Communicating Science 13w213

Opportunity: A Science Win

Posted on January 25, 2014 by clairecurran | 2 comments

Science often amazes us. Opportunity, a rover built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has done just that by functioning 10 years after its launch. This might not seem remarkable, but when you find out it was built for a 3-month mission and yet is still making discoveries today, it becomes noteworthy.

A Lego Tribute of Opportunity. Source

The rover mission was launched to find out more about the conditions of early Mars and if life has existed there. Ten years ago, on January 24, 2004, Opportunity landed on Mars, joining another rover, Spirit. Spirit and Opportunity are identical. They both carry several scientific investigation instruments . These include a panoramic camera, several spectrometers, a microscopic imager, rock abrasion tools, navigation camera and hazard-avoidance cameras. All of these instruments allow the rovers to provide NASA with information about the composition of rocks on Mars.

The main discovery of the rovers has been confirmation that water existed on Mars at one time. Many journal articles have been written about the discoveries the rovers made.

How do these rovers work? The rovers get their power from solar panels. The engineers understood that Mars is a dusty planet and that the solar panels would eventually get covered in dust and stop functioning. Accordingly, the mission for the rovers was expected to last 90 days. Unexpectedly, strong winds that cause dust storms and cover the solar panels in dust also blow the dust off. This surprise has made the mission last 20 times longer than expected.

Unfortunately, Spirit is no longer actively roving. Its last known communication was on March 22, 2010. Spirit was hibernating during the Martian Winter and was expected to wake up in the spring but didn’t. NASA tried for a year to communicate with it but has since given up. Opportunity is still moving about and making discoveries such as mysteriously appearing rocks. Opportunity represents a science win.

~ Claire Curran

2 Comments

Posted in Science in the news

Tagged Mars, NASA, Opportunity, space

Fukushima Radiation Effects Under Control

Posted on January 20, 2014 by yjpark | Comments Off

In 2011, the tsunami that hit Japan led to discharge of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The venting reduced gaseous pressure from the reactor containment vessels and discharge of water from the coolant into the sea. The USS Ronald Reagan undertook a rescue mission following the nuclear plant accident. However, several months later, the US sailors started experiencing severe radiation symptoms that prompted them to file suits against the Tokyo Electric Power Company with claims that the company failed to disclose radiation details from the US Navy after the nuclear power plant accident. According to the WHO report, 70% of the people exposed to radiation are likely to develop thyroid cancer, 7% are at a risk of suffering from leukemia, 6% from breast cancer, 4% from female cancers.

Image by IAEA Imagebank (Source: flickr.com)

Traces of the radioactive particles have been detected worldwide and numerous deaths of birds, animals and sea life have been linked to the radioactive plume. However, since the accident, the Tokyo Electric Power Company has been trying to contain the radioactive leaks and nuclear radiation levels around the Fukushima power plant. Their effort has been successful because at the worst month following the disaster, Fisher’s lab tested Tuna that had been caught off the waters of California. The radioactivity dose from the tuna was much lower than what people are exposed to from eating bananas, medical X- rays, and natural occurrence. This is because disperse of contaminants through the Pacific Ocean into the West Coast dilutes the radiation concentration reducing it several times. Additionally, the federal and state agencies have boosted monitoring of radiation after the disaster and the recorded data shows a decline in the high levels in milk and air.

IAEA experts monitoring water samples (Source: flicker.com)

On the contrary, assertions are circulating in the internet that seafood and beaches are being contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima meltdown. For example, the YouTube video titled ‘28 Signs that the West is Being Absolutely Fried with Nuclear Radiation from Fukushima’ shows a man detecting radiation levels using a Geiger counter on Half Moon Bay beach. Also, an outrageous worry in Seattle was also observed that people were afraid of eating seafood and going to the beach. This prompted the California Department of Public Health to send inspectors to test radiation levels. The analysis showed that radiation at the beach resulted from natural occurrence from minerals in the sand but not as a result of the Fukushima radiation.

Since the tsunami that led to discharge of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there has been tremendous improvement in the control of radiation health risks. The Tokyo Electric Power Company controlled the leaks and the same has been reviewed several times by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In addition, numerous tests have been conducted and it has been established that fish are safe for human consumption. Also, it has been established that beaches are safe for use by the public.

