This is techknow. A show about innovations that can change lives. The science of fighting a wildfire. Were going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity, but were doing it in a unique way. This is a show about science. Oh oh my god by scientists. Tonight, techknow investigates vaping. Whoever bought this got way more than they bargained for. Yes they did. Its everywhere. In clubs, street corners and cars. They say its safe, it can help break the cigarette habit. If i had to say what is more dangerous; honestly, theyre equal. But whats really inside those ecigs . You never know what youre getting. Dr. Crystal dilworth is a neuroscientist who specializes in nicotine studies, shell bring us the latest research. What happens to your lungs when those metal particles go into them . Marita davison is an environmental biologist. Theyre gonna be around the corner. They went through there really quick but we got em. Shes off the coast of california where drones are taking some incredible images of migrating whales. As this Technology Becomes available to more people, were gonna see more researchers using it. Im phil torres, im an entomologist. Thats our team, now lets do some science. Hey guys welcome to techknow im phil torres, joined by Marita Davison and dr. Crystal dilworth. Now bigger and potentially more dangerous, thats the best way to describe whats happening the smoking alternative known as ecigarettes, or vaping. Its an industry that seems to really be exploding i mean youre seeing it everywhere. And a part of me wonders if this might be because of some misinformation about vaping, thats my sense. And our dr. Crystal dilworth, you have your phd in nicotine studies so weve asked you to keep a tab on this. Theres a lot Academic Research thats being done on the safety of use of these devices, but it cant really keep up with a growing industry. I enjoy the taste of it and not get the harmful effects of what smoking does. Call them vapers, or foggers or competitive cloud chasers. All are welcome at crystal vapor, one of thousands of vape shops across the country. Since techknow first reported on the vaping phenomenon in 2013, the industry has taken off like wild fire. Revenue is estimated to reach 3. 5 billion dollars this year, doubling since 2013. According to a recent poll 10 percent of all American Adults are vaping. Thats an estimated 20million people. When it comes to kids, while conventional tobacco smoking among them is dropping to record lows ecigarettes are a growing concern at the centers for disease control. Between 2013 and 2014 alone we saw a tripling in use among Us High School students to the point it was about 13. 5 of Us High School students had used these products within the past 30 days. From the early generation of cigarette lookalikes techknow first reported on, personal vaporizing devices, known as mods have gone hightech. Vapings come a long way baby weve seen the shift move from pens and tanks, at least culturally, to what we call cloud chasing devices. Went from mechmods, mechanical mods to basically box mods is whats going on right now. It may sound confusing but the basic mechanics are pretty simple. Theres a Battery Powered atomizer that heats up a liquid mixture known as juice. And turns it into vapor which the user inhales. When we first met researcher monique williams, shed wrapped up a study that found harmful metal particulates in the vapor from earlier models of ecigarettes. Following the evolution of the industry shes updating her study. So the original study we had looked at a cartomizer style ecigarette and we had detected high amounts of tin, present in the cartomizer parts. Are you still finding heavy metal particulate in the vapor . We are still finding that yes. Thats really scary because thats going into peoples lungs. What happens to your lungs when those metal particles go into them . Inhalation of metal especially Something Like tin, can cause stenosis, and that could constrict the bronchioles and the airwaves in the lungs. Across the hall at uc riverside theyre studying one of those compounds. Researcher iliana cordova is focused on nicotine concentrations in refillable ecig liquids. In this case, the solution tested is tennessee cured by red oak, a fluid made by Johnson Creek enterprises, an online seller of eliquids and accessories. We order a bunch of them and just run most of them just to test the accuracy of the label. And in this case this is 18 micrograms per milliliter, so this would be considered a high nicotine concentration. So the test here is well see how much its measuring from this peak and then well compare that to whats on the label. And as you can see from our control it was a lot higher. So we know for sure that it is nicotine. And in a recent paper that we published we found out that this specific sample was 59 higher nicotine than its advertised label. Whoever bought this got way more than they bargained for. Yes they did. Techknow asked Johnson Creek enterprises about its nicotine labeling discrepancy. They offered this statement while the companys stated claims point to a step in the right direction, the red oak sample that they manufactured with the 59 higher nicotine descrepancy was purchased online for the ucriverside study in february 2012, well within the range of Johnson Creeks stated internal improvements in controls and accuracy. But theyre not alone. Currently, ucriverside is evaluating a new batch of liquids from a variety of vendors and the initial results continue to suggest large discrepancies in nicotine labeling throughout the industry. Just based off all the research that weve done, you never know what youre getting. It could be higher nicotine concentration, it could be lower. And although lower might sound better, thats gonna mean that you need to smoke more to get what your bodys normally used to. Researchers are also concerned about the content of the hundreds of flavored liquids that fuel vaping. Our number 1 seller is looper, from animal. And this is a cereal fruit loops flavor, with a little bit of milk. A lot