Good Morning Reader, Welcome to STEMlights!
This week, we will be discussing Inception, Hispanic Heritage Month, Apollo 7, and, as always, we will be sharing opportunities for students.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15! Join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by learning more here, supporting organizations, or simply learning about important stories, Hispanic contributions, and Hispanic historical figures!
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Inception and Dreams
Welcome back to another section of Sci-Fi or Fact where we debunk the science behind pop culture including the science in movies, tv shows, and books! Today, we will be dissecting the science behind the well-known movie, Inception. If you don’t already know, Inception is a movie in which Dominic Cobb, a skilled spy and thief, is hired to enter the dreams of big business people. When he enters them, he plants ideas into their head and steals valuable secrets from a certain corporation. Now comes the question of “Is that even possible”. Can a person really enter someone’s dream? Can a person really be in complete control in a state of sleep? Let’s find out!
Starting off, a person can be in control when they are dreaming! This type of dreaming is rare and is known as lucid dreaming. However, in a 2014 experiment using 27 healthy subjects, scientists were able to self induce lucid dreaming through the stimulation of gamma waves into subjects’ brains while sleeping. Gamma waves in general have the primary function of carrying out cognitive activities in the brain. Moreover, scientists tested various frequencies of gamma waves on the volunteers and discovered that lower bands of gamma waves increased the likelihood of lucid dreaming in the patients. In the end, the subjects were in control in their dreams and were able to vividly describe their dreams in lucid dream reports. To read more about the experiment and lucid dream reports click here.
In Inception, Cobb and his team used a fictional drug known as Somnacin to enter dreams while still being in control. As seen in the research above, no drug is needed to have lucid dreams. Although the method in this movie is completely fictional, the concept behind self induced lucid dreaming is completely possible today with the stimulation of gamma waves.
Now comes down to the question of “is it possible for other people to enter one’s dreams”. Well, in a research article from February of 2021, scientists conducted another experiment of lucid dreaming with 36 subjects. However in this experiment, they interacted with their subjects while they were lucid dreaming. During this experiment, scientists asked their subjects to answer simple math or yes/no questions. As a result, lucid dreamers were trained to answer with signals such as minimal facial movements or even eye movements. According to one of the subjects, the external voice of the researcher came from a car radio during their dream. As a result, the subject was able to answer the math question. In relation to Inception, another person’s presence is able to enter one’s dream as they lucid dream, just not the way Cobb and his team does. In fact, there are no scientific experiments today that have allowed one person to see another’s dream in real life.
To conclude, the methods demonstrated in Inception are completely fictional, but the self induced lucid dreaming and "entering" of another’s dream is (somewhat) possible. Today, scientists are aiming to use these methods to help people with mental health issues such as anxiety and PTSD.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we will be featuring three incredible members of the STEM community!
Dr. Luis Walter Alvarez
Alvarez was an accomplished physicist and inventor born in San Francisco on June 13, 1911. After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1932, he went on to have an incredible career, even winning the Nobel Prize for his work on liquid hydrogen bubble chambers. The bubble chamber is a device that is used to detect radiation and study nuclear physics. Alvarez is also known for being one of the co-discoverers of the “East-West effect” found in cosmic rays. He even helped create the Berkeley 40-foot proton linear accelerator in 1947 and develop the idea of the Tandem Van de Graaf accelerator.
Born on July 7, 1929 in New York, Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias was a pioneer in pediatric medicine and an advocate for women’s health and reproductive rights. In the 1960’s, she founded the first neonatal care center in Puerto Rico and helped the hospital decrease their newborn death rate by 50% in just three years. Rodriguez-Trias was also a firm supporter in spreading awareness about sterilization abuse, especially in communities of color. She has also served as the medical director of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, working with female HIV patients. In 1993, she was became the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association.
Dr. Ellen Ochoa
Dr. Ellen Ochoa was born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles and was the first Hispanic woman to travel to space. Ochoa attended San Diego State University and Stanford University before working at the Sandia National Laboratories and Ames Research Center at NASA. Ochoa has gone on four space missions: STS-56. STS-66, STS-96, and STS-110– she spent almost 46 days in space! She has been honored with NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award and even has six different schools named after her! Ochoa was also the first Hispanic woman to be the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston and now serves as the National Science Board chair.
