Category Archives: Science Communication

Unlock Your Account by Your Friends’ Faces

Posted on February 29, 2016 by | 3 comments

Passwords are the most common authentication method we use today to prove one’s identity. One of the major problems with using passwords is that people are often faced with a trade-off between security and usability; people are either making their passwords too simple, and are easily hacked into, or are making them extremely complicated to remember.

In general, compared to other existing authentication systems, such as digital signature and fingerprint recognition, passwords are cheap and simple to use. Therefore, it is the most widely used authentication mechanism today. Recently, something possibly “better” than passwords has arrived. A paper that was published on PeerJ proposed a new authentication system called “Facelock” based on the facial recognition technology. See the following YouTube video for a short introduction of facial recognition.

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The physiological principle behind this new authentication system is that our brains have the ability to recognize familiar faces. You can easily recognize many different faces of the same person who you know pretty well, but you may find it is difficult to identify strangers across a range of images. Facelock is built on the fact that only authentic users can reliably identify the target faces but attackers are unlikely to recognize them. When logging in, Facelock allows users to go through a series of pages that each contains nine faces of different people with only one face that is familiar to the account holder. To unlock your account, you need to successfully select the target face on each page.

faces

Can you recognize the person who appears twice in the image? Image from http://theconversation.com/us

However, such a system also has certain limitations. The system is vulnerable to an attacker who has many friends in common with the user, which means your closest acquaintances are likely to be able to recognize your target faces. Additionally,  if the target person whose appearance is distinctive (i.e. has an outstanding characteristics such as a full beard or have a bald head) or if the images of the same person are not sufficiently different, then an attacker may still be able to identify the target faces without many challenges. On the other hand, there is no boundary to determine whether the image is distinctive or not and it is hard to tell if the two images are different enough. So how should we select the images for the system to avoid similarity and distinctiveness? Finally, Does Facelock actually benefit to a user when compared to the password authentication system? In fact, Facelock is not as easy to use as passwords and it takes more time to unlock your account because you have to spend more time recognizing faces.

In conclusion, this new authentication system seems reliable and implementable with current technology, but to make it a viable replacement of passwords, the developers should pay attention on how to make appropriate target selection to make it more user-friendly.

Ying Yu

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Posted in Science Communication, Science in the News, Uncategorized

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Sleep loss and Obesity ?

Posted on February 29, 2016 by | 3 comments

With the cold months ending and summer coming up very soon, this means cutting down for many people. People use countless methods to help them achieve that goal such as protein powder, creatine, and diet pills. Despite all this effort, a lot of people are making this one mistake that could make it much harder for them to achieve their weight loss goal. These studies below show and strengthen correlation between insufficient sleep and factors that lead to weight gain.

Lack of sleep and 2-AG

A new study published in the journal, Sleep, was carried out by a team of scientists who focused on a type of endocannabinoid. Endocannabinoid is a class of molecule that controls physiological processes in our body. They studied a molecule called 2-AG which is associated with our ability to control our appetite. When this molecule is circulating throughout our body, it decreases our ability to control instant cravings and increases the pleasure we get from eating food we would normally think of as unhealthy and feel guilty from indulging in.

They gathered 14 healthy young adults, both male and female. Half of them were allowed to get a full nights sleep which consisted of 8.5 hours compared to the other half who were restricted to 4.5 hours of sleep. What they found was that the level of 2-AG in their body was higher consistently through out the day and remained high in the evening for those who had restricted amount of sleep.

Increased level of 2-AG would make you crave junk food you normally wouldn't

Increased level of 2-AG would make you crave junk food you normally would stay away from. Image from deckofdreams

Lack of sleep and Leptin & Gherlin

Another study that supports this claim of correlation between insufficient sleep and weight gain was also done by Prinz and Taheri. Their studies looked at the level of leptin and ghrelin in participants with restricted amount of sleep. Leptin in our body serves to suppress appetite and stimulate burning energy in our body. Ghrelin on the other hand sends signal to make us feel hungry and tells the body to store more fat. By monitoring people participants who got less than 7-8 hours of sleep, they saw decreased level of leptin and increased level of ghrelin which ultimately lead to weight gain.