Comments Off on Fukushima Radiation Effects Under Control

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

Tagged Fukushima, Japan, nuclear, radiation

Printing the Sum of Our Parts

Posted on January 20, 2014 by alenas | Comments Off

You don’t have to know anyone with a failed organ to understand what kind of stress they must go through while they’re on the organ transplant waiting list. Many don’t live to see the end of that line-up and heartbreakingly, the ones who make it are still at danger from organ rejection. Thankfully, a solution is on the horizon. In the near future, all a patient has to do is wait for their kidney or liver to be printed, 3D printed that is.

You may have heard a thing or two about 3D printers, the method of manufacturing an object, layer by layer, guided by a digital model of what you wish to print. While it may seem complicated enough to print plastics or metal into complex shapes, scientists and engineers are now working on creating ways to print fully functional organs.

We’ve had the ability to print tissues (hyperlink) made of a single type of cell for some time now, but the possibility of producing entire organs is now on the horizon, most notably, the human liver.

However, there are still many major milestones to reach before the first printed organ can be transplanted to a donor. Currently, the greatest tissue thickness that can be printed is about a centimeter; adding more layers causes the tissue to suffocate from lack of oxygen and nutrients. Only once a way to incorporate blood vessels into the tissue is developed will there be serious talk of transplantation.

Nevertheless, we are already beginning to reap the benefits of these techniques. The thin pieces of functioning liver tissue are being used as ‘organs on a chip’ in testing new drugs. This means we can finally begin moving away from animal testing, without sacrificing reliability of animal models. In fact, such ‘organs on a chip’ save money and resources for medical research. Finally, something both PETA and pharmaceutical companies can be happy about.

As for clinical applications in humans, the current state looks rather disheartening; so far, only 3D printed implants have been used. However, for the thousands currently in line for a transplant, this technology offers reason to hope.

Published by Alena Safina

Comments Off on Printing the Sum of Our Parts

Posted in Biological sciences, Issues in science, Science communication, Uncategorized

Tagged 3D Printing, Drug testing, Organ transplantation

From Toilet to Table: Delicious or Outrageous?

Posted on January 20, 2014 by hucin | Comments Off

In several parts of the world today, human feces are regarded as succulent piles of nutrient-filled treasures to many. Often the secret to success for many farmers, these tiny treasures have been used as fertilizers as far back as 2000 years ago. So just what in particular makes human feces such a great fertilizer? Human fecal matter contains phosphorus, a key element in plant growth. Aside from this, however, why might farmers want to use human feces as fertilizer, despite the many pathogens it contains and its distinct odor?

Produce. Source.

Without the use of processed mineral fertilizers, which contain high amounts of phosphorous, the food we have today would not be available. As phosphorous is a chemical element on the periodic table, it cannot be substituted synthetically; rather, it must be sourced from phosphate rock reserves. The demand for phosphorous increases correspondingly with the rise of annual global growth rates. Due to a number of additional factors such as over-fertilization, and an increase in popularity of meat-based diets in China and India, reserves could reach depletion within the next 50-100 years. However, unlike fossil fuels, phosphorous can be recovered from the food production and consumption chain and be reused. This is where human fecal matter comes in; recycling phosphorus lowers the global demand for mineral phosphate fertilizers. In developing countries, human excreta also provides farmers who have limited access to globalized fertilizer markets with an opportunity to yield crops.

The phosphorous cycle. Source.

Currently, nearly 200 million farmers in places such as Canada, the US, South Africa, India, China, and Vietnam, use human feces as fertilizer to harvest grains and vegetables. I know what you’re all probably wondering: is using human feces as fertilizer safe? Well, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the presence of pathogens does in fact present a potential threat to human health. However, for an actual risk of disease, an infectious dose of the excreted pathogen must reach a human host. For that reason, the use of human feces is, according to the WHO, considered safe if it has been treated first.

Rural cropland. Source.

The treatment of human feces usually involves three phases: sedimentation, biological treatment, and stabilization of odours. Collectively, these three phases ensure the breakdown of pathogens through the use of high temperatures and basic agents. Thus, it is actually the presence of heavy metals and other toxic wastes in the industrial wastewater which mix with residential wastewater in sanitation systems, that poses as a human health risk, as these contaminates cannot be broken down in the treatment process.

Though the thought of using human excreta as fertilizer may be difficult for some of us to stomach, the products attached to this practice are nonetheless very economically and environmentally favorable; but at what cost? If these potential dangers were offset by raising more awareness and urging policymakers for the successful removal of heavy metals in wastewater, human excreta could indeed be the fertilizers of the future.

