Author Archives: Julie Zhu

Climate change may be wiping out the rainbow in our rivers

Posted on April 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

While you might still be able to see rainbows reflected in the rivers, rainbow trout may become a thing of the past.

A freshwater rainbow trout. [Photo Source: © Schwarzenarzisse under a Pixabay License.]

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are a species of salmonid fish. This means they are related to salmon and other trout species, they are found along the West Coast of North America. There are populations of rainbow trout all the way from Alaska down to Baja California. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, habitat loss and climate change are two of the leading causes threatening our local populations of rainbow trout.

Range of rainbow trout along the West Coast of North America. [Photo Source: © 2008 Canadian Geographic/Signy Fridriksson under The Royal Canadian Geographical Society]

On a scale from “Not at Risk” to “Extinct”, the rainbow trout are considered endangered, which is the last step before extinction. While you may not be familiar with rainbow trout now, you should be paying more attention to them.

According to Dr. Patricia Schulte, a conservation zoologist from the University of British Columbia, rainbow trout are an especially important predatory fish, which means that they shape the ecosystems they live in. Crawfish and mussels are just a few of the aquatic species that count rainbow trout as an important part of their ecosystem. So while you may not have heard of rainbow trout before, you are bound to know at least one species that is affected directly or indirectly by them.

Climate change is going to cause rivers to become depleted in oxygen, affecting living organisms including the rainbow trout. [Photo Source: © mistralfamilie under a Pixabay License.]

Dr. Schulte recently sat down to discuss the importance of funding projects geared towards conservation projects.

[Source: SoundCloud, Created by: Gillian Okura & Julie Zhu]

As mentioned in the podcast, Dr. Schulte is leading a team-based project in British Columbia, which received funding from Genome Canada to help carry out the research. They conducted a study to figure out whether different types of rainbow trout differ in their ability to tolerate climate change, specifically conditions where there is low oxygen and high temperatures.

Climate change is decreasing the numbers of fish populations, including rainbow trout which are a major source in the fish industry. In the video below, we delve deeper into the effects of climate change and how Dr. Schulte and her team’s research are making predictions and gathering information to help sustain rainbow trout in the future.

[Source: Youtube, Created by: Gillian Okura & Julie Zhu]

Hopefully, learning more about this rainbow brought a little more knowledge and sunshine to your day.

~ Group 4: Gillian Okura & Julie Zhu

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication

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Learn a new language……in your sleep!

Posted on March 18, 2019 | Leave a comment

Whether you’re forced to take a French class to fulfill school credits or you’re teaching yourself Japanese because you love the culture so much that you want to speak it, learning a new language is not easy. It is a slow process and is a lot of work as it requires daily practice to learn a new language. But what if you could also learn it in your sleep? Did you know sleeping can help you learn a foreign language?

It is possible to learn a language while sleeping and while awake! [Image Source: ThemeXpert]

How can this possibly work?

Your brain does not sleep with you. While you’re sleeping, your brain is making many new connections with neurons, which are nerve cells in the brain. And during undisturbed deep sleep, your brain cells alternatively go into an active state called “up-state” and an inactive state called “down-state” about every half-second. This is where your brain is replaying the events and learnings of the day, a process called “consolidation”.

Obviously, this is not saying that you can play a language CD while asleep and then wake up to be suddenly fluent. But rather, if you are learning a new language at school or for fun, and you additionally play the language during your sleep, you’ll find it’s like magic how much better your memory is on what you have just learned. The practice of listening to the new foreign language while sleeping boosts and strengthens the consolidation process in the brain.

Sleep plays an important role on memory and learning. [Image Source: Resonea]

Has this worked before on people?

Studies, such as Swiss biopsychologist Björn Rasch’s, have been conducted where students were played new foreign vocabulary in their sleep and compared their memory of it with students who were played the same words while they were awake. Results showed that the students who listened to the new-language vocabulary while asleep recalled them better on a test than the ones who listened while awake.

Another study that focused on word-learning and napping in children where they similarly let them hear new words and then sleep shortly after, resulted in them remembering the newly gained knowledge significantly better than the children who stayed awake.

