Tag Archives: Cancer

Coffee Joints the Fight Against Cancer

Posted on March 4, 2019 by | 1 comment

You wake up early for school or work and find yourself yawning the whole commute, so naturally you go grab Starbucks or Tim Hortons to wake yourself up. Coffee is always associated with increased energy levels, however, have you ever wondered what other benefits it may impose towards your health? According to the Coffee Association of Canada, 72 % of Canadians reported drinking coffee yesterday. With coffee being the most consumed beverage by Canadians (even more than tap water), it is important to assess any potential health risks floating around.

Credit: Pexels

In the last couple years, many new researches have had a change of heart towards the effects of coffee on cancer. In 2016, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization removed coffee from its “possible carcinogen” list. On top of that, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, there is strong evidence that moderate consumption of coffee reduces liver cancer, and weak evidence in lowering other types of cancer. The reason behind this is that coffee contains a variety of phytochemicals, many of which have antioxidant properties.

Cancer cells Credit: Pixabay

Caffeine has become the most widely used phytochemical that is present in coffee. When consumed, it is absorbed into your blood stream where it then travels to your brain. This blocks the neurotransmitter adenosine due to the fact that that these two molecules have a very similar structure, allowing caffeine to bind to the adenosine receptors in the brain. This not only causes you to feel more awake but lowers your risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which is the most common type of liver cancer. HCC is associated with the adenosine3A2A receptor, which can be blocked with increased coffee consumption. G Wiltberger from the University Hospital of RWTH found that HCC was observed less frequently in patients with a coffee intake of three or more cups a day as opposed to patients who had less than two cups a day.

Credit: Wikipedia

When coffee is roasted, the chemical acrylamide is produced due to exposure of the coffee bean to such high temperatures for an elongated period of time. California’s  Proposition 65 suggests limits on daily consumption of certain chemicals, and they claim that consumption of 0.2 μg per day or higher of acrylamide may be correlated with causing cancer . The average cup of coffee contains 0.45 μg of acrylamide, therefore, research is being conducted to determine whether there is a positive correlation between acrylamide consumption and cancer. Nixon BJ conducted a study in 2012 and found that prolonged exposure to high levels of acrylamide can disrupt the DNA replication process by binding to DNA. This results in mutations and eventually cancer. However, his study was conducted on mice, and they metabolize acrylamide differently to humans. Therefore, the effects of acrylamide on causing cancer is still inconclusive.

Credit: Pixabay

For a food to go from the possible carcinogen list to now boast powerful anti-carcinogenic properties, is extraordinary. But, as the millions of people drinking coffee every day will tell you, when it comes to coffee, there’s nothing like it.

-Jonathan Raj

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Can Sharks Help Us Cure Cancer?

Posted on March 3, 2019 by | Leave a comment

There are very few things in this world that are more terrifying to humans than sharks are. After all, with their intelligence, size, agility and ideal anatomical features, they really are the perfect predators. They have dominated the ocean for over 400 million years, instilling fear in other animals and humans alike. But what if these fierce hunters actually hold the key to surviving some of our deadliest diseases?

A great white shark in Dyer Island. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (Olga Ernst).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_white_shark_Dyer_Island.jpg

Recently, scientists at the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center characterized the full genome of a great white shark, essentially the genetic blueprint that maps the structure and function of the animal. Their studies revealed that sharks are just as resilient on the inside as they look on the outside.

Their research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, found that sharks can repair and alter their DNA, the material in our bodies that carry genetic information, in order to fight diseases and heal wounds efficiently as they age. Their built-in resistance to DNA damage increases their genetic stability and health, which is how they are able to thrive for millions of years.

A 3D-model of DNA strands.
Courtesy of Flickr Commons (Helen Carmody).
Source: https://flic.kr/p/R8JhxZ

Healing progression of a lemon shark over a three year period. Courtesy of YouTube (Ramon Llaneza Technical Diving). Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lrn5AHipp8. 

Our cells, the building blocks of our body, along with our DNA, which provide the layout for the cells to function, breakdown as we age. This damage, termed genomic instability, is what makes humans so vulnerable to serious age-related diseases like cancer.

By studying the shark genome, the scientists hope to understand the mechanisms behind how these animals are able to preserve its stability, information that may potentially help us fight cancer and other serious human diseases. It may also help improve current flesh-healing treatments.

