Photo Courtesy John Lundberg

After its discovery almost 40 years ago, a very small and eyeless species of catfish now has an official name courtesy of two scientists from  Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

John Lundberg and Tiago Carvalho named the catfish Micromyzon orinoco after the Orinoco River, where the fish was originally discovered during the US-Venezuelan Orinoco Delta Expeditions of 1978 and 1979.

Before scientists could give this species a proper name, they had to do an examination of the specimen and a comparison to existing catfish.

This proved to be difficult as only two specimens of M. orinoco have ever been documented, both of which are currently being held at the Academy of Natural Sciences as a part of the ichthyology collection.

These catfish are particularly elusive because of their tiny size, only about 15 millimeters long, and their habitat at the bottom of very deep and poorly sampled South American rivers.

“There is no way to encounter these fish other than by trawling with fine, mesh netting. They are out of reach in lightless, swift-flowing river channels … and they probably bury themselves in sand much of the time,” Lundberg said.

M. orinoco lives in deep and dark waters and has no eyes. It also has almost no pigment, making it nearly colorless in appearance. There are two evolutionary explanations as to why this species is eyeless.

“True eyes are expensive to make and maintain, in terms of energy. And these animals are not in a highly productive habitat with unlimited food resources. … Second, eyes without eyelids are potentially a liability in a world of shifting sand where there is no light anyway,” Lundberg explained.

Other fish living in the same habitat as M. orinoco also have similar adaptations, including lack of eyes and pigment, small and flattened bodies, and sensory specializations.

The genus in which this catfish belongs, Micromyzon, is a part of the Aspredinidae family which contains 45 different species of diverse South American catfish.

The genus, however, only has one other species, M. akamai, discovered by Lundberg and fellow scientist John Friel in 1993. Both catfish are classified in this particular genus due to five shared characteristics including their small body size, unique body armour and expanded lateral-line ossicles, bones that connect the auditory system of the fish from swim bladder to inner ear.

In the future, the specimen may help scientists identify and classify new species more quickly and easily.

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An engineering team from Drexel University was selected as a semifinalist to compete in NASA’s Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage forum for their airlock design.

The forum will take place from May 31 to June 2 in Cocoa Beach, Florida at the Kennedy Space Center.

Drexel’s airlock design, “Modular Multi-Mission Airlock,” was one of two selected to compete in the final round of the airlock competition. Their opponent is a team from the University of Minnesota that has entered a design entitled “Janus Deep Space Airlock.”

RASC-AL is a competition sponsored by NASA that is open to all undergraduate and graduate university-level students. The goal is to get students to use what they have learned in classes to create real aerospace designs.  

“Students get something out of it … They get a chance to apply what they learn in class to real world aerospace challenges,” Pat Troutman, senior systems analyst at NASA’s Langley Research Center, said of the competition.

This year, there were four themes, or categories, in which teams could enter their designs. These included ”Lightweight Exercise Suite,” ”Airlock Design,” “Commercially Enabled LEO/Mars Habitable Module” and “Logistics Delivery System.”

On Feb. 3, 21 teams were chosen to compete in the final round of the competition. Each of these teams will be receiving a monetary award so they can further their designs before the final competition.

At the end of the forum, the top two overall winning teams will be granted a stipend to present their design at a major Aerospace conference, which is still to be determined.

According to the RASC-AL website, the major goal of the 2017 competition is to explore how to improve the ability of humans to work in microgravity.

An airlock is a device that allows either people or objects to pass through an area while minimizing the effect of changing pressures. Airlocks in spacecrafts or space stations would allow people to enter and exit the crafts without being majorly affected by the pressure changes.

The airlock design theme had several requirements. It is meant to be attached to a deep-space habitat by 2021 and be sustainable for at least 15 years. The design also had to address maintenance needs as well as include failure warnings and alarm systems. How the airlock would be launched was also to be evaluated in the design.

While Drexel’s first airlock design secured them a place in the final round, there is still a long way to go before the forum.

“There is still much engineering work to be done for the final submission,” Andrew Broeker, leader of the team, said.

The team has to meet several more deadlines before the final forum at the end of May.

Teams must submit a mid-project review by March 16th. They must also submit a technical paper and oral presentation by May 15.

More information on the RASC-AL forum is available at http://rascal.nianet.org/.

Khachik Simonian Unsplash

Researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health received a $12 million grant to study health in Latin American cities.

Four international groups will be splitting the grant money totaling $36 million. One of those partnerships is spearheaded by Ana Diez Roux, dean of Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health and director of the Urban Health Collaborative.

