Last Blogpost

For my last blogpost, I wanted to talk about something I think is really important: cancer. More and more people are being diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses than ever before, and it is our responsibility to get the cost of medicines and medical expenses in general down.

When considering what you want your career to be, many will say "I want to be a doctor because they make so much money." Well, that's true in most cases, but even many doctors are becoming fed up with the cost of drugs used for treating cancer. According to a New York Times article, many patients pay $100,000 just for medicine, and many people have to stay on those medications for the rest of their lives. 

So how exactly does this relate to biology? Well, in the sense that these medicines are both chemically and biologically derived. It's a medical issue that affects many people, and it will probably affect all of us in some way, shape, or form in our lifetime. The issue here is with the pharmaceutical companies, who have taken a supply and demand approach to medicines. They have a moral and ethical responsibility to keep these medications as affordable as possible, and doctors can only do so much to help their patients. At this point, many will have to choose whether or not they want to take a chance on living or not getting those medications simply because they don't have the money.

I don't know about you guys or what you believe, but I personally think that everyone should have the right to medications they desperately need. Check out this article, and make the decision for yourself.

Article cred: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/business/cancer-physicians-attack-high-drug-costs.html?pagewanted=2&ref=health

To Circumcise Or Not...That Is the question

Circumcision is a decision that we all must face as we start our own families. Many choose to circumcise for purely cosmetic reasons or also religious reasons, but recent research gives you another reason to consider when you are choosing whether or not it is the right decision for your child.

According to Robert Bailey, who has been studying the differences between uncircumcised and circumcised penises, those who are circumcised have less bacteria on the penis and have a better chance of not contracting STIs, particularly HIV. In his study, he took swabs from the penises of uncircumcised, married men, had half of them get circumcised, and then tested the men again a year later. The results were this--those who were uncircumcised had 9 more types of bacteria than did those of the recently circumcised, further proving the benefits of circumcision.

The American Pediatrics Association often debates whether or not circumcision should be allowed (as was discussed in the Human Sexual Behavior course here at Clemson). Sometimes they decide that there are no health benefits, and other times they decide one way is better than the other. This can be very confusing for families as they try to make their decisions, but this study goes to prove that circumcision is the best option for males because of its obvious health benefits.

Article Cred: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349839/description/Circumcision_changes_penis_biology

If You Have Diabetes...

Diabetes is something very important to me, especially because diabetes type 2 runs in my family, so it's almost inevitable that I will have it one day. There are a lot of medications that help with diabetes symptoms so that people can live pretty normal lives, but this past week scientists have made a discovery while doing research with rats.

Apparently there is a hormone in the liver (called betatrophin) of rats which is also produced in humans. The experiments on rats proved that betatrophin produced the cells needed to increase production of pancreatic beta cells, which are the cells that make insulin in the body.

In order to understand how significant this is, it's important to know about the different types of diabetes.  In type 1, beta cells aren't produced at all in the pancreas, but in type 2, there are just not enough beta cells produced to be as effective as possible. And it doesn't have to help just these patients, it could potentially help those with gestational diabetes as well.

The only downside is that this is a very young theory that is still going through testing, but there is a lot of potential in this. It could mean that people would have to give themselves 1 shot a week instead of several and possibly even enable people to produce their own beta cells again. There is true potential, but only time will tell what this drug has to offer the 25 million people living with diabetes in the United States.

Article cred: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/04/could-new-liver-hormone-treat-di.html?ref=hp

What's an Island without Trees?

After hearing the last presentation in our class about extinction of species, I found an article that piqued my interest. While the article itself does not discuss bringing back these species, I thought it kind of related to the presentation because of the way the damage is being done.

On a small island in Japan, known as Yakushima, trees are dying. Dr. Osamu Nagafuchi believes that these trees are dying out because of air pollution from China coming to the island. He has had a lot of trouble gaining support for this theory for years, but people are starting to believe him more and more as China has been issuing public health warnings in the cities recently, which in turn, makes Japanese more concerned that this could start to take an even bigger toll on their land.

Here is a picture so you can see where it is 

in relation to Japanese cities. 

Continued exposure could start to affect citizens' health, livelihood, and put a major blow to the economy, as ecotourism is extremely popular on the island. It's a really pressing issue because it's affecting a certain type of pine tree that only grows on this island and one other. People are starting to become very afraid because even if Dr. Nagafuchi is right, the government will probably not be able to do much to prevent it. It's up to China to take responsibility for the damage done. 

Dr. Nagafuchi taking air samples on a mountainside

in Yakushima

So why should we care about Japan's problems? Well, to put it simply, we need to follow their example. We have a responsibility to take care of our planet. We can't have a situation like this happen because it will only escalate into full-scale mayhem worldwide. 

Article/photo cred: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/world/asia/japanese-scientist-blames-china-for-yakushimas-dying-trees.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=science

Photo cred: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~hn7y-mur/mononoke/monolink10e.htm

Fairies Are Real?!

