January 2019

A New Insect Repellent 

By: Sumant Anantha 
 
Body paint just might be the solution to the bugs in Africa pestering the 
Humans. Researches have indicated that Bugs only are attracted of sucking the 
blood out of the humans by their skin color. The evidence was using Body Spray 
painted Mannequins. First, the Mannequins were painted and then covered with 
mouse trap glue. Every 2 days the scientists would come and remove all the 
trapped insects from the Mannequins. After counting up the Numbers of 
Horseflies and Mosquitoes attracted to all three Mannequins is that more than 
10 times the amount of the bugs were 
found on the brown skin painted 
mannequin than the others. So Scientists 
concluded that If Humans used 
White-striped Body Painting, then the 
Horse flies and Mosquitoes will be 
confused. Zebra painted Mannequins are 
shown to scramble the vision of the bug 
indicating that the creature is not a human. 
Most Australians and Africans Use Body 
paint or paint to cover themselves for their religion. These Bloodsuckers only 
expand their range according to the climate conditions. So if your in an 
environment where there are bugs attracted to you, always bring body spray. 

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New Horizons Spacecraft Captures Picture of 
Ultima Thule 
By: Shrihan Dadi 
 
Ultima Thule is the official most 
distant object ever “visited”. I use 
“visited” in quotes here because 
astronauts didn’t actually visit the 
contact binary. Pictures were captured by the New 
Horizons Spacecraft on Jan 1 as it flew by Ultima 
Thule at over 32,000 mph. Thule’s distance is 
posited as 4 billion miles away from our sun. It 
consists of 2 spherical lobes, resembling the shape 
of a snowman. The larger spherical lobe is named 
Ultima and the smaller spherical lobe is named 
Thule; together, they make up “Ultima Thule”. Color 
images also show that Ultimate Thule is light 
reddish. Scientists know that these two lobes must 
have collided at low speeds in order for them to 
stay intact. Contact binaries like this one appear to 
be more common in the outer edges of the solar 
system.  
 
 

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Overpopulation - A Global Crisis 
By: Amuktha Dasari 
 
We have all read of the growing crisis in global warming, the slowly 
growing hole in our atmosphere causing global temperatures to rise at 
an alarming rate. We know of Earth’s dwindling reservoir of natural 
resources, forests being decimated for 
timber, fuelwood, and industrialization. We 
have all doubtless heard of the multiple 
other problems being inflicted upon our 
planet and its people: fatal epidemics, 
droughts, famine, even poverty. What we 
do not hear of quite nearly as much, 
however, is the primary factor between 
each of these problems: overpopulation. There are currently 
approximately 7​.5​ billion human beings on this planet, a number that 
increases every day. According to the United States Census Bureau, 
the current global human population has a net gain of about 2 people 
every second, and the United States population itself increases by 1 
person every 19 seconds. Cities are becoming increasingly more 
crowded, resulting in more people living under the poverty lie, often with 
no home or place to live. Rising populations mean rising rates of 
depletion of our planet’s natural resources. Studies show that Earth’s 
estimated carrying capacity, or the maximum population size it will be 
able to sustain, is just short of 10 billion: a number that we are already 
only 25% below. This problem cannot be corrected unless we take 
action now. We must start from the common premise that human 
population growth at current levels makes control of greenhouse gases 
impossible. The Earth will become increasingly uninhabitable during this 
century. Let us take our fate in our own hands and control our numbers 
in a humane and civilized manner before Mother Nature does it for us. 
 

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Health Benefits of Indoor Plants 
By: Arya Bharti 
 
In Modern times we humans spend most of our time indoors so it 
would make sense if we could see how our health is impacted by 
living indoors and what could be done to make the indoors more 
healthy and connect to nature. When we 
breathe, we breathe in oxygen and release 
carbon dioxide and plants do the opposite 
during the day in the process of 
photosynthesis. Having indoor plants 
therefore increases the level of oxygen and 
humidity in our homes. Also few plants like 
orchids, succulents and epiphytic 
bromeliads release oxygen even at night 
so such plants like snake plant, money 
plants etc can be kept in bedrooms too. 
SBS (sick building syndrome) is a medical 
condition where people in a building suffer from symptoms of illness 
or feel unwell for no apparent reason. NASA clean air study in 1989 
suggest that indoor plants cleans the inside air from volatile organic 
compounds(VOC’s) and other harmful chemicals (benzene, 
formaldehyde) that are there in modern houses in couches, paints, 
carpets etc. These indoor plants can basically cure SBS and give a 
person a better sense of well-being and reduce stress. Indoor plants 
improves our health by increasing oxygen so our lung capacity is 
increased. Increased humidity boosts the immune system and 
removes dry air and dust so that it is not a stimulant for infection. 
Research suggests Greenery inside our homes also have a positive 
impact on mood and increases focus and brain health. 
 

