Category Archives: Issues in Science

From Recreational to Pharmaceutical – A Promising Psychedelic in Research

Posted on February 27, 2021 by | 1 comment

Current research on the use of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic applications is showing a lot of promise, building on the potential first demonstrated by studies  conducted in the 1950’s. Humphry Osmond, the psychiatrist who coined the term “psychedelics”, is considered one of the pioneers of psychedelics research. He believed hallucinogenic drugs could be used to treat mental illnesses, and his research findings supported his beliefs. His study on the use of LSD to treat alcoholism found that at the one year follow-up, almost half of study participants who suffered from alcoholism didn’t return to drinking. As such, Osmond’s seminal studies paved the path for the emerging field of psychedelics research. Fast-forward to today, research studies are demonstrating that under controlled conditions, psychedelic drugs like LSD, psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms), and ketamine hold the potential for treating an array of mental illnesses – from alcoholism, to PTSD, to depression, anxiety, and OCD.  As the newest addition, MDMA is joining the rest of its peers in psychedelics research and may hold great potential.

Humphry Osmond, Source: Jeremy Leung

MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy, E, M, or Molly, is an infamous psychoactive drug often associated with nightclub and rave scenes. Hours of partying are fueled by intense feelings of pleasure, emotional warmth, and an abundance of energy owed to this little pill with so many names. The negative stigma attached to recreational drug use has given MDMA a bad rep, but research studies from an organization called Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies (MAPS) are challenging these stigmatized views.

A team of MAPS researchers in California are repurposing MDMA to treat the psychological distress experienced by people suffering from life-threatening illnesses (LTI). People living with, or that have lived with an LTI can experience anxiety, depression, anger, and despair associated with their traumatic experiences. In one of the first clinical trials of its kind, Dr. Philip Wolfson and his team explored how using MDMA during psychotherapy sessions impacted participant’s distress levels. The team found that the study participants who took MDMA had improved mindfulness and a more positive outlook towards their traumatic experiences. Also, depression, sleep quality, and anxiety levels  improved, but these improvements couldn’t conclusively be attributed to the MDMA. The findings of this pilot study suggest MDMA could still have the potential to reduce psychological distress associated with LTI and that it may also have positive long-term effects.

Although current studies like Dr. Wolfson’s show promising results, could the stigma surrounding “hard drugs” like MDMA deter patients from taking them once/if they become approved for clinical use? Or would the existing stigma dwindle once they get a doctor’s stamp of approval? Or maybe it’s simply why the drugs are used that give recreational use a bad name. Whatever your beliefs and convictions, scientifically, “hard drugs” may have a place in medicine in the (potentially near) future.

Source: GoodRx.com

By Maya Bird

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Forgot Something? Suspect Your Dopamine

Posted on February 8, 2021 by | Leave a comment

You open up an internet browser, but you forget what you were going to search for or why you even started your computer. Have you ever come across these situations?  The recent research on the temporary memory loss have discovered the betrayer within our body: the notorious dopamine.

Dopamine has a reputation as the “happy hormone.” It’s a neurotransmitter, a substance that conveys signals between neurons, that mediates pleasure in our brain and makes you crave for the things you love. For instance, you constantly refresh your Instagram feed or click on the next recommended video on YouTube because your brain remembers and relate those activities to pleasure. Then every time you perform those activities your brain release dopamine, which makes you feel good.

Social Media and Distractions

Source: Fauno (pixabay.com)

Q: Sounds good! Everyone loves pleasure and happiness! What’s the problem?

A: Humans are not supposed to feel pleasure every time. In a nutshell, dopamine acts very similar to recreational drug because it constantly tempts you and controls you to do things that provides instant gratification and crave for stronger pleasure. The problem of dopamine addiction recently arose because of the rapid technological advancement, which allows for easy access to activities that release dopamine such as social media, video games, and pornography. People have hard time focusing on their work and managing their time because they crave that dopamine shots.

