To Go Under The Knife Or Take The Old Fashioned Route

A study has been conducted in order to determine why gastric bypass surgery often times leads to the disappearance of type 2 diabetes in the patients. There has always been confusion in the medical world as to why patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery often go into type 2 diabetes remission while those who are obese and lose weight via dieting do not see the disappearance of type 2 diabetes as often. Scientists now believe the result may be due to a drastic decrease in inulin-resisting amino acids seen after gastric bypass surgery. The reduction in these circulating amino acids is said to be a result of the modification in size of the junction that connects the stomach and small intestine. To get more statistics on the results of gastric bypass surgery, it has been recorded that about 50 to 80% of patients who undergo the surgery go to into diabetes remission. Scientists have always been confused however by how fast these patients see changes in their diabetes because most of the time the disease is changed or fixed before the patient even loses weight. One doctor noted that not all obese individuals with diabetes should choose the surgery over dieting however because the surgery is quite invasive. The main difference between dieting and getting gastric bypass surgery is the fact that the bypass results in rapid decline of insulin resistance, which is not as commonly found in those who lose weight by dieting.

The article states that the number of obese people worldwide with type 2 diabetes is believed to double by the year 2030. Therefore, the information contained within this article is very relevant to the world today. If these numbers do in fact continue to rise, then it is important that scientists and researchers determine how to fix obesity or if that is not possible, reduce their health risks such as type 2 diabetes. While no doctor can force an individual to undergo a very invasive surgery, it can be greatly advised especially if the health benefits of that surgery clearly outweigh the risks. Based on these studies, it is evident that gastric bypass surgery gives an individual the greater chance of type 2 diabetes remission in comparison to strictly dieting to lose weight. The research however may not lead to the sole conclusion that people should get gastric bypass surgery if their main goal is to get rid of type 2 diabetes. Instead, the studies done, which have shown how the surgery greatly reduces insulin resistant amino acids, may lead scientists and researchers to determining a way to reduce the number of these amino acids without the surgery. That way more individuals can avoid an invasive surgery but still receive the benefits of reducing the number of insulin-resistant amino acids that are large contributing factors to type 2 diabetes.

This article caught my attention specifically because it is somewhat relatable to my current life. While no one in my family has type 2 diabetes directly related to obesity, I do have family members with diabetes. This article shows that scientists and researchers are constantly making discoveries pertaining to diabetes that could eventually lead to finding a cure or finding easier ways to control the disease. Also, I have learned throughout the past few years that obesity is a problem in the world today that is only worsening. Thus, diseases such as type 2 diabetes are only going to continue to rise. With studies such as the one in this article being done, doctors will have new suggestions for their patients when trying to determine a way to reduce health risks and move towards a healthier lifestyle. Also, if science eventually takes these discoveries and utilizes them to determine a way to reduce the insulin resistant amino acids without the invasive surgery, then there will be a substantial decrease in the number of lives lost in surgery. Especially since surgery is much riskier for those with weight problems.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/diabetes/story/2011/05/Study-Can-Gastric-bypass-surgery-help-treat-diabetes/46645136/1

One Fish, Two Ways

A man by the name of Yong Hao Wu has been arrested after supposedly illegally importing life snakehead fish into the United States for his Howei Trading Company. In China, the snakehead fish is a delicacy in which the Chinese harvest in farms and later on boil into soup. The snakehead fish is said to have remarkable healing properties; however, when outside of its natural habitats in China, Russia and Korea, the snakehead fish is capable of wiping out entire schools of fish and ecosystems because it is a rapidly reproducing predator. In the year 2002, snakehead fish became illegal to import into the United States because they were found in a pond in the state of Maryland and were not decreasing in numbers. In fact, since that year, the population has increased in anything. The man attempting to trade the fish illegally, admitted to importing over 3,000 black sleeper fish, which he later admitted were in fact that snakehead fish. These fish are especially unique because they are capable of slithering on land for three days in search of water to swim in before dying, hence if they escape their tanks, then it is quite possible for them to find a local body of water and begin to reproduce in it. In fact, this is believed to have happened due to the fact that the snakehead fish has been found in freshwater bodies of water across the United States.

