Divergent thinking, intrinsic motivation and idea generation techniques. How to develop creativity in yourself?

     The psychology of creativity is a young science that studies the creation of innovative solutions by a person in various spheres of life. Scientists have found out how creativity is related to IQ and age, and how you can develop creativity in yourself. This is an encouraging article that will surely be useful to many today.

    Creativity includes everything that stands out against the background of everyday life: impressive literary works, enchanting paintings, inspiring music, original inventions, non-standard business ideas. We can also talk about creative achievements in everyday life. Creativity is everywhere where a person turns on the imagination, generates ideas, uses the environment, objects and circumstances in an unusual way.

    For a long time, creativity was considered only from a philosophical point of view as a manifestation of the freedom of the human spirit, not connected with objective laws. Scientific interest in creativity as a psychological process woke up among researchers at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist Carl Jung, founder of Gestalt psychology Max Wertheimer made a great contribution to the study of creativity.

    The psychology of creativity became an independent science in the middle of the 20th century, when many creative teams appeared and society faced the following questions: what motivates creative people, how to effectively manage creative activity? One of the founders of the psychology of creativity is the American psychologist Joy Gilford, who systematized this science. Modern psychology of creativity studies:

The nature of creativity.

The relationship of creativity with intelligence, emotions, motivation.

Factors that prevent creative people from generating ideas and creating innovative solutions.

Ways to develop creativity.

    It is useful for each of us to explore the nature of creativity. Teaching the brain to search for non-standard solutions increases the value of a person as a specialist - the higher the creativity, the more original features any activity acquires. In addition, creative people are more adaptive: it is easier for them to cope with uncertainty, adapt to changing conditions of life, and find a way out of difficult situations.

    Smart means creative?

    In 1921, the American psychologist Lewis Theremin began the so-called California Longitude, a large-scale study of the relationship between intelligence and creativity, which continued until the end of the 20th century. The experimental group included more than 1,500 boys and girls aged 8-12 with an average IQ of 150 and excellent school performance. In parallel, a control group was formed. It consisted of children of the same age, but with a lower level of intelligence and school performance.

    Over the next 30 years, Theremin took three IQ measurements of the participants in the experiment and tracked their achievements. After the death of the scientist in 1956, the study was continued by his colleagues. By 1950, 800 men from the experimental group had achieved significant success in the natural and exact sciences. They had 67 published books, 150 patents for inventions, degrees in philosophy, medicine, physics. These results were 30 times higher than those of the control group.

    However, none of the experimental group showed themselves as the author of new and original ideas or products. Therefore, the researchers suggested that high intelligence is not a guarantee of creative success.

    This prompted scientists to look for other qualities that cannot be assessed by an IQ test. They were found using the concept of creativity, which was worked on by Alice Torrance and Joy Gilford. According to these psychologists, thinking is divided into convergent and divergent. The first, linear, is aimed at finding one solution to the problem. In the second, a person looks for a solution in different directions, which leads to the emergence of innovative ideas.

    Guilford considered divergent thinking to be the basis of creativity - the ability of a person to generate new ideas and original solutions. He singled out 6 parameters of creativity and developed tests for its diagnostics.

    In the future, the concept of creativity was developed in the studies of Torrens. He created a theory of the threshold value, according to which the relationship between intelligence and creativity exists at a low level of their development, but is absent at higher levels. Today, this theory is being tested and refined by other researchers. Torrens also developed 12 creative thinking diagnostic tests, divided into verbal, visual and sound categories. Verbal tests - inventing unusual stories based on pictures, visual tests - creating original drawings, drawing unfinished figures, sound tests - transforming sounds heard into visual images, ideas.

    How are creative activity and age related?

    In the second half of the 20th century, a stereotype developed in society that creative success can only be achieved at a young age. This was facilitated by the work "Age and Achievement" by the American scientist Harvey Lehman. He analyzed hundreds of biographies of outstanding writers, artists, composers, mathematicians, chemists and found that the peak of creativity for most of them was 30–35 years old.

    David Galenson, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, came to different conclusions. Having studied the biographies of many talented people, he concluded that the peak time of creativity depends on the psychological characteristics of a person. According to Galenson, all creative people can be divided into two groups;

   Experimenters are in eternal creative search, they work by trial and error. Ambitious, poorly in control of emotions, prone to the throes of creativity.

    Conceptualists generate clear ideas and set specific goals. More emotionally stable, enjoy work and are not prone to suffering.

    Galenson believed that conceptualists reach their peak of creativity in their youth, while experimenters are more likely to reach it in old age.

    The results of modern research vary. Some confirm Lehman's findings, others show that there are two peaks of creativity: the first occurs at 25-29 years old, the second - after 50 years.

    According to psychologist Alexander Popel, creative success can be achieved in adulthood if a person has certain qualities: 

    openness to experience.

    performance.

    passion for your work.

    lack of prejudices regarding the relationship between age and creativity.

   Creative Thinking Techniques

    All people from birth have a certain creative potential. For example, any kid is an experimenter and researcher in all areas of activity. His thinking is not limited by patterns, so he constantly creates some original solutions - paintings on wallpaper, houses made of chairs, pillows, blankets. As they grow older, many creative abilities weaken. Education at school, institute, educational influence on the part of parents and teachers forms our stereotyped thinking and behavior.

   But at any age, creativity can be developed with the help of special techniques. 

    TRIZ

    In the middle of the last century, the Soviet inventor, innovator and writer Heinrich Altshuller developed the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), aimed at developing logic, creative thinking and imagination. The theory has found application not only in technical fields, but also in psychology, pedagogy, art, literature, and business.

    The basis of TRIZ is 40 inventive techniques and 76 solution templates suitable for a wide range of problems. Some of them are used to develop creative thinking in children.

    One of the most interesting TRIZ techniques is the “reverse” approach: you need to change the     properties of the original object to the opposite ones or perform an action opposite to the logical one.

    This technique was used by many creative people even before the advent of TRIZ. For example, Henry Ford, an American industrialist, business tycoon, and inventor, resorted to it. It was Ford who was the first to use the conveyor for the mass production of cars, and also figured out how to repair it profitably. 

    Ford had a constant feud with the repair crew that serviced the conveyors at his plant. Repairmen worked slowly and often engaged in sabotage - if the necessary part was not at hand, they replaced metal with wood, rubber with rags. As a result, the equipment was idle, Ford suffered losses.

    The logical solution in this situation is the dismissal of repairmen. But Ford did the opposite: he created an area for them with soft sofas, a TV and began to pay for the time of rest. As soon as the factory conveyor failed, the salary ceased to accrue. This tactic proved to be beneficial both for production and financially.

    The principle of the reverse effect can be used in any kind of creativity. For example, a classic drawing does not work out - transform it into a creative one:

Make the white snowman black.

Turn the item upside down.

Turn solid into fluid, as Salvador Dali did in the painting The Persistence of Memory.

    Brainstorming, brainlining

A well-known researcher of creative thinking was Alex Osborne, an American manager, founder of the famous advertising agency BBDO.

    As head of one of the branches of BBDO, Osborne faced the inability of employees to generate creative ideas. This prompted him to develop a brainstorming technique. He proposed to conduct collective generation of ideas in an informal setting and break this process into several stages:

    A clear statement of the problem, setting one clear goal.

    Generation of ideas without their analysis, reference to reality, criticism. At this stage, brainstorming participants say whatever comes to their mind. The more fantastic the idea and the more generated, the better.

    Analysis, evaluation, criticism of the proposed ideas, selection of the best solution.

    And Osborne's suggestion worked: the informal atmosphere and the principle of deferred evaluation allowed the team to come up with a lot of ideas. People shared their thoughts without fear of criticism from others, and fully revealed their creative potential

   A modern modification of brainstorming is brainlining, or electronic brainstorming, which can be carried out in chats or video conferences. Some psychologists note that brainlining is more effective than standard brainstorming.

Mind map method.

    British psychologist Tony Buzan's mind mapping method is called the "Swiss army knife of the brain" for its versatility. It develops associative thinking, memory, helps to generate ideas, and is suitable for solving diverse problems. 

    Even while studying at the university, Buzan noticed that students who, when taking notes, connect imagination and associative thinking, have better grades. Their notes were littered with some strange colored drawings and arrows. Buzan began to study this issue more deeply and found out that some geniuses used such a visual display of information - Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein.

    Based on his observations, the scientist came up with the method of mind maps. The main idea is in the center of the map. Around it are important thoughts and categories, which can also be divided into sub-items until all the information is structured. Map objects are supplemented with associative images.

    Associations are an important source of information. They “pull out” various, sometimes even unexpected, memories, images and thoughts from the depths of our memory, which significantly expand the scope of creative search. 

