More Evidence that the Moon Came from the Earth

Will et al. Indigenous noble gases in the Moon’s interior. Science Advances, Aug 2022.

Humankind has always been fascinated with the Moon and studying it for nearly five centuries since Galileo. A recent discovery now adds new evidence to the currently favored “Giant Impact” theory which hypothesizes that the Moon was formed by a massive collision between Earth and another Mars-sized celestial body around 4.5 billion years ago. A group of researchers examined six samples of lunar meteorites collected in Antarctica using an exceptionally sensitive mass spectrometer and found that the meteorites contained noble gases like Neon and Helium, consistent with those found in the Earth’s mantle. Researchers proposed two possible scenarios for how the noble gases became trapped in the Moon’s interior. In the first scenario, impactors got mixed with the lunar mantle during cooling of the magma oceans to solidify over few million years of the Moon’s formation. In the second scenario, the Moon has been formed from a debris field surrounding the Earth where noble gases were directly mixed into the Moon’s interior mass. Discovery of noble gases on the moon may also inform us about its water content, too. If these gases are still there, then water could also been present in the Moon’s interior. Such water resources could be an invaluable resource for future human missions. More broadly, this study suggests that a wide variety of life-forming material can survive giant impacts early in a planet’s life. We now could make more reliable models of how planets and solar systems form and even how life is originated on the Earth.

Restoring cell functions after death?

Andrijevic et al. Cellular recovery after prolonged warm ischaemia of the whole body. Nature, August 2022.

Organ transplantation is an extremely complicated medical process. There is a massive shortage of donor organs. Waiting lists are long. Even if a patient is lucky to match with a donor organ, getting that organ before it dies through cell damage has been a big challenge. A new technology may offer a solution to extend the time that donor organs survive. A group of researchers has recently developed a technology called OrganEx, which can restore cellular activity even after death. Very shortly after the death of an organism, all cells start to die and organs begin to fail. The researchers worked with one hundred pigs to see whether cellular structures could be saved, or cell damage could be reversed, when OrganEx is applied after death. OrganEx has two major components. First is a device that simulates the heart and lung function by pushing a mix of blood and a drug cocktail to the organs. Second is the drug cocktail made of 13 chemical compounds. One hour after death, the pigs were hooked up to the OrganEx machine which pumped the cocktail to the animal’s organs for six hours. The results were striking; OrganEx could restore critical cell functions after death. While this is a huge step for organ preservation, researchers still have to make more tweaks for the technology to be used in humans. Once fully developed, OrganEx is expected to keep organs outside the body for long-term or transported longer distances.

Sweat-powered wearable electronic devices

Liu et al. Microbial biofilms for electricity generation from water evaporation and power to wearables. Nature Communications, July 2022.

Researchers have developed a biofilm that sticks to the skin like a Band-Aid to harness sweat for electricity that could power wearable devices. The biofilm is made using a type of bacteria called “geobacter sulfurreducens” known for its ability to produce electricity. In this biofilm design, bacteria convert energy from evaporation into electricity by using the moisture on a person’s skin. Most strikingly, researchers found that the biofilm bacteria do not need to be fed because they are dead! They do not need to be alive to produce electricity. The biofilm consists of thin sheets of bacteria colonies (thickness less than 0.1 millimeter) that is sandwiched between two mesh electrodes and sealed with a soft, sticky biopolymer to enable it to grip to the skin. Sticking this biofilm on your skin is like plugging in a battery. This technology has potential to revolutionize wearable electronics by solving the major problem of power supply. Moreover, this is a real green energy-driven device made naturally by the microbes and devoid of any unsustainably produced materials and toxic waste byproducts. The current version of the biofilm can produce enough energy to power small devices such as medical sensors or personal electronics, but the researchers hope to explore larger films that can power even more sophisticated devices.

Following a soft negotiation of price with the rickshaw driver, I finally had initiated my way back home from the Time to Help foundation. Next to a quick introduction of our names, the driver asked me where I was from. I smiled at him. It was an easy-to-answer question for the majority of people, but not for me.

I was born in Russia, but my family left the country when I was only two; so I don’t remember much to feel part of it.

Perhaps I could say India, as I had lived my childhood within its peculiar, sweet but dirty, and adaptable environment. I saw clean walls filled with images of deities adjacent to walls filled with human excrement. I made friends who were Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or Jain. My friends taught me the language that is spoken by nearly 1/3 of the world. I also sang the national anthem with pride in every assembly. “Where there is love there is life,” says Mahatma Gandhi. The colors that covered everywhere in the “Holi” celebration were the clear message of love and joy lived by the people of India. I simply had been part of the “Bollywood” of the world. The Bollywood where I lived my childhood, gained my patience from its traffic, and celebrated diversity from its people and culture.

Yet, I could not ignore what was written in my passport and I could not ignore my parents, who raised me with the language and values of Turkey. The majority of the books I read when I was a child were in Turkish. I learned about Turkey by listening to Turkish songs, reading Turkish literature, and on top of all I spent a full month every year in Turkey, which gave me a chance to observe the country with first-hand experience. I have therefore socialized within a modified and extended family. Turkey was not a place where I felt at home to the fullest, however the importance of all these past experiences were revealed following the coup attempt of 2016 since which we no longer could visit what my father used to call our “place of rehabilitation.” Thus, my visits to Turkey temporarily ended.

