FJM Science

With today's new technologies to combat the pandemic, vaccines have given rise to another current controversy that has arisen over their manufacture and the involvement of animals. COVID-19 vaccines have the claim to contain no eggs or animal products, according to the UK's National Health Service (NHS). Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen have declared that their vaccines are free of animal-derived ingredients. Image 1: Monkeys are animals enormously relevant for traditional vaccine development. Although the vaccine does not contain ingredients of animal origin, many animals perish in the developing process of the vaccine. To ensure proper use in humans; until the government approves the release to the market. Animals serve as the system for checking medical studies and not harming humans in the drug development process. Consequently, 3 out of 10 or more animals do not survive the tests; they die from the damage caused by the drugs; those that survive are euthanized, which means that...

Some volcanic eruptions are explosive. These geological monsters can produce vast clouds of ash and dust, segments of material that disrupt sunlight traffic and reach heights of about 25 miles above the planet's surface. Volcanic activity has been responsible for shaping the land. It creates and modifies the surface of our planet, has changed more than 80% of the planet's layers, additionally spreading nutrients that have allowed the development of life. When magma finds a way to escape from below the planet's surface creates a volcano. Usually, deeper movements create pressure that propels the lava through gaps or openings. Some can remain inactive for many years and even centuries. A volcanic eruption can have many magnitudes. Depending on the extreme of the occurrence, it can change the landscape forever. Although volcanoes usually destroy everything in their path with lava, they also create mountains, islands, and even incredibly fertile lands. Image 1: Mount Fuji, a na...

There are places where the longest living populations on earth coexist; remote, small, close to the ocean.  Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California. They are the world regions where people have low rates of chronic disease and live longer than anywhere else. These regions have the highest number of people surviving more than 100 years. Image 1: The blue areas are regions with the highest number of centenarians. These places are called "blue zones." Categorized as the healthiest areas in the world, according to historical and solid scientific evidence. The healthy habits of these communities have managed to pass this offspring to their children with healthily predisposed genetic codes. However, genetics probably only account for 20-30% of longevity. Environmental influences, including diet and lifestyle, determine the remaining percentage of people's health. More than 90% is a diet based on plants, vegetables, legumes,...

The Sun is a constant force that keeps the planets in orbit. Its light illuminates us day after day, but its intensity is not continual and can increase or decrease over the years. Image 1:  The sun presents zones of different intensities of radiation. Image by NASA. Our Earth and the Sun go through phases and changes. Over time, science has managed to identify and describe these facts more clearly. The intensity of the Sun varies and can increase or decrease indiscriminately. Currently, it is going through a less active phase, called solar minimum. The Sun experiences regular 11-year intervals that include energetic peaks of activity, followed by lows. During the maximum point, the Sun shows more sunspots and solar flares. Sunspots are areas of intense magnetic activity on the Sun surface, a firestorm; that appears as an area of ​​darkness. Sunspots indicate solar activity, the birth of solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. Sunspots are immense and correspondent to the magnitu...

The sun shines from the sky for us every day, but it has not always been this way. Throughout history, there have been curious cases of solar obscurations. Image 1:  Throughout history, there have been several mysterious episodes of solar darkening. These events have been recorded in history, the first mention of such a phenomenon seems to be in the year B, C. 44, historical records say that the sun was paler than usual for a whole year, and gave less heat, the air it was still cold and misty. However, recent research suggests that brutal volcanic eruptions in Alaska may have caused the darkening. Consequently may have helped the collapse of the Ancient Roman Republic. They're basing their study on old volcanic ash, also known as tephra, found in ice cores taken from the Arctic. The eruption of 43 BC from Mount Okmok (Alaska); is an event that caused one of the coldest Mediterranean summers and the fall of the Roman Republic. Image 2:  Volcanic explosions are the main reason f...

Birds, adapted for running, jumping, swimming, and diving in addition to flying; control pests, spread plants, transform entire landscapes, help keep corals alive, among other things, are colorful and so fascinating animals. In 2003, an estimation established the global population of all mature birds to reach the amount between 40 and 130 billion individuals approximately. However, this is a rough estimate. Image 1:  Birds are unique animals that face a harsh reality with global warming. The birds declive Bird populations have declined 29 percent in North America since 1970, according to a study published last year in Science. Most of the indicators from the biodiversity prevalence studies more frequently showed downward trends in biological diversity than an increase after the Global Framework for Biodiversity after 2020. Even usual birds at risk of extinction, the 2018 report about the state of the birds in the world; provides a comprehensive view of the health of bird population...