Climate Change Communication

DMIT: INA NUT-SHELL

DMIT: INA NUT-SHELL

Dermatoglyphics Multiple Intelligence Test (DMIT) is a fingerprint analysis that allegedly claims that it can ‘predict’ what profession one should choose in order to succeed. DMIT is the new buzzword in town, which has amalgamated scientific study of fingerprints with personality prediction. Almost everyone is talking about it these days. It has become increasingly popular in the East Asian countries like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, India and Nepal. So, have you DMITed your kid? If not; well, that’s good news. It is a bogus falsified propaganda that is backed by no scientific evidence.

Dermatoglyphics (from Latin derma: skin and glyph: carving), is the scientific analysis of fingerprints. It is associated with the branches of science like embryology, genetics, forensics, neurology, etc. It is used extensively to distinguish normal brain functioning from disorders like schizophrenia, Down’s syndrome, etc. Originally, fingerprints were firstly worked upon by Sir Francis Galton. But, Dr. Harold Cummins coined the term and introduced scientific fingerprint analysis in America for the first time. Fingerprints start to form as early as during the 10th week of gestation. But, their proper development occurs from 13th to 19th week. The neocortex of our brain, which is responsible for higher functions like intelligence – starts developing at the same stage too.

Multiple intelligence is, too, a scientific theory that was propounded by Prof. Dr. Howard Gardner, of Harvard University. He argues that the intellectual abilities of a person or a child can be distinguished into nine types namely: linguistic, mathematical/logical, visual, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential. This is in contrast with the old idea that a person has just three abilities of learning: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. The presence of multiple personalities, according to him, is in all human beings but in different proportions. In daily life, the personality traits are reflected as hobby, aim, satisfaction, ego, interest and gratification. For instance: a child having musical intelligence tends to love music at an early age.

However, DMIT is the commercial spin-off word for 'test of multiple intelligence by studying fingerprints'. It asserts that finger print carvings are the reflections of intelligence in people. This idea of incorporating finger print study with multiple intelligence was first unrolled in Singapore by a couple and their Chinese counterpart, in the early 90s. They combined Howard's theory to generate a pattern, and then they incorporated that into a software to be able to be used commercially. Till date, the name ‘DMIT’ has spread just to Asian countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, and Nepal; but somewhat less heard of in UK, Australia, USA and other western countries. DMIT claims to discover the innate or in-born characteristics  of a person with an accuracy of 99.5%. The discrete distribution of proportion of multiple intelligence also, as it claims, is accessible. While learning styles: visual, auditory or kinesthetic have yet to ring scientific bells with objective clarity, DMIT goes one step further and circumvents the learning styles with confidence. Let, there be no more wrangling over the pursuits of career. Employee recruitment is as easy as waving a magical wand over your professional head. DMIT peeks into your so-called most-mysterious-machine thingy called brain too. The complicated brain functions that puzzles the big brainy neuro-geeks – gives, them at ease, the totality of soothing pleasure: it says it all – from understanding brain function to interpreting them.

How fantastic would it be if fake testimonials would readily be sublimed to being indoctrinated objective beliefs? Had it been all true! This falsified marketing propaganda has successfully hatched in countries with weak consumer rights policies or with root pro-consumer-hack policies.  

It’s all easier done than said, ironically. The process is simply very effortless that requires a couple of minutes. A fingerprint scanner, connected to a computer with a software, scans the prints of all fingers. The prints of all ten fingers and/or palm (depending on the software) are taken and recorded into the software. The acquired data is then sent to a Singapore based company - if at all, we should believe it; however, till then, there is nothing wrong with it. Within a couple of days, a 25-30 pages final report is generated. The further process is the ‘counseling’ of parents and their children regarding the analytical interpretation of the report. DMIT, too claims to come to use in employee recruitment by distinguishing ‘fit’ employees from the ‘unfit’ ones.

DMIT has been widely marketed by various NGOs and private companies in Nepal too. The product is marketed by Thumb rule Nepal Pvt. Ltd, one of the very first to bring this idea to the general public, and also a joint venture of Thumbrule Dermatoglyphics Pvt. Ltd, India or, as it claims, a joint venture of Singapore based company. Another company called BCL Nepal Pvt. Ltd. also claims, through its website, to have solely registered the patent of the methodology of this technique, in the US patent office. The test/training centres are in various parts of the country like Maharajgunj, Teku, Dharan, Nepalgunj and other parts of Nepal. 