For a moment, I looked at the driver as he was in the middle of a phone call. The loud African music playing behind me reminded me of the fact that I have been living here in Tanzania for 6 years now. As Turkey was waning from my annual calendar, I thought to myself, “Hakuna Matata.” Tanzania had been where I had built a character and made hundreds of friends in schools, orphanages, on streets, and with rickshaw drivers such as Emmanuel sitting in front of me. The smile on the faces of little orphans when I speak to them and play soccer with them has been part of my favorite experiences in life. The day I tried to dance like those children had placed me into the rhythm of their tradition and culture. I learned the true meaning of benevolence and gratitude as I observed the joyful moments of villagers approaching their water well when it was filled with a pure water supply, or orphans who untie their gift boxes in extreme excitement. I learned that true satisfaction was found through serving others. I learned that life could be sincerely enjoyed only when one would explore himself or herself. Life was, indeed, different in the eyes of each individual. I saw many of those vulnerable people becoming only “happier” than they used to be, while many people in wealth have lots to complain about. This relation had always enhanced my curiosity over psychology. I always felt that I had to understand myself, my existence, and my own sense of being before trying to benefit others. In Tanzania, I developed an ambition; an ambition of living, so that others may live.

I suddenly regained my consciousness as the driver threw a glance at me, still waiting for a response. I looked at him and answered “Natoka Tanzania siku hizi” (I am from Tanzania these days), and watched him, as he was laughing, in satisfaction of making someone happy at least for some part of his day.

Ebru, the art of crafting images and pictures with special paints on the surface of water, originated on the continent of Asia, spread to Anatolia, and from there to the rest of the world. Ebru has long been the name given to the original Turkish art of “paper marbling” [1].

Enchanted by their interaction with water, human beings started practicing the art of paper marbling. By practicing Ebru, one may interpret the time on the marbling tray as a sort of time travel in which the wiggles of the water take a journey between the past and the future.

For ages, people have been using long-lasting rock surfaces to transfer information to future generations. These artworks and writings are reminders of past civilizations and they have always gained the attention of mankind around the world.

Some natural ingredients for traditional Ebru art include rose branches, dust paint, bile juice, and gum from a wild licorice plant. This natural combination of each ingredient of Ebru art ensures its uniqueness.

Each careful sprinkle of a color on the surface of the water is the reflection of the emotions that are felt by the artist yet are difficult to express otherwise.

Ebru is a delicate reflection of a civilization in which water is exalted as glorious and precious. It is one of the major elements of our world, that are essential for existence, along with soil, air, and fire. Ebru is the art of enthusiasm presented with sincere feelings.

Ebru gives a new perspective to the world of art and to cultures that are not familiar with it, since the concept of water serving as a base might initially seem impossible.  Throughout history, eastern and western civilizations were established around sources of water. Water in fact attracts human beings to its vibrancy like a magnet. It is the source of life for all the people from different ethnic groups, colors, languages, and religions. The mosaic appearance of Ebru art reflects human diversity in its tank with harmony and coherence [2].

In the past, people used to write thing they didn’t want to remember on water. Anything is doomed to disappear on the surface of water other than Ebru.

Using water as a medium is paradoxical because water signifies change as opposed to permanence. However, embroidery on the surface of the water is not something to be planned beforehand but rather an art form that the Ebru performer comes up with at the moment. A single stroke can be transformed but not reversed.

Once the artist has reflected his or her soul’s shape, and the colors have taken their place, the paper is gently laid on the water.

Ebru is like life itself; even if we think we do the same things every day, every moment differs from the others and is unique in its own way.

Ebru is either in the sky or on the Earth [3];

“O eye, do not sprinkle tears into my heart’s fierce fire, for there will be no way you can put out such a fire.
Is the revolving sky’s color the color of water? Or is it my tears that cover up the sky, I cannot know.”

Those who are interested in the art of Ebru and put their hearts into it will connect with a feeling of spiritual serenity and tranquility. Life in contemporary times is a never-ending wave of turmoil. Those who want to escape the hustle of the routines of life will never be rejected and will be welcomed to the ambiance of serenity by the peaceful waves of Ebru.

It takes people from their own world and brings them to another world of imagination where they can reflect on their feelings and get rid of the negative emotions within them.

For those who are stuck in the modern cycle of never-ending tasks, it is a way for them to reach a peaceful state of mind and relax.

Ebru art might take the artist back to their childhood when they used to play with dirt and mud. Perhaps the lack of preserving their childhood feelings can be remedied.

Ebru craftsmen use the biz, a tool used like a pencil to write on the surface of the water. In Ebru, every move on the water gives color patterns.

The art of Ebru in such a small container can take a human to anywhere that they wish to be or can be a canvas for any image that they wish for, such as a garden of flowers or a limitless sky. It will be anywhere other than any negative emotions inside.

Ebru art eventually makes the performer, as well as those that enjoy it, joyful once it is placed onto the wall of a house or at work and is thus able to begin emanating its bliss.

* This article was based on the speech given by Mualla Yazici in the Fountain Talks meeting at Fishers Public Library, Indiana.

References

1. Saracoğlu M. “Ebru or Water Marbling.” The Fountain 72 / November-December 2009.
2. Refik İ. “Uçsuz Bucaksız Bir Okyanusta Renklerin Dansı: Ebru.” Yağmur 3 Nisan, Mayıs, Haziran.1999.
3. “Su Kasidesi – Altın Nefesler,” Yeni Ümit Ekim, Kasım Aralık 1998.

Washing our hands has become one major way to protect ourselves from Covid-19. However, ablutions have always had a central place in the practices and beliefs of many religious traditions. Christians perform baptism with water, in amounts varying from small sprinkles to larger vessels, to bring about purification, cleanliness, revival, and rebirth. Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples as narrated in the Gospel makes the washing of feet an important practice in Christianity to promote cleanliness and is still carried out to this day. The Jewish tradition also has many instances of ablution where water is specifically used to promote cleanliness, including washing hands to reclaim or preserve purity and mikveh in which the feet or whole body is immersed in water.

