Frog-In-Bucket-Of-Milk Folklore Leads to Potential New Antibiotics

An ancient Russian way to keep milk from going sour was to put a frog in the bucket of milk. This little trick has scientist trying to figure out why it was able to be effective. Amphibians have an antimicrobial substance called peptides that are throughout their skin. This substance is a first line defense to fight against bacteria and other microorganisms that would in the frog environment. A prior study reveals that the skin of a Russian Brown frog contains 21 different substances carrying antibiotic and potentially could have other medical properties.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121212130858.htm

New Dinosaur: First Freshwater Mosasaur Discovered

A discovery in Hungary provides us with knowledge of the first freshwater mosasaur. The species lived about 84 million years ago and belongs to the mosasaur family. The largest of this species was able to grow 20 feet in length. They were known as a gigantic fin having marine lizard. Researchers have discovered multiple fossils revealing juveniles and adults to have unusual shaped heads, tails, and fins from other species in the same family.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219173914.htm

Muscle-Loss Study Sheds New Light On Ways to Prevent Muscle Loss, Obesity and Diabetes

                A study from Nanyang Technological University has lead researchers to a new ways to prevent obesity, help aging ones, and to fight against health problems. A protein called myostatin that controls muscle cell growth is the reason for muscle loss and other negative effects to the body. When high levels of myostatin is attached a muscle cell it creates a heavy loss of mitochondria. Mitochondria are responsible for energy production which keeps cells alive. With this extreme loss, the muscle cell goes to waste since there is a lack of energy. A small loss of mitochondria is needed to regenerate new cells but when a person has a chronic disease or is bed-ridden, high levels of myostatin are in the body that causes muscle loss. If we block myostatin from binding with cells, there will be no more loss of muscle. This will be great for people with chronic disease since they don’t eat well and lose muscle from that. Also, this would help obesity because people that are bed-ridden can follow this procedure and lose weight and not muscle from not moving all day.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219082803.htm                         

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=myo+x&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=WDmSYjvdOWTJ4M:&imgrefurl=http://www.muscleandstrength.com/store/myo-x.html&docid=U6Yt6pQQT2ykMM&imgurl=http://www.muscleandstrength.com/store/media/wysiwyg/Products/M/MYO-X_Chart.jpg&w=497&h=405&ei=0XLTUMGdMIqG0QG00IDACA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=223&vpy=121&dur=273&hovh=203&hovw=249&tx=123&ty=74&sig=103478875304250643719&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=167&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:93

The Diamond Planet

Out there in space, is a planet orbiting a distant star. Scientists say that about one third of this planet, larger than earth, could be made of diamonds. The planet is called 55 Cancri e and it is about forty light years away. The planet passes across the face of the star during each orbit and during each pass, the planet blocks a fraction of the starlight streaming toward earth. Analyses from the light from the parent star suggest that its composition, as well as the planets, is carbon-rich and oxygen-poor. Instead of accumulating water, it probably accumulated other light materials, such as carbon and silicon.

The core of 55 Cancri e might be made of iron, just like the Earth's; but the outer layers could be a mixture of carbon, silicates, and silicon carbide. The the very high pressure inside the planet, and maybe on the surface, much of the carbon could be diamond. In fact, diamond could account for up to one-third of the planet's weight.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/11/a-diamond-planet/

Black Piranha

The black piranha can be found all over the Amazon Basin. It is also the most widely spread piranha in South America. Suprisingly, the black piranha and the extinct, giant piranha (megapiranha) have the most powerful bites of all carnivorous fish. The piranha's specialized jaw morphology allows them to attack and bite chunks out of larger prey. The piranha has a relatively small size, but its aggressive nature and accessible population make it a worthy predator. Diet studies indicate that piranhas will attack and bite chunks of bony fins and flesh from prey many times larger than themselves.
The black piranha is able to bite with a force more than 30 times greater than its weight. The bight is achieved by the large muscle mass of the black piranha's jaw and the efficient transmission of its large contractile forces through a highly modified jaw-closing lever.
The bite force of the extinct, giant piranha, was reconstructed and discovered to be stronger than other extinct mega-redators, including the whale-eating shark.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121220160727.htm
http://www.aquascapeonline.com/aquatic-live-stock-fresh-water-fish-piranhas-genus-serrasalmus-black-piranha-guyana/

Unusual Venomous Animals

When you go to the zoo, you see animals such as the rattle snake, Komodo dragon, and the hooded pitohuis. When you see a rattle snake you know its dangerous, the Komodo dragon you see its strength, and the hooded pitohuis appears to be a bird with a black and yellow-orange coat; but did you know all of these animals share a common bond? Each of them is poisonous.
The Komodo dragon is almost no surprise that it is poisonous. You may have seen its powerful bites and tremendous speed. Overall, the animal is dangerous. However, its most dangerous feature is what lies within its already powerful bite. The dragon has six poison glands on each side of its mouth. They don't have any grooved fangs, but instead they have sawlike teeth. When the prey pull away, the dragon pulls back. This allows venom to ooze into the wound.