Roux and her team will study how health is affected in highly urbanized areas of Latin America. Specifically, they will analyse how the man-made, natural and economic environments link to well-being of citizens in large cities. They will also study the impact of newly introduced policies meant to improve health in urban areas.

“Environment affects health — for example, levels of air pollution and heat have especially strong health impacts in cities — but many of the things we can do to make people healthier…also have favorable implications for the environment…and that is a key goal of the project,” Roux told Drexel Now.

The project will look at 10 countries and hundreds of cities across Latin America.

There are several other Drexel affiliates on Roux’s team, including Amy Auchincloss, Brent Langellier, Gina Lovasi, Yvonne Michael, Harrison Quick, Jose Tapia and Leslie McClure. The remaining members of the team are from universities all across the United States and other countries including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Colombia and Malaysia.

Studying the impact of health in urban environments is particularly notable since more than half of the world’s population lives in city environments. That number is projected to shoot up to 70 percent by the year 2050.  

“What is clear is that many of the lessons we draw from this study will be relevant not only to U.S. cities but also to cities all over the world,” Roux said.

One other team from the awardees  will be studying health in urban environments in addition to Roux’s team. Rebekah Brown from Australian college Monash University will lead a team investigating how to improve sanitation in Fijian and Indonesian cities.

Two additional partnerships also received funding as a part of this grant and will study food choices.

Oxford University professor Charles Godfray and his team will delve deeper into the impacts of animal-sourced food, particularly in the United Kingdom. Alan Dangour, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will build on prior work done and look into healthy food systems in India and South Africa.

All of the partnerships are also working with other organizations in order to turn their findings into actionable outcomes.

The grant is from a global charitable foundation originally created by Sir Henry Wellcome, a 20th century pharmacist and philanthropist.

The Wellcome Foundation began a new funding commitment of $94 million called Our Planet, Our Health in 2015.

According to their website, Our Planet, Our Health has four initiatives: building an interdisciplinary research community, creating partnerships among sectors, informing decision makers, and engaging the public.

“There are so many factors that need to be addressed if we are to create a healthy and sustainable future. These major research programmes bring together collaborators from all over the world to explore how we can create health, not just prevent disease, while being responsible custodians of the planet,” Sarah Molton, a leader of Wellcome’s work, said.
For more information on Wellcome, visit https://wellcome.ac.uk/.

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The likelihood of violence is higher in Philadelphia neighborhoods where alcohol is more readily available, according to a new study by researchers at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University.

Alcohol outlets are defined as any place licensed to sell alcohol for consumption, whether on-premise, such as at a bar or restaurant, or off-premise at places like liquor stores or beer distributors.

When conducting this study, the city of Philadelphia and Drexel’s Urban Health Collective considered multiple factors including socioeconomic status and race.

In neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty, the alcohol density was above average, with 3.5 alcohol outlets per square mile. In these poorer neighborhoods, during 2015, there were 400 violent incidents per 10,000 residents. In contrast, wealthier neighborhoods had about two outlets per square mile and only 130 violent incidents per 10,000 residents.

While there was a strong correlation between poor neighborhoods and violent incidents, the study found that regardless of poverty level, rates of violent incidents were highest in places where alcohol density was also high.

In wealthy neighborhoods, where less than seven percent of people live under the federal poverty line, with low alcohol density, an average of 111 violent incidents occurred per 10,000 residents. This number increased to 168 when there were more than six outlets per square mile.

The study also looked at distance between alcohol outlets and schools. The median distance between schools and outlets was found to greater than 1,500 feet. This distance shrunk to 1,100 feet in areas with higher levels of poverty.

This study was conducted in light of Governor Tom Wolf signing new legislation that relaxed liquor laws in Pennsylvania. Wine and more beer can now be sold in grocery stores across the state, and liquor stores can now open on Sundays.

The density of alcohol outlets in Philadelphia is relatively low — about 2.2 per square mile — compared to other big cities like Los Angeles, Baltimore and New Orleans where there are more than 10 outlets per square mile.

Loni Philip Tabb, an assistant professor in the Dornsife School was the lead researcher on another case study that looked at Seattle after Washington state made changes in their liquor laws. After approving the privatization of liquor licenses in 2012, there was a 5 percent increase in both non-aggravated and aggravated assaults in neighborhoods where new outlets arose in Seattle.

Both of these findings solidify the conclusion that there is a connection between alcohol sales and violence, and these effects are greater felt in areas where people are already at a social disadvantage.

“This study should make us concerned about the effects of widening the availability of alcohol on violence in Philadelphia neighborhoods,” Thoman Farley, Philadelphia’s health commissioner told DrexelNow.