The Islamic ablution, also known as “wudhu,” contains 24 washing movements to be carried out several times a day for the five daily prayers. If performed for all five prayers, it would consist of about 120 repeated actions as Muslims washed parts of their body.

A lover must undertake the required preparation to cleanse and beautify oneself before meeting with their Beloved. Likewise, a believer is required to wash specified parts of their body to stand before God in supplication, as instructed in Chapter Maidah of the Qur’an, verse 6: “O believers, when you stand for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. If you are unclean, bathe and purify your bodies fully. But if you are ill or in the middle of travelling or … you cannot find water, then take wholesome dust and wipe your faces and hands with that. For God does not wish to burden you, rather He desires to purify you and to complete His blessing and favor upon you so that, perhaps, you may be grateful” [5:6].

The spiritual cleansing that the act of wudhu provides is highlighted by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in numerous hadiths, or prophetic sayings, which has been collected under The Book of Purification. While water literally cleans the face and limbs, with every pure intention to do wudhu, the water droplets that meet the body also wash away the minor sins that were committed by the hands, mouth, face, ears, and feet. The famous hadith that “cleanliness is half of faith” [Sahih Muslim, 223] can be interpreted as applying primarily to doing wudhu in one translation [Wudhu: Fiqh, Rules, Purification and Blessings, Qadri]. Therefore, to perfect the faith, to be cleansed of our mistakes continuously, God has given us a simple mechanism through which to be purified and recalibrated countless times in a day.

Many of us perform this pattern of washing with little thought. It has become a routine that we seldom consider a medical protection that we apply to our body. Besides its effects on the soul, washing also has wonderful effects on the body. Over fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet (pbuh) advised ablution before going to bed. Interestingly, yoga experts in recent years have also started to encourage the washing of the legs, hands, arms, eyes, and the mouth before sleep with cool water for a deeper undisturbed sleep. This is not surprising considering the relief that comes with the touch of water on a busy day.

Three of our principal systems benefit from wudhu; the circulatory system, the immune system, and the electrostatic balance of the body. In this way, the health benefits from the ritual of washing are threefold…

Circulatory system

The circulatory system is a magnificent circuit of blood vessels between the heart and the tissues that make up every other system of the body. The systemic circulatory system circulates oxygenated blood from the heart to the tissues around the body and back to the heart, whilst the pulmonary circulatory system transports deoxygenated blood to the lungs for detoxification and returns clean blood to the heart. The correct functioning of the blood vessels, which act as wires that connect our major organs, are essential to the efficiency of this circuit. These vessels divide into thinner branches called arterioles which in turn split into smaller capillaries which surround the cells of the body. The vascular resistance generated by blood vessels is overcome by the blood pressure generated by the heart to enable blood flow. Over time (due to ageing, or a diet high in fat), our blood vessels often harden and become constricted meaning that the heart has to work harder to overcome increased vascular resistance to maintain steady blood flow. The vessels in the limbs are the most peripheral to the heart and thus the most vulnerable to the process of hardening and narrowing over a long period.

The application of water in our daily routine “exercises” these blood vessels by alternately contracting and dilating them. Water can act as an agent of temperature gradients, thereby affecting the thermoregulatory response of the cutaneous circulation. When hot, water ensures that vessels in the limbs dilate, and when cold, that they contract. In this way, water ensures the flexibility of vessels distant from the heart, forcing nutrients deposited in tissues as a result of poor circulation back into the bloodstream through a temperature gradient.

Lymphatic system

The lymphatic system, on the other hand, is probably not the first to come to mind when we think of the body’s organ systems. Yet without this quietly working system our cardiovascular system would collapse and our immune system would be impaired. Our lymphatic vessels transport “leaked” blood fluids into our capillaries to prevent the accumulation of fluid in the interstitial spaces and eventual tissue damage. The vessels of the lymphatic system are much thinner than those of the cardiovascular system, ensuring the circulation of white blood cells which have an essential role in protecting the body against invaders and resisting disease. It is this fluid that we see oozing out when we have a cut or wound.

The optimal functioning of this system and its thin vessels, like those of the circulatory system, can be said to be closely linked with the effect of washing. The phagocytes and lymphocytes, which make up the immune system are housed by our lymphoid tissues and organs, are supported by the act of wudhu. The nasopharyngeal region behind the nose leads to the tonsils, which are small masses of lymphoid tissue that trap and remove pathogens that are entering the throat. Washing the mouth and nose three times with every wudhu therefore helps to remove the bacteria that builds up in the region of the body most exposed to the external environment. Moreover, the act of washing both sides of the neck during wudhu stimulates our cervical lymph nodes – a specialized mass of tissue which houses lymphocytes and particularly helps to protect the body by removing bacteria and tumor cells from lymphatic circulation. Our lymphocytes are arguably the most important component of our immune system, patrolling every point of the body many times a day and destroying cancer cells and pathogens along the way. Considering that the act of wudhu enhances the filtration effect of our lymphoid circulation, one can see the blessings that come with the divine command to “wash…and purify your bodies fully….”

Electrostatic balance

Our physiology is also closely related to the electrostatic balance of the body. While many psychosomatic diseases result from electrostatic imbalance, the most pronounced effect of static electricity is exerted on the subcutaneous muscles located under the skin, mitigating their function and inducing the onset of wrinkles which often start in the face. Maintaining the regular habit of washing the skin – particularly the face which is most frequently exposed to ultraviolet radiation – protects the surface and internal layer of our skin cells by constantly dampening the skin surface with clean water. It is a much simpler alternative to spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on expensive skin care and makeup products to maintain a healthy complexion.

