Happy Halloween: Beware of the caries!

Posted on October 31, 2016 by | 3 comments

Halloween has approached us. Among the daunting horror films and scary costumes come the dreaded likelihood of cavities AKA dental caries (DUN DUN DUN)!

As a child I always wondered how cavities form, but I never looked into it because I didn’t want to face the awful truth that my beloved candy is actually plotting against me. But now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I have figured out the true story of the candy cavity curse!

It begins the moment you present that delicious piece of candy to your mouth, and the simple sugars, specifically sucrose, are released into your oral cavity. The sugar feeds the already present bacteria on your teeth [1], which live in the plaque growing on the enamel. Plaque forms normally on your teeth by the combination of sucrose, and proteins from your saliva [2]. However unpreventable, it can be removed by frequent tooth-brushing. So bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), which are round, cariogenic (causes tooth decay), and anaerobic, feed on the sucrose provided by the candy, to form lactic acid through glycolysis [2].

Glycolysis is an important process in which energy is produced. The process is outlined generally below.

Hydrolysis of Sucrose to form Glucose and Fructose Image Credit: Charles E Ophardt http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/548toothdecay.html

Hydrolysis of Sucrose to form Glucose and Fructose Image Credit: Charles E Ophardt http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/548toothdecay.html

Formation of Lactic Acid from Fructose via Glycolysis. Image Credit: Charles E Ophardt http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/548toothdecay.html

Formation of Lactic Acid from Fructose via Glycolysis. Image Credit: Charles E Ophardt http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/548toothdecay.html

S. mutans lives in the plaque trapped between your teeth, and lacks oxygen. Therefore it uses glycolysis to produce lactic acid under anaerobic conditions [3]. Lactic acid is very acidic. It has a pH level of 2 [4]. The added acidity decreases the pH of your mouth to initiate the dissolution of the calcium phosphate in your tooth enamel [3]. Thus, the start of a cavity. A description of the process is explained in the video below.

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Despite the terror inflicted on my teeth due to my obsession with candy, I refuse to deprive myself of the traditional Halloween treat. Although ceasing the intake of sugar would obviously decrease the production of lactic acid on my teeth, also decreasing cavity formation, there are other methods being investigated to protect our teeth.

For example, Shelby Kashket, and Dominick P. DePaola have studied the anticariogenic effects of cheese [5]! They researched that possibly due to the buffering effects of dairy proteins on the lactic acid formation, and increased salivation when eating cheese, this helps in battling the cariogenic effects of S. mutans!

Additionally, Chu-hong Hu et al. developed a way to make large quantities of Glycyrrhizol A, an extraction of licorice root, into a sugar-free lollipop which can kill the S. mutans bacteria [6]! Talk about fighting fire with fire, or in this case, fighting candy with candy!

Finally, you can also use toothpaste with sodium bicarbonate, which raises the pH level in your mouth and neutralizes the acid [1]. Or rinse with fluoride, which speeds up the remineralization of the enamel, too [7].

So, I guess what I’m saying is, long live candy! And, apparently, cheese!
…Just make sure you brush and floss often, as well.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Nicole Yipp

References:

[1] Dr Chemical, http://drchemical.com.au/why-does-sugar-cause-tooth-decay (accessed Oct 31, 2016).

[2]Loesche WJ. Role of Streptococcus mutans in human dental decay. Microbiol Rev. 1986;50:353–380.

[3] Ophardt, C. E. Tooth Decay http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/548toothdecay.html (accessed Oct 31, 2016).

[4] Lactic acid; MSDS No. 9924447 [Online]; Science Lab; Houston, Texas, May 21, 2013, http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924447 (accessed Oct 31, 2016).

[5] Kashket, S.; Depaola, D. P. Nutrition Reviews 2002, 60 (4), 97–103.

[6] Hu, C. H.; He, J.; Eckert, R.; Wu, X. Y.; Li, L. N.; Tian, Y.; Lux, R.; Shuffer, J. A.; Gelman, F.; Mentes, J.; Spackman, S.; Bauer, J.; Anderson, M. H.; Shi, W. Y. International Journal of Oral Science 2011, 3 (1), 13–20.

