Communicating Science (14w112)

The Danger of Electronic Cigarette, E-cigratte.

Posted on October 19, 2014 by shjegal | 4 comments

In the past few years, E-cigarette became very popular among smokers. Many people choose to smoke E-cigarette because they think it is less harmful than traditional cigarette and the vapour coming out from the E-cigarette does not smell. Recent research observations show that from 2012 to 2013 usage of E-cigarette increased by 3 times (10.6% to 38.5%) (1). This E-cigarette burns juice, the mixture of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavours, and nicotine (by choice); the amount of nicotine in the juice can be customized.

E-cigarette. Source: Wikimedia Commons

What are the effects of E-cigarette to our body? Well, many people try E-cigarette to quit smoking because one can get some sort of smoking feeling with controlled amount of nicotine in it (2) and they think it is less . However, long-term usage of E-cigarette (with nicotine) can make users more nicotine dependent (1). The results from he research done by Borderud et al. were quite shocking. They observed total number of 1074 cancer patients who were enrolled in a tobacco treatment program and found out that E-cigarette users were more likely to develop thoracic and head or neck cancers.

Currently, E-cigarette is used as alternative for tobacco or used as a smoking-cessation tool. Most of E-cigarette users have made quit attempts; nearly half of the people reduced nicotine use or quit smoking tobacco for period of time (3). However, many side effects of long-term use of E-cigarette are still unknown. Therefore, if you want to quit smoke, just stop smoking .

These are the short videos about danger of E-cigarette

Source: DNews

http://youtu.be/iyVfTybSVdw

Source: foxnewstest

-SungHoo Jegal

4 Comments

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

Tagged alternative for tobacco, E-cig, E-cigarette, electronic cigarette, Science Communication, tobacco

Discovery of the first natural antiviral

Posted on October 18, 2014 by i | 2 comments

Penicillin was discovered as the first antibiotic by Alexander Fleming, who isolated it from fungus in 1928. This is considered to have been a huge breakthrough as its discovery led to the successful treatment of cases of bacterial disease, saving millions of lives, although its misuse has now made many types of bacteria resistant. However, natural antivirals have not previously been discovered, despite the prevalence of diseases caused by viruses including Ebola, HIV and influenza.

Japanese/Chinese honeysuckle. Source: Creative Commons

Japanese/Chinese honeysuckle.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Earlier this year, researchers in China discovered what they call MIR2911, a product that prevents the reproduction of influenza A viruses (IAV). According to the researchers, the Japanese/Chinese herb honeysuckle has been used to treat the flu for thousands of years, and some studies (1, 2) show that it suppresses the reproduction of IAV. However, until now, the active compound responsible for this was unknown, as well as its mechanism of action.

Electron micrograph of IAV Source: Creative Commons

Electron micrograph of IAV
Source: Wikimedia Commons

The researchers found that MIR2911 acts against IAVs such as H1N1, H5N1, and H7N9, which have been responsible for the swine flu, avian flu, and Spanish flu pandemics respectively. MIR2911 suppresses IAV by binding directly to the influenza virus and inhibiting the expression of two genes that are vital in the replication of influenza viruses.

This is an important discovery as there has previously been no natural antivirals discovered, and this presents a novel therapeutic agent that can be used not only against influenza A, but potentially other viruses as well, due to its broad spectrum. The researchers say that their discovery is something akin to a “virological penicillin” that can be used and chemically modified, as has been done to penicillin, to produce drugs that can treat the flu. Hopefully, we will have learned from our use of penicillin in order to try to prevent widespread antiviral drug resistance.

The following video is about flu viruses and how they infect us:

Source (user): maia86magnoly

2 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

Tagged antivirals, drugs, influenza, viruses

Our Impacts on the Sea

Posted on October 15, 2014 by aleggo | 3 comments

Humans are part of the world’s ecosystem. Quite often Western society views the Earth as the place we have chosen to make our home, like an honour we have bestowed upon it. By our ‘ownership’ of the Earth we are able to subjugate it and pillage it to every extent. We distance ourselves from our huge population (over 7 billion at this point) and blind ourselves to the effects we, as a species, have on the environment. Perhaps it is the mystery of the ocean, or the murkiness of its depths, that stops us from regarding it in particular, but beyond our shores lies a vast quantity of wild, untamed AND fragile fish stocks that we are having an effect on.

