Eat Tomatoes!

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 7 comments

Image From: http://naturalfoodpantry.ca/uploads/images/Article%20Photos/Tomatoes.jpg

New research suggests that foods such as tomatoes which contain the antioxidant lycopene may reduce men’s risk of stroke. Lycopene is an antioxidant compound that gives yellow, red, and orange vegetables and fruits their colour because they contain the pigment carotenoid. Papaya, watermelon, guava and apricots are also significant sources of lycopene. Lycopene decrease the formation of plaques in arteries leading to heart attacks and strokes. They also decrease stroke risk by preventing blood clots, blood platelets from clumping together and also inhibiting the production of cholesterol.

Image From:
http://veemd.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/lycopene.jpg

Jouni Karppi of the Univeristy of Eastern Finland published an article in the journal of Neurology showing that men who had higher levels of lycopene in their blood were 55% less likely to have a stroke when compared to those with lower levels of lycopene. 1031 men in Finland between the ages 46 and 65 took part in his study. Over the 12-year period of the study, only 67 men suffered a stroke. Most of the men who suffered from a stroke had low levels of lycopene in their blood. Although the study did show that people with higher levels of lycopene have fewer strokes, it did not prove that eating tomatoes reduced the risk of stroke. Karppi said that he will continue to do further research of the role lycopene play in decreasing the risk of chromic vascular disease.

Image From:
http://dokita.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/penyakit-stroke.jpg

Men should really consider eating more tomatoes. Not only do they have a chance of reducing men’s risk of stroke, but they may also lower the risk of certain type of cancer such as prostate, lung and stomach cancer. So to all the men out there, start to include more tomatoes in your diet! Your body will thank you in the future.

Posted by Mandy Choi

 

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be a family trait.

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 4 comments

Do you ever feel the need to do things in threes? Do you obsessively apply things such as hand sanitizer or chap stick? Do you feel that if you do or don’t do a certain thing that harm may come to you or someone you know? These are all possible symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/4800819674/

The best way to explain obsessive compulsive disorder is to explain the acronym OCD. Patients with this disorder can have obsessive or compulsive tendencies or both. The obsessive aspect has to do with constant thoughts, worries, or fears that the mind revolves around. The compulsions are repetitive actions, often done a specific number of times, or actions repeated throughout the entire day such as constant cleaning or grooming or inspecting safety issues such as making sure the stove is off and double (or quadruple!) checking that the door is locked.

Although this disorder is often underdiagnosed or diagnosed as something else, I just want to mention that just because you have one or more symptoms of ocd (I know I do!), that doesn’t mean we have the disorder. In fact, it’s only a concern when it interrupts with our daily life that we should seek therapy and/or medication for help.

There are many examples of obsessive compulsive disorders in the media such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia where a main character’s mother turns each light switch on and off three times every night. “Mrs. Kelly, why are you doing everything in threes?” “Oh. So Charlie doesn’t die.” The characters deemed this crazy at first but then her son began to take on her obsessive compulsions (because he too became paranoid about his life being supposedly on the line) and his friends pick up on these habits as well. “One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. You’re right Charlie, I feel better about this. More in control.” (Copyright FX)

Which brings me to my next point about addressing the question, is this disorder hereditary? Is this fictional Charlie character doing everything in threes because he made a conscious decision to do so or is it inherited in his genes? As it turns out, OCD is passed down through our genes. A study was done that showed that immediate family members of someone with ocd have a 25% chance of having the disorder as well . When studies were done on twins, it was found that there is a 50% chance of both the twins having ocd and there was a 90% increase in the likeliness of identical twins that shared the disorder compared to fraternal twins.

Another example of obsessive compulsive disorder in a popular sitcom character is shown below. Notice how Sheldon feels the need to knock three times, even when knocking isn’t socially required, and how he gets uncomfortable when he can’t complete at least three or when someone interrupts his routine of doing so.

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Cats are not responsible to miscarriage in pregnancy.

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 1 comment

In recent years, an increasing number of reports have told the general that cats

Pic from barfblog.com/tags/toxoplasma

could bring toxoplasmosis, which would further result in problems in pregnancy, including abortion and malformation. Being aware of this is necessary and important, however people, especially pregnant women, are not necessary to panic and think of “should I re-home my cat, while I am pregnant?” Cats and pregnant women can live together safely, if people are able to answer the following questions.

