The Mysteries of the what Causes Asthma

The cause of asthma can be due to many different factors from environmental, to inheritance, and even antibiotics. The mysteries of asthma all lead to an issue with the immune system because immune cells go into over drive when they sense a trigger and cause inflammation. A study by Gary Huffnagle an immunologist at the University of Michigan has shown the possibility of bacteria being a cause of the disease.  He did an experiment where he exposed mice to yeast in their intestines, mold spores up their noses that moved down the airways and antibiotics. The mice showed signs of asthma and their blood tests revealed a disruption of their immune system.  But with mold and yeast alone the mice showed no affect and were perfectly healthy until they were given antibiotics. Along with these studies, observations suggest that the balance of bacteria and other microbes help guide immune development and when the balance is disrupted diseases may develop. Antibiotics can either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria but by these studies can also disrupt the balance of bacteria in side us.
 

Inside us we have thousands of species of bacteria, along with fungi and viruses called the microbiome. The presence or absence of the bacteria is not the problem but the shape or structure of the whole community. Researchers have found that children who develop asthma, have different bacteria and sometimes a less diverse mix then those who are healthy. In the article “Breastfeeding, other factors help shape immune system early in life” found in Science Daily, tells about six separate studies were researchers looked at whether the microbiome effected the development of regulatory T-cells. Through this study they identified that asthmatic children had a distinct microbiome during their first year of life. A pediatrician at the University of Copenhagen Hans Bisgaard has found that children with the disease have abundant neutrophils (white blood cells) in their lungs the generally appear when the body is fighting infection.  
 

This findings help reinforce the knowledge that it’s better for children to be exposed to microorganism or bacteria to help stimulate the immune system. This can help them be less susceptible to develop asthma or allergies. This is known as the hygiene hypothesis the idea that a sterile environment can disrupt the development of the immune system. Research is still ongoing to prove that bacteria one of the factors that helps cause asthma. These discoveries help explain the association between bacteria and the increase risk of asthma in childhood. But they are just associations it has not been proven yet.
 

Posted by Jazmin Granadeno (Group B)

Exercise made easy! New hormone helps lead to weight loss in rats!

Exercise is an important part of staying healthy, and America's rising obesity rates show that fewer and fewer Americans are taking care of their bodies as much as they should. However, researchers have recently discovered that rats, when introduced to a certain hormone, helps reduce weight gain even when on a high fat diet and helps stabilize metabolism. While many products have been advertised to help reduce weight, most of them are either shams or high-protein, low-calorie snacks designed to fill someone up without getting too full; this hormone could lead to the first real, simple, and healthy "weight loss injection". More importantly, this also brings the scientific world one step closer to finding cures for insulin-resistance related diseases such as type II diabetes. In these diseases, through the course of time cells eventually become unable to respond to insulin, leading to a wide variety of diseases. However, this research could prove to be the first step in finding treatments for these diseases.

What used to take years of hard work and exercise can now be achieved with simple injections! (If you're a rodent)

The hormone, dubbed "MOTS-c", primarily affects muscle cells and restores the cell's ability to react to insulin and has been discovered on the DNA of the mitochondria. A process formerly thought irreversible, through old age and poor diet cells eventually develop a reduced tolerance to insulin, leading to a lowered standard of living. However, these discoveries could, to an extent, reduce many of the negative effects of diseases like type II diabetes and fatty liver disease. In other human interest, the weight loss side effect could eventually be applied to humans as well, which could potentially lead to foolproof weight loss despite a high fat diet. This could help reduce countless preventable deaths that came about from weight-related diseases. This research is astounding on multiple levels, and could save thousands of lives, and reduce the flow of many diseases associated with old age.

There are many diseases that afflict lives around the world, but in America type II diabetes and obesity are some of the highest profile killers the country has ever seen. However, the discoveries by Lee, Zeng, et al could lead to easily produced treatments for these two afflictions. While it is important to take care of one's body through proper diet and exercise, these discoveries could make previously irreversible processes easily reversible, and make safe weight loss an option for who want to pursue it but cannot or choose not to work out.

Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150303183407.htm
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/newly-identified-hormone-reduces-diet-induced-obesity-rodents

By: Mark Glasman, Group B

You Know the Drill

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If you’re like most people who tend to over indulge when it comes to the occasional sugary sweet, you may have found yourself seated in your dentist’s office being chastised over a newly formed cavity. Cavities are formed when bacteria dissolves the enamel coating around the tooth, and in the past this often meant painful drilling, numb cheeks and an expensive bill to boot. This may all be in the past however, as scientists based out of the University of Leeds in England may have found a new and unique solution to prevent tooth decay. A research team at the university has developed an amino acid-based toothpaste that acts as a strengthening scaffold that supports new growth. Using the scaffold as a support structure, calcium ions are attracted to the site to rebuild enamel, thereby reversing the effects of decay. Patients around the globe who fear the pain associated with dental procedures will certainly prefer this new method of regrowth. Similar techniques using stem cells have been developed, but the use of an amino acid paste cuts out the cost and controversy associated with stem cell use.

It is important to note however that even thought the paste has been tested and proven to show regrowth, some drilling is still required to remove the decay in the tooth so that the paste can be applied. Many dentists still use toxic mercury compounds to fill cavities, which can have adverse effects on the body, such as kidneys and neurological system. Using this paste will help to eliminate many risks associated with mercury fillings. Even though the treatment will not completely eradicate the need for regular check-ups, it will certainly make them more pleasant.

Posted by Hilary Mello (2)

A Good Night’s Sleep Isn’t What it used to be

A new study examined 20 years’ worth of data regarding the amount of sleep that teens are getting and the trend is unsettling; there have been consistent declines in sleep between 1991 and 2012.  In 2012, more than half of the adolescents surveyed age 15 or older said they slept less than seven hours per night.  That is two to three hours less than doctors recommend, and demonstrates a nearly 20 percent decrease in nightly sleep for that age group since 1991.  Lack of sleep can contribute to poor health and poor academic performance.  Trends were also observed based on factors such as gender and socioeconomic status.  Students who were poor, of a minority group, residents of urban areas, or female all are more likely to report being sleep-deprived.       

The data being analyzed was collected by a program called “Monitoring the Future”.  They survey approximately 50,000 students annually, asking a variety of behavioral questions.  Among the questions are: “How often do you get at least seven hours of sleep?” and “How often do you get less sleep than you should?”  The latter is aimed at determining whether or not teens know what constitutes “enough” sleep.  The combination of answers to these two questions showed that many teens do not recognize that they are getting an inadequate amount of sleep. 

Researchers hypothesize that there are a multitude of factors affecting the increasing trend of sleeplessness.  Some blame a rise in “screen time” due to social media, although the most dramatic drops in sleep occurred before Facebook and other sites became popular.  Others cite the demanding lifestyle of the modern teen- early school start times, jobs, sports, and socializing.  There is also the possibility of obesity as a cause, as obesity disrupts sleep, and the trends between sleep and obesity in the past two decades show inverse proportionality.   

From personal experience, I think the increasing demands for teenagers are likely the primary causes.  As these teens progress through high school, they are receiving constant pressure to perform well academically, become involved in extracurricular activities, make time for socialization so that they are not outcast, and find a job if it is financially necessary.  Teens are constantly competing at this juncture to become the successful and well-rounded candidates that colleges are seeking.  They are thus overscheduled, and there is simply not enough time to complete all the planned activities and reserve at least seven hours for sleep.  Imagine a student who must go to school, to sports practice, to their job, do hours of homework, have dinner, and socialize, all in one day.  Logistically, there may not be seven hours left before the process repeats.  In my opinion, the issue is deeply rooted in the dynamic of our society and in order to properly address the problem of sleeplessness, we must first address the societal causes.         

 

Posted by Meghan Harrington (Group B)

The New Goldfish?

Dinoflagellates are bioluminescent plankton present in both saltwater and freshwater environments. They are an integral part of the food chain, as they are eaten by many species of fish. However, in San Francisco some species of these plankton could be causing problems sooner rather than later. The effects of rising water temperatures due to global warming could potentially allow dinoflagellates blooms to occur more frequently. This is a problem since at least two known species present in the coastal waters of San Francisco are toxic to fish populations there. The result will be the death of some fish species and the shellfish of the area will also be poisoned.

