With finals coming up, I’ve been procrastinating a lot more than usual. During one of my very long procrastinating nights I came across an article explaining the correlation between working out and getting better grades. Does that mean if I go to the gym everyday this week I’ll be able to  pass my finals with flying colors?

After some research, I quickly learned that most likely not. A study at Purdue showed that students who went to the gym more than 16 times a month had a GPA of 3.10 or higher. Although these are positive results that show that working out does help, there are so many third variables that could play into this. First of all, are these students people who have worked out their whole lives? Also, these are the people who were motivated enough to get of their dorms and get themselves to the gym, so they are also more likely to have to the motivation to get their work done. Another thought I had was what kind of workload do these students have? They could be taking only three or four classes, which would give them extra time to study and to work out.

Although there seems to be a correlation between working out and good grades, there is absolutely no proof of causation. This could be due to chance and many other factors. Unfortunately an hour at the gym everyday is not going to get me an A on my finals.

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q2/college-students-working-out-at-campus-gyms-get-better-grades.html

Ever been walking somewhere and catch the scent of something that immediately brings you back to specific time, place, or person? Every time I catch the scent of a perfume I used when I was younger tons of memories of pastimes come raising back. Why is this? What connects scents with memories?

According to body odd.nbc.news.com, after a smell enters the nose, it goes through the cranial nerve through the olfactory bulb. Here it accesses the amygdala, which plays a role in emotional memories. The amygdala and the olfactory bulb are one reason for the cause of nostalgia. Dr.Ken Heilman says that scents do bring back memories, because unlike words that bring back thinking parts of the brain, they bring back the emotional parts of a memory.  So this led to wonder if memories that rely on smells are more reliable than other senses? After some research, I quickly learned that this is most definitely true, with the exception of those who have heightened vision or hearing due to problems with smelling. This is the exact reason as to why Canines, who have a heightened sense of smell, work closely with the police force. Next time you catch the smell of something that brings back a pleasurable memory, enjoy the nostalgia. 

http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/19/12817415-smells-like-nostalgia-why-do-scents-bring-back-memories

I think everyone has heard the saying “money can’t buy happiness,” but how come magazines and movies make glamorous lifestyles seem so good? How true is this saying? Does money cause unhappiness? This is a topic that economists, psychologists, and scientists have been studying for decades. Studies have shown that yes, people who are struggling to get by are not as happy as those with an abundance of money; however, no one can prove this as a fact.

Saying that money can’t buy happiness is a false positive. Numerous other factors, like where you spend the money or where you obtained the money, can contribute to the correlation between money and happiness. For example, people who receive large incomes but regularly donate to charity have reported to be extremely happy with their lives. Also, if you spend your money on the opportunities to experience new things, you’ll gain a greater gift that can create happiness. In conclusion, saying “money can’t buy happiness” is not true, as long as one is not struggling to make ends meet there is numerous third variables that add up to how happy a person is.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/can-money-buy-happiness-heres-what-science-has-to-say-1415569538

With obesity rates sky-rocketing, it’s obvious the affects of a poor diet and processed foods have the physical health of a body, but what about the mental health of the body..? Does unhealthy eating cause unhappiness?

Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist, says when he meets new patients he can already predict what their diet consists of – high in sugars, refined carbohydrates, and industrial vegetable fats, which does nothing good for people’s mental health. It’s no secret that obesity levels of Americans are higher than ever before, but mental diseases like dementia and depression are also rising. Is the American diet to blame for this, too? Processed foods are stripped of all the nutrients our bodies most definitely need. We’re being overfed and undernourished. One study found that Americans whose diets consist of low-quality junk food are 79% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Another study showed that women whose diets consisted of high levels of omega-3 fats (healthy fats) were less likely to suffer from depression.

But this proposes more questions.. could their be other variables, besides an unhealthy diet that cause unhappiness? It’s no secret that junk food is faster to eat and cheaper than healthy or organic foods. So, the people buying these foods regularly might be making a low income or be stressed out from their overbooked schedules, which both could cause unhappiness. As a result, I think there’s no way to prove that an unhealthy diet directly causes unhappiness; however, there is definitely a correlation and it might be a factor to be aware of when choosing what to eat.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-ramsey-md/food-mental-health_b_1703007.html

It seems as though everyday another one of my friends tells me they’re going gluten-free. Recently, whenever I’m roaming the grocery store looking for snacks I see the label saying “gluten-free” on almost every bag. Why has everyone become to obsessed with a gluten-free diet lately. My friends and just about everyone else on the planet claims they have a gluten allergy. Why  are gluten allergies becoming more and more popular?

People whose bodies cannot fully digest gluten are diagnosed with celiac disease, or a gluten allergy. The undigested protein triggers the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine, which causes very unpleasant reactions. According to articles.morcola.com, a study using frozen blood vessels from fifty years ago found that intolerance of wheat gluten is four times as likely today than it was fifty years ago. It’s possible that people are just becoming more aware than over before of the health effects of too much gluten or the American diet has caused people to develop this disease. The later is most likely true.