     Method 6 hats.

    The 6 Hats Method was created by American psychologist Edward de Bono. It was based on the author's belief that the thinking of most people is one-sided and stereotypical, therefore, in order to learn how to generate ideas, you need to break the standard thought process. To do this, Bono suggested using thinking in six modes, each of which he metaphorically correlated with one of the colored hats:  

    White hat - definition of known and unknown facts.

    Red hat - work with emotional associations, intuitive guesses.

    Green hat - generating ideas without evaluating and analyzing them.

    Black hat - evaluating ideas from the point of view of a critic, looking for their weaknesses.

    Yellow hat - evaluating ideas from the point of view of an optimist, looking for their advantages.

    Blue hat - setting goals at the beginning of a thought session and debriefing at the end.

    In fact, the 6 hats method is a kind of brainstorming, only Osborne suggests dividing the thinking process into three stages, and Bono into six.

Dreams are a source of creative ideas.

    We can find a creative solution in dreams too. History knows many facts when talented people made brilliant discoveries in a dream:

    The Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini, after communicating with the devil in a dream, wrote the imperishable piece of music "Devil's Trill".

    The German chemist Friedrich Kekule dreamed of the formula for the benzene ring.

    Famous golfer Jack Nicklaus had a dream that allowed him to correct his golf swing.

    The plot of the legendary action movie "Terminator" came to James Cameron in a feverish dream.  

    In 1993, American psychologist Deirdre Barrett conducted a study among students at Harvard Medical School. Before going to bed, she asked the participants to imagine a problem they couldn't handle.

    As a result, half of the students reported that their dreams were related to problem solving. A quarter of the participants in the experiment were able to find a solution. More recent research has confirmed that sleep inspires insight and helps generate ideas.

    Many people find it difficult to remember dreams. But "important" dreams always remain in the     memory because of their emotionality, which means there is a chance to "pull out" the idea.

    In 2016, psychologists from Colombia proved that keeping a dream diary helps to remember dreams. 125 students took part in their experiment. First, they took the Torrens test to assess creativity, and also told how well they remember dreams. The students were then randomly divided into two groups. Participants in the first group kept a daily dream diary, and those in the second group kept a journal of the previous day's events.

   After 27 days, the researchers recorded that students from the first group remember dreams better, and also noted the development of their creative abilities.

3 factors that kill creativity.

    Clinical studies prove that creativity alone is not enough for high creative activity. There are factors that negatively affect divergent thinking and cause creative crises.

    Dominance of extrinsic motivation over intrinsic

    The American psychologist T. Amebile writes in his book The Social Psychology of Creativity that intrinsic motivation is the basis of successful creativity. Intrinsic motivation is selfless enthusiasm, work for the sake of interest in the cause, which is accompanied by inspiration, joy, passion, as well as a state of “flow”, when a person loses the sense of time and plunges into creativity with his head. 

    Strong intrinsic motivation pushes you to move forward even in stressful situations. For example, it helps a person get out of a creative impasse. A person who is not motivated from within, in such a situation, falls into a stupor.

    Of course, external motivation (salary, business reputation) is also important, especially if creativity is the main job. However, it should not be the main incentive. Self-development experts point out that an overweight towards extrinsic motivation destroys creativity.    

    If a person's work does not inspire, then he will not be able to create anything original, no matter how much money he is paid.

    External motivation also includes the control of creativity by others. Often creative people work in teams where the execution of tasks is monitored by the authorities. Children's creativity can be controlled by parents, teachers. Rigid external control is incompatible with creativity. Psychologist T. Amabile in the course of research came to the following conclusions:

    An individual and non-strict approach to the student by the teacher contributes to the development of his creativity.

    The absence of authoritarian relations in the family, the upbringing of a child's sense of independence have a positive effect on his creative potential.

    Non-rigid administrative control, encouraging the initiative of employees stimulate their creative work.

    In 2018, Russian psychologists found that a creative person needs autonomy, individualism and independence to work successfully in a team. It is important for him to have freedom of action, the ability to independently plan work, to defend his ideas and views.

Perfectionism.

    Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by:

    Striving for impeccability, high standards in all spheres of life. In creativity, a perfectionist strives for masterpiece perfection, finalizing every smallest detail a hundred times.

    Too much focus on mistakes.

    Aggressive perception of criticism.

    If perfectionists do not achieve the ideal, then they experience the deepest stress, fall into depression.

   Clinical studies show that perfectionism reduces creativity, creativity, and openness to experience. Conversely, setting realistic goals has a positive effect on creativity and mental health.

Anxiety.

    Unlike fear, which has a very specific and conscious cause, anxiety is pointless and inexplicable. It increases the activity of the autonomic nervous system, which can lead to dizziness, rapid breathing, and palpitations.

    Anxiety negatively affects not only health, but also creativity: it reduces motivation, creative productivity. Generalized anxiety disorder can kill creativity altogether. In this disease, persistent anxiety persists for weeks, months, or even years. Constant anxiety prevents the generation of ideas and worsens the quality of life - a person experiences rapid fatigue, irritability, absent-mindedness, and insomnia.

     

Singapore creates a microalgae alternative to palm oil.

A team of scientists from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore has announced a healthier and more environmentally friendly alternative to palm oil. The new product is made from microalgae, marine microorganisms that are made up of eukaryotic cells. According to the authors, the plant product was not only edible but also less harmful to the body - it contains fewer substances that increase the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.

Palm oil is one of the most popular oils in the world. It is present in about half of all consumer products and plays a central role in a wide range of industrial food production technologies. According to The Engineer, in 2018, farmers produced 77 million tons of palm oil for the global market, and by 2024, according to forecasts, this figure will grow to 107.6 million tons.

Palm oil is usually produced using pyruvic acid, an organic acid found in all living cells. In the case of the new solution, a solution of Chromochloris zofiniensis algae was added to the acid and exposed to ultraviolet light to stimulate photosynthesis. 14 days after this process, the microalgae were washed, dried, and treated with methanol. In this way, the scientists broke the bonds between the oils and the algae protein so that they could be extracted.

Project leader Professor William Chen, director of the food science and technology program at NTU, said his team has developed a way to extract oil from microalgae that is applicable to sustainable commercial production. In addition, as the engineers explained, with the increase in the production of such oils, natural sunlight can be used, which means that the technology will help simultaneously remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into biomass and oxygen through photosynthesis.

“The development of algal vegetable oils is another triumph for Nanyang Technological University as we strive to find successful ways to solve problems in the agri-food technology chain, especially those that have an adverse environmental impact,” said Chen.

The scientists also spoke about an alternative approach to the production of a palm oil substitute. Instead of conventional ingredients, the team used the fermentation of organic waste, like soybeans and fruit peels, in their technology. Thus, the authors not only reduced production costs but also reduced the amount of food waste.

The next step is to optimize new extraction methods to improve product yield and quality. The authors of the development believe that they will be able to move on to the commercialization of their oil production technology based on microalgae within two years.

Mitochondrial transplantation will save damaged organs and fight aging.

    Using a nanosyringe, mitochondria are taken from healthy cells and injected into defective ones. The technological breakthrough could provide treatment for a huge number of diseases that are characterized by damage to tissues and entire organs - from chronic wounds to strokes. The technology could also find applications in the rejuvenation of stem cells, whose metabolism declines as we age.

Scientists from ETH Zurich have presented a new technology for mitochondrial transplantation - a nanosyringe for convenient transportation of organelles from cell to cell. Preclinical experiments have shown the high efficiency of the method, which keeps more than 80% of mitochondria functional.

Mitochondrial transplantation can be compared to organ transplantation. For example, a healthy donor kidney can provide many years of qualitatively new life for a person with kidney disease, and functional organelles, mitochondria, can ensure the survival of tissues and organs damaged by the disease. Mitochondria are most commonly referred to as the powerhouses of cells because they provide them with energy. The idea of ​​mitochondrial transplantation is not new, but so far it has been difficult to ensure the high efficiency of this technology in experimental treatment.

Now scientists have shown that using a unique laser-controlled nanosyringe, it is possible to take healthy mitochondria from one cell and inject them into those where defective organelles are observed.

Most importantly, it is a single sequential process that overcomes many of the difficulties of previous experiments.

As early as 20 minutes after transplantation, mitochondria began to "adapt" and were not rejected by the cell. In addition, their unparalleled survival during transfer was ensured, the authors stressed.

In clinical practice, the technology will allow for the treatment of diseased organs and tissues, and may also find application in the field of rejuvenation of stem cells, whose metabolism deteriorates with aging.

The scientists also plan to use this method to study endosymbiosis, the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of mitochondria.