Increasing the price of alcohol through taxes, reducing alcohol outlet density and restricting the hours when alcohol can be sold are recommendations the study makes to alleviate this social problem.

“There isn’t likely one solution to reduce excessive use of alcohol,” Amy Auchincloss, a member of the research team, said.

“‘Binge drinking’ is fairly common among college students thus is a commonly used marker of ‘excessive use’ among college-aged populations,” Auchincloss said.

Auchincloss also noted that not many college students actually know what constitutes binge drinking. For women it is four or more drinks, and for men it is five or more drinks in a single occasion.

“Binge drinking leads to alcohol-related blackouts and blackouts are very strongly associated with ‘problems’ such as missing class or work, getting behind in work or school, doing something later regretted, arguing with friends, experiencing an overdose, hangover, damaging property, getting hurt and trouble with police,” Auchincloss cautioned.

Full results of the study can be found at http://www.phila.gov/health/pdfs/CHARTv2e2.pdf and for more information on binge drinking is available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27012148.

MTV Bébéranol Wikipedia

Drexel University alumnus Chris McCarthy is the new president of MTV, Deadline Hollywood reported Oct. 24.

McCarthy is originally from Levittown, Pennsylvania and attended high school at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School. McCarthy then obtained a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University in 1998. In 2003, McCarthy graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Business Administration.

McCarthy is replacing Sean Atkins as the head of MTV after working for its parent company, Viacom, for 10 years. Viacom also owns Logo and VH1, both of which McCarthy is also the president of.

Beginning as a senior vice president of marketing and business strategy at MTV and Logo, McCarthy moved up the ranks over the years to general manager and then vice president of both the Viacom networks.

During his presidency at VH1, it has become the fastest growing cable entertainment network out of the top 25, according to Deadline.

“Within a remarkably short time, Chris has driven record growth across all screens and done an incredible job of reinventing the VH1 brand, bringing the focus back to its rich pop culture heritage,” Doug Herzog, president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, remarked to Deadline.

McCarthy has been key in the return of “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Amber Rose Show”  on VH1, and he helped to establish Logo’s Emmy-award-winning show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and two of MTV’s most popular series, “Guy Code” and “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’N’ Out.”

MTV hopes that McCarthy can do the same thing with its network and revitalize its ratings. Since 2011, ratings have been down about 50 percent among adults ages 18 to 49.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to lead MTV. …  the power of the MTV brand is its ability to let go everything it knows and reinvent for the next generation of youth,” McCarthy told Philly.com.

McCarthy’s predecessor Atkins will remain with the network until January to act as a consultant.

Mary Carol Garrity The Triangle

The Academy of Natural Sciences hosted the Philadelphia’s annual Shell Show Oct. 22-23, the largest shell display event in the northeast.

The Philadelphia Shell Club began holding shell shows in 1962, but the first show open to the public was in 1983. Since then, the show has been a yearly event that serves as a way for collectors to showcase their finds.

This year, thousands of shells were on display, varying in size from 3 millimeters to a few feet long.

On the first floor of the show, dealers were selling shells and other trinkets made out of shells, like bracelets, earrings and necklaces. The most expensive shell was more than $1,000.

“There’s actually a shell pricing guide…and supply and demand are taken into account as well,” Stefan Dabrowski, a shell dealer, explained.

Certain types of shells are more expensive than others based on looks and size. Shiny shells tend to be more expensive, as well as ones with intricate patterns and color schemes, Dabrowski noted.

“The patterns of the shells come from the animal itself and the shine comes from animal secretions,” he said.

In order for shells to be sold at their highest price, they must be undamaged. This means no chips or scratches, according to Dabrowski.

Collectors will bring their finds to dealers who will then sell the shells at shows and conventions across the country. Every year there is a Conchologists of America convention; this year’s convention was in Chicago and next year’s will be in Key West.

On the second floor of the show, shell collections, both scientific and artistic, were on display.

Mary Carol Garrity The Triangle

Awards were given for 33 scientific and 52 artistic divisions. Shells entered in scientific classes were judged based on the choice of specimen, attractiveness, detailing, quality of labeling and the educational value of the display, while artistic entries were judged on technique, execution and aesthetic appeal.

Members of the Philadelphia Shell Club were at the academy handing out free shells to children and answering questions about the collections.

According to the PSC president, there are about 55 current members. They meet at 7:30 p.m. on every third Thursday of the month between September and June at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Meetings for the Philadelphia Shell Club involve a main speaker, presentations from club members and shells on display for sale.

More information on the winners of the shell show, as well as PSC meetings can be found on the club’s website.

giovannaorlando Pixebay

It all started in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 20.