References: NBC Philadelphia, PRI.org, World Health Organization, National Public Radio, Slate.

– Cindy Hu

Comments Off on From Toilet to Table: Delicious or Outrageous?

Posted in Biological sciences, Issues in science, Public engagement, Science in the news

Tagged global food security, peak phosphorous

Image

Common Misconceptions of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Delay Onset Muscle Soreness
Source

A common barrier while attempting to persevere through an intensive long-term exercise program is having to deal with muscle soreness afterwards, which is also known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Unlike the acute soreness that develops during the actual activity, delayed soreness becomes prominent approximately 24 hours after exercising, and is positively correlated to the duration and intensity level exerted. Although various studies have been performed regarding DOMS, the ultimate cause of the symptom is still unknown. However, there has not been any report of DOMS posing as a permanent threat to the body.

Most people unfamiliar with DOMS are often deceived into believing that there is a correlation between pain and injury, where continued exercise while experiencing DOMS leads to further injuries. As a result, many simply stop their exercise routines and turn to treatments such as taking a hot shower or using heat pads to alleviate the pain, which may take up to a week after the initial symptom. However, by that time, your muscles will have decreased its ability to adapt to the intensity level of your routine, and that hour of intensive exercise you performed earlier becomes a waste.

The main cause of DOMS still remains unknown, but many studies have investigated the mechanisms involved and suggested possible explanations. First, studies performed by Armstrong demonstrate that high intensity exercise result in greater metabolic waste, such as lactic acid, which may influence the calcium concentration gradient within the muscle tissue and stimulate neuron activity to increase pain sensation (1). Hough suggests that DOMS is related to the rate and force of muscle contraction during strenuous exercise, which leads to structural damage (2). Supporting Hough’s findings, Kumazawa et al. also suggest that elevated temperature plays a role in damaging muscle structure and promotes necrosis of muscle fibres and connective tissues (3). In brief, there is no main cause of DOMS. It is most likely caused by a combination of various factors, which leads to the difficulty in developing a treatment that can efficiently eliminate DOMS.

Compression to help reduce Delay Onset Muscle Soreness Source

There are various treatments for DOMS such as having a proper cool-down period after exercising, taking a hot shower, or wearing compression sleeves. However, continuing to exercise while experiencing DOMS is actually the only proven way to effectively eliminate DOMS. According to Armstrong, one the reasons why continued exercise can reduce DOMS is its ability to decrease the rate of muscle fibre necrosis (1). There has also been evidence for the reduction of exercise plasma enzymes, which indicates that continued exercising can reduce muscle fibre injuries (4). Lastly, lysosomal enzyme levels have been shown to decrease while exercising with DOMS, resulting in the reduction of the rate of muscle cell death (5). Therefore, although it may be difficult to motivate yourself while experiencing DOMS, the most effective way to treat DOMS is actually to continue exercising until your muscles adapt to it.

-Bailey Lei

References

1. Armstrong, R.B. Mechanisms of exercise-induced delayed onset muscular soreness: a brief review. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 16(6): 529-538, 1984.

2. Hough, T. Ergographic studies in neuro-muscular fatigue. Am. J. Physiol. 5:240-266, 1901.

3. Kumazawa, T. and K. Mitzumura. Thin-fibre receptors responding to mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimulation in the skeletal muscle of the dog. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 273: 179-194, 1977.

4. Schwane, J.A. and R.B. Armstrong. Effect of training on skeletal muscle injury from downhill running in rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 55: 969-975, 1983.

5. Vihko, V., A. Salaminen, and J. Rantamaki. Exhaustive exercise, endurance training, and acid hydrolase activity in skeletal muscle. J. Appl. Physio. 47: 43-50, 1979.

Comments Off on Common Misconceptions of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Posted on January 20, 2014 by baileylei in Biological sciences, Science in the news

Tagged delay onset muscle sorness, excercise, muscle damage, muscle pain

Diabetic? Don’t Be Afraid to Cry About It.

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Maria Bernard | Comments Off

Normally, the Official Google Blog posts advertisements on the latest company developments and information on research that is far from scientific. On January 16^th 2014, however, an Official Google Blog post was released revealing information on a new project in development at the mysterious and secretive Google[x] facility. The project is certainly intriguing for the scientific community, but even more so than that the content and use of the blog itself clearly communicates in a way that readily engages the general public.

