Over the past three years, a rush of excitement has emerged globally regarding artificial intelligence. In a student’s everyday life, discussions about artificial intelligence arise frequently- whether about the potential benefits of generative AI, using ChatGPT on homework assignments, or seeing AI’s growing presence on social media platforms like TikTok.
Claims that AI holds significant potential in the development of society and technology are impossible to ignore, with AI occupying numerous sectors seen throughout daily life. In fact, when I began writing this article, even clicking enter on a google search titled “Impact of AI on climate change” immediately caused an AI overview to pop up unprompted.
AI generated images / The Economic Times India
While the environmental repercussions of AI usage cannot be ignored, to deny the multitude of potential benefits from artificial intelligence would be absurd. Instead, it makes more sense that the use of (mostly generative) AI for recreational purposes is the issue– hundreds of thousands of people contribute to this environmental impact, not realizing that even a short prompt into ChatGPT has been proven by the International Energy Agency to equate to 4-10x the amount of energy that just one Google search consumes.
There are four key problems attributed to why AI can cause widespread harm to our environment. First, the mining required to extract critical minerals and rare earth elements for the microchips that power AI is incredibly destructive to the environments where these resources are found. Navigating New Horizonsconfirms this, stating,
“[The minerals and elements] are often mined unsustainably”.
The second is that AI servers are held in data centers which produce a shocking amount of electronic waste. They also contain hazardous substances such as mercury and lead, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). This is harmful because when they are (often) disposed of improperly, the wildlife, soil, air, and water around it are contaminated.
Thirdly, these AI data centers use preposterous amounts of electricity and energy, due to advanced technology seen in these models. Therefore, the energy used in most of these data centers comes from fossil fuels which produce greenhouse gases that further contribute to global warming. Research by the University of Nottingham shows that by 2026, AI data centers will likely account for nearly 35% of Ireland’s energy consumption. Added effects to climate change are something that we simply can’t afford currently, with the already increasing rate of rising global temperatures.
Pollution due to Elon Musk’s AI data center in Memphis / NAACP
Finally, and most of all, data centers consume a colossal amount of water, not only to construct but also to cool electrical components of AI. Chilled water absorbs heat from computing equipment. This water does not return to the water cycle; most of it is gone forever when used to cool these heated data centers. The centers use mechanical chillers which carry heat away from the servers, releasing it through a condenser, and so the water becomes water vapor where it does not cycle back through treatment systems like in a typical household. Even though some of it returns as rainfall, a majority of vapor in the air cannot be recovered. Not only this, but data centres are often located near locations which are already prone to droughts, which gives the inhabitants of this area even less access to water. This is a huge problem when a quarter of humanity already lacks access to clean water and sanitation. MIT Newstells us that for every single kilowatt hour of energy a data center consumes, it would need two entire liters of water for cooling. It is an atrocity to restrict so much life from access to clean water and instead use it on generating ‘a cartoon version of me’ or asking ChatGPT to write a quick email that could be written by the individual in just two minutes instead.
The impacts of these contributors on climate change are immense. It also doesn’t help that generative AI models have an extremely short shelf-life as AI companies such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek consistently deliver new models, provoked by rising demand for new AI applications. So, the energy used to train previous models goes to waste every few weeks, and new models use even more energy because they are more advanced than the previous ones. Sure, one person using Perplexity AI doesn’t do much to the environment, but if everyone follows this logic, the large scale of people using AI results in terrible repercussions.
On the other hand, popular articles repeat that because “500ml of water are used for every 20-50 ChatGPT prompts, not every prompt”, the amount of energy that ChatGPT uses is not that significant. However, like govtech.com states, even if 500ml sounds small, combined with the 122 million people who use ChatGPT daily, this is a lot of water that is wasted for purposeless reasons. AI’s energy use has exploded only because AI has exploded. It is not that each prompt uses a significant amount of energy, but that AI has had an explosive growth being the quickest adopted technology ever, therefore the energy adds up to be significant through the sum of people using AI.
As a society, we have to acknowledge that even though AI provides us an abundance of opportunities and ideas for our modern world, we must not forget the consequences to the already declining environment that overuse brings. We should take into consideration that life would most likely not be worse without generative AI for the average person. We should take into consideration that the tradeoff of mindless entertainment and having ChatGPT search for basic facts is worth a better chance at restoring our Earth. And ultimately, we should simply refrain from using AI for recreational reasons unless the purpose is absolutely urgent and necessary.
Recently, the phrase ‘flow state’ has gone viral on social media, but most people have no clue what’s actually happening in the brain. Creative outlets for your brain start with the flow state, a mental state you can enter during creative activities like art, dance, writing poetry, or even giving a creative speech. When you are fully immersed in what you’re doing, the mind becomes deeply focused and present. This experience is known as the flow state.
Being in this state can trigger the release of feel-good chemicals such as dopamine, which is associated with pleasure and reward. These chemicals positively affect your brain chemistry and help bring it into balance. The more often you engage in creative activities that lead you into this flow state, the more positive the effects on your mental and emotional health.
Routine also plays an important role in achieving flow state. While the brain may become bored with repetition, the discipline of regularly doing creative work helps maintain the steady release of beneficial brain chemicals. Over time, this habit becomes a powerful tool for supporting emotional stability and improving overall brain function. It can also increase your capacity to learn and help you stay in a more positive mood. Your brain is like a muscle that can grow and change with use. Just as going to the gym strengthens your body, creative outlets help strengthen your brain. Whether you’re solving mental math problems, dancing, writing, or painting, these activities exercise the brain in meaningful ways, and with time, you will begin to notice progress in your thinking, mood, and emotional resilience.
Creative outlets are not just helpful in the long-term, they also provide temporary support. These outlets allow you to process emotions, deal with stress or trauma, and reflect on your day in a positive way. This results in a clear headspace and a more productive day.
Engaging in creative activities can calm the amygdala, which is the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response. When you’re feeling anxious or stressed, the amygdala becomes highly active. Creative work signals to the brain that you’re safe, which helps reduce that activation and gives you a sense of relief and clarity. Incorporating creativity into your life is more than just enjoyable, it’s a powerful way to support your mental health and help your brain thrive.
Every year, in the United States, millions are diagnosed with schizophrenia, autism, and depression . These disabilities severely hinder people’s way of living, therefore, it is crucial for us to find ways to prevent individuals from suffering. In the past few years, research has shown that the gut has a significant connection with your brain.
The ENS
The ENS (enteric nervous system) is what some researchers call your “second brain.” It is composed of two layers that have hundreds of millions of nerve cells that dictate your mood shifts. Located in the gut, this system efficiently communicates with the central nervous system, connecting your mind and body.