This article is relevant to the world today because it shows the indirect impacts of international trade. For instance, if snakehead fish were legal to import into the United States, it is possible that it would boost the economy at least for the Chinese food market because the fish are considered an expensive delicacy. However, if the fish escape to foreign, unnatural habitats, they can easily destroy entire schools of fish and throw off an entire body of water's ecosystem. Upon reading this article it seems that if the fish are such a delicacy, the United States might be ale to fully benefit form their trade. So maybe certain restrictions could be placed upon the sale and trade of the snakehead fish so that they could still be sold in the U.S. For example, the Chinese could import the fish dead rather than alive so that the fish are not capable of escaping from tanks and getting into nearby water. That way, the Chinese and the United States benefit through trade and there U.S. does not have to worry about the fish killing off and destroying entire ecosystems.

I found this article particularly interesting because I hate large, creepy fish; the picture in the article gave me goosebumps. After reading the article though, I was even more nervous that these snakehead fish have escaped into bodies of water near where I live. I am from New York and while I am over five hours away from the actual city, where this illegal importing was taking place, there are bodies of water near New York City that connect the bodies of water five minutes away from where I live. Based upon the information within this article also, it appears quite possible for these fish to continuously reproduce and make their way into completely different bodies of water. It would not be very difficult for these snakehead fish to go up the Hudson River, along the Eerie Canal, into Lake Ontario, which would give them access to a whole bunch of different rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. Thus, this article really freaked me out because I certainly do not want to be swimming in a lake with a fish named based on the fact that it looks like a snake. I did however find it really interesting that these fish are capable of slithering across land for three days before finding water to live in. I was unaware that fish with that quality survived on this planet and so I did feel as though this article gave me knowledge that I otherwise would have gone without knowing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/nyregion/snakehead-fish-are-a-chinatown-delicacy-and-a-threat.html?_r=1&ref=science

Harvesting Schizophrenia In A Dish

An anonymous man with schizophrenia donated a biopsy of is skin cells to research before committing suicide at the age of twenty two. The biopsy cells eventually reprogrammed and developed into neurons, giving scientists a better look at what are being called mental illnesses "in a dish." These mental illnesses "in a dish" come about by taking a biopsy of skin cells and having them reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state so that they can form into any type of tissue. Recreating cells with schizophrenia or other types of mental disorders in quite difficult for researchers due to the fact that no scientists have determined, to this day, the underlying biological causes of most mental disorders. Since researchers figured out how to create "cocktails" of certain genes to reprogram them to an embryonic-like state, these cells have been going under immense study so that researchers can identify what goes wrong in their development that leads to a disorder. Recent studies comparing reprogrammed cells from individuals with schizophrenia and reprogrammed cells from mentally healthy individuals show that the neurons from the schizophrenic individuals appear to make less connections or synapses with other neurons. However, the study also showed that the neurons from schizophrenic individuals conduct electrical impulses just the same as the cells from individuals without a psychiatric disorder. The studies also showed that a drug called loxapine used to treat schizophrenia boosted the number of synapses in the neurons that were reprogrammed from skin cells in the schizophrenic individuals. The research team reported that there were no other drugs out of the other four that were experimented with that had consistent results, but each drug worked for at least one schizophrenic individual's cells. The team also reported that there was a difference in gene expression between the healthy individuals and the ones with schizophrenia and it is possible that the biological underlying cause of these mental disorders has something to do with changed gene expressions. Determining this biological cause of schizophrenia is still a long ways away however as researchers have studied many different cases and concluded that the disorder arises in individuals due to a combination of different genetic and environmental causes. While these studies are still developing and the research going into these reprogrammed skin cells is still new, researchers are optimistic and believe it is currently the best hope for identifying the underlying fundamental defects of these mental diseases.

With technology and medicine improving on a daily basis in the world today in advanced countries such as the United States, it is not outrageous to think that scientists may soon determine what causes mental disorders. This article talks about how technology has improved the methods in which we look at mental disease such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Particularly in this article, scientists look at schizophrenia in a way many people have never heard of. Researchers have figured out how to take basic skin cells through a biopsy and reprogram them into cells that can develop into neurons. Thus, when these researchers take the skin cells of individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the preprogrammed skin cells can eventually develop into neurons that develop with schizophrenia. This new information is relevant to the world today because of how many mental disorders affect such a large number of people. When articles such as this one are released to the public eye, it proves that researchers are working on finding answers to the biological mysteries that are present today. The information presented within the article shows readers that researchers still have a ways to go in determining the underlying causes of psychiatric disorders; however, shows that technology has gone a long way and if it continues to improve and advance, then there is a very good chance that researchers will easily find the biological causes of mental disorders.

