Communicating Science (2012w210)

Burn Fat in 8 Seconds

Posted on March 10, 2013 by alvinesh | 10 comments

After a long winter it’s no doubt that we all put on a few extra pounds. Summer is on the horizon and you know you’ll have to shed your winter wear, exposing those soft spots around your belly and love handles.

Unfortunately, the average student usually has too much on their plate from commuting to school to late night cramming sessions. This leaves no time for long intensive workouts at the gym.

An empty gym
Source: flickr commons via floating_zen

What if we can get more out of our workouts with less time and less effort?

Too good to be true?

Well a team of scientists out of Australia might have solved this problem for all us “busy” people. Dr. Boutcher and his team placed 45 overweight women through their SPRINT-training which is a short, high-intensity training based on cycle sprints over 12 weeks. They discovered a significant drop in their abdominal fat and an increase in muscle mass.

Nothing out of the ordinary, high-intensity training has been known to be a great fat burning workout, but this is where it gets very interesting.

It was found 1 hour SPRINT-training a week burns the same amount of body fat in men as jogging for 7 hours a week.

Brian McPhail, an S-3 clerk with 7th Marine Regiment, ‘sprints’ as fast as he can on a stationary bike. Source: Wikimedia

So what is SPRINT training?

Using a fitness bike, you sprint for 8 seconds, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for a total of 20 minutes. You would perform this 20 minute exercise three times a week for a total of 1 hour of exercise a week, which should fit in anybody’s schedule.

Why does it work?

“We think the reason that it works is because it produces a unique metabolic response,” said Professor Boutcher.

During the intermittent 8 second sprinting large amounts of catecholamine is released. A specific hormone that is involved in oxidizing fat storage which results in greater weight loss.

Furthermore, with this short burst of high intensity output with a longer period if normal output hinders the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. This is that painful burn you feel when your muscles are actually doing work, in simple terms this type of training helps prolong your workouts because it takes longer for your muscle to tire out.

This video gives a brief overview of where catecholamine and other steroids come from:

Source: harpinmartin

This kind of exercise is great for people who don’t have time to spend hours in the gym, and even better you only require a stationary bike which is not that expensive to purchase for yourself.

Lastly, Dr. Boutcher notes that “Overall, any type of exercise is good. You just have to work out your objectives, whether it is to increase muscle, lose fat, or enhance other aspects of your life such as improving the quality of your sleep.”

-Alvinesh Singh

10 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged catecholamine, Fat-loss, Fitness, gym, health, hormones, lactic acid, Workout

How the term ‘endorphin’ derived and works for our body?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by jpark | Leave a comment

Picture showing how endorphin works
from altered-states.net

Endorphin is closely related to morphine, and morphine is a drug that effectively removes pain after getting hurt or surgery, and also gives thrill to people as if they fly in the sky. Because of this, morphine freed countless people who have suffered from pain, but also played a huge role in destroying people by making them addicted.

So, in 1970s, many researchers studied about this. And later, they discovered that there is a substance that performs a similar role like morphine in our brains. And it is about 100 times stronger than morphine. Thus, by definition, the substance is endogenous morphine, which means that it exists inside a brain. To call it short, it is called as endorphin.

This substance is secreted when people get stress to counteract it. Endorphin is a very thankful substance that relieves anxiety and pain to make people happy. When people get stress from climbing high mountains and skydiving, the brains secret endorphin to make them feel less pain and thus feel as if they fly the sky.

Also, an interesting fact is that the secretion of endorphin increases when people feel stress, but is restrained when they are happy. For example, when women are about to give birth, the level of endorphin reaches the maximum point in both mothers’ and babies’ brains to deal with the situation. After giving birth, the level of it decreases rapidly.

A woman giving a birth to a baby with help of endorphin
Credit to gettyimages’Korea

Therefore, it seems that babies are exposed to drugs from the moment when they are born. And there is always possibility that anyone can get addicted. So we need to be very careful not to become addicted to drugs.

