individual education.

1. Separate education: Separate education is grouping students to be educated according to the subjects in which they show higher performance. This kind of education is usually regarded as unsuitable in present-day understandings of schooling on the grounds that if not well balanced separate education may encourage selfishness, a sense of arrogance and unsound personality.

2. Combined education: This is a form of education where talented individuals continue studies in their usual environment among their friends in the five different formats noted below:

a) Education in special classes: Students known to have a higher rate of ability are taught in special classes in their own schools.

b) Early education: This is enrolling gifted children in schools earlier than the normal school age, usually a year earlier but in some cases maybe even two years, depending on a child’s general intellectual performance. This format is not advised because early education is said to have negative effects on the physical, emotional and psychological development of children.

c) Accelerated education: This is where children known to have outstanding intelligence are advanced to a higher class. This can be implemented two times at the most.

d) Groups of equal ability: This is a form of education where students with the same abilities in certain subjects are taught in specific, segregated classes and then encouraged to develop their skills in their topic of interest.

e) Enriched schedule: This is where a skilled individual is provided with special activities in his or her own classroom alongside the normal curriculum.

3. Individual education: A student with outstanding abilities is provided with a specific education in their own field of interest.

Recommended types of education

If we look at the various kinds of education, the most appropriate forms of learning seem to be groups of equal ability and the enriched schedule because separating children from their usual environment and friends can induce various problems.

Education of groups with equal ability

This is a method where students of equal ability are taught in one class. The ideal number of students per class is three, and a teacher is usually assigned to the class as a counselor.

After lessons the students research the topics relevant to their interests or abilities. This research begins with easier tasks, and while they are investigating the topic the students are actually learning and practicing different methods of learning. They learn in sequence how to research a topic and what to do when they are faced with a problem. The students learn study and learning methods without realizing that they are actually learning. This is a very effective method, and in this kind of education students gain the chance to learn and research, develop and innovate while remaining among their friends in their normal environment. Therefore, they are not subjected to the negative aspects of segregation, and gifted students in higher classes become an example for younger, outstandingly gifted students in lower classes.

Education with an enriched schedule

In the enriched schedule education program, the student continues his or her usual education in his or her own classroom guided by the teacher to perform research in the field in which he or she has greater ability. He or she then explains the research discoveries to classmates. Thus, while students are developing skills in explaining discoveries they are also teaching their friends and representing model students in the classroom. Teachers play a big role in this type of education. It is their duty to recognize the students’ fields of interest or abilities and arrange a program suitable to the students’ characters.

What the education of a gifted student entails

Gifted students should not be told of their superior capabilities because the word “superior” or “outstanding” could lead to arrogance in the student, which will cause problems with classmates. Students who think they are superior will begin to think that studying is unnecessary, which could lead to them abandoning their education completely. Nevertheless, their education can be customized according to their greater abilities.

Gifted students are individuals who need special education and trained, professional teachers, just like a student with hearing problems, a blind student or a student with a learning impairment.

Conclusion

The main differences between a student of normal learning capacity and one of outstanding abilities are that a gifted student can achieve what others think impossible. A ship being commanded from land, the discovery of electricity, the invention of motor vehicles, priceless classic paintings, music, literature and works of art are all the products of extraordinarily skilled people.

Outstanding talent is a gift from God, a great blessing. One who has a gift and the people responsible for discovering it and ensuring it develops, namely the mother, father, and teacher, must recognize it in the early stages and educate these children in a beneficial manner so that they will be able to do work which is of interest to them, work that ordinary people would not be able to do. In this way, they will be able to benefit others as well as themselves.

They must also develop in their character and spirituality. If a talented person does not have a good character, he or she could become more dangerous than a person of normal intelligence. Great responsibility lies with teachers and the education authorities.

