BY YURIS SOMS
On the first day, October 4, 2021, of the Congress on Chemistry in Daugavpils, Latvia, we were warmly greeted by Juris Soms, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) and Mathematics of Daugavpils University, an experienced Doctor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Yuris Soms is skilled in ArcGIS Products, Environmental Awareness, Geography, Cartography, and Sustainability. He is a strong research professional with a Dr. Geology focused in Quaternary geology and geomorphology, and the author of many scientific publications.
In his lecture, the professor noted the importance of chemistry in human life from ancient times to the present day and the role of the younger generation in new discoveries. During the professor’s lecture Evans Griškjāns, a 12th-grade student at our Daugavpils 3. vidusskola, demonstrated the operation of chemical laws in practice.
Evans Griškjāns tells us, “Craig Charles’s quotation “It’s evolve or die, really, you have to evolve, you have to move on otherwise it just becomes stagnant” conveys a very important meaning – the meaning of our life. By looking at the start point of human beings, it can be assumed that people were created to discover all universe edges. We have evolved from the lowest form of life to the top of the food chain.
Every century, year, week, and day scientists work on the new, before not explored things and chemistry is not an exception. Comparing 19th and 21st centuries levels of chemistry, humanity did a breath-taking breakthrough in the discovery of novel materials, dyes, drugs, and even reaction principles.
But why does science matter? Have you ever tried to look at the sun through sunglasses? You could clearly see the shape of it or, maybe, even something else. It is very interesting and amazing how science can change our vision and expectations to regular things. Science is like sunglasses – it filters our prejudice and gives us the real sight of life and life mechanics.
The simple experiment of exothermic chemistry is the barking dog reaction, the reaction between carbon disulphide and nitrous oxide, as a result, you can hear a loud “woof” or “bark” similar to a dog’s one. Flashing, fire, rapid burning, flash, explosion, and social excitement are very simple reactions, but very impressive from the side of their mechanism. Consider how this happens: the reaction between the match head and the strip of phosphorus on the matchbox, the burning of the match due to oxidation by oxygen, and finally, the combustion of the combustible mixture, which gives a flash and explosion, stimulating the neurons in our brain and causing them to release dopamine and adrenaline in the synaptic cleft, which makes you feel overwhelmed. This is how science works and this is why science matters.”
The professor himself and the staff of various laboratories introduced us to the exciting equipment and work of researchers.
- In the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genetics, they use the latest study methods for studying cell stress, cell programmed dead passages and cell memory molecular biological, physiological, genetic, and epigenetic processes.
- Animal Ecology and Evolution Laboratory and Laboratory of Genomics and Biotechnology are equipped with modern hardware and use modern laboratory equipment to conduct studies in genetics, biotechnology, molecular biology, molecular systematicity, and population genetics.
- Laboratory of Chromatography is engaged in theoretical and applied studies in the field of high-performance liquid chromatography.
To sum up, all the students had an opportunity to imagine their future in science and became aware of the importance of science in the world.
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