How Does Caffeine Keep You Awake?

Posted on January 21, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Many people enjoy having a cup of coffee in the morning for its mood-enhancing and stimulatory effects. According to Methods Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),  most caffeine (70%) is consumed before noon and it’s commonly believed that caffeine makes up for lost sleep. However, the belief is slightly different from how it actually works.

How Caffeine Is Introduced To the Body:

When you drink a coffee, caffeine is first absorbed in the small intestine within an hour and becomes available through the blood and most parts of the body, including your brain. Then, as it starts entering your brain, it starts competing with a compound called adenosine.

What Is Adenosine?

Adenosine is a very well-known sleep-regulating molecule that makes you get sleepy as the day comes to an end, and it is constantly monitored by the nervous system through receptors. So, when its levels drop and reach a certain low-level in your spinal cord and brain, your body signals you to start relaxing to prepare for sleep.

How Does It Work?

The way that caffeine works is by tricking your body to think that it’s not the time for sleep yet by acting like adenosine. Normally, once adenosine interacts with the adenosine receptor, the interaction results in muscle relaxation and sleepiness. However, when caffeine is in your brain, caffeine competes with adenosine and prevents adenosine from binding to adenosine receptors, which is what gives you the sense of wakefulness you get from drinking coffee.

How Long Do the Effects Last?

Although the effects vary from person to person, caffeine generally gives you more energy and lasts for about 5-6 hours. After that, caffeine molecules start to move away from the receptors and change into various substances (such as paraxanthine and theobromine) through different enzymes. Then, as a result, significantly fewer caffeine molecules end up occupying the adenosine receptors, allowing adenosine to start interacting with adenosine receptors again and promote muscle relaxation and sleepiness. This process is what makes you feel sleepy again.

In conclusion, even though caffeine does not make up lost sleep, it is true that it gives you more energy.  When it is consumed, it works toward your body’s adenosine receptors and mirrors the effects.

-Janet Lee

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Combating Climate Change with Robotic Jellyfish

Posted on January 21, 2019 by | 1 comment

The backbone of any diverse ecosystem is a healthy coral reef. Image from Wikimedia Commons

A quick dive beneath the ocean’s surface can reveal a completely different world. Our ocean’s coral reefs house some of nature’s most complex, diverse, and lively aquatic life. Alas, with global warming increasing our ocean’s temperatures, most of this coral is actually dying at an alarming rate.

Be that as it may, within this bustling community you might come across a robotic jellyfish or two. Have no fear, these ones don’t sting! In fact, these devices may be our solution to combating climate change.

What are robotic jellyfish?

The robotic jellyfish is a device that was developed by Erik Engeberg and his team of mechanical engineers at Florida Atlantic University. This robot mimics the gentle movements of a real jellyfish and collects data on ocean temperatures via built-in sensors. Ultimately, this allows for the study of the hidden impacts of climate change at sea.

The robotic jellyfish propelling itself gently through the ocean. Image from JENNIFER FRAME, NICK LOPEZ, OSCAR CURET AND ERIK D. ENGEBERG/IOP PUBLISHING

Can this robot save our reefs?

Yes! In fact, the Great Barrier Reef recently experienced a widespread death of coral (a process known as “bleaching”). Consequently, the death of aquatic life whom depended on coral as shelter to protect themselves from predators followed suit. With that being said, the creation of the robotic jellyfish has allowed scientists to develop better measures to protect these reefs from further damage.

Coral reefs become lacklustre and dull after dying in a process known as “bleaching”. The bleaching of coral reefs no longer provide shelter for aquatic life. Image from Wikimedia Commons

How were coral reefs studied before?

In the past, drones were deployed to collect data on marine life; however, they were very destructive. For instance, drones produced a lot of noise which can scare off marine life. On top of that, their propellers take in ocean water quite forcibly, tearing off the coral which is an essential habitat for these animals.

The soft movements of wild jellyfish were what inspired Engeberg and his team to develop quieter technology to monitor coral reefs. The robotic jellyfish has allowed us to collect data without posing as a threat to animals or potentially destroying the reef.

Underwater drones were used in the past. However, their propellers were quite noisy and posed as a threat to the coral reefs. Image from Wikimedia Commons

The Future of the Robotic Jellyfish

Though the robotic jellyfish is still a work in progress, it has given scientists a better understanding of how to tackle the ongoing fight with climate change. To give you a better visual and understanding of the robotic jellyfish, this Youtube video summarizes the robot and all its technicalities:

-Christina Rayos

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Recording the Cell? New technologies further uncover the mystery of the cell

Posted on January 14, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Does anyone really know what life is like inside of a cell? Sure, we can all say that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, and we’ve learned mitosis more time than we can count, but do we really know about the intricacies of day to day cellular processes? Historically, answer has been an overwhelming no, but that is something the researchers behind CAMERA are hoping to change.