The ENS sends signals to your brain via the gut-brain axis. For example, when the gut signals hunger, the brain sends out a stressor leading to your blood sugar dropping, which makes you frustrated or irritated. This shows that the brain and gut are in constant communication, which can be linked to mental illness. With this logic, we can understand that while microorganisms within the gut can prevent mental illness, others can cause them.
In cases of Schizophrenia, clinical research has shown similarities within the gut between patients; 8 cases of Schizophrenia found that their gut contained similar gut microbiota such as: Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Bifidobacterium. Scientists then prescribed probiotics to these patients which reduced inflammation and contributed to a better state and overall mood.
The Mind and Gut’s Relationship
While research is still being developed regarding the link between the two, findings are piling up in order to help us understand the relationship between the gut and mind.
In order to maintain a healthy gut and mindset, there are a few ways to keep yourself healthy. You are what you eat. Your diet is a major factor for a healthy gut, so nourishing your gut with a diverse and balanced diet can feed bacteria, allowing for an improved mood! Some healthy nutrition options include probiotics such as: kimchi, kefir, and other fermented items, as well as prebiotics like green vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts.
Additionally, ways to completely treat mental illness are still being discovered. A process called “Faecal microbiota transplant” has recently been found to be a possible cure. The process allows donors with healthy guts to donate stool to patients suffering from infected colons. This process is usually used to treat infection, however, studies were done that found out a few cases of clinical depression were cured through this process.
To sum it up, the gut microbiome may not seem like much, however it does play a significant role in mental health. The link between the two is still being studied to this day, with new findings revealing that treatments may cure existing mental illness. As of now, the current best way to maintain a healthy mental state is to ensure a healthy diet. Hopefully, one day we will be able to cure mental illness through these ground breaking discoveries, and when that happens, I will be here to report it!
References
GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators. (2022). Global, regional, and national burden of 12 mental disorders in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(2), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00395-3
Li, Z., Tao, X., Wang, D., Pu, J., Liu, Y., Gui, S., Zhong, X., Yang, D., Zhou, H., Tao, W., Chen, W., Chen, X., Chen, Y., Chen, X., & Xie, P. (2024). Alterations of the gut microbiota in patients with schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1366311. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1366311
Cooking is instrumental in everyone’s life. Think about how many times you’ve eaten today! Eggs for breakfast, milk as a drink, pirate booty’s as a snack, mac n cheese for lunch, and pizza for dinner. We all spend minutes, even hours of our lives simply deciding what foods to eat, but have we ever dug deeper into what chemicals we’re eating? After all, cooking is chemistry and something has to keep that twinkie immortal! In this article, we will take out our detective gloves to examine what we’re really putting in our bodies, then uncover the history of cooking, and finally discover the impact of cooking on American culture.
Let’s head to the lab! When looking at a typical American kitchen, you’ll notice a trend of processed foods such as deli meat, sauces, and pastas. This happens because processing often alters the food, leading to a sharp increase in sugars, sodium, and calories. While processing itself is not inherently bad, the abundance of ultra processed foods (a certain kind of extremely unhealthy processed food with abundant fats, calories, and salts) has been linked to higher cancer risk. This is due to the production process which often adds additives or strips nutrients from the food. While most foods undergo some kind of process, this article will refer to ultra processed foods such as packaged snacks, bread, cereal, processed meat, condiments, sweets and alcoholic beverages, and candies and desserts.
Processed foods such as cheese, noodles, and even oil have always existed as a main staple in ancient diets. As food has evolved, new processing techniques such as the invention of hermetling bottling in 1809 has led to widespread canning and tinning, while Louis Pasteur’s discovery of pasteurization in 1864 inadvertently caused the increasing popularity of processed foods. During World War I, the convenience of processed food continued to remain relevant, as people rapidly advanced machinery creating microwaves and blenders, and sought food that was nutritionally dense to fight malnutrition and disease. In the modern age, the most recent rise of processed foods is credited to food marketing. Fast food companies spend billions of dollars in marketing each year, and according to wildhealth.com, in 2017, 80% of their ads focused on candy, snacks, and fast food which are all ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Bright. Colorful. Iconic. Everyone has fallen for the sugary promises without realizing they are being preyed on by these advertisers.
Label marketing has also had a detrimental effect on the food industry. The FDA sets standards that companies must abide by, however many of these standards are outdated and the 1994 definition of “healthy” to be placed on food products was changed only three years ago which resulted in limits being set for the amount of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in a product.
We may sacrifice nutrition for convenience, but these unhealthy habits are linked to 30+ health conditions and are proven to increase risk of complications such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. As Dr. Devies puts it “Ultraprocessed foods are better at preserving shelf life than human life.” Data shows that 57% of adult diets and 67% of children’s diets consist of ultra-processed foods. The laboratory may create a product that has an excellent appeal, and a long shelf life, but do not be fooled. It is devoid of the important nutrients that our bodies actually crave.
Can you name 5 ingredients in a cheetos bag? Processed foods have become a major component in many American diets contributing to the obesity and overweight crises which sever our connection to the natural foods that our ancestors ate. While eating junk may be more convenient, the physical effects will catch you in the long run.
Recently, communities across the globe have seen unusually intense and violent hailstorms. Many have noticed huge ‘monster hail,’ which can be the same size as a small Labubu and cause significant damage to people and their property. This growth in hail size can be traced back to stronger updrafts and warmer temperatures, which I will expand on in this article. Communities will have to learn to deal with these powerful storms as hail sizes continue to rise.
How is Hail Formed?
Hail is made when raindrops are lifted by updrafts, or warm rising air, into the upper atmosphere. There, the temperatures are cooler, and the raindrops freeze into small particles of ice. As the ice particles are carried around by the updrafts, they bump into supercooled water droplets. Supercooled water droplets are raindrops that are still in liquid form despite being at below-freezing temperatures. When these droplets collide with the ice particles, they immediately freeze onto the particles, making them bigger. As this cycle continues, more and more droplets attach to the hailstone, causing it to grow larger and larger. Once the hailstone gets too heavy for the updrafts to support it, the hailstone will fall to the ground.
According to atmospheric scientist Brian Tang, there are two main hypotheses that potentially explain hail’s increasing size: One explanation involves Earth’s rising temperatures. In recent years, there have been warmer overall air temperatures due to heat being trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases. As that air gets warmer, it also becomes more moist, as warmer air can hold more water vapor. Because there’s more moisture, more supercooled water droplets will be found in the upper parts of storms, where temperatures are below freezing. With greater access to these droplets, hailstones can grow even larger.
Another factor articulated by Brian Tang is an increase in unstable air masses coming from western North America. As these air masses move east, they form thunderstorms over flatter areas. These air masses are formed because of many reasons. One of these is the accelerated melting of mountain snowpacks, which is caused by rising temperatures. As snowpacks melt more rapidly, the ground beneath them gets heated. This heating, in turn, also warms the air near the ground while the air higher up remains cool. This contrast in temperature creates even more atmospheric instability, which leads to the development of unstable air masses, and thus, thunderstorms.