In regards to how wudhu can benefit our electrostatic balance, the part of the verse which sheds light to tayammum, “if you cannot find water, then take wholesome dust and wipe your faces and hands with that” highlights that the water substitute for wudhu significantly reduces static electricity, like water. This is why when wudhu is performed calmly with care, it often leaves one feeling refreshed and discharged.

The Quran is a grand source containing many prescriptions for good health. While every civilized person may wash their face and hands throughout the day, wudhu ensures that cleanliness and a sense of well-being is sustained by virtue of its association with worship. The worth and significance of wudhu is not limited to the medical benefits discussed here. However, for anyone else wondering why taking a pause on a busy day with wudhu feels so rejuvenating, I hope this humble article sheds some light to a grand prescription from among the many medicines revealed in the Qur’an.

Hsueh MF et al. Analysis of “old” proteins unmasks dynamic gradient of cartilage turnover in human limbs. Science Advances, October 2019.

Humans may not be able to regrow amputated limbs, but a recent study showed that damaged cartilage may regrow through a process similar to that of animals such as salamanders and zebrafish. Scientists collected 18 specimens of joint tissue from the hips, knees, or ankles of patients who underwent surgery. They then placed the tissue in a mass spectrometer and measured the age of the cartilage proteins in the sample. These analyses showed that the age of cartilage largely depended on where it resided in the body. Cartilage in ankles is young, middle-aged in the knee, and old in the hips. This correlation between the age of human cartilage and its location in the body suggests that limb repair occurs in humans in a similar fashion to certain animals in which tissue regeneration takes place at the furthest tips such as the ends of legs or tails. This finding also helps to explain why injuries to people’s knees and, especially, hips take a long time to recover and often develop into arthritis, while ankle injuries heal quicker and less often become severely arthritic. The researchers further identified the molecules that are instrumental in the regulation of this region-specific regeneration process. They are called microRNAs and, not surprisingly, are present at very high levels in animals that are known for limb, fin, or tail repair including salamanders, zebrafish, and lizards. Scientists believe that these regulator microRNAs can be utilized in the regeneration of degenerated cartilage of an arthritic joint to reverse arthritis. Regeneration of part or all of an injured human limb may even be possible by finding components salamanders have and we don’t. Finally, it is also possible that this could be a fundamental mechanism of repair that could be applied to many tissues, not just cartilage, which might open up many new avenues in the regenerative medicine.

The universe might have many Earth-like exoplanets

Doyle AE et al. Oxygen fugacities of extrasolar rocks: Evidence for an Earth-like geochemistry of exoplanets. Science, October 2019.

New astrophysical and geochemical evidence suggests that Earth may not be that unique, and Earth-like planets may be common in the universe. All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. Planets that orbit around other stars are called exoplanets.  The first exoplanets were discovered in the early 1990s. Since then, thousands of exoplanets have been revealed with over 4,000 confirmed and a further 4,495 potential candidates. There have been major efforts to narrow down the exoplanets that may have properties similar to Earth with conditions suitable for life. This includes being a rocky planet that is not too hot or cold so that liquid water can exist. When searching for exoplanets that are similar to Earth, astronomers typically look for worlds in orbit around a type of star called a red dwarf or an M-dwarf. These types of stars are somewhat similar to our sun and make up about 70% of the stars in our galaxy. However, a new study shows that rocky exoplanets in orbit around a different type of star, a white dwarf, can have interiors that are surprisingly similar to our planet. White dwarf stars are dense remains of normal stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel. These stars are typically composed of light elements such as hydrogen and helium, but in some cases they attract heavier elements such as magnesium, iron, and oxygen in their atmospheres due to their extreme gravity. These heavy elements are thought to be introduced when a rocky exoplanet crashes into a star, which gives astronomers evidence of what the exoplanets were like before they were destroyed. In this recent study, scientists looked at six white dwarfs located 200 to 665 light-years from Earth and rocks from the planets that once orbited it. Their analyses showed that five out of the six white dwarfs had sucked up fragments whose chemical composition is similar to rocks on Earth, Venus, and Mars. While the conditions suitable for life depend upon many additional factors, this study points towards the idea that many rocky planets are likely very familiar in terms of their general composition and, therefore, structure and behavior. This study also made a substantial leap forward in being able to make inferences for bodies outside of our own solar system and indicates that it is very likely that there are truly Earth analogs out there.

Artificial leaf points to a sustainable path to carbon-neutral fuels

Andrei V et al. Bias-free solar syngas production by integrating a molecular cobalt catalyst with perovskite–BiVO4 tandems. Nature Materials, October 2019.

An artificial leaf from which a “clean” fuel alternative to petrol could be produced has been developed. Synthetic gas can be obtained from the lead by using only sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.

Synthetic gas, also called syngas, is typically a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is largely produced by exposing fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas to high temperature steam and pressure, and the process releases carbon dioxide. Syngas is broadly used in a wide range of commodities including fuels, plastics, and fertilizers. While the utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development in human history, the burning of fossil fuels is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that contributes to global warming. For decades scientists have been trying to discover new ways to produce syngas in order to close the global carbon cycle and to establish a sustainable chemical and fuel industry. In a recent study, researchers got inspired by leaves. These perfect little machines use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into fuel for plants through photosynthesis. An artificial leaf has been designed to have two light absorbers, similar to the molecules in plants that harvest sunlight, and a catalyst made from the naturally abundant element cobalt. When the leaf is immersed in water, one light absorber uses the catalyst to produce oxygen and the other one carries out the chemical reaction that reduces carbon dioxide and water into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, thus forming the syngas mixture. The scientists are now searching for ways to use their technology to produce a sustainable liquid syngas that could serve as an alternative to petrol. Although major efforts to generate renewable energy sources are being made, the development of synthetic petrol is critical as electricity can currently fulfill about 25% of our total global energy demand. There is a huge demand for liquid fuels to power heavy transport, shipping, and aviation sustainably.