of these flavors that are being regarded as gras gras, generally regarded as safe, that is a term that is given to flavoring products that can be ingested. Whats happening to these flavoring products when theyre being aerosolized at these high temperatures and inhaled into the lungs. You have chemical reactions that can break them down into a lot more toxic chemicals known as carbon yield compounds, prime example being formaldehyde thats a very common one everyones heard of formaldehyde. And everyone should know formaldehyde isnt good for you. So in head to head comparison, ecigs versus conventional cigarette, which one do you think is healthier. My opinion, i think theyre both dangerous. I think the narrative that most people are missing is that the Public Health opponents to vapor have lumped in vapor with the evil tobacco folks that they fought back in the 80s and the 90s and so theyve decided that this is the exact same thing. Cynthia cabrera is the executive director for the Smoke Free Alternative Trade Association called sfata, a vaping lobby group. We need to dispel the idea that these vapor products are the same as combusted tobacco product because they are not, so we need to look at anytime that anyone is using a vapor product, they are not smoking and thats a win for everybody. These Electronic Cigarettes they dont contain the over 7,000 plus chemicals that conventional cigarettes have and thats always a plus. But on the flip side they do have their own set of compounds that youre being exposed to. Unfortunately were going to have to wait for the longevity studies, but if i had to say what is more dangerous, honestly theyre equal, to me theyre equal. The food and drug administration, which regulates tobacco, is still reviewing vaping regulations. Travis padgett has been smoking since high school, today he vapes to cut down on tobacco use. For me it was kinda sorta of a different way for me to get my nicotine. Now a micro biology major at uc riverside, travis, is vaping for science, participating in a study that measures his intake puff duration, volume and frequency. When you get out of here you are going to have a science degree, why not wait for science . Why vape now before we know if its safe . Well, its either i vape or i Smoke Cigarettes and we already know cigarettes are bad. Its a roll of the dice. Exactly, its a roll of the dice. The people that are choosing vaping over conventional cigarettes are choosing the unknown over the known. They know that conventional cigarettes are going to give them cancer, theres a chance that vaping is better, and so theyre rolling the dice with that. But theyre still gambling with their own health. And sometimes adults are making more informed decisions but then you have all these kids trying it. Well absolutely i mean adolescence, theyre still in a stage of Brain Development theyre not as capable as adults of making good decisions. And theyre uniquely susceptible to addiction. And usually weve got regulations in place that help protect for specifically those kind of cases but here its so new, the regulations havent kept up. Obviously thats a major concern, all of the regulations or protections that weve developed for Tobacco Products conventional cigarettes, are not there when it comes to vaping. Well guys fascinating topic and im sure crystal youll keep us up to date on this, but coming up next marita i understand you went whale watching. I did i got to go whale watching using drones in the sky. So a little bit like spying but its a great way to observe whales that we normally wouldnt be able to see and we dont really disturb them at all. And well check that out after the break. We want to hear what you think about these stories. Join the conversation by following us on twitter and at aljazeera. Com techknow. Theres a line of police advancing toward the crowd here. Ferguson city under siege. It isnt easy to talk openly on this base. And americas war workers. Its human trafficking. Watch these and other episodes online now at aljazeera. Com faultlines. Welcome back to techknow were about to talk whales. They are giant, majestic creatures, that are intelligent, complex, but theyre also threatened by a variety of manmade environmental conditions and in some cases theyre in danger. Right many attempts have been made to observe these creatures in their natural environments but a lot of the traditional methods, like planes or helicopters, are really noisy and invasive, or can be really expensive, which is prohibitive. But now theres a new method thats relatively silent, it gives us a pair of eyes in the sky to study animals like whales. And we caught up with a team off the coast of california thats using drones for a use thats a lot more peaceful than what were used to. Most times when you see images from a drone. Something is exploding. Usually devastation from the air. These are the military drones in service around the world. Closer to home in california, as techknow featured in 2013, theyre also used for important peacetime missions like assisting firefighters by mapping out hot spots during raging wildfires. Much has been reported about the use of drones especially when it comes to military applications. Drones may even become the Delivery System for consumer goods. But today, off the coast of san simeon california, researchers are using drones like this one here behind me for spectacular use, all in the name of science. This is the Piedras Blancas light station, this is a very unique piece of property because it sticks out into the migratory corridor of the northbound gray whale cows and calves. A picture perfect location for researchers to fly a science drone to get an unprecedented birdseye view of what swims below. To the right of 6, but in the distance home line. I gotcha. Whoa there it is. For 22 years, Wayne Perryman and a team from noaa have been here from march until may, counting and collecting data on gray whales migrating north. From the breeding grounds of mexico. To the arctic. A trip of 6,800 miles. This point is kind of a focal point for them