On the one hand, dermatoglyphics is the real science which has its application in various fields of neurology, embryology, psychology, etc., but, on the other hand, DMIT is just a commercial spin off word for marketing a commercial product with falsified claims.  While dermatoglyphics has its limited use in diagnosing the abnormal functions of brain through the study of the fingerprint parameters like patterns, angles and formations; DMIT, however, is the amalgamation of dermatoglyphics and multiple intelligence theory into software, which has turned real science to make bogus claims. There is no scientific research by any universities or scientists to prove that DMIT works and is a real science. It is almost like a cake of palmistry developed into a software with a little bit of vanilla science on it! Unfortunately, it is just recording our fingerprints for other purposes that we are not being communicated to. If, at all, this thing is true, still there are no scientific evidences for it, not even a speck of it. With a quick search for words like “dermatoglyphics”, “DMIT” and other such words, only commercial websites of Asian based companies are seen. The gullible West: US, and Europe, have paid no or very little attention to this. This is because there are no legal and scientific back up for this method and their law might deem it as perpetrating a crime through falsification of bogus propaganda.

Furthermore, the parameters of fingerprint analysis also give a different picture than what is being conveyed. Parameters like AtD angle (angle between forefinger and pinky finger), whorls, arches and loops exhibit only abstract characteristics of human, rather than materialistic ones. Participants are categorized as cognitive learners, affective learners and such and such, based on AtD angle - those who have whorls are cognitive learners, AtD angles indicate effective or affective learners and so on. Again, these abstractions are all vague descriptions with no quantifiable and measureable attributes. They are merely of linguistic values, if at all. So, the test of ‘multiple intelligence in human’ is a function of brain electrophysiology rather than just fingerprints. Most of the marketing companies and their websites’ advertise in the vaguest way possible – “shaping the child’s future, knowing the inner abilities, pursuing a dream…” If you are a fan of it, bear it – it’s pseudoscience, and it is illegally perpetrating its ill motive too. There are several stories of people all over the internet which claim its truth, but they are just testimonials and not the evidence. It is analogous to saying that the person who has witnessed a murder happen is actually an eye witness and not the evidence herself. This is thus a pseudoscience: using a part of science but concluding with baseless results. Unless it is scientifically proven, it can be considered just as a faith like palmistry and even god.

There should be extensive investigation to show, if at all, the relationship exists between fingerprints and intelligence of a person. To the truth, intelligence is shaped by nurture, balanced diet, socio economic attributes, environmental factors, rather than it is discovered by the study of fingerprints. Intelligence has more to do with neural connections and pathways than it has to do with fingerprints. It has its own advantages, though. DMIT trivializes the now erect fact that every child is special and can excel in any field, provided that he/she invests enough time on it. Apparently, what DMIT is doing is crushing, stumping and squandering children based on pseudoscience; which otherwise, if incorporated in countries with strict consumer laws, would deem it illegal and people practicing these malpractices could be booked for marketing products that have unsubstantial fallacies. Well, you may try luck (whatever it means) if you want to – you never know what may come out of it, but, the cardinal fact is that decisions that are based on this test might affect what really your child can be of use, in the days to come. Try at your own risk!

 (appeared originally in THT)

Chemical Burn

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LIFE IN MARS?

Courtesy: nasa.gov

LIFE IN MARS?

The long awaited moment had finally begun to start. Amidst a cloudy search since decades for life on other planets, some smoke had just emerged out from our neighbor red planet i.e. searching for life in Mars with a deeper breath now. Recently, several confirmed reports from NASA robotic vehicles (called curiosity and opportunity) finally found water in Martian surface! The intelligent vehicle: curiosity, analyzed the soil samples heating in a specialized ‘oven’ at about 835 degree Celsius evaporating all the volatiles. On sensitive analysis of the volatiles, it was clarified that water molecules bound on other minerals were common in Mars. Now, they do have a approximate figure for you: About 2% of the Martian surface has water on it! With all the jargons going on in here let us do a bit preface on what’s been happening outside our home earth long since we understood space:

Preface on life on earth

About 7 major elements (C, H₂, O₂, N₂, P, S) out of 26 make up life on earth. The occurrence of life needs some basic platforms for the biochemical cycles to produce chemical energy and hence sustain life. Liquid H₂O is an inevitable factor for all basic biochemical reactions and energy generation mechanisms. Earth is (i) in a habitable zone from sun (ii) has a proper magnetic field and (iii) can sustain greenhouse effect for liquid H₂O,hence , a living planet. (basic features)

Life elsewhere?