CAMERA, or CRISPR-mediated analog multievent recording aperture is a tool developed by David Liu and Weixin Tang of Harvard university to record the molecular interactions within a cell, all of which are stored on the cell’s DNA. This new discovery allows scientists to observe and therefore clarify the processes that contribute to such things as the emergence of cancer, aging, environmental damage, and even embryonic development. CAMERA is only one of the many developments based off of the gene cutting technology known as CRISPR-Cas9.

Thyroid Cancer Cell Line. Courtesy of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre and Flickr Commons.

What is CRISPR-Cas9 you ask? CRISPR-Cas9, or CRISPR for short, is a technology based off of the natural defense mechanisms found in bacteria that have been reengineered for editing genomes. It has the ability to cut the double helix strand of DNA allowing for researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene expression. Some of the major implications of this include the possible correction of genetic defects, and the treatment and prevention of cancer and other diseases.

So how did scientists develop a cellular recording device from this cutting tool? When CRISPR cuts a DNA strand to alter the sequence, the strand will naturally repair itself but in doing so can occasionally add in errors that make the targeted gene inactive. These random errors can sometimes be used as markers, mapping out the cell’s pattern of differentiation. Liu and Tang took this information and set out to regulate it thereby creating a more detailed, continuous record of a cell’s life, documenting not only its responses to external factors but the severity of the response and how long it lasts.

CRISPR mediated DNA splitting. Courtesy of Flickr Commons.

At this point in time, CAMERA, is able to document cellular responses to light exposure, antibiotics, viral infections, and internal molecular interactions in as few as 10 cells. As well, it can record multiple events at once making it an impressive candidate for future medical technologies involved in screening embryos for a wide variety of mutations during development. Despite these impressive feats, Liu and Tang are still working towards pinpointing the recording down to one cell, allowing scientists to one day observe the processes of each cell individually and efficiently isolating any mutations. Another big step is proving it works to the same detailed extent when placed in the body of a living mammal as it does in a small cell group in a petri dish. There is still a lot to be done before we can confidently say we know how cells operate but CAMERA is a step in the right direction.

-Tenanye Haglund

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Wired and Tired: Detrimental Effects of Blue Light on Sleep

Posted on January 14, 2019 by | Leave a comment

You have to wake up early tomorrow, however, you don’t feel tired, so you go on your phone to quickly check Instagram or Facebook and suddenly its 2 or 3 a.m. before you can finally fall asleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 95% of people in the U.S. admit to using an electronic device within the hour before slumber. This not only causes you to sleep later, but also substantially lowers the quality of sleep, leaving you feeling tired throughout the day. This can interfere with various aspects of your life including work, school, or driving. Poor sleep has also been linked to obesity, growth hormone imbalance, chronic illness… the list goes on and on.

Brain Activity Credit: Saad Faruque

Using your phone, watching television, or using any electronic device before bed delays the circadian rhythm, which is a 24-hour internal clock that cycles between sleepiness and alertness. Dr. Charles Czeisler from Harvard Medical School showed that daylight helps to keep your body’s circadian rhythm aligned with the environment. Therefore, when exposed to the blue light emitted from these electronic devices, your body perceives it as daylight, and as a result, your body will suppress the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and remain in a state of alertness. This shifts your circadian clock later and later, making it harder and harder for you to fall asleep.

Phone before Sleep Credit: Courtesy Photo

According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, blue light is the most effective at altering the body’s circadian rhythm. However, it was found that other sources of light, such as green light, can also alter the body’s circadian rhythm under certain conditions. This is because the photoreceptor system in the human eye is responsible for resetting the internal circadian body clock through the detection of light. These photoreceptors are very responsive to blue light; however, new research shows that the another set of photoreceptors in the human eye, which are sensitive to green light, also have an impact the internal circadian body clock. The researchers found that when exposed to dim light, green light is equally as effective as blue light in delaying circadian rhythm, however, the effects of green light die off more quickly and hence blue light suppresses melatonin for about twice as long as green light.

Morning Alarm Credit: Pixabay

To conclude, blue light exposure before bedtime can negatively harm your sleep and health by being physiologically and psychologically stimulating. So next time you are lying in bed and can’t fall asleep you should think twice about checking your phone.

-Jonathan Raj

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The New and Improved Kilogram

Posted on January 14, 2019 by | Leave a comment

How do we know how much anything weighs? Where does the measurement come from when you use the kitchen scale or the scale in your physics lab? Since 1879, the sole definition of the kilogram was carefully locked away in an underground vault in France, the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK). Starting May of 2019, this tightly stored piece  of platinum and iridium will no longer officially represent the mass of a kilogram. This renewed definition will be more accessible to everyone and remain accurate for the rest of time, demonstrating the importance of this change.The kilogram is one of the base units as part of the International System of Units (SI).

The International Prototype Kilogram, or Le Grand K informally, is the only physical artifact that determines the official mass of one kilogram. However, since it is stowed away under careful protection by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (ICWM). It is hardly accessible and any changes in mass due to scratches or dirt would change the official mass of the kilogram. Even copies made of Le Grand K may not always be exactly accurate.

