May 12, 2018

Dutch stumble upon possible toddler planet

Filed under: Science by Orangemaster @ 10:32 am

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During a look up in the sky, an international group of astronomers headed by Dutch researchers from Leiden University may have found a ‘growing’ planet.

The astronomers were examining the dust disc around the young double star CS Cha when they saw a small dot on the edge of their images, which turned out to be a small planet of only ‘a few million years young that moves along with the double star. CS Cha and its special companion are located some 600 light years away from earth in a star formation area in the southern constellation Chameleon.

In the future, the researchers want to examine the star and the companion in more detail using the international ALMA telescope on the Chajnantor plateau in the North Chilean Andes.

(Link: universiteitleiden.nl)

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May 1, 2018

New beetle named after astronaut André Kuipers

Filed under: Science by Orangemaster @ 11:58 am

A new species of water beetle discovered during a trip to Borneo arranged by scientists at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and a Dutch firm, Taxon Expeditions, has been named after Dutch astronaut André Kuipers. On the same trip, another beetle was named after American actor Leo DiCaprio for his environmental activism.

When determining a new species of beetle, scientists need to dissect the male genitalia in order to distinguish one variety of water beetle from another. “An internal membranous sac in the male is covered with spines, though whether these aid stimulation during sex or have another role is unknown.”

Kuipers also has a planetoid named after him.

(Link: theguardian.com, Photo: NASA)

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April 1, 2018

Starving Dutch children pointed to cause of celiac disease

Filed under: History,Science by Orangemaster @ 5:34 pm

The ‘hunger winter’ of 1944 as it is called here was a time when all the cities of the western Netherlands went hungry during a famine the country had never experienced before. An estimated 18,000 to 22,000 people died because of the famine, mostly elderly men.

In The Hague, paediatrician Willem Karel Dicke noticed that the children in his care with celiac disease were improving, as they were starving. At that time, doctors had known about celiac for years, but there was no consensus on its cause or how to treat it. Today, celiac disease is known to be a genetic autoimmune disorder.

In the 1930s Dicke had suspected that wheat was the main celiac offender, although the recommendation at the time was eating bananas rather than eliminating wheat. When the famine hit, people ate anything they could find, including ground up tulip bulbs which had next to no nutritional value, and contain glycoside, which can be poisonous. What Dicke noticed though was that starving children with celiac deteriorated less quickly. And once wheat products were available again, the children would get sick. The mortality rate of children in the Netherlands with celiac fell during the food shortage from 35 percent to nearly zero.

Once wartime was over and food was more readily available, children began suffering from celiac disease. Dicke then conducted years of research to prove and record what he had observed during the war. “In 1948, using five test subjects, Dicke provided different cereals for them to eat, carefully measuring patient weight and examining feces for fat absorption. In 1950, Dicke published his findings that wheat and rye flour aggravated celiac symptoms. Importantly, he also gave the children wheat starch to no ill effect, discounting the theory that complex carbohydrates were the cause, another working theory at that time. With the help of other colleagues, he later pinpointed gluten as the ultimate culprit.”

Dicke was almost awarded a greater honour: the Nobel Prize for Medicine, but when he died at age 57 and unfortunately Nobel Prizes are are not awarded posthumously.

(Link: atlasobscura.com, Photo: the Maria Christina neighbourhood in Heerlen, Limburg, built by Hitler)

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March 13, 2018

Dutch firm produces chicken protein sans chicken

Filed under: Dutch first,Science by Orangemaster @ 11:27 am
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BioscienZ, an applied microbiology startup Biotech company from Breda, Noord-Brabant, has been successful in producing chicken egg protein without chickens using fungi.

Egg protein is used in a multitude of foods and replacing it with a plant-based option seems like a much sought-after solution. The process involves having a genetically engineered fungus call ‘GRAS’ produce ovalbumin, the main component of chicken egg protein. And the reason it’s such a big deal is because GRAS has been producing twenty times more ovalbumin than the current world record.

BioscienZ expects to be able to produce the protein commercially within 4-6 years from now using sugar beet, sugar cane or grain-based sugars.

(Links: bioscienz.nl)

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January 25, 2018

Dutch florist to donate kidney to competitor

Filed under: Health,Science by Orangemaster @ 1:13 pm
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A florist in the town of Oostvoorne, South Holland has agreed to donate one of his kidneys to his competitor.

Jan, 62 and a florist, has a genetic kidney disease, inherited from his father who died at age 69. Jan’s problems are not yet critical, but he’ll need a kidney soon. Dick, 55 and a competing florist, is a match and is willing to donate his kidney to Jan. Sadly, Jan’s two sons also have the same genetic disease, but at least they’ll have a father for a much longer time if all goes well, and hopefully more resources to solve their predicament.

Everybody who knows Jan and Dick in Oostvoorne are impressed with the gesture. “I barely take aspirin. I can do without one of my kidneys”, says Dick. Jan was speechless when he found out that Dick was willing to donate one of his kidneys. “You’re not going bankrupt are you?” said Jan to Dick when Dick came over to tell him the good news. “No, I came to tell you I’m going to give you a kidney”.