Example of how reduced levels of leptin produced in mouse leads to obesity (left) compared to normal mouse (right)

Example of how reduced levels of leptin produced in mouse leads to obesity (left) compared to normal mouse (right). Image from wikipedia

Just get more sleep!

In summary, when you get less than recommended amount of sleep of 7-8 hours every night, there is increased amount of 2-AG and ghrelin and decreased amount of leptin flowing through our body. This all serves to makes us less capable of controlling our appetite, and promotes fat build up. Thinking in reverse, this means that getting sufficient amount of sleep every night would help us control our appetite and have our body burning fat like usual! This should be convincing enough for anyone wanting to lose weight for the summer to spend more time in bed at night getting some shut eye.

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video – How Lack of Sleep can Cause Weight Gain. by Howcast

 

Alana Lee

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

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Special K to treat the Blues

Posted on February 28, 2016 by | 5 comments

Ketamine is a drug that was developed in 1962 and is commonly used as an anesthetic during surgical procedures in humans as well as in animals. However, like most drugs, ketamine made its way into the party scene during the 90s due to it’s hallucinogenic as well as dissociative effects (alter a person’s perception of reality). Furthermore, it also became notorious for being a date rape drug and was eventually classified as a Schedule III drug.

A vial containing ketamine.

A vial containing ketamine. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In an interesting turn of events, ketamine is now undergoing clinical trials for its potential use in the treatment of depression. Depression itself is a debilitating condition with approximately 121 million people globally affected by it. The same drug that was being used as a date rape drug is now being used to treat depression?!

Yes! Ketamine therapy is being used to treat patients with severe major depression who don’t respond to traditional antidepressant medication. The treatment consists of giving a low dose of ketamine to the patient. The most common way to administer ketamine is by injecting it or by intranasal (smelling it) use. The positive effects in mood can be seen within 24 hours and can last up to ten days. This is one of the biggest advantages of using ketamine because the effects are noticeable immediately compared to traditional antidepressants which can take up to several months to work.

A typical neuron. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A typical neuron. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Depression is a multi-faceted disorder with several causes, one of them being a reduction in synaptic connections – the area between two neurons. For example, picture a neuron being a tree during spring, with many branches and leaves. When depression comes along, that tree now looks shrivelled up with bare branches and no leaves. Introduce a bit of Special K at low doses, and it converts our sad looking tree into a healthy tree once again. In other words, the synaptic connections are restored. The exact mechanism behind this is still unknown and being investigated.

Like with any other treatment, ketamine therapy also has a few side effects. When patients are first given a dose of ketamine they experience dissociative effects which are only temporary. Another down side of ketamine treatment is cost. The effects of ketamine treatment are short lived so patients often have to get regular infusions and since insurance does not cover the cost of treatment, it can get expensive; a single dose can cost anywhere from $525 to $800.

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Courtesy of The Doctors

Furthermore, many opponents are concerned about the possibility of patients developing an addiction to ketamine. The dose used in clinical trials is well below the dose used by recreational users so it is very unlikely for the patient to develop an addiction. The future of ketamine therapy in treating depression looks promising and further studies should explore the long term effects of it before it becomes a standard in treating depression cases that don’t respond to traditional therapy.

Harnoor Shoker

5 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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Is What You’re Currently Doing, Killing You?

Posted on February 21, 2016 by | 8 comments

Chances are, while reading this blog post, you are seated on a chair in a posture that’s unhealthy for your body and some of you may even have back or neck pain.

Back and neck pain. Source: Flickr Commons

Back and neck pain.
Source: Flickr Commons

Sitting: An Unknown Assassin

Nowadays, it seems pretty much anything can kill you and astoundingly, this includes sitting. Sitting has become the new smoking as awareness of the adverse effects it has on our health increases along with the difficulty to ‘quit’ this subtle comfort. Unfortunately, most of us are bound by our lifestyle that revolves around a chair. Whether this is at work in an office, on a desk at school, during our daily commute, eating a meal, or relaxing at home watching television – we are bound to a habit that’s silently killing us.

Health Risks From Sitting

Sitting, termed sedentary behaviour, by the scientific community has shown to lead to cardiovascular diseases such as a heart attack or clogged arteries, type 2 diabetes, cancer, muscular pains, weight gain; all of which significantly raise your mortality rate despite exercising.

