Welcome back to Week 8's edition of PRISM where we explore the potential of bioelectricity, as well as an entertaining segment on the psychology surrounding League of Legends players! As always, we hope you enjoy the newest instalment of PRISM and wish you a great week ahead!

UNSW SCISOC X PsychSoc - Barbie and Ken: A Match Made in Plastic

Come join SCISOC and PsychSoc at our Dating Show!! If you have not already applied, come watch other contestants test their friendship in a series of challenges! Prizes include $100 bar vouchers and MORE for the winning duo!

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Date: Wednesday 19th July (Week 8)

Time: 6 pm

Location: TBC

Cost: FREE

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The Power Within: Exploring the Potential of Bioelectricity

Bioelectricity! It refers to the electrical phenomena of life processes and is a parallel to the medical subject electrophysiology (a branch of physiology that studies electrical properties of biological cells). A basic mechanism is the energy-consuming cell membrane ion pumps polarising (the process or act of producing positive and negative electric charge values to opposite ends) a cell, with the action potential generated when an action potential causes ion channels to open. The depolarization process produces current in the extracellular volume, which results in measurable bipotential differences in tissue. A crucial activity is the intracellular and extracellular single cell measurement results with microelectrodes. Neuron activity and signal transmission can be studied by recording potentials with multiple microelectrode arrays. Additionally, to measure endogenic sources, bioelectricity also is comprised of the use of active, current-carrying electrodes.

So, besides the obvious, why is bioelectricity important? One problem which humanity has dealt with for quite a while is energy storage, and whilst our technology related to batteries has been getting better and better, the materials that we use to construct them can be on the rarer side. The idea of “bio-batteries” is one that has been brought up as a potential solution. A “bio-battery” is a battery which is composed of organic material. One benefit of this is that instead of having to mine for materials and then produce the battery, it could instead be grown. Whilst a somewhat morbid idea, bioengineering is a potential path that could lead to a more sustainable future. A key downside of this concept is that organic-based batteries are less likely to retain their energy.

So, to bring the idea back to organically produced electricity, and to push this concept even further, there is potential that we could create bio-generators. A bio-generator is essentially an organic based structure, or even organism, that could be used to not only store energy, but produce it. This might remind you of some popular sci-fi movies, in particular The Matrix, wherein humanity was enslaved to produce energy for an all-powerful AI. Whilst I hope this eventuality doesn’t come to pass, we already have working examples of bio-generators.

A team of researchers created a rat battery (rattery), which, whilst striking me as an act that Victor Frankenstein would undertake, is incredibly impressive. These researchers implanted a biofuel cell into rats, which utilised the rats' generation of energy to produce usable electricity. This allowed them to power small devices including a small LED light.

To paint this picture further, these rats essentially had an electric plug in their foreheads.

This raises a lot of questions regarding the ethics of bio-generators and it is definitely something that we would have to ensure doesn’t get out of hand. However, it also shows that bioelectricity is a field that could have a major impact on how we power our world. Whether you're for it, or against it, bioelectricity may have a big role to play in our future, so you may as well start learning how it works.

If you’d like to read more about this experiment you can find it here: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01516

Why League of Legends Players ‘Never Touch Grass’

League of Legends (LoL) is an Massive Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game developed by Riot Games and has consistently been one of the most popular games over the past ten years, with servers set up all around the world. In fact, it is conservatively estimated that around 80-100 million actively play League monthly, or more than triple Australia’s entire population. No doubt you have encountered the stereoptical depiction of League players as degenerate individuals that don’t shower and have never touched grass.

More significantly, we have found that many current and ex-players have expressed a decline in their mental wellbeing as a consequence of League, specifically detailing a shorter temper, increased irritability and a decrease in empathy. Though this may be attributed to the nature of video games as an outlet for self expression, namely, smashing monitors at the loss of a game, I’m sure we’re all aware of the ramifications that a blurring reality may extract. In this week’s edition of SCISOC’s very own fun corner, we will take you on a thrilling exploration of the binary relationship between League of Legends and mental stability.

There is no doubt that League is a game full of toxic interactions where behaviours such as cussing and ‘flaming’ are commonplace. According to a study conducted by the University of Rio de Janeiro, 66% of participants have perceived one or more forms of oppression and 25% of participants identified have experienced more than 5 types of oppression, including but not limited to xenophobia, sexism, racism, homophobia and fatphobia. These incidents of social toxicity and oppression often occur as a result of an individual’s gameplay being perceived as inadequate by members of the team, who communicate their displeasure through the chat function or through pings. In these instances, after experiencing often underserved levels of toxicity from their fellow teammates, the victim may choose to purposefully lose the game as a method of retribution, which furthers the cycle of hatred and vehemence.

You might ask, if there is so much toxicity, why do so many people still play League? Well, League utilises positive reinforcement to increase players’ frequency of playing games. Playing LoL gives rewarding feelings when you defeat an enemy in the form of gold and experience. This feeling increases your brain’s dopamine levels. You remember this pleasure and anticipate more, so you further engage in matches for more rewards. Thus, for the average League player, a Victory gives you rewarding feelings while a “Defeat” gives you frustration. Because the brain is more sensitive to positive than negative stimuli, you continue to anticipate victory even after several losses. In addition, your teammates can potentially “Honor” you if you played well in the match. Receiving Honor gives you a sense of recognition, which encourages you to continue playing in search of the next win. Both “Victory” and “Honor” follow a variable-ratio schedule: you cannot predict how many matches you need to play before getting these rewards. A variable-ratio schedule has a slow extinction rate, which means that players keep playing LoL even when they do not receive “Victory” and “Honor” for a long time because they expect that these rewards will eventually arrive.

Therefore, many LoL players are entrapped within a perpetual cycle of seeking the gratification of a Victory, whilst suffering within an often toxic environment. It is little wonder then that the typical LoL player is cast as mentally unstable, addicted to the worst type of drug that is in fact League of Legends itself. So next time, when your League friends finally touch some grass, understand their bravery and what they’ve been through and support them through their rehabilitation.

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