[7] Fluoride And Your Teeth http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/fluoride/article/fluoride-and-your-teeth (accessed Oct 31, 2016).

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Groundbreaking coffee grounds: How your morning wake up call is more than just a beverage.

Posted on October 24, 2016 by | 6 comments

You wake up in the morning feeling groggy and your limbs seem to not want to listen to your instructions. You’re sure that you’ve somehow lost a cone cell type somehow in your eyes, because the world seems to be a grey blur. Stumbling to the kitchen, you manage to go through the motions and end up with your favourite cup of joe. As you sip at it, the world starts up again. Birds are singing, children are laughing, and all is finally right with the world.

a_small_cup_of_coffee

How do you like your coffee? (Image provided by Wikimedia Commons.)

Recent studies have shown that coffee has even more miracle effects to offer: scientists were recently able to create foam filters out of leftover coffee grounds, which have the capability of filtering out harmful heavy metals from drinking water. These chemicals include metals such as lead and mercury.

 

Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology have created a foam that is 60% coffee grounds and 40% of a silicone elastomer, which is a chemical compound that gives the foam some elasticity.

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The resulting foam material. (Image provided by American Chemical Society)

This foam has quite a dramatic effect when used in water filtration; Experiments show that 67% of lead ions can be removed just by running the water through the foam, and up to 99% of lead and mercury ions can be filtered if the water is allowed to sit in the foam for 30 hours.

 

This inexpensive and reliable material could help us reduce wastes, as it will provide a use for all of the coffee grounds that are thrown out everyday, as well as help increase the availability of clean water in areas that desperately need it, such as developing countries or areas in crisis, such as Flit, Michigan’s water contamination problem.

 

The paper was just released September 1st, 2016, so there has not been enough time for the material to be introduced and used in the real world. However, this discovery is definitely the start of a great change, and it will surely leave a great impact on the world as an ecofriendly way of treating water.

Dennis Lin, Undergraduate Chemistry Student

 

References:

  1. Asmita A. Chavan, Javier Pinto, Ioannis Liakos, Ilker S. Bayer, Simone Lauciello, Athanassia Athanassiou, Despina Fragouli.Spent Coffee Bioelastomeric Composite Foams for the Removal of Pb2 and Hg2 from Water. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016; DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b01098

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Bacteria can help us to extract drinking water and mining minerals from the ocean?!

Posted on October 24, 2016 by | 4 comments
water-crisis

Figure 1: The global water crisis. Author: MrGauravBhosle from Wikimedia. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Water-crisis.jpg

Nowadays, people around the globe are facing a huge problem with the clean water crisis. More than 36 countries in the world cannot provide drinkable water resources to their citizens. However, the good news is scientists have already found a technique to extract drinkable water from seawater, which saves many people around the world.

The basic idea of this technique is called “seawater reverse osmosis.” By using energy to force the seawater pass through a special membrane which can only allow water molecules to go through, the clean drinking water can be extracted from the general seawater. Furthermore, the remaining salt and other types of heavy metals or minerals will be left on the other side of the membrane. However, the biggest problem is that in the remaining salts and metals solution, which also called “Brine” solution, is highly toxic, and can also cause serious damaging to the local environment. Figuring out how to deal with this problem had been the biggest challenge for Chemists and Ecologists for decades.

800px-simple_ro_schematic

Figure 2: The seawater reverse osmosis system. Description:” A – Applied pressure B – Seawater in C – Contaminants D – Semi-permeable membrane E – Potable water out F – Distribution.” Author: Colby Fisher from Wikimedia. Source :https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simple_RO_schematic.png

Recently, the problem had been solved by the finding of one special type of Bactria. Such bacteria will create electrical charges during metabolism. If we can mix the bacteria with the Brine solution, the electrical charges can combine with the metals which usually carry positive charges in the aqueous environment. After accumulating and precipitation, the metals can be extracted from the brine solution, and the remaining materials are safe again to be released back to the ocean without damaging the environments.