This shows how endorphin works for people’s body by William Bloom. (This video is from the youtube username William Bloom.)

-Jong Jin Park

The Importance of Recycling Urine and Fecal Matter

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Harleen Kalra | 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.

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science

Tagged famine, food shortage, phosphorous

Technological Advance: Resistance May Be Futile

Posted on March 4, 2013 by briankahnamelli | 3 comments

Are you one of those smart phone users who simply can’t be parted from your phone, or one of those wifi junkies who travel from hotspot to hotspot simply looking for your next fix? Well there may be good news for you, as scientists from Duke University School of Medicine have been working on a way to mind meld humans with technology. That’s right, just like the Borg, you too could become one with machine and share a single consciousness with all of your friends! Okay, well maybe not just yet, but they’re certainly making advances in that direction.

We are the Borg. Resistance is Futile. You will be assimilated.

Courtesy of ragokin via Youtube

That’s right all you Trekkies, resistance may soon enough be futile, as researchers from Duke have successfully linked a pair of rat brains. Using arrays of microelectrodes, researchers attached the motor cortexes of the two rat brains. This allowed the two rats to transmit and receive tactile and motor information to and from each other at will.

In their experiment, both rats were trained to perform certain tasks based on certain stimulus. The rats were then put into separate testing areas and connected via this brain linkage – one was only given the stimulus and the other was put in the response area. The experimenters ran a number of different tests; from making one rat push certain levers based on what light another was shown, to making one rat believe that it had detected infrared light, when there was no light source present. The results were astounding to researchers, as in their first test, the rats achieved a 70% success rate, which was only just slightly less than the maximum 78% success rate that the researchers had deemed possible. Although the experiments were all different, the results were all significant, showing that the rats were consciously communicating. Furthermore, it appeared that the communication was not a one-way street, but instead that the rats were responding to one another. This was indicated by slight changes in the rats’ brain function and behavior – a behavior believed to be as a result of a mutual and concerted effort.

To put all doubt to rest as well as to test the bounds of the connection, the researchers separated the two rats completely – not just in different testing rooms or different buildings, but on two completely different continents. The rat receiving the stimulus was put in Natal, Brazil and the rat performing the actions was put in Durham, N.C., USA. The connection was established using an Internet connection. Miguel Pais-Vera, PhD, was amazed that even despite the distance and the lag associated with Internet connections, the rats were still able to complete the tasks while maintaining a significant level of success. He continued by saying that this research was promising and that in time “it could be possible the create a workable, network of animal brains distributed in many different locations.”

If not the Borg, it may be a bit closer to this.

Courtesy of Its me simon, via Flickr Creative Commons

– Brian Kahnamelli

3 Comments

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

Tagged Brain science, Cognitive, Communal Thought, Non-verbal Communication, psychology

To fear or not to fear

Posted on March 4, 2013 by alicel23 | 5 comments

Is there something you are afraid of? Fear is a psychological trait that is found in everyone. People develop fear throughout their lives, but most of our fears are developed during childhood when the mind is more vulnerable. There are many fears in the general public, the most common ones being: height, public speaking, small spaces, the dark, snakes, spiders, needles and dentists.

Spider by cheetah100 via Flickr Creative Commons

Fear comes in different forms and it can be on a conscious and unconscious level. One might find themselves fearing harmless objects due to their connection to the object or thing they actually fear. For example, one who is afraid of heights may find themselves developing a fear of skyscrapers, since it subconsciously reminds them of high places.

We all know what we fear, but why do we fear and how does fear develop? The most obvious answer may be that when we experience something unpleasant, it can trigger us into fearing the object or thing that traumatized us. For instance, if a child was bitten by a dog when they were young, they may start fearing dogs. From that moment on, whenever they come across dogs, their first instinct is to get away from the dogs as far as they can. In contrast to our beliefs, studies show that there is another cause of fear.