Life elsewhere- a phrase that challenges the current effort and technology as no such remarkable evidence has been traced either on moons or in interstellar space. The investigation, study and excavation of possible life on a planet depend upon its two major factors:

      (i)          Planet’s cosmological features-distance from its star, solar intensity etc

(ii)         Planet’s geological features-land form, geochemical cycles, heat preservation mechanisms etc.

If these features add-up to a habitable result, then a proper life form (primitive) can evolve.  Mars, a red planet, inside the solar system and many of the exoplanets (planets outer solar system ) like kepler22b, HD85512b etc. are the recent “feasible” candidates for a past or contemporary remnants of life forms.

Why Mars to search life for?

It has been an acute debate on whether Mars is holding planetary habitability for the evolution of living organisms. But an agreeable fact that most geologists and astrobiologists prefer is the presence of liquid H₂O in its past history or in the present which is a precursor to life. While it’s still possible to seemingly believe that water doesn’t necessarily pose a problem in the transience of evolutionary life, however, it’s a better way to look for organic evolution (by which living organisms evolve).    The basic grounds for Mars exploration for life are its surface features which includes gullies, ocean beds, erosion signs, polar ice caps(of dry ice and frozen water), water belts, etc which are the suitable places for life evolvement.    Several theologies too suggest that life on Mars is possible. Similarly, the Drake’s equation (goggle it), our lone existence in the universe, existence of creatures like tardigrade or extremophiles which can survive in space too etc. suggest that we may not be alone so far what we’ve been thinking. Furthermore, the recent high definition images by MRO (Mars reconnaissance Orbiter) and MGS (Mars Global Surveyor) too add up to something very promising .

US government led projects and missions :

The US and other governments along with international agencies worldwide have launched various missions and projects to uncover the hidden. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funded by the US government, does the task for it. It is currently working on the following major projects for the search of ET (extra-terrestrial) life forms.

(i)          Kepler spacecraft mission – efforts in search for planets being held in a habitable zone.

(ii)         Curiosity Rover – robotic deploy for exploring life on Mars

(iii)        Allen Array  (the “SETI” project and radio astronomy lab) – to search for signals from outer space, for life( the SETI project has been dormant due to the lack of funds)

Rovers : a crucial part of investigation

It is well evident that the current scientific approach and technological advancements are not smart enough to carry men to Mars. The climate on Mars, radiation, energy issues, mission success rates, departure flight plans etc. link up to a mere probability that human is currently seeing the red planet with his own eyes. So then there’s another solution: sending an automated or remote operated vehicle which can click the rock patterns, geological constraints and send back to earth, excavate and analyze the soil samples, search for liquid water, investigate seismic waves (current project), etc. Till now several Mars missions have deployed rovers and their communication counterparts of which many have failed with disastrous results. Some of them were : Mars 2,3,6 (USSR), Viking 1 and 2, pathfinder (sojourner), climate orbiter, polar lander, deep space 2, beagle 2, spirit, opportunity, phoenix and current mission rover curiosity. Among them opportunity and curiosity have been doing their best to send several bytes of information across space to Earth.

Recent Developments

The Viking orbiter images firstly showed that the Martian surface is streaky, steep and forms dark slopes (avalanche-like) terrains. More detailed images of dark slope streaks were reproduced by MRO and MGS spacecraft. It was then quite interesting debate to explain the role of water in the formation of those streaks, throughout the year. But, the thought was that there would have been an oceanic flush of water or river source in the past that flowed over the Martian surface. The actual root cause of the flow is still unknown. To the surprise again , in 2011, a journal was published that proposed a evidence based on MRO high resolution imaging techniques (called HiRISE) which indicated that the loose surface has occasional warm water flows (called Recurring slope Linnae: RSL) which faded and reappeared during winter and summer respectively. The article incorporated the thought and tedious task of a Nepalese undergraduate (then) LUJENDRA OJHA who had been in a team with Alfred McEwen, the principal investigator of MRO sensor, along with 6 other scientists. RSL, which too has no evidence of origin, is pool of brines (salty water) flowing through loose soil. Scientists are skeptical about the origin and the process of this seasonal flow which occurs prominently only in warm seasons. Now it is putting some light towards the scenario of Mars having some life forms in the past, at least some metres deep inside, where from these brines may have been originated. In my viewpoint, Mars may have a pool of water in its interior, trapped in non-porous bedrocks. The porous rocks on the surface and the interior might expand on summer extracting some brines on the surface reversing the process in the winter. (this is just what I believe in)                            Leave alone life in other exoplanets, life on Mars is still a debate and waiting for further conclusions. A concept which several scientists believe on, life on earth was not originated on earth; it was brought from Mars or maybe elsewhere in molecular or primitive form (panspermia). But this is too considered controversial  by the rest who debate that if there were life on exoplanets then they’d be so advanved compared to us that they’d already contact or colonize us.(Fermi-hart paradox) This suggests various reasons to make us believe that we’re alone in this universe.

