Category Archives: Biological Sciences

Spend Less Time, Burn More Calories!

Posted on November 5, 2012 by | 3 comments

Many people go on their daily jogs to stay in shape or to get in better shape over time, these long jogs are popular because they are relaxing and enjoyable, while they still elicit a nice sweat at the end to make it all feel worth while. However, for those who are intent on burning extra fat during their busy schedules, there is a more efficient and rewarding routine, one that could take only 15 minutes out of the day, known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Here is an example of a routine:

Example HIIT for 12 minutes (http://ittybitsofbalance.com)

Interval training entails maximum effort for a short duration, and a longer rest period, while repeating again and again. This method brings out a big response from the body because it is so demanding, and that is why this form of exercise is also great for many high intensity sports such as basketball and football. These facts are summarized in the following video:

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About HIIT benefits for sports (by BodyPerformanceTV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulPnlyWURz4&playnext=1&list=PLB33940F0924CA1F8&feature=results_video)

One of the other major effects of HIIT that trumps long and less-intense ‘cardio’ sessions is the fact the your body still burns calories well throughout the day after the exercise is complete! Also, keep in mind that interval training will take less than half of the time, and will burn more calories in-session if done with 100% effort. The following are the results of a small study that examined the overall effects of HIIT vs regular cardio:

Results of 2 groups tested: HIIT vs regular cardio, fat loss compared in pounds. (musclecoach.com, http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0069/0032/files/high-intensity-interval-training-workouts_grande.jpg?105628)

Thus when solely considering the most effective and efficient means to losing fat through cardio-like activity, interval training is truly superior to less-intense jogs in that it takes less than half an hour to get a workout in and it burns many more calories, throughout the day. So if time is not on your side, don’t let a busy schedule deter you from your goals and adopt a workout routine that can involve interval training.

By Surbinder Bolina

3 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

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Is Genetically-Modified Food Safe?

Posted on October 28, 2012 by | 3 comments

Genetcially modified foods (GMF) surround our daily lives. The vegetables and fruits at grocery stores, and the meat that  can be bought at a deli are all, at some point, attributed to the enhancement of genetics. What does it mean to be genetically modified? At a molecular level, the genetic make-up of an organism is either altered by insertion or deletion of specific segments of a gene, which results in different phenotypic traits. These traits exhibit better resistance to harsh weather conditions, resilience to insect infestations, and they are easier to grow across all conditions.

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(Explains how genetically modified foods plays a role in society and introduces Monsanto, the biggest biotechnology company in the world.)

So what are some advantages to GMF? The biggest advantages are production cost and efficiency. GMF is cheap to produce and easy to grow. An example of this is corn. Thousands of tons of corn are produced each year, and about 82% of the corn on the market are genetically modified. Other advantages include pest resistance, disease resistance, drought tolerance, and salinity tolerance.

Fig.1 This is an example of what a genetically modified corn can look like. There are different colors located on different beads of corn.

As for disadvantages, there really hasn’t been any real implications or diseases associated with GMF in humans. In Canada, GMF are treated like any other food, and there are no specific laws that push for companies to label their products as genetically-modified. Though there hasn’t been human related health hazard cases, a study done in France on rats showed rats that were fed genetically-modified corn died prematurely, and tumors developed in the liver, kidney, and skin.

Fig.2 Rats that ate genetically-modified corn from Monsanto exhibited tumor growths around the body. These growths eventually lead to the death of the subjects prematurely.

So should consumers like ourselves trust the ongoing development of GMF? As of yet, there hasn’t been any concrete evidence to support that GMF can cause tumor growths, cancer, or any serious health issues in humans; however, there is a correlation between them. Presently, I think it is safe to consume GMF, but with a regulated diet including organic foods. In addition, I believe that  governments should push for stronger regulations and tighter laws that govern the production and distribution of GMF.

-Daniel Liao

Sources:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/gm-tg-eng.php

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

http://www.globalresearch.ca/potential-health-hazards-of-genetically-engineered-foods/8148

 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/20/us-gmcrops-safety-idUSBRE88J0MS20120920

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/mutationsanddisorders/possiblemutations

Pictures and Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAP6ZtfP9ZQ

http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/doctors-warn-avoid-genetically-modified-food/

http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/groundbreaking-study-links-monsanto-genetically-modified-corn-organ-failure

 

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

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Folic Acid Contributing to Healthy Prenatal Development

Posted on October 22, 2012 by | 2 comments

It can sometimes be a pain ,or easy to forget to take our vitamins. It is however very important to take vitamins in capsule form if we are not getting all the essential ones in our diet. This is especially true to all the women who are planning on having a baby, or are involved in activities which may result in becoming pregnant. Folic acid is a vitamin which is very important to consume in order to ensure healthy development of the unborn child.

