SimplifyKeepingScienceScimpleThe “Paleo Diet”:

Are we really Stone-Agers living in the fast lane?

Nicky Phillips talks to us about being a Science Ed-itor

How to make white roses blue AND yellow

In this Issue...Our Top Story 4The Paleo Diet - Make your own decision.There’s been a lot of talk about the ‘Paleo Diet’, but what’s itall about? Can we really eat now how our paleolithic ancestorsdid?

Interview with a Scientist 6Nicky Phillips, Science Editor of the SydneyMorning Herald.Science isn’t all about lab coats and explosive experiments,Nicky Phillips tells us why she loves her career as a sciencecommunicator.

Science in History 8From Hollywood to WI-Fi technology, the importantwork of Hedwig von KieslerYou may know her better as Hedy Lamarr, stunning actressfrom the “Golden Age” of Hollywood, but there is far moreto this marvellous person than ever appeared on screen.

Science at Home 10Painting your roses... Blue and Yellow!Grab some white roses and food colouring, then let transpira-tion do the work - how to change the colour of your roses.

Letter from the Editor.Hello!Welcome to Simplify.In keeping with the name of this magazine, I’ll keep this short and sweet.

The aim of this venture is to provide a science magazine that’s not for scientists. Yes, you read correctly, this magazine is not for scientists.

Simplify is for anyone who’s interested, and wants to learn more about what they’re hearing in the media.

At times it can be hard to tell what those experts on thenews are talking about. Don’t worry about it, we’re here to break down the hot topics of the day and show you how you can do some science at home too.

Simplify will always aim to keep things short and above all, sim-ple.

No jargon, no complicated equations or diagrams.Just the basics, and a little guidance on where to find out more.

Enjoy!Elinor Thomas,

Creator and Editor

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Everybody’s Talking about... ... The “Paleo Diet”.

Are we really Stone Agers living in the Fast Lane?

The Paleo diet has become popular, spurred on by celebrities and gym goers across the globe.

The diet requires you to eat foods that were only available during the palaeolithic period - pre-agriculture.

There has been a great deal of contention regarding the diet, as it cuts out some essential food groups such as grains, dairy and legumes.

Holly Frail, 55, an EatSmart nutrition consultant based in Brisbane says that she would not recommend the paleo diet to her clients.

“[The paleo diet] includes too much coconut oil products which … were most likely not available in paleo times, and doesn’t address the fact that people in this era didn’t live much more than to 30” she says.

Holly does not disregard the diet completely, stating that it does have a few benefits and she would suggest a modified version.

“I would include some unprocessed grain and legume fibre sources to complement … activity and provide the valuable nutrients these groups provide, plus ensure adequate calcium from whatever sources the individual prefers” she says.

The Paleo Diet is particularly useful for those who suffer from gluten and lactose intolerance, due to the lack of grain and dairy.

The diet also promotes eating plenty of organic fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and meat, which provide essential vitamins, minerals, fibre, fatty acids and protein.

A key difference between our Stone Age ancestors and the modern Paleo Diet, is the amount of food available.

As hunters and gatherers, Stone Age man had to forage for fruit, veg, nuts and seeds.

Cattle were domesticated after the Stone Agers started forming agriculture so beef would have had to be hunted down.

Hunting your food requires far more time and energy than ordering online, or driving to your nearest supermarket.

Dangers in the modern diet include consuming too much grain-fed red meats, which has been linked to bowel cancer, and calcium deficiency.

Dairy products are a great source of calcium, without them calcium must be found in other sources such as sesame seeds and nuts.

Many of the fruit and vegetables available today would not be available without farming either.

Our bodies have evolved in the last 10,000 or so years to cope with the changes in our diets from hunter/gatherer, to farmer, to modern day online shopping.

Those who follow the Paleo Diet need to be very careful in how strongly they follow it, so that they do not deprive themselves of essential nutrients.

Joey De Backer, 26, an Accredited Practising Dietitian, explains what we all can learn from the Paleo Diet.

“The main positive here is in the reduction of processed food in the diet. It encourages eating food that’s in season and locally sourced… It requires you to plan your meals in advance and cook them from scratch” she says.