The Komodo dragon may not come as a surprise, but the hooded pitohuis should. In 2009, John Dumbacher an ornithologist at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, picked up the bird. When he did it made him sneeze and itch and his eyes began to water. A predator who eats the bird suffers a worse consequence. High levels of batrachotoxin are found in pitohui muscle, heart and liver. This is the same found in poison dart frogs. The toxin interrupts the normal function of a predators nerve cells, eventually causing the heart to stop beating.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/03/cant-touch-this-unusual-venomous-creatures/

Protein Deficiency

The four macromolecules of life are carbohydrates, fatty acids, nucleotides, and proteins. Proteins are very essential to living organisms because they participate in almost every process within a cell. They are responsible for building and repairing body tissues, produce enzymes and hormones the body uses, and   regulates body processes like: water balancing, transporting nutrients, and making muscles contract. Proteins also play a large role in metabolism. During metabolism, ingested proteins are broken down into amino acids through digestion. The human body’s need for proteins sometimes goes unnoticed. Protein deficiency is a state of malnutrition, where the body does not acquire sufficient amounts of protein in order to produce energy. It occurs in third-world countries and in people that leave out meat in their diets. Protein deficiency’s commonality also stems from unbalanced meals because of the need to prepare meals quickly, rather than well balanced.

Vegetarians are prone to protein deficiency because of the absence of meat. Many vegetarians do not realize the extra work involved in acquiring the necessary materials the body needs to function. Preparation also acquires more time in a vegetarian lifestyle, so health suffers when vegetarians do not have time to cook. Vegetarians should look for nuts, beans, lentils, whole grains, soy, peas, peanuts, potatoes, and seeds as protein sources. Dairy products are also a good source of protein, if the lifestyle allows for them.

Protein deficiency can be diagnosed in vegetarians if the symptoms are seen, but there are also hidden symptoms. Vegetarians with unstable blood sugar, caused from sweet cravings, are susceptible to protein deficiency. Blood tests are the most conclusive for concerns related to blood sugar. Muscle and joint pain are also hidden symptoms. During the fall and winter, the body stores proteins and fats to insulate and rebuild the body for the cold weather, which are stored in the synovial fluid around the joints. If someone is protein deficient, this reserve of protein will be used up by the body, resulting in joints stiffening and muscles tightening. Noticeable symptoms for severe protein deficiency may be: thinning or loss of hair, skin rashes/dry skin, weak and tired, slow healing, skin ulcers, sleep issues, nausea, and fainting.

To treat protein deficiency, red meat can be prescribed as a medicine. Red meat is the most acidic of all meats and of all protein sources in general. The more acidic a substance, the deeper it penetrates the tissues and the better it is stored. Acidic foods are important for protein storage during the winter months. If eating meat is not an option, a high consumption of vegetable protein sources are suggested.

http://lifespa.com/2011/07/protein-deficiency-the-hidden-signs/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-protein-deficiency.htm

There's Something In The Water

Starting in the 1940’s sodium fluoride was put into some drinking water supplies to improve dental health.  Sodium fluoride allegedly acts as a topical cleanser for the tooth’s surface but there is no benefit from ingesting the chemical.  Fluoride has now came under some scrutiny by those who question what reason’s its in the drinking water if there is no real evidence that it improves dental health.  Fluoridation of public drinking water is being pushed further and further to communities even though there is no correlations between fluoride consumption and dental health but yet there are multiple, direct correlations between consumption of fluoride and several health risks.  In a 1986-1967 study by the National Institute of Dental Research observed 84 areas of the United States that were either fluoridated or non fluoridated, observing 39,000 children, there was no noticeable difference in dental health in areas with fluoride in the drinking waters.     Most of the American water systems, 64 percent, are fluorinated the only countries with a higher percentages are Brunei, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, and Malaysia with 95%, 80%, 70%, 100%, 73%, and 75%, respectively.  In total twenty-seven countries have water fluoridation programs only 11 have more than 50% but in 12 of these countries it affects under 20% of the population. Sodium Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical that in some areas there are high areas of in the natural water supply that they actually try to take out of the systems to avoid ingestion such as in China and India.  If they are administrating into to us for dental health reasons it should be considered a drug. If it is a drug isn’t widespread uncontrolled dosing of chemical goes against all new administration philosophy of patient by patient controlled medication process. The FDA has categorized it as a pharmaceutical drug.  Any mass drug administration is completely illogical and unethical.  This is comparable to forcing us to take aspirin to prevent headaches.  In addition fluoridated water could be used in most things we consume causing an over administration as it has contaminated the food products we eat.   Most toothpaste is made with fluoride as the active ingredient which should be all we needed to provide our teeth with a topical dose of fluoride. With little research to show fluoride improves dental health at all this process seems more like poisoning as it is forced into our bodies with the water that is most essential to life and well-being.  In New Jersey we have the second least access to fluoridated water, and with recent registration trying to force it upon our state, serious research on the possible effects of fluoride need to be done to not jeopardize the youth’s future health, not veering down the paths of most of the other states.