Previously, US scientists have also reported success in mitochondrial transplantation in preclinical experiments. In clinical practice, a limited number of such procedures have been performed, mainly in children with heart pathologies.

In China, found a marine fungus that can decompose plastic in two weeks.

  Scientists from the China Institute of Oceanography have found a type of marine fungus that decomposes polyethylene and other types of plastic in 2-16 weeks. It will help clean coastal areas from toxic waste without harming the environment. The effectiveness of the fungus reaches 95%, according to the Xinhua news agency.

    Researchers have applied for a national patent for their way of recycling plastic using fungus.

    More than eight million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year. They turn into microplastics, enter the global food chain and threaten ecosystems and human health.

Microplastics have been found in human blood for the first time.

Microplastic particles have been found in human blood for the first time. This means that they can move around the body and settle in the organs. How this affects people's health is still unknown, writes The Guardian.

Foreign particles were found in the biomaterial of 80% of the people tested - in 17 out of 22.

Half of the samples contain PET plastic, which is commonly used to make beverage bottles. One-third is polystyrene, which is used to make food packaging. A quarter of the samples contained polyethylene, which is used to make bags.

Scientists continue to study to find out if microplastics linger in the body and whether they can cause any diseases.

A study finds girls are affected by social media earlier than boys.

  The mental health of girls begins to suffer from the use of social networks at 11-13 years old, and boys - at 14-15. Teenagers at vulnerable ages feel less satisfied with their lives after a year of regular scrolling.

At the same time, growing dissatisfaction with life provokes teenagers to use social networks even more.

The difference in the vulnerable age of boys and girls is explained by the peculiarities of growing up and puberty.

Psychologists believe that parents and teachers should explain to teenagers in advance the potential risks of using social networks: the impact of negative content, a drop in self-esteem, the emergence of addiction.

Study: More Anxiety Means Less Purposefulness

  Swiss and German scientists conducted experiments on rats and found that the higher the level of anxiety in rodents, the less purposefulness, efficiency, and motivation they have to achieve goals. Naked Science writes about it.

Scientists took two groups of rats: with high and low levels of anxiety. The animals were stressed: they were placed for 15 minutes under bright light, which they are afraid of. After that, the rodents had to press the lever to get a treat - the rats were taught this in advance.

It turned out that animals with high anxiety made less effort to activate the reward system - their performance and motivation fell.

The researchers found that rats from different groups had a different expression of the CRHR1 receptor. It is involved in regulating the level of motivation. In anxious rodents, CRHR1 expression was lower.

The findings of scientists can be used to develop treatments for depression - it, like anxiety, is associated with the expression of CRHR1.

Scientists first created RNA that evolves on its own

      Another empirical evidence of the possibility of the origin of life on Earth was obtained by Japanese scientists who created RNA capable of independently reproducing, developing, and becoming more complex, following Darwin's theory of evolution. This means that simple biological molecules can give rise to complex living systems.

One of the hypotheses of the origin of life on Earth that is widespread in the scientific community says that the RNA molecules necessary for the functioning of cells already existed on the planet. Then, about 4 billion years ago, they began to reproduce themselves. Thus, various complex molecules arose. A step-by-step process of change led to the emergence of life in all its diversity.

However, even though this theory was often discussed, the creation of an RNA replication system remained an extremely difficult task, writes Phys.org. Individual RNA molecules are too simple and unstable. A team of biologists from the University of Tokyo was able to solve it. Scientists conducted an experiment on long-term RNA replication, during which they observed the transition from a chemical system to biological complexity. They used cloned RNA strands in drops of water immersed in oil, which went through over a hundred rounds of replication, each of which was carefully analyzed.

Compared to previous empirical studies, their results have a scientific novelty, since scientists used a unique RNA replication system that can develop following the law of evolution, that is, independently go through stages of constant change based on mutations and natural selection.

Next, scientists are going to observe and study evolutionary phenomena in great detail - this allows them to do the system of molecular replication they created. “The evolution of complexity that we demonstrated in the experiment is only the beginning,” said Professor Ryu Mitsuuchi. “Many other events must occur before living systems appear.”

A study by American chemists conducted in 2020 confirmed the theory of the origin of life from a mixture of RNA and DNA. The scientists demonstrated that a simple compound, dithiophosphate, could weave together the tiny building blocks of deoxyribonucleosides into strands of primary DNA.

Found a protein that can reverse muscle aging

      Scientists have identified a protein that plays a key role in the properties and development of muscle stem cells. Using the example of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, they showed that it is possible to reverse the development of an incurable disease. The next goal is to test the treatment on aging muscles that weaken with age.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that the Piezo1 protein plays a critical role in sequencing the unique shapes of muscle stem cells as well as their response to injury. The discovery runs counter to the conventional wisdom that stem cells are uniformly shaped and dormant in intact muscle.

Observations have shown that muscle stem cells have various modifications necessary for the perception of the environment and the reaction to injury, and all of them are controlled by Piezo1. The Piezo1 protein was identified several years ago, but until now its function in skeletal muscle has been unknown.

The problem with previous research on the nature of muscle stem cells has been that most often they were studied only at a certain point in time. Now scientists have observed the entire cycle of this process.

It turned out that muscle stem cells have protrusions that they use to communicate with each other, like neurons. Modifications are different depending on the category of the cell: active, intermediate, and sensory type. The more active the cell, the fewer these protrusions, and vice versa, the authors explain. Piezo1 acts as a regulator - it dictates the shape and number of protrusions, and also determines their behavior.

Experiments on mouse models showed that against the background of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in rodents, the level of Piezo1 in stem cells was significantly reduced. Observing the reaction to trauma, the transition from the sensory state to the active state was greatly slowed down.

Then, with the help of the Yoda1 molecule, the balance of Piezo1 was restored, which resulted in the normal structure and function of stem cells and triggered enhanced regeneration.

“Despite recent advances in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, new strategies do not take into account stem cells. Minimizing their depletion and supporting regeneration by reactivating Piezo1 may provide a key to curing the disease as well as improving the condition of aging muscles,” said author Foteini Murkioti.

Previously, another team of scientists presented a strategy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy by blocking sphingolipids, which also led to an improvement in the symptoms of the disease in animals.

Turning Off Certain Brain Cells Protects Against Stress.

     Japanese scientists have discovered a small group of neurons that is crucial for a psychological state. By manipulating their activity, they plan to provide treatment and prevention for depression, as well as to study the origin of mental disorders.

    Chronic stress is a major risk factor for mental disorders, but the exact mechanisms underlying the stress response are poorly understood. Researchers from Osaka University have made an important discovery in this area: they showed that a group of cells in the claustrum controls stress-related responses, writes EurekAlert.

     The claustrum, or cerebral fencing, is the thinnest layer of gray matter under the cerebral cortex. The scientists knew that the processing of stress responses depended on communication between cortical and subcortical areas of the brain, so they set out to track and map cellular activity during periods of stress using high-precision tomography.

In mouse models, it was shown that of the 22 brain regions analyzed, the claustrum turned out to be a key region that changed in two states - stress and calmness. “Brain activation mapping serves as a reliable biomarker for acute stress exposure,” the authors said.

In further experiments, it turned out that an increase in the activity of cells in the claustrum increased the anxiety behavior of animals, while suppression, on the contrary, made them resistant to the effects of chronic stress.

"Inactivation of stress-sensitive claustrum neurons could be a preventive measure for depression and a tool to increase resilience to emotional stress," said author Hitoshi Hashimoto. In addition to developing therapeutic strategies, scientists also plan to study the characteristics of these cells in order to better understand the causes of various mental disorders.

Recently, scientists have demonstrated the negative impact of chronic stress on health: this condition accelerates the biological age of a person.

With quantum technology, an electric car will be charged in 3 minutes

  Electric transport has already proven that it can compete with internal combustion engines on equal terms in many ways, and made Elon Musk the richest man on Earth. However, charging electric cars is still regrettably long: about 10 hours at home or half an hour at the fastest station. The solution may be the technology of the so-called "quantum charging". Scientists from South Korea have recently made significant progress in this direction.

Owners of modern electric vehicles have to factor in long charging times into their schedules. The lack of large-scale infrastructure hinders the spread of clean transport, even despite its other advantages. 

The solution could be "quantum charging", the idea of ​​which was first proposed in 2012, writes EurekAlert. The authors suggested that quantum laws could significantly speed up the process of charging batteries if all the batteries act simultaneously. In classical batteries, where the cells are charged in parallel, independently of each other, this would not be possible.

