Tag Archives: health

Napping = Lazy?: The Genetics Behind Afternoon Naps

Posted on April 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Most humans spend around one-third of their lives sleeping. However, the word “nap” has negative connotations of laziness and lack of self-discipline because of the busy and competitive nature of the current world. The loss of daytime productivity because of naps often leads to self-criticism and loss of self-confidence, which forms the perspective on naps as a waste of time.  Research has discovered that your genes control your desire for daytime naps, and you may be at a significant disadvantage if you love daytime naps.

The Genetics of Nap-Lovers

On contrary to the public perception that environmental or behavioral choices determine the desire for daytime naps, those desires are biologically driven by genes. It’s true that whether we take a daytime nap or not depends on our choices. However, recent research (2021) identified 123 regions in the human genome that are associated with daytime napping. For example, mutation of the genes associated with the production of orexin, a brain chemical that regulates wakefulness, explains why some people nap more than others. Therefore, these nap-promoting gene variants drive daytime naps, not the laziness of the nap-lovers. 

Sleeping on the Sofa | A daytime nap on the sofa-- what a gr… | Flickr

Source: flikr.com

However, that does not mean that there are no disadvantages to these gene variants. Aside from the loss of daytime productivity, the researchers found that some of the gene variants that promote naps have a connection with health risk factors. They found that the nap-lovers generally have larger waist circumference and higher blood pressure compared to those that don’t take naps. 

 

The Genetics of Super Sleepers

On the other hand, another research (2019) discovered the gene of “super sleepers,” a rare breed of humans that requires a shorter duration of sleep. They found that individuals who had inherited an extremely rare gene named DEC2 only require around six hours of sleep per night for full recovery from fatigue. Also, the researchers claim that the super sleepers do not suffer any adverse health effects of chronic sleep deprivation such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia; instead, they tend to be more optimistic, energetic, and even have a longer life expectancy.

arm, back, muscles photo, Fitness, Men, Sports, Gym, Exercise | Piqsels

Source: piqsels.com

Fortunately, as much as it seems unfair, further studies on super sleepers may help the general population overcome their complications concerning sleep. According to Dr. Ying-Hui Fu, a professor of neurology at the University of California, the sleep quality and efficiency of super sleepers are naturally better; thus, the advantage in health and no need for naps. By analyzing how DEC2 induces superior sleep quality, the researchers anticipate resolving sleep disorders for normal sleepers and optimize their sleep efficiency.

Recommendation for Nap-Lovers

Health professional recommends daytime naps of around three times a week; however, you may want to suspect the quality of your nighttime sleep if you desire naps every day. Although the disadvantages mentioned above may not be happy news for nap-lovers, you must acknowledge the disadvantage and pay more attention to your sleep schedule and health.

Here’s an informative video on daytime naps to end off:

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-Matthew Lim

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Combating Antibiotic Resistance with “Nanoparticles”

Posted on March 15, 2021 by | 2 comments

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.” But what is antibiotic resistance? How is it affecting our lives? and How can we use nanoparticles to fight it?

Antibiotic Resistance Crisis:

Antibiotics are powerful medications that are widely used for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria. However, taking antibiotics too often or for the wrong purpose caused bacteria to evolve various antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
Some bacteria have developed resistance to nearly all the antibiotic treatments available and can cause serious fatal diseases that were once easily treatable with antibiotics.

Without the invention of new strategies to counteract drug-resistant infections, they are likely to kill more than 10 million people each year by 2050. This is more than the number of  people currently dying from cancer.

Ongoing studies are analyzing the ways nanoparticles (small particles ranging between 1 to 100 nanometres in size) can be used to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The size of nanoparticles and their flexible antibacterial properties make them a favorable solution to this problem since they can be used to not only deliver antibiotics but also to fight bacteria themselves.

The following video explains what nanoparticles are, how they are produced, and how they can enter and kill the bacterial cells:

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Source: TCTTPC YouTube

Nanoparticles as Antibiotic Carriers:

According to this study conducted by Zhang and his colleague in late 2020, some nanoparticles can penetrate into the bacterial cells while carrying and protecting the antibiotic agents. These nanoparticles —developed using materials such as metals and chitosan (a type of fiber)— can save the antibiotic from chemicals released by bacteria that can otherwise destroy them.

 Chitosan nanoparticle possesses a positive charge making it able to attach to bacterial cells that have a negative charge on their membrane (outer layer of the cell). Source: ResearchGate

Nanoparticles as Antibiotic Drugs: 

Nanoparticles can also defeat bacteria directly using mechanisms such as the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are unstable molecules that can easily react with other biomolecules (DNA, protein, etc.) in a cell, disrupt them, and cause cell death.

Silver nanoparticles (SNPs), for instance, can destroy the bacterial membrane and interact with interior components of the bacterium by releasing silver ions that can generate ROS inside the cell. Indeed, severe cellular damages in 5 different types of bacteria were reported when treated with SNPs.

Effect of Nanoparticles on Bacteria

E.coli (a type of bacteria) (left) is severely damaged when treated with a  silver nanoparticle (right). Source: pubs.acs.org

Nanoparticles appear to be a promising solution to address the problem
of antibiotic resistance; however, the main factor that limits their application in treatments is that researchers often face side-effects related to nanoparticle toxicity when interacted with biological systems like human cells. For instance, the ROS generated by a high dose of SNPs can damage the human cell components.