            The means the fluoride salts are collected is startling enough.  Near 95% of the fluoride salts used come from a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer plants the heating process they use to refine the phosphate releases combustion of Fluorosilicate Acid (FSA) also known as hydro fluorosilicate (HFS). These chemicals were once let release into the air but death of livestock and crops in surrounding areas were attributed to the refineries and they had to find away to prevent it from expelling it into the open air.  The byproducts are collected on sponge-like rotors similar to that of a car wash called “wet scrubbers” and have to be collected by workforce wearing protective gear as it is considered radioactive waste.  It is then sold by the companies to the fluoridating communities amongst the country.   

            This toxic chemical fluoride passes through the kidneys and out in urine while some is not excreted out of the kidney, eventually it builds up leaving the kidneys susceptible to illness.  The fluoride then reaches other internal parts of the body at a higher rate also kidneys that are already impaired are more susceptible to fluoride caused problems. There is evidence that fluoride is neurotoxin that negatively affects the brain’s function.  A group of Harvard researchers conducted a study and came to the conclusion: “Children in high fluoride areas had significant lower IQs than those in low or no fluoride areas”. With significant evidence pointing to potential neurotoxicity some has asked how dental health is more important than mental health.              All these potential harmful factors just for dental health and pretty teeth seem absurd right?  What else is absurd is now 40% of kids 12-15 suffer from dental fluorosis that discolors the teeth by damaging the enamel, it is caused by too much fluoride exposure in the first 8 years of life when the body is very susceptible.  The teeth can have white blotches, spots, and steaks or even brown stains that are very cosmetically unattractive.  Our teeth are the only bones that grow we can visible see the condition; this has raised concern as to what it is doing to our other bones.  In other countries with natural high levels of fluoride there is a common condition called skeletal fluorosis that is very similar in symptoms as arthritis.  Many Americans may be under impact of skeletal fluorosis as it has been disregarded by us and the western world as a potential problem. Skeletal fluorosis is often indistinguishable from many other commonly known joint and bone diseases so it can be misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis or some other condition and fluorosis is rarely considered. The fluoride's impact on bones can be as severe as osteocarcoma (bone cancer) Everyone needs to be aware of what is going to our bodies and the possibly impact in order to protect our futures health.

Muscle Fatigue

Exam 2 blog

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-muscle-fatigue.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa77.htm

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/weakness-and-fatigue-topic-overview

Muscle Fatigue

Muscle fatigue happens to everyone who over exerts in exercising or working that tires out your muscles. Muscle fatigue is defined as a condition in the muscle in which its capacity to produce maximum voluntary action, or to perform a series of repetitive actions, is reduced. It results when muscle activity exceeds tissue substrate and oxygen capacity. Basically muscle fatigue can be from using your muscles too much or using them in a way that your body is not used to and they result in soreness and tiredness. Muscle fatigue can happen with many activities such as weight lifting, running, playing sports, lifting heavy objects, working, etc. Muscle fatigue is not a disease by any means or even a lack of what happens to most people. This is common and it is also very easy to recover your muscles after your muscles are tired and sore. 

Knowing what muscle fatigue is one thing, but knowing how it happens and what exactly happens is another thing. When muscle fatigue happens it looks like a cycle and it starts when you do short term exercise. ATP and creatine phosphate are used up within 7 seconds of exercising, this then signals the metabolism of glycogen to produce energy for your body, this is known as glycolysis. During glycolysis, glycogen is broken down to produce more creatine phosphate. This breakdown is releases energy, which catalyzes a reaction to produce ATP. The production of more ATP allows movement of your muscles to continue. Lactic acid is a product of glycolysis created by the breaking down of pyruvate.

This is a model of what happens in a short term process of muscle fatigue.

Lactic acid is then disassociated to produce lactate. When lactic acid releases a hydrogen ion, the remaining compound binds to a sodium ion or a potassium ion to form a salt. It is the salt that is lactate. Now the cell contains a lactate compound and a free hydrogen ion for each compound of lactic acid that is produced. It is this increase in cellular hydrogen ions that causes the pH to decrease becoming more acidic. The acid in the muscle causes the fibers' calcium-binding capacity to decrease, this limits muscle contraction. This entire process is the cause of muscle fatigue.

To prevent muscle fatigue you can do a few things such as take BCAA's which recovers muscles, you can take protein powder that also recovers muscle fatigue. If you eat right your muscles will also heal a lot better. But when it comes down to it the most important thing you need for your muscles to recover is to rest. The best thing you can do for the fatigue feeling to go away is to do all of the above. If you take your amino acids, drink protein shakes, eat right, and get a good night sleep then the muscle fatigue will surely go away and you'll be able to recover quickly and go about to doing what you usually do with no soreness or weakness feeling what so ever.

H1N1: Swine Flu

The H1N1 virus is a new form of influenza that first infected the United States in 2009.  The H1N1 virus is also known as “swine flu” because it has very similar genes to a form of influenza that infected North American pigs, although further study showed it was a different virus spreading from person to person world-wide.   The virus’s symptoms are similar to that of any form of influenza and include runny nose, achy body, fever, sore throat, vomiting and the chills.  Also people with chronic health issues can see complications increasing due to H1N1 and can lead to bronchitis or pneumonia in addition to the flu symptoms. 