Here’s a video that talks about effect of dopamine on human and possible solution to overcome addiction:

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Source: TopThink (youtube.com)

In addition, the researchers from Scripps Research Institute revealed dopamine’s another dark secret. They discovered the mechanism in which the stimulation of dopamine circuit is responsible for transient forgetting, also known as temporary memory loss. In particular, the biochemical team specified a single pair of dopamine-releasing neuron, named PPL1- α2α’2, that causes the universal nuisance in our brain.

Source: Tumisu (pixabay.com)

In summary, the research taught Drosophila, the common fruit fly, to associate certain scent with unpleasant shock. However, when the subject was introduced to interfering stimuli such as a puff of air or blue light, the type of light emitted from the screens of your electronic devices, the dopamine released due to the stimuli interfered with the flies’ memory retrieval signal and the flies temporarily forgot the scent’s negative association.

Furthermore, the research found a positive correlation between the strength of the stimulus and the lasting period of memory loss. In other words, exposure to stronger stimulus, such as illicit drugs or concentrated alcohol, require more time to recover from the transient memory loss.

During the unprecedented period of pandemic, without social interactions, you probably consume more social media feeds or YouTube videos for your daily dose of dopamine. However, think of dopamine as sugar for now. Your body needs it to continue the happy life, but addiction could bring potential complications with regards to your success and health. Control your dopamine. Don’t let YouTube recommendations control you!

-Matthew Lim

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Need to Sober Up? Just Breathe Out the Booze!

Posted on February 7, 2021 by | Leave a comment

With regard to alcohol, many of us have previously reached the so-called point of no return: a moment where the pleasant buzz is replaced by a throbbing headache (and massive amounts of regret). If only there was a simple way to quickly sober up…

Alcohol! Source: awee_19, Flickr

A simple overview of ethanol breakdown

First, let’s dive into the details as to how our bodies break down alcohol. Once ethanol arrives at the stomach and small intestine, it is absorbed into the bloodstream. From there, it can travel to various organs in your body, or end up in the liver. The liver is responsible for detoxifying 90% of the ethanol that we consume; the remaining 10% is eliminated through sweat, urine, and breath.

However, the rate at which the liver breaks down ethanol is zeroth-order: meaning that the breakdown rate is always constant, no matter how much ethanol is in your system. This explains why we haven’t been able to develop techniques to speed up the rate of ethanol breakdown in our livers.

The next natural step would be to see whether we can speed up the elimination of the remaining 10% of ethanol in our bloodstreams. Turns out, we can! Remember how we said earlier that some ethanol is removed via breathing? This works the same way that we breathe out carbon dioxide: because the concentration of ethanol in our bloodstream is higher than in the air that we breathe in, some ethanol diffuses into our lungs and we breathe it out!

A breathalyzer uses the fact that we breathe out ethanol to determine our blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Source: Dave Shea, Flickr

So can I just hyperventilate until I start to feel sober?

In theory, you could… but you really shouldn’t. Hyperventilating will reduce your ethanol levels, sure, but it will decrease your CO2 levels as well: causing your brain’s blood vessels to narrow, and ultimately depriving your brain of oxygen. Thankfully, a recent study published just last year has found a simple and effective solution, utilizing isocapnic hyperpnea.

Isocapnic hyperpnea: what is it?

To put it simply, isocapnic hyperpnea (IH) is when you deeply (and sometimes rapidly) breathe in air that has an equal concentration of carbon dioxide as present in your bloodstream. In the study, participants consumed diluted vodka, then were connected to an apparatus which supplied air of CO2 concentration similar to levels found in normal blood vessels. This allowed the subjects to breathe out ethanol at a higher rate while maintaining steady CO2 levels in their blood. The results of the study showed that the participants who underwent IH showed an ethanol elimination rate which was more than three times greater than participants who breathed regularly!

