Category Archives: Issues in Science

Oh No, Not a Brownfield!

Posted on April 5, 2012 by ktan | Leave a comment

With the average 1 bedroom home in Vancouver starting at $200,000 to $300,000, it is shocking to see that there are various lots sitting empty and unproductive right here in our city.

These sites, known as urban brownfields, are not only an eyesore to Vancouver citizens but they also limit the potential for development that exists within our city. They could serve a number of purposes such as community parks, local farms, economic centers, and housing developments, all of which are much safer options.

Image by: Kimberly Tan

In fact, we have interviewed experts on the subject of brownfields and have gotten their insights on how best we can reclaim these forgotten lands and make them into useful areas.

We used Granville Island as a frame of reference since it is the most successful brownfield reclamation project that exists within Vancouver and we thought about how best we, as a community, can duplicate that success.

Watch this video for more examples of brownfields in Vancouver and the cleaning methods that are considered to revitalize these lands!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PogLdM9vjNg

Based on testimony from both Nicci Theroux and Emma Holmes, the two scientists currently working on brownfield remediation, it seems that the potential for reclamation and redevelopment of these brownfields depends on the previous uses of the sites and what the community can see as being the most economically feasible.

Check out this podcast for some insights from Emma Holmes on her ideas for land remediation.

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Photo by: Joongi Kim

However, Vancouver is replete with buildings. Homes, shopping malls, boutiques, and restaurants occupy almost every square inch of the city, especially the downtown core. Vancouver is in desperate need of some green space. A little bit of nature to contrast the grey concrete and mirrored high rises.

Although local farming is sustainable and an economical idea, reclaimed brownfields may not be the most suitable place for growing crops. If we want to maximize the use of the land, community parks would probably be the best solution. Not only do they allow all of the Vancouver residents to use, they also showcase the Vancouver environmental plan of being the greenest city in the world by 2020.

Chrysotile Asbestos: Blessing or a Curse?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Jianhong Li | Leave a comment

Microscopic view of chrysotile asbestos fibres. Photo courtesy of Emma Holmes.

What pops into your mind when you hear the word, “asbestos“? I’m sure many of you have heard of its detrimental health effects, but for those of you that have no idea what it is, this is going to be an eye opening post for you.

Until the mid-1960s, this carcinogen was incorporated into products to make it safe due to its strengthening and insulating properties. Its contributions in creating jobs and stimulating the economy in North America and Western Europe has rendered it the “Golden Age of Capital” between 1945-1974.

Alliance in the government, scientific community, as well as insurance companies have minimized the exposure of its danger, but with the high mortality rates in asbestos workers, the lethal effects of the asbestos have traveled far and wide by 1976, evicting fear into citizens living in communities close to asbestos industries.

Asbestos Mine in Vermont. Photo courtesy of Mark Hall.

“In that sense, asbestos is symbolic of modern industrial production and its attendant risks…[it] is one of the ghosts in the machine of 20th century industrailism,” comments Professor McCulloch of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia.

Canada is home to the Belvidere Mountain Asbestos mine, the largest in the world. It was closed down in 1993, and an estimated cleanup cost of $200 million will be necessary to clean up this mine for industrial use.

Is it worth it to clean up the asbestos? Why does it cost so much to clean up? Well, these chyrsotile asbestos fibers are layered with a heavy metal brucite layer which provides it with a unique surface chemistry that contributes to its toxicity. This heavy metal layer mainly composed of magnesium metal interacts with our lung tissues and over years of accumulation, it will cause lethal lung cancers. More information on the health hazards and the details of the brucite layer is available with the podcast below.

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Emma’s research into the surface chemistry of asbestos will be important for the future where raising awareness for this issue will be critical for its cleanup. This is unfortunately hampered by corporate and government cover-ups as dipicted in this article here.

Professor McCulloch remarks, “[Asbestos] is probably the greatest pollutant of the last century and its deadly legacy will continue to haunt us for decades to come.”

A more recent debate on the issue of asbestos is in the Vermont area where residents are split on whether the government should superfund to clean up the asbestos mine in the area. On one hand, the government promised to cover the cleanup and its costs t0 ensure the safety of residents. But as we have seen over history and Professor McCulloch’s account, the government is no stranger to give false promises on the asbestos issue.

