The Topic of this Issue

Milutin Milanković: Understanding climate change

The great Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković, born in Dalj (then Austria-Hungarian Empire), who completed his university studies and his Ph.D. in Vienna, developed a number of theories in the field of applied mathematics, solar radiation of the Earth, and climate changes on our planet. After completing his studies, he worked as a civil engineer in Vienna, and in 1909 he was appointed chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. He published a number of works in the Serbian and the German language: Contribution to the Theory of Mathematical Climate (1912), On Distribution of Solar radiation on the Earth’s Surface (1918), Mathematical Theory of Heat Phenomena Caused by Solar Radiation (1920), Canon of Solar Radiation (1939), Astronomical Theory of Climate Variations (1957). As a civil engineer in 1956 he design the Babylon Tower of Modern technology, statically the tallest possible building in the world (height 21.4 km, foundation radius 112.8 km, having 1356 floors).

ENERGY

Cooking Stove Powered by Wind

Is it possible at present time to achieve 100 percent share of renewable energy sources at global level, and stop using fossil fuels? The simple answer could be: yes. The next question could be: how and under which conditions? Under the condition that several forms of renewable energy (hydro and solar, wind energy, bio-energy, geothermal energy, and heat pumps) are integrated and used together wherever possible. According to data from 2016, currently at global level renewable energy sources have a share of 19.2 % in meeting the energy needs, and 23.7 % in electricity generation. Total investments are about 300 billion USD per year, with an increasing trend. At national level, so far about 30 states cover 20% of their total energy needs from RES.

ECOLOGY

Invasive shell

One of the greatest threats to present day water eco-systems are the invasive species whose appearance threatens the bio-diversity of a certain region. Invasive species are those which do not naturally inhabit a certain habitat but are intentionally or unintentionally introduced to them. Their spreading in such habitats produces negative impacts on the eco-system and human health and causes economic damage. Mollusks, especially Corbicula, are among the most invasive species in European sweet water eco-systems. During the past decade, these shells have spread in the region along the Danube river in northern Serbia and their massive appearance has been demonstrated also in major tributaries of the Danube, including the rivers Sava, Tisa, and Velika Morava. This species in its great numbers threatens the eco-system balance, impacts the water quality, and can often cause problems in irrigation canals and pipes, while sedimentation on boats and ships can lead to damage.

GEOPHYSICS

“The underground river“ of melted iron

Deep beneath the surface of our planet melted iron is moving at increasing speeds. This liquid flow has been discovered for the first time by readings of the magnetic field 3,000 km below the soil of North America and Russia, and this has been observed from space. This huge flow is 420 km wide and it has tripled its speed since the year 2000, presently circulating at the speed of 40-45 km annually, under Siberia towards Europe. This is three times faster that the typical speed of matter in liquid state of the outer Earth core. Nobody knows why this flow is accelerating, but scientists believe that this natural phenomenon is a billion years old and that it may help us understand the Earth’s magnetic field which protects us from Solar winds.

PHYSICS

Gravity “chasing” the light

The speed of light should be the key constant in physics, but in reality it does vary. Such a change of belief could turn around the generally accepted cosmic axioms. In 1998, João Magueijo (Imperial College London) stated that the speed of light could vary and that this could have an impact on resolving the problem which the cosmologists call the horizon problem. This means that the cosmos has reached its constant temperature much sooner that photons, which travel at the speed of light, could reach all corners of the Universe. The usual way to explain this riddle which is termed the inflation space, is by a theory which explains the size and uniformity of cosmos

MEDICINE

“Smart” medicines for sight in danger

Thanks to advanced biological medicines which prevent the pathological proliferation of blood vessels it is possible to stop the loss of eye-sight caused by diseases which only a decade ago were believed to be incurable. Dr Maja Škuletić, ophthalmologist at the Bel Medic Hospital, explains how antiVEGF therapy works.

MEDICINE

The infallible biomarker of heart attack

Troponin I is a valuable diagnostic marker of miocardiac arrest and of other forms of acute coronary syndrome. It can presently be analyzed by advanced ummunochemical tests significantly shortening the time for diagnosing of these pathological states. The new performances of the Troponin test are discussed by pharmacist Sonja Šuput, medical biochemist at the Bel Medic Hospital. Highly sensitive Troponin test is a new old laboratory test which not only reliably confirms clinical suspicion of the “heart attack”, but can also assist in timely prevention of miocardic infraction. One of the key cardiac biomarkers of cardiomyocite necrosis - troponin – has been used routinely in laboratories for three decades whenever there is suspicion of cardiovascular disease, but the new high-sensitive troponin – hsTn is much more sensitive and considerably shortens the time needed to diagnose miocardic infraction.

MEDICINE

The golden standard in heart diagnosis

Since new technologies have enabled getting the radiological image in real time, seeing organic structures in movement, cardiology is also making use of the great diagnostic advantages offered by MRI. What is more, the MRI has become the golden standard for assessment of functional parameters of the cardiac muscle, says professor Ružica Maksimović, MD, radiologist, consultant at the Bel Medic Hospital. Are there any pathological changes in the structure of the heart muscle? Are there ischemic changes? How much has the miocardiac muscle been damaged by infraction, will it recover? These are just some of the questions which can best and most reliably be answered by MRI – a non-invasive and completely harmless diagnostic method that many branches of medicine have been relying on for decades now, but used by cardiology only as of recently.

ASTROPHYSICS

Space signal captured

For the first time man managed to observe the sudden radio-impulse in cosmos all the way to its source. Scientists are not yet sure what was the cause of these radio-waves but they know where one of them comes from. This offers new insights into studying their origin. Fast radio bursts (FRB) are transient astronomical radio-impulses lasting only for a number of milliseconds. It is not yet explained phenomenon of the universe – powerful radio signals appearing suddenly at great distances and disappearing without trace. They are the key reason for everything, from black holes to extraterrestrial intelligence. Due to their transient nature and telescopes which can observe a smaller part of the sky at any moment, observance was made of 18 signals of FRB, of which only one was repeated, specifically FRB 121102.

CONQUERING SPACE

Japanese in space

FThe high technological awareness of Japanese scientists, politicians and businessmen, and the nation in general, has made it possible to achieve the economic progress of Japan along the first front line of technological advancement. Staying on top in the global fight to master new technologies and use them in production and achieve sales of state of the art products implies the need to conquer the broad field of cosmo0s technologies such as production of rocket carriers, commercial satellites, and cosmic probes – but also sending men to space while mastering the necessary knowledge and technology for stay in orbital stations. Cosmic research in Japan is done by the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), founded 2003. So far, 11 Japanese nationals have stayed in space. They each had their individual astronautic experience and some broke records in terms of number of flights and length of stay. All flights are done in close cooperation with NASA and the Russian RKA.