A demonstration of the IH apparatus. Source: UHN

Deaths caused by alcohol poisoning are far too common. In the future, IH could help paramedics in clearing the alcohol out of a patient’s system in a timely manner, which could ultimately save their lives. Remember to always drink responsibly!

 

– Sam Jung

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“A drink a day keeps reality at bay”: Atrial Fibrillation

Posted on February 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

This happens quite often: people come home after a long, tiring day and look forward to cracking open a beer, making a cocktail or pouring themselves a glass of wine. Sure, this may be an evening ritual for many, but at what cost? A recent study led by consultant cardiologist, Professor Renate Schnabel, at the University Heart and Vascular Center determined that people who regularly enjoy small amounts of alcohol develop an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). 

What is atrial fibrillation?

In simple terms, atrial fibrillation is when a person has an abnormal heart rhythm. The two upper chambers of the heart, the atria, beat out of sync from the two lower chambers, the ventricles. The irregular heartbeat caused by atrial fibrillation can lead to problems such as strokes or heart failure.

Atrial Fibrillation vs. Normal Sinus Rhythm on Electrocardiogram. Source: Clearvue Health

Here is a video which gives an overview of atrial fibrillation:

Developing the study

Researchers followed a sample size of 107,845 people (age range of 24-97 years) with no history AF participating in one of the five studies in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark or Italy. Participants joining the study between 1982 and 2010 were given medical examinations which assessed their medical history (ie. details regarding body mass index, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, total cholesterol, tobacco consumption, history of heart failure (HF) and/or strokes, and alcohol consumption). For information on alcohol consumption, the participants were asked to share how often they consumed alcohol (ie. beer, spirits, wine) as well as their drinking pattern (participants that never drank were the control group). Average alcohol consumption was analyzed as grams consumed per day. During the follow-up with the study participants, which occurred after approximately 14 years, they were observed for any link between their alcohol consumption and the occurrence of AF. 

Key findings from the study 

Right off the bat, researchers from the study observed a positive correlation between consumption of alcohol and AF cases after following up with participants after 14 years. This was evident even for individuals consuming low amounts of alcohol since researchers determined that 1.2 drinks/day were linked to an increased risk of developing AF. Specifically, a person’s risk for AF increased by 16% in 14 years just by drinking one alcoholic beverage a day. In fact, 5854 people actually ended up developing atrial fibrillation after 14 years.

Hazard ratio for atrial fibrillation cases for alcohol consumption (g/day). Source: European Heart Journal

What this means for alcohol consumers 

This was one of the largest studies researching the link between alcohol consumption and atrial fibrillation, according to Professor Schnabel. Even low amounts of alcohol consumption can lead to developing AF which is a stepping stone for other problems such as heart failure and strokes. The risk of developing AF can easily be prevented by proper management of drinking habits. After all, protecting your heart in this manner will only benefit you in the long run.

– Ramdeep Dosanjh

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Baby Sharks Face a Gloomy Future

Posted on February 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Sharks are considered the lions of the sea but due to climate change they are losing their glory. With global warming causing the rise of ocean temperatures one particularly tough and beautiful species, the epaulette shark sometimes referred to as the walking shark, may be heading towards disaster.

An Epaulette Shark

An Epaulette Shark: Source: flickr.com/Richard Ling

The epaulette shark lives in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and finds its food in shallow puddles between the coral. This shallow environment is dangerous and would leave most fish stranded out of the water left to cook and die under the sun. This amazing animal is not so easily defeated and is able to preserve its breath and march back towards the sea.

Video Source: Nature on PBS| Youtube

The epaulette shark has proven itself to be resilient in low oxygen environments but rising temperatures may not be handled so well, especially by its offspring.