However, the remaining metals which had been accumulated and precipitated by the bacteria can be used in so many ways. In the seawater, more than 40 types of minerals and metals are present, and most of them are very precious for many industries and medical companies. Also, in a lot of countries that have less natural resources, such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, UK…etc. Mining metals can cost a serious amount of money. For example, Mining Magnesium in Singapore can cost 4.5 billion dollars a year, which is a huge part of the outcome.

By using bacteria to accumulate metals from seawater, much less money can be spent, and the percentage yield of this technique is also very high. Pure products can be achieved without risking miners’ life, which is also a big improvement in our modern society.

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In the future, more and more biomining techniques will be applied to our daily life, and the win-win situation can also be achieved. Not only can we solve the global water crisis problem, but also can help many countries to use a cheaper price to have more mining resources.

Reference:

  1. Components of Seawater: http://www.seafriends.org.nz/oceano/seawater.htm
  2. Biomining costs: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2015/2015/bioleaching.html
  3. TED Talks — Damian Palin: https://www.ted.com/talks/damian_palin_mining_minerals_from_seawater/transcript

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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Instant Noodles

Posted on October 24, 2016 by | 2 comments

Nowadays, the working pressure of many people has been increased sharply in modern times. In order to save time, it has been a common habit to eat instant noodles in our daily life. Therefore, instant noodles are a kind of essential food. However, instant noodles have always been regarded as junk food without any nutrition. In fact, many people are not sure at all about whether instant noodles have nutrition or not.
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The content of oil contained in instant noodles takes up about 16% to 20% with less than 10% of protein, but the rest is starch. All the content of vitamin B and minerals comes from flour. However, the content of vitamin B and minerals contained in processed instant noodles is less than that contained in flour. That is to say that the nutrients contained in instant noodles are much less than those contained in ordinary cooked wheaten foods like steamed bread or baked pancakes. However, the content of oil in instant noodles is much higher.(1)
Last year, The Washington Post had reported of a South Korean study conducted on the effects of instant noodles on human health. According the study, “Although instant noodles is a convenient and delicious food, there could be an increased risk for metabolic syndrome given [the food’s] high sodium, unhealthy saturated fat and glycemic loads,” said Hyun Shin, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health and a co-author of the study. “Women who ate instant noodles twice a week or more had a higher risk of metabolic syndrome than those who ate less, or not at all, regardless of whether their diet style fell into the traditional or fast-food category, ” as published in The Washington Post.
The study concluded that excessive instant noodle consumption can not only trigger obesity but also metabolic ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, heart problems and so on.
In the other hand, the instant noodles are convenient enough to save more time, and it is easy to bring outside especially when you are travelling or camping. It is the best choice to fill your energy since it Is easy to cook.
In conclusion, if you have enough time, cooking the original food is the best; otherwise, you can choose the instant noodles even it is much better than the junk food with the high energy.

Reference:
1. Marlene Leung, Ramen risks: Why instant noodles are bad for your health, http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ramen-risks-why-instant-noodles-are-bad-for-your-health-1.1965970. Published Tuesday, August 19, 2014 10:40AM EDT

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Is antibacterial soap really effective or just risky?

Posted on October 24, 2016 by | 2 comments
gettyimages-457413239-1024x683

Figure 1: Common Antibacterial soap sold at grocery stores. Author: Joe Raedle from Getty Images. Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/antibacterial-soap-may-harm-good-fda-says/

If consumers are given the choice of plain soap or antibacterial soap, the majority of the consumers would prefer to purchase antibacterial soap. It is because antibacterial soap is known to control the spread of germs. However, antibacterial soaps will soon no longer be found in grocery stores in the United States. The U.S Food and Drug association (FDA) has officially banned 19 soap ingredients that are known to be the “germ killers” (1). However, Jane Woodcock, the director of FDA’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research, claims there is no supportive evidence that antibacterial soap is more effective in killing germs than plain soap and water (1).

