Category Archives: Issues in Science

The Two “E”s to Avoid Cancer: Exercise and Eat Well

Posted on April 3, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Cancer is a mysterious silent killer whose cure, even to this day, cannot be found.  Many studies have found a link between weight gain and obesity to increased risk of cancer.  Could the solution to cancer prevention be something as simple as getting enough exercise and having a proper diet? As many of you know, the idea of following a healthy diet and exercising regularly is beneficial and we are constantly reminded by our friends, family and even the media. However, unknown to many of us, what we think is a common idea may be very effective in preventing obesity-related cancers.

Healthy Salad by Emilian Robert Vicol via Flickr creative commons

How exactly does being overweight relate to increased cancer risks you ask? Simply put, it has been hypothesized that many hormones or proteins involved in the development and progression of diseases such as cancer, are secreted by adipose tissue. Therefore, the more fat accumulated in the body, the more hormones secreted or “genes” expressed that can take part in the pathways leading to cancer. To examine the effects of weight loss on fat tissue gene expression and subsequently, the amount of hormones secreted, Dr. Kristin Campbell, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, and associates studied the effects of exercise and diet on body fat tissue. 

Dr. Kristin Campbell working with Scenery Slater, a cancer patient by Martin Dee via http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2012/06/06/blame-it-on-chemo-brain/

Forty-five postmenopausal women participated and were divided into 4 treatment groups: a control group (no treatment), a calorie-restricted diet group, an exercise group and a diet+exercise group. Blood and adipose tissue samples were taken from every participant before and after following the treatments for 6 months. The samples were then analyzed for changes in hormone levels or fat tissue expression in the body. It was found that women who followed only a calorie-restrictive diet lost the most weight and greater weight loss was correlated with greater changes in fat tissue gene expression. In other words, reducing the amount of body fat ultimately reduces the chances of developing diseases such as cancer.

How women were divided into different groups in the experiment

For further details on the motivation of Dr. Campbell as well as the findings of the research, take a look at the video below:

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Youtube via whywontmynamefit

Although the subjects were all postmenopausal women, Dr. Kristin Campbell notes that weight loss can also reduce the risk of colon cancers and other obesity related diseases that affect men and women equally. From the research findings, we can see how important being healthy is for not only older generations, but for the younger generations as well. We hope our blog motivates others to live a healthier lifestyle.

With that being said, listen to the podcast below for Dr. Campbell’s suggestions for exercise and diet regimes:

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– Grace Lam, Alice Lin, Ashkan Nasr, Derek Rejto

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Outreach Project, Science Communication

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Motion sickness: A quarrel between the eyes and ears

Posted on March 18, 2013 by | 1 comment

Have you ever started reading your notes or textbook on the bus ride to school, only to find yourself feeling dizzy and nauseous moments after? Or perhaps you’ve experienced the same set of unsettling symptoms on a plane ride, or on a lovely – or in this case, not-so-lovely – Caribbean cruise. Regardless of where you were, it sounds like you were hit by a bad case of motion sickness, a condition that arises due to changes in our sense of balance and equilibrium. As a result, such a phenomenon can develop from the movements of a car or boat, the turbulence of an airplane, or even from the twirls and loops of a ride at an amusement park.

Teacups

If you’re prone to motion sickness, this ride probably isn’t for you.
By jpesci via Flickr Creative Commons

So what causes motion sickness and why do we experience such discomfort as a result? First of all, motion is detected by the brain via signals sent from the inner ear, the eyes, and various sensory receptors throughout the body, and are therefore coordinated together when we walk or move ourselves consciously.

On the other hand, motion sickness occurs when the eyes and ears send different signals to the brain. In this scenario, the movement that is visually perceived “disagrees” with the movement sensed by a specialized system associated with our inner ear. This system, more so known as the vestibular system, contains the organs responsible for the maintenance of proper balance and orientation. Thus, a disturbance to the inner ear caused by any form of repeated motion can cause a person to experience dizziness, fatigue, and nausea, which is explained in this video by YouTube user Alex Dainis.

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This explains why motion sickness can be experienced while reading in a moving vehicle. While your eyes are fixed on an object that is stationary, your body and inner ear sense movement from the speeding or turning vehicle, causing some sort of disagreement between the two.

The vestibular system constitutes the inner ear.
By Rage via Wikimedia Commons

In many cases, motion sickness will ultimately lead to vomiting. This is because the mismatch of signals sent to the brain by the eyes and inner ear suggests that a neurotoxin was ingested, causing the body to induce vomiting in order to get rid of it.