I have recently been very intrigued about moods, specifically how our moods biologically change. The processes behind why we get happy, sad, or angry are integral to our existence, and having some insight into how exactly they come about could help us grow immensely. 

In my search for answers, I discovered Dr. Masaru Emoto (d. 2014), a Japanese scientist that had dedicated his life to studying water. Dr. Emoto’s studies claim that thoughts, feelings, words, ideas, music, and even names affect the molecular structure of water and thus our physical reality. During his study, Dr. Emoto discovered that water droplets that had been repeatedly exposed to positive or negative words, profoundly changed the water’s color, shape, and symmetry.

His first experiment involved putting distilled water into small jars, writing a word or short phrase on a label, and then taping that label to each jar. The jars were then left overnight on their own. Some of these words had positive associations such as “self-love,” “beauty,” “passion,” and “happiness.” Other jars had negative associations such as “evil,” “hatred,” or phrases such as “you disgust me.” Each jar then had a small amount of water flash frozen in order to form crystals, which were then observed under a microscope. The results were astonishing; the positive words formed beautiful, symmetrical crystals that looked very similar to snowflakes while the negative words were discolored, chaotic, and fragmented.

His revolutionary findings were published in his book, The Hidden Message in Water. However, Dr. Emoto’s work was met with criticism, skepticism, and confusion. Other commentators were concerned that Dr. Emoto did not do enough to share his approaches or provide sufficient evidence for his experiments.

He decided to take the experiments a step further and wanted to see what would happen to a large amount of water over an extended period of time. His famous “Rice Experiment” involved putting the same amount of rice in three different jars and then adding the same amount of distilled water into the jars. He then closed the jars and labeled each jar with a different word. On the first jar, he labeled it with the phrase “Thank You”; the second jar with the phrase “You are an idiot”; and the third jar was left with a blank label. Every day, for 30 days, he visited each jar and read aloud their corresponding label to the jar for one minute and tracked the changes in each jar over the month. By the end of the month, he had noticed that the water in the jar labeled “Thank you” had started to ferment, giving off a strong, pleasant aroma. The water in the jar that was labeled “You are an idiot” turned black with an unpleasant shape. The most interesting result, in my opinion, was the last jar with the blank label that had been ignored the entire time. It turned into a nasty green-blue color as opposed to staying near its original color. His results were consistent with his previous experiments with smaller jars, and it appeared that there was a trend. I was astounded by these discoveries and could hardly believe it, so I decided to try it for myself. My daughter and I did the same experiment as a part of her science fair project. To our amazement, we got very similar results within just 19 days. This experiment was a great lesson regarding the impact that our words have on others for my children beyond being just a science fair project. 

Dr. Emoto concluded his findings by stating that water is a “blueprint for our reality” and that emotional “energies” and “vibrations” could change the physical structure of water. It is imperative to remember that water is life; about 70% of the human body, and almost two thirds of the world, is made up of water. Therefore, everything happening around us, our thoughts, our attitudes, our behaviors, and our intentions are related to each other and can affect our emotions. Scientists still need to figure out how exactly these changes in water may affect our bodies and our world, but the results are clear for all to see.

This puts more responsibility on our shoulders to be responsible human beings. We should always think, speak, and act positively if we also want our surrounding environments to be positive.

There is also a great lesson in this study for teachers and educators. We teachers come across a variety of students at various ages all throughout the school year. Our interactions with them can have a very real impact on their lives, minds, and futures for better or worse. Every year we are given around 25 jars of rice with water, to represent 25 students, in each class with no label on them. We meet with them at the beginning of the year with no bias towards any of them. They are each a perfectly clean slate in our eyes, a new jar of distilled water and rice waiting to either ferment or rot. We then, consciously or subconsciously, label them in our minds and hearts; the students labeled “jar 1” receive praise and compliments; some students are labeled “jar 2” and are told that they will fail or are troublemakers; while the last group is labeled “jar 3” and is largely ignored due to their own shyness and/or our indifference. If you are a teacher or interact with children on a consistent basis, it is more than likely you already had hundreds or thousands of jars by now and now you can ask yourself that how many of them finished the year in better shape than the beginning of the year. How many of them were labeled as “jar 1”,”jar 2” or “jar 3”? When I close my eyes and think about all the years I taught, I am not sure if I was able to treat all the jars with positive attitude.

I believe everyone had an experience about how our tone of talk or our answers changed the heat of the discussion. As stated in the Bible, “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Sometimes a simple small word could change your life completely in a positive way or a negative way. Our modes, attitudes and the language we use, impact the people around us and most of the time we are not fully aware of its extent.

Both positive and negative thinking or thoughts are contagious. When we see cheerful friends around us, we feel our days a bit brighter, or we feel down when we talk to grumpy people. Positive attitudes, positive thinking and positive thoughts do change our lives. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi put it well: “A person who sees the good in things develop good thoughts. And he who has good thoughts receives pleasure from life.” People who can develop positive thinking will more likely have a healthy, happy, and successful life, and they can overcome struggles more easily. If you want to have a healthy, good looking, warm environment that is productive and gives a pleasant time, you need to use positive, encouraging and soft language to make it happen. It is in our hands to improve our world with love and gratitude.

