Author Archives: zphil

Plants – A Better Way to Fuel

Posted on November 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

Long line-up at the US Costco gas station for cheaper gas. Credit: Paul Sakuma

It is that time of the year again, when your neighbours brag about all the cheap items that they bring back from the south. But believe it or not, the one common thing that all these Canadian shoppers who pass the border for the US Black Friday sale come back with is neither discounted clothing nor electronics. Rather, it is gas.

The price of fuel has been skyrocketing over the past few years, compelling the Canadian industry to seek alternatives to fossil fuels. One of the most popular alternatives lies in the area of biofuels, a renewable and economical energy source derived from the products of living organisms such as the sugar secretions of plants. However, the problems with production efficiency and environment sustainability affiliated with biofuels have hindered their general adaptation in the industries.

Arabidopsis Thaliana secretes sugars which can be processed for biofuels. Credit: Thomas Meyer

Last year, an attempt to resolve the problem was done when Gabriel Levesque-Tremblay and his colleagues at the University of British Columbia conducted a research on the role of vesicle transport of sugars from the Golgi Apparatus to the cell wall of a small flowering Arabidopsis plant.

With prior knowledge of the functions of a particular plant gene, which encodes proteins that play a significant role in cellular secretion, Gabriel’s research team inhibited the expression of this gene, namely the ECHIDNA gene, in plant seeds to study the changes in the activity of secretory vesicles containing the polysaccharides, or sugars.

Granule accumulation inside the cell. Credit:http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/ content/early/2013/09/20/pcp.pct129. full.pdf+html

They found that without the expression of the ECHIDNA gene, the cells are still able to transport sugars across the Golgi apparatus. However, the secretory vesicles are unable to fuse with the cell wall of the plant, resulting in clusters of vesicles accumulating near the cell membrane. In other words, without the proper functioning of this ECHIDNA gene, the plant is unable to secrete the sugar products that the industry needs to extract to use as biofuels.

The following podcast introduces the two novel techniques that Gabriel’s study used to knock off the gene of interest in order to study the genetic effect of proteins on the plant’s vesicular transport and subsequently the secretion of sugars.

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Gabriel’s study suggests that the ECHIDNA gene, as well as perhaps other unidentified genes in plants, plays a critical role in controlling the vesicular fusion with the cell wall. Consequently, the ECHIDNA gene also regulates the efficiency of plant secretion. This opens window into increasing the secretion yield of plants. Engineers may be able to modify the genes to improve the fusion of cellular vesicles with cell walls and enhance the efficiency of cellular secretion. Ultimately, this could allow more sugar extractions from the plants to be used as biofuels and potentially lower gas prices

For more details about the experiment and more examples of the industrial applications of biofuel, check out the following video:

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–Ziharrphil Magnaye, Connie Lee, Nick Hsieh (Group 3)

References:

 

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Outreach Project, Science Communication

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Cellphone Radiation: Harmful?

Posted on November 2, 2013 | 1 comment

image source: flickr

In modern times, especially in developed countries, it’s safe to say that the majority of people own a cellular device. In fact, Statistics Canada declared that in 2010, a whopping 78% of Canadian households owned a cellphone. According to the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), cellphones emit radio waves, which tissues closest to the source can absorb. As part of our daily lives in this booming technology-dependent world, it’s worth noting any possible harm caused by cellular phones.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is a measure of how much radio energy is absorbed by the body. In Canada, the limit is a maximum of 1.6 watts per kilogram and a cellular company must meet this requirement to get certified. The cellphone you currently have should have a lower SAR value than this; however, if you’re curious, a list of SAR values is available online. Furthermore, the SAR value can change depending on the distance of the phone from the closest contact. CNET’s Kent German explained that cellphone manuals of brands, like the iPhone and Blackberry, advise the users to keep the phone a certain distance from the ear. These are the same manuals disregarded by the users. Lastly, he added, “What’s more, though science hasn’t proven that cell phones can cause brain cancer or other ailments, it hasn’t proven definitively that they aren’t harmful, either”

image source: wikipedia commons

More studies conclude that cellphone use doesn’t have an adverse effect on our health and safety; however, there are reviews reporting that some studies found an increased cancer risk affiliated with cellphone  use. “A number of prominent, peer reviewed studies indicating that cell phone radiation can cause genetic damage, brain and blood cell dysfunction and a host of health problems including cancer“,  Dr. George Carlo said.

 There is a lot of uncertainty involved with the research regarding the negative impacts of radiation emitted by cellphones. Moreover, there are no absolute repercussions in using a cellphone nor a statement that says it’s completely harmless.

In the following video, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks about the possible effects of exposure to radiation, adult and children’s susceptibility, and safety guidelines.

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In addition to Dr. Gupta’s safety advice, the Natural Health News has provided 10 ways to minimize our exposure to the harmful radiation of cellphones.

The Environmental Working Group announced that the World Health Organization made associations between cellphone use and brain cancer, sperm damage, and behavioural changes. Despite all of these possible harmful effects, why are we not conducting more research that can lead us to a more definite answer? A recent Vancouver Sun article states that Health Canada is allegedly manipulating reports on cellphone radiation. Why is this happening? What impedes further study regarding the topic?

