The Topic of this Issue

Water Management

Turbulent climate changes in recent decades have imposed the need for mankind to focus on studying the reasons for the rise and spread of planetary waters which eventually results in flooding. Apart from the very hot desert areas, flooding is affecting all over the world and the list of regions afflicted by flooding-caused destruction is getting longer. How do we defend ourselves at present?
Greatest progress has been made in the Netherlands by building a system of canals and dams, among which the pinnacle is the biggest global dam protecting against the sea. In order to save Venice, the plan “Mose” has been designed involving the operation of series of gates located in a wide area in front of the lagoon attempting to protect this city from high water levels. In the sea waters in front of St. Petersburg a system has been installed of giant gates to provide defence against the sea and the unpredictable water levels in the river Neva. Within eight water sheds in China a defence system has been put in place including a series of dams and several tens of huge artificial water retentions. In Serbia preparations are underway to build a system for directing and retaining rising water levels from water courses by means of artificial retentions, dams, and high embankments.

Events

May – the Month of Mathematics

The slogan of this year's event which took place in Belgrade for the third time was „Form of Life“. This spring the Scientific Club of the Centre for Science Promotion has officially been established. The club has organised mathematics debates and lectures in three areas: the school of the future, visual mathematics, and great mathematicians. A number of lectures has been organised: Why opt for mathematics, IT science from 0 to 1, Learn programming in ten years, Joys of statistics, Labyrinth programming, Pitagoras in the Saint Sava park, How to get the curve – a parabola, and others. This event brought together thousand of primary and secondary school pupils and lectures were delivered by distinguished national and international mathematicians.

Theories

We, Observes of Finely Tuned Worlds

The antrophic principle was formulated as an attempt to respond to the problem of finely tuned parameters which govern the universe. The fact that the values of physical parameters and the features of the observable world are such that they are tuned so as to maintain the life as we know it has imposed the need to provide some explanations: what do we mean by saying that the parameters are „finely tuned for life“? Does it mean that, in view of the records of our own existence, the universe must be such as to allow extinction of life? The answer could be pursued in the following assumptions: there is one possible universe made with the purpose of „observers“ to be created therein and be preserved therein, the observers are necessary to make the universe real, a set of other universes is necessary for the human life to prove as real, etc.

Space

Skylab – Template for Future Aircrafts

The operational part of the Skylab program started with the launching of the orbit station into space on 14 May 1973. During the launching there was some damage suffered, but the station nevertheless entered the Earth's orbit successfully, after which repairs were done with astronauts working outside the space ship.
The Skylab program greatly enlarged the body of knowledge regarding the experience and the work of humans in non-gravity situation and in free cosmic space. The laboratory performed a great number of scientific experiments and exercises for astronauts, as well as numerous images of the Sun and the Earth. The total time spent by all nine astronauts is 510, by far exceeding all previous missions. Although it is just one step in the development of orbit stations, Skylab is of special significance for astronauts training and for checking the capabilities of cosmic ships. On 11 June 1979 the ship entered the more dense layers of the atmosphere and fell apart.

Medicine

Maxillofacial surgery

By definition, maxillofacial surgery is a clinical discipline involving a series of surgeries in order to eliminate or mitigate deformities and defects of the face, the acquired and developmental anomalies of facial bones, tumours and cysts of the jaws and the neck. It also involves surgical procedures for injuries of bones and soft tissues of the face and jaws, and esthetic face surgery. This can mean very complex, hours-long surgeries, of which more than one third are not typical procedures and are very demanding in terms of manual skills as they are performed in a very limited space. Some specific features of this medical discipline and its achievements are presented by Professor Zoran Stajčić, M.D., a specialist of maxillofacial and oral surgery, a professor at the Medical Faculty of Belgrade, and an associate of the General Hospital „Bel Medic“.

Medicine

Kidney Calculi

The formation of stones in the urinary tract is always a result of some distorted balance in the chemical processes in the urine which tend to lead to stone formation and have an impact on natural defence of the human body. Neven Vavić, M.D., a nephrologist of the Military-Medical Academy in Belgrade, is speaking on this topic and emphasising that calculi are more frequent with insufficient liquids intake and/or dehydration as well as poor nutrition habits. It is among the most frequent disease of the urinary tract, which can last a long time without manifesting any symptoms. This disorder is most often detected by means of ultrasound, and presently surgical removal from the kidney is less frequent form of treatment, increasingly replaced by less invasive techniques much more comfortable for the patient.

Medicine

Body as Generator

Thanks to scientific experiments performed by experts from the University of Illinois, we are getting closer to starting to use the body as an energy generator! Primarily, this refers to the human breath and energy released by the cardiac activity and the movements of the lungs and diaphragm. All of these activities generate energy and experts are pursuing ways to make use of such energy.
So far it has been established that the body can generate 0.2 mW of energy per cm2, which is sufficient for the operation of one pacemaker. The system has been tested on animals of approximate mass as human mass. The next step will be to check what happens when a device is installed in the human body: how to direct this energy to such a device and whether this could have negative consequences? Finally, the crucial thing remains to be determined: installing a specific device that could collect the body energy and direct it to the operation of auxiliary medical devices.

Photo Article

Man as Mushroom

Various written sources state that the Nordic people live in harmony with nature and find in it sources of power and friendship, and that Slavic peoples experience the forest as a dangerous place in which a person can get lost and a place full of wild animals, evil spirits and other dangerous creatures. A series of photographs presents mushrooms – animals which do not walk – looking astoundingly similar to humans and having some human features. The same applies to parts of trees and tree trunks.

Exhibitions

Personal Works of Art of Nikola Tesla

The Museum of Nikola Tesla in Belgrade since recently is exhibiting works of art from the personal collection of the great scientist, which he randomly collected, and consisting mostly of presents given him by those who respected his work and drawings which were designs or charicatures.
The theme featuring most frequently in the collection are portraits of Tesla. There is also a bronze relief of Tesla and a study of the scientist's face, a work of an unknown artist. The authors include distinguished national painters who were also active in America and US illustrators from the early 20 th century. The collection includes three artefacts of unknown origin: a Chinese word carving, a Japanese water colour, and a medallion with a blue ribbon.

Research

Pursuit of the Grave of Alexander the Great

Officially, Alexander the Great was buried in Alexandria. Three centuries on, this city was destroyed and the casket with his remains was lost without trace. Scientists have suffered for decades with the location of his grave. In March this year a group of scientists went to check if one grave in Crnilište, close to the town of Veles in Macedonia, is in fact a grave of the great conqueror.
Legend has it that the line of people carrying the casket came to Crnilište on its way to a predestined location. A grave was built there tens of meters high and rounded as elipse, which is now located in the middle of the road which used to lead to the forgotten and observatory and an ancient closed mine of precious metals. Measurements have been performed in this location by means of electromagnetic spectre. Results are expected by the end of the year.

Waste

Hidden Future

It is estimated that every year in the world about 1.3 billion tons of waste are being generated, and the prospects are that by 2025 this volume will increase to 2.2 billion tons! At present, every inhabitant of the Earth generates about 1.2 kg of waste per day. Such volumes and inadequate use of energy threaten to reduce the already depleted reserves on the Earth and cause profound climate changes. In order to achieve „sustainable development“ it is necessary to reduce energy consumption and thus change the structure of energy sources (moving to renewable energy sources – water, wind, solar) along with increased waste recycling. Waste recycling can also generate new raw materials for industrial use and energy.