Positive thoughts lead to good feelings, good deeds, and diminish negativity, make our hearts delighted. Whereas negative thoughts generate bad feelings, hatred, jealousy, anger, depression, stress, and negative emotions which cloud our soul and lead to an unhealthy life. To be able to stay healthy emotionally and psychologically we have to immediately turn ourselves to positive thinking when we feel we are surrounded with negativities. The Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said “Follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it.” We may not have full control initially over the types of thoughts that cross our minds every moment, however we have the ability to ignore or pursue them as prescribed by the Prophet, peace be upon him: “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent.”

References

● https://www.masaru-emoto.net

● Beyond Words Publishing www.beyondword.com.

● https://hado.com/ihm/water-crystals/

● Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1987, Grade: Sahih

● Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6110, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi

● https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/a_grain_of_truth_recreating_dr._emotos_rice_experiment

● Gray, Donna (July 26, 2003). “Message in the water.”Calgary Herald. p. S8. Retrieved 2019-04-21 – via ProQuest..

We begin with a piece about spiritual revival and what it means for a person to devote their life “so others may live.” Compassion serves as the foundation for this cause from which a love of humanity can spring forth from. The heart becomes hard in the absence of compassion and is often much less concerned with the sufferings of others.

Tushar Gandhi, Mohandas Gandhi’s great-grandson, honors his great-grandfather on his 150th birth anniversary in a thoughtful piece about his leadership style and continued emphasis on nonviolence. Mohandas Gandhi always encouraged compassion, tolerance, and love among his followers and their approach towards the oppressive British Raj. It could be argued that Gandhi’s approach could have been significantly different had he centered his movement around violence, anger, and ignorance instead of the Satyagraha movement of nonviolence and compassion.

Research by the late Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto has shown that positive or negative speech, emotions, thoughts, and energy can change the very molecular structure of Earth’s most important liquid: water. It was shown that compassionate speech caused water to form beautiful crystal, whereas hateful speech formed black, broken, and chaotic messes. The implications of this research are phenomenal considering water is the very essence of all life on our planet.

A call to action from Maisie Bennett draws attention to the fires that are still raging in the Amazon Rainforest, destroying the very lungs of our Earth that are integral for sustaining our shared ecosystem. Apathy and greed have taken hold and have seduced people into destroying our planet’s pristine natural beauty in order to claim more land for our own. We, as an international community, must bring forth our compassion and address this critical environmental crisis once and for all.

April Estes, a heroic mother and cancer survivor, shares her story in her piece “Praise the Lord, I’m Bald.” What she has been through is a reminder that challenges that come with cancer are not only about fighting it; “the real battle” is “learning to live again.” Raising awareness in this respect is important, for healing from cancer is not only a biological cure, but one that also needs psychological, social, and economic support in its aftermath.

Artificial photosynthesis transforms CO₂ into liquefiable fuels

Yu and Jain. Plasmonic photosynthesis of C1–C3 hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide assisted by an ionic liquid. Nature Communications, May 2019.

Scientists have recently established a reliable “artificial photosynthesis” paradigm to produce fuels from water, carbon dioxide, and visible light. With the help of sunlight, chemical reactions between water and CO₂ are catalyzed in plants to generate and store solar energy in the form of glucose. This process is called photosynthesis. In the new study, the researchers developed an artificial process that uses the same mechanisms of natural photosynthesis to convert CO₂ and water into liquid fuel by using electron-rich gold nanoparticles as a catalyst. Gold nanoparticles function in the same role as chlorophyll in natural photosynthesis in the absorbing of light and transferring electrons and protons to catalyze the chemical reactions between CO₂ and water. They are known to be efficient at absorbing light and do not break down or degrade like other metals. The energy stored in the bonds of the hydrocarbon fuel can be freed by the conventional method of combustion or by new-generation, environmentally-friendly power fuel cells, thus producing electrical current. By converting CO₂ into more complex molecules like propane, green-energy technology is now one step closer to using excess CO₂ to store solar energy for use when the sun is not shining and in times of peak demand. While the development of this CO₂-to-liquid fuel may be exciting for proponents of green-energy technology, the artificial photosynthesis process is nowhere near as efficient as it is in plants. New methods should be developed to increase the efficiency of the catalysts and downstream chemical reactions at much higher scales.

Brain area that watches for walls identified

Henriksson et al. Rapid Invariant Encoding of Scene Layout in Human OPA. Neuron, May 2019.

Neuroscientists have identified the part of the human brain whose duty is to help us perceive the barriers which define the navigable space around us, such as walls or ceilings, so that so we can avoid bumping into things and navigate safely through our environment. By way of vision we have an almost instant sense of where we are in space. Although this process feels effortless, it requires the coordinated activity of multiple brain regions and neurons working together to give us this sense of our surroundings. This process has remained unknown. But thanks to a new study, we are a step closer to solving the puzzle. Using cutting-edge brain-imaging technologies, researchers examined the mental responses of volunteers as they were shown images of various three-dimensional scenes. The images depicted a typical room with three walls, a ceiling, and a floor, but then were abruptly changed by the removal of a wall or a ceiling. By doing this repeatedly, the team could pinpoint how the participant’s brain encoded every scene. In the brain scans of the volunteers, one brain area called the occipital place area (OPA) clearly stood out. OPA activity represented the geometry of the scenes and activity patterns, reflected the presence or absence of each component, such as a ceiling or a wall, and projected a detailed picture of the overall configuration. Interestingly, OPA seemed to ignore the surface appearance of the various components such as colors or textures in order to focus only on the geometric patterns. The OPA managed to perform all the necessary computations needed to get a sense of a room’s layout extremely fast – in just 100 milliseconds. In the future, the research team plans to incorporate virtual reality technology to create more realistic 3D environments for participants to experience, hopefully achieving much deeper insights into how our brains process and makes sense of the visual information.

Gut segments are organized by function

Esterházy D. et al. Compartmentalized gut lymph node drainage dictates adaptive immune responses. Nature, April 2019.