The next day a boy and his mother reported seeing clowns in the woods surrounding their apartment complex, Fleetwood Manor Apartments. Multiple others in the area had also noticed clowns hanging around, which prompted Fleetwood to issue a warning to its residents.

“If a person or persons are seen you are immediately to call the police,” the statement read.

Since then, clowns have been sighted in at least 37 states.

Philadelphia has also been affected by the clown phenomena. Philadelphia School officials discovered menacing social media posts that included pictures of clowns and references to kidnapping and killing students and teachers Oct. 1.

“While there have been similar social media posts regarding schools in other states and in Pennsylvania the [Philadelphia Police Department] and the [School District of Philadelphia] remain in contact with homeland Security and will continue to investigate local threats on social media,” the School District of Philadelphia said in a statement.

“This is a situation that local law enforcement authorities take quite seriously, ”John Earnest, White House press secretary, ensured in a press conference.

Dr. Nancy Raitano Lee, a psychology professor at Drexel University, helped shed some light on what might be behind this clown sensation and how it has become so widespread. She believes that there are numerous factors that have played into this developing epidemic, including social media and its impact on teenagers, as well as many people’s innate fear of clowns.

Social media has made it easy for people to share these clown sightings in completely different parts of the country and around the world.

“It seems that social media must play a role in it. It is unlikely that people are coming up with these ideas independently,” Lee remarked.

JoaquinAranoa Pixebay

In an age where everyone is connected, it’s hard to find someone who is unaware of the current clown situation, which might factor into why sightings are so prevalent.

Another factor is that many of these clown sightings have been made by kids and teens, which prompts Lee to think that in many cases, people are fabricating the sightings or have mistakenly identified an unknown person as a clown.

Lee says research indicates that children are not extremely reliable witnesses, since they are more suggestible than adults.

“If they have it in their minds, they are more likely to misattribute something to being a clown even if it’s not,” Lee said.

As news stories about clowns are everywhere, people, especially children, are more likely to jump to the conclusion that some dark figure in the woods or some strangely dressed person in the streets might be a clown.

Lee reasons that while there are real sightings of people dressed up as clowns, it is more likely that a lot of the reports are unsubstantiated or fictitious.

“It could be copycats. It could be teenagers wanting to draw attention to themselves and the situation… it could just be a social media contagion. It’s not clear what the psychology behind it is,” Lee said.

However, the menace has escalated to a dangerous level in some places. Many schools, including ones in the Philadelphia area, such as Neumann-Goretti High School and Northeast Charter High School, have received bomb threats from “clown” Instagram and Twitter pages. The youngest known perpetrator is a 12-year-old arrested in New Jersey for making threats via the Instagram account, “killerclownfromnj.” More than 30 other teens across the country have been arrested and charged for falsely reporting clowns, making terroristic threats via clown pages, or other clown related incidents.

As a specialist in the area of child psychology, Lee explained that teenagers tend to make riskier decisions when their peers are influencing them. Studies show that making risky choices while amongst peers can even cause activation in the reward center of a teen’s brain.

In one experiment involving a driving game similar to Red Light Green Light, teens made dangerous decisions more when playing in a group than when they were playing alone. These teens were also more likely to choose to take risks that paid off in immediate rewards when they were with other teens their age. Another study showed that kids ages 12 to 15 and 17 to 18 engage in more reward- and sensation-seeking behaviors than any other age group.

Perhaps this can explain some of what is behind this wave of clowns. Teenagers may realize the consequences of their actions, but are more concerned about showing off to their peers. While most would not make a clown profile page or dress up as like clown and meander around town, some teenagers might think about it as a way to get attention from classmates and friends.

Lee believes that is a major part of what is perpetuating the clown headlines.

“The importance of peers and being reinforced for potentially risky or maladaptive behavior is likely to be a factor in keeping [this trend] going on,” Lee said.

Lee then elaborated on why so many people might be afraid of clowns.

“Some professionals have noted that clowns have one expression painted on their face and you don’t really know what is behind that expression. A lot of what we do in our social interaction is reading people’s expressions,” Lee said. “That inconsistency may be frightening to some people because you can’t really see what a clown is feeling.”

While Lee isn’t sure if the clowns are something that we should be truly worried about, she knows that the police will not be taking the matter lightly.

“Ultimately, law enforcement is going to take each threat seriously, because the one that they ignore could be the one that actually is a valid threat,” Lee said.

Clown sightings can be reported to Philadelphia police by calling 911. Drexel Public Safety is also available to accompany students to their homes or classes if they should feel unsafe.