Oculus Science Journal
Issue 12
FOCUS–The History and Engineering of the James Webb Telescope By JOHN K. LEE
Figure 1: The initial image of HD 84406, a star in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear), created by the James Webb Space Telescope. The misalignment of the mirrors capturing the light causes there to be multiple bright dots. Source Credit: NASA JWST Flickr (LINK) Last Christmas, the world saw the launching of the James Webb Space Telescope. In the following weeks, the media exploded with news and updates on Webb’s journey. After all, Webb is the most recent signature project for NASA following the Perseverance Mars rover project, which finally begun to navigate through the barren landscapes of Mars’s Jezero Crater. Once again, NASA has surprised the world with its astounding level of technological advancement, so here we give a brief overview of the Webb and how its various parts work. Webb is an infrared space telescope (say what?). As the name suggests, Webb is a telescope designed to operate in outer space, specifically for the purpose of capturing and analyzing infrared light. For the sake of structural coherence, we push our discussion about infrared light and consider the name “James Webb” first.
The James Webb Space Telescope is named after (you guessed it) James Edwin Webb, who served as the second ever administrator of NASA during the 1960s in the midst of the cold war. Due to the political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two nations initiated a “Space Race”, a collective mission to have superior spaceflight technology. In the case of the United States, this was going to be achieved by sending a man to walk on the Moon's surface for the first time in history. Hence, during its early days, NASA focused on their manned spaceflight mission, Apollo. James E. Webb, knowing this would hinder the future proliferation of the now-dominant space program, took many risks to invest not only in the Apollo program, but also in the Mariner program and the Pioneer program–both programs studied nearby planets and solar weather. In addition to the story behind the telescope’s name, what deserves the real spotlight is the innovative technology involved in the construction of this beast. Generally speaking, Webb consists of four parts: the Spacecraft Bus, the Optical Telescope Element (OTE), the Sunshield, and the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).
Figure 2: The properly aligned image of HD 84406, created by the James Webb Space Telescope. Upon alignment, the telescope will subsequently stack each dot on top of each other to form a single image. Source Credit: NASA JWST Flickr (LINK) The Spacecraft Bus is a conglomeration of functions that provide the foundation for the other three major sectors of Webb. Not only does it have panels to collect energy from sunlight, but it also controls the orientation of the observatory and maintains the orbit of the spacecraft. In addition, the Bus houses a cryogenic system to lower the observatory to operating temperatures and facilitates communication between Webb and the Operations Control Center on Earth. The OTE consists of two parts—the iconic 18 hexagonal mirror segments which collect light and the backplane which holds the mirror segments in place. Each mirror segment is composed of beryllium, the fourth lightest element which boasts a very high rigidity and stability in fluctuating temperatures. Behind each mirror segment is a small device called an actuator, which controls the orientation of the segment, thus helping the mirror reflect light into the right direction. In fact, Figure 1 shows the very first photo taken by Webb. Throughout the next few
weeks, Webb will align its mirror segments via actuators until the captured photo shows an orderly, hexagonal pattern and are subsequently stacked upon each other to form one coherent image. Because the purpose of Webb is to analyze infrared light originating from very distant sources, it is necessary to eliminate any other sources of infrared light. Unfortunately, any object with a nonzero temperature passively radiates infrared light. This is where the tennis-court sized Sunshield plays its role. Because the orbit of Webb keeps the spacecraft nearly in line with the Sun and the Earth, the Sun Shield can block out the light and heat from the Sun and Earth. By doing this, the cold side of Webb remains and operates at an unbelievably cold temperature of -223 degrees Celsius. The ISIM consists of four separate infrared imaging devices along with a spectrometer, which splits light into its component wavelengths. By doing so, we can analyze which elements the planets, stars, and their atmospheres are composed of. Furthermore, the data collected by the ISIM will have lasting effects in the field of cosmology. By imaging infrared light, Webb will be able to collect light originating from distant and old objects, which has been stretched with the persistent expansion of the universe. This will allow cosmologists to see what exactly occurred during the early ages of our universe. Webb will also give us hints about the life cycles of stars: how exactly they are born from the midst of stellar nebulae to how they go out with a glorious bang to move onto their life as dwarf stars, neutron stars, or even black holes. Other open questions that Webb will answer is the exact formation process of galaxies and the presence of more habitable exoplanets, hence advancing the frontiers of our understanding of the universe. Q&A: Hannah: You mentioned that Webb will allow us to discover ages of our universe and life cycles of stars. How long does it usually take for Webb to take and analyze these images? Will we need to wait several years? This often depends on what object is under study. If the celestial object is very far away, the telescope needs some time to collect the light coming from that object. The analysis of the images are also dependent on the nature of the study. For instance, if we were to study the material composition of planets or stars using infrared spectroscopy, we already have sample wavelengths for comparison, thus taking us a relatively short time. Sally: What are some obstacles Webb faces in addition to other sources of infrared light? The light from the sun is not only a source of heat, but also ever so slightly pushes Webb out of orbit because the photons of the light transfer little amounts of momentum to the spacecraft. Due to this phenomenon, Webb occasionally needs to use its propellers to adjust its orbit around L2.
