The Affected brain
Depression drugs have been used for a long time, however, the negative effects associated with them is well understood. A well-known depression drug is Prozac, which increases the amount of seratonine in the brain and may cause long term effects in the brain. It takes about one month for the drug to affect the person and lower the depression level.
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Radiation Symbol - Daderot via Wikimedia Commons
Nuclear waste is toxic to all organisms and remains active for 100 000 years. To put that in perspective, it’s about the same amount of time that the human species has existed and we’ve changed a lot in that time frame.
To find out how nuclear radiation affects people you can read this article on ABC News, or watch: Radiation and the Human Body – ABC News.
Nuclear power plants have produced between 250 000 and 300 000 tons of nuclear waste worldwide. Interim storage of this waste currently consists of above ground water pools. This is not a viable long-term solution because conditions are unpredictable and long-term, in this case, is 100 000 years. We have no idea what the world will be like in that amount of time.
Finland has begun creating a permanent storage facility for their nuclear waste. They’ve named it Onkalo – “hiding place” in Finish. Onkalo consists of a series of tunnels descending 5 kilometers into the bedrock. Construction began in 1970 and will be finished in 2100, meaning that nobody working on the project today will be alive when it is finished. When Onkalo is complete the tunnel will be filled with rock and clay, and the entire site will disappear back into the surrounding area.
The documentary “Into Eternity” gives a disquieting look at the construction of Onkalo and science behind it. Narrated as though it is being watched by a future generation, the film begins by saying “stay away from this place and then you will be safe.” You can watch the film on youtube.
There is no way to guarantee that future species won’t dig into Onkalo. We are still unable to decipher many of the languages spoken by our ancestors. Will languages spoken today mean anything in the future? How can we communicate danger to the unknown?
Whether or not to mark Onkalo’s presence is still being debated. Many worry that marking the site will peak the curiosity of future “humans”, leading them to dig it up, before understanding that it was built to protect them. Humans have a history of ignoring signs to leave things undisturbed. When the Egyptian’s built the pyramids, they never intended for them to be excavated. However, the wishes of the distant past were not enough to stop us. On the other hand, what if we don’t mark it and it is discovered by accident and there are no warnings in place?
This leads me to think that curiosity might have killed the cat, but radiation may wipe out the future and makes me wonder if nuclear energy is really a good alternative energy source? Is it really responsible to leave around tons toxic waste that could destroy future organisms? And isn’t it rather unsettling that even after 130 years of construction the only thing we’re going to be able to do is hope that Onkalo and the secret it contains are never discovered?
Posted in Environment, Issues in Science, New and innovative science, Uncategorized
Tagged energy, nuclear waste management, radiation
I started this blog a week ago and hesitated on finishing it due to the recent events in Japan. However I feel like this event has been an eye opener to how destructive our Earth can be. The reality is that this earthquake and tsunami has brought up questions to those living here in Vancouver and along the coast like “What would happen if an earthquake happened here?” I grew up in Winnipeg and I had been taught that a “big earthquake” was going to hit Vancouver. It has now been over ten years and nothing has happened yet. Is there still reason to be worried?
Juan de Fuca Plate is the tectonic plate that subducting under the western side of the North America Plate. When people are concerned about the “big one” as in the “big” earthquake that will affect Vancouver, it will be due to this plate. The Juan de Fuca Plate is the smallest tectonic plate and is a remnant piece of the larger piece which is now has been subducted under the North America Plate. The area where this plate is subducting is referred to as the Cascadia subduction zone. Movement in this zone causes friction and results in earthquakes.
The last major earthquake at this Cascadia subduction zone is thought to of created a tsunami that hit Japan in the 1700’s. This tsunami crested at 5 meters and would have taken about 10 hours to cross the ocean. The article from National Geographic on this theory can be found here. Kelin Wang of the Geological Survey of Canada said in this article that the chances of another large earthquake occurring along this same Cascadia fault is “100 percent.” This is due to the fact that plate movements have been locked which causes a build up of energy. A catastrophic earthquake would result when this energy is released.
There have been some interesting quakes on the Juan de Fuca Plate. In 2008 there were 600 earthquakes in a 10 day span recorded by researchers at the Oregon State University. The part which caught the scientists by surprise was the fact they occurred in the middle of the Juan de Fuca Plate and not on a boundary. These were detected by a hydrophone.