More than 99% of the matter in the universe is in a state of plasma. The energy that the Sun distributes comes from the core, which is like a blast furnace; here matter is pure energy or is converted to energy. In the core hydrogen atoms are combined and helium is created through nuclear fusion, which occurs at very high temperatures. During nuclear fusion, enormous amounts of energy are emitted. The total capacity of the Sun’s outer layer that emits energy is around 3.86 x 1,026 watts. However, only 1,368 watt per m² comes into the orbit of the Earth. This energy results in the light that we see when we look at the Sun. The core of the Sun is 160 times denser than water on Earth. The temperature in the core is about 15 million °C. If the Sun had not been created at this density and high temperature, such a great amount of energy could not be produced. The energy produced in the core is conveyed to the radiation zone, so called as energy here is conveyed by radiation. The energy produced in the core heats everything while moving to upwards and when it comes close to the outer layer, it loses heat and energy. For instance, there is 1-2 million °C of heat that is dissipated before the end of the radiation zone. At the point where the radiation zone ends, the density of the matter is equal to the density of water on Earth. The energy is conveyed by radiation in the interior part of the Sun, while being conveyed by convection in the outer layer. The source of energy that maintains the light and heat of the Sun is the furnaces at the core. The heat decreases in proportion to the distance from the core. Curiously enough, when moving away from the photosphere (radiation zone) towards the corona, one might think that the temperature in the solar atmosphere should decrease, but in fact it increases. The interior of the corona is almost as hot as the core of the Sun, but the temperature decreases in the outer part of the corona. The cooling process that begins when moving away from the core stops at the corona and the temperature rises from 100,000 °C to 1-5 million °C. Scientists have not yet resolved why the corona has this very high temperature.

The outer layer of the Sun is very stormy. We can compare the events in the outer layer to water boiling in a kettle. This layer is known as the convection zone, which is kept in place by the magnetic field in the corona. The gas pressure in this zone is relatively higher than the magnetic field pressure. Therefore the magnetic field retreats inward and is twisted as a result of the turbulent movements of gas. These movements fulfill the role of enlarging the magnetic field lines of the corona. In the corona, the magnetic field pressure is higher than the gas pressure. It is possible that the extra energy conveyed to the magnetic field is transferred to the plasma in the corona. The energy, in the state of hydromagnetic waves, is squeezed and converted into energy. But we do not know exactly how the energy in the magnetic field is converted to heat in the corona.

The most interesting research topics at the moment are the transfer of energy to the corona and the storage mechanisms for this energy. Matter is heated in the convection zone and expands and rises to the surface. It cools as it rises to the outer layer, becoming denser and then, in a plasma state, sinks down again. This cyclic movement, consisting of a rise and fall, is what is meant by the term “convection.” This movement is conducive to the conveyance of energy from the base of the convection zone to the top. The matter approaching the top cools down and becomes denser here, distributing its energy to the environment. The rising and falling movements of matter in this convection zone are similar to the circular movement observed in water boiling in a kettle. These movements cause the formation of strong magnetic fields in the outer layer of the Sun.
The extremely hot gas in the corona moves away from the Sun. When this hot gas mass heads to the planets it is known as “solar wind.” Solar winds are the officers in charge of changes in the climates of planets. This activity in the solar atmosphere causes atmospheric air currents that bring about snow and rain. There are relatively few magnetic fields in the outer layer of the Sun, while there are a number of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. The interplanetary magnetic field is formed as a result of the Sun’s magnetic field. Coronal mass ejections expand away from the Sun at speeds that measure as much as 1,250 miles per second. These blasts carry up to ten billion tons of plasma away from the Sun. It may take a few days for the matter, which covers distance at a speed of 60-600 miles per second, to reach the Earth. Solar flares move at the speed of light and can reach the Earth in eight minutes. If coronal mass ejections reach the atmosphere of the Earth, they can create geomagnetic storms. Auroras (radiation that can be observed in Polar zones) are the atmospheric events related to the coronal mass ejections. Large geomagnetic storms can cause electrical power outages and damage communication satellites.