This article's title made me read it in the first place because I wanted to know what the article meant by "Schizophrenia 'in a dish.'" The article and its content had be quite interested because I was unaware of the fact that researchers have been harvesting cells from individuals with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia in dishes in order to reprogram them and study their development as they develop into cells such as those of the brain, or neurons. The studies presented within this article make it clear that scientists are making great strides towards finding the fundamental defects that result in mental disorders, which is another reason I found the article so interesting. One piece of information that I found particularly interesting and which was also a basis of the entire article was the fact that researchers take a biopsy of individuals' skin cells and preprogram them into an embryonic state. Once the skin cells are in this embryonic state, they can develop into any type of cell and in the cases within the article, those types of cells were often neurons because schizophrenia is a disorder of the mind and brain. The fact that scientists can reprogram basic skin cells into an embryonic state makes it seem like researchers are basically capable of creating stem cells out of cells such as skin cells. If a cell in this embryonic state is not exactly the same as a stem cell, then it sounds particularly close, which goes to show that scientists may also be making great strides towards determining a method for turning basic body cells such as those of the skin, which are easily accessed, and turning them into stem cells. And as most people in advanced countries such as the United States know, stem cells are highly valued in the medical world because of their ability to develop into any type of cell in the body. Therefore, this article not only presented me with information and had never previously heard of before, but it also made me aware of how advanced science is today and the efforts that are being made towards finding cures and answers to the biological questions that remain unanswered to this day.

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110413/full/news.2011.232.html

The Pain Of Heartbreak, For Real

New research shows that the same areas of the brain that are activated when an individual experiences pain are activated when an individual feels rejected from someone he or she loves. According to Ethan Kross, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan, this research shows that individuals crushed by a romantic breakup may experience actual physical pain. Kross and a group of other researchers from the University of Colorado - Boulder and Columbia University gathered forty individuals who had gone through a romantic breakup in the past six months. Each individual claimed to have feelings of rejection and pain in the time after the breakup. The forty students underwent MRIs and while undergoing them were presented with a photo of their ex-partner and asked how they felt during the breakup, presented with a photo of a friend and asked to think about the most recent positive experience with that person, and had to wear an arm device that created pain sensations so that they could measure physical pain reactions in the brain. Researchers scanned five hundred other people's brains in order to compare the brain's reaction to physical pain, emotion, and psychological processes. The studies showed that experiencing intense social rejection activates the same part of the brain that is involved in the sensory experience of physical pain. Kross, the social psychologist, states that this information may lead to a closer look into how heartbreak and rejection may lead to different types of physical illness and disorders because the mind, brain, and body are so closely connected. An assistant professor of psychology at UCLA named Naomi Eisenberger claims that her research shows that taking tylenol can lower the pain of social rejection or hurt feelings. This research has not gone far enough to say that pain relievers could diminish the pain of heartbreak, but Eisenberger states that current research continues to explain how humans are very social beings, so much so that when individuals experience social rejection, the brain interprets it as physical damaging to the body.

This information applies to the real world because it gives insight into how different emotions and feelings can actually take a physical toll on individuals. Also, this specific discovery makes scientists, researchers, doctors, therapists, etc. aware that high emotions can result in physical pain. As the article stated, this insight gives these professionals a better look at how rejection and heartbreak may lead to different types of physical illness or disorders of the mind, brain, or body. This information also gives professionals a better judgement of how to treat individuals experiencing intense emotion after a breakup or serious rejection. Thus, with this information it is possible that scientists may discover how other intense emotions such as extreme sadness, anger, love, jealousy, happiness, etc. affect the body physically and mentally. Also, this study may help researchers in figuring out why other mental and physical disorders occur and how to fix them in diagnosed individuals. This is because this information brings up the possibility that intense emotions trigger certain signals in the brain like pain or in different cases maybe something like the same signals that go off when under the influence of drugs. With studies such as that, researchers would also be able to look at why people override rationality when under the influence of intense emotion because there is a possibility that their brain is being signaled in ways that had previously gone unnoticed.