and were able to see them very very well, they pass often within a 100 meters of the beach so its a great place to count animals. Gray whales swim close to land as protection against their main predator. Killer whales. Even so it takes a sharp eye and strong binoculars to spot the northern migration. Once they do, its go time for a one of a kind Unmanned Aircraft named mobly. To the right, to the right, ok now move, theyre in the middle of the frame. Theyre right there. Keep on going up. Hold on hold on. Theyre surfacing in the middle of the frame. Good. Come down a little bit. Hows that . Theyre moving to the right i see them underwater. Noaa scientist and pilot john durban is tracking a mother and her calf from a distance of about three quarters of a mile out from where he stands. Johns wife and coresearcher, holly fearnbach, is under the towel that shades a control panel giving her a real time video feed that aids in guiding the flight. So when they come up next im going to move out to them ok . Picking up more kelp at the very right edge. Should be perfect, lets see where they are. Now its split Second Timing for john to remotely trigger the camera to take High Definition photographs of the whales. I think theyre gonna be around the corner, they went through there really quick but we got them. Okay. We did well there huh . Yep. This is really a tool we have for flying a camera. Were trying to make inference about size and shape of whales by taking photographs, its called photogrammetry. So this is our camera and we want to get it above the whales. Mobly was built by don leroi le roy at a cost of 25thousand dollars. It may look like a hobbyists dream project but in fact its packed with many hightech systems to do science. Its called a hexicopter because it has 6 motors and 6 rotors. If its not being told what to do, it wants to hover, it wants to be stable in the air. The highdefinition photos taken from the eye in the sky gives scientists a better look at the Overall Health of the whales. If a female has been eating a lot and shes fat, her width relative to her length will be different than a female who hasnt eaten very much. So we can take just those two measurements and with those two we can get an index of condition. Index of fatness for that female. Perryman says this season many of the north bound, lactating, female gray whales observed, appeared more robust than in previous years. Data that is important for many reasons. Whale health gives scientists a snapshot of the balancing act between food sources, natural predators, even Climate Change. Were getting to the point now where we really can talk about how Climate Change in the arctic is impacting this population. Now that there is less ice and its thinner theres more photosynthesis going on in the winter time because light can penetrate and we want to understand that dynamic of whats going on. Recently, john durban and the noaa team took mobly to canada to study killer whales. Taken from 100 feet above, this video. The first of its kind. Gives scientists a clear picture of the health of northern resident killer whales. In these images, the whale on the right appears robust and in good health while the whale on the left is thin and in poor health. Scientists believe this whale later died because it was no longer spotted with its pod. Found the little guy . Okay. Now the big guy should be here somewhere. Killer whales are important because theyre competing with us for fish. Were trying to understand are they getting enough food. As this Technology Becomes available to more people were going to see more researchers using it. Its safe for the researchers, its safe for the animals i think its a win win. From an emotional perspective, just being able to see these incredibly beautiful species out in their natural environment, wed never be able to do that otherwise. And we dont have to disturb them to see them. But in terms of the overarching story, as scientists you can collect data on two things, what is and whats changing. And it seems like this method allows them to collect data thats sort of speaking to both of those objectives. Theyre studying what is now and when things change well know. Yeah and i mean that also speaks to the importance of having these long term data sets right. Because you have to be able to establish a baseline, which i think theyre doing very well. We know with 22 years of data and now with the changes of Climate Change, you know thats a really powerful set of data to give us a sense of whats on the horizon. Well when we come back phil you know i refer to my car as a trashcan on wheels, but youre story is kind of like that. Yeah i mean well be talking trash but a slightly different type of trash and i think you guys will be surprised whats being used to make cars these days. Well have that story after the break. Brittany menards decision to take her own life last year. Sparked a national debate. Brittany didnt want to die the brain tumor was killing her, she simply took control see change. Gripping. Inspiring. Entertaining. Talk to al jazeera. Only on al jazeera america. Growing up fast. My quest is to find me and me is not here. Fighting for a better future. If you dont go to college youre gonna end up dead on the streets. Life changing moments. I had never been bullied, everyone hates me. From oscar winning director alex gibney. Shut the cam. A hard hitting look at the real issues facing american teens. The incredible journey continues. And were back here on techknow. Phil you are going to tell us about a unique tour you took of a little unusual lab in detroit. Yeah you know it was basically a lab full of trash and ford invited us to check out the ways that theyre making the Auto Industry a little bit greener. So clearly a lot of environmental incentives here at play . Yeah you know obviously when you use Recycled Materials over new ones youre going to be saving a little bit of money. But theyve also found some new ways to solve some old problems, using some very cool methods so lets take a look. Its taken over a century but today