The importance of sleep

As explained earlier, you cannot entirely learn a new language in your sleep, but sleep can help enforce your learning a great deal! Getting adequate and quality sleep is so important, not just for learning a new language, but for your general health and basic survival as well. It is always worth getting a decent sleep every night instead of allowing yourself to become sleep-deprived. If getting enough sleep is something that seems difficult for you, it is never a bad idea to consider some healthy sleeping tips.

Happy sleeping and happy learning!

– Julie Zhu

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Posted in Science Communication

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Please get rid of this headache!

Posted on January 29, 2019 | 2 comments

Possibly one of the most dreadful feelings: an oncoming headache. Nothing more mundane could be worse than your head feeling like it’s caving in at any moment while you’re trying to get through the day. There are many different types of headaches, with tension headaches being the most common among adults and teens caused by a variety of factors.

Painkillers are a common and quick remedy to relieve headaches. [Source: Vox]

You soon find yourself at the local pharmacy to quickly rid yourself of the pain. So, what should you take? The following are common over-the-counter drugs (OTC) used to treat pain and fever relief.

Tylenol

This is the brand name of the chemical drug acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol). It is the most popular OTC painkiller worldwide. Acetaminophen inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are chemical messengers produced by the body in response to an injury/illness that helps to signal pain and induce fever. Acetaminophen then blocks this signalling to help reduce the pain. Prostaglandins also induce inflammation of the body tissues but (unlike the other two drugs below) acetaminophen does not have anti-inflammatory action.

Tylenol is the most common OTC painkiller worldwide. [Source: London Drugs]

Acetaminophen is most frequently involved in drug overdose. Overdose or mixing with alcohol may result in severe or fatal liver damage. It was the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US between 1998 and 2003.

However, Tylenol is generally considered safe for pregnant women in all three trimesters. It can also be taken by any age group including young children with fevers at 3-months-old, which is probably one of the main reasons why this brand is so popular.

Advil

This brand’s sole medicinal ingredient is ibuprofen. It belongs to the class called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Ibuprofen blocks the production of prostaglandins and helps relieve a broad range of aches, especially hangover-type headaches!

Advil is popular to take when relieving headaches during a hangover. [Source: BisonOffice.com]

Most NSAIDs also have an anti-platelet effect from reversibly altering platelet function, which protects from blood clots by prolonging bleeding time.

Women are not recommended to take Advil during pregnancy. Unlike Tylenol, children need to wait until at least 6-months-old to take Advil.

Aspirin

The chemical name of this brand is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Like Advil, they also belong to the class of NSAIDs therefore also providing release with anti-inflammatory action. They also work by decreasing the body’s production of prostaglandins. In addition to providing relief from headaches, Aspirin can be prescribed by a doctor as a blood-thinner to lower the risk of stroke and heart disease, something that Tylenol and Advil cannot do.

Aspirin is another well-known brand of OTC painkillers. [Source: London Drugs]

Unlike other NSAIDs, Aspirin irreversibly and permanently prevents platelet function during their lifespans of 8-10 days, resulting in inclined unstopped bleeding.

Aspirin is considered relatively safe in infrequent doses for women during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, but should be avoided in the third trimester as it can be harmful to both the mother and baby. Aspirin should also be avoided in children less than 18-years-old that have a viral illness (e.g. flu or chicken pox) due to the risk of Reye syndrome.

Comparison and conclusions:

Table comparing the three painkiller brands. Advil has the most adverse effects, but Advil is less toxic than Tylenol in terms of overdosage. Advil and Aspirin are similar in their type class and side effects. Tylenol is safest to use for pregnant women and can be taken the earliest in children. [Source: Created using Microsoft Powerpoint]

It’s common sense that taking too many painkillers is bad for you. Do not take OTC drugs too frequently as it may cause the body to overly rely on the medication, resulting in additional headaches. There are many natural ways to treat headaches that can be just as effective. Below is a video on head massage techniques that can help as well.

Please note this post is a basic guideline for the self-treatment of common, mild-to-moderate headaches. If your headache is excruciating or lasts longer than a couple days, please consult with a pharmacist/doctor if there is an underlying issue and to discuss other treatment options.

– Julie Zhu

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