I chose to look further into this article because the content is really interesting to me. Topics that have to do with how the brain works and how the brain sends signals due to different emotions intrigue me. This particular article is especially interesting because the information is unexpected, but it kind of makes sense. I am sure that if a large number of individuals who have experienced a sudden breakup or some sort of intense rejection at some point in their lifetimes, they would recall their feelings as painful. Therefore, this study brings new meaning to the term heartbreak or heartache because individuals' brains are signaling actual physical pain. As stated before, this study also sheds light on why some individuals may fall into depression or some other sort of mental, social, or physical disorder following a sudden end to a relationship and that interested me as well. Experiencing mental and social anguish is difficult enough and challenges a person's stability, but with the addition of constant physical pain, it is no wonder there are individuals in the world who spend months on end sulking, crying, bumming out, etc. after a bad breakup. This article gave me a different look at what individuals may go through following heartbreak or social rejection because I personally have never really experienced the emotional toll before. I know that in the future if a close friend or family member goes through a bad breakup, I will not jump to conclusions about that person just feeling bad about him or herself. I will not tell that individual that he or she just needs to get over it and move on because according to this article, that is not as easy as it sounds.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/sex-relationships/story/2011/03/Heartbreak-hurts-people-physically-too/45443040/1

A True Mid-Life Crisis On The Rise

Eating disorders, which were once mainly found in young adults are now becoming increasingly common in middle-aged women and women even older than that. Some of these women are those who had an eating disorder at a younger age and have relapsed; however, a number of these older women develop these symptoms for the first time in their middle ages. According to a the director of Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, eating disorders were initially aimed at adolescents, but since 2003 half of those diagnosed with eating disorder symptoms have been adults. Older women are still feeling the societal pressures of thinness and the need to look fit - women in their 50's, 60's, and sometimes even older than that. The symptoms in adolescents are similar as those seen in adults, in that they are engaging in destructive behaviors to their health such as restricted eating, abusing the use of laxatives, exercising excessively, and binge eating. The triggers of eating disorders for adolescents and adults differ, but the basis is the same in that their eating disorders are most commonly triggered by a stressful transition. For instance, an eating disorder could be triggered in an adolescent for the stressful transition of his/her parents getting divorced or heading off to college. For an adult, eating disorders can be triggered by the stressful transition of going through a divorce or his/her own, sending a child off to college, or having a baby. Some researchers on eating disorders believe that the percentage of adults with eating disorders is much higher than currently known, but most adult females fly under the radar because with age, adults get better at concealing problems and also because the symptoms can easily be attributed to age. One adult female recovering from an eating disorder was interviewed and said that her doctors attributed the development of anemia and osteoporosis to aging and the loss of menstruation to early menopause rather than the real underlying factor, malnourishment due to an eating disorder. Researchers are on this topic are trying to raise awareness, especially in physicians so that these doctors can distinguish between the symptoms of an eating disorder and the traits of aging in their patients. These researchers believe that people need to be more aware of the fact that eating disorders affect people of all ages and that is not simply an adolescent problem.

This article relates to the world today because there are areas of the world in which a great percentage of the population has some type of eating disorder. In the United States especially, it goes unnoticed that the percentage of adults with eating disorders is rising. As stated in the article, this is important to note because it could mean that the percentage is much higher due to the fact that so many adult women are going undiagnosed. Thus, with this information physicians are gaining knowledge and are able be more skeptical of eating disorder-like symptoms without passing them off as the aging process. The information also raises society's awareness of the fact that more adults are getting diagnosed with eating disorders, which will potentially be beneficial in that people will be more skeptical of rapid weight loss in an individual they know, which could lead to that individual getting needed help before it is too late. Society needs to understand that eating disorders are no longer an adolescent targeted disease and begin to evaluate why this change has occurred and why older women are now feeling the pressures of thinness and being fit more than ever before.