But these hail sizes could only be the beginning. According to a study conducted by the Weather, Climate and Society Research Group at Northern Illinois University, “Although fewer hail days are expected over most areas in the future, an increase in the mean hail size is projected, with fewer small hail events and a shift toward a more frequent occurrence of larger hail.” The study goes on to report that smaller hailstones (<4 cm in diameter) are expected to become less frequent, while larger stones are expected to increase by 15-75% in size. In other words, it was concluded that hailstorms may become less common overall; however, the small, relatively harmless hail that makes up the bulk of hailstorms today may be replaced by larger, more destructive hail.
We’re already seeing early signs of this shift. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet recorded 1307 instances of 2+ inch hail in 2024, compared to just 714 in the year prior. Likewise, Colorado set its state record for hail size in 2023 with a 5.45 inch hailstone- that’s about two tennis balls (0.00126 football fields) wide!
The effect of these intense hailstorms is clear: according to Versik, roof repair value in 2024 reached almost 31 billion dollars, a 30% increase from just two years prior. Wind and hail were the primary drivers, making up almost half of all roof-related insurance claims.
Some helpful ways to prevent property damage include:
Parking cars in garages or under shelters
Trimming trees to prevent falling branches
Clearing gutters to stop them from overflowing
Replacing windows and roofing
If your area is expected to experience a hailstorm, stay up to date with weather forecasts and pay attention to warning systems. Make sure to have an enclosed room in your house with no windows and stay there until weather services confirm that the storm has passed.
Conclusion
In recent years, we have seen hail grow larger and larger, and this trend shows no signs of stopping. As hailstorms continue to evolve and become more unpredictable, it is extremely important to stay informed as we adapt to the continuing changes in our climate. It is important to realize that the trends we are seeing are indicative of a larger shift in our climate. Outside of hailstorms, numerous other gradual shifts in our weather are taking place. We are seeing extended droughts, rising sea levels, and longer wildfire seasons as well. While it is still debatable whether these shifts are man-made or part of a natural cycle, it is clear that hail is just one symptom of a larger change that will have lasting effects on human life for years to come.
Gensini, V. A., Ashley, W. S., Michaelis, A. C., Haberlie, A. M., Goodin, J., & Wallace, B. C. (2024, August 21). Hailstone size dichotomy in a warming climate. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-024-00728-9
Have you ever had a parasite? Maybe you ate an unwashed fruit, had an open wound, or even stepped on something you shouldn’t have. Nevertheless, parasites are everywhere and more common than you may think. In this article, we’ll go over parasites as a whole; including a review on what they are, theories on evolution, and a deep dive into a specific parasite. Overall, parasitism is one of the most complicated relationships seen in nature, and whilst it’d take a mountain of explanation to understand it all, hopefully this article can deepen your current understanding and offer some insightful information.
What Are Parasites?
By definition, parasites are organisms that live off of another organism or “host”. There are many “species” or categories of parasites, ranging from utterly harmless to ultimately fatal. Some of the more common parasites you may have heard of include tapeworm, roundworm, pinworm, etc. While there are countless ways to get infected, tapeworm for example, only needs its eggs to be accidentally swallowed . Fortunately such cases are rare in developed countries like the U.S. Additionally, these parasites are objectively easy to get rid of. Albendazole is a very common medication used to treat parasitic worm infections, and taking a few doses should cure the disease. Oftentimes, albendazole is crucial in mass drug administration as an attempt to control and lessen cases of infection, especially within developing countries.
So what happens when you get a parasite? Well, it is impossible to give one direct answer. Say you are infected with a common intestinal worm, perhaps unknowingly you have ingested pinworm eggs. Some symptoms might include gastrointestinal issues, vomiting, abdominal pain, extreme itching, and even irritation, all common with other intestinal parasites. You go to the doctor, get some blood work, and thankfully they diagnose you, treat you with albendazole, and everything is back to normal. But what about when it’s not that simple?
Some parasites are much more dangerous, and at times, even incurable. Malaria, a very widely known global health concern, is a single-celled parasite spread by mosquitos. In some cases, such as that of Plasmodium falciparum (the most dangerous type of malaria) once infected, it can take only 24 hours to kill. While there are treatments and improvements in the medical world for malaria, developing countries are still struggling with the disease to this day. Another deadly parasite is brain-eating amoeba or Naegleria Fowleri. Found in infected waters such as lakes, this parasite enters the brain through the nose while you are swimming. While it is extremely rare, fatality rates are nearly 100 percent. Naegleria fowleri destroys the brain tissue causing swelling and oftentimes complete coma. Once the symptoms set in within a week of infection, it will take roughly five days until death. Unfortunately, there are countless more of these dangerous parasites including schistosomes, which we will cover later. However for now, let’s see how these parasites came to be.
The Evolution of Parasites
Though there are countless theories determining the exact evolutionary path or origin of parasites, there is no factually known truth. Overall, the study of evolution of organisms is an extremely difficult and unending task. To truly form a complete cycle of evolution you have to not only know the events that took place, but their total effect and order., Unfortunately we cannot go back into the past, but, there are some pretty strong theories regarding parasite evolution.
It is safe to presume that parasites arose millions of years ago from previously freeliving organisms. Many researchers believe that the majority of present-day parasitic life forms evolved after being ingested by their host. This theory, called ‘freeliving ancestors’, describes how freeliving organisms evolved to survive within their host by gaining their needed nutrients from within the host’s stomach. As mentioned earlier, some of the most common or well known parasites, such as the tapeworm, show stark similarities with this theory.
On the other hand, another well known potential theory is that the parasite-host relationship may have formed from a predator-prey relationship, where the parasite acts as the predator. Ancestors of such parasites have been found to have collected similar nutrients from their prey as parasites collect from their host. This theory is common in ectoparasitism, in which the parasite lives within, or on, the host’s skin.
Another theory to consider are facultative parasites. This represents the “hybrid” of parasitic characteristics and regular freeliving organisms. They provide the possible transitional state, or the “evolutionary stepping stones” within the transition to full blown parasitism. Facultative parasites can survive both on their own, and within, or on, a host. While dissecting facultative parasites as a whole calls for a separate discussion, it is important to understand a few things, for one: phenotypic plasticity. This refers to the flexibility of an organism’s phenotype, or observable characteristics. An organism with strong phenotypic plasticity has the ability to adapt more fluidly to its environment. For example, a facultative parasite may increase survival under specific conditions and overtime adapt on favorable heritable variations (in this case: parasites), also known as the Baldwin effect. Similar to the Baldwin effect, genetic assimilation, which represents phenotypic plasticity under specific conditions as well, is more set in place. This implies that eventually the organism’s plasticity will decrease, and the trait will no longer need the environmental trigger for it to show as it becomes fixed or stuck in place.