Shocked baby by mjtmail (tiggy) via Flickr Creative Commons

One study based their experiment on monkeys and snakes. Initially monkeys and snakes were placed in a room and the response of the monkeys was monitored. From the observations, it turns our monkeys do not fear snakes. However, when the monkeys were isolated from one another and a shocking noise was accompanied each time a snake was introduced, the monkeys started becoming afraid of the snakes. Furthermore, when the response of a frightened monkey was shown to another monkey, the second monkey also developed a fear for snakes. From this experiment, it can be concluded that people can develop fear without having to personally experience a traumatic event to learn to fear something.

Take a look at a video of a fearless seven year old kid skydiving:

From YouTube user: woods852

As it turns out, we learn our fears and we can overcome them by stepping out of our comfort zones and continuously exposing ourselves to what we are most afraid of. So what will you do next?

For further readings on another study based on learning fear see here.

-Alice Lin

5 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged dentists, dogs, fear, height, needles, public speaking, small spaces, snakes, spiders, the dark

Is my brain really frozen?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by smrako | 4 comments

Have you ever felt so thirsty on a hot summer day, you’ve chugged an ice cold drink or a Slurpee to quench your thirst? To your surprise, you must have felt a sense of pain instead of relief from your thirst. This pain phenomenon is known as a brain freeze. Although the pain is experienced in the head, the source of the pain occurs in the mouth.

Man holding a slurp by Missvain via Wikimedia Commons

A brain freeze occurs when one comsumes an ice-cold substance quickly. When ice cream or a Slurpee comes in contact with the roof of the mouth, a collection of nerves called the “sphenopalatine ganglion” experiences a drastic change in temperature. This causes the cerebral artery to dilate therefore allowing more blood to flow into the brain leaving you with the pain of a headache. As soon as the roof of the mouth warms up to normal a temperature, the pain from the brain freeze disappears.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School investigated the phenomena of brain freeze. They observed the relationship between cerebral blood flow and brain freeze by using a transcranial Doppler imager. In their experiment, one group of observed patients drank iced water while the other (control) group drank tepid water. The researchers found that sudden increases in blood flow to the brain cause pain because of the added pressure inside the skull.

No one knows the real reason why brain freezes occur. However, it has been suggested that the phenomenon is part of the brain’s defence system. The brain is sensitive to drastic changes in temperature. Therefore, it is possible that the anterior cerebral artery dilates to move warm blood inside the tissue and make sure the brain stays warm. Although this theory is not confirmed, it is likely a possible answer.

A youtube video of two guys having a Slurpee drinking competition by kezmanandchaps via www.youtube.com

A brain freeze can be avoided by consuming cold substances slowly or by leaving it in the mouth long enough for the roof of the mouth to become used to the temperature. If you already have a brain freeze, there are a few things you can do to get rid of it more quickly: you can press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to warm it up, or you can drink something warm. With summer just around the corner, make sure to remember these tips in case you run into the unfortunate situation of experiencing a brain freeze from quenching your thirst on a hot summer day!

4 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged Brain, brain freeze, cold, drink, headache, ice, ice cream, slurpee, thirst

Pregnancy: Eat for yourself.

Posted on March 4, 2013 by vivian09 | 4 comments

Pregnancy Weight.
From Desidieter

When a woman becomes pregnant, we often observe a drastic change in her diet and, without a doubt, in her body shape. While women restrain themselves from overeating and keeping a nice curve, many women view pregnancy as an exit route to eat without worries. When women become pregnant, families and friends begin to shove platters of food towards them, thinking that this is the only way that the fetus will be able to get its nutrition. However, evidence show that this is the wrong approach for the health of the mother and the fetus.

Pregnant lady measuring her weight
Credit to iStockphoto

There have been many misconceptions on the idea that pregnant women should eat for two. However, this has been proven to place extra unhealthy weights to a third of women on average. This extra weight is hard to lose even following birth and may cause medical complications on both pregnant women and on the fetus. For example, an increase in blood pressure can be observed in women who over consume during pregnancy, and there is an increase chance of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. In addition, there is an increase rate of stillbirth and an increase rate of interventions cascade, leading to unnatural birth, caesarian sections.