Eating disorders have always been of interest to me and the psychology behind them, but they also hit close to home for me, so I decided to write up on this article. I feel that the information in it is really important for people to know because what the researchers were saying really makes sense. Most of the symptoms of eating disorders could easily pass as old age in women. It would be really difficult for anyone to get the idea that an older women they know who has been eating less and using laxatives, stopped menstruating, and has brittle bones has an eating disorder rather than just assuming she is getting old. I know that if my mom began experiencing these symptoms in about ten to fifteen years, I would never in my life assume that she has developed an eating disorder - I would have attributed all of those symptoms to old age. The line between these symptoms is very unclear and so it is important that people who are very educated in fields involving health, specifically physicians and doctors, gain awareness and knowledge about this information so that they can recognize an eating disorder when it is there, but may not be very obvious to family and friends.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/an-older-generation-falls-prey-to-eating-disorders/?ref=science

The Fishier, The Better

An experiment done on 38,000 women resulted in evidence that links the consumation of fish, or any meal with an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, to a lower risk of developing age-realted macular degeneration (AMD). While the research data needs to be tested again in randomized trials, there appears to be an evident connection between fish oil - the part of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids - and preventing AMD in women who do not have the disease or have undeteced early signs of the disease, but have not been diagnosed yet. These fatty acids have already been experimentally connected to protecting individuals from cardiovascular disease. About 9 million adults in the United States over the age of 40 experience some level of AMD and while a majority of that number only experiences it in its early stages, there are still around 1.7 million of these adults who experience the advanced stage of the illness, which results in a serious loss of vision. Up until these experiments, there has been no recognized method that can prevent or slow the onset of AMD aside from advising individuals not to smoke cigarettes. The study was performed to determine whether or not diet functions as a prevention tool of AMD and so tens of thousands food questionnaires were completed by female health professionals enrolled in a heart disease and cancer prevention trial called the Women's Health Study. The study began in 1993, no men were included, all participants were in their 40's when it began, and none of the participants had AMD. Eye health was tracked over the course of the decade in which the study was performed as well. During the course of this experiment, 235 women developed AMD and it was reported that those who consumed the largest amount of omega-3 fatty acids had about a 38% lower risk of developing AMD in comparison to those women who consumed the smallest amount of omega-3s fatty acids. Also, those who consumed one or more servings of fish every week had a 42% lower risk of developing AMD than those who only consumed fish once a month or less. While many scientists and doctors find this information unsurprising, it is still a helpful and important scientific find because the connection is strong enough to release as legitimate information despite the fact that confirming experiments have yet to be completed.

This article is related to the real world because it provides a clear link between fish and preventing a serious disease that if developed will drastically change an individual's life. Age-related macular degeneration is a disease that basically contributes to the destruction of sharp, central vision, which is crucial for common every day tasks such as reading or driving. Thus, individuals who develop this disease will have to make serious changes in their every day lifestyles because they will no longer be able to drive themselves or even do simple tasks like reading a recipe, reading directions, or reading labels on grocery store items. When experiments such as the one spoken of within this article are released to the public, the information spreads rapidly within society, which may eventually lead to a decrease in numbers of people who develop AMD or at least a decrease in the number of people who develop AMD into a serious stage. Also, with this information, scientists and doctors will be able to develop further and create things like vitamins specifically high in omega-3 fatty acids, targeting individuals who are at higher risk of developing AMD due to genetics for example. Finally, this information may bring researchers closer to finding a treatment or cure that can reverse the damage done by AMD so that if an individual is incapable of preventing the development of age-related macular degeneration, then he or she will be able to seek a treatment that lessens the conditions that the disease entails.

This article is actually semi-relevant to my life because just yesterday I went to a restaurant and ordered sushi. When I asked my friend if salmon is good or not, she responded that it is and that it is also extremely good for me because it is filled with omega-3's. Me, not knowing much about what specific foods are rich in, did not know this information. Upon reading this article, I learned that omega-3 fatty acids were originally sought after because of their ability to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is one of the leading killers in the United States today. Now I have learned that omega-3 fatty acids will help prevent the possible onset of AMD. I clicked on the article because one of my good friends from home has a genetic family history of serious age-related macular degeneration and has been told by her doctor that she can expect to develop the disease later in her life. her grandmother has AMD in a serious stage and is legally blind, which is very debilitating due to the fact that she lives alone. This same friend's mother has begun to experience the eye degenerating symptoms, which shows exactly how the disease can impact an individual's every day life. Therefore, articles such as this one are important for the public to see because of the significant information that they provide. If people such as my friend see or hear this informati0n, then they are probably more likely to consume omega-3 fatty acids and decrease their risk of experiencing macular degeneration later on in their lifetimes.

http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/diet-nutrition/2011-03-15-eating-fish_N.htm