As food enters our intestine, it goes through a windy and lengthy journey. A new study provides new insights into how our intestines maximize nutrient uptake while protecting the body from potentially dangerous invading microbes. At first glance, the intestines appear to have a uniform tissue structure. But when scientists looked at them closer, they found that our food-processing canal seems to consist of multiple compartments that pace the immune system’s reactions to the food passing through. Scientists uncovered these functional intestine segments in mice when they examined the intestinal structures called gut draining lymph nodes, which orchestrate immune responses. The researchers found that nodes in different parts of the intestines had different cell composition, and they saw different immune responses between segments when they challenged the mice with a pathogen. They observed less aggressive defenses in the first segments where nutrients are absorbed, and more forceful responses at the end, where pathogens are eliminated. Researchers plan to exploit these immunological differences between the gut segments for treating gastrointestinal disorders. For example, by targeting immune-suppressing drugs to the specific gut segment where they’ll have the most effect, it might be possible to dampen their side-effects. The spectrum of immune responses along the intestines could also be used to make new and better oral vaccines. Thus far, scientists’ efforts to design oral vaccines have been hampered by the difficulty of generating a robust immune response; it is possible that the muted immune response at the beginning of the intestines might be part of the reason why oral vaccines tend to be less effective than injections. Thus, targeting the distant end of the intestine might be much more efficient way of inducing the immune response required.

For nearly a century, chlorine has been used to disinfect drinking water. The use of chlorine in water started when John Snow used to purify the cholera-causing water of the Broad Street Pump, in London. After seeing that chlorine curbed deaths from cholera, Great Britain started chlorinating their public drinking water. Then chlorination began in New Jersey, and after that it was soon used throughout the United States. Measuring the benefits and risks, it’s clear that the advantages of adding chlorine to drinking water outweigh the potential dangers. Scientific research also shows that the benefits of chlorinated water are more than the risks from THM’s and other by-products (Health Canada, 2004).

There continue to be many people in developing countries who do not have access to clean water. In some parts of the world, people collect water from available sources and store it in containers without treatment and further protection from contamination (Sobsey, Handzal & Venczel, 2003).

Sobsey, Handzal & Venczel (2003) conducted an experiment to see the effects of chlorine when added to a container with contaminated water. These experiments were conducted in Bangladesh and Bolivia. Community families were divided into two groups: intervention (household water chlorination and storage in special container) and control (no intervention). The results in Bangladesh were: in the intervention households, only 12.9% of the containers were E.coli positive; in the control households, 55.2% of containers were E.coli positive. The results were equally stark in Bolivia: only 33.7% of intervention households were contaminated by E.coli, whereas 93.8% of control households were contaminated.

There was also a decrease in the diarrhoeal illness in the experimental findings for samples in both countries’ households where the water was treated with chlorine. During the eight-month trial period, the mean diarrhea incidence rates of children younger than five years old in Bangladesh was 20.8 episodes/1000 days in the intervention group and 24.3 episodes/1000 days in the control group. In Bolivia, where the experiment lasted for six months, the mean diarrhea episodes/person for all age groups was 0.21 for the intervention group 0.38 for the control group. 43% of all cases of diarrhea were preventable by the intervention (Sobsey et al., 2003).

The study noted other successes. In some countries, like Saudi Arabia, chlorine was used in household tanks, which resulted in a 48% reduction of diarrhea; and in India, chlorine was used in earthenware, which resulted in a decrease of cholera cases, from 17% to 7.3%. (Sobsey et al., 2003).

In another study, Coulliette, Enger, Weir & Rose (2013), evaluated the effect of chlorinated HaloPure beads on the reduction of bacterial pathogens with concurrent sewage contamination. They estimated the risk reduction of waterborne typhoid fever and cholera within a hypothetical community of 1000 people treating their water with the chlorinated HaloPure beads. Seeded well water resulted in log10 reductions of 5.44 for S. Typhi and 6.07 for V. cholera (Coulliette et al., 2013). In well water with 10% sewage and seeded bacteria, the log10 reductions were 6.06 for S. Typhi and 7.78 for V. cholera (Coulliette et al., 2013). If an individual drinks from the contaminated water that was taken from the water source that had fecal material leaked into it, the risk of disease according to the Monte Carlo analysis would be a median of 0.21 for typhoid fever and a median of 0.11 for cholera (Coulliette et al., 2013). If that same water was treated, then the result would be: median of 4.1*10^-7 for typhoid and a median of 3.5*10^-9 for cholera (Coulliette et al., 2013).

These are important results: in developing counties, diarrhea is one of the greatest health issues. Arnold & Colford JR. (2007) conducted a systematic review of all studies that measured diarrheal health impacts in children and the impact on water quality of point-of-use chlorine drinking water treatment. Of the 10 studies that were analysed, nine of them showed a reduction of diarrhea in children. Across the 10 studies, the intervention led to an 80% reduction in the proportion of stored water samples with detectable E. coli (Arnold & Colford JR, 2007).

Water chlorination has been a very useful strategy for treating contaminated water for years. Currently, chlorination is the only method that disinfects the pathogens from the point of treatment to the point of consumption. As the scientific research above indicates, the benefits of chlorinating water supplies, particularly in the developing part of the world, is essential for disease prevention and reduction. Water is an essential element for life, and clean water is what keeps us alive. Although chlorine in large doses can be harmful for our health, it can also be a lifesaver. Nothing on earth is created without reason. Chlorine has obviously been created to directly benefit humanity.