            H1N1 is highly contagious like most forms of the flu and is spread human to human when germs are spread from sneezing, coughing, or direct contact with a skin or surface with germs on it and although the pandemic of wide spread swine flu occurred in September and October of 2009 it has come about in spurts during the flu season over 2010 and 2011.   It is usually treatable without much doctor’s attention unless complications occur. Certain at risk people like young children it has a higher risk of death and complications that aren’t normal flu symptoms. It its less likely for people 65 or older to actually get infected with the H1N1 as by the age of 65 they may have developed the antibodies but if they do get infected it can be traumatic even though the numbers show that it effects middle-aged and young people more severely. In comparison to other influenzas, there are about 36,000 people who die from other forms of the flu and more than 90% of those deaths are from people 65 or older, in the flu season of 2009 88% of deaths were from those younger than 65, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), showing that it has a much more traumatic affect or middle-aged people than the regular flu which is much more traumatizing to seniors, while they are more resistant to the H1N1 virus. 

            There have been “swine flu parties” where someone who has been infected but had a mild illness would have people purposely come in contact with and infected with the disease in order to obtain a less severe form, an immunity to the disease and maybe an immunity to any forms of the disease that may evolve and could possibly be a more severe disease, but the CDC called caution against such events stating that no one could tell what the severity of ones sickness would be just by comparing it to what who they caught the illness from went through.  Because of the unpredictable nature of the virus and the fact it can easily be confused with the normal flu and take a turn for the worst the CDC has encouraged all people 6 months of age or older to get the H1N1 vaccine to try to quickly halt the chances of another outbreak.

Mashing Mantis Shrimp

The mantis shrimp is a highly developed crustacean with some amazing characteristics.  Coming equipped with the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom they see with 4 times the light spectrum of humans and a lightning quick knockout punch it uses to stun its pray it is a very capable hunter, killing fish and pray larger than itself.  The mantis shrimp is not a shrimp at all but its own species of crustaceans, named because it has a similar appearance to a praying mantis.  There are two types of mantis shrimp and hundreds of subspecies of each category living in cold to tropical seas around the world.  The difference comes in the type of clubs they possess to kill their prey, one type has a sharp needle like expenditure that punctures the prey’s flesh and leaves them in the mantis shrimps jaws, the other are thick, hard clubs that stun the victim giving the mantis time to grab the unconscious fish or shrimp swimming by.  The power-punch the mantis packs is similar to that of a .22 caliber bullet and it is known by some divers as the “thumb-splitter” because sometimes they will attack a human hand when they reach near the crevices they live in, doing damage even through gloves and wet suits.  The mantis shrimp is one of the most intelligent animals under the ocean and definitely pound for pound the most ferocious predators. 

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/06/mantis-shrimp-smash.html

Immortal Palm Trees

            

Palm trees are being studied to understand the biological ability of vitality.  Plant and animal differ much on how their aging process works because of the difference in function in the two kingdoms but can still gather information on the ability for cells remain vital for long periods of time.  They linked lifespan to the amount of the time cells in an organism can remain metabolically active instead of a genetic code.  This makes it possible for plants to live longer than animals because plants do not grow fixed organs but rather constantly grow repairing damaged organs with new cells.  Fixed function ability of animal organs like the kidneys, stomach, or liver cause them to deteriorate as the cells lose function and not repair themselves.  Unlike all other long living trees palm trees cells remain all living and functioning its entire lifespan.  Most Palm trees live over 100 years but some can live as long as 700 and the cells remain alive the entire lifespan. Most pine trees and such inner cells die off creating a skeletal backbone for the tree.  The palm trees key to cell health is the vascularity of the plant that allows the old cells to new cells top to bottom interact and easily provide the entire plant with water and nutrients.  There is even metabolic activity in the plants root, bark, and starch that would normally be just storage cells.  The difference in cell metabolism in palm trees shows the importance of cell health in total health as the most important thing in keeping life living.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219092842.htm

Blind Mole Rat's Ability to Fight Cancer

Mole rats can be found underground in places like Southern and Eastern Africa and the Middle East. They have incredible abilities to survive in thier underground habitats. For example, the naked mole rat does not experience pain and is the only cold blooded mammal. Also, blind mole rats' cells have a fascinating way of fighting cancer. Scientists wanted to take a closer look to find out how blind mole rats are cancer free. Vera Gorbunova, of the University of Rochester and her colleagues examined two species, the Judean Mountains blind mole rat (Spalax judaei) and the Golan Heights blind mole rat (Spalax golani), which live in small regions of Israel. Since the blind mole rats' burrows conatain low levels of oxygen, it would be believed that their cells would commit suicide. However, blind mole rats' cells cannot kill themselves through a type of cell suicide called apoptosis. So you would think blind mole rats should be more susceptible to cancer because their cells cannot undergo apoptosis, but that is not the case. To live underground, blind mole rats had to evolve a mutation in a cancer fighting protein called p53. The mutation prevents cells from undergoing apoptosis, a type of cell death in which cells dismantle themselves from the inside, and a process used to kill cancer cells.
Vera Gorbunova and her colleagues took cells from the blind mole rats and put them in a culture that would force them to multiply beyond what would happen within the animals’ bodies. Beyond twenty multiplications, cells started to rapidly die off. The cells release a chemical called interferon-beta, which the immune system uses normally to fight viruses. In blind mole rats, the chemical caused blind mole rate cells to "burst" open, a process known as necrosis. Once the blind mole rats' cells detected multiplication beyond a cetain point, they kill themselves. Now, researchers are trying to figure out why necrosis is able to kill tumor cells without damaging healthy tissues. Living in low oxygen environments definitly benefit blind mole rat's ability to fight cancer.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/blind-mole-rat-cancer/
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346267/description/Cancer_cells_self-destruct_in_blind_mole_rats