There are two main problems associated with the misconception of dieting during pregnancy. Firstly, at Surrey University, a psychologist named Jane Odgen investigated in the impact of pregnancy on eating behaviour and aspects of weight concern. She found that during pregnancy, women enable themselves to eat any amount of food they want. She hypothesizes that due to this reason, pregnant women are more susceptible to gaining weight even following giving birth because they have been accustomed to eating for two. Secondly, many health agencies have not successfully promoted the idea of eating normally during pregnancy. Therefore, it has become difficult for pregnant women to become aware of the risks associated with eating for two. Furthermore, pregnant women experience mood swings easily due to hormonal activities; under this circumstance, they allow themselves to feed on food containing high cholesterol content to relieve the stress of pregnancy.

Healthy During Pregnancy
From Yeatips.com

According to a study presented in the American Dietetic Association, women who ate a healthy diet including vegetables, fresh fruit, and the sufficient amount of protein resulted in an easy pregnancy without gaining extra weight. In addition to a healthy diet, light exercise can also reduce the chance of overweighting during pregnancy. To put into perspective, the Institute of Medicine in the United States recommends that women eat three normal meals per day with two snacks.

The following is a youtube video on pregnant women who have been pregnant. They describe the type of diet they consumed during their pregnancy to maintain a healthy body.

-Vivian Wu

4 Comments

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

Tagged diet, Fetus, Pregnancy, Public health, Weight

Sleep Deprivation Can Cause Changes in Genes?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by maggiechan | 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.

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

3 Comments

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

Tagged gene expression, genes, Sleep, Sleep deprivation

Caffeine: a misunderstood friend

Posted on March 4, 2013 by eremandaban | 9 comments

Every once in a while, some of us need a pick-me-up to make it through a long day. It can come in the form of coffees, teas and even chocolate bars. The common element behind these products is the chemical, caffeine. Often labelled as the bad guy in health industries, caffeine has been through a great deal of scrutiny in the scientific community. In the past, many
caffeine-related myths arose. For example, it was once thought that regular consumption of caffeinated products lead to weak bones and increased risk for heart disease. However, many of these false facts have since then been debunked. In addition to the amnesty granted to caffeine, many health benefits from its use have been discovered which include improvements in both physical and mental aspects of performance and health and even treatments in Alzheimer’s disease.

A delicious cup of black coffee. By Jon Sullivan via Wikimedia Commons

Caffeine has many applications in the sports and health industries. Many studies have been done which note an improvement in performance in certain sports. Researchers found that caffeine intake boosted the quality of work done in sports requiring power like weightlifting, sports requiring periodic bursts of effort like rugby and tennis, and in sports requiring endurance like running and cycling. These effects were observed from just small doses of caffeine typical of the general public. In addition to the benefits achieved in a sports-setting, caffeine also has use in body composition control. An increase in metabolic rate and fat loss was observed in subjects three hours after caffeine intake. Researchers noted an increase in the total amount of available energy in the form of circulating free fatty acids from predisposed fat stores in the body. This specific property can be used in treating obesity and aiding those individuals looking to lose fat with regular exercise. While caffeine has been found to be extremely useful in achieving physical well-being, it can also play a role in mental health and function maintenance.

Cyclists in the US Air Force. By U.S. Air Force via Wikimedia Commons

Many energy drinks containing caffeine often state that their product helps temporarily restore mental alertness and wakefulness. This claim has some truth to it as most studies involving caffeine have recently found. Countless studies have found that fatigued individuals performed better on cognitive tasks with the ingestion of caffeine. Although it is widely known for its effects on alertness and attention, it can also aid in learning. In a study done in France, a researcher observed an increase in a specific type of learning when administering human participants with caffeine. Passive learning increased in individuals when they given information to remember operating on the premise that no test would be given afterwards. Furthermore, caffeine has applications in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. In one study, it was discovered that taking
500 mg of caffeine or an equivalent three cups of coffee provided protection against this ailment. In most patients with this disease, aggregations of a compounds called beta amyloids were found in their brains. Caffeine’s primary pharmacological action in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is the inhibition of certain enzymes needed for the formation of these beta amyloids which resulted in the reduction in the cognitive decline observed in patients.