It was shown over 15 years ago now, by Fisheries scientists at UBC, that we are ‘fishing down the food web’. A food web is an ecological tool that shows us the connections between organisms within a space. At the peak of these webs or cascades are the top predators: animals who eat animals who eat animals who eat animals (and so on). This discovery was a landmark in the understanding of fisheries science, but should also be a wake-up call to conscious (and conscientious) consumers of fish products. It states that we initially fish larger fish (higher predators) until the point of non-viability is reached, at which point we switch to a smaller sized fish lower down in the food chain and fish this to economic extinction. We ultimately end up at the point of no lower edible organisms- marine invertebrates. There is even a market for jellyfish now (Image Flickr User kantoku hk)!

One of the main causes of this effect is the way we view food. Instead of taking from the ocean in an equal measure, we take one species in very great quantity. Certain fish products become popular and we fish only them to extinction. Instead of eating all we catch, quality fish are thrown back because they do not meet the standards of our ideal fish. To meet the high demand we pursue the diminishing stocks with our advanced technology, taking wherever we can. This is what happened to the Tun: bluefin tuna were discarded in the 1930s for no-one liked their meaty taste. These fish are now amongst the most highly sought-after fish in the ocean. So great is their demand that there are (debated) claims of 90% depletion in unfished tuna stock.

So what can you do I hear you ask. Firstly, eat less fish. I know that is something a sushi-loving Vancouverite hates to hear, but our overfishing is a fact. 50% of the world’s fish stocks are fully exploited. That cannot last. Secondly, eat good fish. Eat sustainably caught, local fish, with a low environmental impact when you can. I’ll give you an example: Tuna is a top predator, so if it is removed from the system, it has multiplying effects on the species down the chain from it. Do not eat Tuna. Stop it. There are essentially no sustainable ways to eat it! Thirdly and most importantly, start showing you care. Petitioning our government to create a better fisheries management system is the best way to affect change. Front-running research in the field shows that primarily we need to create no-fish zones, low-fishing areas and ultimately stop the fish catch monoculture. If you’re interested in learning more about fisheries and our history of oceanic abuse, you could read ‘Four Fish’ by Paul Greenberg for some great insights.

Al Eggo

3 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Public Engagement

Tagged Bluefin Tuna, COAStNet, environment, Fisheries, Foodwebs, Healthy Habits, Oceans, Science Communication, Stocks, Sustainability

Natural sleeping pills

Posted on October 14, 2014 by jy129 | 3 comments

Everyone experiences occasional sleeping problem.

Sleep disorder Source: Flickr commons

This rate is especially high among college students. A study showed that there are about 81% of students who experienced insomnia. It is obvious school work loads and social events affect our sleeping schedule.

Lack of sleep can cause many health issues both physical and mental, and obesity which is something you don’t want to have while attending school.

Each student has their own method of getting a good night sleep, some of the popular methods are: sleeping pills, alcohol, marijuana, and food.

Example of solution to sleeping disorder (Alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana) Source: My home

However, these methods have their own side effects which are why it is not a good solution to the sleeping problem.

But not to worry, there is plethora of other healthy alternative solutions to fix your insomnia.

Lettuce

Lettuce Source: Flickr Commons

Lettuce has been used for its hypnotic properties back in ancient Egypt. Even now, people use lettuce for its sedative substance in the pharmacological fields.

For instance, there is a study done regarding the soft gelatin capsule containing purified lettuce oil, which is marketed in Egypt. The lettuce oil capsule contains oleic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, cispalmitoleic, and other small amount of chemicals. To simplify, it contains the basic chemicals for milky white plastic which has a calming and sedation effect on consumers. In conclusion, the study found that lettuce oil was found to be useful sleeping aid and may be used in a hazard-free line of treatment.

Almond

Almond Source:Flickr Commons

Almond is the seed of a species of tree native to Asia. We can easily find them in a store, packed in a small plastic bag.

This easily obtainable food is full of protein and magnesium. Protein helps us relax while sleeping due to its nature to fight acid reflux that causes heartburn during night. Magnesium promotes sleep and muscle relaxation that aids us to stay in bed at night.

Other than lettuce and almond, there are many other options such as; honey, walnut, cheese, and milk. All these “healthy” choices of food give us the same or better effect of possibly hazardous sleeping pills.

Next time when you can’t sleep, try this!

By Jeamin Yoon

3 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science

Tagged Food, Science Communication, sleep, sleeping aid

Is Time Travel Possible?