Ok, so let me just start off by saying that I hate insects. I love the outdoors, but there is nothing that can creep me out more than a creepy-crawly little bug that gets into your hair and clothes and...well you get the point. Moreover, I HATE bugs that sting you. As if the creepy-crawly factor wasn't enough, now you have to add a pain factor? No. Can't deal with it.

Back to my original point though, apparently scientists have discovered this teensy, tiny little wasp that lives in Costa Rica. It's not even the size of a pencil point. It's only 250 micrometers. To put that in perspective for those of us who are scientifically illiterate, 100 micrometers is the average width of a human hair. It even has a cute name (Tinkerbella nana)--named after, you guessed it, Tinkerbell herself from the Peter Pan stories.

This is what a Tinkerbella fairyfly looks like!

While scientists know that fairyflies exist all over the world, they haven't figured out what exactly the Tinkerbella does. I'm looking forward to finding that out.

I'm sure to all you insect lovers out there, this is a pretty cool discovery. I'm even surprised that we are finding new species. I would have thought that we discovered most if not all of them by now. For me, this is just something else that I would have had to watch out for while enjoying outdoor activities. If it has to be there, I'd rather not be able to see it. 

Article/Photo cred: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0425/Scientists-discover-ridiculously-small-insect?nav=127-csm_category-topStories

YOU Get the Cure and YOU Get the Cure and EVERYBODY GETS THE CURE!

After our recent class discussion about HIV and the man who was cured of AIDS, doctors may have found a cure that will work for all cases of HIV/AIDS and maybe even other viruses such as Hepatitus B and C. The cure comes from a naturally occurring ingredient (a quite obscure one, I might add)--bee venom.

Cures from bee venom? Who'd have thought?

Ok, so I know that this doesn't seem that likely...After all, HIV/AIDS has been a death sentence for millions of people. It's powerful enough to break the human body's immune system down and cause people to develop pneumonia from the common cold. How in the world can something as simple as bee venom cure such a horrible disease?

Well, I found something interesting on sciencenews.org that discusses just that.

A chemical called melittin in the bee's venom is capable of deteriorating the double membrane that surrounds viruses such as HIV. It also doesn't affect the normal cells of the body--just the small, teensy-tiny virus infected cells. This treatment has amazing possibilites, and it is even suggested that women in at-risk parts of the world could get a vaginal gel that contains the chemical as a preventative, as that is the location of initial infection in women. 

If this proves to be a long-lasting solution, millions of lives could be saved all over the world! Finally the disease that has been eluding us for 30 years now has (possibly) met its match. 

Article Cred: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348990/description/Bee_venom_component_might_offer_HIV_protection

Photo Cred: http://myhoustonmajic.com/2928747/bee-venom-kills-hiv/

Not Just for Heart Attacks

 

Bone marrow donation is one of the most painful processes you can go through. It's necessary though, to fight certain cancers and blood disorders, such as lymphoma. Scientists are now researching something that could be a bit of a game changer in the process; it is believed that aspirin and drugs similar to aspirin may improve the success rate of stem-cell transplants.

So how does this work?


Well, doctors already have a drug called filgrastim to stimulate the haematopoietic stem cells in donors or in people who are receiving their own stem cells, according to writer Thea Cunningham for nature.com. However, doctors say, "In patients with multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, however, and in some donors, stem cells don’t mobilize well with filgrastim and other drugs in its class. Using NSAIDs such as meloxicam could enhance filgrastim’s efficacy." 


Why is it important?

Bone marrow transplant is still a tricky process that we are continually trying to figure out to increase its success rate. If this method is proven to be very effective, it could change the lives of many people--increasing life expectancy for cancer patients and making bone marrow transplant a very viable option.

Photo creds: http://www.x-ald.nl/treatment-options/hsct/; http://askdrnandi.com/tag/aspirin/

Article cred: http://www.nature.com/news/painkillers-mobilize-blood-stem-cells-1.12600

You Could Still Die like Beethoven

Lead poisoning isn't something that we really worry about anymore in our society. Over the past century, the United States has made an extraordinary effort to rid our lives of the dangers of lead. People who live in older homes get lead paint removed, and while this is a painstaking and quite expensive process, we do it for our health.

As an American, lead poisoning isn't something that crosses my mind often. When I was younger, I was fascinated with Ludwig van Beethoven, who died of lead poisoning, which was only discovered a few decades ago when they tested a flock of his hair.

Anyway, I found this article about lead poisoning, and I was perplexed because it just isn't really a problem here. However globally, lead is a pretty big threat, even in 2013. Dr. Mary Jean Brown of the CDC talks about these "informal factories" where people are exposed to large amounts of lead from recycling batteries everyday and since there are no barriers, there is no way to prevent large amounts of lead from entering their homes.

Howard Mielke of Tulane University also discusses how excessive amounts of lead can affect a child's intelligence levels. This is especially bad considering that this is occurring in developing parts of the world, and if we want to advance as a world, we need to have well-educated people who are functioning at their peak.

