Mummified Forests

An article that appeared on Biology News Net reports that a mummified forest was discovered in Northern Canada and that discovery is helping scientists understand how plants struggled to deal with global cooling long ago. The researchers have decided that the mummified plants and trees will help them predict how today’s plant life in the Arctic will respond to global warming. Scientists actually think that more forests could emerge across North America as the Arctic ice starts to melt. The exposure of the wood to air would cause it to release large amounts of methane gas and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which could actually boost global warming. This research also shows how the old plant life’s environment changed. Researchers were able to gather that the mummified plant life started growing in a warm and fertile environment, but then had to endure a decline in light and temperature.

I thought that this article was very interesting. I did not even know that there was such a thing as mummified forests. The fact that they can be just as destructive as they are helpful is something that really fascinates scientists as well as people.

FDA Cracks Down on Illegal Supplements

According to an article on comcast.net News the FDA is cracking down on the manufactures of supplements made to enhance sexual activity, increase weight loss, and those used for body building. According to the FDA the manufacturers of these products are incorrectly labeling them trying to cover up ingredients that they contain that can cause serious side effects including stroke, organ failure and death. FDA commissioner Margaret Harnburg says "the manufactures selling these tainted products are operating outside the law." The manufactures are supposed to ensure that these products are safe and they do not currently require FDA approval. The FDA is currently trying to get these companies to pull the products from the market; the government does not currently have the power to issue a recall. The FDA however is issuing warnings about the products to create awareness and have stated that the companies could face criminal prosecution.

Sibutramine is one of the ingredients being looked for, this product was recalled because it cause an increase risk of heart attack and stroke, but companies continue to use it in their weight loss supplements. Anabolic steroids and steroid analogs also are being used in body building products. Also drugs that should only be used in prescription medications are being used in sexual enhancement supplements. Michael Levy director of labeling compliance for the agency warns that consumers should avoid products that claim to have the similar effects as prescription drugs, and also drugs with ingredients in a foreign language or those marketed in mass e-mail.

I think this is great news for consumers. There are so many things on the market these days that are harmful to people, but companies only concern most of the time is making money. Consumers are so convinced by the lies these companies tell in order to sell these products, that they purchase them not knowing of their real side effects.

Multivitamins

According to Anahad O'Connor from the New York Times Magazine multivitamins can be the reason why you’re not getting a full night’s sleep. "Some users claiming that multivitamins shorten sleep and lead to more frequent awakenings in the middle of the night." A study was conducted in 2007, researchers tested many people’s sleep habits including if they took any medication or vitamins they also had them keep a sleep log for two weeks. "Scientist found a slightly higher rate of poor or interrupted sleep in people taking multivitamins. But because they found only an association, they could not rule out the possibility that people with poorer sleep are simply more likely to seek out multivitamins." If you find this to be true, you have to separate the effects of each vitamin, studies show that vitamin B and B6 can lead to deep dreaming which can wake you. Researchers say if people think their multivitamin is the reason for them awaking at night, a good solution would be to take the pills in the morning.

Slim Spoils for Obesity Drugs: Pharma Struggles to Find Safe Treatments

In Scientific American an article by Heidi Ledford discusses approval of a drug for obesity. An new drug Contrave, was the first obesity drug to win a recommendation for approval in more than a decade. It has been a difficult task to develop a safe drug for obesity. The goal of these drugs is to block receptor in the brain that respond to appetite, but adverse reaction such as suicidal tendencies are feared.



Contrave, developed by Orexigen Therapeutics, based in La Jolla, California, and co-founded by Cowley, director of the Monash Obesity and Diabetes Institute in Victoria, Australia, is a combination of two medications. One is an anti-depressant, the other is used to treat alcoholism. Together it is said that they boost the activity of a brain circuit called POMC pathway, which reduces hunger. The final decision on approval is expected early next year.



Studies have shown that even with this drug only a 8 percent decrease in body weight was reported after 6 months. It says that the next drug that is likely to face the FDA will target metabolism.



In my opinion, there should not be any drug for obesity. It seems that there is a drug prescribed for everything these days, I think the risks are to great to use unless there are no alternatives. Our society needs to change if obesity rates are to decline. I recently read that the food additives used today are actually designed to addict us to them, obviously attributing to obesity. It seems all food in the market is bad for you in some way. The FDA needs to change what food is readily available to our society and people need to make healthier choices.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=slim-spoils-for-obesity-drugs:

Single-cell Predator Gives us Clues to the Animal Kingdom's Birth.

According to NY Times up until recently Choanoflagellates (one celled organisms) were considered not very important to track by the E.P.A (Environmental Protection Agency).