This short video, by Discovery News, explains and shows the phenomena which occurs in San Fransisco:

Many people have never heard of these dinoflagellates, but that could change in the near future. In 2013, a team of biologists and product developers started a successful Kickstarter campaign to sell a new kind of pet. The company behind the campaign is Yonder Biology which was founded on the premise of combining science and art, specifically "'living art' -- art that can grow, renew itself and respond to stimuli." This pet could be a great way to teach kids about photosynthesis and bioluminescence and help make science more accessible to them at a very young age.

The pet contains these dinoflagellates. The pet is left to photosynthesize during the day and will glow at night time, as they do in nature. It is very simple to take care of and they have a lifespan of about 1-3 months. The Dino could be a great first pet for children, much like a goldfish is, teaching them how to care for an organism and some biology along with it.

Carolyn McDonagh (Group B) 

CONVERGENT EVOLUTION: MARSUPIALS AND PLACENTALS

Marsupials are a subclass of mammal that have managed to evolve without a placenta. Marsupials actually birth their young at such an early stage as to still consider them embryos when compared with placentals; this is possible because the young marsupial is birthed into a pouch where it's able to avoid danger. As you can imagine this isn't as efficient as placental mammals where the young are born much stronger; This is because they've been protected and given a constant supply of nutrition up until birth. Young marsupials actually have to crawl up the pouch and find a tit to get the nutrients they need in order to make it to the development of a newly born placental mammal.

Marsupials had evolved and been living in Gondwana after the supercontinent Pangea split up. Gondwana was composed of what is now Africa, Australia, South America, Madagascar, New Zealand, Arabia, India and Antarctica. 

http://www.livescience.com/37285-gondwana.html

You might be asking yourself why Australia is the only continent known for marsupials if Gondwana consisted of many now known continents? Well, Australia was the prime location for the development of marsupials because it lacked many large predators and placental mammals. With nothing to really outcompete the existing marsupials that had been living in that area after the split from Gondwana: The marsupials flourished with adaptive radiation.   

What's interesting about this adaptive radiation is that marsupials evolved in many of the same ways that our placental mammals have in the America's and elsewhere. This similar evolution is known as convergent evolution, and I find it truly amazing that despite being in completely different locations; we see many of the same morphologies. 

The image above shows some examples of this convergent evolution. When I stop to think about how this convergent evolution took place, I find myself asking what exactly is it about certain terrains and our food chain that causes these morphologies to be so similar?  Perhaps a lot of this adaptive radiation occurred with the common ancestor to both subclasses of mammals, and that these morphologies just kept getting passed down up to Australia's separation and then elaborated on when the separation occurred? If anyone has any other ideas or wants to add their thoughts then please do so! 

Post by Mitchel Logan (B) 

The Science of Friendship

Friendship is something that comes naturally to most human beings. If we are lucky, we may have multiple close friends, or even someone in our life that we call a “best friend”—a companion, a partner in crime. It is something that most tend to take for granted, and often the science behind friendship is neglected to be considered. According to a study done at the University of Pennsylvania, friends are often chosen by how reliable we believe they will be to us in our times of need, like allies in a time of war. This is not completely selfish of us, as with true friendships we do not expect anything in return. It is simply the solace of knowing that your ally will be there for you if an enemy attacks.

               Another study done by the National Academy of Science states that it is more than just our superficial need for a support system that drives us toward one another. They suggest that many of our closest friends will some genetic resemblance to us. We may carry similar genes associated with sense of smell, taste, etc.

It is easy to realize this theory when considering how, for example, people who have a love for coffee will spend a lot of time in the same coffee shop, becoming acquainted with the same people every day. Or how those who share a comparable love for music will bond over this similarity. In fact, it is stated that our friends may have the approximate genetic similarity to us as we do with our cousins. This similarity is very subtle, but it is enough to be measured statistically and to affect people subconsciously in their daily lives. Interestingly though, we tend to identify with people who have extremely different immune systems than our own. In a way, this further backs up the theory of biological influences of friendships. If you are immune to disease “X” and your friend is immune to disease “Y”, neither of you will catch disease “X” or “Y” from one another. Unfortunately, the way that we find our biologically approved friends is unclear. It is an easy assumption that those with similar interests (as previously stated) may end up being friends, the underlying factor being genetic similarities. More often than not, it is just coincidental that we bump into someone and start to get to know them. Not so coincidental though, as scientists are learning, is whether or not we decide to become good friends with them or not.

Erika Nevins (Group B)