Photos from Nobel Prize, National Library of Medicine, and NASA
October 11 1968: Apollo 7
53 years ago, Apollo 7 was launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida with astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, and Walter Cunningham aboard. This mission was the first crewed Apollo spaceflight that went into space, and it played a major role in preparation for Apollo 11’s journey to the moon in 1969. Though Apollo 7 is often overlooked — especially in comparison to the other Apollo missions — it was an “essential engineering test to prove the performance of the command module,” and has gone down in history as an important astronautical feat.
The American spaceflight program (and the space race) needed rejuvenation and a boost in hope. In 1967, one year before the Apollo 7 launch, the crew of Apollo 1 perished in a tragic cabin fire that occured during a launch rehearsal test. In the following months, NASA worked hard to ensure safety and protection for all astronauts. Apollo 7 was the first manned mission following the devastating catastrophe. It was meant to, “prove that the spacecraft command and service modules would function properly in space, long enough to carry man to the moon and back."
During the 10-day orbit of Earth, the Apollo 7 crew transmitted the very first live television broadcasts from orbit, which can be viewed here. Apollo 7 is also famous for having the first “mini-mutiny” in space. Because the entire crew came down with unbearable “space colds," they were uneasy and audibly tense with ground control, refusing some of their requests (like turning on broadcasts or putting on their helmets upon return). They were the first astronauts to return without their helmets on, and NASA did not take this lightly. The three would never fly again.
The Apollo 7 missions taught NASA not only about human capability of traveling to the moon, but also about the significance of managing “human temperament and stress” in outer space. Today, the The Apollo 7 Command Module can be viewed at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas! Learn more about Apollo 7 here.
STEMlights Program Coordinator
Do you enjoy what you're reading? Do you want to explore science journalism and write STEM-related articles every week? Join STEMlights by applying to be a STEMlights Program Coordinator, where you will help craft the newsletter with the rest of the team on a weekly basis. We're so excited to learn more about you! APPLICATIONS ARE DUE NOVEMBER 6th, 11:59 EST.
Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest
In 500 words or less, "Name a Hispanic or Latino, past or present, who inspires you and explain why." This essay contest is open to everyone (you do not have to be Hispanic) as long as you are a middle school or high school student who attends school in an Optimum service area in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or North Carolina. The grand prize is $1,500 scholarship and three finalists will receive iPads. All essay submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST on October 31, 2021!
2022 NASA Langley Student Art Contest
"The power of imagination is only as good as putting those hopes and dreams onto paper. NASA’s missions and achievements share a common start on the proverbial drawing board and come to life in many ways to benefit all of humankind." NASA Langley is inviting students from K-12 to submit space-related art of all kinds, following the theme "Drawn to Explore." The contest begins Dec. 1, 2021 and ends on Dec. 31, 2021 at midnight EST. Check out this link for more information.
Caltech Space Challenge 2022
Full-time undergraduate and graduate students of any nationality enrolled during the 2021-2022 academic year are eligible to apply to this program which brings 32 students to Caltech for an exciting program and educational experience! "The participants are split into two teams that work under the mentorship of experts from industry, NASA, and academia to design a mission concept from scratch. " Connect with world-renowned experts in space exploration and apply by November 1st!
Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Physics Teachers
The AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers) Board of Directors offers scholarships to future high school physics teachers who are U.S. citizens. All applicants must "declare their intent to prepare for, and engage in, a career in physics teaching at the high school level," and be an undergraduate student enrolled in an accredited two-year college, four-year college or a university (or a high school senior). Applications are due December 1st.
ASHRAE Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers offers numerous engineering scholarships for undergraduates looking to advance in the field. Opportunities range from female-based scholarships to multi-year funds. All applicants must "have cumulative college Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a scale where 4.0 is the highest and/or a class standing of no less than the top 30." There are also additional curriculum requirements that you can check out on their website! Applications are due December 1st.
Why Do We Dream?
Scientists do not have a definitive answer for why we dream. However, they've developed a number of interesting theories, which TED-Ed breaks down in this trippy video below! Sigmund Freud believed that dreams represent our subconscious desires. Others believe that we dream to forget. Some researchers think that we dream to keep our brains working, and some think it's to help us heal. Either way, dreams are fascinating, and so is this wonderful five minute video!
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