For those with celiac disease, overtime their small intestine will become increasingly damaged and less able to absorb nutrients such as iron and calcium, which can then lead to other serious health problems. Many people blame the changes in modern diet for the increasing development of celiac disease. It’s no secret that the Western modern diet consists of more grain carbohydrates  than ever before in history.

Celiac disease has also been linked to cause Dementia in the long-run, but this got me thinking that maybe there could be reverse causation. Dementia could be the cause of an early development of celiac disease or vice versa. Either way, the development of celiac disease and the attention of gluten in diets has definitely increased over the years.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/the-rise-of-gluten-intolerance/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/23/why-is-wheat-gluten-disorder-on-the-rise.aspx

The cold months of November to March are by far my least favorite of the year. Every year, the minute the first snow fall of the season hits, I decide to hibernate. I absolutely hate winter and being cold. Over the past few years, the winter months seem to be getting more and more miserable. I’m not sure if this is just me getting older and noticing the insane drops in temperature and miserable amounts of snow or if in fact the pleasurable winters that we knew are ending and becoming more intense and cold. If the later is true, then what is causing this and what will happen if it continues?

According to environmentalresearchweb.org , over the past couple years winters have in fact gotten steadily colder. So, this isn’t just my imagination. But what’s causing this? The number one theory among scientists is global warming. When I think global warming, I think insanely hot temperatures, not insane amounts of snow and huge drops in temperatures. Judah Cohen, from the Atmospheric and Environmental Research in Massachusetts, blames the increase in open water over the Arctic Ocean because it allows for more moisture to be evaporated in the atmosphere, leading to increased precipitation. Well, if this is actually true, then what does it mean for us? Right now, the temperatures might be extremely uncomfortable and annoying, but if they’re just going to be getting colder over the next couple years, will there be bigger consequences for us? After some research, I learned that yes we will have freezing winters with some cold snaps; however, overtime these will become less frequent and we will begin to see record heat waves. According to the washingtonpost.com, there will still be record lows, but they will be more rare than the record highs.

Also, I began to think if maybe there could be some other variables causing these extreme temperatures besides global warming.. There has been cold and warm periods throughout Earth’s history, so this isn’t actually something new. Unfortunately after tons of research, I couldn’t find any other causes that made sense except for the idea of global warming. As we have learned in class though, you can never rule out outside variables. So for right now, I just unfortunately have to deal with the miserable, cold winters.

http://phys.org/news/2014-05-climate-scientist-extremely-cold-winter.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/06/can-global-warming-be-real-if-its-cold-in-the-u-s-um-yes/

Whenever I have a big exam coming up or a huge assignment due, I always find myself eating the worst possible foods. If I have a huge test on Friday, I’ll most likely be having chicken finders and french fries the night before and white cheddar popcorn all week while studying. I was wondering if there’s a correlation between bad eating habits and stress.

According to health.canoe.ca , during difficult times the first thing that suffers is our diet. Reports show that people don’t think food tastes any better than usual, but that eating is something to do. Food will temporarily fill a void, even if it’s not for long. According to eatingdisordershelpguide.com, stress has an extremely powerful effect on your appetite and food choice. We crave sugary and fatty foods during a time of stress. So, stress most definitely can cause some people to create poor eating habits, but also I found that poor eating habits can cause people stress. I know personally after I eating something really unhealthy, I start to feel bad about it and maybe even stress out some more. There is definitely chance for reverse causation in this topic. Now that I’ve recognized my problem of stress eating hopefully it’ll be easier for me to stop myself next time I’m preparing for a huge exam.

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/diet-weight-loss/emotional-eating.htm

http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=1541&channel_id=44&relation_id=48473

The thing I miss most about home is easily my dog. Coming home everyday to someone who is genuinely happy to see you no matter what the situation is such a nice feeling. Pets have a way of making their owners happy in ways that no one else can. My dog’s super small and I know that even if I’m being clumsy and he runs under my feet and as a result I accidentally kick him, he’ll still love me regardless. Dogs don’t hold grudges, but that makes me wonder how much dogs do understand?

Does my dog really know when I’m upset, sick, excited, or happy? Recently, we have discovered how truly amazing a dogs nose is. Apparently, according to Jeffery Masson, dogs senses are so strong that they can sniff cancer. Also, since we perspire significantly more when we’re afraid or nervous, dogs can smell this odor. This is the same is with adrenaline and stress. If you think about it, dogs can tell what we’ve done all done due to their incredible sense of smell. They can sniff out where we went, what we ate, and what activities we did. However, can they really understand what we are saying when we speak?