What is folic acid exactly? It is a B vitamin which is produced by bacteria. A vitamin is a substance which is vital to the healthy functioning of the body but cannot be created in sufficient amounts by the body, or perhaps by the body at all. Folic acid is a vitamin which must be ingested, either through diet or through capsule. Dark coloured vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, also beans and lentils are example of foods which are rich in folic acid.

This is a short video explaining some of the benefits of folic acid, and what foods we can eat to incorporate it in our diets:
Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby: Folic Acid for Women

Okay, so now your plate is full of greens and beans… what good is this doing for the future child exactly? Folic acid contributes to development of the spine, skull and brain, which are self-explicably important to an individual’s daily function. In order to gain the maximum benefits of folic acid during pregnancy, it is a good idea to start incorporating it in the diet three months prior to the baby being conceived, and also the following three months.

What are some of the risks of becoming pregnant with a diet deficient in folic acid? As mentioned in the previous paragraph, folic acid is crucial to the development of the spine, skull and brain, so these areas specifically will suffer the consequences. Spina bifida, a condition where the spinal column doesn’t protect the spinal cord, and anencephaly, a condition where the brain does not develop, are two of the possible outcomes of a baby developing in a folic acid deficient environment.

Foods which are rich of folic acid

http://www.folicacid.ca/sites/default/files/image/greens.png

These are just a few of the benefits of consuming folic acid in our diets. There are many benefits which this vitamin provides, not related to a baby’s development. Folic acid is also linked to helping to maintain a healthy heart, and cancer prevention, among other things. So next time you hear someone bad mouthing broccoli, you can enlighten them with all the heroic qualities which these and other folic acid dense foods possess.

Chelsea Forbes

Cited Links:

http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/folic-acid.cfm

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fa-af/index-eng.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folic_acid

Video from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg2xqK0Zy5c

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science Communication

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I am deadly, see me flash!

Posted on October 22, 2012 by | 4 comments

Found hiding under rocks and in shells along beaches from Japan to Australia, the blue ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena lunulata, is one of the most beautiful creatures in the waters; but, it’s appearance can be deceiving as it is also one of the most deadly octopuses in the world.

Photo from CirclesOfLight via Flickr

These small octopuses are only the size of a golf ball but their bite contains a strong neurotoxin with the ability to be fatal to an adult human. When resting, they appear yellow in colour with brown spots; however, when provoked, they exhibit about 60 bright blue rings that cover their body.

Most octopuses utilize three structures when demonstrating colour change of their skin: chromatophores, iridophores and leucophores. Chromatophores are sacs in the skin, filled with pigment and controlled by the surrounding muscles. Upon contraction or relaxation, the sacs shrink or expand to change the look of the pigment. Iridophores are iridescent sheets located beneath chromatophores that are controlled by the shift of proteins and cytoplasm. This results in the sheets reflecting different wavelengths of light or UV rays to change the sheet’s appearance. Lastly, residing under iridophores, leucophores reflect white light to give contrast to the other colours from the chromatophores and iridophores.

Photo from Steve Childs via Flickr

Recently, researchers have found that this typical method of visual display is not how the blue ringed octopus warns its prey. The rings on this small octopus are made of iridophores with no chromatophores above them; instead, the chromatophores were located beneath and surrounding the rings. To give its warning, the octopus relaxes the muscles above its rings and contracts the ones surrounding it, exposing the iridescent blue of the iridophores and dark pigments of the chromatophores. With the iridophores on clear display and chromatophores surrounding, the blue ringed octopus is able to employ an impressive and vivid warning signal as seen below:

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As impressive as this display is, it is also very effective. The blue-green section of the visible spectrum is seen by most of the predators interested in eating these octopuses and it is vivid in underwater light. The speed at which the display is activated combined with the bright colour proves beneficial for both predator and prey as the predator is warned before it attacks the deadly octopus and the octopus survives to live another day.

The defensive nature of this small creature just goes to show that appearances can be deceiving – even the most beautiful of creatures can be deadly.

 – Karly Stillwell

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Posted in Biological Sciences

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Microbes with Arsenic DNA Backbones: Fact or Science Fiction?