They are tiny single cell predators that live in oceans and lakes. They can propel themselves in water and collect bacteria and food in their 30 to 40 tentacle like filaments. They are pretty much the bottom of the food chain in water. There are thousands to millions of them in our waters.

But what makes them important is that a new study suggests that they are the closest living single-celled relative to animals. Upon comparing them and their DNA, they discovered they had genetic similarities shared exclusively by the two, and shared 78 proteins.

What scientists are eager to learn is how single celled organisms can evolve into multi cellular organisms. Single-cell organisms of animals today have long been extinct. So the discovery of how closely related Choanoflagellates are to animal cells, is a huge step into learning on how things came to be.

Of course this is very interesting. And you would think today that every single thing alive would be studied before just considering it useless. But its amazing that scientists today are discovering all the time things that they thought weren't of value, are extremely important. And of course thats due to how much there is to study in the science world. But its a really great find.

Insights Give Hope for New Attack on Alzheimer’s

According to new research post by Gina Kolata from New York Times Magazine regarding new development on the progression of Alzheimer's says it’s not the clumping of amyloids that causes the rapid progression of Alzheimer's but that the brain makes more amyloid then it can dispose of. It is normal for the brain to make amyloid, however researchers are now saying that the "clumping" theorie appears to be wrong. It turns out that most people with Alzheimer’s seem to make perfectly normal amounts of amyloid. They just can’t get rid of it. "It’s like an overflowing sink caused by a clogged drain instead of a faucet that does not turn off". "If researchers could find a way to speed up disposal, perhaps they could slow down or halt the disease. Researchers have also found that amyloid, in its normal small amounts, seems to have a purpose in the brain it may be acting like a circuit breaker to prevent nerve firing from getting out of control. But too much amyloid can shut down nerves, eventually leading to cell death. That means that if amyloid levels were reduced early in the disease, when excess amyloid is stunning nerve cells but has not yet killed them, the damage might be reversed."
I found this article to be an extremely interesting. I find Alzheimer's to be a devastating but fascinating disease, I would love if one day we can find a cure or some form of medication to prolong the disease. It’s a horrible disease to watch your loved one go through, so I hope this is a successful new breakthrough.

Pomegranate Juice Components Could Stop Cancer from Spreading

Scientist discovered that pomegranate and pomegranate juice could stop cancer from spreading. Components in pomegranates can reduce the movement of cancer cells and weaken them. Pomegranate juice can weaken cancer cells attraction to chemical signal that promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer to the bone. Since prostate cancer is one of the main leading causes of cancer related to death in men in the United States i think this good be an amazing thing. It amazes me how certain juices help our bodies.

Squidworm

New species are being discovered daily -- although most are prokaryotes.  Here is an interesting segmented worm, Teuthidodrilus samae, found at the bottom of the Celebes Sea -- off the coast of Borneo!
Although only about 3.5 inches long -- I won't be swimming there in the near future...

Doctors Don't Need to Fear Red Heads

Reading ScienceDaily.com there was a publish on the British Medical Journal explaing the issue on red headed humans. The research concludes that, contrary to popular belief, people with red hair do not bleed any more than other patients.Surgeon Jonathan Barry from Morriston Hospital in Swansea, say that "red haired patients are traditionally regarded with a degree of trepidation by surgeons and anaesthetists alike due to a reputation for excessive bleeding, reduced pain threshold and a propensity to develop hernias." Red heads studies showed that they are more sensitive to cold and heat pain and they need more anaesthetic than other people. I found this interesting because people make jokes about red heads "gingers" all the time.

US scientists create mice from two fathers

In Washington United States scientists used stem cell technology to create mice from two fathers. Scientists say that it could help preserve endangered species and even help same-sex couples have their own genetic children one day.The study was led by Richard R. Berhringer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Scientists in Texas were able to manipulate cells from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. This may be a way to help save endangered species one day in the future. It does not seem normal in my eyes though.

Humble Honey Bee Helping National Security

According to Anna Khot of The Naked Scientists, honey bees can be the answer to Britain's national security threats and drug smuggling. It is a known fact that honeybees have a great sense of smell and scientists are taking advantage of this fact by training them to sniff out drugs and explosives. They are able to train the bees by associating an odor with a reward.

“Bees are at least as good as sniffer dogs but are cheaper and faster to train, and available in much larger numbers. It is dependent on the specific odor, but bees can detect some odors that are present in parts per trillion - that’s equivalent to detecting a grain of salt in an Olympic-sized swimming pool,” says Dr. Nesbit, a research scientist at Insentience Ltd.

