Communicating Science 13w210

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BITTER-SWEET

Source: Flickr Commons. Assortment of Dark, Milk, and White Chocolate.

Chocolate is a delicacy that most of us have been indulging ourselves with since we can remember. It’s something that we nibble on when are studying, watching television or just doing nothing at all. Most of us can say that eating chocolates can bring a smile to our face. Besides bringing a smile, chocolates have some pros and cons that should be considered.

Let’s start with the BITTER side of chocolate!

Even thought chocolate is really yummy, it can be bitter at times with its negative effects. First of all, consuming chocolate is not cheap. Eating the finest of chocolates can significantly increase ones shopping bill, as darker chocolates with more “cocoa” content are more expensive than milk or white chocolate. Besides the cost factor, chocolates do sadly pack a lot of calories with them. For example, 100g “dark chocolate” contains 510 kcals, “milk chocolate” 520 kcals and “white chocolate” 529 kcals. These can be a lot of unnecessary calories to intake. Furthermore, chocolate consumption can lead to glucose and mood swings. As most of us know, chocolates contain a lot of sugar. With large amounts of sugar present, it leads to increases in development of obesity and type-2 diabetes. Also mood swings occur because the sugar is able to alter levels of endorphins. Another downside of eating chocolate is acne. Hormonal fluctuations caused by chocolate, lead to those unpleasing bumps that appear on the surface of our skin.

Now the SWEET side of chocolate!

There are many benefits that also come with eating chocolate. Most of these benefits come from dark chocolate in particular. Dark chocolate is good for the heart as it helps to lower blood pressure, improves blood flow and prevents formation of blood clots. The brain is also benefited, as the chocolate helps cognitive function. Dark chocolates are full of antioxidants, which help free the body of radicals that cause oxidative damage to cells. Vitamins and minerals are as well present and help support the daily health requirements that the body needs. Specifically, the copper and potassium in the dark chocolate help prevention against stroke and cardiovascular ailments.

Source: Flickr Commons. Chocolate

Basically the next time you bite into a piece of chocolate, just remember that it can be BITTER-SWEET, as there are both positives and negatives.

By: Rubeen Sangha

4 Comments

Posted on March 3, 2014 by rubeensangha in Uncategorized

The Black-Tailed Antechinus: The Definition of Fatal Attraction

Posted on March 3, 2014 by monicaleslie | Leave a comment

You may think a teenage boy is sex crazed, but this marsupial takes it to a whole other level. Scientists have recently discovered a new species, whose sexual preferences rival those of even the horniest of teenagers.

Agile Antechinus. Courtesy of: Wikimedia Commons (user: Richard001)

Map of Australia. Courtesy of: Wikimedia Commons (User: Martyman)

Meet the Black-Tailed Antechinus, a carnivorous marsupial found in the humid and forested region of southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Although it is an extremely rare and exciting event to discover a new species of mammal, this particular creature piqued the interest of researchers further due the male’s “sex marathons” that ultimately result in their death.

The species, Antechinus arktos, commonly called the Black-Tailed Antechinus, was first discovered in May 2013 by a team of scientists out of Queensland University of Technology. The team, led by mammologist Andrew Baker, published their discovery in the journal Zootaxa.

The Black-Tailed Antechinus is slightly larger than a mouse and looks very similar to the Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis), being distinguishable by its larger skull, as well as its black feet and tail. Male Black-Tailed Antechinuses are semelparous, meaning they reproduce only once in their lives.

Agile Antechinus. Courtesy of: Wikimedia Commons (User: Richard001)

In August, at only 9 months of age the males reach sexual maturity. Once sexual maturity is achieved, sex becomes all these creatures think about. Does this sound familiar? Well, unlike teenage boys, the sexually mature, male, Black-Tailed Antechinuses cease to participate in anything unrelated to finding sexual partners. When a female is found, they engage in unrelenting sex lasting up to 14 hours. The males then move on to find mate after mate for approximately 2 weeks. Andrew Baker describes it as,

“frenetic, there’s no courtship; the males will just grab the females and both will mate promiscuously,”

Unfortunately, during this 2 week orgy the males rid themselves of vital proteins and suppress their immune system. In addition, an overload of stress hormones further damage the body, ultimately resulting in infection and likely death.

“Their fur falls off. The look very sick and stagger around and sometimes they get gangrene infections because their immune system stops working.”

This is how Dr. Diana Fisher of the University of Queensland describes the males unpleasant end.