A new study conducted by PhD candidate Carolyn Wheeler on the eggs of epaulette sharks showed that increasing ocean temperatures significantly affect the development of its young. The researchers analyzed the growth of epaulette shark embryos until they hatched, – at temperatures of 27°C, 29°C, and 31°C – measuring the growth, development and metabolic performance of the animals. It was found that the growth rates of the embryos increased at the higher temperatures, as in the warmer water the sharks tended to consume their yolk-sacks faster which is their only source of food before they hatch. This in turn caused them to hatch sooner, and due to the reduced time in the embryonic stage they were born smaller and lacking in energy. The newborns which hatched at higher temperatures struggled to survive and needed to feed significantly sooner after birth compared to those at 27°C. Other studies have additionally observed that at 32°C the likelihood of epaulette shark eggs hatching becomes very low.

Epaulette Shark Embryo: Source: flickr.com/CLF

The average temperature of the Great Barrier Reef is currently at 28°C during the period of embryo development in the wild, but with climate models predicting that average temperatures in this region will rise to 32°C by the middle or end of the century these animals are in trouble. As we explored earlier, epaulette sharks are known to be tolerant to low oxygen environments and are more so than any other shark. Additionally, in other experiments it has been found that their eggs and newborns are even tolerant to ocean acidification.

Since the increasing temperatures will likely have a detrimental impact on the epaulette shark – which is considered a tough and resilient species – we can only imagine the negative impacts it will have on other more vulnerable wildlife.

– Adam Soliman

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Laughter: The Mysterious Stress Reliever?

Posted on February 1, 2021 by | 1 comment

Laughter. As human beings, it’s something that most of us are bound to experience. Whether it’s from browsing YouTube and finding a ridiculous dog fail compilation, or when your friend cracks out a joke that you just find funny for some apparent reason, the feeling of laughter is a common occurrence in our lives.

Check out the video below that not only showcases the diversity of laughter between all types of race and gender but also for a quick laugh!

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the mechanisms of Laughter is complex

Laughter is something that we take for granted. If we find something funny, then we’re going to laugh. However, scientists to this day are unable to home in on the exact science of the reasoning of laughter. In fact, the results from the many studies that do exist out there further confirm that laughter is much more complex than we think. As an example, one study conducted in PNAS suggests that we laugh differently depending on who it is directed to. Have you noticed that you laugh differently with your friends than with strangers? This is something that we have probably realized as well!

A photo of two people laughing, by Emanuele Spies from São Leopoldo, RS, Brasil, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

laughter can help relieve stress?

A recent study conducted by Dr. Zander-Schellenberg and others were able to attribute this strange phenomenon as a way to relieve stress. More specifically, an increased frequency of laughter was found to have a positive correlation with the ability to weaken the effects of stressful events, while also dampening certain symptoms that may arise from stress. However, it was found that the intensity of laughter did not have such a significant effect.

In order to see if the experiment applies to daily life experiences, data were collected from 41 psychology students, 33 of which were female, from the University of Basel in real-life settings for 14 consecutive days. Through the usage of a smartphone application, a sound queue that triggered randomly throughout the day would prompt participants to answer questions about both the frequency and intensity of laughter, as well as any details regarding their current levels of stress and stressful events.

By investigating the effects of laughter on stress outside the laboratory, the study was able to show greater validity towards real-life dynamics, however, Dr. Schellenberg and others suggest that future studies that replicate their findings are required in order to further test for robustness. As the sample consisted of predominantly female students, recreating the experiment with a sample that more closely represents the general population is something that could solidify their findings.

 

 

For more information about laughter, this video does a great job of not only going over the origins of laughter but also the significance of it:

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-Aaron Yoon

 

 

 

 

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How Safe is Your Data in a Quantum Computer Era?

Posted on January 25, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Quantum computers have recently gone from science fiction to science fact. The tech has the potential to advance countless fields with its unparalleled computing power, but it may also spell the end of internet security as we know it. You are likely wondering what the heck is a quantum computer? And what does it have to do with internet security? 

