Head Attack

Mind over Matter”, a phrase often used to encourage one another to overcome a physical obstacle that can be subdued by mental strength. However, “Mind over Matter” is not all positivity and accomplishments, it has its negative affects as well.. For Example, ulcers high blood pressure and asthma are all believed to be direct results of stress. Another question that has been recently researched is whether or not heart attacks are cause by stress. Around 1.5 million people suffer from a heart attack each year, 200,000 of them die, and many of them are believed to be brought on by stress. A recent study shows that out of 224 patients who had suffered heart attacks, more than half had experienced stress within twenty-four hours prior to the heart attack. About a quarter of all suspected heart attack victims reported to hospitals are not even suffering a heart attack, and no possible cause for their heart attack-like symptoms can be found. This phenomenon is yet to be explained, but is suspected to be a direct effect of emotional stress.
Stress resulting in a heart attack is caused by the body’s misinterpretation for stress as a dangerous situation. When the brain recognizes a dangerous situation occurring it immediately prepares the rest of the body for “fight or flight”. In the process of preparing for “fight or flight” the body experiences several changes. First, stress hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucocorticoids are released into the bloodstream. Next, unnecessary processes such as your digestive tract are shut down in order to preserve energy for leg muscles. In order for enough oxygen to be supplied to the legs, the heart rate increases rapidly, circulatory veins constrict to drive blood back to the heart more quickly. The blood that is driven back to the heart slams into the heart walls which snap back with even greater force. At the same time, arteries relax to increase blood flow from the heart to the needy muscles.
Unfortunately the body often undergoes the same reaction when faced with stressors such as depression, aggression, competitiveness, anxiety, ambition, or impatience. These stresses can cause high blood pressure, which leads to a fierce cycle of physical changes that ultimately lead to arrhythmia or a heart attack. Heart attacks can also be triggered by traumatic emotional stresses such as death of a loved one, an emotionally intense fight, a natural disaster, or heavy deadlines. Men that anticipate the worst and/or explode with anger make them thirty percent more likely to develop arrhythmia. Also a intense emotion such as anger or fury doubles the risk of a heart attack during the next few hours.

My Response:
The effect the mind has on the heart, although harmful, can be used in positive ways as well. After recent experiments on pigs, scientists find that the frontal brain appears to be connected to the nerve cell bodies of the sympathetic nervous system in the spinal cord in such a way that the mind should be capable of having a positive influence on the heart. Thorough relaxation techniques and stress management methods that are based on this theory, heart patients may be able to increase their survival chances more than they would with daily exercise. Two major steps to decreasing the risk heart attack other than relieving stresses are exercising daily and developing healthy eating habits.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=head-attack

Is There Really an Autism Epidemic?

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-there-really-an-autism-epidemic
Summary:
This article explains the shocking proportion of children who suffer from autism. As of now there are one in every 166 children will be diagnosed with autism which leads to a 657 percent increase between the years of 1993-2003. These statistics are vastly different from the one in every 2,500 that researchers quoted for decades. Because of these new statistics, many educators and researchers have referred to autism as an epidemic.
Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it can be very mild or extremely severe. Children that have autism tend to be very limited in their communication or even mute. They do not like create close relationships with others and prefer to be alone. Autistic children have a high aversion to change and two thirds of them are mentally challenged. For reasons unknown autism affects more males than females. There are many things that are said to play a role in children developing autism, one of which is genetic, but genetics alone do cannot possibly explain the extraordinary rise in cases of children with autism. Some other factors that have been proposed are allergies, viruses, antibiotics and even increased rates of television viewing. Although these possible causes remain speculative one possibility that seems to attract more attention than the others are vaccines.
Because autism is usually diagnosed around the age of two, which is shortly after young children have received many vaccinations, vaccines could be seen as a possible culprit. Many parents recall their children developing autism shortly after being given a vaccine for mumps, measles or rubella (German measles) but recent published research seems to convey different. Many researchers claim that Japanese, American and European studies say that even with the decline of MMR vaccines, the number of new cases of autism has continued to rise. Because of this, researchers claim that there is very little evidence, if any, that vaccines cause autism. Even with the evidence that exists there is still a question of whether or not an autism epidemic even probable. Research suggests that the diagnostic process of autism has loosened in recent years leading to a substantially higher number of children being diagnosed with autism.
It has been said that legal changes also have played a big role in the rise of autism. Laws now require schools to provide the number of students within the school who have disabilities. Because of this there has been a huge surge in the number of children with the disease. It is said though, that these numbers are not based on carful diagnoses. Although the article does not rule out autism’s growing prevalence to our society, it does suggest that there not near enough evidence to claim it as an epidemic.
My Opinion:
I believe that autism is very prevalent in today’s society. But I also think that our society puts way to much emphasis on labeling children with autism instead of helping them to succeed. Because autism is a spectrum disorder I think it can sometimes be hard to diagnose. I don’t think that just because a child has trouble expressing their feelings or likes to be by themselves, they should be automatically characterized as autistic. In the same sense, I do not believe that just because a child has outbursts or does not like change he or she should be automatically punished with no thought about the fact that something could possibly be wrong with their mental state. I think that instead or attributing so much time to diagnosing children, researchers should spend more time finding the cause and trying to fix the problem.

Bypassing Paralyzed Nerves

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37657/title/Bypassing_paralyzed_nerves



Scientists have developed technology that electronically connects the muscles of an animal to its brain. This allows for the paralyzed animal to have slight control over their muscles. In the case of the monkey, it was able to control small movements in its hand. The device sends electrical signals to the brain which allows the animal to have control over its muscles even though the actual nerves aren't sending the message. This experiment was a great success since it was the first time that scientists have been able to link the brain artificially to the muscles.



Unfortunately, the control of necessary muscles in the human body can take control of many muscles rather than just one. The person would have to learn to use there muscles on an individual basis and then put them together. The most recent idea, however is to develp technology to stimulate the nerves in the spinal chord rather than in the muscle itself.

This is a very interesting and complex idea. The concept of creating an artificial control center is mind boggling. At the same time, if this were to become a reality, many people's lives would change drastically. With the development of science, the world can and will change for the better.

Progeria

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=new-hope-for-progeria-drug-for-rare-aging-disease

Progeria
Progeria is a childhood disorder that can have a two-year-old child resemble a grandparent. It afflicts one out of every four to eight million kids, and right now there are ten or so kids in the United States and fifty reported worldwide. Symptoms are hair loss, wrinkling skin, fragile bones, limited growth and stiff joints, appearing as early as age two. A few children with progeria have lived to be twenty, but about ninety percent die of heart attacks or strokes by thirteen. Progeria strikes at random and is a result of a mutation in the sperm before conception. This changes one letter of DNA and disfigures the nucleus. It also makes a toxic protein that builds up in the arteries of the heart that harden and can cause heart attacks.
But there is hope for these families. Researchers have genetically engineered mice with the progeria problem to test a promising new drug. Farnestyltransferase inhibitors or FTIs, were shown to restore the nucleus and prevent damage in younger mice. This drug also affected the older mice in that it reversed the damage. Currently, they are still testing for safety and efficiency with a Phase II trial consisting of eleven kids from sixteen different countries. Other than this fledgling drug, treatments are only a high calorie diet so as not to lose weigh and physical therapy to help with joint stiffness. Though it’s still too early to say, this drug could someday be widely accepted as the treatment for progeria.
And researchers have found that the infamous toxic protein in progeria is made by all of us, though at significantly lower levels. It’s possible that this increases with your age, causing the signs of aging.