It is estimated that one loses 7 years of life expectancy if they’re sedentary compared to a physically active person. This makes anatomical sense as our bodies were not designed to be constantly stagnant as evidenced by our elastic skin, many joints and muscles, and how blood flow slows while sitting.  This is better explained by Murat Dalkilinc of Ted-Ed:

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What Can We Do?

Sit with an exercise ball. Source: Flickr Commons

Sit with an exercise ball.
Source: Flickr Commons

The solution is simple! While it may not always be practical, try to be more active if you have sat for a prolonged period of time. It’s best to get moving for every thirty minutes of sitting and there’s many different methods to try. Experiment sitting on an exercise ball; this works your core muscles giving your body a better balance. Also try yoga poses for a few minutes or a brisk walk in between commercial breaks.

As a reminder to staying healthy, why don’t you move around a bit right now. Whatever you do, just get moving!

Henry Liu

 

8 Comments

Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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The causes, symptoms and treatment of Stroke

Posted on February 8, 2016 by | 3 comments

Did you know that stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada?

Stroke occurs when cells do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, thus blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced. It most likely affects a person if they have a personal or family history of stroke, overweight, aged 55 or more, does not exercise much, drink heavily, or use illicit drugs. There are three main kinds of stroke: ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA).

Illustration of ischemic stroke: Wikimedia commons by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH)

Illustration of ischemic stroke: Wikimedia commons by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH)

Ischemic stroke is the most common kind of stroke – at least 88% of strokes occurred are this type. As you can see from the image to the left, ischemic stroke happens due to the blockage or narrowing down of arteries that connect to the brain, resulting in low blood flow to the brain. The blockage is caused by blood clots, which can form in the arteries or even further away before the blood enters the narrower part of arteries within the brain.

Illustration of hemorrhagic stroke: Wikimedia commons by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH)

Illustration of hemorrhagic stroke: Wikimedia commons by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH)

On the other hand, hemorrhagic stroke is less common than Ischemic stroke. Although, only 15% consists of hemorrhagic stroke, 40% of the death occurs due to this type of stroke. As you can see from the image to the right, it takes place when a blood vessel ruptures causing blood to accumulate in the tissue surrounding the rupture. Pressure on the brain is produced as a result, as well as loss of blood to certain areas.

Transient Ischemic Attack is very different from the other two types of stroke. The flow of blood to the brain is only disrupted for a short period of time. However, it is similar to Ischemic stroke due to the fact that it is often caused by blood clots. This type of stroke serves as a warning signs for future strokes, indicating that there is a partially blocked artery or clot source in heart. Over one third of the people who experience this have a major stroke within a year, and between 10-15% will have a major stroke within three months.

Some symptoms of stroke include confusion, trouble with speaking and understanding, headache, possibly with altered consciousness or vomiting, numbness of the face, arm or leg at one side of the body, trouble with seeing in one or both eyes, trouble with walking, dizziness and lack of coordination.

When should you see the doctor? An easy way to tell if a person has any of the signs or symptoms of a stroke is by remembering the acronym FAST:

F – face drooping

A – arm weakness

S -speech difficulty

T- time to call 911

Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately as soon as you feel the symptoms. Every minute counts, as the potential for brain damage increases, the longer you wait.

Stroke must be treated within 4.5 hours after the events start. There are different types of treatment for each type of stroke. If you are having an ischemic stroke, a drug called tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is given to break up the blood clot. Aspirin or other blood thinners are also given to the patient before surgery.

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-Shayini Kanageswaran

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Posted in Science Communication, Uncategorized

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Energy Drink Commercial: Minimizing the Bad and Maximizing the Good

Posted on February 7, 2016 by | 2 comments

There is currently a huge market for energy drinks in which young teens and adults consume them on a regular basis. In particular, the five-hour energy shot, having zero sugar content and only four calories, certainly stand out amongst the crowd. However, does this product really cure tiredness and give us energy and nutrition with no side effects? Are the advertisements conveying all the necessary information for viewers to make an informed decision?