RTerg - The Tsunami Detector

Seismologists have created a new system that has the potential to warn populations of an oncoming tsunami only minutes after an earthquake under water has occurred. Thus, this system, known as RTerg, has the capability of greatly reducing the death toll within areas that will get hit by a sudden tsunami. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed this system that correctly identified the magnitude of the 2010 Sumatran earthquake at 7.8, calling it a destructive tsunami earthquake. Because the ocean is so entirely deep, vertical deformation of the ocean floor is considered horizontally smooth, thus when plates of the ocean floor shift, the size of the plate uplift is pretty small. When these types of earthquake occur under the ocean water, the waves that form as a result are only about twenty centimeters in height. Tsunami earthquakes however, occur a bit differently in that the the rate at which they rupture is slower and propagate to the sea floor, right to the trench. When this happens, the vertical shift in the plates is much larger, which causes much higher waves -- waves up to seventeen meters tall. These types of waves leave populated areas with large death tolls up to approximately four hundred and thirty people. Tsunami earthquakes fool most people in that it is difficult to measure their magnitude due to their occurrence in shallow areas, thus when a tsunami earthquake begins, most people wave off the tremble if they even feel it at all, judging that it is not a big deal. As stated before, tsunami earthquakes usually rupture at a slower pace than other underwater earthquakes and therefore, the RTerg uses algorithmic tools to match these attributes to a detected quake. If an underwater earthquake appears to be rupturing slower than normal, an alert is sent to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center as well. The system works like this: RTerg receives a notification from a tsunami warning center that an earthquake has occurred somewhere. From the notice, RTerg gets information such as the earthquake's location, depth, and approximate magnitude. If the magnitude is over a six and a half, then more data is received pertaining to one hundred and fifty seismic stations around the world. When that information is collected, algorithms are utilizes to run through each second of the rupture to determine the incremental energy growth, which in turn gives scientists an idea of weather or not the quake is a tsunami earthquake or not.

This system developed by seismologists could potentially have some excellent benefits upon countries that do not have much defense against natural disasters such as tsunamis. In the past, tsunamis have hit countries and completely wiped out great proportions of populations because the individuals had no protection or idea on what to do in the situation. Thus, this article relates to the real work because it speaks of a new system developed to protect areas from suffering great loss due to a future tsunami. The RTerg system can warn areas ahead of time when a possible tsunami is coming because the system is notified if a tsunami earthquake has occurred on the ocean's floor. Therefore, this system's biggest accomplishment would be its ability to decrease the death toll in dangerous conditions such as a massive tsunami. If researchers are able to create systems that can determine if a destructive tsunami is about to hit and warn residents in certain areas of the oncoming threat before it hits, then there is potential for similar systems that can better or more accurately predict natural disasters such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, etc. If more of these systems were created by researchers, then natural disasters would become less of a threat to humankind and more scientific research can go towards different areas such as how to decrease to occurrence of these events or protection against these events so that the damage in the areas is not as high.

I chose this article because of its relation to natural disasters. Specific natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina have always interested me because of the horrific damage that they can bring about and the fact that it seems as though these types of disasters dominate humankind despite the fact that we are living beings and they are simply just random, severe events brought about by nature. Tsunamis are natural disasters that are not often in the news unless there has been a recent occurrence of one or underwater earthquake action that brings up the idea of one in the near future. The article is important to society because it describes a system created by scientists in Georgia that can greatly decrease the number of deaths that may occur in the quick, severe natural disaster known as a tsunami. It is especially important after the infamous tsunami that occurred in Indonesia in the year of 2004 because of the sheer devastation that that underwater quake caused. When that tsunami hit, news stations all over the world kept everyone up to date on the damage, death toll, plans of action being taken, etc. The world wanted to know in turn what can be done in future situations similar to these and now this article provides a response. The RTerg system is capable of notifying locals in areas that are at risk of a tsunami hit after detected quake activity underwater so that they can flee to safety before the damage is done. It has been several years since the tsunami hit in Indonesia and this system is just now having information released to society. Hurricane Katrina is coming upon its same anniversary within the next few years, which may give society hope that there are systems currently being worked upon that can give detrimental information out to local residents if a disaster at the magnitude of that massive hurricane is about to hit again.