My reaction: That is such a sad thing to imagine, that your child ages and dies before they are a teenager. People worry about fine lines and wrinkles and the signs of aging, and these kid’s lives are shorten by it. It definitely puts things in perspective. The children should be able to be like children and the aging should stop acting like children about their appearance. You have your run with your youth and your looks and when it’s over, it’s over. These kids don’t get their run. They have fragile bones and lose their hair and have wrinkles! They can’t play like other kids and people probably don’t say ‘Your look so much like your mother.’ It’d be more accurate to say they look like the grandparent or perhaps the mother in another fifty years. Age and the signs of aging are something to be earned. Hair loss should be from too many crazy styles back in the day, and laugh lines from the joys of life. Joints should be stiff from overuse and dancing all night. Birthdays should always be celebrated, whether over the hill or at the bottom- just not underneath it. To not only shorten life at the beginning, but add the elements from the end seems so cruel. And to think one letter in the DNA, one mutation can change it all. I hope the drug ends up being the answer these families have been looking for.

Bypassing paralyzed nerves

Summary:
Scientists are now experimenting with restoring movement to paralized limbs. Currently they have been testing on a monkey with a paralyzed arm. They electronically connect the brain to the arm by way of an Electrode planted in the brain that connects to one neuron. This process has promising results except for the fact that they can only have the monkey control one muscle at a time. And to have a functioning arm in daily life one has to be able to control many different muscles at once. Therefore the stumbling block for the scientists right now is how to connect and control all the muscles of the arm at once. Another issiue would be making the electronic chip wireless so someone wouldnt have wires sticking out of there head. Though scientists did admit that the recent experiment was only to show that electronic connection was possible and that they are years if not decades away from anything that could be benifical to humans.

My Response:
I think this kind of research is good. There's nothing controversial about what there doing and its for a good cause. This can provide some hope to people that have been paralized and cannot function on there own. They should continue research since there first experiments have shown that the electronic connection was possible. It could be a while before anything usable is avaliable for humans but this is a step in the right direction.

Tongue Bugs

http://discovermagazine.com/1995/oct/tonguebugs581/?searchterm=tongue%20bugs

Summary:
A lot of bacteria are in our mouth especially, on the back of the tongue. The bacteria converts food-derived nitrate in saliva into a chemical that kills harmful germs in the stomach. Processed meats that have been treated with nitrate as preservatives and have formed nitrosamines as a result. We take lots of nitrate from in the green leafy vegetables so nitrosamines take place in our bodies. Nigel Benjamin discovered that 25% of nitrate makes its way back to cells in the mouth. The cells are secreted in the saliva, and the saliva is converted into nitrate. The nitrate that is made mixes up with the food we eat. The nitrate becomes acidified when it is mixed with the food, and it generates a lot of nitric oxide. The nitric oxide kills all the germs we eat with food. In this hypothesis's test, if salivary nitrite is put in acid, it will be convert to E. coli-killing nitric oxide. A lot of bacteria exist on back of the tongue and near the throat. When the nitrite is swallowed, it mixes with acid in the stomach and turns into nitrate oxide which kills germs in the stomach. Organisms on the tongue are used in a symbiotic relationship to kill organisms in the stomach. The tongue bugs help protect against bacterium such as the Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium has been identified as a cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.

Opinion:
This article gave me many information about the bacteria: where they live and what they do. I didn't know that the lots of bacteria exist in humen's mouth, especially tongue and I thought the bacteria is the only bad thing before I read this article. I think the green vegetables are good for our bodies because of the nitrate so we have to eat more green vegetables!

White Matter Matters

Summary:
For decades scientist focused on the gray matter of the brain and not that white matter. Gray matter is the site of mental computation and memory storage. It is composed of neuronal cell bodies or neurons. White mater is underneath this gray matter and takes up nearly one-half of the human brain. This white matter is composed of millions of communication cables with long wires called axons. These axons connect neurons in different brain regions and are covered by a white fatty substance called myelin. The functioning of this white matter is just as critical to mental and social skills as gray matter and appears is different amounts in people with different experiences of with mental dysfunctions. The extent of the white matter in the human brain also changes throughout one's life.
Not every axon is insulated or coated by myelin. On those which are gaps occusr in the insulation at about every millimeter. These gaps are named nodes of Ranvier after Louis-Antone Ranvier. Myelin is wrapped up to 150 times between each of these nodes, and the white substance allows nerve impulses to travel 100 times faster through the axons according to modern investigation. Te extensive wrapping of myelin id done by two types of glial cells: an octopus-shaped oligodendrocyte cell and a sausage-shaped Schwann cell, the latter working outside the brain and spinal cord. However, the formation of myelin by these cells is not completely random. Strict proportions excist between the insulation thickness and the diameter of the axon. The ration 0.6 of bare axon diameter divided by total fiber diameter is optimal for maximum conduction velocity. The Schwann cell, as discovered by Klaus-Armin Nave in Gottingen, Germany, is able to detect neuregulin, a protein coating axons, and respond to the amount of this protein by wrapping more or fewer myelin sheets.
As the formation of myelin occurs, it moves from the back to the front of the cerebral cortex. The last sites of myelination are the frontal lobes which are responsible for higher-level reasoning, planning and judgment. The myelination process begins in early life and may not be completed until ager twenty-five or thirty partly because axons continue to grow and change in response to experience. Studies by colleagues at the Stockholm Brain Institute in Sweden show that changes occur in the white matter when and individual is learning a complex skill. For example, one investigation of these colleagues shows that regions connecting parts of the cerebral cortex, which help coordinate movement of the fingers with other cognitive processes, are more highly developed in profession pianists than non-musicians. Myelin can also change in response to the environment. Some reports show that 17% less white matter is in the corpus callosum of children who suffer sever neglect.
The conclusion that experience can influence myelination is plausible for several reasons. When the brain responds to experiences and neurons send electical impulses through the axons, the impulses can regulate specific genes in neurons. One of these genes produces L1-CAM which is a sticky protein essential for putting the first layer of membrane around the axon so that myelination can occur. One type of glial cell can also sense the movement of impulses. .This cell is called an astrocyte and can release chemicals which cause oligodendorcytes tot make more myelin. A mutation of the astrocyte gene causes Alexander disease which can bring about mental retardation and abnormal myelin.
The information sent through the axons must arrive at the right areas of the brain at the right time. Because neurons exist both far and near the final destination of the information being sent, the information must be delayed in some situations. This delaying can occur because myelin exists in greater amounts on some axons and because the nodes of Ranvier are more frequent and abundant on some axons than others. The more myelin insulating the axon, the quicker the information a nd impulses are transferred. Likewise, the greater amount of nodes allows the signal to be generated and regulated at a quicker pace. The precise timing of various impulses and signals strengthens certain neuronal circuits and, therefore, facilitates learning skills. Among learning skills affected by white matter is Dyslexia which is t he result of disrupted timing of information transmission in circuits required for reading. Tone deafness is the result of defects in processing in the cerebral cortex, the site of sound analysis. Schizophrenia is now believed to be the result of abnormal white matter with a less than ideal number of oligodendrocytes and of mutated genes involved in the formation of myelin. Other abnormalities linked to the white matter or to myelination are ADHD, bipolar disorder, language disorders, autism, cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Myelination has a great deal to do with a person's extended ability to obtain new skills at a young age. The insulation of nerve fibers dictates when learning can best occur. Young children can better learn a foreign language because the brain circuits detecting speech rewire in accordance to sounds of a person's childhood. Certain skills, like piano-playing and tennis, which require much practice and repetition, are best learned during childhood because a child's brain is involved in myelinataion more than that of an adult. Because this process mainly occurs during childhood and adolescence, the environment of one's childhood greatly affects one's brain and neural connections. It is probable that the firing of neurons can stimulate myelination as a result of intensive training at any age. However, treatments have yet tot be made to alter the white matter in order for this to occur.


Opinion:
This article concerning the intricate, complex and fascinating control center of the human body brings to light for me many of the brain's complexities, functions and influences. Man is just beginning to touch upon the details and design of the body. Within the simple discovery of the importance of white matter are more discoveries about the functions and mechanisms of this group of cells. I find it fascinating and awe-inspiring that along with the great diversity of each part of the body from organs to individual proteins, God has created a specific functions for each of these parts. For example, the astrocyte cell which senses impulses plays a big roll in stimulating other cells to form myelin essential for the body's health. One mutation in the astrocyte gene can bring about Alexander disease. This possible result does not, however, show me that God makes mistakes . Rather it shows me that even the smallest part of God's creation has huge importance to the body. The design and creation of the human body and all its components is also a testimony to the incredible ability of God to work everything in perfect timing. If He can orchestrate the timing of two different signals from different neurons to arrive simultaneously at the same brain region, how much more can He control the timing of events in our daily lives.