Astronomers record the xrays that emanate from the Sun in the same way that a doctor records the occurrences of pain in patients. It has been discovered that there is a strong correlation between the density of solar flares and the pains of those who suffer migraines. Even if this correlation is statistically meaningful, more controlled research needs to be carried out to understand if there is any biological significance. The storage of magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere and the ejection of the same, like a sudden explosion, cause solar flares. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. During such an explosion, radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time. Considering how just one hydrogen bomb is enough to destroy the entire world, we must thank the All-Powerful God Who placed the Sun at an ideal distance, protecting us both from freezing and burning. The energy released during a flare is typically to the order of 1027 ergs per second. This energy is ten million times greater than the energy released by a volcanic explosion.

The system in which magnetic fields are produced in the Sun can be the cause of some changes on Earth. For example, between the years of 1600 and 1850s solar activities decreased and low temperatures (a minor ice age) were recorded on Earth, especially in much of Europe and North America. Therefore, solar activity carries out its duty on the order of God and works for the adjustment of climates on Earth. It was determined that the temperature differences measured at 6 miles above the North Pole (in the boundary of troposphere/stratosphere) were related to a eleven-year cycle of sunspot explosions. The stratosphere heat over the Polar zones is relatively less cold when the Sun is active, depending on the stratospheric winds. However, the physical mechanisms have not yet been determined.

How do the planets stay in orbit around the Sun?

There are two hypotheses on this matter: one of them says that the revolving of the planets around the Sun while they are in their or bit is dependent on the movement around the common mass instead of on the force of gravity. The other theory is that the magnetic field forces, which are created as cycles in the core of the Sun, play an important role in interplanetary gravity. The difference between the hypotheses stems from the structure of the orbits in terms of causes. Circular orbit is formed by the force of gravity, while elliptic orbits are the result of common mass movement. Therefore, it would be more sensible to say that while explaining the phenomenon of planets staying in their orbit around the Sun that a role is played by both common mass movement and matter cycles in the core, reminiscent of the oscillations in the core of the Sun, and the magnetic field that is produced. There are a number of verses in the Qur’an about the Sun and the sky. One of these is: “And the Sun runs the course appointed for it for a term to its resting-place for the stability of it(s system)” (Yasin 36:38). Bediüzzaman Said Nursi says, The Sun is a light-diffusing tree, and the planets are its moving fruits. But unlike trees, the Sun is shaken so that the fruits do not fall. If it were not shaken, they would fall and be scattered.¹

The period of the actual rotation of the Sun is approximately 27 days. The active zones of the sunspots can be observed on the side of the Sun that faces the Earth. The Sun’s movement forms an interesting orbit. Although it is not solid (being in a gas and plasma state), the outer layer of the Sun has different speeds of rotation at different latitudes. Scientists have lately started to use acoustic detectors to receive the signals that emanate from the Sun. The acoustic detectors are used to understand the rising and falling wave movements that this noise causes on the surface of the Sun. Scientists are trying to understand how the sound waves behave in an environment made up of other material, such as oil and vinegar, which form a layer in the water, and they then try to decipher the inner structure of the Sun by making analogies with the events that occur within the Sun. The sound waves that are related to events that occur at the center of the Sun vibrate like a spring. Measurements are made by special acoustic detectors and these reflect the cycles within the Sun. The sound that emanates from the interior parts of the Sun is converted into magnetic waves. These magnetic waves always move, in the form of oscillations that first rise above (to the solar atmosphere) then fall down (to the core of the Sun). The movements within the center of the Sun display rhythmic motions, like water in a pool that has been disturbed. Measuring the smallest sound waves that come from the very core of the Sun, Steven Tomczyk (1994) found that the core of the Sun rotates in a way that is similar to the rotation of the Earth. To put it another way, he found out that the rotation at the core of the Sun occurred independently of latitude and depth, unlike movement in the outer layer of the Sun. While explaining the meaning of the word “li mustaqar” (resting-place) in the Qur’an, Nursi refers to this rotation as follows:

