BètaBreak

Watch the online edition ''The Science of Conspiracies'' live with this link!

The Science of Conspiracies

BETABREAK x SPUI25 November 4th, 20:00, online!

A secret edition! But really not so secret ;) However, social networks wont allow this topic to be promoted as we are, apparently, talking about a taboo! This actually underlines how important it is to discuss this subject. Follow the link to find out what we’ll be talking about, and register online to see the BètaBreak talk to Professor Ellen Laan on November 4th!

FB-event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1006654053108639
Spui25-registration: https://www.spui25.nl/gedeelde-content/evenementen/evenementen/2020/11/de-wetenschap-achter-het-vrouwelijk-orgasme.html?origin=ydczoJYEQ8mWVfPMlqtW8w

Last week, a sign of life in atmosphere of Venus caused newspapers from all around the world to report on the ever-intriguing issue of alien life. Plenty of movie makers have been inspired by the idea of life on planets other than our Earth, but how realistic are these Hollywood depictions? What do scientists hope to find with all their huge telescopes? What should we do when mankind encounters intelligent alien life?

Come and find out Wednesday the 23rd of September between 13:00 and 14:00 at Eetcafé Oerknal!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html

https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/mogelijk-teken-van-leven-ontdekt-op-venus~b772108f/

Mogelijk teken van leven ontdekt op Venus Astronomen hebben in de atmosfeer van Venus fosfine ontdekt, een chemische verbinding die op aarde alleen door bacteriën of in fabrieken wordt gema...

Summertime! The time for sweet cold drinks and a good old BetaBreak!

Though the summer break has arrived, and the terraces have begun reopening, the Corona crisis has yet to be resolved. This pandemic reminded us of the Ebola outbreak in 2014. One of the major questions back then was whether Ebola would hit a critical point and turn into a pandemic, which luckily did not happen. Although there are differences between the two infectious diseases, we also see many similarities between the situation now and then, namely, the role of animals (especially bats), distinguishing the new infection from the normal flu, the importance of a strong healthcare system and the role of the media in informing the public. We do not know how this pandemic will end, but we may be able to learn from past outbreaks.

After the summer break new BetaBreak editions will be organised, but for now see our Ebola edition!

BètaBreak - Ebola: fears and facts Video registration of the BètaBreak at the University of Amsterdam. For more info visit: www.betabreak.nl

This will change the way you look at trees from now on.

We are used to their presence. We bike past them every day, we seek shelter on their shadow at the park. But we never thought they are, during all that time, communicating with each other and exchanging resources between them. There is a whole trade market under our feet, conformed by plants and fungi.

Through photosynthesis, plants are able to create sugars.
Fungi are very effective in mining mineral nutrients from the soil, like phosphorus or nitrogen.

Fungi need the sugar, and plants need the mineral nutrients. And so, at some point during their evolution, they developed an economical relationship, where they exchange those goods among each other.

The vast majority of terrestrial plant species in nature are associated in symbiosis with fungi. It's been hypothesized that these ubiquitous associations may have appeared 450 million years ago, playing a key role in the success of primitive terrestrial plants.
Plant roots are colonized by specialized fungal species, thus forming the so called mycorrhizas (Latin, from myco- ‘of fungi’ + Greek rhiza ‘root’). Mycorrhizas are the structures formed at the interface root-fungus. Mycorrhizal fungi fall in two broad categories depending on the morphology of their mycorrhizae: arbuscular endomycorrhizae fungi and ectomycorrhizae.
Hence, the plant acts as a carbon source for the fungus, which acts as an extended network beyond the depletion zone of the root. Furthermore, some mycorrhizal fungi are either strict or facultative biotrophs, which means that they obtain most or all of their carbon supplies from the host plants.
More surprising is the fact that, apparently, plants also send sugar to each other.
It has been observed that isotopically labeled carbon injected on a tree is allocated to different plants connected to the same mycorrhizal network. Most of this carbon is distributed to individuals with low carbon production, as seedlings or shaded plants. Hence, mycorrhizal networks facilitate the establishment of seedlings under stress, like drought, shading by understory growth, or limited nutrient acquisition. Every new plant on the area just “plug” itself to the network and enjoy nutrient delivery.

Several hypotheses have been proposed in order to explain the evolutionary stability of this cooperative fungal-plant mutualism. It is thought that plants and fungi keep this relationship based on mutual rewards. Is easy to imagine that at some point, one of the partners will cheat, and just take what they want from the network without contributing to it. Some plants, like orchids, are able to “hack” the network and live out it, but it is, apparently, the exception to the rule.
It has been proved that both the host plant and the fungal symbiont allocate resources preferentially to their partners depending on the resources acquired in exchange. This means that a host plant supplying more carbon to its fungal symbiont will obtain more phosphorus from this fungus than its other plant hosts, and vice versa, as this mechanism has been found to be bidirectional. As each plant and fungus on the network is linked to several partners, these many-to-many interactions are a basis for the cooperative behaviour, preventing the exploitation of the network by cheaters and increasing the fitness of all of the network participants.

A lot of questions still remain about this phenomenon, and, honestly, the more I think about it, the more intriguing and fascinating it gets.

+info https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-wood-wide-web/

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/mycorrhizal-networks-wood-wide-web/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOqeyPIVRo

How trees secretly talk to each other - BBC News Trees talk and share resources right under our feet, using a fungal network nicknamed the Wood Wide Web. Some plants use the system to support their offsprin...

A superior cup of coffee? Something everyone dreamt of, especially us students! In essence, brewing a cup of joe is nothing but a chemical experiment performed in one's own kitchen! However, mathematicians, physicists, and materials scientists might not be the set of professions that first spring to mind when one wishes to consult someone about the subject of coffee. It surprised us to see that a team of these dedicated scientists all combined their expertise to unravel the mystery of the perfect cup of coffee.

to read more about this:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/884q8v/materials-scientists-learn-weve-been-brewing-espresso-all-wrong

Or the scientific publication:
https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(19)30410-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2590238519304102%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

VICE - Materials Scientists Learn We’ve Been Brewing Espresso All Wrong “Overall, I think honestly this might be one of the most comprehensive studies of espresso ever.”

With the current lockdown not disappearing anytime soon and a constant morbid news cycle, there is one field of science that couldn't care less about our terrestrial issues: astronomy!

Especially now that institutes and observatories are going through a bureaucratic and logistic strain, the amateur astronomer, equipped with only a computer and a considerable interest in how our universe works, stands out. In this article (in Dutch) pop-science writer Govert Schilling shows the experiences of a variety of amateur astronomers, the awe-inspiring images one can get without professional access to the Hubble Space Telescope, and the great swaths of space that are accessible from one's rooftops.

So if you are bored these days, this might be your perfect hobby!

Kosmische beeldenstorm: hoe amateur beeldbewerkers prachtige ruimtefoto's maken Al die schitterende ruimtefoto’s van planeten, nevels en sterrenstelsels? Daar kun je ook zélf mee aan de slag. Tal van amateurbeeldbewerkers steke...

Can science be seen as independent, objective and neutral or is it always influenced by contemporary views and is it actively shaping history through its consequences for society?

This article (in Dutch) is questioning to what extend it is necessary to decolonize bèta-sciences and how this could be done.

Do individual scientists have any responsibility to be aware of the historical and political context of their discipline? How well are the methods and applications of knowledge obtained in universities tuned to the needs of society?

Dekolonisatie, zelfs de natuurkunde moet eraan geloven Dekolonisatie is onderwerp van debat in de sociale en geesteswetenschappen. Maar wat moet een bèta daarmee?