Could peope lose weight by injecting fat into their stomach?

Summary:
Two-thirds of American adults and seventeen percent of people under the age of nineteen are obese. A new breakthrough in science believes that injecting fat into the stomach area could promote weight loss. There are two kinds of fat cells: white and brown. White cells store calories and are found mostly in the waistline area. Brown fat cells capture energy, then release it causing calories to be burned.
Brown fat cells from immature muscle and fat cells are created by two different proteins. The process of turning white fat cells into brown fat cells could be produced by a drug. It is believed that one day brown fat cells will be injected into peoples' abdominal areas to increase calorie burning. White cells release fatty acids to the brown cells which burn them.
Brown fat cells are typically found in infants to regulate and stable their body temperature. When the cells are done with this role, the disappear. There are few of them scattered throughout the body. However, there are immature cells that could grow into brown cells.
Yu-Hua Tsend, a biologist at Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University, used a growth protein to turn on the genes that make brown fat cells. This discovery was first tested on mice. The ones that had the protein injected into them were leaner than the ones who didn't receive the proteins. The cells that were injected to the mice also caused the immature cells to turn into brown cells instead of white.
There is a protein that determines whether a cell will grown into brown fat cells and muscle. Lower levels of this protein create muscle and higher levels turn the cell into brown fat cells. Higher levels of this protein also may turn white fat cells into brown ones. This is why they believe that if proteins and cells are injected into the abdominal region, it would promote weight loss.


Opinion:
When I first saw this article, I was confused. How could losing fat happen by injecting more fat into the body? It sounds crazy. I was unaware that there are two types of fat cells. It would be harmful to inject white fat cells into the body because they would just store more fat. However, brown cells would promote weight loss.
Healthy diets and exercise are always going to be encouraged, but maybe this technology could be helpful in the future. Some people might need that extra push to help them lose weight and this could be just what they need. It would help the person's weight loss to become easier. We are unsure of what this discover will bring about, but it looks like the results are positive.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=lose-weight-by-injecting-fat-in-belly

New Hand, Same Brain Map

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37445/title/New_hand%2C_same_brain_map

Summery:

At the age of nineteen David Savage was involved in a machine-press accident, which led to the amputation of Savage’s right hand. About thirty five years later in December of 2006, Savage underwent hand transplant surgery. And now David Savage has someone else’s right hand attached to his right arm. Four months after his surgery Savage regained partial sense of touch in his new right hand. One year after his surgery Savage was able to lift a ten pound weight with his right hand.

Doctors questioned if the hand transplant surgery would work because when savage had both of his original hands part of his left brain responded to his right hand and part of his right brain responded to his left hand. When Savage lost his right hand the sensory receptors that responded to his right hand became sensory-deprived and they had to find something else to respond to like his right arm. For about thirty five year Savage's sensory receptors for his lost right hand were responding to something else, but when Savage received his new right hand the same sensory receptors that responded to his original right hand now responded to his new right hand. Doctors were amazed that the brain map for his old right hand was reclaimed for his new right hand especially since Savages brain was full grown at the time of the amputation.

Doctors did several tests to see the activity of Savage’s brain before and after his hand transplant and compared the tests that they took after his hand transplant with men who had never experienced an amputation and found that the activity of his left brain was about the same as the men who never experienced an amputation.

Doctors say that Savages brain went through reverse reorganization. This means that when Savage’s hand was amputated the brain had to reorganize its sensory map and then thirty five years later the brain had to reverse the reorganization of its sensory map that it did when Savage lost his hand to its original sensory map.

Response:

I think that it is amazing that even after thirty five years the brain is still able to reopen the connection that it had with Savage's original hand to his new hand. I also find it extremely amazing that Savage has regained feeling in his right hand, which is not his original right hand. I think that it shows how amazing, complicated, and capable the brain is. I know that the hand transplant surgery is very new and doctors are still trying to figure stuff out , but what I would like to know is were did they get the hand for his transplant?

Now Hear This: New Research Aims to Restore Lost Hearing

Summary:

At fourteen months old, Peter Steyer’s life hung between life and death as he lay in a hospital bed. By injecting intravenous doses of streptomycin, an antibiotic, the doctors could save Peter’s life, but this lifesaving antibiotic could have lifelong side affects/consequences. Peter’s parents chose to give their son the antibiotic and he lived to tell about it; however Steyger suffered hearing loss, which he says has virtually affected every area of his life, even his career choice.

Now Steyger investigates hearing at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He says, “What I’m doing is explaining why I’m deaf,” referring to his research.

Steyger’s research deals with how drugs, such as streptomycin, enter into the body and kill hair cells, which are sensory cells in the inner ear that are crucial to hearing. All hair cells have a bundle of hairlike extensions that protrude out from the inner surface of the cochlea, which is a snail-shaped coil of tissue deep in the inner ear. What happens is sounds pass into the ear and their vibrations rumble the cochlear fluid, which then results in the back and forth movement of the hair cells. The cells then translate every back and forth motion into an electrical signal that travels through nerve fibers to the brain. In the brain these signals are decoded as hearing.

People are born with about 16,000 hair cells. During the normal aging process, some of these 16, 000 hair cells eventually wear out and die. Most cases of acquired loss are due to the death of hair cells, but deafness can also be a result of other cause, for example: glitches in nerves that connect from the ear to the brain.

Previously scientists have believed that peoples hair cells-and good hearing-are irreplaceable. However, now genetic research deals with stem cells and studies of the fragile architecture of the inner ear propose that replacing lost hair cells, which would restore hearing, may in fact be possible.

Although human hair cells do not grow back after they wear out and die, animal hair cells do grow back. Most vertebrates are capable of growing hair cells back after old ones die, but eventually all mammals lose this innate replacement plan.

Scientists have been investigating genes that participate in hair cell information such as: hair cell development prompting, eliminating, stem cells, and the capacity to regenerate hair cells. Another important factor in the ability of hair cells to function efficiently is the exact positioning of the cell.

So far scientists are investigating cures, but what people like Steyger, who lost their hearing due to life-saving antibiotics, need is prevention of the damage in the first place; not to say that all their investigations are useless, but the ideal discovery would be a way to prevent life-saving antibiotics from having this lifelong consequence/side affect. For people who have already lost their hearing to life-saving antibiotics it is too late for prevention obviously, but in the future it will be very useful.

The way ototoxic antibiotics kill hair cells is by leaching into the cochlear fluid from the blood, collecting the hair cells inside, and killing them with their high concentrations. Steyger says that it is uncertain as to how ototoxic drugs get inside the hair cells. Some scientists believe that the cells take up the drugs using endocytosis, but experiments have shown that endocytosis is not the only process used to take in the drugs, because it occurs too qucickly for endocytosis to be the only process present. One of Steyger’s experiments suggests that ototoxic drugs enter cells by way of ion channels.

By continuing to study and experiment with animals, scientists may by able to develop a drug that can be given prior to or with ototoxic drugs that would close ion channels, preventing the drugs from entering into, and killing the cells.


My Response:

I thought this article was interesting because I guess I never really thought about actually “restoring” hearing, or preventing it from being lost in the first place. I guess I thought it couldn’t be done and that’s why people who are hard of hearing use hearing aids. Also it is very unfortunate that many life-saving antibiotics are ototoxic, or hair cell killing, but life is more valuable than the ability to hear.