Wooseok: In what ways is the James Webb Space Telescope more developed and effective compared to its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope? Webb is simply a major performance improvement from Hubble. Because it has a much larger mirror as compared to Hubble, it can collect much more light, thereby producing a better, more informative image. Webb is also an improvement from Hubble in the sense that it is able to capture lights of greater wavelengths, meaning it can capture light from distant, old objects. Works Cited: “About Beryllium.” BeST, www.beryllium.eu/about-beryllium#:~:text=The rigidity of beryllium is,any other metal or alloy. “Backplane Webb/NASA.” NASA, NASA, jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/ote/backplane.html. Fisher, Alise. “Photons Incoming: Webb Team Begins Aligning the Telescope.” NASA, NASA, 3 Feb. 2022, blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/02/03/photons-incoming-webb-team-begins-aligning-the-telescope/. “Instruments and ISIM (Integrated Science Instrument Module) Webb/NASA.” NASA, NASA, jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/index.html. “Mirrors Webb/NASA.” NASA, NASA, jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/ote/mirrors/index.html. “Spacecraft Bus Webb/NASA.” NASA, NASA, jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/bus.html. “The Sunshield Webb/NASA.” NASA, NASA, jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/sunshield.html.
Does the size of a bird’s brain matter? BY SUNMIN LEE
Figure 1: A bay-breasted warbler with a relatively small brain size Source Credit: CNN (LINK) Climate change affects every bit of society. Animals are not an exception. They migrate to higher elevations or adapt to crises by changing their body sizes and shapes. For instance, their beaks, legs, and ears become larger to regulate body temperature better. Another phenotypic response is their decreasing body size. Although its reason is not entirely clear, it can be presumed that it is because of its advantage in dissipating heat; there is an observation that highlights how birds living in warmer areas are smaller than those living in the range of low temperature. Living on a warming planet, it is critical to find ways of losing heat. However, there are fatal consequences to altering their body size. Birds have a higher risk of getting hunted by predators and failing to obtain necessary resources in competition with other species. So is changing body size advantageous? Are there any alternatives? Fortunately, researchers from Washington University in St.Louis have found an explanation. In Chicago, thousands of birds die when they collide with skyscrapers during their spring and fall migrations. However, their deaths have been recorded and collected by the city’s museum, and by analyzing 70,000 birds between 1978 and 2016, researchers were able to observe their physical changes. According to their new study, not all bird species develop smaller body sizes. Justin Baldwin, an author of a news release “Brainy birds may fare better under climate change”
stated, “As temperatures warm, body sizes are decreasing. But larger-brained species are declining less strongly than small-brained species.” For example, Parulidae in Figure 1 tend to shrink more due to their small brains. Baldwin’s article demonstrates that a bird's brain size correlates with its change in body size. If so, how are big-brained birds adapting differently to climate change? "In this case, a bigger-brained species of bird might be able to reduce its exposure to warming temperatures by seeking out microhabitats with cooler temperatures, for example," Baldwin said. This is possible because big-brained birds have better learning abilities. Although this is not true for many animals, he says that for birds, "relative brain size correlates with increased learning ability, increased memory, longer lifespans, and more stable population dynamics." However, other explanations do exist. For example, some argue that since some species have longer lives, evolution might be slower. Also, even if the research explained above is true, it does not mean brainy birds are not affected by climate change at all. But as Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology at Washington University, said, the significance is that “we can already see that climate change is having a disproportionate effect on species that have less capacity to deal with environmental change through their behavior."
Q&A: Hannah: You mentioned in your article that birds with small brains tend to decrease in body size more. Why does this correlation exist? What does the size of the brain have to do with surviving climate change and decreasing body size? -
As I mentioned in my article, big-brained birds have better learning abilities. Therefore, they can find an alternative to changing their body size.
John: What adaptations other than decreasing body size do you expect to occur as the effects of global warming continue to ravage Earth’s environments and its avian inhabitants? -
As birds with big brains do currently, birds may seek other habits with cooler temperatures or find places in other altitudes.