Since the All-Wise Maker operates behind the veil of apparent causality, He has tied the planets to the Sun by His law of gravity and causes them to revolve with distinct but regular motions according to His universal wisdom. To produce gravity, He has made the Sun’s movement on its axis an apparent cause. Thus a resting place means that “the Sun moves in the place determined for it for the order and stability of its own (solar) system.” Like the Divine law, that motion produces heat, heat produces force, and force produces gravity.²

Some astronomers compare the Sun to a bell that is periodically struck. They also state that the cycles that occur within the Sun and at the outer layer of the Sun play a role in the formation of magnetic fields, gravity forces, and the common mass center of the Sun. As a result of the interconnectivity of all these factors, how the planets revolve around the Sun while staying firmly in their orbits (without being scattered in terms of causes) can be explained. The existence of this huge star and its continuity in a controlled way is a serious matter, which, even though we often take this miracle for granted, must be contemplated. The fact that the Sun is so vital for us, yet that we have no control over it shows us that this fire ball is in the service of humanity thanks to the order of the Divine Will.

References

• http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/cme.htm
• http://www.ucar.edu/publications/lasers/sun/what-sun.html
• http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/space/sun/sunanat.html

Notes

1. Nursi, The Words, The Light, Inc., NJ: 2005, p. 413. 2. Ibid.

When speaking of a huge emptiness in between the elementary particles, the French philosopher Jean Guitton (1901–1999) gives the following example:

Think of the proton of the oxygen nucleus as the size of a pinhead; then the rotating electron would draw a circle that traverses the Netherlands, Germany and Spain (assuming that the center of this orbit was France, as Guitton lived there). Therefore, if all the atoms that make up my body were close enough to touch one another, you wouldn’t be able to see me at all. [I] would be a particle of dust, just one thousandth of a millimeter.

If we could enlarge an apple to the size of the world, each atom, proportionally, would be the size of a football. We would then be able to learn everything about the atoms by taking one of those atoms and examining it in our hands, wouldn’t we?

No, we wouldn’t!

It isn’t this easy. Even if an apple were to be the size of the world, it would still be too small to attain enough information about its atoms. If we want to see the nucleus of the atom, we must enlarge it to the size of a town, not a football. Then the nucleus, which is the size of a football, is in the middle, and one of the electrons, orbiting 1 kilometer away, would be no larger than a walnut.

Now let’s apply this example to the hydrogen atom, which is the smallest atom. If the nucleus of a hydrogen atom were enlarged to the size of a football then the atom itself would be a sphere with a diameter of 2 kilometers.

Quantum field

The discovery of the atom is in fact the discovery of empty space. It might sound strange to hear the words “huge” and “emptiness” in the same sentence when talking about the atom.

One night, a pessimist, an optimist, and a physicist were looking at the cloudless sky. The pessimist said, “What a great emptiness,” while the optimist said, “There are countless stars.” The physicist, on the other hand, couldn’t say anything, because he wasn’t sure whether what they had seen was a vast amount of objects or a vast field of emptiness.

The developments in modern physics in recent years have changed concepts such as, “substance,” “particle,” and “vacuum.” Vacuum is usually defined as “the living environment, life breath, or energy” of the universe.

The vast vacuum that physicist sees in the sky is what we call the quantum field

The quantum field is formless and shapeless. It is the field of all forms and the basic essence of the universe. The durable and solid substance that we call a particle is the condensation of this field into small units. The quantum field is the environment of activity, transportation, and communication, all at the same time. It is noteworthy that this approach is very close to the ancient approach that claims that space is full of ether.

Albert Einstein defined matter as the space region in which this field was extremely condensed. According to the understanding of the new physics, both the matter and the field of the matter are the same thing.

