At very young age, babies discover their thumbs.  When I say at an early age, I mean in the womb.  Some people even see pictures of their child in the womb sucking their thumbs.  According to an article on Howstuffworks, just about 80% of babies develop the habit of sucking their thumbs.  With such a majority, it was interesting to find out that sucking your thumb can have negative affects on the development of your mouth.

As the Thanksgiving Holiday winds down and we all return to our studies, you can’t help but think about the delicious food that you consumed over break.  In particular, the masterfully carved Thanksgiving turkey that sat at the middle of it all.  We have been hearing it for years from relatives, “blame the turkey for your drowsiness.”  However, this past Thanksgiving holiday and this class prompted me to look into the idea that Turkey causes a person to be drowsy.  What I found may make people rethink their conception of Thanksgiving turkey. 

An article published by WebMD dove into the scientific implications behind the popular Thanksgiving bird.  The article shows that it is not the turkey on its own that causes people to be drowsy; there are many other variables that go into the post-dinner nap.  The common conception is that turkey contains the Amino Acid Tryptophan which in turn makes people drowsy.  However, that is simply not the case.  The Amino Acid is found in many other food groups including milk, fish, cheese, etc. and helps with the digestion of food in the body.  The digestion of food in the body takes a lot of energy and is a very vital bodily function.  Tryptophan is also responsible for the regulation of serotonin which helps control sleep cycles.  This is another reason that people often think that Turkey makes them drowsy.  However, the Tryptophan does no kick in and start to regulate serotonin unless it is boosted by a high carbohydrate substance.  So, there are many other food groups that help influence the effects of serotonin.  For instance, the three servings of mashed potatoes that many people consume every Thanksgiving may help induce the serotonin.  In addition, often times more than one plate is consumed which causes the body to exert more energy towards digestion.  The more energy spent on digestion also helps in creating the feeling of drowsiness.

Another good point that the article established is that people are working very hard prior to Thanksgiving Day.  Whether it is traveling, decorating, or preparing food, people often sacrifice their sleep schedules in order to create a good holiday experience. Joyce Walsleban, PhD, associate professor at New York University’s Sleep Disorders Center states, “coming up on the holidays and trying to get all the things done that one would normally be doing, you short cut your sleep and that’s never helpful. By the time the holiday comes, everyone has gotten sick.”  This just goes to show that there are often many other variables that must be considered before making a conclusion.

I now have a better explanation as to why I was falling asleep at the dinner table following our Thanksgiving meal.  Instead of blaming it on the turkey alone, I will now consider the other multitude of food items that I consume.  The misconception that turkey causes people to be drowsy is now explained through common third variables that people may not consider when making a conclusion.

Sources:

Photo: http://corticalhemandhaw.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-tryptophan?page=2  

My previous post discussed the harmful/or not so harmful effects of heating up food in the microwave using plastic containers.  Although the post does not have a direct connection to this current post, both discussed the Food and Drug Administration.  However, this instance seems to hinder the credibility of the FDA and its influence on dietary supplements.

The USA Today article states, “For the second time in recent weeks, scientists have found a “non-natural” amphetamine-like compound in dietary supplements – yet federal regulators have issued no warnings to consumers about the ingredient.”  The non-natural amphetamine- like compound that they are talking about is known as acacia rigidula.  The compound is found in a bushy like plant in Texas and New Mexico, however, “the FDA scientists reported they couldn’t find the substance in verified samples of the plant.”  In addition, the compound has never been tested for safety on humans.

I struggled to find a lot of information on the compound acacia rigidula because of the fact above, the compound has never been tested for human safety.  The article also goes into depth about dietary supplement companies using harmful compounds in their products.  For instance, the FDA recently seized $2 million from the company Hi-Tech for their use of a harmful compound known as DMAA.  In addition, the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to send the president of Hi-Tech back to prison for his use of false advertising years ago. 

All of this is a lot to handle, however I think that it should have a great impact on the science community for the safety of dietary supplement users.  Many individuals are now seeking to lose weight by taking supplements that ultimately speed up their metabolic rate and decrease their hunger.  However, if it is found that acacia rigidula is said to have harmful effects on humans the FDA will be under great fire.  The FDA should take immediate action on testing the unknown compound (obviously with correct controls and experimental values)  because numerous producers are using it in their products.  The FDA should not allow companies to use an unknown substance for the sole protection of the consumer.

We often discuss in class how science affects us, and this is a prime example.  However, it does not seem that it is grasping much attention.  That is truly something to think about when discussion scientific matters: why do they not grasp attention?  It will be interesting to see the outcome of tests done by the FDA on acacia rigidula.  If it is found to be harmful, many companies will ultimately face federal repercussions.

1.  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/18/fda-scientists-find-amphetamine-   like-compound-in-dietary-supplements/3627963/              

We have all heard the claim that heating up food using a Styrofoam container is said to be cancer causing.  Although I typically do not follow this claim, I decided to look into what it was all about and ultimately base my decision of whether or not to continue to do so based on the information that I gathered.  People have always made claims about the dangers of microwaves so I wanted to find out if the Styrofoam issue was fact or fiction.  

In an article published by Harvard Medical School, they tackle the subject of dangerous microwave activities.  First of all, the article makes sure to point out that Styrofoam is a form of plastic so when discussion dangerous materials in a microwave, all forms of plastic are included.  I found this very important because some people view Styrofoam as a completely different material than plastic.  The most dangerous part of putting any type of plastic in the microwave is that the plastic is made up of plasticizers.  These plasticizers are known to cause harm to the body when they are heated to a high temperature and ultimately leak into the food that you are about to consume.