Posted on October 20, 2012 by | 2 comments

In December of 2010, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took the scientific world by storm with a press release stating that a news conference would be held to “discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life”. At the press conference, NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe-Simon claimed to have found a microbe that was able to incorporate arsenic as a substitute for phosphate in the DNA backbone. This conclusion was reached since the microbe managed to grow even in conditions with high arsenic concentrations and low phosphate concentrations. This microbe, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, was isolated from Mono Lake, California, a lake known for its toxicity in the form of extremely high concentrations of arsenic.

Picture of GFAJ-1: (Creative Commons License: image by Jodi Switzer Blum)

Wolfe-Simon’s reasoning was that because arsenic is directly below phosphate in the periodic table, it has a similar chemical reactivity which allows it to be substituted for phosphate in the DNA backbone. According to NASA, the implication of this research is that the long-held assumption that all life on earth, from the tiniest microbe to large mammals, depends on six essential elements, one being phosphorus, may be wrong.

NASA sensationalized the implications of Wolfe-Simon’s research; it was claimed that the exploration for alien life that previously only included searching for the six essential elements, would have to be modified to include arsenic. A whole new branch of previously unexplored life forms could exist.

 However, the scientific community was not as receptive as the public to Wolfe-Simon’s work. Shortly after the online publication of Wolfe-Simon’s paper, an avalanche of criticism descended on the paper in the form of dozens of technical responses and online responses to the paper by skeptical scientists. The methodology of Wolfe-Simon’s experiment, the data analysis and the interpretation of results were all thoroughly criticized.

Here’s a video of the NASA Press Conference announcing Wolfe-Simon’s work. From 0-2:55, Wolfe-Simon provides the motivation for her work and from 2:56-9:39, Dr. Steven Benner, Founder and Distinguished Fellow of the Foundation of Applied Molecular Evolution, discusses why he is skeptical of Wolfe-Simon’s conclusions.   (attribution: rrhea22)

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Rosie Redfield, a microbiology professor at the University of British Columbia, has been one of the leading voices in the criticism of Wolfe-Simon’s work; along with a scathing blog post about Wolfe-Simon’s research two days after it was published,  she later published an article refuting Wolfe-Simon’s conclusions about the ability of GFAJ-1 to incorporate arsenic in its DNA backbone entirely. Redfield showed that GFAJ-1 was unable to substitute arsenic for phosphate in the DNA backbone through growing the microbe in the same conditions described by Wolfe-Simon, then analyzing the DNA strands for arsenic incorporation.

For all of us out there in the world fervently hoping for a new avenue of previously unexplored alien life forms, it looks like GFAJ-1 does not provide proof that there is an organism able to incorporate arsenic in place of phosphorus. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any organisms able to do this out there in the world, it just means we have to keep on exploring and researching!

References:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/02dec_monolake/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Nz_6Pbydo&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GKmKyfXuFw

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/12/this_paper_should_not_have_been_published.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/02/AR2010120204183.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6034/1163.abstract

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6093/470.short

 

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

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Good news to Chocolate lovers

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 6 comments

Yummy chocolates. Picture by WoofBC on Flickr

        Do you have to restrain yourself from indulging in that chocolate calling you from the store windows? Well, now you can loosen up a bit! The good new is that more studies are showing that chocolate is actually beneficial for your health. Most of us love chocolate. Chocolate is a popular food around the world. It is given as traditional gifts on some holidays: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. However, we try to avoid eating chocolate whenever possible because of its fattening characteristics, and because it is addictive. Addictive things have never been good for us. However, chocolate consists of many compounds besides fats and sugar. Of the many compositions, I’ll focus on flavonoids, which naturally originate from cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate.

        In contrast to our beliefs, chocolates can have a positive effect on our health. There are still some contradicting opinions, but there has been increasing evidence of chemicals, such as flavonoids, in cacao that improve our health. On October 10, 2012, a study by Franz H. Messerli was published correlating between chocolate consumption in 23 different countries and their populations’ cognitive function. His study was based on the Nobel Prize winners to mimic the overall cognitive function of the 23 countries. It so turns out that increase in the amount of chocolate consumption does increase the number of Nobel laureates in the countries. This, as mentioned above, is due to flavonoids in the cacao. These secondary metabolites have been proven for better cognitive function[1]. For example, elderly patients reduce the risk of dementia by taking flavonoids[1]. The study’s results were that unsurprisingly, Switzerland, famous for their chocolate, was in the lead of both chocolate consumption and Nobel Prize winners. Now, I don’t think chocolate is the absolute causation of increased number of Nobel Prize winners, but according to the article, chocolate somewhat has an influence on the cognitive function.