Quantum Computer, Processor, Computer, Technology

Source: pxhere.com

Quantum Vs. Classical

In simple terms, classical computers use a system of 1’s and 0’s called bits in order to store information. Each bit can either be a 1 or a 0, and when you string lots of bits together, you can form complex information. Computing power is limited by how fast these bits can be read.

binary code, binary, binary system, byte, bits, administrator, virus, trojan, computer, digital, 1, software, code, developer, software development, program, hacker, blue, green, text, technology, line, pattern, font, mesh, energy, electric blue, net

Source: pxhere.com

Qubits are like bits, but instead of being limited as either a 1 or a 0, they can be both a 1, a 0, and anything in between all at the same time. While this concept may make your brain hurt, the important takeaway is that qubits allow quantum computers to skip step by step computing.

Let’s say you take a test. You answer the first question, then the second, and so on. This is how a normal computer works, but a quantum computer would be able to answer all the questions simultaneously. 

Understanding the basics, let’s figure out why internet security might be in the crosshairs of quantum computers.

Encryption for Everyone

You rely on encryption every day to keep your personal information safe online. While different encryption methods vary, the most common of these are public key encryptions. 

Computer, Encrypt, Encryption, Security, Green Computer

Source: pixabay.com

If I told you to multiply 556 by 632, you could easily use a calculator to find 351,392. But if I gave you that number and asked you to find two specific factors, you could come up with a bunch of different answers. 

Public key encryption jumbles up information and hides it behind a really large number like a “door”. To unlock this door you need the right factors or the “key”. Use a large enough number, and even the most powerful conventional computers would need thousands of years to crack the code.

Quantum Codebreaking

Factoring these large numbers would be easy for a quantum computer, as it would be able to guess every answer at the same time. A recent study published by the International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications concluded that:

“The consequence of this technological advancement is the absolute collapse of the present public key algorithms that are considered secure…” (IJACSA)

Using qubits, computers could break a code that would take normal computers thousands of years to crack in mere hours. For a more complete understanding of how this could work check out this video:

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Thankfully quantum computers still have a ways to go before they pose a real threat to our online security. Researchers are also developing quantum proof encryption, but who knows if it will be able to protect us from the coming quantum era. 

– Declan O’Driscoll

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A Promising Treatment in the Fight Against Microplastics

Posted on January 25, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Over the past few years, there has been a global effort by scientists to develop a treatment that is able to limit the pollution of microplastics into marine environments. Fortunately, Marthe Kiendrebeogo and her research team may have found a solution. They discovered that they were able to effectively break down a sample of microplastics through anodic oxidation. 

Now you may ask, what are microplastics?

Microplastics are pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in length. The three main sources of microplastics are the breakdown of larger plastics, cosmetics and laundry washes. All three of these sources have contaminated marine environments all over the Earth. To put this into perspective, a recent study has suggested that there are approximately 12-125 trillion microplastics floating in the oceans today. 

A collection of mainly plastic material that washed ashore. Plastics, such as a water bottle, can be degraded and become a source of microplastics.

Credit: unsplash.com/john_cameron

The Effect of Microplastics on Life:

The buildup of microplastics in aquatic life through ingestion can lead to toxic (harmful) effects. These effects were studied by a different research team led by Dr. Kogel where they found the toxic effects included infertility, decreased growth rate, shorter lifespans, and internal damage. Furthermore, microplastics are known to travel up the food chain and eventually reach humans. There is currently a lack of information regarding the effects of microplastics in humans, but several studies are in progress.

YouTube Preview ImageFor those interested, Drs. Sarah Dudas and Peter Ross show the presence of microplastics in aquatic life in this video.

And now to the study:

With the background information out of the way, I’m going to explain how Marthe Kiendrebeogo and her team created a potential solution to tackle the rising issue of microplastics.