Wooseok: Considering how bird species with larger brain sizes are less vulnerable to climate change according to the article, can it be assumed that there will be an increase in the average brain size of bird species in the future?
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Presumably, yes. Since small brained birds fail to find solutions to adapting to climate change other than decreasing their body sizes, their population size will become smaller, resulting in an increase in the average brain size of bird species.
Works Cited Doug Johnson - Feb 14, 2022 6:45 pm UTC. “Weathering Climate Change May Be Easier for Birds with Big Brains.” Ars Technica, 14 Feb. 2022, arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/weathering-climate-change-may-be-easier-for-birds-with -big-brains/. Hunt, Katie. “How Birds Are Adapting to Climate Crisis.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Feb. 2022, edition.cnn.com/2022/02/11/americas/birds-brains-climate-change-scn/index.html#:~:text= Larger body size helps animals,migration, researchers have also found. WUSTLnews. “Brainy Birds May Fare Better under Climate Change.” EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/942288.
A possible relationship between sleep and Covid-19 By Wooseok Kim
Figure 1: Various relationships between the Covid pandemic and the human sleep cycle have been revealed by researchers. Source: Aubmc.org (LINK) More than two years have passed since Covid-19 has been officially identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic. During this time, scientists continuously made new discoveries on the connection between Covid-19 and numerous health disorders. One of the most recent findings was the relationship between Covid-19 and sleep, a fundamental aspect of human life. From mild disturbances in sleep rhythms to sleepwalking, there exists a wide range of different sleep disorders with varying degrees of severity. The most common kinds of sleep disorders include insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea. Despite the common misconception of how most sleep disorders seem far from fatal, it must be noted that they ultimately degrade the quality of sleep, which tends to have critical side effects especially in the long term. After all, sleep takes up around a third to a quarter of our entire lifetime.
In the journal article “Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep”, Laura Pérez-Carbonell and her team noted the possible relationship between Covid-19 and unhealthy sleeping habits. Conducting a survey that involved around eight hundred participants, the researchers focused on their sleep patterns, mental health, and daytime activities. Results showed that a significant portion of the participants suffered a change in their sleep schedules with various damaging side effects. According to the survey results, there were some reports of slightly increased sensation of refreshing sleep—the only positive relationship between the virus and sleep that the researchers found. However, the overall results were negative. The survey displayed that around half to a quarter of the participants described general feelings of lower control over both falling and not falling asleep, as well as lower sleep quality. However, it must also be noted that the survey identified the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic as a whole had on the participants. In other words, the results of the survey explained above were caused by not only a direct connection between the virus and sleep, but also by an indirect connection between the isolation and stress due to quarantine, and sleep.
Q&A: Hannah: You mentioned that some people reported having more refreshing sleep despite having Covid-19. Could there have been any factors that led to this sensation, such as medicine or drugs to treat Covid-19? It is possible that this increased sensation of refreshment in sleep was affected by additional factors other than the pure symptoms of Covid-19. As mentioned in the question, this sensation could have been caused by the side effects of various drugs, or even by the deliberate changes in the respondents’ sleep schedules. Sally: If there were to be a direct connection between the virus and sleeping, what would be a biological explanation for this? There are multiple biological explanations that could explain this connection - for instance, one possible explanation is the increased drowsiness caused by the body's hormonal response to the viral infection. John: How were confounding variables in the experiment controlled? For instance, one could easily think of how extroverted people could lack sleep during COVID quarantines, or how the symptoms of COVID, such as coughing and throat soreness, could affect one’s sleep?
The survey was intended to collect people’s responses regarding sleep during the Covid pandemic as a whole. It included overall responses affected by both biological and non-biological consequences of the Covid pandemic. For instance, if an extroverted individual experiences a lack of sleep due to isolation, despite the reason behind the negative response being non-biological, the outcome was still caused by the stressful environment created through isolation as a result of the pandemic.
Works Cited NHS Choices, NHS, www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/your-wellbeing/sleeping-well/. Pérez-Carbonell, Laura et al. “Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sleep.” Journal of thoracic disease vol. 12,Suppl 2 (2020): S163-S175. doi:10.21037/jtd-cus-2020-015 Villano, Matt. “How the Pandemic Is Contributing to Your Insomnia.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Oct. 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/10/27/health/insomnia-sleep-problems-pandemic-wellness/index.ht ml.