Female Agile Antechinus with Joeys. Courtesy of: Wikimedia Commons (User: Richard001)

It is not much better for the females unfortunately, who have to carry up to 14 joeys in their pouch. The female Black-Tailed Antechinuses store the sperm of every male they mate with and only ovulate at the end of the breeding season. This results in a large litter of joeys being born, who are likely from a wide variety of Fathers. Very few females survive raising even one litter.

Although one may be able to say that they died doing what they loved, the phrase “Fatal Attraction” has never had a more literal meaning.

Monica Leslie

Lifestraw: An Innovative Way to Drink Water

Posted on March 2, 2014 by tonycaputo | 3 comments

Access to clean water is considered to be a universal human right, “a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life” as stated by the United Nations.

However, we often take drinking water for granted. 780 million people still lack access to clean water, more than 2.5 times the population of the United States. While the demand for clean water only grows as our population increases, one of the leading international companies in global health has developed a product to provide clean water in almost any situation. The Lifestraw, created by Vestergaard.

Lifestraw tested by Bear Grylls
Image courtesy: Mikeshouts

The Lifestraw, winner of the best invention of 2005, and 2008 winner of ‘World Changing Ideas’ is a simple straw that filters water from any source. Whether it is drinking out of a puddle on the side of the road, or a parasite invested river in Africa, The Lifestraw filters water right as you drink it.

By using a microfiltration system, Lifestraw technology uses small hollow fibres with 0.2 micron pores to filter water. As you suck in water, any parasites, bacteria, and dirt get trapped inside the fibres, removing 99.99999% bacteria, and 99.9% of protozoan cysts. The Lifestraw filters 1000 liters in its lifetime, without the use of any batteries, with a filter that is five times stronger than EPA standards. Once the Lifestraw has surpassed its lifetime, water cannot filter through the straw, rendering it useless.

Lifestraw used in contaminated water
Image Courtesy: American chillers

For the cost of only 20 dollars, Lifestraw can provide 2.7 liters of water for a year. Whether you are thirsty on a hike and need a quick source of water, or are in need of water in emergency situations, Lifestraw provides a cheap way to obtain clean drinking water.

Even if you found yourself trapped in a bathroom stall, you could drink out of the toilet like the guy in this video:

-Tony Caputo

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in science, Public engagement, Science in the news, Uncategorized

Tagged Bear Grylls, Lifestraw, Portable Water Filter, Vandergaard, Water Crisis

Artificial Organs?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by justinsidhu | 5 comments

Imagine if you or someone you know desperately needed an organ transplant and had to wait months to years for a chance to receive one. This is currently happening to people all over the world and according to the Globe and Mail the average wait transplant wait time in British Columbia is 2,145 days, which is far greater than the national average of 1,258 days. Such a long wait could be disastrous for patients and could even prove fatal if they don’t get a transplant in time. But what if there was a solution to this problem? This brings in the concept of human created artificial organs. As the name suggests artificial organs are created in synthetically using newly discovered scientific methods.

From Wikipedia Commons

The first case of a synthetic organ transplant happened in July 2011, when Swedish surgeons implanted the first synthetic trachea in a 36 year old cancer patient. The trachea was created to be nearly identical to the patient’s original organ by using a 3D laser scan and then using that they were able to craft a nearly identical organ. They also immersed the synthetic wind pipe in a stem cell solution which was created from the patient’s bone marrow. A major benefit from this new method is that antirejection drugs are no longer required since the immune system would recognize the organ and would not attack it.

Also other body parts could be replaced, for example the jaw bone for an 83 year old woman was replaced in 2012. The artificial jaw bone was created using a 3D printer based on a scan of her original bone that was damaged due to a bone infection. This scan was then used in a 3D printer and the new jaw was created out of titanium.

Although we are currently unable to replace vital organs such as kidneys, we may be able to do it in the future as science is always advancing and new discoveries are made everyday.

By: Justin

5 Comments

Posted in Biological sciences, Science in the news

Tagged 3-d printing, health, medicine, organ, printer, stem cells, technology, transplants

Real-life Barbie: Looks Clearly Aren’t Everything

Posted on February 24, 2014 by akoh | 3 comments

Growing up as a child we all had a favourite go-to-toy to play with. Many girls loved to play with Barbie dolls – the dressing up, fake play dates with other Barbie dolls and role-playing with Barbie’s beau, Ken… who can forget those times? However, as we grew up so did our pastimes with Barbie. But what if some girls actually took the role of a Barbie doll seriously?