Scientists Develop Way To Prevent Inherited Diseases

A team of scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation and Columbia University Medical Center has developed a way to transfer human egg cells nucleus in a controlled matter.  With this ability they can prevent cells with mitochondrial diseases from fertilizing.  The mitochondrion only contains 37 of the 20,000 genes but because of its role in cell function any defects and it can lead to significant impacts on health.  Mitochondrial diseases affect 1 in every 10,000 people with symptoms such as stunted growth, weak kidneys, weak muscles, neurological disorders, hearing, vision, and respiratory problems.  There is no cure for these diseases as they are in the very genetic makeup of a person.   In not too long of a time a woman with mitochondrial disease in her genetics will not have to worry about their kid have any defects now the mitochondrial DNA can be professionally replaced.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219132729.htm

Are Bacteria Making You Hungry?

Gastrointestinal Bacteria play an important role in your everyday life as they can have varying affects.  They are hosted in your stomach and feed on all the same nutrients you do and also creating byproducts of microbes in the process.  These microbes interfere with the nervous system and can affect our mood.  They produce hormones such as the neurotransmitters tryptophan, tyrosine, and GABA.  These are mood altering and affect serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine and serotonin affects ones mood, depression, appetite, and sleeping.  If these bacteria are in our gut directly communicating with our brains the way they do themselves it could lead to plenty of possibilities understand chemical imbalances and correlating some mental problems to diet.  The gut bacteria could even be controlling our mood for food picking what they want to eat.  I think we need to understand how much of the bacteria’s actions are natural and how much we need to avoid creating a balance. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219142301.htm

Punching Power

Scientists from the University of Utah have concluded that the human hand was not alone evolved for manually dexterity as it has been thought.  The evolvement of opposable thumbs has separated us greatly from the other great apes.  It was thought the opposable thumb was only a development to assist in our dexterity but it also makes it physically possible for us to make a clenching fist.  The way our hands compact perfectly into a fist suggest they were developed to be our defense also.  The tight clench fist secures our own hand from injuring it’s bones and ligaments upon contact and tripling the force of an open-hand slap by lowering the impact surface.  Suggestions that our hands are how we always solved things would mean that those cavemen males with the strongest most adept punch would win in fights for females and thus mate.  This would accelerate the need for proper hand function amongst our early race as only those with the ability to fight would mostly mate. Primates are all violent creatures capable of attacking their own kind as well as different animals, and we humans are no different, just different in our abilities to combat.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219223158.htm

Cleaning Clams

Scientists and students have been placing clams in streams and rivers near industries and highways.  The down clams placed downs stream of the location will absorb the water and any toxins inside the water.  This gives scientists an easy way to see what toxins are present in the water ways and figure out what must be done to maintain balance of the ecosystem.  The clams also naturally help clean the water because they are filter feeders absorbing nutrients and whatever else that is bad out of the water also helping the ecosystem.  Chemicals like PCB’s, lead, arsenic, and insecticides are pollutants that cause harm when they are too prevalent or prevalent for too long.   If they don’t keep up with the pollutants affect on the environment it could eventually start to affect our water and health.  The clams are just a way to understand the level of toxins in the water but its necessary to understand the biological situation of the water system.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0110-clam_cleanup.htm

New Freshwater Dolphin Like Dinosaur Discovered

The fossils found in Hungary show a finned lizard or Mosasaur species thought to be related to modern day monitor lizards and to have a similar to a crocodiles.  The species lived on this earth 84 million years ago reaching 20 feet long.  It is the largest fully aquatic freshwater reptile to have live.  They have a body in the shape of a dolphin, just scaly skin and a much meaner head.  The scientists state that it would have been the supreme predator of its time and it’s hard to imagine such a creature without thinking it would be a scary, ferocious killer.   The alleged stories of the “Loch Ness Monster” bring us a much gentler, less frightening prehistoric reptile that people think may still exist.  Lets hope the mosasaurus really is extinct!

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219173914.htm

Bacteria Vs. Viruses!