Once again, even with immense research and evidence, the exact path of evolution for parasites is difficult to place. Even with potentially knowing events that were detrimental to the evolutionary path, we still cannot specifically know which traits may have caused what. An interesting metaphor would be to think about how “noses might not have been selected to carry glasses.” While the characteristic of having a nose is useful for wearing glasses, it certainly didn’t evolve for that reason. Likewise, just because an organism has a quality that relates to parasitism, it may have nothing to do with it. For example, some traits we may have thought were specific to the evolution of parasites, have been found in completely different freeliving organisms with no real connection. Additionally, a parasitic trait can evolve in different ways as well. For example, the image below demonstrates the inverse relationship between various characteristics and parasitism.
There are many misconceptions when it comes to parasites. Admittedly, parasites are utterly terrifying, so intense phobias and even psychosis aren’t farfetched. However, these false beliefs can lead to incorrect, useless, and even sometimes harmful homemade “treatments”. For example, have you ever heard of a parasite cleanse? A parasite cleanse is a form of detoxing the body through supplements, diets, or drinks. They frequently include different types of herbs, oils, and other supplements. These “treatments” are not medically necessary nor are they FDA approved. There is no evidence of these cleanses treating any parasites, and sometimes they can be harmful to your gut, causing other issues. If you believe you may be infected with a parasite, it is important to get proper medical help. That being said, let’s look into the current state of the medical world in relation to parasites.
According to the World Health Organization, or WHO, approximately one quarter of the world’s population is infected with some type of intestinal worm, with even higher rates in developing countries. Although this statistic might seem concerning, there have been many improvements in the medical world, as well as constant research being done. For one, the mass drug administration system, as mentioned once earlier, is seeing vast improvements with providing ample medicine and treatments to those who need it. In particular, nanotechnology, the method of manipulating matter at the near-atomic scale, has helped tremendously in targeted drug delivery. Deeper research regarding genes and interactions of parasites with the host, is assisting in the making of treatments and vaccines. Whilst parasitic infections remain a problem today, there is much hope to help the issue decline within the future.
Schistosomes
By now you have read through much information about parasites, specifically what they are, their evolution, and even some medical overviews. So now let’s take a deep dive about a specific parasite: Schistosomes. Schistosomes are a type of parasitic flatworm, distinctively known as blood flukes, and are the root of a terrible, oftentimes chronic disease called schistosomiasis. So what do you need to know?
Schistosoma are believed to have originated in the supercontinent of Gondwana around 120 million years ago, from their early parasitic ancestors, which primarily infected hippos. Interestingly, they began their life by primarily infecting a snail, parallel to their life cycle today, which you’ll read about later. From that point, through host migration, they traveled to Asia and Africa, where they are primarily found today. Eventually, the parasite evolved into other forms, more specifically schistosoma, predominantly infecting humans.
The life cycle of schistosoma has many stages, including two hosts. First, eggs are passed down from the previous host, through urine or stool, into water. These eggs, which then hatch into larvae, must now find their first host: a snail. Within these snails, the schistosoma continues to mature, releasing once again into water. As you are harmlessly swimming or bathing in seemingly clean waters, the schistosoma penetrates the skin, entering and infecting your body. From that point, they travel to your liver, where they fully mature into adult worms, and travel to the veins in the intestines or bladder to mate soon after. At this point you could have been infected for potentially months. Other than a slight skin irritation where they had entered your body previously, you don’t start showing symptoms until you get Katayama fever or the acute stage of schistosomiasis, lasting for a couple weeks.
Katayama fever is a hypersensitivity or immune complex reaction to the eggs being deposited in the body’s tissue. Symptoms of this stage are categorized by fever, abdominal pain, cough, muscle and joint pain, and so much more. At this point the disease is still possibly reversible. Treatments such as preziquantel are common for treating this disease and can help those infected formulate a full recovery. However, some people don’t necessarily show symptoms until it’s too late. For instance, in 2021 an estimated 176.1 million out of 251.4 million people were not treated on time.
The next stage is chronic Schistosomiasis. While technically the worms can be killed through specific treatment, they can cause irreversible organ damage with life long affects. Furthermore, the long lifespan of the adult worms can make it exceedingly difficult to treat. These worms can live in the body for over a decade, laying hundreds of eggs daily. While these eggs are produced in order to be released in the urine and stool, they frequently get trapped in the tissues of your organs. As they get trapped, the body’s immune response causes extreme inflammation in the organs, primarily the liver, bladder, and intestines. Alongside many other implications due to the lodging of the eggs, such as fibrosis (the formation of scar tissue), can lead to organ failure, increased risk of cancer, and ultimately death.
Those with schistosomiasis often spend their lives in and out of hospitals. As time goes on, their bodies begin shutting down or falling victim to other illnesses. Schistosomiasis is an extremely hard disease to deal with, infecting more than 200 million people worldwide. Developing countries in Africa and Asia struggle tremendously, especially without access to clean water, or the inability to receive necessary treatment.
Though the probability of completely eradicating the disease within the near future is low, thankfully the number of infected is generally decreasing. As immense efforts are being made globally, better access to medication, as well as sanitary environments are readily being provided. Additionally, extensive amounts of research are helping find out more about schistosoma to better our treatments and potentially develop a vaccine.
Conclusions
Overall, while parasitic infections are fortunately majority of the time treatable, there is so much more to them than what one might think. In this article we were able to cover plentiful information about parasites, their evolutionary history, and the terrifying reality of Schistosomiasis, so with this knowledge, it is time to make a real impact. Below, there is a link to a GoFundMe page, where you can help Recy Abellanosa, a mother, wife, and teacher who is struggling with the effects of schistosomiasis. By donating, you will be able to take some of the financial burden off her family as she fights the disease. As a final remark, I highly encourage you to learn more about these organisms, as well as keep yourself and others around you educated in the current scientific and medical world.
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Earlier this summer, I was graciously given the opportunity to shadow a private-practice oncologist/hematologist in the Dallas area. There, I gained a clear understanding of what a career in STEM entails, learned how doctors approach complex cancer cases, and secured an inside view into the emotionally taxing yet deeply rewarding work of an oncologist.
What does an Oncologist’s career look like?
At the ground level, an oncologist’s job involves diagnosing and treating cancer. They play a central role in administering cancer treatments and developing long-term plans. There are three main types of oncologists:
Medical Oncologist: Dr. Nair, whom I shadowed, practices as a medical oncologist. These doctors use targeted therapies like chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat cancers.