References

• Arnold, B. F., & Colford JR., J. M. (2007). Treating water with chlorine at point-of-use to improve water quality and reduce child diarrhoea in developing countries: A systemic review and meta-analysis.The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 76 (2), 354-364.
• Coulliette, A. D., Enger, K. S., Weir, M. H., & Rose, J. B. (2013). Risk reduction assessment of waterborne Salmonella and Vibrio by a chlorine contact disinfectant point-of-use device.International journal of hygiene and environmental health,216(3), 355-361.
• Sobsey, M. D., Handzel, T., & Venczel, L. (2003). Chlorination and safe storage of household drinking water in developing countries to reduce waterborne disease.Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 47 (3), 221-228.
• It’s Your Health – Drinking Water Chlorination [Health Canada, 2004]. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/chlor-eng.php

Hayah, which can be translated as liveliness and being alive, means that a heart which is already dead because of ignorance, misguidance and unbelief, comes to life through belief, and knowledge and love of God. The verse (6:122), He who was dead (in spirit), and We raised him to life, and set for him a light by which he moves among people without any deviation, makes this point clear.

The scholars of truth regard life as being when one is freed from the imprisonment of the body and corporeality and rises to the level of the life of the heart and spirit. The aspect of this favor which is represented by the master of the creatures, upon him be peace and blessings, who, although an individual, gained universality, can be seen in the verse (42:52), Thus, We have revealed to you from Our (world of) Command (the Qur’an as) a spirit (promising life to the hearts). The aspect which concerns all others who promise life is indicated in the verse (8:24): O you who believe! Respond to God and to the Messenger when the Messenger calls you (in the name of God) to that which gives you life (with respect to the religion and the world).

The life of the earth, with all its revival and instances of growth and flourishing, is essentially related to the soil and its content, water with its vitality, air and the gases contained in the air. Similarly, true human life is dependent on the knowledge of truth, a strong will-power and endeavor, a sound character and good morals, a deep desire for God’s company, and rejoicing at the awareness of such a great favor. All these together serve as a runway or ramp from which to rise up to the realm where souls fly and attain the eternal life.

The earth derives all its riches from the source described in (16:65): God sends down from (the direction of) the sky a kind of water and therewith revives the earth after its death; in (50:11): We have revived with that water a dead land, and so is coming forth (from the graves); and in (21:30): We have made every living thing from water. Likewise, dead souls exposed to a dearth of faith, and lack of knowledge and of love of God, are revived through belief; they begin to feel what life really means through their knowledge of God, they dive into its depths through love, and attain a full life through resolution, will-power and determination. Then, as long as initiates realize the goal of Follow God’s way of acting [1] under the guidance of the supreme exemplar of good morals, the one who is praised in the verse (68:4), Surely You stand on an exalted standard of character, they attain God’s company in the infinite air in which they beat their wings, and feel constant gratitude and enthusiasm. When the time is due, they feel so expanded with the rapture of being in God’s presence that it is as if they transcended the limits of time and space and been favored with the rank, When I love My servant, I become his hearing with which He hears and his sight with which he sees and his hand with which he holds and his feet on which he walks [2]. And as stated in (56:89): Then (there is for him) comfort in eternal relief, and abundance, and a Garden of bounty and blessing, their spirits continue, by the Power of the All-Powerful Sovereign, flying toward eternity in the Gardens of Paradise, the Presence of the Lord of the worlds, and the company of the Most Compassionate of the compassionate.

In this rank, which is the essence of true life, there is neither death nor decay. Death and decay only occur with respect to the carnal soul and corporeality, and there is permanence with respect to the heart, spirit and other spiritual faculties. This permanence is also viewed as “self-annihilation in God” and “subsistence by Him and with Him.”

There are three breaths in the life of an initiate who has reached this degree: the breath of fear, the breath of expectation, and the breath of love. As the carnal soul fulfils an important mission on behalf of corporeality and the body, fear, expectation, and love are each an important dynamic for the life of the spirit and heart. Always feeling fear and love of Him causes the conscience of the initiate to feel an overflowing pleasure by far greater than what a child feels upon seeking refuge in the arms of the mother who has just chided him. Thinking of Him as the All-Compassionate, All-Loving Lord, and considering the depth of His Mercy, is such a spiritual pleasure that if it were to take on a physical form, it would appear like a Garden of Paradise. Finding or reading His Names on the face of His works, breathing His Attributes on the climate produced by the manifestations of His Names, and feeling the pleasure embedded in wonder at the consideration of the relation between His works, Names and Attributes, gives such an indescribable pleasure that only those who have been able to realize this degree of spiritual ascension can feel it.

Those who can most swiftly reach this most precious goal, even though they are unable to feel the grace of this sacred journey at every step, are those who set off by being able to ac-knowledge their poverty and helplessness before God, and their gratitude and enthusiasm. They know how to become an ocean while each of them is still a drop; they know how to travel among galaxies while each is still a particle, and although they see themselves as nothing, they are able to live in the wheel of existence in accordance with its ultimate goal. They always travel saying, as Ibrahim Haqqi said:

I have attained pride through poverty,
and supplicating to the Ultimate Truth,
I always utter, O the All-Living, O the Self-Subsistent!

They overflow with enthusiasm and gratitude, and are enraptured with the lights of the true life and existence, which are found a step beyond this horizon. Without considering the assertions of some, such as the Unity of Being and the Unity of the Witnessed, they feel the truth of life and existence beyond all conceptions of modality, and say: This life is not sufficient for such an expanse of pleasure.

O God! Guide us to the Straight Way, the way of those whom You have favored. And bestow peace and blessings on the master of the creatures, the means of the life of the two worlds, and on his Family and all of his Companions, all of them.

References

1. al-Jurjani, at-Ta‘rifat, 1:216.
2. al-Bukhari, “Riqaq,” 38.