Blaise Boles, a microbiologist from the University of Michigan, conducted a study showing triclosan(2), an ingredient commonly found in antibacterial soaps, increases the risk of people getting staph infection (4). Staph infection is caused by staphylococcus bacteria that can be found in the nose or on the skin of an individual (4) Boles and his colleagues swabbed 90 people’s noses to collect samples. The results showed 37 people had triclosan present in their nasal secretions, and 64% of these people were infected with staph(3). The researchers were surprised by the findings of the study because triclosan is previously acknowledged to reduce bacteria contamination. FDA expresses their concerns over the health risks associated with long-term use of antibacterial soaps. The chance of one getting pneumonia increases when they are infected with staph.

There are not many studies showing triclosan-resistant bacteria poses any major health risks to consumers. However, FDA decides to ban retail stores from selling antibacterial soaps to the general public in U.S unless the manufacturers can provide supportive evidence that antibacterial soap is capable of killing bacteria. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instructs citizens to scrub their hands with plain soap for at least 20 seconds before washing under running water (5). An alternative way to reduce the spread of germs and avoid getting sick is using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (5).

The take home message is that antibacterial soap does not necessary halt the spread of germs more effectively than regular soap. As long as the general public uses the regular soap to wash their hands as instructed by CDC, the regular soap can also reduce the spread of germs. Therefore, the consumers do not have to spend a dollar or more on purchasing the antibacterial soap.

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The following video shows the proper way of washing hands:

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References:

  1. Science News for Students. Science & Society, Microbes: U.S. to outlaw antibacterial soaps. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/us-outlaw-antibacterial-soaps (accessed on Oct 22nd, 2016).
  2. David Suzuki Foundation. Triclosan. http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics—triclosan/ (accessed on Oct 23rd, 2016).
  3. MOLE, B. (2014). Body & brain: Triclosan aids nasal invasions by staph: Antimicrobial compound may help bacteria stick around. Science News, 185(10), 12. doi:10.1002/scin.5591851011
  4. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Disease and Conditions: Staph infections. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/staph-infections/basics/definition/con-20031418 (accessed on Oct 24th, 2016).
  5. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Hand washing: Clean Hands Save Lives. http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html (accessed on Oct 22nd, 2016).

Photo source:

  1. Copyright information: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/antibacterial-soap-may-harm-good-fda-says/

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Does overnight food kill us?

Posted on October 23, 2016 by | 4 comments

Someone may have told you not to eat any overnight food even if it is stored in fridge, because it causes cancer, and you may wonder whether this is true. In general overnight food refers to the food that has been stored for hours after cooking, and here comes the question, is it safe to eat overnight food?

I think it is very important to verify this statement because many people have the habit of eating overnight food. Many white-collar workers are too busy to prepare a breakfast in the morning, therefore they may eat the leftover from last night as breakfast. Besides, when someone make a dinner for the whole family, it is possible that they don’t finish all of the food, as a result, the remaining of the food will be stored in the fridge. In fact, overnight is common among daily life; therefore, it is highly relevant to our health.

It is not doubtful that food is not edible if it stays too long at room temperature. Without any additives, bacteria grow rapidly inside the food at room temperature.  Fortunately, we have fridges that store food at low temperature so that bacteria grow slowly. However, it is possible that other species rather than bacteria may form in overnight food, and what we want to find out is whether other species form or not.

Studies have shown that nitrite is produced in cooked vegetables that are stored overnight. Many green vegetables contain nitrates, and very little amount of bacteria are needed to convert the nitrates into nitrites, and this is how nitrites forms in overnight vegetables. Nitrite is indeed a cancer-causing agent, however, studies shows that the amount of nitrites present in cooked vegetable is so small that much more is needed if it wants to become a cancer-causing agent. As a result, nitrites in cooked vegetables are not threatening to our life. Moreover, we can prevent the formation of nitrites by storing it in a vacuum container because bacteria cannot survive without air. Although it is impossible to create a perfect vacuum even if we try to suck all the air out from the container, the concentration of air still decreases significantly, and the rate of growth of bacteria will be controlled effectively after the container is stored in fridge.