I think that it would be difficult to try and come up with a cure and then eventually a solution by experimenting on animals because scientists have already established that the way humans and animals hear, and how their hearing works is different. A certain solution that works to restore an animals hearing, may not be able to restore a humans hearing. I suppose that once they find a solution on animals hearing loss, it will help them further in their research pertaining to a solution for human hearing loss.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_20_169/ai_n16533041/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

Subliminal Thoughts or Unconscious Flicks?

Your eyes are constantly moving. Even when your eyes are fixated on something, they are still flickering back and forth. However, these movments are imperceivable to us. The largest of these flicks are called microsaccades and the smallest are called tremors. Originally, scientists thought that microsaccades actually impaired vision, and in 1980 University of Maryland Steinman concluded that microsaccades were "merely a kind of nervous tic." However, a group of scientists have determined that microsaccades are actually essential to good vision.

The first argument is that these fixational eye movements keep your vision from fading.Animals are stimulated by movement. Frogs, for instance, cannot see a fly that is still, but once the fly moves the frog immediatley reacts to eat the fly. The frog cannot see the unmoving fly, because their microsaccades have slowed down. The fading of these objects is called adaption. The Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix conducted a test where they asked a group of volunteers to fixate on a small spot while releasing or pressing a button to indicate when they perceived a peripheral target. The scientists measured each individual's fixational eye movements on a high-precision video system. The data, which was published in 2006, revealed that the microsaccades decreased in speed and size as the target vanished, but increased in speed and size right before the target reappeared. This proved that the lack of microsaccades leads to adaption and fading.

The second argument takes into consideration eye diseases. A lack of fixational movements occur in people with a "lazy eye", and is the leading cause of vision loss in people ages 20-70 years old.

Also, psychologists now have research that suggests that microsaccades reveal your subliminal thoughts. Neurologist Ralf Engbert of the University of Potsdam in Germany published research in 2003 that when an object of interest appeared in someone's peripherals their microsaccades decreased rapidly and then shot up to a frequency above normal. This also suggests that sudden changes in movement can draw our attention without us actually looking at the cause of the change.

My Opinion: I found it really interesting that microsaccades are basicaly like a continuing "refocus" method. Also, the thought about them revealing our thoughts and desires is why I chose this article. What would happen if people could eventually decipher these movements and read are minds? However, they don't really reveal our thoughts as much as they are constantly reminding our brains about what is around us. This article brought a new meanig to the phrase "your eyes are the window of your soul."

http://www.tolcs.org/downloads/anatomy/joy.pdf

Hypnosis, Memory and the Brain

Hypnosis is a technique used by scientists to study psychological phenomena. An example is a technique known as posthypnotic amnesia (PHA). This models disorders like functional amnesia (sudden memory loss due to psychological trauma). PHA is produced by suggesting to someone hypnotized that he will forget certain things until "cancellation" (i.e. "Now you can remember everything"). PHA usually happens only when specifically suggested. It is much more likely to happen to a person with high levels of hypnotic ability. A new study shows that the hypnotic state influences brain activity related to memory.

Highly hypnotizable people with PHA usually show difficulty recalling whatever is suggested. They also show dissociation between explicit and implicit memory; even though the can't pinpoint the forgotten information it influences them. This is reversible, when the suggestion is cancelled their memories return to them. Dissociation and reversibility show the PHA in not the result of poor encoding of memory or normal forgetting. This is because as soon as the PHA is cancelled the memories return. PHA just makes the person unable to retrieve safely stored information. This is why PHA is useful for research.

Scientists use PHA to model functional amnesia because the conditions share similar features. Reports of functional amnesia show that people who are unable to remember certain things of the past still show evidence of the forgotten. As suddenly as these memories were forgotten they can be recovered.

Neuroscientist Avi Mendelsohn and colleagues at the Weizman Institute identified the brain activity petterns realting to PHA using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They selected 25 participants, of which half were PHA responsive (PHA group), while the other half was not (non-PHA group). The participants watched a 45-minute movie. One week later the participants were hypnotized, while in the fMRI scanner, to forget the movie until a certain cue came about as the cancellation.

After hypnosis the participants were tested twice, once while hypnotized and once again after the cue to remember had been given (the exact same test both times). They were asked 40 questions specifically about the movie and 20 questions about their surroundings while watching the movie (all yes or no answered questions).

In Test 1 Mendelsohn and colleagues found that the PHA group forgot more about the movie than the non-PHA group. The PHA group had no problem with the questions about their surroundings during the movie, though they struggles with the movie questions. In Test 2, after the remembrance cue was given, both groups remembered the same amount of details. Somewhat surprisingly though, the suggestion to forget was selective in impact.

The findings of Mendelsohn's fMRIs of the participants was that; when the non-PHA group answered the questions the fMRI showed high levels of activity in places responsible for visual and verbal sequences. In the PHA group there was little or no activity in these regions while other areas were more active than usual, as to heighten the senses of the other regions.

For participants in the PHA group, brain activity in the fMRI correlated with forgetting. We can rule out the possibility of reduced activity regardless or remembrance or forgetting. This is because the PHA group showed the reduction only when the answered incorrectly; when they answered successfully though, they nearly matched the non-PHA group.

Hypnotic effects are real! Mendelsohn's study shows that hypnotic suggestions influence brain activity as well as behavior and experience. This has been shown earlier by psychologist David Oakley, who compared the brain activity of people simply asked to fake hypnosis and paralysis, and genuinely hypnotized people with suggestions for leg paralysis.

Mendelsohn's study is also important because begins to specify the underlying brain processes, which are guessed to be shared by PHA and functional amnesia. The effects of PHA shows a dampening in brain activity due to heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Memories are an interwoven web of "what," "how," "where," and "when," thus the distinction between content and context could quite possibly be blurred. In this study, movie content but not movie context wasinfluenced byPHA. To make such small distinctions, the suppressor module of the brain needs to process information at quite a high level. thi module needs to act quickly;preconciously subdueing activation of information before it enters awareness. Brain imaging superior to fMRI might help clear up the paradox of suave, but quick, activity.

Whereas some forgetfulness is seen as conscious and using effort, other forgetting is automatic, effortless, and unconscious. After mapping the usual features of PHA and functional amnesia, we need to discover and compare their common processes in much greater detail.

When we incorporate the dissociation of implicit and explicit memory the neural underpinnings of PHA will become even more clear. In PHA the person cannot explicitly recall certain information, though we can see evidence of this on implicit measures. Recognition in a sense is both explicit and implicit memory. Scientists would liek to compare scans of the PHA group trying to remember the movie, with the non-PHA group. This would be challenging, but would contribute much more to complete the picture of processes in the interesting forms of forgetting.


My Response:
Though I have heard and been fascinated by hypnosis I have never really looked into it enough to see the complexity of it. This article shows that there are a great many processes and variations of what can, and cannot be done with hypnosis. This article shows mainly one type of hypnosis, but has enough information to be much longer. The possibility of controlling someone's forgetfulness about a good, or bad, memory seems alien to me. There would be many possible good uses if we could totally work this out. We could help peopl forget instances of great trauma such as a car accident, or the death of a loved one etc. This atricle really started me thinking of all the possibilities to come of hypnotism. The future looks bright!

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=hypnosis-memory-brain

Migraines

There are more than 300 million people who suffer from migraines and as a result also experience nausea, sensitivity to light, and terrible headaches. Migraines have existed for thousands of years, and there is still no cure; many people who suffer from the severe pain of migraines do not even seek medical attention. The truth is that migraines are a very disabling disorder, and they cost the government over 17 billion dollars a year for loss of work, disability, and health expenses. Many people are now realizing how serious of a problem that a migraine is, and there has been a great deal of interest in research that may work to prevent and treat migraine pain.