While around 33% of people are prone to motion sickness under mild conditions, 66% experience it under more extreme conditions. Although it is hard to prevent most cases of motion sickness, this video by YouTube user mayoclinic presents some remedies that can be followed to avoid or lessen its effects. If you are one of the 33% that is easily susceptible to this unnerving condition, perhaps these will help make your next vacation or road trip a little more enjoyable.

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– Clarissa Ngui

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

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The Super Supercapacitor.

Posted on March 18, 2013 by | 1 comment

I’m sure some of you out there have, at one point or another, thought “is the lifestyle we live in the first world sustainable?” The overwhelming scientific consensus is that things need to change if we are going to keep things the way they are now. This is much easier said than done though since we are a society that is heavily dependant on fossil fuels and batteries for energy, and incidentally these are two of the reasons why our environment is changing for the worse.

These problems we are facing opened the door for a potentially world changing discovery. Back in 2010, the nobel prize in physics was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for their groundbreaking work with a material called graphene. Since then research into this material has exploded and the potential applications seem boundless.

Graphene by AlexanderAIUS via Wikimedia Commons

Graphene itself is about 100 times stronger than steel; if you were to make a 1 square meter sheet of the material and make it 1000 times thinner than a piece of paper and hang this up like a hammock it would be able to hold up a 10 pound cat, but would weigh less than one of its whiskers. Aside from its possible application of an awesome super light hammock, this material has researchers buzzing about its potential for the technology and energy industries.

Graphene also has the ability to act as a super capacitor, which means that it is able to store large amounts of energy while only taking a fraction of the time to charge compared to batteries. Imagine a cell phone you could charge in a few seconds or an electric car that only takes a few minutes to charge up and not a few hours. This has been the central property of a new discovery made by Dr. Richard Kaner and his colleagues. They found that they could convert liquid graphite oxide into graphene using only a consumer grade DVD drive.

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The Super Supercapacitor by focusforwardfilms

Things like the cell phones or smart screens that can be rolled up, or ultra thin computers could become a reality because of graphene. Think it doesn’t get much better than this? Think again. On top of all the wondrous possibilities graphene could have for cell phones, computers and car batteries, but because this material is purely made out of carbon it is not only bio degradable, it is completely compostable.

I don’t know about all of you but I’m pretty excited for what the future holds now.

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The Art of Acupuncture

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | 3 comments

Have you or someone you know experienced a persisting headache that didn’t go away even after taking painkillers? If you were from a Chinese family like mine, perhaps the first remedy would be the suggestion of Acupuncture: the practice of penetrating skin on certain areas of the body with needles to “heal” physical pains and ailments. For over thousands of years, the Chinese have been using this method to treat pains, allergies, paralysis, asthma and many other illnesses.

A sterile needle used in Acupuncture (lengths may vary). No drugs are introduced into the body. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As a victim of these needles, I had wondered, how could pricking one’s body with very fine needles provide relief of ailments? Could science be used to explain this treatment? First, let’s look at the basic concepts of this practice.

Qi and the Meridians

Acupuncture practitioners believe that aches and pains are a result of blockage or irregular flow of Qi (pronounced “chee”): life energy that flows throughout the body of all living things. This “Qi” flows throughout the body via pathways or Meridians, which are known to reach tissues of the skin, muscles, bones, joints and organs. Unlike the conventional needles used for giving shots, acupuncture needles are very thin and do not puncture or damage tissues. Inserting these needles in certain areas (known as pressure points) of the meridians unblock or assist the proper flow of Qi, ultimately relieving the individual of ailments.

 Outline of the different meridians in the body.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Seems pretty far-fetched right? The idea of fixing the flow of “magical life energy” inside one’s body isn’t exactly convincing to scientists and especially those who hate needles. However, a large abundance of testimonials, reviews and research articles have repeatedly claimed the effectiveness of acupuncture and this in fact, has garnered the interest of many western doctors and researchers.

A Scientific Approach

In an attempt to provide a scientific explanation for the effects of acupuncture, researchers have studied the impact of needle insertions on the brain using fMRI. It was found that triggering certain pressure points decreased the activity in structures of the brain involved with pain sensation, with no negative effects on other areas of the brain.