nitratesinvegetables

fig1, nitrate composition in some vegetables. Don’t worry, this amount is far from killing someone

No evidence suggests that nitrite will be produced in overnight rice or bread, so as long as they are not moldy, it is safe to eat overnight rice or food. Overnight protein such as meat and egg does produce some nitrites, but processed meat contains much more nitrites and they are not labeled as dangerous food, therefore we do not need to worry about nitrites in overnight meat, either.

cold-cutslarge-300x225

fig2, processed meat. They actually contains much more nitrites than any form of overnight food

In conclusion, the rumor of nitrites in the overnight food is cancer causing is a lie. If you are still worried about it, store the food properly will prevent any formation of nitrites.

 

Citings:

fig1: http://www.sheilakealey.com/dietary-nitrates-health/

fig2: http://smallbites.andybellatti.com/you-ask-i-answer-nitrates-nitrites-and-then-some/

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Is Sparkling Water Bad For Your Health?

Posted on October 23, 2016 by | 1 comment

 Is Sparkling Water Bad For Your Health?

Nowadays more and more different types of beverages have come to people’s life. And sparkling water is becoming popular due to its good taste, lovely bubbles and also it is a good alternative to sugary soft drinks. However a question has come to people’s concern: is sparkling water really good for health?

picture

a picture of sparkling water, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In a market you can find a lot of water which contains bubbles, such as club soda, soda water, seltzer water and fizzy water. Do not be dazzled. these different types of water are just some fancy names of carbonated water. They have similar produce process, ingredients and effects. The bubbles in sparkling water are come from carbon dioxide, when drinking sparkling water, it will produce carbon dioxide gas in your stomach ,which can make you feel full for a longer time compared to normal water. And thecarbon dioxide can react chemically with water producing carboxylic acid which causes sparkling water become acidic, with the following equations: CO2+H2O<—-> H2CO3, H2CO3<—-> H+ +HCO3-. However, do not worry drinking acidic beverage can make your body become acidic. There are buffers in your body can balance PH, and also your kidneys and lungs can remove excess carbon dioxide and maintain the PH.

However some people may compare sparkling waters with cola, due to they are all called “carbonated beverage”. Cola is not good for bone health, since it can weaken bone strength. It is not because cola is acidic, it is due to cola has other ingredients such as phosphorus. One researcher had found out there is no evidence showing carbonate consumption would effect bone strength.

Based on the information above, there is no evidence that sparkling water is bad for your healthy. In order to find the sparking water which is suitable for your body, always read the ingredient list and pay attention to ingredients.

 

Reference:

Carbonated Water Good or Bad? https://authoritynutrition.com/carbonated-water-good-or-bad/ (assessed on Oct 22nd 2016)
Is Carbonated Water Bad for You? http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-carbonated- water-bad-for-you#3. (assessed on Oct 22nd 2016).
Is Sparkling water as Healthy as Regular Water? rhttp://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/ sparkling-water-healthy-regular-water-article-1.1460179. (assessed on Oct 22nd 2016).

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What Colour Is Pluto?

Posted on October 22, 2016 by | 3 comments

On July 14, 2015, after nearly 10 years and three billion miles traveled though our solar system, NASA’s New Horizons space probe made history when it performed the first flyby of Pluto and captured the most detailed pictures of the dwarf planet to date.

Since then, New Horizons has been transmitting data back to Earth, providing planetary scientists with incredible discoveries. Among these discoveries is Pluto’s colour.

Pluto

New Horizons’ view of Pluto, courtesy of NASA (link)

Seen clearly above, Pluto is reddish brown. This is remarkable considering that when picturing Pluto, we often imagine an icy-blue, rock world.

This marks Pluto as the second red planet in our solar system, next to Mars. However, unlike Mars, Pluto’s colour is not the result of iron oxide. Instead, Pluto is red due to the formation of complex organic molecules called tholins.