Dick found out that Jan needed a kidney through two social workers. And although he did talk about donating with this wife, he says he went behind her back to the hospital first to see if he was a match.

You can bet the media will be covering this when it happens.

(Link: waarmaarraar.nl)

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December 21, 2017

Watch a documentary on the Ice Man

Filed under: Science,Weird by Orangemaster @ 2:51 pm

Ice Man Wim Hof is the definition of cool. He is able to control some of his body’s systems, which is not usually possible. He also claims he can teach his methods to anybody and lets scientists poke and prod him on the regular.

Can everybody do what Ice Man does following his method or is that wishful thinking? Watch the video, in English, with some English subtitles.

(Link: video.vice.com)

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December 19, 2017

How does Rudolph’s nose glow? Find out

Filed under: Animals,Science by Orangemaster @ 9:11 pm

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An article in the Dutch biology research journal Deinsea, an annual publication of the Natural History Museum of Rotterdam, based on a study published in 2012 in the same journal, discusses the physiology of ‘Why Rudolph’s Nose is Red’.

The new study, entitled ‘Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very bioluminescent nose. A reply to Van der Hoven et al. 2012’ by Neil Crooks, Claire E. Marriott, Hannah R. Clifforth, Zain A. Ahmed, Arnold Xhikola, Samuel G. Penny, and Angelo P. Pernetta at the University of Brighton, UK, explain:

“Research published in Deinsea by Van der Hoven et al. (2012) identifies the cause of Rudolph’s infamous red nose to be the consequence of hyperemia of the nasal mucosa induced by the exertion of pulling a heavy load […] due to the excessive stresses endured whilst flying with Santa Claus and the sleigh in tow resulted in cerebral and bodily hyperthermia, overworking the nasal cooling system, causing the nose to glow. Whilst we recognise van der Hoven et al.’s (2012) central tenet of highly vascularized nasal mucosa in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) helping regulate nasal heat exchange, we concluded that this is unlikely to be the causal factor of Rudolph’s particularly iridescent appendage for multiple reasons (PDF).”

(Link: improbable.com, Photo of reindeer by Dave Taylor, some rights reserved)

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September 4, 2017

Dutch man walks with exoskeleton

Filed under: Design,Science by Orangemaster @ 9:58 pm

Students of the Delft University of Technology have designed an exoskeleton for a paralysed Dutch man who cannot use his legs. Their goal is to help people with a transverse lesion carry out daily activities in more than just a wheelchair.

The student team Project MARCH that developed the exoskeleton wants to play a role in collecting data on exoskeletons in order to get a better idea of the added value this technology has to offer as compared to the use of wheelchairs.

Early this year the students unveiled the design and last week the man tried out the exoskeleton the students made for him. Check out the video of the man walking again here (in Dutch).

Sometime in October Project MARCH will showcase the exoskeleton with the man in it at an international competition.

(Links and photo: nos.nl, www.tudelft.nl)

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August 28, 2017

Dutch designer creates vest to replace IV pole

Filed under: Design,Science by Orangemaster @ 2:27 pm

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Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Alissa Rees from Amsterdam has designed a trendy-looking vest called the ‘IV-Walk’ that doubles as a mobile IV unit, an alternative to the IV pole patients usually have to walk around with. This innovative design won Rees two Brains Awards this summer, one for Best Innovation and one for Best Overall Idea, prizes that came with 2,000 and 3,000 euro respectively.

“The look and feel are more like a personal wearable item and less like a piece of medical equipment, which helps create a more positive mindset as well”, explains Rees. What’s more, Rees came up with the idea while a patient herself, in hospital at age 19 when she was being treated for acute leukemia from which she has now completely recovered. “When you’re sick and lying in bed, you have a lot of time to think. I saw all kinds of things that could be improved in the sterile environnement.

(Link: tubantia.nl, designacademy.nl, Photo of IV-Walk alissarees.com)

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August 20, 2017

Donor fathers 102 children, national failure

Filed under: Science by Orangemaster @ 9:19 pm

A few months back there was the doctor who bragged about using his own sperm to inseminate his patients, and now one overzealous sperm donor has been caught fathering 102 children, exceeding the limit of 25.

Problem is, the amount children that can be produced from one sperm donor is limited to 25 at one clinic, but this guy went around to several clinics and kept on donating. For 10 years, the man donated all over the country, producing a total of 102 children. Lucky him, one clinic even bent the rules from 25 to 35 children and then there’s whatever he donated through the Internet.

Another man was also caught producing more children than legally allowed, with sperm donated through the Internet. For now the sperm of both men won’t be used anymore. There’s nothing being said about fertility clinics being more vigilant to stop donors exceeding the limit, which also includes egg donors. At present, clinics can’t share information for privacy reasons, although authorities had tired to set up some sort of database.

File this one under ‘epic fail’.

(Links: www.ed.nl, www.trouw.nl)

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