Car Manufacturers are getting into high gear when it comes to going green. From Hydrogen Fuel cell cars to electric plugsin and hybrids. Mileage is going up. And with at least ten percent of a vehicles Environmental Impact in the assembly process, manufacturing is going green too. Companies like toyota, gm, volkswagen, ford and honda are all stepping up ecofriendly methods with zero waste factories diverting millions of pounds from landfills, reusing water, recycling sludge and going solar powered. And its not just assembly take ford 85 percent of its cars are renewable, recyclable or compostable. Everything from recyclable aluminum bodies and engine parts to soy foam seats and fabrics made from 5 million recycled plastic bottles. And this is where the ideas percolate the Materials Research lab at ford headquarters in dearborn michigan. What would you say is the craziest thing that you guys work with . What do you think those are . They look kinda gross. Yeah so these cigarette filters and its a cellulose acetate fiber and so were looking at that fiber as a reinforcement for plastics. Debbie mielewski started the lab back in 2001 with soy foam. Oil was about 40 a barrel and so nobody saw a reason to use plant based materials, even though there was an environmental improvement. When we launched our soy based foams, oil was about 150 a barrel and so suddenly what was a very poorly received idea, was very well received. Instead of a Petroleum Base the foam in every seat in north america is made of michigan soy. And now, the lab is testing algae oil with its more global reach. Plastics researcher ellen lee gave techknow the first public look at this newest experimental foam. Im gonna have you add in a surfactant, this one, and that kinda acts like the egg in a mayonnaise to blend everything together. And then im gonna have you add the blowing agent which in our case is water. Im gonna mix this up then well see the foam start to react. Whoa, and there it goes. Its baking into a cake. So you can see all the gas bubbles already forming. We use this to kind of evaluate our formulation and how fast it comes up. Why is it important that this reacts fast . How fast you can make each part is really important for manufacturing because you wanna be able to make things in a timely manner. Are we talking a matter of minutes per foam seat or seconds . Less than a minute. Ford is aiming to make their plastics at least 20 biobased. Is this actually making the plastic stronger . Yes, it does. These parts are lighter in weight, i can show you one that is made from hemp versus glass and its about a 30 weight reduction. So if we continue to do this, we will improve fuel economy as well. Ford says its already diverted more than 30 Million Pounds of plastic from north america landfills with materials as diverse as wheat grass, coconut hair, shredded jeans and millions of dollars of old what a lot of people dont know is money isnt actually paper. Its a blend of cotton and linen. So, were trying to grind it down into a smaller, finer grind. Research engineer guiseppi lacaria showed me how its done. So lets grind some money. Were gonna use a cryogrinder. Theres a shuttle that goes inside, and using magnets, it turns the magnets on and off and itll move the shuttle back and forth between the two metal ends. Itll smash the money using liquid nitrogen around it. And why do you put liquid nitrogen in there . So liquid nitrogen will just cool the money down to a brittle so its easy to smash. And well turn on the machine. Look at that. Powdered money. Then its melted in with plastic and formed into pellets. You melt em down, and then you form them into things like this, and this is a coin tray. That is a coin tray. Fords putting money back into your vehicle. What is this . Tomato fibers, so these are actual skins, leaves and stems from the tomato plants from heinzs ketchup production. They process millions of pounds of tomatoes every year and they have a lot of leftover. Why is this a good product for you guys to use . We can use this to reinforce our plastics to make them stiffer. But then at the same time reduce our impact. The lab is in the very early stages of testing the tomatobased possibilities making samples by melting and mixing plastic, extruding it into pellets and molds for testing. You had mentioned part of the test is actually the smell. You know if theyre driving along, they may not want to smell tomatoes because they might get hungry. So whats your big end goal for all of this . We all have kids and we wanna make sure that theres a green nice planet for them with materials that they can continually replenish. I dont want them to depend on petroleum as their only source of materials. Sitting between you guys is of course 10,000 worth of cash, but unfortunately it is old cash shredded, would normally go to the trash. But in this case, theyre reusing it and making coin trays out of it. This idea of closing the materials loop. You know, going as much as we possibly can towards 0 waste in manufacturing. Its not Just Lip Service anymore, its happening and it makes total business sense. I think its so interesting to see the cross industry collaboration, like heinz ketchup and ford motors, these arent really two companies i would think would Work Together in this way. As a chemist i think a lot about green chemistry, like you want all of the byproducts of your chemical reactions to be used in further reactions, and thats kind of like how i think about it. But, this is really creative. And thats why youre dr. Crystal dilworth. Thats why i am ha ha ha i think for me in the past my only ketchup and car interactions were when i spilled ketchup in my car. I think weve all been there. From the california coast all the way over to detroit, weve covered a lot of ground today guys, and covered some pretty interesting topics. So thanks for that. Well have a lot more for you next time on techknow, well see you then. Dive deep into these stories and go behind the scenes at aljazeera. Com techknow. 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