Regardless of what the government is going to do, one thing is clear; More people must be aware of the dangers of asbestos and the large efforts required to manage this potential hazard.

For more information on chrysotile asbestos and Emma’s research as one of the pioneering researches to raise awareness of this issue, watch the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQrr_p_gVZE&feature=youtu.be

References:

Wikipedia

Emma’s paper:Processes Affecting Surface and Chemical Properties of Chrysotile: Implications for Reclamation of Asbestos in the Natural Environment

Debate about superfund: Vermont Residents Debate

Article on asbestos: Global asbestos industry’s deadly scheming exposed

Carcinogenic Ingredient Found in Coca-Cola and Pepsi

Posted on March 19, 2012 by pnijjer | Leave a comment

Image by Jason Means

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently contacted Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban 4-methylmidazole (4-MEI) found in soft drinks which is a carcinogenic ingredient. Coca-Cola and Pepsi use 4-MEI to give their product it’s distinct caramel color everyone knows. 4-MEI is formed when sugar is mixed with ammonia and sulfite to be used as a colouring substance. It can also be found in dark beers and other brands of cola drinks, which contain more than 100 ug per 12-ounce serving of 4-MEI.

Companies using this compound would have to change their formula or print cancer-warning labels on their products. Even though companies challenged CSPI’s decision, they decided to change their recipes to avoid having cancer warnings on all of their products. The organization wants the ban of this compound everywhere not just in the U.S.

A Coca-cola representative responded to CSPI, saying their data is inclusive and stated

“While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning,”

FDA has yet to make a ruling on this issue. I tried looking for any studies linking 4-MEI to cancer in humans but came up empty. Only came across one study that found high doses of 4-MEI to cause lung and liver cancer to rodents. You would need to drink more than 1,000 cans a day to reach lethal doses that have shown links to cancer in rodents

The change of 4-MEI is only be rolled out through out the U.S because of the new mandate. In the case of Canada, the change will come but there is no timeline yet. In Canada Cola products meet food safety standards and is not a concern. They have approved the use of 4-MEI in their products.

Following video below briefly explains the issue on hand.

Personally, I don’t think this will stop me from drinking Coca-Cola. CSPI is just over-reacting and there is no need to slap a cancer warning labels on products containing 4-MEI. There is not enough evidence supporting 4-MEI causing cancer in humans; even then you will need to drink cola in high doses. One thing that comes to my mind is if they were to put a cancer-warning label on the drinks, would it impact sales? Cigarette cartons have similar warning signs but that doesn’t stop consumers from purchasing them. If a product tastes good, people over look the side effects.

What do you think? Would you stop drinking soft drinks with 4-MEI?

Plumbism: Chronic Lead Poisoning

Posted on March 12, 2012 by yusraq | 4 comments

Lead on hands. Image captured by: battery.ethic

The famous pianist, Beethoven and the famous Brazilian painter, Candido Portinari shared more in common than their love for art; they also shared their cause of death. Both men died of high concentrations of lead in their blood. In Portinari’s case, he was repeatedly exposed to the lead in his paints whereas the source of plumbism in Beethoven is still a mystery. It is speculated that Queen Elizabeth I also died from blood poisoning. Since she was buried without a post-mortem, it is generally believed that the highly poisonous lead in her white make-up was what hastened her death.

Aside from these famous deaths, over 1,000 cases of lead poisoning were historically reported in Utah mines per year. And despite the fact that the connection between toxic lead and physical and nervous disorders had been established, interior paints of cribs and toys continued to contain lead until the late 1950s. Finally, United States placed a ban on lead paints in 1978. To this day however, old buildings and pipes still contain lead paint.

Clearly, the effect of lead poisoning is not a new discovery…but the method in which it damages the brain is!

Research led by Dr. Guilarte, a professor of neurotoxicology and his colleagues focused on the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BNDF. This protein’s importance for normal neural development lies in that it encourages the differentiation of new synapses in the hippocampus.

Lead interferes with the function and synthesis of BNDF. (Image Courtesy of: Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health)

After its production, BNDF travels in vesicles along microtubules, which are a platform for intracellular transport, towards axons where this cargo is released into the extracellular matrix. The navigation of these vesicles is controlled by the activation of Huntingtin protein. As soon as a phosphate group is added (phosphorylation) onto the Huntingtin protein, it is activated. Exposure to even small amounts of lead, however, alters the phosphorylation of Huntingtin protein and results in lower concentrations of extracellular BNDF.