Tholins are composed of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, and while they do not form naturally here on Earth, they have been found on many icy bodies in the outer Solar System, including Neptune’s moon Triton, and Saturn’s moon Titan.

The formation of tholins is believed to be the product of ultraviolet light driving a reaction between methane (CH4) and nitrogen gas (N2) in the planet’s thin atmosphere. The resulting tholins then fall to Pluto’s surface, giving it a reddish appearance.

caption

The Hörst Laboratory has synthesised tholins. Credit to Chao He, Xinting Yu, Sydney Riemer, and Sarah Hörst of Johns Hopkins University.

The structure of tholins is undefined. The term was coined by Dr. Sagan and Dr. Khare in their 1979 paper when a new term was required to describe the varying organic products created by subjecting gases abundant on Titan to ultraviolet light [3]. In their paper, they define tholin to be “complex organic solids formed by the interaction of energy”. [3].

To give a more ralatable explanation, planetary Scientist Dr Sarah Hörst – who has made studying tholins part of her research – compares the word ‘tholin’ to ‘salad’ as both are nonspecific and describe “a mixture of a number of different compounds and spans a fairly broad range of materials” [4].

As for the New Horizons space craft, it will continue to push further into the Kuiper Belt where its next scheduled destination is 2014 MU69 in January, 2019.

– Kevin O’Connor

References

  1. NASA’s Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic Encounter. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-three-billion-mile-journey-to-pluto-reaches-historic-encounter (access October 22, 2016).
  2. Pluto: The ‘Other’ Red Planet. http://www.nasa.gov/nh/pluto-the-other-red-planet (access October 22, 2016).
  3. Sagan, C.; Khare, B. Tholins: organic chemistry of interstellar grains and gas. Nature, 1979, 277
  4. What in the world(s) are tholins? http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2015/0722-what-in-the-worlds-are-tholins.html (access October 22, 2016).

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The Anti-microbial Properties of Silver Nanoparticles on Titanium Implants

Posted on October 17, 2016 by | 1 comment

Titanium is commonly used to make implants (3). However, the implant’s surface poses as a health issue when bacteria can adhere and prevent the skin tissues from healing properly with the implant following surgery (3).

A recent publication in Nature’s Scientific Reports by Wang and colleagues showed supportive evidence that titanium surface combined with silver (Ag) nanoparticles and silver ions (Ag+) release are able to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, which is a spherical non-motile type of bacteria that is commonly found in skin and mucous membranes (2), and other strains of Staphylococcus, such as S. epidermis, that are motile (3).  

1 pixel = 0.038 uM 100X objective 15X eyepiece Numbered tick = 11 uM Field of view is 85.12 uM in diameter

Figure 1. Staphylococcus Under Magnification (Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Common; Author: Bob Blaylock; Source: Picture Uploaded by Original Photographer)

 Wang and colleagues varied the amount of Ag nanoparticles (Ag-0, Ag-0.01, Ag-0.1) on titanium plates and exposed bacteria to the surfaces (3). In doing so, they found that higher amounts of Ag nanoparticles had higher antimicrobial properties for motile and non-motile bacteria compared to lower amounts of Ag nanoparticles or titanium plates alone (3).  Moreover, Wang and researchers analyzed how Ag nanoparticles affected the biofilms of non-motile bacteria. By definition, biofilms are a bacterial population that is held together by extracellular matrix, which are molecules secreted by individual bacteria cells (1).

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Figure 2. Scanning electromicrograph of Staphylococcus aureus. (Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Common; Author: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); Source: Picture Uploaded on Flickr)

Wang and colleagues observed that bacterial populations grew under Ag-0 and titanium plate alone. While, there was a significantly smaller bacterial population under Ag-0.01 and no biofilm was formed under Ag-0.1. Wang and colleagues also applied both bacterial and mammalian cells to a titanium plate with varying concentrations of Ag nanoparticles (3). They observed that over time, Ag-0.01 had developed a comparatively large population of mammalian cells attached to the plate.  While Ag-0.1 had little growth of mammalian cell population, and both Ag-0 and titanium plate alone showed no living mammalian cells (3).