Surgical Oncologist: Surgical oncologists perform biopsies and remove tumors through surgical procedures. Usually, after a medical oncologist has successfully shrunk a tumor through targeted therapy, a surgical oncologist will excavate the remaining piece.
Radiation Oncologist: As the name suggests, these doctors treat cancer through radiation therapy.
Dr. Nair works as a hematologist-oncologist. Because cancer often involves blood and bone marrow (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma), having training in both oncology (solid tumors) and hematology (blood disorders) allows a doctor to treat a wider variety of patients without having to refer them to another clinic. Also, in the U.S., most oncologists need no extra schooling to end up board-certified in both.
Typically, becoming an oncologist requires about 14-16 years of school. This includes a four-year undergraduate program, where students generally major in biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics. Then, students take the MCAT, or the Medical College Admission Test, and attend medical school to earn their MD. After four years of medical school, doctors attend a three-year residency program. Finally, they complete a three-year fellowship program, subspecializing in oncology or hematology-oncology. Oncologists typically finish schooling in their mid-thirties, and though they spend most of their twenties in schooling, many agree that this time is fully necessary due to the extensive information students have to understand.
A central part of an oncologist’s job is responding to a wide spectrum of questions, ranging from emotional ones like “if the tumor is getting bigger, do I have less time to live?” to straightforward questions like, “if I eat and sleep more, will I have more energy the next morning?” Sure, many of these questions become routine over time, but it’s that rare, complex one that truly tests a doctor’s knowledge and, when answered well, builds even more trust between the patient and their provider. Because cancer is such a serious topic, patients seek oncologists who make them comfortable, and the best way to provide that security is by easing their uncertainties and reinforcing confidence in their provider. This is exactly why those 14 long years of medical training matter so much.
The Difference Between Private Practice and Clinic
Dr. Nair is affiliated with the broader group Texas Oncology and practices at Medical City Dallas, but before going in to shadow her, I had no idea what the difference between a private practice and a clinic was. Here is an easy way to break it down:
Private practice: When a doctor or group of doctors owns, manages, and runs their own medical office. Like a business, they hire staff, manage billing, and run their own practice from top to bottom. Though private practice intersects the two contrasting fields of medicine and business, these doctors have more flexibility when not working for a large hospital or healthcare system.
Clinic: Usually affiliated with a larger group, hospital, or university. Doctors who work as part of a clinic follow the protocol set up by a broader employer and focus less on business and management.
Highlight Patients
You may think that looking at cancer gets repetitive after a while, and maybe you’re right- but in the two weeks that I shadowed Dr. Nair, we saw a wide variety of patients that kept me quite interested. Often, it wasn’t the cancer or condition that made them memorable, but their personality, and the reminder that cancer does not discriminate. People from all walks of life, rich or poor, tall or short, male or female, can be struck by the disease at random and affected in similar ways.
1. Female, mid-40s, obese
This patient was on blood-thinners that were administered by the hospital. Upon arriving home, she purposefully took double the prescribed dose for a few days. With the alarmingly high dosage this patient was taking, her gums would bleed when brushing her teeth, and minor cuts would bleed profusely without stopping. Suddenly, the patient formed a massive internal hemorrhage in her stomach, and was rushed to the ICU where she took a break from blood thinners and recuperated.
2. Female, mid-30s
This patient was aware she had a tumor in her lungs, but didn’t know the extent of its spread or whether it was even malignant. As the cardiothoracic surgeon opened her chest to perform a biopsy and assess the situation, he found that the cancer presented as stage 4 and had spread extensively throughout the lungs. After removing substantial diseased lung tissue, the patient’s remaining lung capacity was too low to sustain oxygenation. Therefore, she was placed on a ventilator that essentially acted as a pair of bedside lungs, pumping air for her.
3. Female, early-60s, groaning in pain
As Dr. Nair and I walked into the patient’s room, she was lying on the bed, groaning and screaming in severe pain. This woman had a pancreatic tumor, one of the most painful types of cancer, due to the tumor pressing on bunches of nerves and organs in the abdomen and back. Though she was fully lucid, the pain was preventing her from formulating complete thoughts or ideas, and her husband described that she could not eat properly or move around without a wheelchair. Dr. Nair told the couple to visit the ER within the hospital immediately, so that the patient could be administered stronger pain medications.
The role of women in healthcare
One thing that really stuck out to me was the number of women who worked in the office with Dr.Nair. Out of the three oncologists, only one was a man, and the rest of the staff, including the P.A. and infusion nurses, were all women.
In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; around 77.6% of all healthcare workers are women. However, we hold a disproportionately small number of leadership positions compared to men. Where 77.6% of healthcare workers are women, only about 38% of all physicians are women.
Despite the gender gap that still exists today, equality growth in the last 20 years alone has been monumental. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges,
“From 2004 to 2022, the number of women in the active physician workforce increased 97%.”
Going forward, the future looks bright too. In 2019, women for the first time accounted for a majority (50.5%) of students enrolled in medical school in the United States. Today, women account for about 54.6% of medical school students. As women make up the majority of medical school graduates, the number of physicians in the coming years will consequently increase.
Conclusion
Before I arrived at the oncologist’s office, I pictured a gloomy waiting room filled with silent, dejected patients. Instead, I discovered something completely different. People tend to imagine only the sickest patients at a cancer clinic, the ones who are dying. But they often forget about the many who are improving, on the uphill climb, and who see the doctor’s office not as a place of punishment or despair, but as a lifeline that offers hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
Seeing this side of cancer care reshaped my view of healthcare entirely. It made me realize that medicine isn’t just about treating disease and sending patients on their way, but instead creating an environment where people are given a reason to keep fighting.
While the concepts of space and time were fundamental to the Newtonian world, centuries of digging deeper into the mechanics of our universe have uncovered that it isn’t all as simple as it seems. From Einstein’s Special Relativity to theories of multi-dimensional time, the science behind space and time has evolved into a complex field.
Why Extra Temporal Dimensions?
The search for extra spatial dimensions raises questions of the potential for extra temporal dimensions. If space can have more dimensions, why can’t time? The motivations to explore the potential for extra temporal dimensions arise from a desire to better understand the nature of time and the symmetries between them.
Another reason to study these extra-temporal dimensions is the desire to unify seemingly disconnected parts of time. Many frameworks for extra temporal dimensions have revealed previously unnoticed symmetries and relationships between different temporal systems that would not be discovered while only working in one dimension.
The concept of “complex time” is used to fix some of the problems of quantum mechanics. This idea suggests that time should be represented as a complex value rather than a real number. It would allow more ways to represent wave-particle duality, entanglement, and other fundamental concepts of quantum physics.