New strategies are being investigated to direct the target of nanoparticles to bacterial cells only and reduce their toxicity in order to develop safe and efficient antibacterial nanoparticles.

– Samin Shadravan

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

Posted on March 8, 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?

Atrial fibrillation is when a person has an abnormal heartbeat rhythm. The two upper chambers, the atria of the heart, beat out of sync from the two lower chambers, the ventricles. Since the upper and lower chambers of the heart are not working together, the lower chambers may not be able to pump enough blood to our lungs and throughout our body. Due to this, people with AF may feel tired, dizzy or suffer from chest pains. The irregular heart rhythm may also cause blood to pool in the heart which can cause clot formation and thus lead to strokes or heart failure.

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

Ingesting large amounts of alcohol, binge drinking for example, has been one of the leading risk factors that may result in AF. Until now, however, there has not been enough proof linking the effect of drinking small amounts of alcohol to AF. This is why the current study led by Professor Renate Schnabel has been an important step in AF research.

The video below called “What is Atrial Fibrillation”, created by the Youtube channel known as British Heart Foundation, gives an overview on what AF is:

Linking atrial fibrillation to alcohol consumption 

Past research, such as the study conducted by Andriy V. Samokhvalov and his colleagues, found a link between alcohol consumption and the development of AF. However, a limitation from this study was that it did not clearly prove the association between light drinking causing AF.

In the study conducted by Professor Renate Schnabel, participants were given medical examinations and were asked to share how often they consumed alcohol as well as their drinking pattern. During the follow-up with the study participants, which occurred after approximately 14 years, they were analyzed for any link between their alcohol consumption and AF. Researchers discovered such a link even for individuals consuming low amounts of alcohol. In fact, 5854 people ended up developing atrial fibrillation after 14 years. 

What this means for alcohol drinkers 

Even low amounts of alcohol consumption can lead to AF which is a stepping stone for other problems such as heart failure and strokes. This is why it is important to get checked for AF even if symptoms are minor (ie. heart palpitations, dizziness, chest pains, etc.). Also, proper management of drinking habits may lower the risk of developing AF. After all, protecting your heart will only benefit you in the long run.

– Ramdeep Dosanjh

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Combating Antibiotic Resistance with “Nanoparticles”

Posted on February 8, 2021 by | Leave a comment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest public health challenges of our time.” But what is antibiotic resistance? How is it affecting our lives? and How can we use nanoparticles to fight it?

Antibiotic Resistance Crisis:

Antibiotics are powerful medications that are widely used for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria by either killing them or inhibiting their reproduction. However, taking antibiotics too often or for the wrong purpose caused bacteria to evolve various antibiotic resistance mechanisms that defeat the actions of antibiotics.
Some bacteria have developed resistance to nearly all the antibiotic treatments available. Infections by these antibiotic-resistant bacteria can result in serious fatal diseases that were once easily treatable with antibiotics.

Without the invention of new strategies to counteract drug-resistant infections, they are likely to kill more than 10 million people each year by 2050. This is more than the number of  people currently dying from cancer.

Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotic Drugs, Source: phys.org

Ongoing researches are analyzing the ways nanoparticles (small particles ranging between 1 to 100 nanometres in size) can be used to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The size of nanoparticles which is about 1/100 of bacteria and their flexible antibacterial properties make them a favorable solution to this problem since they can be used to not only deliver antibiotics but also to fight bacteria themselves.

Using Nanoparticles as Antibiotic Carriers:

According to this research, some nanoparticles have the ability to penetrate into the bacterial cells while carrying the antibiotic agents. They protect the carried antibiotic physically against the bacterial resistance mechanisms, for example by saving the antibiotic from bacterial released chemicals that can otherwise destroy them.

Chitosan (a type of fiber) nanoparticle can be used to deliver antibiotics to inside the bacterial cells. This nanoparticle possesses a positive charge making it able to attach to bacterial cells that have a negative charge on their membrane (outer layer of the cell). Source: ResearchGate

Using Nanoparticles as Antibiotic Drugs: 

Nanoparticles can also defeat bacteria directly by themselves using mechanisms such as the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are unstable molecules that can easily react with other biomolecules (DNA, protein, etc.) in a cell, disrupt them, and cause cell death.

Recent research recorded severe cellular damage in 5 different types of bacteria when treated with silver nanoparticles. As they reported, an increase in ROS formation leads to damage to bacterial biomolecules resulting in the death of bacteria.

Effect of Nanoparticles on Bacteria

E.coli (a type of bacteria) (left) is severely damaged when treated with a special virus-like nanoparticle (right). Source: pubs.acs.org

Nanoparticles appear to be a promising solution to address the problem
of antibiotic resistance; however, the main factor that limits the use of nanoparticles in treatments is that researchers often face side-effects related to nanoparticle toxicity for living organisms. For instance, some metal nanoparticles can cause heart problems or even cancer when inhaled.

The ways through which nanoparticles can produce toxicity need to be investigated in future researches in order to develop safe and efficient antibacterial nanoparticles.

– Samin Shadravan

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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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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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