 

What is toxoplasmosis?

Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular human parasite Image provided by Ke Hu and John Murray

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii and is often symptomless in people. However, in case of acute toxoplasmosis, people feel like they are having mild flu, such as feelings of swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, or pains. The feelings disappear after one week to one month, and people would not ever know that they had toxoplasmosis. But, serious problem may occur to people with weak immune system. For example, pregnant women, who get infection during the first three months of pregnancy, may suffer birth defects or miscarriage.  

 

How is Toxoplasma gondii transmitted to pregnant women and babies?

Pregnant women have to ingest the cysts of Toxoplasma at its egg stage, in their first 3 months of pregnancy, so that their babies will be infected and get impact. One primary way is eating raw or undercooked meat, especially pork or lamb that contains Toxoplasma cysts.  Another way is ingestion of contaminated cat feces, not by touching cats. Therefore, that some reports simply said that the pregnant women could get infection from cats is not complete. In order to shed contaminated feces, a cat has to be infected recently, because it does not shed Toxoplasma cysts within feces forever but for a maximum of 14 days and afterward it is unlikely that the cat will ever shed them again — even after repeated exposure to Toxoplasma. A cat would only get infection from a contaminated meat, which would not happen if the cat was feed with cooked meat and do not hunt outdoor. It is important that the feces takes 24 hours, in litter box, to become contagious. Lastly and most importantly, the pregnant woman must somehow ingest it. In fact, a 2001 study shows that digestion of contaminated raw meat is a more common approach that transmits the parasite, rather than get from cat.

 

How to avoid an infection of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy?

Here are some tips that can block the transmission of Toxoplasma :

  • Do not eat undercooked meat.
  • Wash hands thoroughly with soap after contact with cat feces, gardening and before eating.
  • Clean knives, utensils, and cutting boards that contact to raw meat thoroughly and frequently.
  • Clean out the litter box by a non-pregnant person every day.
  • Single mothers wear gloves and use litter box liners
  • Keep cats indoors.
  • Do not feed undercooked meat to cat.

By Jody Emery

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Honey in Colours of the Rainbow?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 5 comments

Halloween is around the corner and candy factories are in full blast. This is great news for the candy business but for a town in France, the bees are creating honey that can match any colour of candy out there.

The unnatural shades of honey compared to the original appearance.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSBRE8930MQ20121005#a=1

In the town of Ribeauville, beekeepers found that the bees were making honey in shades of blue and green. Although the honey still tastes normal, beekeepers are unable to sell the honey due to their unnatural shade.  They noticed in August that the bees were bringing back colourful substances that were the cause of the honey being different colours.   After some investigation, they discovered a company called Agrivalor that owns a biogas plant 4 km away from the town. This company had been processing waste from a Mars plant which created colourful M&M candies. It turns out that they were leaving the waste in open containers which then allowed the bees to take the residues back to their hive.

Anatomy of a Bee, note where the “honey stomach” is located.                      Source: http://www.bees-online.com/beexray.gif

Bees begin their honey process by gathering nectar from flowers and storing them in a separate stomach that’s considered to be the “nectar backpack” or honey stomach. Since the biogas plant left the waste in the open, this was the easiest sugar source for the bees to gather instead of taking nectar from flowers.

This turn of events troubles the beekeepers as they are unable to profit from honey sales which were already suffering from a decline of the bee population.  This decline may be attributable to a couple of factors like habitation loss, pesticides or the colony collapse disorder. Just in the United States, an average of 33% of bee colonies has been lost during the winter months these past years according to the USDA.

The improper disposal of waste has already affected many businesses and the lives of the town residents. Taking shortcuts and using quick fix procedures may help a company in a short run but it may have serious ramifications in the future. Bees are one of the essential organisms that help the world flourish and plants to grow. With bee populations on the decline, they do not need any more human mistakes to add to the growing list of factors affecting their livelihood.

Blog post submitted by: Tiffany Ho

 

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Why are some sounds so displeasing to hear?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 4 comments

New study ranks nails run along a chalkboard as one of the most unpleasant sounds to the human ear.