Later, in 2017, it was proved that quantum charging may have two factors behind the increase in speed: "global communication" (all elements communicate with each other at the same time) and "connection of all with all" (each "discussion" has only two members). However, it is not clear whether both of these factors are necessary and whether the charging speed limit can be reached.

Recently, scientists from the South Korean Institute of Basic Sciences answered both of these questions. Their research has shown that the connection of everyone to everyone is not important for quantum batteries and that the only significant factor in global communication. Scientists have gone further and identified the exact source of all the benefits of quantum charging and even developed a detailed method for manufacturing such batteries.

In addition, the developers were able to accurately estimate the speed gain when using the new technology. Whereas in classical batteries the maximum charging rate increases linearly with the number of batteries, in quantum batteries it is possible to achieve a quadratic increase in the charging rate. For example, if there are 200 batteries in an ordinary electric car, then the charging speed will increase by 200 times, that is, instead of 10 hours, the car will replenish the battery in three minutes. And at the points of accelerated charging - in a couple of seconds.

By focusing on the inactive buildup of lithium that occurs as battery age, US scientists have found a way to improve the performance of a lithium-ion battery. It turns out that this is possible if you make changes to the charging process.

COVID-19 significantly raises the risk of developing diabetes

  This disappointing trend is explained by the fact that the pancreas may be a desirable target for SARS-CoV-2, which increases the risk of developing the disease in several ways. Scientists warn that after COVID-19, special attention should be paid to some symptoms that may indicate the development of diabetes.

Scientists from the German Center for Diabetes Research analyzed data from 8.8 million patients who had COVID-19 or SARS from March 2020 to January 2021. The two cohorts were matched for sex, age, chronic comorbidities, and other important criteria.

Analysis of the data showed that COVID-19 increased the risks of developing type 2 diabetes by 28% compared with patients with SARS.

According to previous research, the pancreas may be a target for the coronavirus. In the new work, scientists found that, for example, after COVID-19, some patients experienced dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells and impaired insulin production. Others developed insulin resistance and increased blood glucose levels.

Among other things, SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a cytokine storm, and the activity of the immune system can remain hyperactive for several months after infection, reduce insulin production, and thereby impair muscle, liver, and fat cell function. Meanwhile, the usual risk factors for type 2 diabetes are an unbalanced diet and a sedentary lifestyle.

According to the authors, a mild form of COVID-19 is unlikely to increase the risks of developing type 2 diabetes, but everyone needs to monitor their health after illness. Increased fatigue, frequent urination, thirst, and other symptoms can be the first signs of diabetes, so monitoring blood glucose levels is a must when they are present.

Recently, scientists have shown that the composition of the gut microbiota can be used to assess the risks of type 2 diabetes. Long-term research has identified specific types of bacteria associated with risks.

Elon Musk hopes to send Starship into orbit in May

  Orbital tests of a new generation of spacecraft, which the private company SpaceX is building in Texas, may take place in May. As Elon Musk tweeted, the Raptor engines will be ready in April, it will take another month to install and debug them, after which the Super Heavy launch vehicle will be able to take off into space for the first time.

“We will have 39 flight-able Raptor engines next month, then another month for integration, so there is hope for a test flight in May,” Musk wrote in response to a question from CNBC.

Starship is a nearly 120-meter reusable spacecraft that SpaceX has been developing for several years and which is going to deliver cargo anywhere on the Earth, into orbit, the Moon and Mars. In February, Elon Musk held a presentation at the Starbase test site in Texas, where he spoke about the test schedule and difficulties, and also promised to reduce the cost of launching a heavy rocket with a payload capacity of 100 tons to $10 million, that is, to $100 per kilogram.

The company completed a cycle of high-altitude flight tests, which used prototypes of the ship, but had to postpone the next important stage. The orbital flight was supposed to take place last year but was postponed for several months. One reason is the lack of final approval to launch super-heavy rockets from the current spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration promised to give an answer at the end of March.

Another hurdle that the company had to overcome in order to begin orbital testing was of a production nature and related to the Raptor closed-type liquid engines. This became known in the fall of 2021 from a letter that Musk sent to SpaceX employees. In it, he asks to show loyalty to the company and accomplish a labor feat, otherwise SpaceX “faces a real danger of bankruptcy.”

China also has a project for a two-stage super-heavy spacecraft, reminiscent of Starship. However, while Starship and Super Heavy are being developed with a payload capacity of 100 tons, the Chinese system will take on board five times less - about 20 tons. This is apparently explained by the use of a gas generator engine.

Cloak of Invisibility Will Makes Bacterial Cancer Therapy Effective and Safe.

     Bacterial therapy for cancer has long been tried to be used in the treatment of cancer, but the toxicity of the method has stopped many clinical studies. The new technology hides the bacteria from the immune system, allowing them to safely reach the tumor and release the drug at the target site. Preclinical results demonstrate the potential of therapy against various types of solid tumors. 

     Bacteria can have strong antitumor effects on their own, but genetic engineering can enhance this effect by helping bacteria acquire completely new properties, including releasing certain compounds or using powerful anti-cancer drugs. Until now, the problem has been that bacteria multiply rapidly in the body, and the immune system immediately begins to perceive them as a threat and trigger a strong inflammatory response.  

     Scientists from Columbia University came up with a solution: to mask the bacteria from the immune system, they coated their surface with polysaccharides, the amount of which is regulated by the IPTG molecule.

By fine-tuning the amount of IPTG, you can control how long bacteria stay in the blood. Gradually, the bacteria lose their protective coating and are safely eliminated from the body, minimizing toxic side effects, the scientists explain.

In mice models with colorectal cancer and mammary tumors, the new approach showed an effective reduction in tumor size. Scientists have found that with the help of the "invisibility cloak" it is possible to increase the tolerated dosage of drugs by 10 times. Further research should confirm the safety and potential of the technology for humans.

Meanwhile, Chinese researchers have also unveiled an experimental cancer therapy: a three-pronged approach that kills cancer cells in five minutes without significant side effects.

Found an enzyme that decomposes plastic into simple molecules

     In recent years, there have been many breakthroughs in biomedicine in the field of enzymes that decompose plastic containers. A team of British scientists has discovered a new enzyme that doesn't stop halfway. He takes apart one of the key components of plastic, down to simple molecules that can then be used to create new products.

In 2016, Japanese scientists discovered bacteria that feed on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used to make a lot of everything, including containers for liquids. Then another team developed a more efficient version of this enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of PET to monomers. And in 2020, a “super enzyme” appeared, acting six times faster.

However, this process leaves two chemical compounds of PET, ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid (TPA). And while ethylene glycol has many uses beyond plastics, TPA is not used anywhere other than PET.

A team of researchers from the University of Portsmouth have found an enzyme called TPADO that breaks down TPA with astonishing efficiency, reports New Atlas.

Careful X-ray analysis of the enzyme allowed the scientists to compile a detailed, high-resolution model of the enzyme, complete with all atoms. The model showed how TPADO recycles TPA. As a result, a scheme was developed for bioengineers to create a more effective version of this substance.

“In recent years, we have seen amazing progress in editing enzymes to break down PET plastic into its components,” said Professor John McGeehan, author of the study. “This work goes even further and explores the first enzyme in the cascade that can deconstruct these components into simpler molecules. Their bacteria can be used to produce chemicals and materials, essentially creating valuable products from plastic waste.”

A recent study found that the bacteria that feed on plastic are on the rise. The abundance of plastic on the planet stimulates hundreds of microorganisms in the earth and water to produce enzymes that decompose plastic. It is already easier for many microbes to get it than the usual food. Scientists have already discovered about 30 thousand of these enzymes that decompose the 10 most massive types of plastics.

New technology painlessly destroys kidney stones with sound

     The first 19 patients have already been treated with a new non-invasive method - blast wave lithotripsy. Unlike similar methods of crushing kidney stones with sound, this one can be performed without anesthesia and operating rooms, right in the doctors' offices. The technology was developed at the University of Washington.

Kidney stones are a very common disease that affects up to 15% of people at one time or another in their lives. Small stones pass spontaneously and without surgery, but in some cases, surgery is required to prevent damage to the kidneys. For decades, surgeons have used sound waves to crush large stones using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), high-intensity acoustic pulses. The procedure is painful and usually, the patient is given anesthesia during the procedure.

The new method differs from ESWL in that the therapy can be delivered in a less formal setting using a portable device, without the use of sedatives. Blast wave lithotripsy sends short, cyclic pulses of ultrasonic energy that break stones into small fragments no larger than 2 mm, writes New Atlas.

In the largest clinical trial to date, 19 patients underwent ultrasound therapy. In each of them, doctors destroyed three stones with a diameter of 12 mm or more. It took about 10 minutes for each stone. The effectiveness of the procedure was 90% of the total volume of stones, 39% completely disintegrated into fragments less than 2 mm, partial fragmentation was noted in 52% of cases.