As mentioned in the news coverage, Ukrainian model, Valeria Lukyanova has the ability to transform into a real-life Barbie. Although it may seem fascinating, Valeria brings about negative feedback and risks to the younger generations.

First, Valeria has emphasized that achieving her doll-like appearance is from the magic of makeup. As we all know, makeup is a necessity for many women. Even with minimal amount, makeup used on a daily basis puts a risk on skin health and increases the risk of cancer. Articles have shown negative impacts chemicals within cosmetics are doing to the skin and the long-term effects from using them. These small risks may eventually add up as we grow older but as of now, I guess one could say that beauty is pain – there will always be a sacrifice to achieve the perfect image.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk; Credited to: InsideEdition

Secondly, although plastic surgery was minimal for Valeria, she did say that she underwent breast augmentation. Her counterpart beau Ken, on the other hand seemed to heavily depend on this. Justin Jedlica has stated in an interview that for him, it was all about plastic surgery. In either case, the risks of undergoing any type of cosmetic surgery come with consequences as the added chemicals and silicone will eventually take a toll. The worst thing however, is that patients can get addicted and insatiable. This will lead to higher chances for the individual to encounter the consequences.

Lastly, dieting is a major factor contributing to body appearance. Valeria’s liquid diet and vigorous exercise may have resulted in Barbie doll measurements, but it is far from being healthy-looking. Girls and boys alike are under the pressure to fit into society’s skinny category. From this, many eating disorders arise such as anorexia and bulimia. In addition, the balance between dieting and exercise is abused in adolescents. The growing bodies of young individuals should consist of a proper diet with enough nutrients and essential vitamins. One should not follow a diet plan of another just because of the result showcased from it.

(left) Source: Google images; Credited to: epSos.de
(right) Source: Google images; Credited to: Mark Sebastian

Overall, setting Barbie as a role model is quite far-fetched. Despite the constant influence by others and the media, young individuals shouldn’t sway under such provocation. Valeria may have shown her mimicking abilities and found satisfaction for becoming a Barbie; however, girls should just take what they have for granted. It may be smart to start living healthy and tone up the body just for the sake of being healthy; there’s no need to go to extremes by molding oneself into an inanimate object in hopes of bringing it to life.

Posted by: Alice Koh

3 Comments

Posted in Public engagement, Science in the news

Tagged Appearance, Barbie, Controversy, Cosmetic surgery, Diet, Doll, fake, health, Makeup

A Grip on Reality: The Future of Prosthetics

Posted on February 24, 2014 by vishavg | 1 comment

The human body has five basic senses: sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. Now take a minute and imagine your life without one of them. It’s easy to realize that we as humans rely on our senses for almost everything we do. Yet there are many people in the world, such as amputees, that do not have one or multiple senses.

Dennis Aabo Sørensen, a man from Denmark, became an amputee almost nine years ago when he lost his left hand in an accident. Although he was using a prosthetic hand, he had permanently lost the ability to feel anything from his hand. That is until recently when he became the first human to try the new bionic hand that allows you to feel what you touch with a prosthetic.

Image from Google Images
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/8760623250_a7d842b198_z.jpg

The scientists at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa (SSSA) designed the bionic hand prototype that will allow people like Dennis to feel objects in real-time using sensory feedback technology. The bionic hand works by measuring the force it takes for the tendons in the artificial hand to grasp an object. Once the measurement of force is identified, the tendons send electrical impulses through wires to the electrodes that have been surgically connected to the nerves of the actual arm. Although it seems like the impulse is not instantly sent to the brain, it actually happens in a matter of seconds to give the feeling of real-time. In the following video Silvestro Micera provides a more in-depth preview of the bionic hand and Dennis Aabo Sørensen describes his initial thoughts on this new technology.

Although this technology is still years away from being commercially available, it is still a great achievement in the medical world. I believe the next steps in this project would be to figure out how to make this technology available in portable prosthetics and how much it would cost for the general public. Having said that, this technology holds great promises for people like Dennis who have been unable to experience their life fully due to their lost sense. Many individuals can now look forward to a brighter future in the world of prosthetics.