The Amygdala- Active in processing negative emotions

Why is it that certain sounds are so displeasing to the human ear?  For example, the sound of nails running along a chalkboard is synonymous with shivers down the spine.  A new paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience examines the interaction between the emotional and auditory parts of your brain while hearing a variety of sounds.  Scientists at Newcastle University have found that while hearing some sounds, a heightened activity and interaction occurs between the Amygdala part of the brain, which is active in processing negative emotions, and the auditory parts of the brain.  Researchers believe this interaction could explain why some sounds are perceived as unpleasant.

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging and Newcastle University used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how the brains of sixteen volunteers responded to a variety of sounds.  The sixteen participants (seven females) ranged in age from 22-35 years old and had no prior history of neurological or psychiatric disorders.  The participants were asked to listen to 74 different sounds while in the scanner.  The participants then ranked each sound they heard on a scale from 1 (least unpleasant) to 5 (highly unpleasant).  Here is an example of how some sounds stacked up.

Most Unpleasant Sounds

  • Knife on bottle
  • Fork on glass
  • Chalk on blackboard
  • Ruler on bottle
  • Nails on chalkboard

Least Unpleasant Sounds

  • Applause
  • Baby laughing
  • Thunder
  • Water flowing

Spectrotemporal Representations

Researchers then studied the relationship between the rankings of unpleasantness and the spectrotemporal features obtained from imaging from the fMRI.  Analysis of both the rankings of unpleasantness and the acoustic features of the sounds themselves, found that any sounds within the frequency range of 2,000 to 5,000 Hz were found to be perceived as unpleasant.  The figure to the left shows examples of the spectrotemporal representations for six sounds (the mean unpleasantness is featured in the top right corner of each plot).  These images suggest that sounds with high spectral frequencies and low temporal modulation frequencies are correlated to sounds ranked with high unpleasantness.  It was found that activity in both the auditory complex and the Amygdala were directly proportional to the ratings of perceived unpleasantness.  From this study, it was concluded that the Amygdala is in charge and regulates the activity of the auditory part of the brain, therefore provoking a negative response to some sounds.

Want to see if you agree that the sound of nails running along a chalkboard is highly unpleasant? Take a listen.

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To read the full journal article click here

 

This blog was written by Layla Vera


 

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Toxic Algae Blooms

Posted on October 15, 2012 by | 2 comments

Water, which is a key necessity, is facing a global threat as environmental problems are causing estuaries and freshwater aquatic systems to be full of harmful substances. Not only does pollution of water by human and chemical waste itself contaminate the water sources, but also encourages the growth of algal blooms. Not all algal blooms are harmful, but some blooms containing cyanobacteria, like blue-green algae are extremely harmful, and can release many harmful chemicals such as hepatotoxins, dermatoxins, and neurotoxins. Limiting nutrients in water sources are causing these algae to flourish and they are currently destroying much useable and drinkable water for humans on a global scale. Recently this summer, toxic algal blooms were found in Loughbrickland Lake in County Down and Moor Lough in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Although they were not used for drinking water for the locals, they were popular for fishing and leisure activities, which can be devastating since these lethal toxins could be ingested by fish, and then consumed by those who caught them. Not only them but also people could have easily drank water while engaging in leisure activities.

Blue-green algal bloom
Image from Wikipedia

Scientists from University of Ulster are working to develop clean technology to clear the pollutants by titanium dioxide, which is a common chemical found in sunscreen. When applied to skin and under light intensity of sunlight, it protects the skin by refracting the light and efficiently transforming the UV light into heat. When under high intensity of UV light, however, “it turns into a very strong catalyst, capable of destroying pollutants in the water,” says Tony Byrne, a leading scientist of the research team. By doing so, Tony and his team are promoting clean technology, using little energy for good results, allowing this excited titanium dioxide to efficiently clean the water.

Using titanium dioxide and UV light to destroy the pollutants in the water seemed to be a very good idea. Many water sources including metro Vancouver’s tap water, which the majority of the people drink, is also disinfected with UV light before being transferred to each household; therefore, using this new technology and method sounds like a great way to prevent any pollutant and algae-bloom matters.