2T-Physics
Proposed by physicist Itzhak Bars, 2T-Physics suggests that the one dimension of time we experience is really just a “shadow” of the real two dimensions of time. The core motivation of 2T-Physics is to reveal the deeper temporal connections that we don’t see in our one-dimensional perspective. In 2T-Physics, two seemingly disconnected temporal systems are actually connected and represent different views or ‘shadows’ of the same two-dimensional time.
2T-Physics unifies a wide range of physical systems using “gauge symmetry,” which is the property of a system where a set of transformations, called gauge transformations, can be used on a system without changing any of the physical properties of that system. Bars also illustrated that the Standard Model could be explained by 2T-Physics with four spatial dimensions. Not only can this model predict most of the Standard Model, but it also provides a solution to some quantum issues.
An interesting difference between the Standard Model and the predictions of 2T-Physics is the gravitational constant. While it is currently established that the coefficient in gravitational equations is a constant 6.67⋅10-11, the mathematics of 2T-Physics means that the gravitational constant has different values for different periods of our universe (inflation, grand unification, etc). This allows new possibilities for early expansion of our universe that General Relativity and the Standard Model do not. Through its new perspectives, 2T-Physics allows a more complete framework of gravity, especially at higher dimensions.
While 2T-Physics is well-established, it remains highly theoretical and has little to no practical impact. While there is no evidence directly supporting the theory, 2T-Physics predicts certain connections between different physical systems that could potentially be verified through complex experiments, though none have been conducted so far. Above all, 2T-Physics provides a new perspective on time and the nature of the laws of physics that has opened the eyes of many scientists and will likely inspire future discoveries.
3D Time
One of the most recent papers in the field, Kletetschka, proposes a mathematical framework of spacetime that includes temporal dimensions. Kletetschka provides a new perspective on combining gravity and quantum mechanics. Instead of having two hidden dimensions of time, Kletetschka theorizes that each of these dimensions is used to represent time at different scales: the quantum scale, the interaction scale, and the cosmological scale. He explains that the other two dimensions are not visible in our daily life because they occur at very small (quantum) levels or very large (cosmological) levels.
A massive difference between this theory and conventional physics is that while conventional physics considers space to be something vastly different from time, Kletetschka proposes that space is a byproduct of time in each of these dimensions, rather than an entirely separate entity. What we experience as mass or energy actually arises from the curvature of time in these three dimensions. As Kletetschka explored more into this, he discovered surprising consistency in the mathematics, leading to a deeper exploration into the concept.
The key to not creating causality issues and instability in the theory was the usage of regular geometry and spatial dimensions instead of exotic situations that are hard to prove or test. This theory aimed to address many of the long-standing issues in quantum mechanics, and its success thus far makes it a prominent theory in the field.
The theory is able to add extra temporal dimensions without causing causality issues, something very few theories of its type have been able to grapple with. This is due to its structure. The theory is designed so that the three axes share an ordered flow, preventing an event from happening before its cause. Furthermore, these three axes operate at very different scales, leaving very little overlap between them. The mathematics of the framework does not allow for the alteration of events in the past, something that many other theories allow.
The theory is able to offer physical significance and a connection to our world alongside mathematical consistency. Things such as finite quantum corrections, which other theories were not able to predict, were mechanized by this model without creating extra complexity.
This mathematical framework is able to predict several properties and new phenomena that can be experimentally tested, allowing pathways to prove or disprove it soon. Meanwhile, many scientists have spoken in support of the theory, considering it a promising candidate for a near “Theory of Everything” just a few months after its publication.
Conclusion
While the theoretical motivation for extra dimensions is compelling, the reality of their existence remains unconfirmed. Meanwhile, the scientific community works to experimentally prove or disprove their existence through observational evidence.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is one of the major players on the experimental side. They engage in many experiments, a few of which I have highlighted below.
Tests for Microscopic Black Holes: Many of the theories that propose extra dimensions lead to increased gravitational power within short distances. This manifests physically as microscopic black holes that would dissipate near instantaneously due to Hawking Radiation. However, the byproduct of this dissipation would be particles detected through the LHC.
The Graviton Disappearance: Another common feature of extra-dimensional theories is the manifestation of gravity as a particle called a graviton. That particle would disappear into these extra dimensions, taking energy with it. This would result in an imbalance in the total energy of the system.
While experiments have managed to provide more limitations for potential values that would work in certain theories, they have yet to prove or disprove them.
Meanwhile, it is important to consider what extra dimensions would mean for us and the way we live. The concept of extra dimensions provides multiple philosophical considerations for us as humans. This concept completely changes our worldview and affects our perception of the universe. Dr. Michio Kaku explains this through the analogy of a fish in a pond, unaware of the world outside its simple reality. Our perception of reality is limited, not only by our understanding of physics, but also by the biology of our brains.
The work towards a “Theory of Everything” is not only a physical goal but a philosophical one as well. We strive to understand our universe and everything within it in the simplest way possible. It embodies human desire for ultimate knowledge and drives centuries of physical progress.
Overall, the concept of extra dimensions represents one of the most arduous and ambitious goals in human history. While they lack proof, these theories motivate people to search more into the nature of our universe and question the very fabric of our reality. The exploration into further discoveries about our universe truly shows who we are as humans and will continue to motivate centuries of physicists to question the very nature of everything.
DUFF, M. J. (1996). M THEORY (THE THEORY FORMERLY KNOWN AS STRINGS). International Journal of Modern Physics A, 11(32), 5623–5641. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0217751x96002583
Gunther Kletetschka. (2025). Three-Dimensional Time: A Mathematical Framework for Fundamental Physics. Reports in Advances of Physical Sciences, 09. https://doi.org/10.1142/s2424942425500045
Kalligas, D., S, W. P., & Everitt,. (1995). The classical tests in Kaluza-Klein gravity. The Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, 439(2). https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19950044695
Lloyd, S., Maccone, L., Garcia-Patron, R., Giovannetti, V., Shikano, Y., Pirandola, S., Rozema, L. A., Darabi, A., Soudagar, Y., Shalm, L. K., & Steinberg, A. M. (2011). Closed Timelike Curves via Postselection: Theory and Experimental Test of Consistency. Physical Review Letters, 106(4). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.040403
While the concepts of space and time were fundamental to the Newtonian world, centuries of digging deeper into the mechanics of our universe have uncovered that it isn’t all as simple as it seems. From Einstein’s Special Relativity to theories of multi-dimensional time, the science behind space and time has evolved into a complex field.
What are Extra Spatial Dimensions?
As scientists explored further into spacetime, theories of more dimensions of space, beyond the three we know, were suggested as a way to explain many of the phenomena that we cannot explain with only three dimensions. These ideas gained most of their traction from the pursuit to combine quantum mechanics with General Relativity, especially issues such as quantum gravity. These theories also attempt to address the rapid growth of the universe after the Big Bang.
What were the motivations to search for Extra Dimensions?