No one knows for sure what causes migraines. It was once thought that the pain is caused from the dilation and stretching of blood vessels in the brain. A more recent theory is that migraine pains develop from a problem in the nervous system, specifically the brain stem. While it’s uncertain why migraines occur, an attack can be brought on by alcohol, menstruation, stress, weather, lack of sleep, allergies, hunger, and a plethora of other things. Victims usually experience an attack once a month, and the pain lasts two to three days. There are two parts of a migraine: the aura (what precedes the headache), and the actually headache. Aura is often a bright visual illusion followed by dark spots and is not experienced in all migraine sufferers. It is thought to come from cortical spreading depression which is a time of strong nerve cell activity, or when the neurons become very excited, followed by neuronal inhibition. When the neurons are in a state of inhibition they cannot be excited. This has to do with migraines because the changes in how the neurons behave explain the changes of blood flow-when neurons are excited and active, the require lots of blood, and when they aren’t active, the need less blood. When someone experiencing an aura has a bright visual hallucination, excited neurons are crossing the cortex, the same area of the brain that controls visual, sensory, and motor skills. The dark spots one experiences after the bright illusions are consistent with the neurons not being active.

There have been many studies regarding genetics and how they are related to migraines. While scientists aren’t sure which exact genes influence migraines, there are three genes that carry mutations powerful enough to cause migraine pain. These mutations increase the excitability of the nerve cells, which is related to cortical spreading depression. Researchers have developed strong theories about the connection of aura to cortical spreading depression, and they also have an idea where the headache itself comes from. The researchers think that cortical spreading depression stimulates the trigeminal nerves, a network of nerves that carry pain signals. As the excited neurons travel across the cortex of the brain, glutamate, oxide, and ions are released causing the trigeminal nerves to send out the pain signals. Another theory of the cause of migraine pain is that the base of migraine pain is in the brain stem. Many researchers think that the migraine headache comes from a problem in brain stem activity which brings on the pain.While it is not sure whether migraines are caused from cortical spreading depression or a problem in the brain stem, there is much work being done in efforts to stop the problem and pain of migraines. There are only a few drugs that stop migraines from occurring, but they only work half the time. Researchers have come up with a drug that prevents cortical spreading depression, and it is being tested in those with migraines. The drugs hinder gap junctions from opening, and therefore stop the flow of calcium between brain cells. Treatments used during a migraine block the trigeminal nerves from transmitting pain signals, but also constrict blood vessels. While there is no one definite treatment to prevent and treat migraines, there have been many new breakthroughs that have given many migraine sufferers hope.
My Review

This article really made me think about things I’d never thought about before. Since I’ve never experienced a migraine, like many Americans I did not think they were a big deal. The article made me realize that migraines are a very debilitating problem. While researchers are not positive, they think that aura comes from cortical spreading depression. It was interesting to learn about the change of neurons from a state of extreme excitability to inhibition, and how that makes sense that during aura one experiences a time of bright illusion and then dark spots. If researchers can come up with a way to treat and prevent migraines, many people would benefit. The drug that prevents cortical spreading depression is interesting because keep gap junctions shut, stopping the flow of calcium. The drugs that are used during a migraine to block the nerves from transmitting pain signals seem effective, and if there was a way to stop them from constricting blood vessels they would be even more effective. I think researchers are definately on the right track in their studies. Migraines are a serious problem, and not many people are aware of how serious they are. Hopefully with all the research that is being done, investigators will be certain of the cause and treatment of migraine pain.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=why-migraines-strike

Political Science

Researchers may have found a link between a person's bedroom or office condition and their political affiliation. According to controversial new study, you can tell what a person's political affiliation is by looking at their bedroom and office décor.

The bedrooms and offices of Liberals, who are categorized as carefree, "loose" individuals, tend to be colorful, have books about travel, ethnicity, feminism, and music. They have rock 'n' roll CDs, art supplies, movie tickets, and travel mementos.

Conservatives, on the other hand, surround themselves with calendars, postage stamps, laundry baskets, irons, and sewing materials. Their rooms are well-lit and have sports paraphernalia and display American flags.

There are differences in personality traits too. Positive traits associated with Liberals include: independent, tough, controlling, and animated and negative traits associated with conservatives include: easily victimized or offended, irresolute, hesitant, and rigid. Scientists have even connected the strength of a person's startle response to their political association. Conservatives get frightened much easier than liberals.

What causes these differences in personalities and interior design? That is a question that experts and researchers are debating. Many experts have rejected these conclusions, saying the statements are based only on public opinion. One explanation is that mirror neurons, circuits of cells that transmit signals when we see someone act or speak in a was that is familiar, played a major role in the upcoming 2008 presidential election. When Republican candidate John McCain selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, many white, female Obama supporters may have switched parties and supported McCain and Palin. The mirror neurons in your brain set off alarms that say "this person is just like me." This causes you to question your political party and to decide whether you are truly conservative (republican) or liberal (democratic). Another major result is that genetics may play a role in politics. Researchers have found that people with variants of the MAOA and 5HTT genes , which affect serotonin, which regulates social interaction, trust, and fear, were 10 percent more likely to vote in the 2000 presidential election than people with less efficient versions of the genes.

In conclusion, there may not be an Obama gene or a McCain gene, but genes have an effect on the way we think socially, which affects our political beliefs, which has an impact on many things.

My response:
This article was very intriguing to me because of the upcoming presidential election. It gave suggestions that the way people vote, election participation, and the way that people decorate their rooms are all controlled by mirror neurons or genetics. I personally believe both of these possible explanations. The author did an excellent job in explaining the possible explanations and providing quotes to support the beliefs of experts. God plays a role in everything in life, including politics, and whatever happens in elections, it is important to understand that it is God's will.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=organization-and-political-leanings

Mini-Telescope Implants May Save Vision Damaged by Eye Disease.

Summary

Many ophtalmologists believe in a new device that could stop or even reverse the advanced stages of macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a disorder that causes a person to see a dark spot in the center of their field of vision. It is an age-related disease, that makes it difficult to read, watch TV, and recognize faces. This new device is a new miniture telescope, that would be implanted into the patient's damaged eyes.

Physicians could only try to reduce the risk of the disease, for there is no known treatment to fix the vision problem. They did this with special magnifying eyewear, checking it with laser treatments, and nutrtional supplements such as zinc and antioxidants.

The device works with the eye's cornea, basically allowing an image to appear at the area of diminished vision . It virtually would be undetectable inside the eye and mostly covered by the iris. The miniature telescope would not touch the back of the cornea, yet this is not easy, and surgeons are developing special techniques to keep the damage to the eye minimal.

In a study of 206 patients, 90% were able to read two lines on a reading chart, and 67% were able to see three lines basically doubling their vision. However these minature telescopes are not a cure for macular degeneration. Ophthalmologists are waiting for the approval of the FDA, so they can start implanting the device.

Respone: I found this article to be very interesting and informing. It opens a new window that I never knew existed, how a small telescope is able to be imlpanted in the eye and fix the vision of that person. The technology for this is amazing. With this we can take it and use it to learn more about other related topics. It's amazing how the telescope would fit in the eye and hopefully cause no discomfort. How excited someone would be to hear that there is a new device that would let them see again. I beleive the surgical procedure itself would be amazing to see how they get the telescope in the eye without further harming it.

http:/www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=mini-telescope-implants&SID=mail&sc=emailfriend

Scientific American
Searching for intelligence in our genes.

Some scientists today are trying to find intelligence in genes. They have purposely tested twins to see if their scores were different. In their studies they have always been close. Unfortunately everytime they believed they had found a certain gene, they ended up being wrong, even after gaining more advanced machines to look at more specific genes. They tried mapping out the genetic markers in children that did well in testing and did not, but they could not find anything. The scientists then noticed that the cortex of the brain would change shape differently depending on the intelligence of the child. It would constantly grow large and then small, depending on age. They did notice the changes were the same in twins so they're were some genetics involved.
They discovered that white matter in the cortex was found more frequently in intelligent people. They determined white controlled the speed of the brain and the gray matter provided processing power. They began to believe that scanning the brain with magnetic resonance imaging to determine intelligence better than an SAT test. Though many scientists did not wish to risk that.
However finging a specific gene for intelligence proved to be difficult. They began to believe there were many genes controlling different parts of intelligence. They soon realized that twins that were in different enviroments, such as a poor and rich family had a different intelligence. Therefore the enviroment also effected the intelligence genes. They became active in a thinking enviroment. They have not found the genes for intelligence yet but they will continue studying to perhaps in the future, detect learning disabilities, so the children can have that problem fixed from the beginning. In the end it will always be a problem scientists to wonder about.