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Mokhan Kim

 

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Breast cancer screening breakthrough

Posted on October 13, 2012 by | 2 comments

Couresty of yourobserver.com

The winner of the 2012 Google science fair was announced this summer, topping very stiff competition from around the world. Brittany Wenger, of Lakewood Ranch, USA was awarded first prize for her submission, which is expected to make a big impact in breast cancer screening.

Ever since a project in elementary school which introduced her to the world of computer programming, Brittany has chosen to preoccupy herself with textbooks on the how-to’s of programming neural networks. As a result, she has developed a program which is not only able to assess a tissue sample for malignancies, but is also able to learn from previous trials and improve its efficiency at doing so. A type of artificial intelligence if you will.

Picture courtesy of www.beliefnet.com

Despite the fact that there are many accurate ways to detect cancer in a patient, the importance of this development lays in the fact that it can be used to analyze tissue samples from a process called fine-needle aspiration, which is one of the least invasive procedures for detecting breast cancer. Previously, the questionable accuracy of fine-needle aspiration prevented it from being a truly reliable means of screening, but now with this neural network available, it should become a confident alternative to more invasive procedures.

The slideshow presentation for her submission can be viewed here.
I recommend watching this video to hear her own explanation of the project:
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She was awarded $50,000 in scholarship money, an internship with a fair sponsor and a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands for her submission, which can only be described as an amazing accomplishment for a 17-year-old girl. Her plans to expand this program to work with other forms of cancer and diagnoses, reducing the requirement for invasive procedures, is just one more thing we can all be thankful for as we slowly move toward old age.

Cameron Tough

17-year-old girl builds artificial ‘brain’ to detect breast cancer – FutureTech on NBCNews.com Retrieved 10/13/2012, 2012, from http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/17-year-old-girl-builds-artificial-brain-detect-breast-cancer-908308

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Don’t Let the Turkey “Gobble” Up Your Energy!

Posted on October 8, 2012 by | 2 comments

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

http://blogs.wyomingnews.com/blogs/everyonegives/files/
2008/11/turkey_dinner.jpg

This weekend is a for family gatherings, giving thanks, and of course, enormous meals.  The tradition is the same every year; everyone is having a great time talking and eating, but somewhere between giving thanks and getting a second helping of pumpkin pie, it suddenly hits- the food coma.  This is not an uncommon event, but if food is supposed to give energy, why do we feel more tired after eating?

In medical terms, food coma is known as postprandial somnolence and it is a phenomenon where people feel a lack of mental energy after a large meal.   This is caused by several factors. For starters, holiday meals are usually filled with high-calorie and high-fat content foods.  As the helpings pile up, so does our blood flow to the digestive system to help with dilation and expansion of our intestines.  As a result, less blood is being sent to the rest of the body’s system, making the rest of the system feel a slowdown.

At the same time that blood is flowing to the digestive system, the small intestine is signalling activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which tells the body to slow down and digest.  Thus, the more food we eat, the harder the small intestine is working, resulting in a large concentration of the body’s activities around the digestive region.

http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/kitchen/2009-11-11-Desserts.jpg

Finally, the food itself can make us sleepy as well. The main culprit is sugar because as sugar breaks down into glucose, our body secretes the hormone insulin.  Insulin helps maintain and counter the increase of glucose level by mopping up the excess glucose in the blood.  As the level of insulin increases, it also produces serotonin and melatonin- two chemicals that can leave us feel drowsy and sleepy.

With this much activity going on in our bodies, no wonder we feel like taking a nap after our turkey dinner! Just make sure you complete all of your assignments and finish all of your studying before the big feast, because once that coma hits, you won’t be hitting the books for at least another hour!

http://www.createwritenow.com/Portals/1520/images/
Thanksgiving%20Journal%20Prompts-resized-600.jpg

Post published by: Deborah Lo

 

References:

Greatist: “What Am I Tired After Eating a Big Meal?” – http://greatist.com/health/why-am-i-tired-after-eating-a-big-meal/ (accessed October 6, 2012)

Indiana Public Media: “The Science of the Siesta” – http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/the-science-of-the-siesta-2/  (accessed October 6, 2012)

Scientific American: “Why do I get a slump in mental energy after eating a meal?” –  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-i-get-a-slump-in-mental-energy (accessed October 6, 2012)

 

 

 

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