http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=64749

Injured Cells Getting Killed Before Repair

Based upon current research, scientists believed that most neurodegenerative disease were caused by the accumulation of the aggregates of proteins that cannot be broken down within the brain. These insoluble protein aggregates are deadly to brain cells. Along with that idea, scientists believe that defected pathways that program cell death may effect lead to neurodegenerative disease too. Recent studies at the University of California, San Francisco however have shown that there may be a different factor causing neurodegenerative disease. The apoptic cells - the cells programmed for cell death - in the human brain, according to these studies, are being attacked and cleared out by phagocytic cells of the immune system, which results in a great deal of cell loss over time, thus a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia. Researchers think that these phagocytic cells are attacking the apoptic cells due to a mutation in the gene that codes for progranulin, a protein that plays a role in embryogenesis, inflammation and wound healing. These mutations have commonly been found in individuals who have shown frontotemporal lobar degeneration. In experiments performed upon worms, the worms deficient of progranulin showed decreased numbers of apoptic cells in their lifetimes. This was surprising to researchers at first because they expected to find increased cell death in the progranulin-deficient brains because neurodegenerative diseases seem to stem from brain cell loss; however, the conclusion showed that the problem was not the number of cells undergoing apoptis, but the rate at which the phagocytic cells were removing the apoptic cells. Although this study has not proven that this gene mutation is a cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, it raises the possibility because it shows scientists that individuals with this gene mutation have cells that are completely removed when injured rather than being fixed like they could be.

The information in the article relates to the real world because brain degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia are common topics in the medical world. As scientists grow more aware of what causes brain degeneration, they get closer to finding treatments, cures, etc. This is especially important because these diseases are often genetic and thus, many individuals have concerns that the genes run in their blood and therefore are aware that they potentially might fall to the same fate that they watch their relatives suffer through. Finding medical breakthroughs such as this one might also lead to medical breakthroughs in other fields because it shows scientists looking into different genetic mutations that lack information and finding enlightening results. Along with that, the fact that this gene mutation leaves individuals progranulin deficient gives doctors the possible ability to test for this mutation and tell individuals ahead of time that there is increased potential for them to experience dementia and/or other neurodegenerative disease at some point within their lifespans.

I chose this article because I find the topic of brain diseases and disorders really interesting. My great grandmother passed away due to Alzheimer's and the disease is talked about in current news quite often because it is becoming quite common in the elderly. Thus, I chose this article because it talks about a potential cause of dementia, which has a lot to do with Alzheimer's disease, particularly because it is neurodegenerative. The article is proof that extensive research and experiments are being done in relation to neurodegenerative diseases, which gives hope to society that someday diseases that are very difficult to deal with emotionally, will be cured. The article is important because it lets society know that there is extensive research being performed upon topics such as neurodegenerative diseases, which in turn gives society hope that the medical and science worlds are closer to finding new treatments and cures.

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/58031/

Stem Cells Can Heal... Or Not?

Recent studies have shown that mutated stem cells may migrate to the surface of wounds in individuals and could potentially cause skin cancer in those people. A skin cancer called Marjolin's ulcer for example, has been connected to many battlefield wounds. Also, 'kangri cancer' has been affiliated with burns that have been caused by heaters worn under clothing in Kashmir. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco did research and concluded that damaged skin resulting from physical injury may have to do with the migration of mutated stem cells, particularly if the individual with the wound is predisposed to getting cancer. Using mice, scientists looked at basal cell carcinomas, a type of skin cancer said to be a result of a sun-damaged outermost layer of the skin called the epidermis. However, science has shown that basal cell carcinomas are similar to the stem cells that fix wounded skin, thus the skin cancer might be a result of mutated stem cells differentiating in the wound area, causing skin cancer. The researchers mutated a gene in mice that, when done so, has been said to cause skin cancer. Activating the mutated gene within mice did not result in increased numbers of skin cancer in the mice, so the researchers changed the experiment. The mutated gene was again activated in mice, but this time the mice were wounded in one area and sure enough, results showed that the mice developed increased numbers of basal cell carcinoma at the wound site. Some studies have shown that once the stem cells are mutated, they may rest for years without causing cancer and will act once prompted by a wound, but other studies have shown that most basal cell carcinomas do not arise at the site of injury and therefore, the study is not very significant.