Posted on October 13, 2014 by ganna12 | 2 comments

Sometimes people want to go back to the past time and fix the problems or future to see what will happen. Time Travel is the most interesting topic in the science.

Understanding Time

Before know about the time travel we have to know about the timeWhat is time? While most people think of time as a constant, physicist Albert Einstein showed that time is an illusion; it is relative — it can vary for different observers depending on your speed through space. To Einstein, time is the “fourth dimension.” Space is described as a three-dimensional arena, which provides a traveler with coordinates.

http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/6-ways-to-time-travel-explained/

Through the Wormhole

General relativity also provides scenarios that could allow travelers to go back in time, according to NASA. The equations, however, might be difficult to physically achieve.

One possibility could be to go faster than light, which travels at 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second) in a vacuum. Einstein’s equations, though, show that an object at the speed of light would have both infinite mass and a length of 0. This appears to be physically impossible, although some scientists have extended his equations and said it might be done.

A linked possibility, NASA stated, would be to create “wormholes” between points in space-time. While Einstein’s equations provide for them, they would collapse very quickly and would only be suitable for very small particles. Also, scientists haven’t actually observed these wormholes yet. Also, the technology needed to create a wormhole is far beyond anything we have today.

[Worm Hole Image]
http://www.andersoninstitute.com/wormholes.html

Time Machine

It is generally understood that traveling forward or back in time would require a device — a time machine — to take you there. Time machine research often involves bending space-time so far that time lines turn back on themselves to form a loop, technically known as a “closed time-like curve.”

To accomplish this, time machines often are thought to need an exotic form of matter with so-called “negative energy density.” Such exotic matter has bizarre properties, including moving in the opposite direction of normal matter when pushed. Such matter could theoretically exist, but if it did, it might be present only in quantities too small for the construction of a time machine.

However, time-travel research suggests time machines are possible without exotic matter. The work begins with a doughnut-shaped hole enveloped within a sphere of normal matter. Inside this doughnut-shaped vacuum, space-time could get bent upon itself using focused gravitational fields to form a closed time-like curve. To go back in time, a traveler would race around inside the doughnut, going further back into the past with each lap. This theory has a number of obstacles, however. The gravitational fields required to make such a closed time-like curve would have to be very strong, and manipulating them would have to be very precise.

[Time Mechanism Image]
http://gamasutra.com/blogs/CameronLeBlanc/20130220/187036/Recreating_the_time_mechanics_of_Braid_Part_1.php

So is Time Travel Possible?

While time travel does not appear possible — at least, possible in the sense that the humans would survive it — with the physics that we use today, the field is constantly changing. Advances in quantum theories could perhaps provide some understanding of how to overcome time travel paradoxes.

One possibility, although it would not necessarily lead to time travel, is solving the mystery of how certain particles can communicate instantaneously with each other faster than the speed of light.

In the meantime, however, interested time travelers can at least experience it vicariously through movies, television and books.

2 Comments

Posted in Issues in Science, Outreach Project, Science in the News

Tagged Mechanism of Time Travel, Time Travel, Worm Hole

Are you drinking too much water?

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Audrey | 2 comments

Our bodies are mainly made up carbon, but second to that is water. Water is essential to staying alive. Not drinking enough water leads to dehydration, which in turn will lead to other undesirable things. One result of dehydration is a decline in cognitive performance. According to a 2012 article in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, even mild dehydration (defined as a 1 to 2% decrease in water levels in the body) in young adults can lead to a decrease in the performance of tasks that require immediate attention like psychomotor skills and immediate memory. Fortunately, long-term memory and executive function (tasks that require planning and emotional control) all seem to be unaffected. For young children and the elderly, the risks involved with dehydration are even more serious.

Staying hydrated. Image source: Wikimedia Commons–Tomasz Sienicki

Since staying hydrated is important in maintaining normal body functions and good health, it may seem like a good idea to drink as much of it as you can. Unfortunately, that is not the case. While drinking water to stay hydrated is important in avoiding negative effects of dehydration, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. In early 2007, a California woman died of drinking too much water. She was competing in a radio station contest to win a Nintendo Wii, the contestant who drank the most water would be the winner. While she may have won a Wii, she lost her life.