“Lead attacks the most fundamental aspect of the brain — the synapse. But by better understanding the numerous and complex ways this happens we will be better able to develop therapies that ameliorate the damage,” says Dr. Guilarte.

Even though all this up-and-coming research about the effects of lead has been publicized, companies still haven’t stopped putting lead in their products. One such product has prevailed from ancient times for men and women alike: lipstick. Lab tests performed by the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that the most contaminated lipstick is Maybelline Color Sensation by L’Oreal USA, which contains 275 times more lead than the least expensive brand Wet & Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm. Aside from the actual monetary price we pay, is getting poisoned too high a price for looking beautiful? I guess not everyone thinks so.

The video posted below talks more about the elevated levels of lead in lipsticks. (Created by NewsyScience)

Other resources: Articles: In what ways does lead damage the brain?, Lead poisoning, Proof of Beethoven’s death

4 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged BNDF, lead poisoning, lead poisoning history, plumbism, toxic cosmetics

6-month-old babies know meaning of nouns

Posted on March 12, 2012 by ktan | 2 comments

It is believed that infants start learning words at an age between 9 and 15 months. However, a recent study shows that this theory about the developmental stages of language learning for babies is actually quite flawed. This new study finds that infants already recognize several common nouns for foods and body parts, at least in a budding sense, as early as 6-month-old.

10-month-old participates in a word-recognition experiment. Credit: E. Bergelson

Graduate student Elika Bergelson and psychologist Daniel Swingley of the Unversity of Pennsylvania say that while babies usually utter their first word at the around 1 year of age, but babies can catch words as early as 6 months of age. They found that these infants eyes lingered longer at images of certain foods or body parts after the mother has mentioned these certain words.

Experimental Setup. Credit: E. Bergelson and D. Swingley

In their present research, Bergelson and Swingley examined 33 infants ranging from 6 to 9 month-old, as well as 50 children ranging in age from 10 to 20 months. This kids participated in a word-recognition experiment whereby they sat down on their mother’s lap in front of a computer connected to an eye-tracking device. The mothers wore visor and headphones while repeating the prerecorded sentences they heard to their child. These sentences were formatted such as “Can you find the nose?” or “Look at the banana!”. It was detected that when flashed with a picture with two different things on the screen, kids as young as 6 months looked at picture of banana, for example, longer than at the nose when the mother mentions the word “banana.” And vice versa.

Bergelson and Swingley said that mothers in the study did not realize that their 6-month-olds were already able to recognize food and body-part words. Although babies show signs of recognizing words like “mommy”, “daddy” and other frequently heard words at those ages, we should not be mistaken into believing that these babies understand what these words mean.

From Getty Images, WebMD slideshow

In my opinion, studies like these are important and it is a good idea to educate parents about this information relating to their kids. That way they will have an idea on how to bring up, nurture and respond to their infants at certain ages.

Video below briefly shows how the eye-tracking in infants work.

For full article of the study: here

For review post by Bruce Bower: here

2 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Science Communication

Tagged eye-tracking device, infants, Learning language, six-month-old, word-recognition experiment

Ocean acidification and its consequences

Posted on March 11, 2012 by jckim | 2 comments

Will our grandchildren be able to see these corals? Picture by Sam and Ian on Flickr

Many of us know that carbon dioxide, CO2, is a greenhouse gas. As a greenhouse gas, it acts like a blanket over the Earth and prevents some of the heat from leaving our planet out into space. Thankfully, we have big oceans on Earth which serve as a sink of carbon dioxide. However, the amount of carbon dioxide we have been adding into the atmosphere via burning of fossil fuels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution is too much for the oceans to handle. The result is acidification: a decrease in the pH of the oceans.

Some may argue that acidification of the oceans is natural, and that the Earth has already seen many cases of ocean acidification in the past. This, in fact, is true. The problem is, however, the relatively unusual rate of acidification that is occuring today. According to a new research review by paleooceanographers at University of Columbia, the rate of ocean acidification today may be faster than any time in the past 300 million years.

For those that may be wondering, ocean acidification works like a chain of reactions that starts with the increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. These carbon dioxide molecules in the atmosphere are dissolved into the surface oceans where they eventually mixe with deep ocean waters. The carbon molecules that are dissolved into the oceans form carbonic acid which lower the pH of the oceans.