It seems that the Paleo Diet is not too limiting as long as you know how to replace the nutrients you lose through cutting out grains, legumes and dairy.

The cost can prevent many people from following this diet.

“A lot of people can’t afford organic fruit and veg, or grass-fed meats. It also makes eating out with friends, and socially, more difficult,” says Joey.

With the increasing popularity of the paleo diet, cafés which specialise in food to suit this diet have been popping up around the country.

Brisbane is home to several Paleo Cafes, both in the CBD and surrounding suburbs.

These cafés allow avid followers of the diet to have a place to eat out without limiting their choices.

They also allow first timers to try the food and see what paleo meals can be made before changing their lives by changing their diet.

The Paleo Diet appears to be more influenced by agriculture than by Stone Age man, but it is not as limiting as it first appears.

If you can afford to buy organic fruit and veggies, and grass-fed, lean meats.

If you suffer from celiac disease, a gluten or lactose intolerance then this seems to be a good diet for you.

As with all diets, it must be approached with caution.

Know your restrictions, find suitable replacements for any vitamins/minerals you lose

through foods you cut out.

Above all else you must know your own body’s needs, this

diet will not suit everyone.

Source: Wikipedia.

Source: Wikipedia.

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More than the places she’s been, it’s the people she meets that make her marvelat their work.

Mike Archer and John Aitkens are at the top of her list for remarkable and memorable interviews.

“They’re brilliant scientists who can explain really complicated concepts” says Nicky.

Unsurprisingly for a reporter, Nicky says that the one item she can’t live without is her smart phone:

“I can call, email, dictate to the office, take photos, videos, record audio…. I can almost do the whole job on the phone” she says.

Nicky is particularly passionate about her own field as the news media has seen a decline in the number of specialist reporters in the last five to ten years.

She gives a few words of advice to those who wish to become either specialist or general reporters:

Interview with Nicky PhillipsOccupation: Science Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald

Can’t live without: Phone

Home: NSW born and bred.

Education: UNSW - BSc Sci-ence Communication with

Biochemistry and Physiology

Journalism may not be the first career which springs to mind when reading the title of this article, but Nicky never planned to become a journalist.

Nicky’s degree incorporated an internship at ABC Radio National, which helped her into a job at the ABC once she graduated.

Even then, Nicky was pretty sure she would work for the ABC for a year then get back into Science.

Needless to say, her career didn’t quite follow this  path.

Though the view from her window is not unpleasant, Nicky rarely lifts her head from her computer screens or notebook.

Her desk is littered with notebooks and printed research papers, and there’s a pair of sandals underneath for those moments of much needed comfort.

On one computer screen she has her article writing software open and ready to edit as the day wears on.

On the second computer screen there are 12 tabs open; everything from her email account through to the Fairfax article databases and various social media sites.

Nicky explains that there are several reasons she stayed in journalism.

“Everyday I’m talking to interesting people about interesting things. I’m always learning new things… And sometimes I get to travel”

Nicky has been to the Antarctic Research Centre, the outback and abroad to carry out interviews and research for her articles.

“I see more [of the world] doing this than I would otherwise” she says.

“I’m always learning new things”

“Read a lot, and read widely. Write as much as you can, whether it’s freelancing

or as an intern. Avoid using jargon”.

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Without the hard work of Hedwig Eva Kiesler, we would not have the luxury of many wireless technologies today.

She was a famous movie star in the Golden Age of Hollywood and a brilliant scientist.

Hedwig was born in Austria as Hedwig Eva Kiesler, on November 9th 1914.

She studied under Max Reinhart at theatre school in Berlin and began her acting career in 1930 with Czech and German films.

Hollywood snapped her up in the wake of the international success of the critically acclaimed film “Ecstasy” .

They gave her the more “elegant” name Hedy Lamarr, and her greatest on-screen success was in “Samson and Delilah” in 1949.

Hedwig has often been referred to as “The most beautiful woman in film”, but there is far more to her than can be seen on screen.

On International Women’s Day, many science websites brought to light the works of women who were not properly accredited at the time of their discoveries.

Science historians are looking back through the history books and celebrating women who helped science to progress in leaps and bounds without due recognition in their own time.

Hedwig Eva Kiesler is one of those women.If it weren’t for Hedy Kiesler, we may not have Wi-Fi today.