The process of training the bees is a simple one. They are placed in a holder where different odors are passed over them. Every time they smell an odor a small dose of sugar syrup is administered to them and they stick their “tongues” out to receive the award. After a few rounds of this, the bees stick their “tongues” out after smelling the odor without a reward being present. Once trained, up to 36 bees are loaded into a hand held sensing device. The bees can be trained to detect the same odor, or smaller groups of bees can be trained to detect different odors within the same device. The bees are exposed to a constant stream of clean, filtered air until a sample of air from an area requiring testing is sucked into the machine. An optical sensor records any bees extending their “tongues,” which is then interpreted by software. Based on a statistical population of bees, a simple odor present/absent response follows. The whole detection process takes around six seconds.

This article really caught my eye just because it's bout bees! Who would've thought bees could be used for anything other than producing honey (or causing allergic reactions). I feel that this could really become useful in the future once perfected. It's easier to train hundreds of bees than dogs!

Pain Free Mammogram: Digital tomosynthesis

According to an article in Science Daily radiologists have recently devised a better way to perform a mammogram. The digital tomosynthesis, is helping find cancer as small as 2 millimeters. This machine uses an xray tube that moves around the breast at at least 11 different angles taking multiple images.A computer then puts the information together to create a 3-D image. A traditional mammogram only used 2 angles and can be difficult to read due to dense breast tissue that looks similar to cancer. Elizabeth Rafferty, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital states, " I think for many radiologists the prospect of interpreting a mammography is very scary." comparing it to Where's Waldo she says ".....I'm trying to find the thing I'm interested in but it looks like everything else in a sea of normal structures." Another benefit of this new method is it uses less compression, making it less painful for the patient.

I think this is a great advancement and will hopefully save more women's lives with early detection. Many women put off getting mammograms done due to fear. Hopefully this method will give the radiologists a better look and detect cancer before it spreads.

New study finds that low doses of aspirin also may reduce Cancer deaths.

Found on ScienceDaily.com, An Oxford University Study finds that a daily low dose of aspirin may now also prevent cancer deaths. The study showed that cancer deaths dropped about 20%. As commonly known aspirin is usually taken to reduce heart disease, with a small risk of stomach bleeds.

"It took about 5 years to see a benefit in taking aspirin for oesophagus, pancreatic, brain, and lung cancer; about 10 years for stomach and bowel cancer; and about 15 years for prostate cancer. The 20-year risk of death was reduced by about 10% for prostate cancer, 30% for lung cancer, 40% for bowel cancer and 60% for oesophagus cancer." (quoted from the article on ScienceDaily.com)

The article also mentions that these findings do not mean everyone should now take aspirin. Because we ultimately do not know how aspirin can effect someone in 30 or more years. But the benefits of aspirin are extremely positive which outweighs the small risks of taking it.

I think its a really great find. Something so simple people already take for heart disease could also help reduce cancer. But I also agree with the warning that we don't really know the effects it could have on someone 30 years down the road. So even though its good news, its still not the ultimate medicine that will help prevent cancer.

Why the Hope Diamond is So Blue

According to an article in the Smithsonian, the Hope Diamond was taken from the National Museum of Natural History's gem hall for an overnight stay in the mineralogy lab. Geologists held an experiment to figure out why the Hope Diamond is so blue. The deep ocean blue color is rare in diamonds, occurring in only one out of several hundred thousand diamonds. The Hope is 45.52 carats, and is the largest known deep blue diamond. On November 21st, 2010 there was a documentary about the Hope Diamond on the Smithsonian channel which showed parts of this experiment. Geologists know that the main "ingredient" that makes the Hope Diamond so blue is boron. After many hours of experimenting, the results read that boron, carbon, hydrogen and possibly some nitrogen were present. According to the article it will be months before scientists can publish full results from the experiment.

I think it's really interesting the things that scientists can do. Just by putting a diamond into a machine they can figure out what elements made up the Hope Diamond. I also find it interesting that they are allowed to "borrow" something so rare and worth so much money. I wasn't aware that the Hope Diamond was the largest known deep blue diamond. If I got the Smithsonian channel I may have considered watching the documentary because this is a very interesting experiment in my opinion.

Painkiller Ziconotide Could Increase Suicidal Ideation

According to ScienceDaily.com the painkiller Ziconotide could increase suicidal ideation. 6 years ago it was confirmed a safe alternative to morphine. But now it is under the suspicion that it could cause some to commit suicide.

Its ideal target is to reduce pain, but there is suspicion is can also reduce anxiety and impulse control, and change the frame of mind. This is not in all patients, but more likely those with a history of depression or are prone to depression.