My Review,
I found this article very informing and thought provoking. The writer was able to explain the story of these studies very well and used quotes of the scientist to help the reader better understand what was happening. The writer was able to write in a way so that people who didn't completely understand the science behind it still understand what was happening. Most people wouldn't have too much trouble understanding this article which can be helpful for those who might become interested in science if they just had an understandable way to read it. It was also thought provoking by giving the reader the true importance of this study, perhaps to bring inspiration to any future scientists. It was an altogether good article both intelligent and an easy read.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=searching-for-intelligence-in-our-genes

Tempering Tantrums Now May Prevent Aggression Later

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=tempering-toddler-tantrums

Summary:
As babies grow, they quickly enter the toddler age, often called "the terrible twos." Temper tantrums, which sometimes include kicking, screaming, or even biting, are common at this age. However, a small number of children exhibit greater violence than others. These fits are difficult to calm and are often destructive.
This behavior is normal because children are developing a sense of individuality, while at the same time, experiencing new desires and emotions. When denied something, a child becomes angry and disappointed, causing him to feel helpless. A lack of knowledge of how to deal with these new feelings provokes a child to act in sever ways.
Although a toddler's temper tantrums might pass, the violence may not end there. Psychologist Susan B. Campbell states that children who display violence at a young age have a fifty percent chance of having similar reactions during early adolescence. Many factors contribute to a child's behavior, including genetics and the environment. Genetics determine the frequency of a child's physical aggression. Speech problems also contribute to this because the child becomes frustrated when trying to communicate.
A significant role in a child's behavior is played by the parents. Psychologists suggest that different parenting styles encourage different behaviors in a child. A parent who is demanding is more likely to raise an aggressive child than one who is calm and explains the guidelines to the child.
Since early aggression can lead to violence in adolescence, programs have been made to help prevent violent behavior in children. Different approaches include mental empowerment and increasing a child's awareness. Another way to improve a child's temperament may be to diminish language barriers by working with children and teaching them different ways to deal with their strong emotions. While these methods prove to be helpful, researchers are constantly searching for ways to reduce aggressive behavior in children of all ages.


Response:
I've always known that different parenting styles influence a child's behavior, but this article has helped me understand why children have temper tantrums. Contrary to what I thought, little children just don't know how to express these strong emotions, which are so new to them. Although I don't dismiss a child's ability to have some decent control over his actions, I now see how parents, as well as others, can work with the child to improve his understanding.

Why Calories Taste Delicious: Eating and the Brain

There are two main neurological mechanisms that manage food intake: one controls the need to eat and the other controls the desire to eat. Because the hypothalamus in the brain monitors the homeostatic control of food intake by collecting, organizing, and responding to metabolic signals from the digestive system, it tells us when we need to eat. The dopamine reward system is a brain center that becomes excited when you eat something you want but do not need to suppress hunger. Many times the desire to eat can overpower the need to eat, so people will eat food that tastes good even when they are not hungry. The hypothalamus regulates intake based on metabolic value. When you are hungry, your body looks for food with a multitude of calories.

Researchers used a line of mice genetically engineered to lack a receptor for distinguishing sweetness, so if these mice prefer sweetness it is because of the larger amount of calories. In the first set of experiments, the genetically altered mice were indifferent to sucrose, table sugar, and the mice with no mutation strongly preferred the sucrose over the water. In the second set of experiment, both mice were given access to water and sucrose for six days. The genetically altered mice couldn't taste the sweetness, but they learned to like it more. Even without the receptor, the mice seemed to feel something enjoyable about eating the sweet food.

Both experiments were then repeated with sucralose, Splenda, in the place of sucrose. The mice without the mutation still consumed more Splenda than they did water, but the genetically altered mice did not. These results show the genetically altered mice preferred sucrose for the calories not the sweetness and that being able to sense metabolic value can affect feeding behavior. Although dopamine was increased in the mice without mutations with both sucrose and sucralose, the genetically altered mice were only affected by the sucralose. While the dopamine reward system responds to sweet taste, it may also be involved in monitoring calories.

My response:

While I have always known that sweeter food has more calories, I have never thought about how our bodies need those calories. I found it interesting that the genetically altered mice preferred the sweeter food even when they could not taste the sweetness. I also think that taste must still determine it more because the mice without the mutation preferred the Splenda over the water. I wonder how much this plays in contributing to obesity.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=why-calories-are-delicious

Pain, Numbness, Pain

Many patients when injected with general anesthetics state that they feel a burning sensation. Scientists at Georgetown University have discovered what causes that burning sensation. When injected, the anesthetics spark an ion protein called TRPA1. TRPA1 is on the sensory neurons and located in the body tissues. After TRPA1 is sparked the nerves "get hot" and the patient starts to feel the burning pain. The anesthetics that causes the pain and swelling are called noxious, which are pungent anesthetics. The chemical structure of the noxious determines if the cell will instigate the pain. Many tests have been done and the results of the tests are that TRPA1 is activated by pungent anesthetics and not by non-pungent anesthetics. Doctors inject the anesthetic into the patient to put them into an unconscious state, but they also inject the patient with another anesthetic (mostly lidocaine) to dull the burning pain of the general anesthetic.



Physiologist Matthew Jones from the University of Wisconsin explains that now that researchers have a better sense of where the pain is coming from they can design better anesthetics that don't activate TRPA1 or by using TRPA1 blockers with other drugs. They are finding it hard to find an anesthetic that will do that and still be strong enough to make the patient unconscious during surgery. Non-pungent anesthetics have been tested and doesn't cause a burning sensation, but it has side effects of it's own. For example one non-pungent anesthetic can cause cardiac arrhythmias, which is abnormal electrical activity in the heart. For now anesthesiologists have to choose to use pungent or non-pungent anesthetics based upon the patients condition and medical history.



My response:
I thought this article was pretty interesting. I never realized that something like anesthetics could not only help someone, but could also hurt them. It's amazing to see how far humans have come in the way of medicine and how it can effect a person in such a way to cause them pain. It also gave me comfort to know that people in the science and medical area are trying to make patients as comfortable as possible.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33511/title/Pain%2C_numbness%2C_pain

The Danger of Stress

This article is talking about how stress can affect not only others around you, but can also affect you and your body. When someone stresses, they are thinking about something big that is going to happen or are nervous for something in the future. They are worrying about something that might or might not be in their own hands. When a person stresses over something, say a paper, their work could be affected because they are spending time worrying about the grade or when it's do, then the content and thought of the paper. So, work and the output could be affected by stress. But, stress not only affects the work, it also affects your body in several ways; ways that could be as minor as a cold or major like heart disease or osteoporosis.
OSU psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and Ronald Glaser have spent years researching the affects of stress on the body. Some people believe that stress is just a state of mind, but these two people set out to prove stress can seriously harm the body. In one of their tests, Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser show how stress affects the immune system. Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser chose a group of caregivers who look after spouses or parents that are chronically ailing because thier job is stressful. They also chose a group of people who were very relaxed at the time. Kiecolt-Glaser gave each group flu vaccines and compared their number of anitbodies. 38% of the stressful caregivers had normal anitbody levels and 66% of the relaxed group had normal antibodies. This proves that the antibodies weren't doing a very good job in protecting the immune system and stress is what ultimately put these people at higher risks of infection.
Another experiment was how well the body would heal itself under stress. With the same two groups of people, the caregivers who were stressed, their body took 24% longer to heal than the wounds of the people who were not stressed. So, stress does affect your body in protecting you and healing you. Kiecolt-Glaser said that "stress causes the body to release pro-inflammatory cytokines, immune factors that initate responses against infection." This is where stress can affect your body in major ways. After a period of time, these cytokines build up and can lead to higher risks of heart disease, osteporosis, and two different types of diabetes.
So, the more you stress, the more strain you are putting on your body, which can lead to minor or even major problems. Whether you are stressing about school, or a new job, or even going to college learn ask yourself if it is really worth stressing about. Is worrying about something ,that might not even be in my control, worth risking to seriously hurt my body?