This prompted the change by the ICWM to a much more accessible and unchanging value based on a fundamental constant, the Planck’s constant. Planck’s constant, or h, like all other fundamental constants of nature remain the same with time and throughout the universe. Planck’s constant relates the smallest energy packet possible to the frequency of that energy packet, and is defined to be 6.626176 x 10^(-34) kilogram meter squared per second. With the kilogram within this constant, the determination of the kilogram can be made much more precisely without needing to compare it with the actual IPK.

To determine the mass with the new definition, a Kibble balance can be used. The Kibble balance is able to weigh mass against an electromagnetic current, making it incredibly accurate and precise.

Shown below is a video from Veritasium working with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) explaining the new changes for the kilogram and how a kibble balance is used to determine the mass:

For the common household scale, or even anything beyond advanced physics, the new definition of the kilogram will not cause any change in mass. However over time, the required precision for mass in all fields of science will benefit from this change. The importance for consistent and precise measurements in all of science and business are seen.

— Christy Lau

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Posted in Science Communication, Science in the News, Uncategorized

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Wearable Stickers: The New Life-Saving Medical Device

Posted on January 14, 2019 by | Leave a comment

What if a sticker could save your life? Sometimes, the scariest part about being sick is not knowing whether you are taking all the correct measures to monitor and treat your illness, even after the doctor prescribes medication. A number of wearable devices such as wristbands have been created to monitor our physical activity and ensure that our health is on the right track. However, these devices are typically very expensive.

Recently, a team from Purdue University in Indiana published their research in ACS Advanced Materials and Interfaces on an electronic wearable sticker. These smart stickers are a simpler and more cost- efficient version of existing electronic wearable devices available for personalized medicine.

University Hall at Purdue University. Courtesy of Flickr Commons (Bill Badzo)
Source: https://flic.kr/p/suXmh8

 

Both the electronic devices and the stickers can alert users of any health risks or warning signs in real time. They contain sensors that record electrocardiograms, electromyograms and electrooculograms, which measure the electrical activity produced by the heart, the skeletal muscles, and the corneas respectively. They can also provide thermotherapeutic treatments, or heat therapy, to joints.

EPEDs demonstration video. Courtesy of YouTube. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuKbx3xyPIk

Purdue’s new epidermal, paper-based electronic device (EPED) can also be used as implantable sensors that monitor sleep, as they can adapt to internal organs without any serious effects. They are inexpensively paper-based and made out of cellulose. Lined with serpentine shapes, which make them more flexible and stretchable, they are coated with molecules that protect them from sweat, oil, water and bacteria as well. Each sticker costs about 5 cents to produce, and only require cheaper printers likened to those used to print books quickly and efficiently.

EPED Stickers designed by Purdue University. Courtesy of Youtube.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuKbx3xyPIk

Book Printer. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:On_demand_book_printer_2.jpg

As wearable devices become increasingly popular in this technological era, these stickers are a cheap and effective solution that makes personal health monitoring more accessible to all. Since they are so easy to implement and test, with growing research, they can be developed to accommodate a range of other healthcare needs in the very near future.

– Justine Law

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Welcome to SCIE 300 Blogging!

Posted on September 11, 2018 by | Leave a comment

Welcome to the SCIE 300 course blog!
Here are few things to make note of before you get started with your posts. First of all, you should read the blogging resources page under the Create menu. This will help you out a lot if you are brand new to using WordPress. On this page you will find video tutorials about writing posts on this blog, adding media to your posts, tagging, and categorizing. You will also find a link to the rubric we’ll use to grade your blog posts.
Next, check out the blogging guidelines. Here you will find the answer to the question: “What are we supposed to blog about?” You can also check out one of last term’s blogs for some additional inspiration.
There are a few important things to keep in mind when blogging. Please do not assume that just because something is online, it is OK for you to use it. For example, unless it is explicitly stated, an image on the internet can not just be copied, saved, and used in your own post without permission to do so. We’ve provided you with a lot more detail about properly using online content, but if you have questions, let us know.
This blog also contains a lot of resources for you. For example, still under the Create menu, there is a list of suggested software to use for your projects. We’ve also collected some writing and presentation resources. Basic audio/visual equipment can be borrowed from SCIE300. Contact the course coordinator for more info.
Under the Explore menu, you will find some sample podcasts and videos, links that may be of interest or assistance, a list of groups and associations related to communicating science as well as a list of local museums and science centres. The Explore menu also contains a library resources page, which you should definitely have a look at. Finally, there is a bookshelf that lists relevant books that are on reserve for you in Woodward Library.
Let us know if you have any questions about the blog or would like to see any other resources made available. Or, if you find something that you think would be useful to the rest of the class, tell us, and we can add it to the resources. Better yet — write a post about it!
Happy blogging!
The Science 300 Team

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