    Most of the remaining stones should pass without medical intervention, the researchers said. In addition, damage to the peripheral tissues of the kidneys as a result of the procedure turned out to be mild and treatable.

The method of painless removal of stones from the kidneys was reported a couple of years ago by US scientists. The combination of two already approved drugs relaxes the ureters, and then the stones pass painlessly. A similar mechanism can be used for procedures such as endoscopy.

Scientists have come up with a tiny robot to examine the lungs. It penetrates the smallest bronchi.

     Engineers at the University of Leeds have created a mini robot with magnetic tentacles that can penetrate even the smallest bronchi. It can be used for lung examinations, biopsies, and cancer therapy writes EurekAlert.

Life-size model of a fragment of a bronchial branch and part of a robot with magnetic tentacles:

    The robot is two millimeters in diameter, only twice as thick as the tip of a ballpoint pen. Magnets on the outer surface will help guide the device in the human body, the guidance system is configured individually during each procedure. The robot showed its effectiveness during experiments on navigation in the real lungs of a deceased person and three-dimensional models of organs. 

Microorganisms unknown to science found in a deep-sea trench in the Pacific Ocean

     At a depth of eight thousand meters in the Peruvian-Chilean (Atacama) trench, scientists found microorganisms unknown to science. The expedition expects to sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean again and conduct additional research, writes ScienceAlert.

    “We found geological structures and saw holothurians - translucent sea cucumbers, they look like jelly. Before that, they did not come across, most likely, these are new species, ”said Oswaldo Ulloa, director of the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Concepción.

    According to Ulloa, the expedition members also discovered filamentous communities of bacteria and confirmed the information about the existence of amphipods, crustaceans, which were spotted by a drone in the depression in 2018, at depth. 

    The Atacama Trench is located off the coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean at the junction of two plates - Nazca and South America. The depression was discovered at the end of the 19th century during cable laying. The gutter is 5.9 thousand kilometers long and 30-90 kilometers wide.

A paralyzed man with a brain implant was able to communicate with the power of thought, even connected to artificial lung ventilation.

     German scientists have created a brain implant that, using two microchips with needle electrodes, picks up nerve signals and allows a paralyzed person to communicate with others by the power of thought. Writes about it Medical Xpress.

    The implant was merged in a 34-year-old patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In 2015, he lost the ability to speak and walk, a year later he was connected to a ventilator because he could not breathe due to broken muscles.

    During this period, the man communicated using a device that tracks eye movement. But in 2017, he could no longer use it, as he lost the ability to focus his eyes.

    A new brain implant thanks to brain-computer technology. A specific program pronounces the letters of the alphabet aloud, and the patient "in his head" chooses the right ones. The typing process is slow, but in a moment it turns out to write only one letter.

    Also, a paralyzed man can give a yes / no signal. To do this, he imagines how he moves his body.

    The technology used is quite expensive, it is too early to talk about its widespread use, but it has potential.

How and why to grow fresh vegetables in space?

     Station workers say that what they miss the most on long missions is the usual uncanned food. We will learn how to properly water seedlings in zero gravity, whether it is possible to fertilize the soil of other planets with excrement, and how scientists propose to make Mars habitable with the help of algae.

    Why do astronauts need fruits and vegetables?

    We remember from childhood that “an onion from seven ailments”, and “an apple for dinner - and a doctor is not needed”, in other words, fruits, vegetables and herbs are the basis of a healthy diet and a source of vital substances. The World Health Organization advises adults to eat about 400 grams of fruits and vegetables every day. Of course, vegetables are in the canned food of astronauts, but they cannot be compared with fresh crispy fruits on Earth.

   In addition, over time, frozen packaged food just gets boring.

    It's not just sad - astronauts often lose weight due to lack of appetite, says Norwegian biologist Silje Wolf. These problems can largely be solved by own beds on board.

    Space gardens are also useful for the psyche of astronauts. They have plenty of sources of constant stress: high risk, non-standard situations at work, and even the closed space of the station, where it is difficult to be alone for a while. Gardening is known to help reduce depression and anxiety, and improve subjective feelings of well-being. Scientists from the University of Florida collected testimonies from Soviet and American cosmonauts and concluded that this also works in orbital stations. For example, American Peggy Whitson, who conducted an experiment with soybeans on the ISS, was amazed by her own reaction to sprouts in the onboard greenhouse: “I think the opportunity to see something green for the first time in a month and a half on the station made a really strong impression on me.”

    Astronaut Don Pettit was so impressed by his work with plants that he published an entire diary on his blog from the perspective of an orbiting zucchini: “Nothing compares to the smell of living greens in this forest of engineering machines.”

    Today, space farming technologies are being developed for stations in Earth orbit, but biologists have other goals that are much more ambitious. Researchers and enthusiasts are increasingly talking about the colonization of other planets. Specific figures appear in plans and projects: how long the flight will last and how many people will be able to become the first colonists. The road, for example, to Mars will take many months, even longer people will have to settle in a new colony. According to Julie Robinson, an expert on the ISS program at NASA, even the most modern preservation and freezing technologies will not allow all the necessary nutrients to be preserved in the food of immigrants for so long.

    A new settlement cannot survive on canned food alone, relying on supplies from Earth is risky, so methods are needed that will allow them to grow plants on their own. They will have to be tested in the most severe conditions - after all, on the same Mars, the colonists are waiting for dust instead of fertile soil and hard ultraviolet instead of gentle sunlight filtered by the earth's atmosphere.

    Why is gardening in space so difficult?

    Mankind made its first steps towards space plantations back in the early 1980s, when the astronauts of the Salyut-7 station managed to get the seeds of Tal's resicum. This small plant from the cabbage family has become for plant researchers what the Drosophila fruit fly is for animal biology: the full development cycle of Tal's clover can take as little as 6 weeks. Since then, many crops have been grown in orbit, from lettuce to wheat, but these crops are at best a pleasant addition to food: it will not be possible to fully provide the inhabitants of space stations with vegetables for a long time.

    What exactly prevents the creation and cultivation of "six acres" outside the Earth? The authors of the review article in Botany Letters cite several reasons. The most obvious of these is microgravity: both in Earth orbit and on potential colony planets, gravity is less than we are used to. Weak gravity affects many features of the development of organisms, and plants are no exception. In experiments where the same crops were planted on Earth and on the ISS, some species in orbit noticeably lost in taste and nutritional value. For example, in the "cosmic" embryos of the turnip Brassica rapa, there was much less starch and protein (by 24%). The air temperature, humidity and light levels around the plants at the station almost coincided with the earth, so scientists believe that low gravity is to blame. Perhaps the fact is that in zero gravity, plants begin to "suffocate": water in such conditions envelops the roots in a thicker layer, causing oxygen starvation.

    At closed stations, there is another problem - violations of convection (heat transfer), which occur if the enclosed space is poorly ventilated. At the same time, volatile organic substances accumulate around the plant, which can slow down its growth.

    Don't forget about radiation. Observations show that constant radiation can cause DNA damage and    mutation, and also affects the level of gene expression [how hereditary information from genes is converted into RNA or protein]. Given all this, it is impossible to predict how plants brought from Earth will change over time. Experiments with radiation have already forced the roots, stems and leaves of Tal's clover to “lose weight”.

    Speaking about the "gardens" on space stations, scientists are rather optimistic: most of these problems can be solved by studying what conditions plants need and which species best tolerate the absence of their usual environment.

    It will be more difficult for future colonists of other planets, because the "soil" of new worlds can bring many unpleasant surprises.

    Our terrestrial soil, which gives life to plants, is a complex system where both minerals and organics are equally important. On Mars, for example, the situation is quite different. The surface of the Red Planet is covered in regolith — fine sand and dust that forms when rocks are eroded by wind, temperature fluctuations, and meteorite impacts. This dust is not just lifeless, it is dangerous for plants: it contains toxic compounds, including perchlorates - salts of perchloric acid.

    Chinese scientists have figured out how a similar concentration of perchlorates in water affects several types of plants: toxins noticeably reduced both stems and roots. In addition, perchlorates accumulated in the leaves, so including such plants in the diet will not work. And also salts of perchloric acid will not allow to populate the surface of Mars with terrestrial bacteria in order to create a fertile layer of humus. The experiments of Scottish astrobiologists have shown that perchlorates enhance the germicidal effect of ultraviolet radiation, so the bacteria in our soil simply cannot survive on the surface of Mars.