my opinion: I think that this article just shows you a few ways on how stress can really affect the body. Even something as simple as stressing over a homework problem could lead to you having autoimmune problems or diabetes. Stress is something we think about as being not a big deal, that everybody does it. That stress is just something that we believe, but doesn't actually affect us physically. For me, I stress all the time, sometimes without even knowing that I am actually stressing. I always knew that stress could affect my work, but I never actually thought of it as affecting my body. This was a suprise to me and really made me think about what I stress over. Some things are really not worth stressing over, but I do stress because sometimes I don't know what else to do. It really makes me think, is worrying over a certain thing really worth stressing? Is it really worth risking my body to stress over something I might not even be in control of? These types of questions really make you think if stressing is really worth anything, or if it's just a useless thing that we do because it the thing we always know how to do.
-Becca

Race in a Bottle

For many years, we have known that congestive heart Disease is more common in African-Americans than in whites, but in was not Until June of 2003 that there was a drug specifically for decreasing these numbers. BiDil is the first approved ethnic drug by the FDA. Its purpose is to treat congestive heart-failure in African-Americans. However, this drug may not be what it seems. BiDil is actually composed of two generic drugs called hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate. The interesting thing is that these drugs have been used since the 90’s to treat heart failure.
In 1987 Jay Cohn, a cardiologist, understood how great these two drugs worked together to treat heart disease, in all races. Cohn quickly asked for a patent (right of the government to sell a product or manufacture) and when he received it, sold the drug to Medco. Through Medco, BiDil was created. Unfortunately, the FDA rejected the drug and Medco sold the rights back to Cohn. However, Cohn went back to the FDA and made a case for BiDil. He said that the drug worked very effectively and enrolled it in the V-HeFT (Vasodilator Heart Failure Trial) studies. After this, Cohn reapplied for another patent and got it, only this time, the drug was labeled as an ethnic drug. This time, Cohn sold the drug to NitroMed. When they conducted a trial, the death toll of 43 percent of the African Americans was lower than those who took a placebo. Soon after, the FDA approved BiDil. It was the first time a Drug had ever been labeled according to race.
Although the drug is labeled for a particular race, many have said that it is not. Even Cohn himself has said that the drug is meant for all races. It is clear that the reason behind this ethnic label is money. If BiDil had been approved for all races then the FDA would have put a restriction on the drug meaning it could only be sold by 2007, but since the drug was race specific, it can be sold until 2013. If the drug is sold longer, then it means more money for those who are selling it.
Another issue is that many insurance companies are reluctant to insure BiDil because of its high cost (six times the cost over the generic drug) and other non-African-American patients may not buy it because of its label as a race drug. However, the biggest problem is this- the FDA’s reason for approving this drug for those of color was because it was tested by an African American population. However, most drugs are tested in “white” populations yet we do not call these drugs “white” drugs. The drugs tested in these populations are assumed to be good for all people, but the drugs tested in the African American population are only for that race. It seems as if the FDA is trying to say that African Americans are less representative of society as a whole. Is this the type of message we want to keep being sent?
Regardless of this, many other companies are still attempting race specific drugs. In 2003, a company tried to propose a new AIDS vaccine called AIDSVAX. This vaccine was supposed to be specific in African Americans and Asians but there were very few hundred of these races that were involved in the study which could have messed up the results.
These “race” drugs could be made by those who want to make a difference, but the problem is that they are run by a commercial company. Drugs, such as BiDil, are greatly wanted by companies not to make a difference, but instead to make a profit. Before the FDA approves any more drugs such as BiDil, they should evaluate the motives and basis for these types of drugs. This simple act could be the step that the medical world needs take to grow and help those who need it the most.



My Response:

I thought that this article was very eye-opening. I always thought about whether these so called "race" drugs were actually real. It is very interesting to see how BiDil is made of the same things as two generic drugs. Also it was interesting that the person who invented BiDil, Jay Cohn, meant the drug to be used by all races. I think that these facts show how corrupt our society is. When the companies label a drug for certain races, even though it may be for everyone, they could be causing more harm. First the people who need the drug may not take it because of its label and others might not take it because of is cost. It is unfortunate that the corruption of the medical companies has gone so low that it is willing to dabble with peoples lives.




http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=race-in-a-bottle

Pregnancy Curiosity

Summary

Gestational diabetes is when a woman is only diabetic during her pregnancy. It is well known that there is more of a chance of Asians having gestational diabetes. There is a new study that shows an increased risk of gestational diabetes for a pregnant woman in a mixed-race Asian-Caucasian couple. This seems to show that gestational diabetes is related to genetics. Also, if the woman in the mixed-race couple is Asian, she has a greater risk of having a cesarean section. Other studies that have been done show that some interracial couples, depending on what the race is, can have more pregnancy complications.

There has not been a lot of research in this area, so Yasser El-Sayed, a obstetrician at Stanford, went through records of the Caucasian and Asian couples at a specific hospital from 2000 to 2005. Gestational diabetes was five times more likely to occur in women from an Asian-Asian couple than women in a Caucasian-Caucasian couple. Gestational diabetes was two and a half times more likely to occur in women in an Asian-Caucasian couple then women in a Caucasian-Caucasian couple.

But, it did not matter which gender was Asian. This shows a definite biological difference in race and ethnicity. The study also showed that we still have a lot about how genes work with diseases.

The study also showed the following cesarean section statistics: Asian-mother/Caucasian-father couples 33 percent, Caucasian-mother/Asian-father couples 23 percent. Asian and Caucasian non-mixed couples were in the middle of those two numbers. It is possible that a smaller pelvic size is found in Asian women.

This one study is not enough information for doctor's to use in their practice, but it gives them more of an understanding about gestational diabetes in Asian-mixed couples.

Reaction

I thought that this article was very interesting. I never knew that the genes of a mixed-race couple could affect a woman's pregnancy. God has created the human body so complex that humans cannot always know how certain genes will interact and I find it amazing how far research has come that scientists can discover this. If more studies are done on this, the research can go even farther and could really help doctors in their practice.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37053/title/Pregnancy_curiosity

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency
The study of vitamin D deficiency is trying to explain why people have Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a loss of neurons that make a chemical, dopamine, in the brain. Dopamine is what controls the body movements of the whole body from the brain. Vitamin D is a source that comes mostly from the sun. A shortage of vitamin D can cause heart disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, cancer and even respiratory problems. Vitamin D can turn on or off as many as 800 genes, determining the cell. The researchers did a few trials which included the studying of blood samples from people with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and some healthy people. The conclusion of the results were: more than fifty-five percent of the people with Parkinson’s disease than the others, were deficient of vitamin D. The researchers still don’t know what vitamin D’s role is in Parkinson disease, but they are studying the first signs of the disease.
Reaction:
Reading the article about Parkinson’s disease I didn’t know much about Parkinson’s disease. From the study I have done on the article I realized that this disease controls the movements of the body. Without dopamine the brain can not make the body move properly. Even though the researchers still don’t know what causes this to happen to the brain. It could be possible that a lack of vitamin D is the problem, because the neurons need vitamin D. The people with Parkinson’s can barely move to go outside, therefore this would explain the lack of vitamin D. But it does not explain how the people in the first place obtained a vitamin D deficiency. This study could be true or false about the deficiency. On the other hand, even if they are wrong it is still a step closer to finding out what causes Parkinson’s and what doesn’t cause it.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37541/title/Vitamin_D_deficiency