Vishav Gill

1 Comment

Posted in Biological sciences, Issues in science, Science communication, Science in the news

Tagged amputee, health, prosthetics, senses, technology

Electricity at the palm of your hands

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Raymond Quan | 1 comment

Have you ever considered that your hands could be a source to produce electricity? With materials called Peltier tiles, you can actually create products that are powered by the energy from your hand. Peltier tiles rely on the thermoelectric effect. When one side of a material is hotter than the other, the temperature difference can be used to generate a voltage. With a temperature gradient produced, charge flows from the hot to the cold side.

The Peltier effect. Source: Wikimedia commons

Remarkably, Ann Makosinski from Victoria was able to use Peltier tiles to create a hand powered flashlight. In her design, she used a hollow aluminum tube and embedded Peltier tiles into the material as the base of her flashlight. She created a temperature difference by heating the outside of the material with the palm of her hand and cool the inside of the tube with an internal air system. Her flashlight was able to turn on in the absence of light just by placing her hand over the flashlight.

A flashlight courtesy of Mrmariokartguy from Wikimedia Commons

The importance of this technology is significant. We don’t always have a set of batteries lying around and in the event of an emergency, a hand powered flashlight would be extremely useful. Here is a video from Ann Makowsinski describing her flashlight:

Video courtesy from the user: Queenie Andini

Pacemakers are now using this technology. A chip is inserted into the body that requires a 2 degree difference in temperature difference to run. Dinesh Bhatia and her colleagues from the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences have found that areas just under the skin can cause a temperature difference by 5 degrees Celsius. With the use of the thermoelectric effect, we won’t have to perform surgeries just to replace the batteries of a pacemaker.

The problem with this technology is that it may not be able to generate a lot of electricity. If we could find a way to overcome this, it would be a revolutionary change to the products we can produce.

1 Comment

Posted in Science communication, Science in the news

Tagged Flashlight, Thermoelectricity

Lightning never strikes the same place twice?

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Leticia | 1 comment

Suppose someone or something has been struck by lightning. In respect to this, would it be possible to be hit by another lightning bolt at the exact same location more than once? While many might carry on to believe in the expression that lightning never strikes the same place twice, this is not always the case. In fact, a strike in any location does not change the electrical activity in the storm above, meaning it will produce another strike as soon as it ‘recharges’. Thus, any location, including the one previously hit, will just be as likely to be hit for the next discharge as any other spot.

In fact, given enough time, it is almost inevitable that lightning will strike the same place more than once, as the number of lightning strikes per day is approximately 8 million.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Commons by Highway of Life

Other than sheer chance, it is also possible that there is something particular about the site that makes it more susceptible to being struck by lightning. In general, the behavior of lightning is such that when it strikes something on the ground, that object sends a faint channel upwards that joins the downward developing flash and creates the link to the ground. It is in this way that shorter objects, compared to taller ones are less likely to produce this upward channel and therefore, the chances of being hit by lightning would be lower. For example, lightning strikes the Canadian National Tower an average of 75 times per year.

Here is a video showing multiple lighting strikes on the CN tower:

While the height of objects can be a factor in attracting lightning, other factors have an impact on where lightning strikes as well. Some examples include but are not limited to the local effects on the ability of the ground to conduct electricity, such as the salt or moisture content of the ground, the presence or absence of rock, standing water, pipes or other metal objects in the ground, the terrain shape, or the shape of leaves and twigs.

In short, a lightning strike can strike the same place, not just twice, but multiple times. However, the statistical odds of being struck by lightning in the United States is 1 in 600,000, meaning it would be unlikely to get struck once in your lifetime, let alone twice. Unless you happen to be this extremely unlucky (or lucky, depending on your perspective) fellow who has gotten struck 7 times in his life.

For more information on this myth on lightning, check out the video by Mythbusters.

Leticia Munoz

1 Comment

Posted in Issues in science, Public engagement, Science communication, Science in the news

Tagged CN tower, Dickey Baker, lightning, myth, science

Hair Dye can give you Cancer?

Posted on February 21, 2014 by duhraj | 3 comments

A recent study says that hair dyes contain chemicals that are linked to cancer. WHAT! Is this true?

Source: Flickr Commons

For years, hair dyeing has become increasingly popular among both males and females. Whether it is to cover up age defying gray hairs or for personal beauty related reasons, the cosmetic industry has boomed because of it. However, there are always potential risks to using any sorts of chemically produced products.

The link to cancer comes from the fact that many permanent hair dyes contain secondary amines that can penetrate the skin and stay on hairs for a long time after application of the dye. Poisonous chemicals such as N-nitrosamines can be produced when chemicals in permanent hair dyes react with exhaust fumes in the air and tobacco smoke. Although these types of permanent hair dyes are banned from cosmetics, simple chemical reactions can generate these dangerous chemicals posing a potential hazard for hair-dyeing consumers.