    It is possible that the idea of ​​vegetable gardens on the Martian regolith will have to be abandoned altogether, focusing on other methods, primarily hydroponics and aeroponics technologies.

  What can replace the soil.

    Today's space gardening methods can be broadly divided into those that require a relatively dense substrate (say, soil or clay) and those where water and liquid solutions play a major role.

    The Vegetable Production System (Veggie), which has been supplying the ISS with fresh herbs since 2014, is closer to the first type.

    In Veggie, the seeds germinate in special pads where calcined clay is mixed with fertilizer capsules. The polymer shell of the capsules is gradually destroyed, releasing the next portion of top dressing in time. The structure is illuminated by green, red and blue LEDs - during the experiments, the astronauts periodically change the lighting mode to find out what works best for certain plants. The installation has an automatic watering system using capillaries, but sometimes the astronauts water the orbital garden themselves. For example, Scott Kelly had to do this to save zinnia flowers from an unexpected drought. 

    When Veggie has served its purpose, it is planned to be replaced by a larger installation - a fully automatic "greenhouse" Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). It will be able to adjust many parameters, including humidity, pressure, light, the amount of oxygen and nutrients supplied, and even measure the temperature of individual leaves. NASA loves speaking abbreviations, so the system for monitoring many parameters was called PHARMER (Plant Habitat Avionics Real-Time Manager in Express Rack). Researchers at the Kennedy Space Center have already thought about the first experiments involving APH.

    The researchers intend to bring seeds ripened on the ISS to Earth, germinate them in the laboratory and return a new generation of seeds to the station to find out how such strong gravity drops will affect them.

   The cosmonauts of the Russian segment of the ISS also carried out many experiments. From 2002 to 2011, two varieties of barley, radish, "Japanese cabbage" mizuna, dwarf wheat and dwarf peas were grown in the Lada automatic greenhouse. These experiments showed that many of the most important functions of plants, such as fertilization and the formation of embryos, do not change in space.

    A few years ago, a new greenhouse, Lada-2, was created at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in which they planned to grow wheat, lettuce and sweet peppers. Unfortunately, "Lada-2" died in the accident of the cargo ship "Progress MS-04" in 2016. There are no plans to create a new greenhouse to replace the lost one at the IBMP: the process will take several years, by which time the ISS operation cycle may come to an end. Now Russian cosmonauts are conducting experiments on the equipment of the American segment of the station. Perhaps in the future, another Russian development will go into space, the Vitacycle-T greenhouse with a rotating cylinder inside. 

     Just Add Water: Hydro and Aeroponics

    The need to use soil or clay for "beds" is rather a disadvantage in space flight conditions. Solid substrate weighs a lot, the capacity of cargo ships and compartments is always limited, in addition, particles of earth can get into the ventilation at the station, and suitable soil cannot be found on future colony planets. Therefore, researchers are increasingly looking towards methods in which greens and vegetables grow in water - hydroponics and aeroponics.

    "Garden" in a nutrient-rich liquid solution is far from a new idea; Francis Bacon wrote about this method at the beginning of the 17th century. Since then, there have been a plethora of soilless gardening techniques, so space tech makers have plenty to choose from. For example, you can keep the roots in the water all the time or use the ebb and flow technique, as well as use a variety of substrates that retain the right amount of liquid. 

     Even more promising may be aeroponics: in this case, the roots of plants are not in water or substrate, but in the air. Sprayers are installed nearby, which from time to time envelop the roots with a light haze of tiny drops of nutrient solution. So the plants get both nutrition and a sufficient amount of oxygen - the risk of suffocating the crop with a layer of water is much lower than in the case of classical hydroponics. The risk of plant disease is also reduced, as dangerous microorganisms often settle in water or a moist substrate.

    Hydroponics and aeroponics have long been successfully used on Earth. They allow you to harvest even in extreme conditions - for example, in Antarctica.

    Scientists from the German Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener has been growing cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers and herbs for several years at the Antarctic station Neumayer-Station III. 

    The aeroponic greenhouse has been set up in a separate building, and when a snowstorm prevents scientists from getting there from the main building, their German colleagues can remotely control the irrigation and lighting. Biologists say that one of the main tasks of their work is to prepare new horticultural techniques for testing in space conditions.

    Another find for closed life support systems is anthroponics, when the waste of the crew becomes a source of water and fertilizer for hydroponic installations. For example, the urine of astronauts can become the basis of nitrogen fertilizers, Italian scientists have already carried out such an experiment on Earth. It all looks like the famous scene from The Martian, but in reality it is not so easy to switch to this technology. Excrement of astronauts can be found, for example, an excess of some metals, so following the example of Mark Watney will succeed (or, conversely, fail) only after much research

    Like on a volcano: experiments with analogues of regoliths

    Despite the prospects of hydroponics, there are also supporters of gardening based on the soil of other planets among scientists. Such experiments have been going on in the Netherlands since 2013. Biologists from Wageningen University are growing vegetables in artificial soil that resembles the composition of regolith from the surface of Mars and the Moon. "Martian" soil is made from volcanic ash and sand from Hawaii, and "lunar" soil is made from desert sand in Arizona. To repeat the texture of the regolith, the material is additionally ground into dust.. 

    Scientists have already harvested more than a dozen crops; their food basket includes tomatoes, peas, radishes, rye, green onions and other plants. The first tests showed that the level of toxic heavy metals in vegetables does not exceed the permissible limits (however, new crops will still be tested many times).

    In 2017, worms were placed in a Martian soil sample, and they not only survived, but also gave birth.

    Project manager Wiger Vamelink says that earthworms can become the most important link in agriculture on other planets: they enrich the soil with vermicompost, and their passages help water and air to better penetrate the soil.

    Of course, Vamelink's forecasts are very optimistic. The conditions on the Red Planet are harsh: plants will not only have to survive in dusty soil, but also resist the onslaught of ultraviolet radiation - the level of radiation on Mars is much higher than on Earth, since our planet is protected by the ozone layer. Do not forget about toxic perchlorates: it is not known whether there is a way to clean the soil and how much it will cost. However, even if planting gardens on Mars using the Wamelink method does not work, the results of his work will be useful on Earth - for example, they will help identify plants that give a stable crop on volcanic soils.

    New Earth: Terraforming Projects for Other Planets

    Each of these experiments is a small step towards the future of space gardening, but there are some scientists who think big. Supporters of the idea of ​​terraforming propose not to be limited to small gardens and greenhouses: they intend to create from scratch on some other planet conditions suitable for the life of terrestrial plants and animals. The problem is that finding a second Earth is not easy: you will have to start not even from scratch, but from a serious “minus”.

    The most popular candidate for Earth 2.0 is, of course, Mars. It is not far from us by space standards, has reserves of water ice and an atmosphere - very rarefied, but still capable of at least a little protection from radiation. Terraforming projects mostly focus on thickening the atmosphere. For example, the group of Jim Green, Director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, proposed surrounding the Red Planet with a shell of an artificial magnetic field. According to Green's plan, it will be created by a spacecraft located at the Lagrange point L1 between the Sun and Mars. How exactly this device should work, the astrophysicist did not specify.

    According to Greene, the magnetic shield will "melt" the frozen carbon dioxide in the ice caps at the poles of Mars, this will start a greenhouse effect, and the temperature on the planet could rise by several degrees. This is enough to melt some of the water ice, as well as gradually raise atmospheric pressure, bringing Mars closer to Earth conditions. However, in 2018, NASA experts said that it would not work to “warm up” Mars with CO2, at least with today’s level of technology. According to Bruce Jakoski and Christopher Edwards, there is not enough carbon dioxide on Mars to implement such projects.

    Another bold idea is to change the Martian atmosphere with cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). These small organisms are capable of photosynthesis: it is believed that they "breathed" a significant part of the oxygen that contributed to the "oxygen revolution" at the beginning of the Proterozoic. In 2018, an international team of scientists found that cyanobacteria can produce gas in very low light levels.

    Blue-green algae are able to withstand very harsh conditions, some of them are extremophiles - perhaps some of them will survive on Mars.

For now, terraforming remains more of a dream than a concrete strategy. But the authors of these concepts agree: terrestrial technologies are developing rapidly, and decades later we will be able to talk about the development of other planets much more specifically. Who knows, suddenly the Martian apple trees will become a reality?

     

How does the profession of an astronaut affect health and what should those who dream of interstellar travel need to prepare for?

     Over the six decades of the space age, more than half a thousand people have visited the expanses of the Universe, space flights have become considered commonplace and almost a routine.

    Despite significant technological advances, space flight is still a very difficult and dangerous job, which is not in vain called a feat.

Space is dangerous.