During the Second World War, she invented a device for minimising jamming of radio signals along with the help of composer George Antheil.

Hedwig and George patented their spread spectrum broadcast communication technology.

Their goal was to protect the signal being relayed to remote-controlled torpedoes from being hacked and taken over by the enemy.

At the time, a piano roll was used to cause the signal to hop between 88 frequencies. This random “Frequency Hopping” would make it fair more difficult for an outside party to identify and hijack the signal being used.

Frequency Hopping is now used in a vast variety of systems, from mobile phones to wireless networking.

Hedwig and George’s device was never used during the war, the military thanked them both for their idea but didn’t use it until the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960’s.

Hedwig Kiesler died in 2000, but not before receiving some recognition for her achievements in science.

She was awarded the 1997 Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for the work she and Antheil carried out to make wireless communication a reality for the public.

Hedy Lamarr - Brilliant Actress, Brilliant Scientist.

“Any girl can look glamorous, all you have to do is stand still and look stupid.” - Hedwig Kiesler

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Once you've mastered the process with two colours, give it a go with more and see if you can make yourself some Rainbow Roses. (For more fun home experiments visit the CSIRO Do-It-Yourself Science page)

Science at Home. Painting the roses... Blue and Yellow!

Have you ever wanted to change the colour of your roses to something more interesting?

Well, look no further! It's actually a very simple process which uses the natural movement of water within plants - Transpiration!

First of all, you'll need to gather a few things: 

One white rose (it works best with the white ones); two glasses of the same size/shape; a knife and cutting board; some tape and two different food colourings.

Step 1. Choose a point approximately 5-10cm from the bottom of the stem. Cut down the centre of the stem from this point to the end, so the end of your rose has two legs.

Step 2. Place each end of the stem into a glass of water, and add a drop of food dye to each glass i.e. blue in one glass and yellow in the other.

Step 3. It is important to make sure that the rose does not fall over and the two ends of the newly split stem do not come out of the water. Fix the rose stem to something stable to keep it upright. for example, if you're leaving your rose in the window, tape it to the glass.

Step 4. Have patience. This won't happen in an instant, depending on how clean the stem has been cut and how warm it is in your house it may take a few hours or a couple of days to see any real change.

While You Wait...

Back to Transpiration - the movement of water within a plant from route to leaf and out into the air.

Water travels through plants through special vessels, much like blood flows through our bodies using veins and arteries - our blood vessels- plants have vessels which move food and water. The xylem is their water vessel. 

Water leaves the plant through the leaves. As the water leaves the leaves, more is pulled up through the roots.

The xylem runs through the entire stem this is why you can keep cut flowers for a few days before they wilt and die.

Here, the food colouring will be pulled up through the plant along with the water. When the water reaches the petals, the food colouring is left behind changing the colour of the petals.

Until you get to Step 5.

For your safety.Please take care when cut-ting the stems, use a chop-ping board if cutting with a knife. Cut away from you if

you are using scissors.Ensure your rose is securely fixed so that it will not fall,

possibly causing the glasses to break

Step 1. Step 3.

Step 4.

Step 5. Ta-da!

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Credits and Thanks.

Sources

The Paleo DietThanks to Holly Frail and Joey de Backer for their cooperation in this interview. Sourced and written by E.Thomas. Image credits to Wikipedia

Interview with a Scientist.Thanks to Nicky Phillips for her cooperation in writ-ing this feature. Sourced and written by E.Thomas, image credits to E. Thomas.

Hedy LamarrSourced from the Hedy Lamarr Official page and Encyclopedia Brittanica. Written by E.Thomas. Image credit to Wikipedia.

Science at HomeSourced and written by E.Thomas. Images credited to E.Thomas.

N.B. All images not produced by the author are embedded with hyperlinks to the website they were sourced from.

Thanks

Ryan and Ema Davidson of Gecko Clothing for their support and graphic design expertise. The beginnings of this magazine’s design came from Ryan’s brain.

Lee, Angela and Sue of QUT as my supervisors and tutors in this venture, thank you all for your guid-ance and support.

Puzzles!

At Simplify, we’re always looking for new challenges so feel free to leave constructive feedback and send in some puzzles for the next issue!