This article is very relevant to the world today particularly because media has really emphasized lately the dangers of skin cancer as well as the fact that skin cancer seems to be on a serious rise. Media has stressed the importance of being careful when in direct sunlight, for example on the beach or being out in the daytime during the summer because of ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ultraviolet rays are the reason individuals get sunburned when outside and that particular skin damage has been correlated with skin cancer. Tanning beds have also been been emphasized in the media lately because laying in a tanning booth means laying under direct ultraviolet rays for an extended period of time. Tanning salons have been linked to skin cancer particularly because of the dangers that the increased UV exposure can cause. Individuals sometimes do not know fully the threats of skin cancer and how deadly it can actually be. For instance, melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is extremely aggressive and can kill an individual very quickly. Thus, this article is very much associated with current events today in the world because of the fact that skin cancer is such a new topic with increasing information, research, and studies.

I chose this article because the idea of stem cells interests me and usually when people hear about stem cells, the research or studies being spoken about are related to the medical breakthroughs stem cells are causing or will cause in the future. This article however, looks at stem cells in a different light. The article as said before, links stem cells to skin cancer. Stem cells have been in the media lately because they are undifferentiated cells, which means they can turn into almost all cells within the human body. Therefore, stem cells are capable of differentiating into heart cells or nerve cells, which could fix a failing heart or heal an individual who is paralyzed. The fact that stem cell research is still pretty new to science however leads to questions on whether scientists know the actual long-term effects of stem cell therapy. The studies talked about within this article show that stem cells may actually cause more issues than they fix because if the stem cells are mutated, then when they eventually differentiate, they multiply and create a large amount of mutated cells - in this case, mutated skin cells. Thus, the article is intriguing because it makes the reader wonder whether or not stem cells used in stem cell therapy could have negative long-term effects that currently have gone unnoticed because they have yet to occur in science.

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110214/full/news.2011.91.html

Aggressive Squids Fight For Their Women

Researchers discovered that longfin squid become aggressive upon touching recently laid eggs. This information was discovered when calm male longfin squid started attacking each other in the presence of recently laid egg capsules. Female longfin squid lay about twenty to thirty capsules throughout a period of several weeks, each containing one hundred and fifty to two hundred eggs. During this time period, the female squid mate with several different male squid. Scientists began to notice that when the capsules were laid on the ocean floor, the male squid would swim towards them and wrap their arms around the eggs. Finding this behavior unordinary, the scientist team performed an experiment with fifty seven pairs of male squid with egg capsules and observed the actions. Upon touching the capsules during the experiment, the squid went from calm to aggressive and attacking each other within seconds, even in the absence of female squid. In order to determine what exactly was causing this behavior in the male squid, researchers chemically analyzed the surface of the egg capsules and found the several proteins that the surface of the capsules contained. These scientists figured that one of the proteins must be acting as a pheromone, attracting the males to the egg capsules. Thus, several flasks containing eggs were dropped into the squid tank one at a time, coated with a different protein each time. The sight of the eggs attracted the male squid to the flask and the scientists were able to record behaviors of these squid upon their touching the flasks. The experiment showed that the protein β-microseminoprotein was the one causing the male squid's aggressive behavior. The pheromone, according to the researchers, causes the longfin male squid to attack each other in order to prove to the female longfin squid which males are the strongest and therefore, best mating partners. This experiment and research has lead scientists to look into similar proteins in mammals to see if there are behavior similarities in mammals as well, specifically human beings.

This study has lead researchers to look further into the proteins contained within the semen of mammals to determine whether or not human beings or any mammals for that matter display similar behaviors when in contact with specific proteins. Current research shows that there are in fact microseminoproteins present within in mammal semen; however, the functional effect of these proteins has not been determined yet. Thus, experiments such as these are applicable to today because scientists can better understand human nature and why men and women act the way they do in certain situations. This research could help determine specific biological evidence as to why human beings make some decisions or act certain ways.

This article is interesting because animals as simple as squid behave completely abnormally because of something as tiny as a protein. Squid have territorial actions based upon simple pheromones in order to prove that they are the strongest mating partners of all other male squid. Questions arise based upon this experiment because it makes scientists wonder if humans act unnaturally or differently based upon proteins or pheromones that are present without our knowledge. The possibility that there may be pheromones that spike emotions in human beings or other mammals once present within the environment is now questioned by researchers. It will be interesting to see what researchers will do with proteins similar to the one found on squid egg capsules if any are found to have similar effects upon human beings.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110211-squid-pheromones-fighting-mating-woods-hole-animals-science/