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