Challenges

The search for life in other planets continues. The search parameter is very large: in 10¹¹ galaxies that we, with our contemporary science cannot explore much. Study on Martian surface is coming up with positive results till date. More highly successful missions in bringing back the soil samples and investigation on Earth labs is required. The concept of “Men on Mars” can be swapped with highly diligent robots that can be remotely sensed from earth. Still the most difficult task is to have a larger access to Martian surface. NASA is currently on a mission called InSight (Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) which will send a geophysical lander to Mars to excavate and study its interior. This mission is not a life exploration mission but to understand and answer the fundamental concepts of formation of rocky planets like earth, Mars etc.  Maybe in the matter of couple of years, mission to Mars would be as casual as to Moon. While NASA has already announced the cancellations of its future moon missions, Mars would be our second home after we loose our Earth due to climate change, natural disaster, world war, viral pandemic or an alien attack. We never know !

Vis-à-vis with a scientist

Dr. Sameer Mani Dixit

(Appeared in Surpreme Times)

“Vis-à-vis with a scientist”                           

   -Dr. SAMEER MANI DIXIT 

 (You may not very often sit tête-à-tête with research scientist like DR. SAMEER MANI DIXIT, working in the field of public health and biotechnology in Nepal. He has been in the research field for quite sometime. Currently, he is the country director for CMDN (Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal). He has diligently undertaken the research responsibilities for Intrepid Nepal Pvt. Ltd and has been closely associated with the Ministry of Health and Population and the WHO programs. I had a sneaky opportunity of interviewing him)   

EXCERPTS:   

1.   Please tell us something about  your childhood and struggle days (if any)

 My childhood was normal, being raised in a good background and amongst famous names. I had my schooling at St. Xaviers, Jawalakhel and joined the College at St. Xaviers Campus, where I was the pioneer batch. Undergraduation was in USA and postgraduation was in Australia. I have double masters and PhD degrees.  

2.    How did you get into this : challenges and significance of your work :

I got into Biotech as it was starting to come up as an important career choice for young people like me at the time. My father also suggested this field as he felt medicine would be merged and would act as a prerequisite   for this field in the future. I liked the idea. 

3.   What do you specialize in?

 I specialize in biomedical research in public health which in turn, means; I focus on research requiring laboratory work, particularly in the areas of micro/immuno/molecular biology. 

4.   Your opinion in the field of public health research in Nepal?

 I think new researchers with new ideas are coming out; however, there is a major constraint in terms of funds for research by Nepali researchers in Nepal. Biomedical research requires more funds than other areas and therefore government as well as donors appears to seemingly put money where more work can be carried out with the same amount of funds. 

5.   Recently, you’d talked about Bio-piracy and its rootedness in under-developed countries. Could you please elaborate?

 Bio-piracy is the term I am using (not sure if others do too) which pretty much describes the process of human biological samples leaving the country at the pretext of research without the country profiting from the process in terms of capacity building of laboratories and institutions in the country. Usually scientists from developing countries exploit the lack of funds in Nepal to "buy" samples by providing "help" in accessing the samples for transport to their labs where they can carry out a number of other research activities without knowledge of research subject, Nepali researcher or Nepal Government.

6.   What is GARP;  its work and importance :

 GARP is Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership. It is a Bill and Melinda Gates supported initiative led by US based Center for Disease Dynamics and Economic Policy (CDDEP). Currently this is taking place in 6 countries including Nepal as the latest country to be part of this. The program aims to mitigate the increasing antibiotic resistance evidence seen in developing countries due to antibiotic use, abuse and misuse. This will be done by evidence generation and policy document development to share with Government.    

7.   What say for those who want to take research as their mainstream?

It is a difficult road, but if you can hold on for a few years, there are plenty of exciting opportunities as well as earning money doing what you enjoy. You have to be smart, refrain from copying other people, and think of new ideas and concepts. If you have ideas, try to put them in action. Network and collaborate with like-minded people.  