The Human Instrument

When listening to the voice of a great singer, such as Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, or Steven Curtis Chapman, one may awed or inspired by music which they can produce; however, if the voice is lined up with other instruments in rank of size, it would be at the end of the group with the fifes. This is because marvelous it may be, the voice is only thirty-five centimeters long at the most, compared with other instruments, for example trombones, that stretch out to about three meters. The voice, or more specifically the vocal folds (the explanation of this will be presented later), contains everything an instrument does, except in a smaller and more efficient version.
The first scientists to study the voice thought the sound was fabricated via a linear theory of speech acoustics, but more recent studies have proven it is truly non-linear interactions, ones in which the source and resonator feed off of each other.
Every instrument contains the same basic parts: an origination for the sound that vibrates when air rushes past it to make fundamental pitches with higher ones that define timbre, or sound color, the human equivalent of which is air rushing past vocal cords (two specialized groups of pouchlike-tissue, hence vocal folds) and a glottis (the space between two folds); at least one resonator that reinforces the vibration and fabricate higher frequencies called overtones, or in other words a vocal tract and the laryngeal vestibule (an airway just above the larynx); and a radiating surface or opening to guide the sound into open space, also known as the mouth and lips.
There is one catch in how the voice works in comparison to an instrument, such as a viola: on an instrument like that, in order to increase frequency, one must increase tensile stress, or in simpler terms, tension while decreasing length, something that under normal circumstances is not possible. Nature, however, has solved this problem with a three-part material that exhibits qualities not normally found in instruments: the cords of the voice are made of a semi-stringlike ligament which has remarkable stretching characteristics--when stretched a little, the stress rises nonlinearly and it can be amazingly tense, but when not stretched, the ligament is quite limp.
The voice is also mostly made up of muscle tissue, which can shorten and become tenser concurrently. The voice also has groups of ligaments placed side-by-side with some having the ability to contract and others not, and a soft, flexible surface which ripples like waves when air blows across it. A mucous membrane is also in the muscle-ligament combination to provide greater energy transfer ability. The mucosa, a very thin epithelium with fluid-like substance on the bottom side of it, exists in the mucous membrane and is easily deformed, thus supporting the ripples of the membrane.
Now to put all of these ligaments, muscles, and mucous membranes to work. In order to sing low and moderate to loudly, the singer makes use of all the layers of the muscle folds, though the muscle itself does not vibrate--that's the mucosa's elasticity and ligaments' job. For higher tones, the singer's cords must become longer (in this case, ligament stress alone dictates frequency). The way these notes become energized enough to be heard by people is that the vocal tract can use energy from one oscillation cycle, keep it until the next one, and send that energy into the current cycle to give it a push to go farther. A simpler example of this is someone pushing a child in a swing. They push at just the right time to give the swing more energy to carry the child upwards. This is the same concept as what the vocal tract does with each oscillation cycle.
All of this to produce one sound.

My response:
Though the voice is amazingly small for the amount of "oom-pah-pah" it can produce, it is nonetheless a very intriguing part of the body in the way it weaves its way around what would normally be major hindrances or show-stoppers. In general, no one thinks about what all is happening when they speak or talk, but when it comes right down to it, there is a myriad of things which must occur for one note or sound to be made, all of which must work in perfect harmony. The beauty of this process and its orchestration can only logically be explained one way: by the work of a divine Creator.

Seeking the Connections: Alcoholism and Our Genes

Summary

Scientists believe that the tendency to be dependent on alcohol is partially hereditary, since investigators have the power to examine the genes of large populations. There are about a dozen genes that have been identified to make a person susceptable to alcohol, but scientists believe there are more. Variations of these genes only mildly affect vulnerability to alcohol, but may have stronger impacts on drinking habits, depression, or anxiety. Scientists wish to discover the biological processes that are linked to alcohol dependency, so they can come up with better treatments to help alcoholics.



One gene that might have an impact on how much people drink is called ALDH1, (aldehyde dehydrogenase). The enzyme that comes from this gene is supposed to breakdown alcohol, but some people have varitaions of this enzyme that makes it work at a slower rate. When people have large amounts of the variation of this enzyme, they tend to feel uncomfortable because the enzyme is building up in their bodies. Many Asians experience this kind of discomfort when they drink, so they are not as susceptable to alcohol unlike the Europeans who are.



Multiple genes are included in alcoholism and people show problems with it in multiple ways. Reseachers have to be careful in identifying the problem. Some people really are dependent and others just suffer from alcohol abuse. In order to be diagnosed with a dependency to alcohol, or any other substance, one must experience three or more of the following symptoms:

• " tolerance for large doses,
• withdrawl reactions,
• loss of control over use of the substance,
• efforts to stop or cut down,
• a large amount of time invested in the activity,
• giving up other activities and,
• continued use despite resulting physical or psycological problems." (page 48 in magazine)
  
• Apparently, most of the people who are diagnosed with alcohol dependency have relatives with cases of alcohol.
  

A significant method in searching for genes linked to alcohol dependency has been an investigation of endophenotypes. Endophenotypes are measurable and not visible, but they can be examined to see if there are certain patterns that appear more in people with a disorder. The assumption is that endophenotypes can uncover the genetic links for a disorder than behavioral symptoms, because they show a crucial physical trait that is closer to the gene varient.

One form of an endophenotype is the brains activity patterns. The wave forms and spikes in neural activity in the brain vary among individuals. They also show the balance between excitatory processes in the brain, and the inhibitory processes.

These electrophysiological patterns vary between alcoholics and nonalcoholics. The excitation process overpowers the inhibitory one in alcoholics. This trait can also be seen in the children of alcoholics. It would appear that carriers with this pattern are predisposed to alcoholism. These patterns also inhibit a person's judgement.

50% of all risks for alcoholism comes from hereditary factors. Some risk factors include:

• "low response


• previous experience with severe depression and


• specific drinking history patterns." (50)

There are also certain chromosomes linked to alcoholism. Chromosomes 1, 2, 4, and 7 are the most significant ones. Two of the major genes of these chromosomes are GABRA2, and CHRM2.



"GABA is the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system. It modulates the activity of neurons by binding to GABA- specific receptors in their cell membranes literally inhibiting their responsiveness to signaling." (51) Several groups have found that a variation of GABA (GABRA2) is connected to alcoholism because it is a feature in alcoholic cases.



CHRM2 is a neurotransmitter that effects decision making. This protein changes the manufacture of the receptor protein instead of the structure unlike GABA. It is connected to alcohol dependence and severe depression. The most recently discovered links are providing new ideas for medications for alcoholism and depression.


Another genetic factor for alcohol dependence is a gene that controls taste perception. Some people have a decreased sensitivity for alcohol than others, putting them at a high risk for drinking. This effects many African American as opposed to European Americans.

The piont, is that genes play a big part in alcoholics chioces, and the different genes make people susceptable for different reasons. Some encourage early drinking, some encourage dependence, and others come about through depression to nurture drinking.

However, genes are not everything. People don't become dependent on alcohol without making bad choices, but some people are more vulnerable to drinking than others in certasin situations. Scientists believe that the demand for genetic testing for alcoholism will increase in upcoming years, and they also believe that if people are aware of their susceptability, they might make better chioces.

My Reaction

I thought this article was interesting and insightful because I always just assumed that people became alcoholics due to poor decisions. I never took into account that some people might be more vulnerable to it if they are depressed, or like the taste of it. I agree with the fact that genetics aren't the sole reason that people become alcoholics. And if people have relatives who are alcoholics, then they probably should not drink at all or rarely, since they could have a weakness for it as well.

The only thing I'm not sure on where this article stands is that people play a huge part in their drinking habits. This article says that alcoholism is 50% genetics. That means that people only 50% responsible for their addiction. I believe that genetics only increase risks to become an alcoholic, not that they make people become one. The article did admit that choices were involved, but I believe people have more than a 50% chance not to become alcoholics. This day and age, people are trying to shake the resonsibility for their wrong choices. I feel that this article, while insightful and interesting, is fuel for alcoholics not to blame themselves for their decisions.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=seeking-the-connections-alcoholism-and-our-genes