Category Archives: Science Communication

Drinking too Much Water Can Kill You

Posted on January 14, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Growing up, we have been told numerous times to drink at least four-to-six cups of water a day to stay hydrated. Water is an essential part of life, but what if I told you that drinking too much water can kill you? There are many studies that explain how over-hydration, especially when you are finishing a workout or have kidney issues may increase the risk of water intoxication. Water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia can be hazardous to your health and in a few cases lethal.

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Drinking 3 Litres of water a day keeps you well hydrated.                Credit: Chris Bishop http://teded.tumblr.com/post/142459697422/10-facts-about-water-your-body

How Can Over-hydration Kill You?

In this video, Science Insider a YouTube channel that primarily creates educational videos, explains how dangerous and harmful over-hydration can be.

Drinking faster than your kidney can process disrupts the balance of Sodium and water in the cells resulting in the cell swelling up and expanding.  The video continues explaining how the continuous swelling of cells, especially brain cells  leads to dizziness and brain damage.

Research Study on Water Intoxication

A study from Queen Mary University of London, explained that water consumption is indeed beneficial to the human body in healthy amounts. However, Exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) also known as water intoxication in marathon runners are more prevalent.

The study collected surveys on 298 participants who were all runners in the 2014 London Marathon, surprisingly only 48% of participants had knowledge about the effects of water intoxication and how much water should be consumed during the run. As study shows that 13% of marathon runners show mild symptoms of water intoxication. The saying “drink to thirst,” is known to be the most effective guideline to prevent water intoxication compared to “drink to max.” There isn’t enough proof  that establishes when mild symptoms of water intoxication becomes symptomatic. But what is known is that hydration strategies is vital to the safety of participants that are involved in high physical activity.

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Know your limit and stay within it!                                            Credit: Chris Bishop http://teded.tumblr.com/post/142459697422/10-facts-about-water-your-body

 

The effects of over-hydration is lethal and should not be taken lightly! We’re all guilty of gulping down a few drinks or even consuming excess amounts of water after a workout, however we should definitely take a few sips back and think about how much water we really need.

 

Cindy San

Blog Post #1

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Posted in Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science in the News, Statistics, Uncategorized

Using the Power of Sunlight to Fight Infections

Posted on January 13, 2019 by | 1 comment

Imagine if the most resistant pathogens that plague our society today could be destroyed using the power of sunlight. Terrifying resistant bugs seem to become ever more common, and ever more dangerous. Taking a round of antibiotics can be a gamble, as there is no guarantee the bacteria will be killed off by the drugs. Antibiotics are starting to fail, but what if there is another solution after all options have been exhausted?

The overuse of antibiotics (Source: EarthPulseDaily on Flickr)

As early as 1845, it was known that sunlight could be used to treat bacterial infections. Ultraviolet (UV) light was also found to have incredible effects upon affected skin, destroying the genetic material of harmful microbes circulating in the blood underneath its surface. Nonetheless, researchers decided to take it one step further: Why not expose the blood to the UV light directly?

That’s exactly what researcher Emmett K. Knott and his co-workers did to blood extracted from infected dogs, using a machine that passed the blood under a UV light. Remarkably, the dogs made a full, long-term recovery without any side effects. Similarly, in 1928, a woman who was on the brink of death due to septic abortion complicated by a Streptococcus infection was treated with UV blood irradiation (UVBI) and recovered completely, even having two healthy pregnancies some time afterwards.

Old and new: UVBI machines (Sources: PubMed Central and Champion Ultimate UV)

You might be thinking that exposing your blood to UV rays sounds extremely dangerous! However, our body cells contain repair enzymes that can quickly fix any damage done to them by the low dose of UV light.

UVBI was an outstanding method for treating infections during the 1940s and 1950s, but was sadly overshadowed by the emergence of antibiotics. Too much of a good thing quickly turns sours, and this has certainly become the case with modern antibiotic use. Doctors are prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed – such as for viral infections – and also prescribing them too frequently when they should really be a last resort. UVBI seems to be making a small comeback, but few recent studies have been done, as some medical practitioners refuse to accept it as a viable treatment for infection despite its decades-long history. This is an effective, low cost treatment with no side effects that is still being used in some technologically-advanced countries. Hopefully, UVBI will be widely used again, starting with patients who have failed their antibiotic treatments.

Here is a TED-Ed video with more information on how bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics:

By Gabriela Rosu

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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The Flu Shot Debate- Does it really work?

Posted on January 11, 2019 by | Leave a comment

Every year, we are reminded all around us by advertisements, pharmacies, doctors, even family members to get our flu shot so we won’t get sick! However, there are some that are skeptical when they see flu shot advertisements and campaigns. The general public debates on whether this shot actually does anything beneficial and are skeptical when reports come out every year of vaccines not being as effective as they should be or deaths from the flu such as this article here.

Flu virus coming into contact with cell. Source : Flickr Commons

 

So, to be a voice of reason in this massive debate, one first needs to understand how the flu shot actually works and why there have been past years where the flu shot has failed tremendously or has had huge success in keeping people healthy.

How it’s made

Between flu seasons (Spring-Summer), scientists’ study previous month’s “flu-trends” and base the vaccine they make for the year on this information. The influenza vaccine is first made in lab months prior to our annual “flu-season” (Fall through Winter) and then injected into hen eggs where the virus can multiply. The next step in the process requires the virus to enter a weakened, inactivated state. This inactive state prevents the virus from further mutation in the human body, which would otherwise consist of flu symptoms. Vaccines are then made with the inactivated flu virus.

How it works

The timeline for this process can be problematic in that the preparation of the vaccine occurs months before the current strain of influenza affects the general population. The time which the vaccines are modeled after the flu virus strains to when people can actually receive the flu shot is approximately 6 months prior to distribution. This leaves plenty of time for the flu virus to further mutate. This is why in some flu seasons the vaccine can target the completely wrong strain of influenza, thus leading to a useless vaccine.

Source : Flickr Commons

Flu Vaccine Source : Flickr Commons

However, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu vaccines can reduce the risk of illness and symptoms by 40%-60% on a good year when the vaccine closely matches the circulating strain.

Now to answer the question; Does the flu vaccine really work? The answer I believe most accurate is yes. Although there is potential for the flu strain to mutate to something that does not match the vaccine exactly, little protection is better than no protection, and by getting the flu shot you are not only protecting yourself but also those around you.

-Morgan Strohan

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

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