Biofilms of bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, are one of the main reasons why people have infections following an implant. Due to supportive evidence of antimicrobial properties and mammalian cell growth in Ag nanoparticles, further studies should be conducted on the appropriate concentrations of Ag nanoparticles to be integrated into the surface of titanium implants in hopes that future patients will have successful implants.

–Gloria Kwong

References:

  1. López, D.; Vlamakis, H.; Kolter, R. Biofilms. Cold Spring Perspectives in Biology 2010, 2 (7). http://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a000398 (Accessed October 17th, 2016).
  2. Martin, E. Staphylococcus; 2015. http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/view/10.1093/acref/9780199687817.001.0001/acref-9780199687817-e-9542 (Accessed October 17th, 2016).
  3. Wang, J.; Li, J.; Guo, G.; Wang, Q.; Tang, J.; Zhao, Y.; Qin, H.; Wahafu, T.; Shen, H.; Liu, X.; Zhang, X. Silver-nanoparticles-modified biomaterial surface resistant to staphylococcus: new insight into the antimicrobial action of silver. 2016, 6, 32699.

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Video

When Facebook friends ‘share’ questionable things

Everyone has at least one friend on Facebook who has ‘shared’ something questionable to your News Feed. Sometimes it’s a girl from high school sharing a link about how essential oils are the to cure cancer and sometimes its a distant relative posting an article making outlandish claims about a politician.

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Facebook is often a social media platform where misinformation is easily spread. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  

What always shocked me was just how little the people posting this content knew about the subject.  Recently, a Facebook friend shared a picture that caught my attention. It showed someone holding up an information sheet about the flu vaccine and it read,


Here are some things in the insert not on the store’s sheet:
1. The single dose vial contains mercury at ≤1mcg (This is called a “trace amount” by the industry.) (The multi-vial contains 25 mcg.)
2. People with egg allergies are contraindicated.
3. “Safety and effectiveness have not been established in pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under four. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. This vaccine should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed. It is not known whether fluvarin is excreted in human milk.”
4. “Fluvarin has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, or for impairment of fertility.”
5. “Antibody response is low in the geriatric population.”
6. “Serious reactions, including anaphylactic shock, have been observed.”
7. “There are no data to assess the concomitant administration of flu vaccine with other vaccines.”
8. “The vaccine has been associated with an increased frequency of Guillain-Barre syndrome.”
9. “In some studies, fluvarin protected up to 50% of subjects.”

 

Now obviously the woman who originally made this post chose those points because she thought they highlighted some ugly hidden facts about vaccines that “Big Pharma” wouldn’t like people to know. I’m not an expert in vaccines, but a few years of school and the little bit of common sense I have made a few of those points seem ridiculously obvious.

fluzone_vaccine_extracting

A commonly discussed topic on Facebook is the efficacy and possible side effects of vaccines, too often without any scientific evidence referenced. Image courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to care to fact check what they share and a lot of misinformation ends up being spread like wildfire. I wanted to see just how easy it would be to find out more about each of the points made in her post. Turns out, it was really easy. Much to my chagrin I must admit, I became a bit of a keyboard warrior.

Now I should point out that this post is by far one of the tamer ones I’ve seen get passed around. No one is claiming that our government is deliberately giving us cancer by infecting our water sources or that global warming is a conspiracy fabricated by the Chinese (yes I’m referring to Drumpf supporters). It’s not even outright stating vaccines are bad. It is however, trying to shine a negative light on vaccines without any scientific research to back it up.

So Facebook friends, PLEASE don’t believe everything you read, and DO fact check before spreading what could be falsehoods. Google is an amazing tool and the world wide web is at your fingertips, so you don’t have any excuses. In the meantime, please feel free to forward this video to any Facebook friends who insist on sharing anti-vaccine posts.

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Posted on October 17, 2016 by in chemistry in the news, uncategorized

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