        Furthermore, flavonoids lower blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels in the in the brain. We all know that high blood pressure can be deadly because they are highly known for the causation of strokes and heart attacks.

Choose dark Chocolate! Picture by Boz Bros on Flickr

        An important point to note is that not all chocolates have flavonoids. Dark chocolate contains four times more flavonoids than milk chocolate, while white chocolate doesn’t have any [2]. So choose dark chocolate to satisfy your cravings and maintain your health! But of course, you shouldn’t depend on dark chocolate for better health. They, too, have calories and sugar[2]. Chocolate can help, but the key to health is healthy eating and exercise. We should consume chocolate from time to time, we might build up more stress if we have to force ourselves to stay away from it!

The following video shortly explains the health benefits of chocolate:

YouTube Preview Image

Article on Messerli’s study

Article from CBC

-MinJi-

6 Comments

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

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If you are afraid of snakes now… be glad you were not around during the reign of Titanoboa.

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 5 comments

Snakes have never really been an object of fear for me personally in the past. Although, these reptiles have been the main fear of many people that I know. I have always thought that if you left them alone, they will leave you alone. If they do attack, I could probably out run them easily. However, this all changed when I learned of Titanoboa.

Imagine yourself in a world of dense swampy jungle, where the dinosaurs are gone, the earth was much warmer, and reptiles ruled the world. [1] This was Cerrejón (located in modern-day Columbia) approximately 58-milion years ago. [1] This was the world where Titanoboa, the monster snake, ruled.

Dense jungle from http://www.crydev.net/viewtopic.php?t=55486

How was this prehistoric dead monarch discovered? It was discovered by a graduate student, Alex Hastings, when he was looking through fossils from Cerrejón in a box labelled “crocodile”. He noticed a very large and strange vertebra, and realized they this vertebra was not from a crocodile. Hastings and a fellow graduate student, Jason Bourque, compared the mysterious vertebra to the vertebra of a modern-day anaconda. The two found that the two bones were similar in appearance even though the anaconda’s vertebra was much smaller. [2] This discovery led to further investigation and with the eventual identification of Titanoboa.

What was this titan of the past like? It turns out that the size of Titanoboa may have been around 42 to 49 feet long, and could have weighted around 2,500 pounds. [2] According to the video below, the Titanoboa killed its prey by constriction. It delivered a powerful squeeze of 400 pounds per square inch. The video below puts that number into perspective, they say that it is like having three Eiffel towers stacked on top of one another crushing you.

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How did such a titan exist? It seems a little unbelievable to imagine a snake of this caliber roaming this world. Well, it turns out that Earth, during Titanoboa’s reign was much different from our own. The Earth that Titanoboa lived in, had 50 percent more carbon dioxide than today, which in turn results in a Earth much warmer than today. [2] Since, all reptiles are cold-blooded; their size essentially depends on how warm their environment is. [2] This fact, allows us to safely say that as long as we get global warming under control, new titan snakes will not appear.

Was this titan snake, at the top of the food chain? Other fossils were found at Cerrejón, including fossils of giant crocodiles and turtles. [3] These giant crocodiles could have been a possible predator to Titanoboa, but this snake was at the top of the food chain because it could easily constrict and devour these massive crocodiles whole. [3] Despite the size and ferocity of Titanoboa, it probably would not be able to dethrone the modern day apex predator, Human beings.

A scaled model of Titanoboa from http://www.dogonews.com/2012/3/26/pre-historic-titanoboa-rattles-new-york-commuters

-Dominic

5 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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Chimeras: Not as Fictional as You Think

Posted on October 8, 2012 by | 4 comments

Chimera [ki-meer–uh] usually defined as:

1. n. A mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. (source)

However, there is also a lesser known genetic definition:

2. n. An organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is partly male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species. (source)

Now this definition is applicable in the real world.

DNA to chromosome Image source

One type of chimerism is tetragametic chimerism. Tetragametic chimerism occurs when different sperm fertilizes two eggs. Two zygotes develop and then fuse together, this isn’t effected by gender difference. The remaining zygote has two distinct sets of DNA and therefore 46 pairs of chromosomes instead of the typical 23. When the fetus develops the organs have different DNA types, for example, their liver will have one set of DNA and their lungs the other set of DNA. Observable chimera phenotype characteristics are differences in the pigment of their eyes, hair and patches of skin, also a possibility of extraneous sexual organs.However, in humans the condition is rare, most have no presenting abnormal characteristics and live completely unaware.