Exam II

Bacteria are single cell microorganisms. They are neither animal nor plant, the main reason they do not fall into either category because they have no nucleus. However bacteria do have a cell wall, plasma membrane, capsule, basal body, DNA, ribosomes, cytoplasm, flagellum, and pili. The basal body anchors the flagellum allwoing it to rotate. The pili are spikes the allow the bacteria to stick to others. They come in three main shapes; spiral(spirilla), rod(vibrio), and spherical (cocci). Bacteria is anywhere, and everywhere. Some bacteria are good while others are bad, causing disease. When the disease causing bacteria makes it past the immune system of living organisms they reproduce. Thus becoming a bigger threat. How do we deal with such a dilemma? Antibiotics is the key. Some are created for a specific type of bacteria, with the primary goal of killing it. They can also be created to block the bacteria spreading the infection, and to convert glucose into energy. With its construction only for the sake of the specific bacteria we do not have to worry about it attacking other cells as well. Now why doesnt antibiotics work on viruses? Viruses are not a living thing, like our fellow bacteria, so they can not be eliminated. They simply carry DNA surrounded by a capsule, but the DNA is what is so harmful. With viruses, they inject DNA into cells, corrupting the orignal cell to replicate more of the DNA carried by the virus. Eventually there will be more cells with the DNA of the virus. Simply the hosts immune system would have to deal with the virus. But it doesnt mean we can not help ourselves with suppling the right nutrients. There are some antiviral substances, but a few only, not enough for how much viruses out there. Not to mention that these vaccines only slow down the reproduction and prevent further spreading, it does not stop it one hundred percent. Now both bacteria and viruses can be transferred the same way. Coughing, sneezing, any contact with someone whom is ill. That is why the best way to stay healthly is to keep sanitary by washing your hands, etc. Futhermore, not all viruses are bad, some can be used in a beneficial way, for example helping to destroy brain tumors, and to fight cancers. Viruses are not only smaller than bacteria, but are not visible by microscope.

Liquid Metal Wires

Researchers have created a wire that has the ability to stretched up to eight times the original length. The wire is made with a filling of liquid metal alloy; gallium, and indium, both of them are great conductors of electricity, then they're surrounded by a thin elastic polymer. This wire can be used for most things. People have already tried to create a wire like this one, but none were as nearly as succesful. When the one gained elasticity, it would lose the conductivity, and vice versa. The only problem with this wire is what would happen with the wire opened, how would they contain the flowing liquid.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121218121421.htm

Oldest Stars

Astronomers have found traces of ancient light in the activity of bright, distant galaxies. A new light detection will allow scientists to spot light from all of the distant stars in their field of view and going back into early of the formation in the universe. Researchers had to develop an indirect way to measure the light from the first stars. Imagine looking through a window on a rainy day, it's hard to see individual raindrops on their way down; but once you look at the ground you can see its all wet. To find the old light , researchers had to look at blazars. These are far away but super-bright galaxies that are held together by a giant black hold in the center. Light travels as tiny particles called photons. When photons smash into blazar's gamma rays, the collision dims the light from the blazars. Astronomers use data collected by the telescope to map the collisions.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/11/twinkle-twinkle-oldest-stars/

Zinc may help treat jellyfish stings

A Zinc compound take to treat the common cold may have found a second use for anyone unlucky enough to get stung by a box jellyfish. Box jellyfish deliver some of the most potent venom found in nature. Australian researchers have proposed that the venom attacks heart muscles. This explains why sting victims suffer cardiac arrest. The zinc compound blocks assembly of the pores, stanching potassium discharge, tests in red blood cells. Click here for more

Second Earth?

Tau Ceti is the closest single star beyond out solar system. Scientists have discovered what may be five planets orbiting it. The temperature and luminosity of Tau Ceti nearly match the suns. If the planets are there, one of them is about the right distance from the star to have mild temperatures, oceans of water, and even life. Tau Ceti is only twelve light years away from Earth. This is just three times as far as the suns nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri. Tau Ceti resembles the sun in a lot of ways. Unlike most stars that are faint, cool, and small, Tau Ceti is a bright G-type yellow main sequence star like the sun. This is a trait that only one in twenty-five stars boasts

For more click http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/12/another-earth-just-12-light-year.html

First Rock From the Sun has Ice

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and NASAS MESSANGER spacecraft has made a strange discovery. It has found evidence of frozen water. Mercury itself cannot support life, but this finding clues about how water and other vital ingredients ended up on earth. In the early 1990s, Earth based radar measurements hinted at the presence of ice when they found mysterious bright spots near Mercury's poles. The new studies prove that the spots are water ice.

click here for more

Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause for diarrheal illness in the United States. It is considered an Epsilonproteobacteria. Although Campylobacter doesn't commonly cause death, it is estimated that approximately 100 people die from infection each year. It is especially fond of birds and therefore thrives there. This bacteria spreads through under cooked poultry, raw poultry, raw milk and untreated water. In the United States alone this bacteria is the most prevalent food- borne pathogen in poultry, pork, and shellfish. This genus is especially fragile and requires reduced levels of oxygen. It thrives in places like the intestines, and according to my bio teacher reproduces in low temperatures like the freezer. NEVER take out frozen meat to thaw and freeze again. That is a huge-breeding ground and is not a smart idea, only take out meat you are definitely preparing. Major symptoms are basically diarrhea and everything that comes with it like fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache and muscle pain. The illness usually occurs 2-5 days after ingestion of the contaminated food or water. This infection will generally lasts 7-10 days, and is not treatable with antibiotics. Just last it out, relax as much as possible, and drink plenty of fluids. This little 'BEASTY' is not too be taken lately, and everyone should be fully aware of how and what it can do.What is Campylobacter?

Pigs in Southern China infected with Avian Flu!