This condition that she died of is called “hyponatremia” or in common words: her blood salt levels were too low. This means having salt concentration levels of less than 135 millimoles per litre of blood. When you drink too much water, the kidneys can no longer remove the excess water from the body fast enough. The bloodstream overflows with water which in turn dilutes the salt content. The water has no where else to go so it overflows into the surrounding cells. Most cells in the body are able to expand and swell to accommodate the incoming water.

Brain cells on the other hand, do not have such an ability. This is because brain cells are located in the skull (duh!) and share skull space with other things like cerebrospinal fluid and blood. The skulls is hard and does not expand. There is simply no more extra space for the brain cells to expand into. So when there is an excess of water entering the skull, the brain swells causing an edema. This brain swelling, or edema, leads to several problems like coma, seizures, damage to brain stem, and even death.

Cerebral edema surrounding brain tumor.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons.

Drinking water daily is important to maintaining good health, but too much may lead to poorer health outcomes. To keep within safe water intake levels, remember that the kidney (healthy and at rest) outputs 800 to 1,000 mL of water each hour. So it’s safe to consume this much water each hour.

Jade Lu

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Prosthetic Limbs approach the Natural kind

Posted on October 13, 2014 by imranmitha | Leave a comment

Advancements in the function of powered prosthetic limbs have been few and far between in the last 50 years. That is not to say that their structure and mechanical design have not improved, but current prostheses still limit the wearer’s motion control and sense of touch. Researchers at the Case Western Reserve University of Ohio recently performed a study in which they implemented pressure sensors to more closely mimic what a person with a normal arm would feel.

Prosthetic limbs aim to mimic real limbs by communicating directly with the brain. Image source: Gizmag

Touch perception, one of our five senses, is a critical part of the human experience and helps build our basic perception of the world around us. In humans, the somatosensory system (touch, or tactile perception) critically depends on the nervous system. When you touch a surface, for example placing your hand on a table, sensors on the skin’s surface initiate an electrical signal that is conducted to the brain via the spinal cord, and allows the impact to be felt by the hand. The term ‘stimulus’ simply refers to an electrical signal coursing through our body that is processed by our brain, and interpreted as an instruction for reaction. However, in individuals lacking normal limbs, this pathway cannot occur because the skin sensors are not present. In general, modern research in the field aims to improve two-way communication between the wearer and their prosthetic limb.

New technologies in prostheses aim to improve the communication between brain and limb. Image Source: Flickr commons; Uploader: U.S. FDA

Many people who currently wear prosthetic limbs complain that the appliances create unnatural sensations that are distracting and unpleasant. Moreover, current prosthetic limbs cannot directly convey stimulation to the wearers. Dr. Dustin Tyler and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University proposed a solution for this problem. They hypothesized that if they could generate electrical signals in varying intensity to nerves (lying outside of the brain and spinal cord), this would produce sensory restoration. The team’s main improvements to the existing prostheses were as follows. Firstly, they created an ability for wearers to vary their grip strength, and secondly, they decreased the level of discomfort endured by the wearer.

In order to create a stimulation, the team connected electrodes that could create electrical impulses into the subjects’ upper limbs. Researchers also added pressure sensors to subjects’ artificial fingerprints that had the capacity to respond to varying stimulation patterns. Two parameters were tested. Firstly, by altering average signal intensity, researchers found that the wearer could precisely control the size of the area their hands were in contact with. Secondly, by changing signal frequency, researchers found that the wearer could control their finger strength. The combination of these two features gave wearers an enhanced ability to manipulate delicate objects. Also, users of the research team’s prosthetic limbs described the sensations as natural and comfortable.

The video below shows a prosthetic limb user performing the delicate task of removing a stem from a cherry. Those who were using nerve stimulation technology perform significantly better than those without it.

-Imran Mitha

The secrets behind the posterchild of regret: the tattoo.

Posted on October 13, 2014 by alexfocken | 4 comments

It took me a long time to finally convince myself to get a tattoo. It wasn’t the potential for it being an overwhelmingly painful experience, but the stigma of having a tattoo on one’s body and the risks associated with it that held me back for so many years. The risks of tattooing are relatively common knowledge: the potential of infection, blood-borne illness, and life-altering regret. What fascinated me, however, was exactly how tattooing works.

Retrieved from “www.tattoo-school-thailand.com”. Click to view source.