So, what are the consequences of ocean acidification? The increased acidity of oceans not only kills coral reefs, but also affects the calcium or magnesium carbonate shells of microorganisms. Since microorganisms are at the base of the food chain in marine ecosystems, the loss of microorganisms may lead to the extinction of numerous marine species.

The future of marine life depends on us. Picture by jeffk42 on Flickr

This new review compared ocean acidification today with what happened during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum which occurred 55 million years ago. Back then, an input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from an unknown source over thousands of years resulted in some extinctions of marine life and produced great changes to the environment. What is interesting is that the extinctions of organisms and the change of environment allowed the proliferation of new species on land, including our very own ancestors, primates. However, we need to note the difference between this event and what is occurring now: ocean acidification 55 million years ago occurred at a rate approximately ten times slower than the rate today.

It is very likely that ocean acidification rates today is much greater than anything we have seen in the past 300 million years. Since we are aware of the consequences of ocean acidification, it may be of our interest, as the species responsible for this unnatural event, to reduce our CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

The following video briefly explains ocean acidification and its consequences.

2 Comments

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

Tagged acidification, carbon dioxide, marine biota, marine life, ocean, ocean acidification

mmm I’m loving it…

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Miss. K | 11 comments

pink slime was used in hamburger patties at McDonald's across the U.S.

While flipping through the channels on the television one day, I came across the show Doctors. The topic of discussion on the show was Pink slime. Pink slime is the product, when bacteria and pathogens are removed from scraps of meat by the addition ammonium hydroxide, a solution of ammonia in water found in numerous household cleaning agents.

McDonalds a popular fast food chain had been using pink slime in their meats for years in the Unites Estates. The Doctors show was investigating these popular delicious burgers and found that due to the presence of pink slime, the meat from these burgers do not deteriorate. They had a sample of the meat left for 12 years, and this sample looked no different than a fresh one. The doctors were warning the public that if microbes and pathogens are not eating this meat, why are humans consuming it?

McDonalds famous logo

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched a year-long campaign against the use of the chemical additive in foods on his television show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. On his television episode he says, “imagine how happy an accountant is, you just turned dog food into what can potentially be your kids’ food.” After the episode aired early February 2012, McDonalds US released a statement notifying the public that they are no longer using “select lean beef trimmings” soaked in ammonium hydroxide. Although McDonalds does not admit that their sudden stop use of pink slime was because of Jamie Oliver’s campaign, their timing was coincidentally close.

The good news is that us Canadians have not been consuming pink slime, unless we have stopped for a burger across the border in the United States. Canada’s Food and Drug Act, has prohibited the use of chemicals such as ammonium hydroxide by McDonalds. Karin Campbell, spokeswomen for McDonalds Canada said that the additive ammonium hydroxide, has not been used in the meat served at McDonalds. The sole ingredients of Canadian McDonalds burgers are 100% beef, salt and pepper. Here is another reason for us to say “I am proud to be Canadian”. Next time you are down south of the border, try to avoid the fast food chain and satisfy your cravings when you return home.

A video just to confirm Canadian McDonalds double cheese burger beats an American one.

References:

The National Post

Health Canada

11 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement

Tagged Ammonium hydroxide, Burger, Canada Drug and Food Act, Canadians, McDonalds, Pink slime

Eating between the lines

Posted on March 5, 2012 by ldeluca6 | 3 comments

Image by: Global Good Group

Have you ever found yourself walking through the aisles of your local supermarket, and being drawn to labels that convince you that you’re making healthy food choices? You reach for the “low fat” and the “rich in omega-3s”, but do these claims actually relate the truth? Food companies splash terms like low sodium, reduced fat, organic, and natural across food labels in attempt to lure health junkies into buying their products. Sure, these descriptions may be legally allowed, but are consumers getting the full story?

Image by: Healthy Life Care News

Companies advertise food products in two ways: by claiming the presence of valuable nutrients and minerals, or the absence of preservatives and proclaimed disease-causing substances. However, recent investigations have shown discrepancies between what foods actually contain and the promotions on their labels. A CBC Marketplace study showed that health benefit claims on food labels aren’t resonating with nutrition and medical experts. The most recent culprit to fall under the false advertising spotlight: Maple Leaf Foods.