                                             
Researchers reported for the first time the seroprevalence of three strains of avian influenza viruses in pigs in southern China, but not the H5N1. The influenza A virus is responsible for annual outbreaks as well as pandemics that have killed millions of people world wide. In an article published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, researchers have proved pigs can be infected with both human and avian influenza virus. They believe pigs act as a "mixing vessel" for genetic reassortment that could lead to pandemics. Pigs have been infected experimentally by all avian H1-H13 subtypes, however natural transmission to pigs has been rare, until now. In a study, from 2010-2012, Guihong Zhang and colleagues of the College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China test 1080 pigs ages 21-25 weeks. The tested them for all subtypes of the Avian influenza virus including H3, H4, H5, and H6, and also H1, and H3 subtypes of swine influenza virus. Of the pigs tested 35% tested positive for H1N1, and 20% tested positive for H3N2. A study in 2001 resulted in no samples being positive for any of the Influenza virus. These researchers strongly suggest that the pork industry worldwide, test for the influenza virus in their pigs.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219174158.htm

3-D structural image

http://www.biology-online.org/articles/first-3-d-images-obtained-core.html
First 3-D Images Obtained Of Core Component Of Molecular Machinery Used For Cell Reproduction   

For the first time, structural biologists have managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine, called the replisome, that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.
Currently, the process of DNA replication in eukaryote cells is a "black box." Biologists know what goes in and what comes out but they know very little about how the process actual works at the molecular level. Because form causes function in the protein world, determining the 3D structure of the 30-40 proteins that combine to form the replisome is a necessary first step to figuring out the details of this critical process and understanding how it can go wrong.

This is a picture of a 3-D model from an animal cell

 

http://biologica.concord.org/webtest1/view_3D_cells.htm

The structure of Mcm10 was determined using cells from the African clawed frog, the structures of analogous proteins in human and other animal cells should be nearly identical, the researchers maintain. The Mcm10 structure reveals a special feature, called the OB-fold, that proteins use to interact with single-stranded DNA and a series of three loops that the researchers believe are used to clamp down on the DNA. The protein also contains a protrusion –called a zinc finger because it is built around a zinc atom – that proteins normally use to recognize specific double-stranded DNA segments. In this case the zinc finger appears to be modified in a way that allows it to detect generic DNA.
My opinion is that we need to continue to build our knowledge database so that we may learn what is truly happening inside and around us. By doing so we will not only better ourselves, but also the enviroment in which we live.

Smoking Hurts Teen Girls Bones

Smoking has always been something that teenagers have done. The effects of smoking have always been obvious such as lung cancer, yellow teeth, etc, but a new study shows that smoking can actually effect bone loss and osteoporosis in teenage girls. Osteoporosis is a loss of bone density that predisposes people to fractures and leaves many elderly people, especially women, hunched over. Bones regenerate over ones lifetime, but the teenage years particularly are crucial to develop a strong skeleton. 

Lorah Dorn, a developmental psychologist and pediatric nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, recruited 262 healthy girls ages 11 to 17. Each of the girls answered questions about their health habits and would return three times a year for bone density tests. Girls who regularly reported smoking regularly had shown nearly flat rates of bone density growth. Non smokers showed normal growth of the bones.

click here for more info

Will Biodiversity remain?

http://www.biology-online.org/articles/biodiversity-persist-face-climate-change.html

Can Biodiversity Persist In The Face Of Climate Change?   

 

Predictions made over the last decade about the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be exaggerated, according to a paper published in the journal Science.

The two say that several larger scale models are failing to take into account local, more detailed variations and that these models often underestimate the full capacity of plants and animals to adapt to a changing climate.

The researchers predict that the species, instead of going instinct as previously thought, will adapt, migrate and turnover to survive in the climate they face. They say these models do not give credit to the plants and animals of the world and an example of it is forest butterflies in West Africa, which despite an 87 per cent reduction in forest cover, 97 per cent of species are still present.
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/169/biodiversity

Although over three quarters of the earth's deserts, grasslands, forests and tundra have changed because of human activity, the researchers say that even in this fragmented landscape species are surviving better than was previously predicted.

This is a picture of the forest butterfly from West Africa

 

Professor Kathy Willis, from the School for Geography and the Environment, expresses some caution about the apparent ability of species to survive in a more fragmented habitat. She said, "Presence or absence does not take into account lag effects of declining populations. Therefore, a more worrying interpretation is that the full effects of fragmentation will only be seen in future years."

My personal opinion is that we can not truly stop the progress humans are making upon the world, but we can help species adapt to the new enviroments that we are pushing onto them. An example would be to create a national park if a new city, or town, were to be built where animals are thriving.

Dust of Twin Tower Linked to Cancers

Rescue and recovery workers exposed to debris in the air from the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York are no more likely to develop cancer than from any other cases; But a closer look at the records finds that three stand as exceptions: cancers of the thyroid and prostate and a blood cancer called multiple myeloma.

Other people exposed to the dust have so far experienced no increased risk. The study was based off of the approximately 55,000 New York residents exposed to the dust after the towers fell. It is unclear why three of the cancers were caused and the other twenty were left alone; but any cancer rate increase raises the concern that exposures during the rescue and months-long cleanup operation may pose future risks, Stellman says, an epidemiologist at the New York City Department of Health and Columbia University.