Two infamous cases of tetragametic chimerism in humans are Karen Keegan and Lydia Fairchild.

Keegan needed a kidney transplant and her children were tested as potential matches. The results showed that only one of her three children was actually related to her. After extensive testing on Keegan’s different organ tissues researchers discovered, and published in 2002, that Keegan had 46 pairs of chromosomes and was a natural chimera.

In 2005, Fairchild discovered she had different DNA from her two children after DNA testing done to get welfare aid. She was accused of welfare fraud and threatened to have her children taken from her custody. When her third child was born and DNA testing was negative again, she was under the suspicion that she was lying as a surrogate or had acquired her children illegally. Only after presenting the published chimera paper on Keegan, Fairchild was tested and proven as a chimera as well.

Presently, scientists are researching if chimera organisms have better immunity or if the genetics can be used for future biological advances. Unnatural chimeras such as ‘geeps’, a fusion of a sheep and goat embryo, have already been successfully created as well as human and animal fused embryos. Using these hybrids, however, involves stem cell research and genetic engineering, which brings up major ethical problems and controversy in the scientific community.

So, we’ll never have mythological fire breathing creatures, but you have to admit it’s still pretty darn cool.

– Rachel Chang

 

4 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Uncategorized

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Vitamin Pills: A Waste of Money ?!

Posted on October 8, 2012 by | 8 comments

These days,  if you walk through every pharmacy store , you will see a variety and abundance of different vitamin pills due to the widespread use of these supplements.However, are people really aware of the effects of these pills? There are controversies over using these supplements.

Human body needs 13 types of vitamins to work properly : A, C, D, E , K and the eight B vitamins. Each of the vitamins has different advantages for our bodies and can be found in different nutrients. Most of the people take vitamin pills since their daily diets do not provide enough natural vitamins for their bodies.

“People use vitamin pills to compensate for their unhealthy diets”

(picture from: https://blogs.ubc.ca/communicatingscience2012w109/files/2012/10/vitamin-pills1.jpg )

However, studies show different results for popping vitamin pills.

One category of studies associate benefits with vitamin supplement consumption. For example, a number of studies show that these supplements improve cognitive skills and decrease the rate of mental decline.

The second category of studies show no effects associated with supplement consumption.For instance, a study was done over the course of eight years with about 8,000 participants.The overall health conditions of the participants who took the real pill daily (which contained vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium  and zinc,) and the ones who took the placebo pills daily ( the pill with the same appearance of the real one but without the capacity to function) showed almost the same trend .

The third category of studies, in contrast, show that consuming vitamin pills can be harmful. For example, according to two of the studies, the likelihood of  developing different types of cancer such as malignant cancer( the most severe type of skin cancer) and breast cancer was more in participants who took particular types of vitamin supplements. Another study also suggests that using supplements such as multivitamins increases the mortality rate.

What should we do despite all the contradictory results from different studies about the cons and pros of taking vitamin supplements ? According to an article ,having a healthy diet is the most important step . However, taking one multivitamin tablet as well as vitamin D tablet per day can help people who do not have an optimal diet, but the important thing to remember is that we should not over use vitamin supplements.The article argues that the disadvantages of the supplements are outweighed by their advantages.Another article states that foods contain natural vitamins as well as other plant substances such as  phytochemicals ( plant chemicals that prevent disease) that cannot be put in the vitamin pills ;Therefore, it is much better to have a healthy diet rather than taking vitamin pills.

In the video below,uploaded by ” psychetruth” ,Dr. Vincent Bellonzi gives more information about whether we should take vitamin supplements or not.

 

 

 

 

(www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa6-jmVhbcU&feature=related)

Maryam Goharian

 

Sources:

benefits:  http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/daily-multivitamin-tablets-can-boost-memory-study/65391/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2078861/Taking-multi-vitamin-pills-does-health.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/melanoma/article.htm

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4829/vitamin-pills-do-more-harm-good

http://www.health-alternatives.com/vitamins-nutrition-chart.html

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamins/index.html

http://www.phytochemicals.info/

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/dietandnutrition/feature/vitamins.htm

 

 

picture from:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/communicatingscience2012w109/files/2012/10/vitamin-pills1.jpg

video from:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa6-jmVhbcU&feature=related

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Uncategorized

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