Ziconotide was created so that it would not have any of the side effects like opioids, such as respiratory depression.

There isn't much to the article itself, so it was a little hard to write. But I think its a really important article. I can only assume that screenings for depression would now soon be required (or strongly recommended) before someone is given this painkiller. But of course it is only a suspicion and hopefully more research can help the problem.

Newfound planet stirs old debate

Astronomers who have spotted three large planets orbiting around a single star have just found another one, that seems to be larger than Jupiter. It seems to be very close to the star HR 8799. The astronomers are wondering how all four planets were formed. The newly-found planet lies only 130 light-years from the Earth, and 14.5 astronomical units from its sun. "The planets orbiting HR 8799, with masses estimated at between five and 10 times that of Jupiter, form a scaled-up version of the planets in the outer solar system, according to codiscoverer Christian Marois of the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, Canada, and his colleagues."

The astronomers are also wondering how the gas giant arised. The astronomers believe that if the other three planets were formed right where they are they must have been formed by gravitational instability, and the new planet is believe to be formed by core accretion. There is also a belief that the planets have migrated after they were formed. They are still discussing this issue, and are hoping to find out how these planets were formed.

I found this very interesting. Especially how new planets are continuously found in space. It makes me wonder how many more are out there that have not been found yet, and how many are forming at this very moment.

How Many Stars? Three Times as Many as We Thought, Report Says

According to the New York Times article How Many Stars? Three Time as Many as We Thought, Report Says, by Kenneth Clang, we may have underestimated by three times the amount. Scientists believe that by under counting the dim dwarf stars in certain galaxies astronomers may have a false understanding on how galaxies form and grow over the eons.

The problem is that astronomers cannot actually count the dwarf stars, which have masses less than a third on the Sun, in the galaxies outside the Milky Way. So alternatively they counted the brighter sun-like stars and assumed that there were about 100 unseen dwarf for each of the larger sun-like stars, since that is how the Milky Way is.

Researchers do not think every galaxy is like the Milky way. Dr. van Dokkum and Dr. Conroy used a new technique to establish the number of dwarf stars in elliptical galaxies. Dwarf stars are cooler so the fingerprint of certain colors they emit and absorb is different from that of larger stars. So without actually seeing individual stars astronomers could calculate the number of dwarf stars required to produce the telltale color fingerprint they detected in the light coming from the whole galaxy. Their finding showed that in eight elliptical galaxies the ratio of dwarf stars to sun-like was 1,000 or 2,000 to 1 opposed to 100 to 1 in the Milky Way.

"We may have to abandon this notion of using the Milky Way as a template for the rest of the universe," Dr. van Dokkum said. If the findings are correct, an undercount of dwarfs would mean astronomers have underestimated the masses of galaxies, and that would mean that galaxies developed earlier and faster than currently thought.

Although these findings seem astonishing, many are skeptical. For one, the research assumes that the stars in an elliptical galaxy are made of exactly the same stuff as those in spiral galaxies, which is an assumption that cannot be tested yet.

So for now, I think further information is needed to believe these findings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/science/space/02star.html?_r=1&ref=science

Microbe that can use arsenic as nutrient found

Science may have found new forms of life on Earth and beyond. Strange bacteria that can use arsenic as one of its nutrients widens the scope. Scientists are studying this new bacteria and it shows that it has life beyond. One scientists stated, "This organism has dual capability. It can grow with either phosphorous or arsenic. That makes it very peculiar, though it falls short of being some form of truly 'alien' life," commented Paul C. W. Davies of Arizona State University, a co-author of the report appearing in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science. This makes me wonder what could possibly be out there. It is such a mystery how science finds something new each day

Arsenic and Old Bacteria

It is common knowledge that the element arsenic can be very deadly to most living life forms. Surprisingly, there have been new studies that show that arsenic can actually help certain bacterium survive, and in some cases, reproduce.
According to Biology News Net, research began on this subject when Mono Lake in California was examined closer. The lake has high levels of dissolved arsenic concentrations, and it is believed to have been formed from neighboring volcanic eruptions. The study done by Lawrence Liverpool National Laboratory, which was led by NASA, found that a bacterium isolated from Mono Lake can substitute phosphorus with arsenic to sustain its growth.
The six building blocks of living matter are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, which are all made up of nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. These new studies show it is possible to replace one of the building blocks of life with something that is considered a poison. That shows that it is possible for organisms to live and survive on non-typical elements, so scientists have used this idea for the subject of life on other planets.

I thought this article was very interesting and thought provoking. If it is possible for bacteria to live off of this dangerous element, who’s to say that there aren’t other life forms who can live out in space on those uncommon elements.