First, a little bit on the project itself: Researchers at the Google[x] facility are creating a contact lens that can measure the levels of glucose in diabetics. Scientists in the past have claimed that tears can provide very accurate readings of glucose levels, but have not found collecting tears to be an easy or enjoyable experience. The new smart contact lens uses a chip and a sensor embedded within the lens itself to detect glucose levels in tears and transmit them to the wearer. The chip and sensor are well hidden, as they are a very small part of the contact lens that is barely visible itself. There has also been some discussion of incorporating LED lights into the system that can indicate to the wearer when his or her glucose levels are too high or too low.

A contact lens is barely visible within an eye. Image Source: Flickr Commons.

Now, how does it generate the public’s interest?: The Official Google Blog post covering this project does an excellent job at pointing out to the public just what the development of this product could mean to them. It starts out by engaging those affected by diabetes by describing at least half a dozen unpleasant truths that diabetics can attest to. It also engages those not affected by diabetes by pulling at their heartstrings as they read about the struggles of being a diabetic, explaining the harsh procedure of having to prick one’s finger for a glucose level measurement and the inconvenience of fluctuating glucose levels which “change frequently with normal activity like exercising or eating or even sweating”. More importantly, the post

The painful, routine prick. Image Source: Flickr Commons.

quickly points out the severity of inconsistent glucose level monitoring. It provides the public with a perhaps relatable story from a concerned friend whose mother has a higher chance of passing out at inopportune times because of low glucose levels. Not to mention (which it does) the long-term effects of neglecting proper glucose levels, “including damage to the eyes, kidneys and heart”. The blog thus effectively demonstrates the importance of regulating glucose levels in diabetics.

The use of the blog itself is crafty on Google’s part, as it is concise and easy to understand, not being burdened with technical jargon. With the importance of tracking glucose levels in diabetics clearly established, readers find themselves thinking, “if only there was an easier way to do so…” and thus the blog successfully stimulates the intrigue of the smart contact lens.

-Maria Bernard

The Case of the Missing Starfish

Posted on January 20, 2014 by dansterr3 | Comments Off

Starfish in the Intertidal zone near Bamfield, B.C. (Photo by Danielle Marcoux)

Imagine yourself diving off the coast of British Columbia and you come across a large rock wall that is packed with starfish. You swim up to the wall and approach them to look closer but instead of seeing a plethora of plump, healthy starfish of oranges, purples or reds, you see mushy disintegrating starfish with missing arms all over the place.

Starfish exhibiting Sea Star Wasting Syndrome (Source: themarinedetective.com; Jackie Hildering)

Since June 2013, sightings of dead and dying starfish, also known as sea stars, have been reported stretching almost all of the Pacific West Coast. Scientists have dubbed it the “Sea Star Wasting Syndrome”.

As key predators in the intertidal region of the ocean, disappearing sea stars can have catastrophic effects for the ecosystem.

Note the arms moving by themselves!

Scientists along with the press are reaching out for help from the public and local divers. They are asking if anyone sees this syndrome in their region to report it immediately to either the Vancouver Aquarium or the University of California Santa Cruz. If researchers can understand more about where the wasting syndrome is occurring, the cause of this disease can be found faster. They hope to stop this phenomenon from spreading further and devastating more areas on the West Coast.

Global interviewed UBC’s own Dr. Chris Harley

Biologists are working diligently on each case to find the cause of this starfish epidemic. They have their speculations based on previous cases, but they note that they have never seen anything as severe as this one. Two prior cases in 1983 and 1997 were said to be associated with warming of the ocean. However, some researchers are claiming that this time it may be different.

Fukushima reactor No.4 (Source: flickr: Simply Info)

Researchers have made it clear to the public that no cause has been found as of yet. Nonetheless, the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown has made headlines for being a potential cause of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. It is hot news for reporters to cover a story with this much controversy. Christopher Mah, one of the world’s leading experts in starfish, has reassured that it is very unlikely. However, marine biologists are considering all possibilities, including increased radiation.

Other probable causes for Sea Star Wasting Syndrome that biologists are researching are lower oxygen in the ocean, ocean warming, and the possible risk of bacterial or viral infections.

On a brighter note, I had the pleasure of diving in the Sechelt Inlet in November (2013) and saw no signs of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. The starfish were in perfect health and looked as if the population was flourishing in this area! Lets hope that the next time I go back, they are still around.

