Recent Research from the AGU Explains Cause of Dinosaur Extinction

Matthew “Matt” Kafker earned his high school diploma from Middlesex High School, where he received numerous academic accolades, including the 2015 Andrew M. Dawson Physics Prize. Currently attending the University of Oregon, Matthew Kafker enjoys studying several science-related subjects, including electromagnetic physics, Newtonian mechanics, and microbial ecology. He has also taken part in conducting geophysical research.

Recently, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an international nonprofit scientific association, reported on research that indicates dinosaurs went extinct due to a prolonged period of darkness (rather than cold) following the impact of an asteroid in the Yucatan Peninsula. The new research reveals that soot released from fires raging across the planet may have inhibited sunlight for a period long enough to destroy most of the life on earth, approximately 66 million years ago.

Researchers used a complex climate model to create a simulation of the effects of the fire and the resulting sulfates, ash, and particulates on blocking sunlight. Soot is believed to have absorbed most of the sun’s light for a year or more, which led to photosynthesis levels being reduced to below 1 percent of normal, subsequently killing photosynthesizing organisms at the base of the food chain.

Published: A Brief Introduction to Game Theory and Its Applications

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Three Tips for Breathing Effectively While Running

As a student at the University of Oregon, Middlesex High School graduate Matthew “Matt” Kafker is taking courses in linguistics, literature, electromagnetic physics, mathematics, and computer science. When not studying, Matt Kafker enjoys staying active by running.

Learning how to breathe properly while running has positive benefits, such as helping to prevent injuries and improving performance. The following are three helpful tips for breathing effectively while running.

1. Breathe from your diaphragm. Breathing from the diaphragm, also referred to as belly breathing, enables maximal oxygen uptake since the lungs can expand fully. Increasing oxygen intake while running enables the muscles to work more efficiently for longer, and also improves mental focus.

2. Take in air through both the nose and mouth. Breathing through both the nose and mouth facilitates maximal oxygen intake. Breathing this way also helps runners to exhale carbon dioxide rapidly, and helps them to keep their rate of breathing steady.

3. Match your breathing with your cadence. Time your breathing so that you are inhaling and exhaling while taking steps on each side of the body, rather than breathing only while steps are being taken on one side of the body Adopting a breathing method that alternates from one side of the body to the other helps to prevent injuries.

Published: Heat Transfer and Partial Differential Equations

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Intelligence Quotient - A Flawed Construct

In addition to studying mathematics, Matthew “Matt” Kafker is well-read and has explored a wide range of authors and subjects. A university student, Matt Kafker is reading the works of essayist and author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, such as Incerto.

Mr. Taleb is known for writing essays that cover topics focusing on randomness, probability, and uncertainty. In an essay published last year, the essayist argues that IQ is, for the most part, a “pseudoscience fraud.” The author’s paper includes some of the other criticisms of traditional IQ tests, but he also refutes the mathematical construct on which intelligence tests are supported.

The author suggests that these intelligence tests have the potential to determine more than smartness. When looking at other exams, those who have not scored well on IQ tests typically would score poorly on college entrance exams, simply because many of these exams are based on IQ tests, which suggests there is bias in most standardized testing.

The author also addresses the weaknesses in the statistical model from which it draws its conclusions. The author questions the validity of the test because co-variance between IQ and performance is un-informational, or it simply does not exist. The figures support a finite number in a sample that does not exist, and this can lead to overestimating the prediction.

Another flaw relates to the way standard deviation is used to explain probability, and he mentions this in terms of the way IQ has been used to define race. Mr. Taleb argues that richer models have to be developed because different groups require different variances and skewness. These tests have to take into consideration nuances across cultures and groups.

A Brief Look at Einstein’s General and Special Theories of Relativity

Accomplished student Matthew “Matt” Kafker graduated as an AP Scholar and National Merit Commended Student from Middlesex School prior to enrolling as an undergraduate student. As a university student, Matt Kafker majors in physics and has completed several courses related to the field, including electrostatics and special relativity.

Special relativity, or the Special Theory of Relativity, is one part of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Developed in 1905, special relativity notes that the speed of light is constant, regardless of whether the observer is moving through space or not. In essence, if someone is driving a car alongside a train, the train is moving at a constant speed, regardless of whether the car is moving with the train, against the train, or staying still. However, at the same time, Einstein noted that the mass of a moving object increases with speed, while the passing of time decreases with speed.

Alongside his theory of special relativity, Einstein created his general theory of relativity some 10 years later. According to this theory, objects in space distort space-time when they have a high mass, thereby creating a gravitational field. This concept is illustrated by thinking of a trampoline with a body in the middle. The weight of the body presses down on the fabric and causes the trampoline to dip in the middle. A marble placed at the edge of the trampoline will be drawn to the middle because of this.

Japanese Researchers Succeed in Growing Ancient Microbe

Petri dish
Photo by Drew Hays on Unsplash

Physics major Matt Kafker studies a range of soft and hard science subjects as a university student. In addition to studying psychology, linguistics, and foreign languages in school, Matthew “Matt” Kafker is involved in research related to microbial ecology, a field that studies bacteria colonies in varying environments.

In August 2019, a team in Japan announced that it had successfully grown a simple organism from mud that had been collected from the seabed. This success came after 12 years of attempts, and could serve as the missing link between complex and simple cells.

The entire process began in 2006 when the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology obtained a sample of seabed mud brought up from the Omine Ridge, a 2,500-meter-deep ridge of the coast of Japan. Researchers eventually discovered microbes in one of the tubes of mud. Some of these microbes belonged to the class Asgard archaeon, a specific type of microbe that scientists believe played a role in the formation of mitochondria about 2 billion years ago.

These microbes are very difficult to detect and study since they grow slowly and in inhospitable environments. However, the scientists in Japan were able to get enough of the microbe to study after about 20 days. This ultimately led to them growing arachaea prometheoarchaeum syntophicum, a single-cell organism that contained some of the same genes found in eukaryotes, which are sophisticated microbes found in plants, humans, and other animals.

Though it’s not clear whether this microbe was a true ancestor to eukaryotes, the ability to grow Asgard archaea will help advance additional studies into microbiology and the early stages of life.