In this commercial, there are some misleading and hidden messages in the claims of the product. For instance, a side effect of caffeine is crashing. Nonetheless, the bottle says “no crash!” To resolve this confusion, users need to pay attention to the flashing fine prints that are significantly less noticeable during the commercial. One of which says, “no crash means no sugar crash.”

a snapshot from the YouTube commercial

The use of fine print and repetition in the commercial might not be enough for a client to make an informed decision. Technically, the company did not lie. During the commercial, they did display and mention all the necessary information. However, the way they aggressively minimized the negative factors, and amplified the positive factors are truly misleading. It is really up to the users to interpret the information given, and use their existing knowledge to be informed about the product.

Furthermore, the nutrients added in the five-hour energy drink such as vitamin B6 and B12 do not have any values in boosting energy. It is the caffeine added in it that is giving the feeling of alertness. Vitamin B6 has functions in neurotransmitter, histamine, and hemoglobin synthesis as well as in metabolism and gene expression. On the other hand, vitamin B12 serves the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system. Although both are essential in the human body, none of them attribute to increasing energy. By associating these nutrients with an energy drink, the advertiser again left an open-ended scenario for the viewers to interpret. Most often, people would assume the causal relationship between vitamins and energy-level improvement.

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five-hour energy drink via flickr

The commercial and product emphasize the positive effects of the energy drink but fail to point out any risks. Aside from developing tolerance and physical dependence on caffeine, cardiovascular, psychological, digestive and other symptoms can develop with long-term use. Cardiovascular symptoms include: high blood pressure and arrhythmia. Psychological issues include: anxiety and nervousness. It can also lead to increased urination, loss of water-soluble nutrients, and dehydration. Other adverse effects include nausea, restlessness, drowsiness, and insomnia.

Overall, users should take the time to do research on any information given before using a product. We shall always seek for scientific evidence that have been supported by experts in the field, peer-reviewed and supported with raw data before believing anything. We should also use our existing knowledge to interpret information.

-Brigette Wee

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Posted in Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science Communicators

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You Shall Not Pass – Breaking the Blood-Brain Barrier

Posted on February 1, 2016 by | Leave a comment

The blood-brain barrier is a protective covering that surrounds the brain and prevents contaminants, pathogens and other toxins from entering the brain. Sounds amazing, right? Yes! It’s the brain’s own defence mechanism to protect itself, however it can come in the way when trying to treat brain disorders like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or even brain tumours.

Blood Brain Barrier. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Blood Brain Barrier. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Well, the problem is that the barrier only allows certain molecules such as water, glucose, lipid soluble molecules and some gases to pass and enter the brain. When designing drugs to combat brain diseases, researchers must find ways to bypass the blood-brain barrier which isn’t as easy as it seems. The cells that make up the barrier are tightly clustered together making it nearly impossible for drugs to enter into the brain.

In order to overcome this problem, researchers in Toronto designed a technique that was a breakthrough in breaking the blood-brain barrier. The technique, which has not yet been named, is currently being tested on patients with brain tumours. The first step in this technique is to administer a dose of a chemotherapy drug and also inject the patient with microbubbles which are smaller than red blood cells. The microbubbles and drug travel to the brain and come face to face with the blood-brain barrier. The patient is then placed in an MRI machine and the exact location of the tumour is identified.  Once the tumour has been located, ultrasound waves are emitted to that specific region causing the microbubbles to vibrate really fast.

Courtesy of Newswise

These vibrations cause the tight junctions of the cells that make up the blood-brain barrier to loosen up, creating a small passage for drugs to pass through. Once the ultrasound waves stop, the microbubbles are reabsorbed by the lungs and the passage which forms closes within a six to twelve-hour window.

Current techniques being used to penetrate the blood-brain barrier are invasive and not as targeted as this technique. If researchers can find a way to bypass the blood-brain barrier in a non-invasive manner, it will change therapeutic approaches to treating brain disorders. Like any other procedure which involves opening the blood-brain barrier, there are risks associated with this technique as well. The blood-brain barrier remains open for several hours after the initial procedure is done and during this time toxins and other contaminants can enter the brain through that passage. This technique is currently undergoing clinical trials but if it proves to be effective it can revolutionize the way we treat brain diseases.

YouTube Preview Image Courtesy of Sunnybrook Hospital

Harnoor Shoker

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