In addition, several studies have also discovered the correspondence between pressure points and nerve bundles or muscles within the body. For example, an individual having a heart attack will experience pain running from their chest to the length of their left arm. Coincidentally, this pathway is associated with what acupuncture practitioners know as the “heart meridian”. One study finds the stimulation of this area to affect heart rate and areas of the brain associated with cardiac muscle regulation.

Although many doubts still remain about the evidence behind acupuncture treatments, interest in this practice has become increasingly popular, with more and more evidence supporting the effectiveness of these needle insertions.

Check out the video below for more information on Acupuncture

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Video from user: aguinther

   – Grace Lam

 

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The Importance of Recycling Urine and Fecal Matter

Posted on March 4, 2013 by | 3 comments

 

The most important chemical in fertilizers today.

Phosphorous is an important element that is largely involved in global agricultural production; therefore it directly affects the survival of mankind.

Phosphorous is important because it is a leading component in fertilizers that are largely used in food production globally to meet the demand of the growing population. Phosphorous is obtained from phosphate reserves, which are now depleting at a rate that will exhaust these reserves within the next 50-100 years, as phosphate is a non-renewable resource. This issue should be of the utmost concern to the government in order to maintain food security for future generations. The lack of phosphorous threatens food production with low crop yields and poor quality produce and consequently the existence of the human race.

Phosphorous is not only a key component in our agricultural industry but also plays a key role in all living things, including the construction of DNA and cell membranes. Due to its rare existence in the Earth’s crust, it is often a limiting factor in the growth of plants and algae. In humans it is essential for bone formation.  Without a steady supply of this resource, global agricultural will greatly suffer and the global population will suffer a nutrition shortage.

The world’s increasing food demand has resulted in increased mining into phosphate reserves. This agricultural demand has been increasing at a rate of 3% per year, which will continue to increase as the gap between the rich and the poor increases. The rich will continue to prosper and consume more meat and dairy – which require more phosphorous input than any other foods – while those on the opposite end of the spectrum continue to face the harsh realities of the wavering food security.

If you’re more interested on the matter, the clip below would definitely be worth a watch.

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Sleep Deprivation Can Cause Changes in Genes?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by | 3 comments

A sleeping child (Cr. JarektUploadBot via Wikimedia Commons)

Are you getting enough sleep lately?  You probably know that sleep deprivation is bad for you, but to what extent?  Now, a study showed that a lack of sleep affects the gene mechanisms that control metabolism, sleep and immunity.  Just one week of insufficient sleep can cause changes to over 700 genes!  Yikes!

Before this study was done, scientists linked long-term sleep deprivation with obesity, heart disease and cognitive impairment.  However, the actual molecular mechanisms that led to these effects were not known.

The effects of sleep deprivation (Cr. Mikael Häggström via Wikimedia Commons)

Now, British researchers at Surrey University in England showed that long-term sleep deprivation directly alters gene expression for processes such as immune responses, stress and metabolism.  All of the above mentioned affects have a wide range of negative effects, especially if the health issues last a long time.

In this study, researchers had 26 healthy volunteers (as in, no illnesses), but were deprived of sleep.  They then examined the gene expressions in the volunteers.  The people in the “sleep-deprived” group only had about 6 hours of sleep for 7 days consecutively, while the people in the control group had about 10 hours of sleep.  At the end of the week, participants had their blood RNA samples taken.

Both groups were observed and had many tests taken to determine their cognitive performance during the day.  The participants in the study were also asked how they slept.  Finally, researchers measured levels of the hormone melatonin, which regulates biological rhythm and sleep cycles.

The chemical structure of RNA (Cr. InfoCan via Wikimedia Commons)

RNA analysis of the blood samples showed that activity in 711 genes were decreased or increased from the lack of sleep.  As it turns out, every gene is responsible for the creation of a protein that is important in the body.  And RNA is needed to carry out the message from each gene to create those proteins.  If the amount of RNA changes from its normal levels, then this means that there are now more or less of the messages getting sent to create the proteins.  This can ultimately lead to dramatic changes in the body.

Changes to different genes caused different reactions.  Many of the genes that were affected were involved in maintaining the “biological clock” or the circadian rhythm.  It is what tells us what is supposed to happen in a 24-hour clock.  Other genes were known for their overall gene expression – that is, the lack of sleep will cause harmful changes to the body.  Finally, through the study, it was shown that participants also had bad test results on memory, cognition and attention.

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Here’s a short overview on sleep deprivation and its effects on genes! (via. Youtube user: DNewsChannel)

So, what exactly should we take from all of this?  It’s definitely time to sleep more!

– Maggie Chan

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

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