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The Truth About Juul 
By : Ria Vellanki 
 
Juuling and vaping has taken over. Smoking is now unheard of, 
everyone has switched to vaping on the basis of one idea: Vaping is 
safer than smoking. Because of this idea teens think that it’s okay to 
vape. One company has mainly been doing 
well in sales with the teens. Juul Labs is an 
electronic cigarette company that has taken 
the market by storm in 2017. Juul draws the 
teens in with its many flavors such as mint 
and berry. Since the rise of juuling many kids 
have developed a nicotine addiction. Young 
people learn faster than adults and since 
addiction is a form of learning, teens are 
more likely and easily addicted to nicotine. 
Juul is so addictive that many kids leave 
class for extended amounts of time just to vape. Since vaping poses 
such a big threat to young people the FDA is taking action. They plan 
to put stricter restrictions on the sale of vapes and Juuls. They also 
want help teens that are addicted get better. E-Cigarette companies 
such as Juul are targeting teens and drawing them in with the many 
available flavors. They also make them think it’s okay to cape 
because it’s “safer.” But you must remember that safer does not 
mean safe. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Pixel 3 Lite Leak - Must or Bust 
By: Harvik Kolla 

Many Google phones show up in videos before they’ve even 

been officially announced by Google. Recently a new video popped 
up from the channel “Andro News” leaking extensive details about 
the new ‘ Pixel 3 Lite’ (This has been taken down by Youtube but 
there are many reuploads). ​The phone is named “Sargo” and runs on 
a Snapdragon processor and 4GB of RAM. It looks similar to the Pixel 
3 but without some extra 
features. The screen 
believed to be a 
5.56-inch 2220 x 1080 
LCD. The phone is built 
out of plastic, rather than 
the iron and metal 
counterparts which 
suggest a lower price 
range. Instead of 
containing an OLED display, the Pixel 3 Lite is running an IPS panel. 
The phone has a very interesting feature; the fact that the phone has 
a headphone jack at the top. It will also contain the same camera 
specs of the Pixel 3 but without the extra rear camera. With a leak like 
this, it is expected that Google should launch the phone immediately 
to avoid any backlash or problems but the date is uncertain. It is 
being revealed in Hong Kong. It is also rumored to be sold on Verizon 
in the U.S. next spring. The price of the phone is expected to be 
around 400 - 500 USD. This is a cheaper and smaller phone, maybe 
to reverse the trend of bigger the better smartphones 

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Netflix Prices Rising 

By: Harvik Kolla 

Netflix is getting another price hike. The most popular plan will 
increase from $11 per month to $13 per month. The $8-per-month 
plan will also be rising up to $9, and its $14-per-month plan is 
reaching $16, just above HBO’s NOW plan. The price increase is 
effective immediately, unlike the past Netflix price fluxes. The price 
increase is said to support Netflix’s popular shows “ Stranger Things” 
and viral movies like “Bird Box”. This is the 
fourth price increase that Netflix has rolled 
out in the US. The last time Netflix changed 
its prices was in late 2017. The company 
states “ “We change pricing from time to 
time as we continue investing in great 
entertainment and improving the overall 
Netflix experience”. But what is the price 
Netflix customers are willing to pay for 
movies and shows? A mere 2 dollars won't 
hurt anyone says media analyst Rich Greenfield. He says the price 
should be dependent on what Netflix has to offer. When asked, 
“What if Netflix charged $50? Would that still be a deal for 
consumers?”, Rich responded saying, "No, $50 a month with the 
current set of content would not be a compelling offer. But if you told 
me that Netflix had 'Monday Night Football' and the Major League 
Baseball contract, maybe $50 is the right price." All in all, the price 
increased in Netflix does not seem too major, but keep an eye out for 
fluxes and addition to the worldwide multimedia streaming service 
Netflix. 

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China’s Economy 
By: Pranay Koneru  
China’s economy only grew 6.8% percent in 2018, 
the lowest growth rate in 28 years. China’s statistics 
bureau chief Ning Jizhe recently told reporters that 
the slow down has been caused by the country’s 
ongoing trade dispute with 
the US. In addition to the 
trade tensions China was 
also dealing with high 
amounts of debt while 
trying to maintain their 
economy. While trying to 
find a solution to the trade war that would benefit 
both sides, China offered a six-year boost in 
imports to the United States. Also during 2018 
China’s retails store sales rose a measly one 
percent between November and December going 
from 8.1% to 8.2%. All of these changes and more 
may hold a future where China is no longer one of 
the world’s biggest economies but for now the 
country’s economy is still growing.  

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