People who worked amid the dust include first responders, cleanup crews, welders who cut up the tangled steel beams and barge and landfill workers who removed the rubble. By 2007 and 2008, this group of people showed a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer, a doubled risk of thyroid cancer and a nearly tripled risk of multiple myeloma when compared with the general population of New York.

 For more information, click here

Giant Star Flying Through Space

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121218153330.htm
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2011-026

The blue star within the red wave looking ripple is the star Zeta Ophiuchi. This star was once sitting next to a much bigger star than itself. Once the bigger star exploded it sent off Zeta Ophiuchi flying. The giant star is making a surprising effect on the surrounding dust clouds. Huge winds are sending out ripples in the dust as it approaches, this creates a bow shock as glowing gossamer threads, which, for this star, are only seen in infared light. This star creates a beautiful image for us to look at as it flies through the galaxy. There is no threat of this star hitting Earth, it honestly is just quite a site to look at. It 's an actual shooting star also, instead of a meteor flying in outer space. 

How old is cheese?

Current research indicates that humans made cheese starting from 7,500 years ago. Earliest evidence is from perforated pottery fragments, that indicate they had tools like our modern day cheese strainers. Researchers from the University of Bristol in Britain with other international colleagues analyzed that fatty-acids were embedded in prehistoric pottery. They had been used to separate milk into curds for cheese and other lactose containing products. Until now, the earliest evidence of cheese-making came from depictions of milk processing in murals several thousand years younger than the pottery fragments. "The presence of milk residues in sieves ... constitutes the earliest direct evidence for cheese-making," said Mélanie Salque from Bristol, one of the authors of the research, which was published in the journal Nature. Cheesy goodness at sciencedaily.com

ICE AGE WOLVES

Recently unearthed were fossil remains of an extinct wolf species, northwest of Las Vegas wash. This reveals that the mammal once lived in Nevada. It was found in a fossil rich area known for ice age animals. It is estimated to be 10,000-15,000 years old from the Pleistocene period. The metapodial (foot bone)was uncovered late last year by UNLV geologist Josh Bonde. "Dire wolves are known to have lived in almost all of North America south of Canada, but their historical presence in Nevada has been absent until now," said Bonde, a UNLV geology professor. This fills another part of the map for the animal and reveals a bit about the ecosystem in Southern Nevada. Ice Age Dire Wolf

Countering Brain Chemical Could Prevent Suicides

Current research suggests that a chemical in the brain called glutamate is directly linked to suicidal behavior. This offers new possibilities, especially hope for suicide prevention efforts. Michigan State's Lena Brundin and an international team of investigators posted in their science journal, Neuropsychopharmacology. They seemed to have found that glutamate is more more active in brains of people who attempt suicide. This chemical is an amino-acid that send signals between nerve cells, it has been a primary suspect in the search for depression causing chemicals.
"There's been a lot of focus on another neurotransmitter called serotonin for about 40 years now. The conclusion from our paper is that we need to turn some of that focus to glutamate." said Brundin. In the meantime anti-glutamate drugs are still in development. Soon, this could offer a key too preventing suicide in the future. An anesthetic called ketamine inhibits glutamate signaling, but it's side effects keep its from being used today. Brundin also says inflammation in the brain is primary in showing that suicidal behavior may be triggered.  This inflammation comes from a buildup of quinolinic acid buildup in patients spines in a study that perfromed. It is important they continue and eventually finalize their experiments so we can help society with this problem.  Glutamate research linked to suicide

The purple arrows represent where glutamate pathways are located.

Bad Pork

Research has been done on pork chop and ground pork samples from six cities around the U.S. Of the 198 samples (148 pork chop and 50 ground pork), Yersinia enterocolitica, was found in 69%. Yersinia, which infects about 100,000 Americans each year, is a bacterium that can cause fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The other contaminations were considerably lower than the rate for Yersinia; Enterococcus (11%), Staphylococcus aureus (7%), salmonella (4%), and Listeria monocytogenes (3%). Enterococcus can indicate fecal contamination and can cause problems such as urinary-tract infections. Listeria causes the infection, Listeriosis, which is the leading cause of death among foodborne bacterial pathogens.
Some of the bacteria samples were resistant to antibiotics used to treat people. This is beacuase of the frequent low dose of antibiotics used in the raising of pigs. Of the 132 samples of Yersinia, 121 were resistant to one class of antibiotic, and 52 were resistant to two or more. Of the 19 samples containing Enterococcus, 12 were resistant to at least one class. Of the 14 samples positive for staph, 13 were resistant to at least one class, and 9 were resistant to two or more. Lastly, of the 8 samples consisting of salmonella, 6 were resitant to at least one class, and 3 were resistant to at least 5 types.
A second test was done on a seperate, 240 samples of pork. The controversial drug, Ractopamine, which encourages lean muscle growth, was found in 20% of the samples. It is legal in the U.S, but banned in the European Union, China, and Taiwan. Therefore, those countries do not accept meats containing Ractopamine.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the member of Congress has been the strongest voice for controlling antibiotic resistant bacteria in food. She stated, " I have legislation awaiting a vote in Congress to address this problem once and for all — and it’s time we pass it into law".

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/pork0113.htm
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/bad-pork-cu/#more-139025