There is still so much to learn from sharks, both from a biomedical perspective and from an environmental perspective. Hopefully, this newfound research will heighten our appreciation for these evolutionary superheroes instead of feeling the need kill them.

– Justine Law

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Microwaves: Do They Really “Give You Cancer”?

Posted on January 28, 2019 by | Leave a comment

 

“Don’t stand in front of the microwave! You’ll get cancer.” Growing up, we hear this at home repetitively over and over again. In contrast to this widely believed myth however, microwave ovens do not “give cancer” to people. The mechanism that a microwave functions by is not so complex, but the assumptions made around it are questionable.

Much of our world today revolves around convenience. We often see people choosing convenience over cost, quality, conscience, and sometimes even safety. In this context, microwaves are fantastic to use in daily life – the energy efficiency, ease of use, and rapid processing time make them increasingly popular.

But how exactly do microwaves work? This is a question that needs to be addressed before we discuss anything else. Simply put, microwaves produce radiation that is absorbed by water molecules in whatever is inside the microwave. These water molecules then vibrate and produce heat, causing the food to cook. This mechanism is what allows microwave ovens to heat our food in such a short span of time, while the chemical structure of the food components are not altered in any way.

In The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a study found that when microwaved, broccoli retained its minerals all except for vitamin C. What does this imply? Nothing much at all. It is actually easy to lose vitamin C in any type of cooking process, because of its volatility. Microwaves are not the only ones at fault. Luckily, we have raw fruits and vegetables that are abundant in vitamin C to compensate for this deficit.

So what about being physically near a microwave when it is functioning and emitting radiation? The fabrication that microwave ovens cause cancer comes from the suggestion that the energy given off by microwaves is enough to damage one’s DNA. However, Peter Valberg found little evidence to support this relationship between microwave exposure and cancer causation in his study conducted in 1997. He concluded against the existence of a relationship, and very few studies have been carried out after Valberg’s review.

Microwave ovens do not destroy all the nutrients in our food, and neither do they literally cause cancer in humans. It has never been proven that microwaves are actually harmful, whether indirectly or directly. It’s time for the public to recognize the stale saying that “microwaves give you cancer” as ignorant and untrue.

– Sarah Choi

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Immune Systems in Space

Posted on January 28, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Humans are getting closer to reaching their goal of becoming an inter-planetary species. NASA is under presidential orders to land humans on Mars by 2033.  However, will astronauts be able to survive such a long and grueling journey?  Little is known about the long-term effects of space travel on the human body. A one-way trip would take about seven months and a round trip could take well over three years, but the longest a human has continuously been in space is just over a year. Our bodies have adapted over millions of years to survive on earth and long-term spaceflight could weaken our immune systems, according to recent research led by the University of Arizona.

NK Cells and the Immune System

The immune system helps to fight infections and protect our bodies from illnesses. It is made up of many types of cells, including white blood cells which help destroy invaders and protect against diseases that can make us sick. One of these cells, called the NK (natural killer) cell, is especially important since it is responsible for killing infected/cancerous cells. NK cells are especially important during space travel since the body may be exposed to larger amounts of radiation and there is a possibility of increased cancer risk.

Astronauts in space will not be protected from radiation by Earth’s atmosphere. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The research team tested the blood of astronauts who had been in space for at least six months and compared these test results to those of healthy individuals on earth. Results were taken before and after spaceflight, and even twice during the flight. What they found was shocking, the NK cells from blood taken during and after spaceflight were about 50% less effective than the NK cells from blood taken before spaceflight. Even blood samples taken 90 days into spaceflight contained NK cells that were much less effective. Richard Simpson, one of the authors of the study explained how NK cell activity decreased; “When we look at the function of the astronaut samples during flight compared to their own samples before they flew, it goes down. When we compare them to controls who stayed on Earth, it still goes down.”

Small Piece of the Puzzle

Safely transporting astronauts to Mars is no small task, and this highlights one of the many challenges faced by engineers and scientists. Problems that we consider small or things we take for granted have to be carefully thought out.  Engineers have to invent solutions for problems that we may not see as problems. It is amazing how many factors are at play and must be accounted for when planning a project of this magnitude. Nevertheless, countless individuals are hard at work tackling numerous problems such as this. Simpson and his team are actively working to find a solution, hoping that a combination of nutrition and fitness can be used to keep NK cells effective. If successful, their hard work will contribute to one of the finest achievements of the human race.

Render of an astronaut gazing across Mars.  Courtesy of NASA.

 

-Sukhman Bhuller

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