Image by: CBC News

Their Natural Selections line of deli meat declares “no added preservatives”. So what should this mean? A “natural” product is one that contains no artificial ingredients, ie additives or preservatives. But when Marketplace sent Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, a specialist in healthy eating, to investigate, it was found not to be the case. Nitrile – a preservative that the Canadian Cancer Society links to causing cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes – was found in the form of cultured celery extract.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/ID=2192549323

Not only is this misleading to the Canadian consumer, but disingenuous to claim that cured meats are free of these unwanted preservatives when in fact, they are just being masked under a different title. How are consumers expected to make healthier and more education decisions? All food companies should be forced by the federal government to label celery extract as a natural nitrite. People have a right to know exactly what is in their food products, and should not be cheated into thinking otherwise. Always read between the lines: just because a food is natural, doesn’t mean it is healthy!

Resources:

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged food labels, food preservatives, Health, nitriles

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

Posted on March 5, 2012 by aali | 6 comments

While working in a pharmacy, I have realized that many people rely on conventional medicine to get rid of any pain or disease they may be suffering from. Conventional medicine defines health as the “absence of diseases.” These medications’ roles include only treating symptoms rather than their underlying causes. Most people take such medications hoping that it will treat their symptoms and ignore any preventative methods that are out there. For example,

Image by: thucy4611

I notice many patients that come to the pharmacy every week to get certain medications to treat certain symptoms such as pain. Although the conventional treatment does work for them, it does not consider the effect of future side effects that may appear. This is why it is important to look at other options of treatment that have preventative measures as well as prolonged treatment and success in your health in the long run.

Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine as it focuses on preventative treatment and looks at strengthening the body’s own defenses and restores balance. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)defines alternative medicine as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not

Image by: cobbinaloic

presently considered to be a part of conventional medical treatment.” Some examples of alternative medicine include yoga, massage therapy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. The main role of alternative medicine is to put emphasis on using natural therapies and using the body’s own healing powers rather than relying on drugs and other Western treatments.

According to research done at the University of California at Los Angelas, 75 percent of medical students surveyed think it would be beneficial for conventional medicine to integrate with complementary and alternative medicine.

I think it would be beneficial to incorporate alternative medicine with conventional medicine as it has many advantages. The first key advantage of is to note that there are no side effects. This is because alternative medicine works with the body instead of suppressing certain symptoms like many modern drugs in conventional treatment work. They are also cost effective and “green,” taking into account that it includes natural methods of treatment that can be processed simply.

Image by: skin fitness

In general they help in the overall mind and body healing process so that when diseases occur they can help strengthening resistance towards it. It is something to consider for your overall health and well-being and not just when you get a cold. For further information on the competition between conventional medicine versus alternative medicine take a look at Dr. Muhammad Aslam’s article and his discussion on how alternative medicine “empowers patients.”

6 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Public Engagement, Science Communication, Science in the News

Tagged alternative medicine, Conventional Medicine, Healthcare, Prevention

The Road to Longevity Begins Now

Posted on March 4, 2012 by gmiller91 | 3 comments

A couple of years ago, my mentor told me something that I will remember for the rest of my life. He said, “What you will someday be, you are now becoming.”

At the time, I thought it referred to professional and personal goals. I didn’t realize that it translates to all other aspects of my life, including my health.

A recent study by professor Kiang Liu of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows the association of a healthy lifestyle maintained throughout young adulthood led to low cardiovascular disease risk in middle age.

The older a person get, the harder it is to maintain cardiovascular health since the body is naturally getting weaker. It is more difficult to stay active, which leads to weight gain and the health risks associated with it like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

This study suggests that the lifestyle of an individual is a more significant factor in getting a higher risk of heart disease than genetics. People who do have a genetic link to getting heart disease can reduce that risk by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Starting a healthy balanced lifestyle at a young age will lead to a better quality of life in old age.

References
Science Daily

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Uncategorized

Tagged Health, Heart disease, Middle Age, Youth

Category Archives: Issues in Science

Oh No, Not a Brownfield!

Chrysotile Asbestos: Blessing or a Curse?

Carcinogenic Ingredient Found in Coca-Cola and Pepsi

Plumbism: Chronic Lead Poisoning

6-month-old babies know meaning of nouns

Ocean acidification and its consequences

mmm I’m loving it…

Eating between the lines

Conventional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

The Road to Longevity Begins Now

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