This research team found that the process of anodic oxidation breaks down microplastics efficiently. Anodic oxidation involves a lot of chemistry, but the main thing to know is that it creates hydroxyl radicals (OH-) without adding extra chemicals into the water. These hydroxyl radicals are very good at attacking and breaking down microplastics. The full mechanism is in the article for those interested. This study found that with their proposed mechanism, 58 ± 21% of microplastics broke down in 1 hour which reached approximately 80% in 3 hours. 

I think that the most significant result in this study is that 58 ± 21% of polystyrene was degraded in 1 hour because an hour is close to the time of a normal laundry cycle. A laundry cycle puts a lot of stress on clothing fabrics which leads to the release of microplastics. In fact, a recent study has estimated that 35% of microplastics in oceans can be contributed to laundry. Thus, this mechanism would be very effective at decreasing the amount of microplastic production if it was implemented into laundry machines.

The addition of this treatment into laundry machines can limit the number of microplastics released at the initial source.

Credit: unsplash.com/scottsweb

Based on the results of this study, the future of treatments for microplastics sounds more promising. Nevertheless, there still is a lot of work to be done. The next step for this promising treatment would be to test the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism on samples consisting of other microplastics. 

-Karnvir Dhillon

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Use of Nanotechnology in Cancer Therapy

Posted on January 25, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Would you believe someone if they told you that there is a type cancer therapy that is more effective and has less negative effects than chemotherapy, yet is less commonly used?

Cancer is characterized by the rapid division of cells anywhere in the body.  Every day, your body produces many potentially cancerous cells that are later destroyed. Moreover, every year, over 10 million people are diagnosed with cancer. With such a large amount of diagnoses, cancer remains one of leading causes of human death as it is generally incurable due to the metastasis of cancer cells.

Microtubules in breast cancer cells leading to rapid cell division.

Credit: National cancer institute. Downloaded from: Unsplash.com

An article by Ranjita Misra and her research team  describes a new yet promising technique in cancer treatment and early detection known as nanotechnology cancer therapy.  Today, treating cancer through radiation and chemotherapy is the most popular option. Chemotherapy has numerous negative effects like drug resistance and an insufficient amount of drug reaching tumour sites. This can lead to insufferable side effects as both cancerous cells and healthy cells are destroyed. 

The use of nanotechnology in cancer therapy involves the production of small particles called nanoparticles that are effective in transporting anticancer drugs to target cells while minimizing damage to healthy cells. Nanoparticles target cancer cells through active targeting and passive targeting. Examples of nanoparticles approved by the FDA include nanoparticle-liposome and albumin nanoparticles. Liposomes in particular are vital in nanotechnology cancer therapy as drugs transported through nanoparticle-liposomes have shown to have significantly longer half lives, upwards of 55 hours. This is important as the drug is able to stay in the body for a longer time meaning less drug is needed, which reduces damage to healthy cells. Another reason liposomes are favourable is because of their composition. Their hydrophobic composition allows appreciable amounts of anticancer drug  to reach the tumour site as the body cannot destroy the drug . This is important in cancer therapy as damaging healthy cells due to excess drug is the main reason why chemotherapy has numerous side effects.  The mechanisms and benefits of nanotechnology cancer therapy talked about above are explained in more detail by Joy Wolfram (2018) in the video below.

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TEDtalk by Joy Wolfram in 2018 about nanotechnology in cancer therapy.

 

Liposomes and nanoparticles: nanosized vehicles for drug delivery in cancer - ScienceDirect

Liposome nanoparticle structure that is used for cancer therapy.

Credit: ScienceDirect. Downloaded from Unsplash.com

This breakthrough in cancer therapy shows that science is forever evolving and that in the future it is possible there will be a cure for cancer.  Although nanotechnology cancer therapy is a relatively new area of research it shows tremendous potential and over time it is expected that larger advancements in preventing and treating cancer will be seen. Lastly, it is believed by researchers that nanotechnology cancer therapy has the potential to be the main form of treating cancer in the future due to the fact that it has less side effects and is more effective than chemotherapy (Gharpure et al. 2015).

–Balkaran Dhaliwal

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