A Healthy Sleep Cycle for a Healthy Brain By HANNAH KIM
Figure 1:The circadian rhythm, an internal clock in all organisms, has been found to have correlations with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Source Credit: The Conversation (LINK) Researchers have recently discovered the close relationship between the circadian rhythm and the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)—a brain disorder that gradually destroys cognitive ability such as memory. The circadian rhythm is a natural cycle that repeats every 24 hours in all organisms. This internal process regulates when the body tries to sleep and wake up. Although much research has already revealed the importance of sleep, scientists recently discovered a new reason why humans should try to follow the circadian rhythm regularly. According to The Conversation, the circadian rhythm controls the brain’s ability to remove proteins related to AD in the brain. One of the major causes of AD is an accumulation of a protein called amyloid beta. These proteins clump together to form “plaques,” which disrupt cell functions and trigger cognitive issues. As a result, it is important for the body to have a system that prevents such protein accumulation that exacerbates the progress of AD.
Furthermore, the new study discovered that the cells that are responsible for the clean-up of amyloid beta follow the circadian rhythm. In an experiment, the researchers used macrophages—white blood cells that innate the immune system—from mice. When the scientists exposed the macrophages to amyloid beta, they found that the cells eliminated the protein at certain periods of time during a 24-hour period. In addition, when the cells lost the circadian rhythm, the amyloid beta did not get cleared as normal. This finding signifies the importance of following the circadian rhythm for the brain. “The disruption of the proper timing of amyloid beta clearance could be one of the reasons we see an increase in plaques that form in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Jennifer Hurley, a researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “As we age, and more so in Alzheimer’s patients, this rhythm disappears. This loss could lead to the increase of amyloid beta in the brain.” As mentioned by Dr. Hurley, part of the reason why the elderly develop AD may be attributed to the loss of the circadian rhythm as humans age. This research may be a major breakthrough that allows scientists to focus their attention on how to prevent the loss of this rhythm and how to artificially remove the accumulation of plaques in the brain. If this method is discovered, we may be a step closer to finding a cure to AD. Q&A: Sally: Are there any relationships between the circadian rhythm and other proteins that cause AD? The direct link between circadian rhythm and AD is tied to the protein amyloid beta. However, in the end, following the circadian rhythm and having good sleep is healthy for your overall body. Being able to sleep well at the right time not only allows amyloid beta to clear the brain, but also reduces stress and better control over your feelings—some conditions that scientists say contributes to the development of AD. John: How would you suggest people regulate their circadian rhythm, particularly in relation to previous studies relating the circadian rhythm to human sleep patterns and exposure to light? The first thing that people should do is follow a routine. In order to regulate their circadian rhythm, it is important that people go to bed at the same time every day. Once a routine is established, other things people can do are exercise, avoid naps, stay away from alcohol and caffeine, and reduce time spent looking at screens. Furthermore, it is important to have least exposure to light 2 hours before usual bedtime, throughout the night, and 1 hour after usual wake-up time. Wooseok: Considering how the loss of the circadian rhythm plays a significant role in the development of AD, would the younger population with a night time shift work be exposed to a greater risk of getting AD?
While it seems likely that night shift workers would develop AD more frequently, current research shows that the relation between night shift work and risk of dementia is statistically insignificant. However, there are also studies suggesting that permanent night workers have a higher chance of developing AD. So although this question needs further research, it seems like workers who work at night for a long period of time have a greater chance of developing dementia.
Works Cited Busch, Morten. “Permanent Night Workers Develop Dementia More Frequently.” Science News, sciencenews.dk/en/permanent-night-workers-develop-dementia-more-frequently. “Circadian Control of Immune Cell Linked to Clearance of Alzheimer's Protein.” Proteomics & Metabolomics from Technology Networks, www.technologynetworks.com/proteomics/news/circadian-control-of-immune-cell-linkedto-clearance-of-alzheimers-protein-358437. “Effects of Light on Circadian Rhythms.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Apr. 2020, www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/light.html#:~:text=The circadian clock is most,is ready to fall asleep. Eleftheria Kodosaki Research Associate in Neuroimmunology. “Alzheimer's Disease Linked to Circadian Rhythm – New Research in Mice.” The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2022, theconversation.com/alzheimers-disease-linked-to-circadian-rhythm-new-research-in-mice -177090. Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten, et al. “Night Shift Work, Long Working Hours and Dementia: a Longitudinal Study of the Danish Work Environment Cohort Study.” BMJ Open, BMJ Publishing Group, 24 May 2019,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6538206/#:~:text=Overall, the positive association between,a higher incidence of dementia. “Study Finds Link between Alzheimer's and Circadian Clock.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Feb. 2022, www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/10/study-finds-link-between-alzheimers-and-circa dian-clock. schneik4. “Do You Need to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm?” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 17 Dec. 2021, health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-reset-circadian-rhythm/.