    553 people have been in space since 1961 (as of May 29, 2018), and one in twenty-two of them have died. Among them are five Soviet cosmonauts, 13 US astronauts and the first Israeli cosmonaut. In total, 25 cosmonauts and astronauts died in space and in preparation for space flights on Earth.

    Space is an aggressive environment, unfriendly to people, and never has a positive effect on health. Vice versa.

    From the first second of weightlessness, processes harmful to humans begin to occur in the body.

    Motion sickness manifests itself in a space form (analogous to seasickness), the interaction of sensory systems changes and sensory conflicts develop in the body, the functioning of the vestibular apparatus and coordination of movements are disrupted, calcium begins to leach out of the bones, the mineral density of various parts of the skeleton decreases, redistribution of minerals occurs, and the bones legs lose less than the lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and femur. The femoral neck is most at risk for fracture.

    Changes in metabolism (negative nitrogen balance and the prevalence of catabolism processes; changes in the secretion of a number of hormones; a progressive slowdown in glucose utilization during sugar load as the duration of flights increases) and water-salt balance (a decrease in the volume of plasma and intercellular fluid; the establishment of a negative balance of a number of ions) in blood, pathological forms of erythrocytes appear. In weightlessness, not only arterial, but also venous tone decreases, which is fraught with the development of varicose veins of the lower extremities in the early post-flight period.

    Let's not forget about large doses of radiation.

    In weightlessness, fluid and blood rush to the head, which causes headaches. When you watch reports from space and see cosmonauts with somewhat puffy faces in the orbital module, this is not because they ate there, but because of the redistribution of body fluids

    In space, immunity also decreases, even taste sensations change. In the most critical areas of the flight (launching into orbit, docking, spacewalk, descent from orbit, landing, emergency situations), neuropsychic and emotional stress has a negative impact on the body.

    Constant noise at the orbital station from operating equipment, the magnitude of which reaches the maximum permissible values ​​- 70–80 dB (this noise level can easily be imagined by a reader who lives on the second floor right above the tram stop), cannot but affect the state of the auditory analyzer. And given the hemodynamic disturbances in the area of ​​the inner ear in weightlessness, the resulting shift in hearing thresholds will manifest itself in the future, after the astronaut retires, in varying degrees of sensorineural hearing loss, which can be called one of the astronaut's occupational diseases.

    Hypokinesia (limitation of the number and volume of movements) and hypodynamia (underload of the muscular system), despite the fact that the modules of orbital stations have a large enough volume so as not to hinder movement - and cosmonauts are required to exercise on weight simulators in flight - entails a decrease in volumetric and strength characteristics of the muscles, especially the muscles of the back and the entire muscular corset. This circumstance in almost all astronauts leads to osteoporosis with subsequent exacerbation (after the flight) of osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine.

    Indeed, lunatics, prisoners and astronauts are similar in that their freedom is restricted by being placed in small enclosed spaces, from where it is usually not possible to escape. I have also heard opinions that only a madman would agree to such a life and work as an astronaut.

    Indeed, an astronaut is no longer a person. Over the years of training in performing and assigned tasks in space, he acquires the features of a biorobot.

    I say this without any intention of offending the cosmonauts, I am simply stating the accuracy of automatic actions during complex operations with a danger to life.

    Yes, over the years of training and in the course of a space flight, a healthy cosmonaut gradually acquires functional disorders and diseases. Health is lost and it is possible to fully restore it after a flight not to the initial level, but to a state that allows you to send an astronaut on the next and next flight, until it turns out that, alas, it is no longer possible to fly.

   What about pre-flight preparation? Astronauts' health suffers not only during flights, but also during special training on Earth. When they put you in a centrifuge and spin it around a little at 8g, you might burst a blood vessel in your brain. And after a stroke, you will not only not fly into space, but you can spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

    Astronauts are the same people as representatives of other professions, and they suffer from the same diseases, but doctors cannot say how a common illness will proceed in such unusual patients until there are sufficient statistics. You can only try to find trends.

     So, astronauts die more often from oncological diseases, and even more often from heart disease. And these are the people who were selected, finding fault with the work of the heart as nowhere else!

    Astronauts are rigorously selected, including for health reasons, and have access to very high-quality medical care, so their health is usually better than the national average.

  That is why the profession of an astronaut is considered risky and dangerous. But not as an adventure (although, perhaps, for someone from Earth it looks like an adventure), but as a hard work in unusual, threatening conditions, sometimes fraught with death. It is because of this that astronauts are awarded, because they not only risk their lives, but also consciously give up their health for the sake of promoting humanity into space. This means that they understand that their work brings something more valuable to the world than a single life, no matter how ruthless it may sound.

    Nevertheless, it is not worth the task of heroically sacrificing one's life. On the contrary, saving the life of the crew is the priority of any emergency exit algorithm.

    This profession includes a constant readiness for a feat. There is no training to accomplish a feat, but the ability to control oneself in dangerous circumstances, often under time pressure, arises in the process of professional training of an astronaut. True, they may object: is it really heroism to take precise actions in conditions of danger, which the astronauts are trained to do? 

    The phenomenon of the feat of an astronaut is born on the border of consciousness and soul, it is accomplished by the command of the heart, feelings, and is not realized as such. A feat is a deeply personal process, it is based on individual motivation, it requires discussion only with oneself, understanding the inner meaning of what is being done, considerable internal efforts. “But,” others will object, “isn’t that what psychologists worked with astronauts for?”

    The feat is accomplished in the interaction of man with the world. And no matter how unusual the dangerous circumstances that have arisen, they are produced by our world. Such is the daily but heroic work of rescuers, firefighters... Situations faced by astronauts can arise in contact with the other world.

    They develop according to a logic unknown to us, and only professionally and psychologically prepared cosmonauts, who are determined not for a one-time outstanding deed, but for a long-term overcoming of the dangers that space flights cannot do without, can cope with them. That is why their daily ordinary work in unusual conditions is tantamount to a feat. 

   Perhaps it is the constant readiness to go beyond one's own capabilities (which means accomplishing a feat), deep inner work that changes the personality of an astronaut to no lesser extent than communication with space or observation of it. 

    

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How did gender psychology appear and develop?

     Models of people's behavior are formed by society - or is everything predetermined by nature? How do gender stereotypes limit personal development and lead to discrimination? How to destroy them and create a harmonious society? Gender psychology is looking for answers to these questions: we tell how it appeared, how it developed and what it does today.

    Gender psychology: two points of view

    Gender psychology studies the characteristics of human behavior in society associated with his biological sex, gender (social sex) and their interaction. Gender psychology does not yet have an unambiguous formulation and clear boundaries, and each author sets out its concept in his own way. The main problem is that it is difficult to define the very concept of “gender”.

    Male and female qualities are predetermined. For example, if a person is assigned a female gender at birth, then feminine character traits, appearance, and behavior are expected from him.

    This is how rigid gender stereotypes are created, which impose two role models on people and impose restrictions on all aspects of life - from choosing clothes to choosing a profession.

    A determined son and an obedient daughter, a successful husband and a thrifty wife, an enterprising subordinate and an understanding boss - we unconsciously fit into a binary gender system so as not to look like strangers among our own.

    At the end of the second millennium, the United States began to deeply rethink the theory of "biology as destiny". As science developed, it became clear that between men and women there are much more similarities than differences, and the predestination of their qualities is relative. Scientists doubt even that at the genetic level, sex can only be divided into two species, and suggest that the sexual diversity is much wider.

    Gender psychology clearly separates the concepts of "sex" and "gender":

Gender is a set of biological characteristics of a person.

    Gender is a set of cultural norms, patterns that determine behavior patterns, psychological qualities of men and women. These norms are passed down from generation to generation and are fixed at a subconscious level.

    Gender is a flexible construct that can change depending on the experience of the individual, the characteristics of society, and the historical period. It is not determined by biology, which means that it can be influenced. Gender stereotypes and roles are changing in many countries, and this is primarily due to changes in people's self-awareness. If we accept the fact that any person, regardless of biological sex, is an individual with their own psychological characteristics, a combination of masculinity and femininity in the psyche, then society will become more complete and harmonious.

    The history of the formation of gender psychology is usually divided into five stages. Each of them is associated with innovative ideas and theories that shocked contemporaries and caused a public outcry. Some of them surprise even today.

    1. The period of the philosophers

    For most of history, there was no need for people to come up with a theory about the biological origin of male and female qualities. According to the modern historian Thomas Lacker, in many European cultures until the beginning of the 18th century there was a same-sex model of a person, described by the ancient Roman physician Galen. Women and men were seen as two forms of the same sex. It was believed that their reproductive systems are the same, just the female genitalia are not outside, but inside the body.