Although plasticizers can leak into the food and cause damage to the body, the containers that are used to package food in the United States are regulated by the FDA. In other words, there is really nothing to worry about.  According to the article,  “For microwave approval, the agency estimates the ratio of plastic surface area to food, how long the container is likely to be in the microwave, how often a person is likely to eat from the container, and how hot the food can be expected to get during microwaving.”  This is very relevant to our class due to the amount of tests the plastics must go through in order to gain approval.  The FDA takes into account that the tests being done are on animals and, thus, they calculate the data as it would affect humans.

After the FDA runs the test, they determine whether or not the container is microwave safe or not and then the container is marked accordingly.  So, there are still risks involved when microwaving plastics because not all are microwave safe.  However, as we have discussed, humans have a horrible grasp on risk and I can’t see a little containers holding us back from heating up food.  

With all of this said, it is something to think about next time you heat up food in your microwave.  However, if you are anything like me, this article had no effect on the ways in which I will heat up food because the risk is very slim.   

There has been a recent calling for scientific evidence that links exercise and brain activity.  Most of the studies done obviously suggest that more physically active people have an increased brain activity later in life.  With that suggested, I looked into two different studies, one of which was done by the University of Illinois and the other by the University of New Mexico.  In the study done by the University of Illinois, researchers examined 241 individuals that were instructed to report their physical activity.  After they had reported that information, they were instructed to perform specific cognitive tasks such as reaction time and response accuracy.  All of these specific tasks involved the “executive” area of the brain which is involved with everyday life cognitive tasks.  The study found that there were improvements when examining both younger and older age group when it came to reaction time but, in the end they were not sure whether or not exercise improved cognitive ability or merely protected the brains cognitive ability later in life.

In either conclusion, there is a potential positive effect of exercise on cognitive activity.  However, the study was flawed in some ways.  First of all, the sample size of the study was not large enough for a hypothesis that would take into account a great portion of individuals.  Additionally, the study was observational in nature.  They asked the participants to record their own physical activity instead of dividing the sample into different groups.  The participants easily could have lied about their physical activity and thus skewed the results.  Additionally, there was no control group established in the experiment.  In order to do so, the study would have needed to separate the groups into physically active vs. not physically active and then examined cognitive ability.

The next study I looked into done by the University of New Mexico was very similar to the previous study.  However, it examined exercise and cognitive ability in both children and elderly women.  In the study involving children, it suggests that children 4-18 years of age who exercised at higher rate than others ultimately had a greater perceptual understanding of life tasks.  Such tasks include scheduling, planning, etc.  Additionally the researcher suggests that the study shows that if a person exercises more at an early age, it will protect their cognitive development with age.  Although positive, the study did not show any biological reasoning, it merely suggested conclusions.  It is well known that exercise helps new nerve cell generation; however, it is not known how this would affect cognitive development/protectiveness.

In my research, I found no article that linked exercise and cognitive ability in a negative way. This makes complete sense.  However, with all of the positive conclusions from studies, there is still no answer to what exercise exactly does to the cognitive ability of human being.  What part of the brain does it affect?  Which exercise is the best for brain development?  These questions along with many more show the complexity of scientific studies and the reason why they take so long to find casual links.  

References:  

1.  http://www.news.illinois.edu/news/06/1218exercise.html

2.  http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz%0A/Article%20folder/brainandex.html        

I was talking with a couple people the other day and I began to yawn.  Immediately after I yawned, the two people that I was speaking with also yawned.  I have heard that yawning is contagious but that was the first time that I had actually noticed the act taking place.  The occurrence made me wonder why yawning is contagious and the blog is a great opportunity to further my knowledge on the subject.

I came across an article in the New York Times about a Nobel prize winner.  His name is Dr. David Hubel and he, unfortunately, died on Sunday at the age of 87.  The article caught my eye due to Dr. Agre coming in and speaking to our class.  Dr. Hubel was responsible for finding the notion that visual information is processed in the retina.  Dr. Hubel and his partner Dr. Wiesel also found that sensory deprivation at a young age can cause visual birth defects.   They measured the electrical impulses in the visual cortex in order to make the discovery.  

While reading the USA Today, I came across an article that directly relates to our discussions in class.  The article that those with cancer have a greater risk of survival if they are married concluding that “Married people with cancer were 20% less likely to die from their disease, compared to people who are separated, divorced, widowed or never married, according to study published online Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.”

You see it every single week.  A wide receiver is darting across the middle of the field and in an instant is smacked by a linebacker at full force.  The wide receiver’s head snaps back violently and following the play he lays there helplessly.  The debate on the NFL and concussions has escalated due to the recent findings of the potential future risks of concussions.  I did my senior project in high school on the potential risks of concussions, but decided to bring it back to light due to there being 3 of them in last Sundays games.

A concussion occurs when the brain quite literally shakes in a person’s skull.  If you really think about it, it is a truly traumatic event.  The brain controls all functions in the human body and can be shaken or twisted in the skull from a fierce football hit.  The question that I ask for Sci200 students is whether or not there will ever be enough evidence against concussions in football to change the game entirely.  In recent findings, former NFL players that received multiple concussions were studied in an article published by TIME Magazine.  The study found the former players that had received a certain amount of concussions showed more signs of concussions.

There are many other studies that I found when I was doing research for my senior project but I would like to get more take on this subject.  The NFL and its players just made a settlement which basically states that the players know the health risks of the game and are living with it.  But then again, that’s why they make the millions.  However, it seems as though every single generation is getting bigger, faster, and stronger.  Will this lead to more concussions and ultimately bigger health concerns?  The other side of the question is that even if the generations are evolving over time, the technology for player safety should also be evolving.