Written by Danielle Marcoux

A biologists best friend (Photo by Cathy Clegg)

Other Sources:

Comments Off on The Case of the Missing Starfish

Posted in Biological sciences, Public engagement, Science communication, Science in the news, Uncategorized

Tagged Disease, Fukushima, Japan, Marine, Ocean, Sea stars, Starfish, Syndrome

What’s for Dinner?

Posted on January 20, 2014 by asihra | 1 comment

Insects sold in bulk at a supermarket stall. Image: Alexis (Flickr Creative Commons)

Are you hungry and want something to snack on? Well what about insects? Although the idea of consuming insects, scientifically known as entomophagy, may sound absurd and even disgusting a third of the worlds population practices it. And why shouldn’t it? According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Health Organization (FAO), eating insects can not only control world hunger but it can also reduce obesity and is good for the environment.

Nutritious silkworm pupae served on a plate. Image: Tomchen1989 (Wikimedia Commons)

The world’s population is predicted to increase to 9 billion people by 2050 so the demand for food will also rise. Food production will need to be increased as the population rises but it would be difficult to do so due to factors such as climate change, pollution, overfished water resources and decreased productivity of farm lands. Thus the FAO is encouraging insect based diets as an alternate food resource. Insects are packed with high quality protein and low fat content which would make them an ideal meal for undernourished individuals in famine-stricken countries. The protein levels in insects are so rich that they meet the standards of protein levels found in both meat and milk. Furthermore, fat content in insects is comparatively lower than in meat and milk. For example, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database, house crickets contain about 205g/kg of protein and only 68 g/kg of fat whereas beef contains 256g/kg of protein with 187g/kg of fat and milk contains 265g/kg of protein with 268g/kg of fat.

: Western society faces the problem of obesity because of fast-food diets such as McDonalds. Image: FRED (Flickr Creative Commons)

While the rest of the world battles hunger, the Western society faces the problem of obesity because of poor fast food diets and lack of exercise. The amount of fat intake based on fast food diets is above the maximum and it is extremely unhealthy. Insect based diets are a better alternative because insects contain less fat, eight essential amino acids, vitamins A, B12, and minerals such as riboflavin and thiamine. All these nutritional elements make up a balanced and healthy diet for a good lifestyle.

Eating insects is also healthy for the environment because of their many “green” benefits. It is better to consume insects rather than cattle because insects produce the same amount of edible meat as cattle except they require less feed. This is because insects are cold-blooded and therefore need less energy to maintain their body temperature. The insects intake of less feed compared to the cattle is benefical because less amount of water is used for irrigation and less land is also required to grow food for livestock. Furthermore, insects also emit fewer greenhouse gases and they don’t compete with humans for food unlike other farm animals which have to be fed with grains or corn. Instead, they take up human and plant waste.

In conclusion, insects contribute greatly both to society and the environment. Hopefully after assessing the numerous benefits that insects have to offer you will probably change your mind as well. So how about a plate of fried grasshoppers garnished with coriander? Cheers.

– Anupreet Sihra

(1)Why Insects Should Be in Your Diet. Retrieved 1/19, 2014, from http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34172/title/Why-Insects-Should-Be-in-Your-Diet/

(2) Insects for Food and Feed. Retrieved 2/3, 2014, from http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/

1 Comment

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

Tagged Entomophagy, environment, FAO, fat, insects, obesity, protein

Chocolate: Dogs’ secret enemy

Posted on January 20, 2014 by jchen93 | 2 comments

Chocolate being bad for you? How could that be, but it turns out that chocolate can be quite dangerous for you and man’s best friend, the dog. This could be bad news with Valentine Day’s coming up, but exactly how much of a danger is it?

Chocolate (picture taken by: Andre Karwath)
(Source: Wikipedia commons)

Chocolate is a very common treat due to their sweet and addicting taste. Chocolates can come in a variety of flavours but typically contains cocoa, produced from cocoa beans. This cocoa contains one ingredient that turns out to be very harmful to dogs yet typically fine to humans.