    Many ancient philosophers explained the difference between men and women not with biology, but with the help of religion. For example, Aristotle in his treatise "Politics" argued that a woman is an inert matter that does not have a soul, and a man is an active and creative form, the highest life force.

    Plato's views were in many ways similar to the ideas of modern gender psychology. In his dialogue "The State" he reflects on the fact that it is society that shapes the patterns of people's behavior.

   Plato was the first to express the idea of gender equality: women can play the same social roles as men, as well as be warriors and scientists.

    In the dialogue "Feast" he tells the myth of androgynes - creatures that combine the characteristics of men and women. Androgynes possessed incredible power and encroached on the power of the gods, for which they were punished by Zeus: he cut them in half with lightning and scattered them all over the world.

   Today, the concept of "androgyne" is used in gender psychology. An androgyne is a person without rigid stereotypes of gender-role behavior, who is characterized by femininity and masculinity at the same time.

    During the Renaissance, many philosophers also expressed thoughts about gender equality. For example, in the book Utopia, Thomas More described an ideal state in which there is no separation of gender roles: people, regardless of gender, have equal rights and opportunities in all areas of life, including religion, military service, and politics.

    At the beginning of the 18th century, the same-sex model of a person was replaced by a bi-sex one.

    Between the biological sex and the characteristics of people began to look for a strong connection. Doctors, writers, philosophers in their works contrasted women and men in all physical and moral aspects.

    Thomas Laker believes that the reason for the emergence of the bisexual model was not only the development of science, but also politics. More and more educated and ambitious women appeared in society. The power of men was under threat, proof of the superiority of the male over the female was urgently needed! This was how the binary gender system was created, which exists in many cultures today.

    At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the first wave of feminism unfolded in France, Great Britain, the USA and other countries - a political movement for granting women equal rights with men: electoral, economic, and the right to education.

    Educational institutions in many countries have introduced co-education. Because of this, researchers have become interested in comparing men and women.

    In 1902, the book "Sex and Character" was published by Otto Weininger, an eccentric philosopher who was a misogynist and believed that there was no "women's question", and all the hype on this topic was the desire of a woman to equal the man and copy his creative power. His work was based on Weininger's doctoral dissertation on bisexuality. A year after the publication, the scientist committed suicide, which attracted increased attention to it.

     The main theses of the book:

   1, Sex is determined not only by primary and secondary, but also by tertiary and quaternary sexual characteristics. In fact, Weininger refers to tertiary and quaternary sexual characteristics what today we call gender: behavior patterns, acquired human qualities.

   2, There are two biological principles: male and female. Both beginnings are present in every personality, therefore any person is bisexual.

  3,  Male qualities - developed cognitive and creative abilities, genius; female - stupidity, inability to be creative. A woman can succeed in science, profession, only if she has a masculine principle.

  4,  The only strong female quality is sexuality. The more feminine a person is, the sexier he is.

   5. Harmonious relationships in a couple are possible only if the sexual partners are opposites. If one partner has a pronounced masculinity and low femininity, then the second must have opposite qualities

    Modern psychologists evaluate Weininger's work in different ways. Some consider him a brilliant scientist, one of the founders of the psychology of sex, gender psychology and believe that Weininger's theory about the combination of masculinity and femininity in every person is still relevant. Others criticize Sex and Character, in particular the claims of masculine-virtuous and feminine-evil, and argue that Weininger is just another male scientist who really knew nothing about women, did not take into account their experience and drew conclusions based on own prejudices and ambitions

    3. Freudian stage

    The father of psychoanalysis, as always, was not without: the third stage in the development of gender psychology is associated with his famous theory. The scientist believed that gender differences are not innate, but are formed in early childhood. The main mechanism for the assimilation of the sex role is the identification of children with their parents.

    According to Freud's theory, every child has a libido from birth and at about three years of age begins to show sexual feelings for the parent of the opposite sex, as well as jealousy and rancor towards the parent of the same sex. Freud called this phenomenon the oedipal complex. As the child grows older, he overcomes it, identifying himself with the parent of his own gender: the boy tries to be like his father, the girl - like her mother. Freud believed that the successful resolution of the Oedipus complex is the basis of a person's mental health.

    While Freud was developing his theory, there was a decline in psychology and pedagogy in Russia. With the advent of Soviet power, gender equality was legalized in all spheres of life, women gained access to vocational education and jobs. It would seem that excellent conditions were created in the USSR for the development of gender studies, but in practice everything looked different: the difference between the sexes was completely denied, gender psychology and pedagogy were declared unnecessary.

    There was only one gender in the Union - the Soviet man, who was always ready for work and defense and did not need psychological research.

    According to the psychologist Tatyana Bendas, only a few interesting works by psychologists were published in the 1920–1930s: “On the Study of the Children's Collective” by E. A. Arkin, “Essays on Child Sexuality” by P. P. Blonsky. But soon their work was banned, and the works were no longer published. In the next 30 years, the development of gender psychology was completely paralyzed.

    4. Second wave feminism, women’s studies and women researchers

For the first time, the term "gender" was introduced into scientific circulation by the American psychiatrist and sexologist John Money. In 1955, he studied the features of intersex and tried to find a name for the non-biological differentiation of people. Using the concept of "gender", he described the social experience of people who do not fit into the standard binary system.

   Intersex people are people whose sexual characteristics are neither feminine nor masculine. According to genetic studies, about one in a hundred people are born with disorders in sex formation.

    In the 1960s, the second wave of feminism unfolded, and the concept of "gender" became its symbol. The central work of the feminist movement was Simone Beauvoir's book The Second Sex, which criticizes the myths about the biological nature of female qualities:

    “Her behavior, her qualities, everything that she is accused of, is not predetermined by her nature. Society, the social structure, forces a woman to develop certain qualities in herself and dictates her forms of behavior.

    In Women Are Not Born, They Become, de Beauvoir draws a clear line between biological sex and gender, emphasizing the social origin of what is usually called feminine. 

    The second wave of feminism launched research into the motivation and achievement of women. In 1964, the American psychologist Martina Horner wrote in her work “Fear of Success” that the main factor that prevents women from moving up the career ladder is the fear of success formed by society.

    Success causes anxiety in women: they are afraid of losing their femininity, the disposition of their husband, and children.

    Therefore, many refuse professional growth in favor of the family or husband's career. This phenomenon was later described by other authors as impostor syndrome.

    According to the data cited in her book by psychologist Tatyana Bendas, from 1950 to 1980, the results of 30,000 gender studies were published in English-language sources. One of the most ambitious works is The Psychology of Sex Differences by Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacqueline, an analysis of 2000 results of previous scientific works.

    Maccoby and Jacqueline found that there were no differences between men and women on most dimensions, including perception, memory, learning ability, emotionality, suggestibility, and self-esteem.

    Only some gender differences were confirmed:

women are superior to men in verbal ability;

men have better developed visual-spatial, mathematical abilities, higher aggressiveness.

    In 1974, the American psychologist Sandra Behm created a gender role questionnaire to determine the degree of masculinity, femininity and androgyny. The test consists of 60 personal qualities (20 male, 20 female, 20 gender-neutral), which are assessed by survey participants on a seven-point scale. Bem was sure that masculinity and femininity are not opposed to each other, and people of either sex can have both traits at the same time, that is, be androgynous.

    Sandra Behm argued that androgyny makes a person more adaptive, flexible to surrounding circumstances. Later, modern clinical studies also proved the benefits of androgyny.

    5. Modern gender studies

    The last stage in the history of gender psychology has been going on for more than 30 years, at which time clinical research is widely deployed. The United States is the leader in this area, where clear procedures and standards have been developed, and a powerful scientific infrastructure has been formed: journals, conferences, and specialist training systems. In many American universities, women's studies have evolved into large teaching and research programs that study gender and sexuality. There are also similar programs at the universities of Canada, Germany, England, France, India, China.

    Since 1990, gender stereotypes have been actively explored. For example, psychologists John Williams and Deborah Best conducted a cross-cultural study of gender stereotypes, interviewing respondents in 25 countries around the world.

    In most countries, gender stereotypes coincided, and there were twice as many patterns of male behavior as female ones. Janet Hyde's research refuted some of the previous work by McCoby and Jacqueline.

    For example, Hyde found that the mathematical abilities of women and men are the same. The superiority of men was found in physical activity, aggression, and some indicators of sexuality.

    Prior to Hyde's theory, most of the research focused on looking for gender differences. After her, many scientists focused on the study of gender similarities. Such works help to combat stereotypes and discrimination created in society.

    In recent years, scientists have analyzed:

gender inequality in the professional sphere;

gender stereotypes in education;

linking gender and the COVID-19 pandemic.