The idea of more dimensions began as a way to unify the fundamental forces of our universe. Modern theories regarding these ideas come from a drive to resolve some of the unaddressed issues of the Standard Model of physics. While the Standard Model is able to describe fundamental particles and the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces, it is unable to describe gravity. In addition, the Standard Model cannot address dark matter and dark energy, which make up the majority of our universe.
One of the most significant problems in physics is the Hierarchy problem. It refers to the massive gap in strength between gravity and the other three fundamental forces. This extreme difference comes from the small scale of the strength of gravity in comparison to the other forces. Extra-Dimensions have attempted to resolve this by suggesting that while gravity may be just as strong as the other forces, its strength is leaked into the other dimensions, thus weakening it.
This search to discover extra dimensions is not only about solving these specific technical issues; it’s about the centuries-long quest to find a Theory of Everything. Physicists constantly strive to find simpler solutions to describe our universe rather than leaning on hyperspecific coefficients/constants.
While there are many theories involving extra-spatial dimensions, part 2 will focus on a few of the biggest and most influential theories so far.
Kaluza-Klein Theory
In 1919, Theodor Kaluza proposed his theory of four-dimensional space as an attempt to combine gravity and electromagnetism. This theory was later built upon by Oscar Klein in 1926.
In Kaluza’s attempt to combine these fundamental forces, he suggested a fourth, unseen spatial dimension. To create this system, he used Einstein’s equations and extended them into a fifth dimension. He found that the five-dimensional version of Einstein’s equations naturally created the four-dimensional version in one part. The equation had fifteen components, ten of which described our four-dimensional General Relativity. Four of the remaining five described the electromagnetic force through Maxwell’s equations, while the last dimension was the scalar field, which had no known use.
A key concept of Kaluza-Klein theory is that, rather than seeing electric charge as simply an event or calculation, it is represented as the motion of the fifth dimension. The attempt to create the simplest mathematical structure that could represent the five dimensions led to the assumption that no part of the five-dimensional Einstein equations relied explicitly on this fifth dimension. Instead, its presence was there to alleviate other issues in the Standard Model without disrupting the basic functions of Einstein’s equations. In order to do this, Kaluza created the cylinder condition, where he described all coordinate values in the fifth dimension to be zero, effectively hiding it at a macroscopic level, preserving the four dimensions that we experience.
Oscar Klein produced a physical explanation for the cylinder condition in 1926. He suggested that the fifth dimension was compactified and curled up into an unobservable circle with an incredibly small radius, explaining that this is why we are unable to witness the fifth dimension.
An interesting way to understand this is to think of a hose. From a distance, the hose looks like a single-dimensional line. However, the hose actually has two dimensions, both a dimension of length as well as a circular dimension.
This theory revolutionized how physicists thought about spacetime. In a letter to Kaluza that same year, Einstein wrote,
“The idea of achieving unification by means of a five-dimensional cylinder world never dawned on me […]. At first glance, I like your idea enormously. The formal unity of your theory is startling.” (Einstein, 1919)
Over time, Kaluza-Klein theory has been disproven due to its several fundamental flaws. Scientists have tested for Kaluza-Klein resonances, particles that would have to exist if the theory were to be true, and have found none. In addition, Kaluza-Klein theory only addresses gravity and electromagnetism but excludes the strong and weak forces. When incorporated with quantum mechanics, Kaluza-Klein theory predicts many incorrect values for otherwise known constants, showing massive discrepancies. Despite these issues, Kaluza-Klein theory has long been considered the first step into the exploration of extra-dimensions, becoming the precursor to many theories in the decades after. Its core idea- that hidden dimensions cause forces in our four dimensions-has been crucial to further exploration into the concept of spacetime.
String Theory is a very common term, but few people actually know what it means. String theory proposed that instead of the universe being made up of zero-dimensional points, it is made up of strings that vibrate. The specific vibration of these strings would determine what they would be (photon, quark, etc.). The theory aimed to unify all of these different particles and properties into one thing: the string.
When physicists first began to work on String Theory, they found many mathematical issues, such as negative probabilities. In four dimensions, these strings don’t have enough space to produce the wide range of vibrations needed to create all the particles in the standard model. Thus, Superstring Theory suggests that these strings are ten-dimensional objects (nine dimensions of space and one of time). A major reason why physicists were happy with string theory at the time was that it naturally predicted a particle called a ‘graviton’. This particle would have the same effect as the force of gravity. Theoretical physicist Edward Witten has commented on this by saying,
“Not only does [string theory] make it possible for gravity and quantum mechanics to work together, but it […] forces them upon you.” (Edward Witten, NOVA, PBS)
M-Theory is an extension of String Theory that adds one more spatial dimension. Prior to its creation, different groups of physicists had created five versions of String Theory.
However, a true “Theory of Everything” should be one theory, not five possibilities.
M-Theory was created as an attempt to unify these five types of string theory. The key to the development of M-Theory was the discovery of mathematical transformations that took you from one version of String Theory to another, showing that these were not truly separate theories. M-theory theorized that these different versions were just different approximations of the same theory that could be unified by adding another dimension. M-Theory’s eleven-dimensional framework allowed for the unification of these five theories alongside the theory of supergravity.
M-Theory, similarly to Kaluza-Klein Theory, also proposes that the extra dimensions are curled up and compacted. M-Theory uses a specific geometric shape, known as a Calabi-Yau manifold, to create the physical effects we observe in our four dimensions from the other hidden seven. Calabi-Yau manifolds are a highly compact and complex type of manifold that are the foundation of M-Theory because they allow complex folding without affecting the overall curvature of our universe through a property called “Ricci-flatness”. The Calabi-Yau manifolds also have “holes” within their shapes that are thought to connect to the number of families of particles we experience in the Standard Model. This introduces the key concept that, instead of the fundamental laws of physics just being rules, they are actually geometric properties of our universe.
The biggest challenge that M-Theory is facing is its lack of experimental evidence. Predictions made by this model are not testable by currently available or foreseeable technology due to the high-dimensional microscopic levels required. Without making testable predictions, the theory remains just a theory for the time being.
Despite this lack of proof, many physicists still see M-Theory as a prominent candidate in our search for a “Theory of Everything”. Its mathematical consistency and its ability to unify both gravitational and quantum effects lead to it being considered highly promising.
However, while the math behind M-Theory is highly developed, it is not yet complete. The theory is still a work in progress as research is being conducted to better understand its structure and significance.
Meanwhile, critics believe that M-Theory is fundamentally flawed. Many of them believe that the “Landscape” problem is a significant reason that M-Theory is untrue. The “Landscape” problem is described as the fact that the theory predicts many different universes, each with its own set of physical laws. Critics believe that this prediction proves the unreliability of M-Theory and that a true “Theory of Everything” would be applicable only to our universe.