A discussion of the therapeutic use of caffeine. (attributed to YouTube user: healthycoffeeupdate)

Caffeine, when used in moderation, is an extremely useful substance. From increasing physical performance to maintaining mental health, caffeine provides many benefits. So next time a barista at your favorite coffee-house asks you if you want either a regular cup of joe or decaf, I’d personally recommend the former!

-Earvin Remandaban

9 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged Alzheimer's, Caffeine, chocolate, Coffee, health, Learning, Tea

A New Planetary Nebula Disovered by Hubble Space Telscope

Posted on March 3, 2013 by UBCFIZZisPhun | Leave a comment

Have you wondered what was the solar system was like in the very beginning. How does one get from a mixed ball of stardust to a giant planet with concentric structure such as inner and outer core and layered atmosphere?

Surprising, it turns out that a giant planet indeed has it own unique history. According to the nebular hypothesis, a planet originally is distilled from a rotating cloud of dust particles and gases known as the solar nebula. These elements forming the gases and particles originally are byproducts of nuclear reactions within some other stars. Then they were scattered everywhere after cataclysmic explosions that mark the death of stars. These essential elements in the cloud were hydrogen, helium, oxygen, silicon and carbon.

Evenutally the dust cloud began to rotate and contract. It did not shrink into a round ball as some early scientists expectm but into a disk. Gravity attracted the particles to one another, and clumps of these space matter began to form. Smaller particles merged to build clumps up to several meters in diameter, and these larger bodies in turn swept up finer particles within their orbital paths. Although much are known about these planetary nebula, the researches are still ongoing.

On October 11th, 2012, scientists discovered a planetary nebula in the making. Among these numerous stars, planetary nebulae are probably one of the most fascinating objects to behold in the night sky. The names arises becuase most of these objects resembled a planet when they were first discovered through early telescopes. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reported that the observed planetary nebula is Hen 3-1475. It glows brightly because of the radiation that arise from a hot compact core that reains after the outer envelope is ejected. These radiation is so powerful that they make the gossamer shells shine.

Several days after the initial discovery, scientists at Hubble Space Observatory reported that Hen 3-1475 is positioned i the constellation of Sagittarius roughly 18,000 light-years away from us. The central star is more than 12,000 times as bright as our sun. The most striking part about the nebula is its two S-shaped jets that emerge from the pole regions of the central star. Experts report that these jets are long outflows of gas particles moving at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second.

Hen 3-1475. (Credit: ESA/NASA)

The formation of these bipolar jets has left many space scientists searching for explanations for a long time. Many experts are still currently investigating the possiblities behind these observations. Although no clear evidences are found, some experts suggested that the unique shape of the planetary nebula is due to a central source that ejects streams of gas in opposite directions and these processes only occur once every couples of thousand years. Modern researches is still ongoing and more updates will be provided as soon as any breaking news emerge.

Communicating Science (2012w210)

Burn Fat in 8 Seconds

How the term ‘endorphin’ derived and works for our body?

The Importance of Recycling Urine and Fecal Matter

Technological Advance: Resistance May Be Futile

To fear or not to fear

Is my brain really frozen?

Pregnancy: Eat for yourself.

Sleep Deprivation Can Cause Changes in Genes?

Caffeine: a misunderstood friend

A New Planetary Nebula Disovered by Hubble Space Telscope

New User

Recent Posts

Categories

Authors

Blogroll

New User

Recent Posts

Categories

Authors

Blogroll

Tags