According to quantum physics, all matters in space are like islets in an ocean, and are connected to each other through subjacent earths. In the concept of a quantum field, space is a stable integrated whole and unity of waves and these interactions happen in “waves.”

Vacuum is not emptiness

The vacuum was once believed to be a place with nothing inside it. However, the universe has a beginning, and everywhere in this universe was once a single place that later came into existence. Therefore, it is impossible for a place in which “there is nothing” to exist in the universe. In brief, subsequently, there must have been something everywhere that has been created. Just as there is no dry place in the sea, there cannot be any emptiness in this sea of existence that was created out of nothing. Underlining this truth, quantum physics defines the universe as a whole and says there is no emptiness in the absolute sense. In other words, the universe in which there is no “empty” space is a world that has been “called into being.”

If everything around us, even human beings, consists of atoms, most of which are made up of emptiness, and if in fact the actual physical structures that compose our bodies are so few, then why can’t we go through walls or closed doors, like cartoon characters? What makes matter so solid and durable?

In fact it is not easy to answer this question. Electrons are created in small places, like atoms, and have been given phenomenal speed. An electron moves at 1,000 kilometers per second (that means it rotates one million times around the nucleus). As a result of this phenomenal speed, the atom becomes a tough and solid mass. We can compare this to airplane propellers that appear to be a solid and flat surface when spinning.

The amazing electron

The features of electrons, such as being able to pass through two holes in an obstacle at the same time (no other particle can do this) have astonished scientists and brought out a metaphysical dimension that are beyond the wave nature of light. The granular structures of subatomic particles contradict the understanding of matter. According to the findings of quantum mechanics, the particle is in fact nothing but a dynamic effect and movement. The particles can be composed of energy or they can be entirely converted to energy. The classical concept of elementary particle is becoming obsolete in today’s world.

Nevertheless, the changes in our perception of matter do not necessarily mean matter is unreal. The truth is that particles of matter do not have a constant reality or an independent essence, in contrast to what has been assumed. Whatever seems to be or is reflected as matter, energy, or value, or whatever we call it, is nothing but the manifestation of the Divine Names of the Creator Who created “nothingness.”

Think of a shadow play. The image that the audiences see on the curtain, which is far from the source of light, is not “real.” The real thing is another object that is in front of the source of light or behind the curtain. What we see is the reflection of the object itself or its movements. If we don’t know how this play has been staged, we may think that the image on the curtain is real. Even though there is an image on the curtain, it does not have its own existence and is not real. In the same way matter exists but its existence and its being in this condition is not something under its control.

Before the realm of the quantum was discovered, Newtonian physics had accepted matter as being solid, durable, and constant. Everything we touch, such as walls, trees, and all the objects we see have the solid and durable condition of matter. But if one looks at an object through an electron microscope, they will see that 99% is vacuum and 1% is light. We can form circle of light if we swing a light source in a dark room. If we add a second, third, and fourth source, and move them so that they can form illuminated spheres, someone who is observing from a distance will perceive a three-dimensional sphere instead of a two-dimensional illuminated circle. Thus, we can understand that by increasing the number of spheres we form a three-dimensional model of matter. According to quantum physics, matter found in the universe is pretty much like this example. In short, matter does not consist of a combination of solid particles. There is almost no difference between the “building stone” of human beings and the image of human on television. And we can say that just as the television broadcast disappears when there is a power cut, it is also possible for this universe, which seems so permanent, to disappear with one command.

A television broadcast is constantly being renewed through the transmission of pictures and sound by means of electronic signals. As in the example above, if our existence is like the image on television, then can we say that the universe is also being renewed every second like a TV broadcast?

None of the objects we see (trees, birds, humans, etc.) take their existence from the concrete reality of the matter that we perceive. Thus, they must receive their existence from the power and the names of the Creator Who creates everything out of nothing and keeps it in perpetual motion. In brief, although created out of nothing, existence is being created all the time.