This is an image of the recorded earthquakes in B.C. in the last month.
From the knowledge we have of tectonic plate motions and the history of this plate it does seem inevitable that a large earthquake will occur. We can see from the above image also found here that there have been many minor quakes this last month. I do find is scary that the “big one” could happen 5 minutes from now or 5 years from now. However I wonder due to the large number of earthquakes that occurred in 2008 that the Juan de Fuca Plate could do something unexpected and not subduct any further. Also maybe these little quakes are releasing built up energy thus avoiding the “big one.”
Posted in Environment, General, Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science in the News, Uncategorized
Tagged Earthquake, Japan, Tectonic Plates, Vancouver
Longevity is a goal most of us strive for, and in most of our minds the keys to accomplishing this consists of being happy, eating healthy, and not stressing too much. However, it appears that these common assumptions made by people are in fact wrong. In a recent article published by Science Daily (which can be found here), they reported the findings of a twenty year study about longevity and the results are not what we would expect.
Image from: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0511/feature1/index.html
The study, which is called “The Longevity Project”, was conducted by a group of scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). These scientists examined, and refined previously collected data by Stanford University. The data which was initiated back in 1921, documented the lives of over 1500 children as they grew, starting from the age of ten. The children were studied throughout their lives, and information regarding family histories, relationships, hobbies, pet ownership, job success, education levels, military service, and numerous other details were collected. The scientists at UCR discovered many similarities in the data and they concluded that personality characteristics and social relations from childhood can predict one’s risk of dying decades later.
On average, it was discovered that test subjects who were the most cheerful and had the best sense of humor as kids lived shorter lives. While, individuals that were most prudent and persistent stayed the healthiest and lived the longest. This is definitely counterintuitive to what most people think. It appears that the subjects that were cheerful as kids tended to take more risks with their health across the years, hence risky or dangerous activities shortened the lives of many. Those that were prudence and persistence on the other hand, often developed many important and beneficial habits throughout their lives. The scientists found out that happiness is not a cause of good health, but instead happiness and health are related because they have common roots.
Image from: http://www.forbes.com/2002/08/07/0807sport_8.html
Furthermore, some of these intriguing key findings include that marriage may be good for men’s health, but it does not really matter for women. Men who remained in long term marriages generally lived longer than single or divorced men. As well continually productive men and women lived much longer than their more laid-back counterparts. Lastly, people who felt loved and cared for reported a better sense of well-being, but surprisingly it did not help them live longer. The clearest health benefit of social relationships comes from being involved with and helping others. The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become, healthy or unhealthy.
These results are definitely interesting, and hence we should keep them in mind when we are trying to extend our longevity. In fact, it would probably be beneficial if we started to incorporate some of these findings in to our daily lives. For instance, we should all be more productive, and we should all be more involved. Hopefully in the future, the average life expectancy of people can exceed 100 years old.
New research done by Vera Mazurak, PhD, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada explains how consumption of fish oil will prevent weight loss and muscle loss in patients who undergo chemotherapy. Chemotherapy, being a chemical treatment that will kill cancerous cells shows to decrease a persons muscle and weight. Researchers show that cancer patients that undergo chemotherapy are most vulnerable to these reactions. This may lead to fatigue, a decreased quality of life, an inability to receive necessary treatments, and shorter survival (Blackwell 2011).
This study compared 2 groups one who consumed the fish oil (16 people) and those who were cured from chemotherapy without taking fish oil (24 people). This test was done on a 10 week duration where muscle and fat were measured in blood samples for data collection. Results showed that patients who took the fish oil maintained similar weight after chemotherapy, whereas the patients who did not consume fish oil lost 2.3kg in body weight.
The phenomenon behind the fish oil is due to its chemical reactions. The eicosapentaenoic acid (fish oil) concentration increase in the blood following fish oil supplementation had the greatest gains in muscle (Blackwell 2011). Therefore, patients who receive chemotherapy by consumption of 2 grams of fish oil per day can prevent the muscle and weight loss associated with it.
For further reading visit science daily news for direct link:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110228090202.htm
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