Overall, M-Theory has neither been proven nor disproven and remains a crucial area for future exploration.
While the concepts of space and time were fundamental to the Newtonian world, centuries of digging deeper into the mechanics of our universe have uncovered that it isn’t all as simple as it seems. From Einstein’s Special Relativity to theories of multi-dimensional time, the science behind space and time has evolved into a complex field.
Newtonian Absolutism
At the dawn of classical mechanics, Newton created the foundation upon which all of modern spacetime theory is built. Space and time were considered to be entirely unrelated and absolute concepts. There was no question in his mind that time moves forward and space exists around us. Space was considered a static body within which we exist, while time was described as flowing in only one direction at a steady rate. Imagine space as a box, where events are contained within, and time as a river whose current pulls us along.
Newton coined the terms ‘absolute space’ and ‘absolute time’ to describe the absolutes from the relativity we measure. For centuries, this theory remained unquestioned, so physicists didn’t consider time and space to be real entities, but rather our human way of interpreting the world around us.
Einstein’s Revolution:
Special Relativity
The first true challenge to the Newtonian perspective of space and time came in the form of Einstein’s Special Relativity. He introduced one key revolutionary concept: everything, including space and time, is relative, depending only upon the observer’s frame of reference.
The motivations for Einstein’s work arose from the desire to eliminate the contradiction between Maxwell’s equations and Newtonian Mechanics. A simple way to visualize this contradiction is by imagining the following scenario:
Two rockets in space are flying towards each other at a speed of 500 miles per hour. This would result in a relative speed of 1000 miles per hour. Now, if you were to throw a rock from one ship to another at a speed of 10 miles per hour, it would reach the other ship with a relative speed of 510 miles per hour. However, the substitution of light into this situation instead of a rock changes this because the speed of light is constant. No matter how fast you travel towards light, it will always come towards you at the same constant speed: 3·108m/s, or the speed of light.
Many tests were done to prove that the wave-particle duality of light was the reason for this phenomenon. Rather than trying to disprove or explain away the theory, Einstein decided to take the constant speed of light as a fundamental property. He didn’t explain the speed of light, but used it to explain other things. Einstein was willing to give up the time-honored fundamentals of Newton’s laws in favor of the constant speed of light.
He began with the basic definition of speed as the distance divided by the time. If the speed of light remains constant as this rocket reduces the distance to be travelled, then the time must also decrease to preserve this equality. When mathematically calculating this, Einstein discovered the concept of time dilation, where objects in motion experience time more slowly than objects at rest. Continuing with similar methods for other properties, such as conservation, he discovered that mass would increase with speed and length would decrease. The true genius in Einstein was his willingness to question his own assumptions and give up some of the most basic qualities of the universe, in favor of the speed of light.
General Relativity
Special Relativity, however, did not incorporate gravity. Before Einstein, physicists believed that gravity was an invisible force that dragged objects towards one another. However, Einstein’s general relativity suggested that the ‘dragging’ was not gravity, but rather an effect of gravity. He theorized that objects in space bent the space around them, inadvertently bringing objects closer to one another.
General Relativity defines spacetime as a 4D entity that has to obey a series of equations known as Einstein’s equations. He used these equations to suggest that gravity isn’t a force but instead a name we use to describe the effects of curved spacetime on the distance between objects. Einstein proved a correlation between the mass and energy of an object and the curvature of the spacetime around it.
His work allowed him to prove that:
“When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter.” -Einstein.
Einstein’s General Relativity predicted many things that were only observationally noticed years later. A famous example of this is gravitational lensing, which is when the path of light curves as it passes a massive object. This effect was noticed by Sir Arthur Eddington in 1919 during a solar eclipse, yet Einstein managed to predict it with no physical proof in 1912.
Closed-Timelike-Curves (CTCs)
Another major prediction made by Einstein’s General Relativity is Closed-Timelike-Curves (CTCs), which arise from mathematical solutions to Einstein’s equations. Some specific solutions to these equations, such as massive, spinning objects, create situations in which time could loop.
In physics, objects are considered to have a specific trajectory through spacetime that will indicate the object’s position in space and time at all times. When these positions in spacetime are connected, they form a story of an object’s past, present, and future. An object that is sitting still will have a worldline that goes straight in the time direction. Meanwhile, an object in motion will also have an element of spatial position. Diagrams of a worldline are drawn as two light cones, one into the future and one into the past, with a spatial dimension on the other axis, as seen in figure 1.
CTCs are created when the worldline of an object is a loop, meaning that the object will go backwards in time at some point to reconnect to its starting point. Closed-Timelike-Curves are, in essence, exactly what they sound like: closed curving loops that travel in a timelike way. Traveling in a timelike way, meaning that their change in time is greater than their change in space, suggests that these objects would have to be static or nearly static. As seen in Figure 2, the worldline of a CTC would be a loop, as there is some point in space and time that connects the end and the beginning.
Two major examples of famous CTC solutions are the Gödel Universe and the Tipler Cylinder:
Gödel Universe: Suggested by mathematician Kurt Gödel in 1949, the Gödel Universe is a rotating universe filled with swirling dust. The rotation must be powerful enough that it can pull the spacetime around it as it spins. The curvature would become the CTC. This was the first solution found that suggested the potential for time-travel to be a legitimate possibility, not just a hypothetical scenario.
Tipler Cylinder: In the 1970s, physicist Frank Tipler suggested an infinitely long, massive cylinder spinning along the vertical axis at an extremely high speed. This spinning would twist the fabric of spacetime around the cylinder, creating a CTC.
Closed timelike curves bring many paradoxes with them, the most famous of which is the grandfather paradox. It states that if a man has a granddaughter who goes back in time to kill her grandfather before her parents are born, then she wouldn’t exist. However, if she doesn’t exist, then there is no one to kill her grandfather, thus meaning that she must exist. Yet if she exists, then her grandfather doesn’t.
Most importantly, CTCs drove further exploration and directed significant attention to the spacetime field for decades. Scientists who didn’t fully believe Einstein’s General Relativity pointed to CTCs as proof of why it couldn’t be true, leaving those who supported Einstein to search extensively for a way to explain them. This further exploration into the field has laid the foundation for many theories throughout the years.
The belief amongst scientists is that CTCs simply don’t exist because, while they are hypothetically possible, the energy requirements to create them are not yet feasible. Many of these setups require objects with negative energy density and other types of ‘exotic matter’ that have not been proven to even exist yet. Furthermore, even if CTCs were to be formed, the specific region of spacetime where they form would be highly unstable, meaning that these CTCs would not sustain themselves. The situations in which CTCs would be feasible require types of fields of energy that would approach infinity and the Cauchy Horizon (the limit at which causality no longer exists, therefore making these situations physically unviable).
Youth Stemline 