The process of tattooing, regardless of its method of application, involves ink particles penetrating the epidermis (surface layer) and settling in the deeper dermis layer of the skin. The dermis layer is filled with blood vessels, nerves, and glands and is not prone to the same shedding activity as the epidermis. Due to the nature of application, the body immediately begins to treat the new tattoo as a wound and activates the body’s inflammatory response. White blood cells called macrophages attempt to engulf the offending ink to dispose of it as foreign material. Some manage to consume the ink and carry it away from the tattoo (which is one of the reasons your tattoo will fade over time) and some consume the ink and stay in the tattoo. Scientists also claim that some ink particles are too large to be consumed by the macrophages, so they rest in the dermis. Surrounding skin cells will also absorb the ink and pass it on to other skin cells when they die. Over a period of 2-4 weeks, the damaged epithelial skin peels away like a sunburn revealing the healed tattoo that should remain there for the rest of your life.

Healing tattoo retrieved from “www.flickr.com/creativecommons”.

This slow motion video of the tattooing process visually demonstrates the process of tattooing.

This video elaborates on why tattoos are permanent.

After all of that research, I ended up getting a tattoo symbolizing my cat beneath my right ankle.

My fresh tattoo. Notice how bruised and swollen it is.

My healed tattoo. Notice how much the colours have reduced in intensity.

To be honest, I think knowing exactly what was going on in my skin made it hurt more, but it made the experience that much more exciting.
Alex Focken

4 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences

Tagged body art, immune response, macrophages, needles, science 300, swelling, tattoo, tattoos, white blood cells

Universal Communication in Science

Posted on October 13, 2014 by vetmed | 2 comments

Universal communication embodies among the most organized literature in the world. Standard style and format that must be agreed upon and understood throughout the globe make universal communication a tricky subject. Formal scientific writing is perhaps one of the best examples of how universal standard guidelines influence literature all over the world. In the scientific community, researchers must be able to communicate with each other in a way they can all understand and interpret. To illustrate, in essence, scientific journal articles written in Africa, Eurasia, and America could not be visually distinguished by country of origin when translated into the same language.

Universal communication guidelines are established in scientific writing to make scientific writing recognizable in the entire scientific community. This is because the scientific community is a global community since scientific laws, theories, and principles are universal as well. In addition, scientific communication is often of key importance in studying and even solving a worldwide problem such as the current Ebola epidemic in western Africa finding its way around the world and making itself a global issue.

Zaire ebolavirus, the most lethal virus in the world. Image courtesy of Wikipedia (click on image to visit page).

Here’s a video taken from YouTube, courtesy of BBC News, to address the global concern of the current Ebola outbreak and the importance of global communication in managing the epidemic.

2 Comments

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

Tagged ebola, global concerns, Science Communication, scientific writing, universal communication

The bugs in your guts are making you fat.

Posted on October 8, 2014 by jliu | 1 comment

Generally when we think “bacteria” and “guts”, we think of nasty things like food poisoning or the stomach flu. But in reality, there are large amount of bacteria living in our lower digestive system – what scientists call the Gut Microflora. In fact, some recent research has shown that the bacteria living in our guts aren’t simply enjoying a tenant-landlord relationship; in fact, they may actively contribute to our overall health. A good example of this is the much-hyped “probiotics” recently being promoted as the new “superfood” essential to successful diets. As Yogurt companies have been advertising left and right, “an exclusive probiotic culture … has been shown to survive passage through the digestive tract in sufficient amounts for Activia to help regulate the digestive system”. But is there any truth to this?

Some research has indicated that certain species of bacteria may contribute to the overall efficiency of energy extraction and affect overall levels of host obesity; and in fact, studies in mice have shown that mice with differing levels of obesity has different compositions in their gut microflora, showing quite the correlation between bacterial colonies in the gut and obesity. This begs the question, Would changing the bacteria help make you skinnier?

Scientific American-Volume 310, Issue 6.
“How Gut Bacteria Help Make Us Fat and Thin”

To make a long and complicated answer short, We don’t know. Though there has been trials done confirming the short-term effects on things related to obesity, so far no study has proven effective, as the gut microflora is a complicated subject with many facets to watch. That being said, There are current studies in the works, so keep an (critical) eye on your news feed, and feel free to eat all the yogurt you’d like.

– James L.

1 Comment

Posted in Biological Sciences, Science Communicators, Science in the News, Uncategorized

Tagged Bacteria, Health, obesity, probiotics, Science Communication

The Danger of Electronic Cigarette, E-cigratte.

Discovery of the first natural antiviral

Our Impacts on the Sea

Natural sleeping pills