There has been a concern regarding whether the type of hair color results in a greater risk of developing cancer. Some studies have suggested that darker-colored hair dyes link to a higher risk in getting cancer, specifically bladder cancer. Researcher Dr. Gago-Dominguez and her co-workers analyzed several bladder cancer cases in which hair dye was used among the patients. They compared these patients to adults that had not used permanent hair dye and found that women who used permanent hair dye once a month are twice as likely to develop bladder cancer.

This video provides a summary of hair dye and bladder cancer:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgfype

Source: VideojugHealthWellbeing daily motion

Fortunately, there is not enough evidence to support this and should not affect a persons decision to dye their hair. There is however other side affects of using permanent hair dye such as allergic reactions. Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) is a major chemical component in permanent hair dyes. It is a colorless substance that becomes colored when it is oxidized. The intermediate stage before it is fully oxidized can cause allergic reactions such as swelling and redness so it is important to properly read labels before using an hair dye product, as is before using any chemical substance.

So, if you plan on dyeing your hair, be sure to educate yourself on the chemicals present in the dye to prevent any allergic reactions. Do not however, worry about there being a causal effect between hair dye and cancer.

– Jessy Duhra

Macrae, F. 2013. Hair dyes used by millions of women are linked to chemicals that can cause cancer [online]. Available from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2281413/Hair-dye-used-millions-women-linked-chemicals-cause-cancer.html

Hair dye could cause bladder cancer- and brunettes are at a greater risk [online]. Avaible from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-562651/Using-hair-dye-increase-risk-cancer.html

Allergy to parphenylenedia. 2013. [online]. Available from http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/paraphenylenediamine-allergy.html.

3 Comments

Posted in Science in the news

Tagged cancer, chemicals, cosmetic industry, hair dye, research

Addicted to Bad Habits

Posted on February 10, 2014 by jastejsidhu | 2 comments

Source: Flickr Commons
http://flic.kr/p/4r7j9x

I have always thought that getting addicted to something is only for the weak-minded or weak-willed. I thought this up until last year when I realized that I was going through a pack of gum a day. I got into the habit of popping a piece of Cobalt flavoured 5 gum into my mouth, chewing it vigourously for five minutes and spitting it right back out. The cycle would continue all day. I started searching the Internet for why I was addicted to gum and what I could do to stop this addiction. Google told me that what I was suffering from was a bad habit.

Bad habits and addictions can often be confused with each other . Medical News Today defines a bad habit as something that you choose to do and can stop doing if you want to, whereas an addiction is something that you are unable to stop doing without getting help. Bad habits can very often lead to addictions, but in the case of gum the only way it could lead to addiction is if it was pumped with cocaine.

Addictions are fuelled through receptors in the brain. They can be evident through cravings, impulsive actions, and continued usage with negative side effects. Drug and alcohol addictions can be dependent on the individual’s environment as well as their genetic makeup. For example, children of alcoholic and/or drug dependent males are three to four times more likely to have an addiction. With each pleasurable experience we have － whether it be alcohol, food, or sex － our limbic system, or the brain’s pleasure centre, gets activated. Neurotransmitters are released in our brain that make us feel good. Over time and with continued use our neurons do not release the same amount of neurotransmitters for every day things so we start to do more and more of what makes us feel good in order to feel pleasure. This is how people become addicted to substances and activities. Watch Hank from the SciShow Youtube channel break down the chemistry of addiction a little further:

Addiction can be a scary thing to undergo and as we see in the world around us it can also be a very hard thing to overcome. Nonetheless, it is still possible. As we always hear: the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. With countless resources like Alcoholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous just in Vancouver alone there is always a way if you have a will.

By Jastej Sidhu

2 Comments

Posted in Issues in science, Public engagement

Tagged addiction, alcohol, brain, drugs, habit

BITTER-SWEET

The Black-Tailed Antechinus: The Definition of Fatal Attraction

Lifestraw: An Innovative Way to Drink Water

Artificial Organs?

Real-life Barbie: Looks Clearly Aren’t Everything

A Grip on Reality: The Future of Prosthetics

Electricity at the palm of your hands

Lightning never strikes the same place twice?

Hair Dye can give you Cancer?

Addicted to Bad Habits

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