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.