-Ziharrphil Magnaye

References:

MobileSyrup, National Cancer Institute, cnet, SAR Values, cnet, Taylor and Francis Online, Mobile Phones and Cancer, NaturalNews.com, Environmental Working Group, Vancouver Sun

 

 

 

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science in the News

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Peanut Butter Sniff Test

Posted on October 12, 2013 | 3 comments

image source: wikipedia commons

According to the statistics of Alzheimer’s Society BC, approximately 70,000 British Columbians are suffering from Alzheimer’s or any brain-related disorder. What is Alzheimer’s? It is a neurological disorder affecting the cognitive ability (e.g. memory and thinking) and behaviour of an individual, and it worsens over time. The physiological cause of Alzheimer’s is the increase in the number of twisted fibers of protein within the brain cells and plaques between cells.

image source: flickr

 There is no cure for Alzheimer’s; therefore, prevention and early detection are vital. Assessments  of a patient suspected of having the disease includes physical and mental examination (e.g. MRI, or more generally speaking, a brain scan). The downside of a brain scan is the strenuous process of monitoring the patient and being on the waitlist, which takes months, leading up to the scan; however, there is a test still under study that could detect if an individual suffers from Alzheimer’s – it is called the PEANUT BUTTER SNIFF TEST. This test could be an alternative to brain scans. Also, this could allow for early detection of the disease, so preventative steps can be taken early.

Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student, and her colleagues from University of Florida used peanut butter to conduct an olfactory test ( article about the scientific research).

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Her group of researchers found that Alzheimer’s-affected patients had a decrease in smell sensitivity in the left nostril. David Knopman of Mayo Clinic, quoted by Singh, stated that “The idea that smell is altered in Alzheimer’s disease dementia patients is well known, and this is nothing new.” As mentioned above,  there is no cure for Alzheimer’s and the only treatment available is prevention.  Early detection of the disease leads to taking a more aggressive approach to alleviate the symptoms. The peanut butter sniff test could already be a clinical procedure used as a preventative measure for Alzheimer’s; however it is not very accurate because there are compounding variables such as: “congestion in your nasal cavities that can reduce your smell on a temporary basis, a past head trauma, severe past sinus infections”, according to Bartzokis, quoted by Oransky.

There are numerous arguments  made by other Alzheimer’s researchers against this study; however it is only at the beginning stages and Stamps is going to conduct more experiments to further develop her research.  She also gave a warning: “Don’t try this at home. Having slight differences between your left and right nostrils is normal, and you might end up freaking out over nothing.” In other words, for now just enjoy your peanut butter on a piece of toast.

-Ziharrphil Magnaye

References:

Alzheimer’s Society BC, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society UK, Journal of the Neurological Sciences, Shots,  MedPage Today

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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FDA-Approved Artificial Sweeteners: Negative Effects and Health Benefits

Posted on September 21, 2013 | 1 comment

image source: farm4.staticflickr.com/

Human consumption of artificial sweeteners has increased over the years. This is apparent in the increased emergence of “sugar- free” or “diet” food and beverages at grocery stores. Furthermore, sugar substitutes come  in packets, liquid form, and/or incorporated into our favourite food and drinks. Their abundance and easy accessibility increases our exposure, and consequently, our consumption of the said products. In turn, we need to assess the potential negative effects of artificial sweeteners on the health, as well as the health benefits.

Artificial sweeteners are consumed mainly for weight control and for prevention of diabetes. Diabetic people, however, use artificial sweeteners because they generally do not raise blood sugar levels, as they are not made of carbohydrates – according to a health-oriented website article. In addition, the same source stated that artificial sweeteners practically do not have calories and hence they’re dubbed “non-nutritive sugars”. These are the factors that drive for the consumption of artificial sweeteners. In contrast, what are the possible side effects?

A recent post made by a former editor of Harvard Health exclaims that artificial sugars are much sweeter than their natural counterparts; therefore, consumption of these sugars can overstimulate the taste receptors which could result in less tolerance for more complex taste – characteristic of fruits and vegetables. More importantly, I found this article to be alarming. It only talks about a couple of artificial sweeteners – sucralose and aspartame; however it suggests that they are carcinogens and can potentially promote the development of certain diseases.

In my opinion the negative effects outweigh the health benefits of these artificial sweeteners. Weight gain and the onset of diabetes can be prevented by consuming healthy alternatives, exercise, and adequate rest. On the contrary, sometimes we can’t control what is contained within the processed food and beverages we purchase at the store.

I stumbled upon a  report of the toxicity effects of Aspartame published by the US Food and Drug Administration. Despite all of this, why are artificial sweeteners FDA-approved? I believe that the governments around the world should fund more intensive safety studies for the safety and well-being of the consumers.

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References:

Sweeteners, Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes, Artificial sweeteners: sugar-free, but at what cost?, The health dangers of artificial sweetners, Reported asparatame toxicity effects

by: Ziharrphil Magnaye

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science

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