8.   Your final words :

 Nepal needs young scientists to contribute to the country. There are hurdles, but there are plenty of examples of people doing wonderful things in the country. Don't wait for the ship to come to you. Go to the ship, no matter how hard it may feel at first. If you really want something bad enough, my experience shows that you can have it, provided you work hard for it. Motivation, Effort and Perseverance should be your weapons. Thanks. 

(  Dr. Sameer Mani Dixit can be reached at sameermdixit@gmail.com. This interview was taken b y Mr. Umesh Bajagain (sudip) on the basis of a conversation. He can be reached at gofork7@gmail.com )

An interview with Lujendra Ojha

An interview with Scientist Lujendra Ojha

Lujendra Ojha (L. Ojha) is a Nepalese planetary and space scientist, geophysicist and a student seeking his PhD honors in Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He did his graduation from the University of Arizona. Ojha, originally from Mhepi, Kathmandu, moved out to the US at his early teenage along with his family. He is a well known figure now since the Critics, scientists and media all over the globe cited his name for his incredible work on the discovery of the possibility of Life on Mars. Here’s what he had to say on:

QUESTIONARRE :

 Excerpts:

·        Tell us about your schooling and the early childhood days you underwent in Nepal.

The summary of the story is that I was born and raised in Kathmandu. I was/am an avid fan of cricket and music. I used to play in a band in Nepal. I used to play sports a lot: cricket, soccer you name it. I was crazy about science and always used to ask philosophical questions about the reality of the universe. I was never religious and have completely denounced the concept of god now. 

·         You had a pretty good academic career. Your moving out to US to kick in good universities such as University of Arizona definitely shows your potency. What else did play the role? (I mean your family)

Nothing much to tell. It was always good morale and hard work that worked for me. Luck played a role too. And of course, good family and friends are always a plus.  

·         Researchers and students all over the world dream about NASA or any of its affiliations. How did you manage to get associated with them?

Actually, I worked hard for it. Nevertheless, working for NASA is not as hard as people imagine. Do the good work. Show your potential, that's it. There is no magical cookbook formula.

·         Kindly, please tell us what actually did you discover that you became international news overnight?

We had lots and lots of images of Martian surface from spacecraft that were not studied. A software (algorithm) was used to remove out any shadows so as to obtain a high definition image and then I found some finger like streaks on the surface consisting basically of salty water (brine). I think you will find the details everywhere if you search for "Recurring Slope Lineae". We found the best evidence that exists for evidence of present day brines (salty water) on Mars.  

·         Are you still working with Prof. Dr. Alfred Mc  Ewen (the chief investigator of the Mars surface images)?  After you discovered the presence of occasional brine in lower Martian latitudes, what sort of or to what extent of credit are you getting from him, JPL and other NASA affiliations whatsoever, regarding your incredible work?

No, I am not under Dr. McEwen at the moment. I got my Bachelors last year and am now a PhD student at Georgia Institute of Technology. Well, as far as credit goes, I am given the credit. No complaints whatsoever. More than anything, my work has opened many other doors at JPL and NASA for life exploration missions too. For example, I have started working for this mission: InSight (Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport). This is a new mission to Mars (2016 launch date) that will try to uncover the nature of sub surface geophysics on Mars.  

·         An algorithm (mathematical software) was developed to solve the distortion of images of Mars sent on to the earth by spacecraft. Who developed the algorithm?

I did it. It was used to delete the image noises and shadows and also that to compare the images of different seasons in Mars. 

·         Do you have any idea about what the current figure of Nepalese students and employees that are working independently or directly in the field of geophysics and astrophysics for NASA projects is?

I have no idea. I am a lone fish in a big ocean.  

What do you plan to do after your PhD degree?

Keep working in Planetary Science. My motto has always been, "Dislodge a pebble that will once create an avalanche."  

·         Any plans of visiting Nepal? I heard you used to have a keen interest in the Himalayas of Nepal when you were here.

Someday soon. Maybe it will be a surprise.

·          Your final words for those students who want to pursue a research career.

Say no to authority. Say no to control, peer pressure, and anything else that dare stand on your way. Remember, "We must know. We will know." Ignorance is bliss, but only to the weak willed. Damn them. Carry on. “

( L. Ojha can be reached at luju@gatech.edu. The interview was taken on the basis of a conversation. If you do have queries, please feel free to mail the interviewer Mr. Umesh Bajagain(sudip) at gofork7@gmail.com )