Here are some symptoms of lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is an issue that should not even be an issue anymore in our world. We need to make an effort to push this behind all of us, not just in the leading countries. 

Article cred: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2013/0217_lead_poison.shtml

Photo cred: http://www.poweredbyosteons.org/2012/01/lead-poisoning-in-rome-skeletal.html

Say It Isn't So!

In class recently, we had a discussion about the food industry and how the United States is much more lax about where/how its food is produced compared to other places in the world, particularly Europe. We don't care that our food is filled with extra dyes, preservatives, and hormones, but how do you think  Americans would feel if they knew that meals advertised as having beef were actually made partially with horse meat?

That's right, I said it. HORSE MEAT.

How would you know whether or not you could trust this meat?

Folks over at Nestlé in Switzerland aren't too happy right now because they have just detected horse meat in some of their products--they aren't the only ones though, just the most recent in a slew of scandals. At least they are so ashamed of it that they are making recalls on the tainted meals.

Here in America, we had our own scandal about a year ago with the so-called "pink slime" filler in ground meats, which is why my own family now only buys organic meats, but you can also go to the butcher, pick out a cut of meat (such as a chuck roast), and have the butcher grind it right in front of your face.

This article piqued my interest because I can't figure out why European nations feel the need to use a substitute for beef when they have a smaller amount of people to feed than larger countries like the United States. So what happens when the world's population is so out of control when this becomes the norm? Are going to kill our domesticated dogs and cats too? It's a scary prospect to think about, especially when you know something like that is bound to happen as our world continues to grow rapidly.

Article cred: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130222-horse-meat-beef-scandal-food-france-england-europe-science-romania-nestle-horsemeat/

Photo cred: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/16/16964619-fraud-on-a-massive-scale-europes-horse-meat-scandal-keeps-on-growing?lite

Shinsplints...Who Needs Them?

I don't know how many people really suffer from shinsplints, but I happen to get terrible ones every single time I exercise. I don't know why it happens--I stretch very thoroughly before and after working out, and for some reason, I can't seem to shake these things off. Gretchen Reynolds just wrote an article in the NY Times about how to treat shinsplints (you can only imagine how this news is music to my ears). Naturally, I was intrigued, and I found out some very helpful information.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland says in the article that wearing shoes with more cushion, increasing mileage slowly, and training on soft surfaces such as grass can all help shinsplints, but for some people, shin splints are inevitable (sigh). This is what is suggested in the article to treat the injury:

"A good start is to sit in a chair and straighten your sore leg; reach down to your toes and gently pull them back toward your body. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or so and repeat five or six times. Then reverse the motion and gently push the toes down for 30 seconds or so and repeat five or six times. " 

This is where the pain happens!

If you're experiencing shin splints, cut back on exercise that affects this part of your leg. If the pain continues, go see a doctor. 

For those of you who are chronic shinsplint-ers like me, I hope this article helps! I know I'll definitely be utilizing its content to solve my pain in the future.

Article cred: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/ask-well-relief-for-shin-splints/?ref=health

Photo cred: http://richwoodstrack.com/physiology/shin_splints.html

I Can Read Minds...of Fish--Week 1

Junichi Nakai of Saitama University's Brain Institute in Japan has been doing some research with zebrafish to monitor how the neurons in their brains are firing--almost as if he can read their minds. Seems kind of tricky when you think about it, considering you can't see the brains of most animals...it's pretty hard to see through a skull. However, these zebrafish are transparent and scientists have actually been able to see the neurons firing in their brains! They can see when they are displaying predatory behavior, as well as monitor their tectum (which is involved with visualizing moving things). Although this is just a small step in accomplishing a great feat, these scientists are confident that this study could eventually "improve the development of psychiatric drugs, as scientists will more easily be able to tell if a particular drug has the desired effects on the brain."

ZEBRAFISH!!

So why is a transparent fish important? It isn't just a fancy little discovery with no relevance to the real world. By monitoring the neurons firing in this fish's mind, scientists can gain insight into how the human mind, as well as the minds of other animals, works. It may not seem like much right now, but if this research is successful, this is the start to the next advancement in the medical world. 

I will admit, I may (or may not) have chosen this article because its title is "What's Your Fish Thinking," and I definitely wondered that about the fish in my aquarium growing up. When Finding Nemo came out, I learned that some fish have a memory span of 3 seconds, which further piqued my interest. However, this article is much more significant that just being able to tell a fish's thoughts. It could make it a lot easier someday for doctors to monitor the medicines they prescribe so that they know what actually works for certain patients--a symbol of hope, if you will. The human brain is kind of a miracle to me; it seems impossible that the normal person only uses 10% of his or her brain in a lifetime. If this is the key to knowing and actually understanding how our brains work, I look forward to seeing where this research goes. 

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/01/whats-your-fish-thinking.html?ref=hp

Photo cred: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chenhowen/2316701540/