Researchers have shown that this one substance is the key factor to a chocolate’s potency. An alkaloid known as theobromine is the nemesis of dogs, but why exactly does it turn out to be toxic to your dog when it appears that your dog can eat almost anything? The reason is that Dogs and many other animals metabolize theobromine at a very slow rate. As theobromine affects the central nervous system as well as the heart muscle, this inability to metabolize or break it down quickly can cause death. Humans are capable or metabolizing theobromine much more readily, thus the toxicity of theobromine doesn’t play as much of a factor, although it can still be dangerous if one engulfs roughly a gigantic amount of chocolate.

Dog at Vet Photo by: Ildar Sagdejev (Source: Wikipedia Commons)

The lethal dosage, the amount that someone can digest before it being fatal has been studied by researchers to determine how dangerous chocolate is to dogs. Studies have shown that the LD50, the point at which 50% of the subjects who go over this limit die, of theobromine is roughly 300 milligrams per kilogram. The amount of theobromine in chocolate also varies with type. White chocolate contains very little theobromine, a Kit-Kat contains only 49mg, while dark chocolate such as Scharffen Berger 82% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate contains 1100 milligrams per bar. So a 20kg dog would be able to consume 6 bars before reaching the LD50 point. While 6 bars might be a lot for a human, that isn’t much for a dog.

So as long as you keep chocolate high in theobromine away from your dogs, everything should be fine. Typical levels of chocolate bars do not have exceedingly high levels of theobromine, but it is important to be aware of the dangers on certain days like Valentines and Christmas.

One other interesting tidbit is that theobromine doesn’t actually contain any bromine, isn’t science confusing at times?

-Jeffrey Chen

2 Comments

Posted in Biological sciences, Uncategorized

Tagged animals, chocolate, Dogs

High Blood Pressure? Not a Problem, the Sun Can Help

Posted on January 20, 2014 by miranda | Comments Off

We often hear about it all over the news. Overexposure to the sun will harm your health. But in a place like Vancouver, who wouldn’t love the sun that comes only every once in a while behind all the dark and gloomy clouds? Especially when it offers health benefits? This must be a joke right?

A doctor testing blood pressure. (Source: Flickr – PassiveIncomeDream)

A research article published on the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that the exposure of sunlight to the skin surprisingly lowers blood pressure, providing health benefits, contrary to the popular belief.

The sun can help lower blood pressure. (Source: Flickr – AngellaAliaga

As a precursor before we begin, Ultraviolet radiation, or UV radiation, can be found in natural sources, such as the sun, and in artificial sources – ranging from welding equipment to lasers to the most commonly well-known ones: tanning beds and tanning lamps.

During the study conducted at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, 24 healthy individuals were kept under tanning lamps which emitted UV radiation for two 20 minute sessions, while their blood pressure was examined. In the first session, exposure to all 24 individuals by the UV rays and the heat of the lamps simultaneously were carried out. However, in the second session, all individuals were merely exposed to the heat of the lamps, but not the UV rays.

Results demonstrated a significant difference between the blood pressure measured during the exposure and inexposure of UV rays to the skin. So what exactly happened there?

According to Martin Feelisch, a Professor of Experimental Medicine and Integrative Biology at the University of Southampton, the lower in blood pressure is caused by the release of nitric oxide (NO) found in the skin into the blood circulation, upon exposure to UV rays. Inside the bloodstream, NO helps to widen the blood vessels by assisting the muscular walls to relax, in a process known as vasodilation. Remarkably, it is no doubt that a drop in blood pressure would lower the risk of heart attack and stroke. Clearly, NO plays a very large role in helping to maintain blood pressure.

The process of vasodilation – before and after. (Source: learningaboutanthropology.blogspot.com)

(Click here to learn more about the benefits of nitric oxide in the body.)

Interestingly enough, this study proves to be quite strikingly important as it was long known that the only benefit of sunlight was the production of vitamin D and consequently, the risks heavily outweighed it. This surprising development shed light on sunlight (no pun intended) whose name was always associated with negative feelings. It has also encouraged and opened up new research studies for scientists focusing upon the benefits of sunlight.

Thus, despite the risks surrounding the topic of sunlight, I believe that the beneficial aspects of it will eventually outweigh the risks. So the next time someone hears the word “sunlight”, the words “lower blood pressure” should immediately come to mind and know that it now owns a positive connotation.

– Miranda Tuet

Source:

http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/sunlight-may-help-lower-blood-pressure/

Comments Off on High Blood Pressure? Not a Problem, the Sun Can Help

Posted in Biological sciences, Public engagement, Science communication, Science in the news

Tagged blood pressure, nitric oxide, sun, UV radiation