According to the New York Post, a dog’s particular vocabulary ranges from dog to dog. Some have a vocabulary of 4 and others can recognize up to 200 toys by name. Horowitz explains that when a dog is listening to us speak, they’re not really listening to the words we say, but to the sounds we make and our body language when we pronounce them. For example, as we walk to the door and say, “Who wants to go for a walk?” he’s not really listening to the words, but to the sounds and is paying attention to how we walked towards the door. Also, dogs can tell when an emergency is occurring. This is because dogs use routine to learn things, so when something is out of routine they immediately react.

Since dogs are used to routines set by their owners, that’s how they learn “right or wrong.” After a dog does something deemed “wrong” but its owner, then it usually puts its head down and will avoid eye contact with the owner. But I began do wonder if without routine the dog would understand right from wrong, sort of like the way that humans innately do. Different studies have been done, and recently scientists are beginning to recognize that humans aren’t the only ones who innately know right from wrong and that animals do, too! However, I think if humans and animals are the same with this concept, then there will obviously be animals who do value right from wrong more than other animals, like how it is with humans. The conclusion that animals completely understand things and “right from wrong” cannot be completely verified because of so many third variables. I personally believe that, like humans, it depends completely on the dog and its own individual personality.

http://nypost.com/2010/11/14/what-dogs-really-understand/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5373379/Animals-can-tell-right-from-wrong.html

The first thing that comes to my mind when I see a friend or a relative upset is to embrace them and give them a hug. I never really thought why that’s my immediate instinct or as to why my intuition leads me to do it. That made me begin to wonder if hugs actually make the person feel better and give them happiness..

“Happiness” is  known to come from the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin can be found in the central nervous systems, the gastrointestinal tract, and platelets of animals and humans. It is known to be the main contributor of feelings of well-being; therefore, it acquired the name “the happiness hormone.” People diagnosed with depression are known to have less levels of serotonin. My question is, do hugs really increase a person’s level of serotonin? Based on research, yes, hugging does increase one’s levels of serotonin.

A study found one-third of people receive no hugs on a daily basis and that 75% wanted more hugs. Many studies have been conducted that hugging increases self-esteem, enhances relationships, and decreases loneliness. So in conclusion, based on studies hugging can make you an all around better person; however, I believe there are many third variables in these studies that would change the overall outcome. Was the person being hugged a significant other, family member, close friend, acquaintance, or stranger to the hugger? I know personally that if a significant other, family member, or close friend would hug me when I wasn’t having a good day it would most definitely make me feel a little bit better at least for a few seconds, but if the person was an acquaintance or stranger I probably wouldn’t feel any better, but most likely a little freaked out. Therefore, many third variables come into play with the conclusion that hugs makes everyone feel better, but this will not stop me from hugging a family member or friend when they’re having a bad day.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/06/hugging.aspx

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Serotonin.html

http://happinessweekly.org/2013/01/19/fun-facts-about-hugging/

Being an avid coffee drinker since the age of ten has caused me to hear the statement “coffee stunts your growth” many more times than I’d like to hear over the last eight years. When I was younger, any place I requested coffee someone immediately said it. Now that I’m older no one makes that comment when I’m enjoying a nice cup of coffee. I personally can’t see how this would even be possible. How could a little bit of caffeine prevent you from growing into your full potential. Are people saying that I would be 5’6 or maybe 5’4 instead of my 5’3 self if I had not drank coffee throughout these years?

The immediate answer I got was “No, coffee does not stunt your growth” according to kids health.org. But then why do I hear this all the time? Studies show that there is absolutely no correlation between coffee drinking and growth rate. A study was done on 81 teenagers over the course of six years. By the end of the study, there was no difference in bone density between the ones who were avid coffee drinkers and ones who drank the least amount of caffeine. Although this study disproved that a cup of coffee day will stunt your growth, doesn’t mean that coffee doesn’t have any negative side effects on growing children, but they are all minor. For example, headaches, irritability, and fatigue. So according to the studies done on coffee and growth stunt, I didn’t lose any inches due to my coffee addiction, which is exactly what I had predicted in the first place. In that case, I will continue to drink as much coffee as I’d like.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/expert/nutrition/coffee.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/coffee-stunt-growth1.htm

Being half way through my first semester in college one could definitely say I’m sleep deprived. I’ll be the first to admit that I have yet to improve time management skills nor balance completing my never ending tasks in an efficient manner. However, I know I’m not the only one dealing with a tired, sluggish attitude all day due to a lack of sleep. In almost all of my dreaded morning my classes I’ll catch someone obnoxiously yawning, which will immediately cause me to yawn. Growing up I was always told that yawning is contagious. To me, this has never made complete sense, but i decided to do some research.

How could simply yawning, something I’ve always been told is a sign of one’s tiredness, cause someone else to have to yawn? In fact, accruing to sciene.HowStuffWorks.com, you don’t even have to specifically see a person yawn to feel the urge to, even reading about it or hearing about it will cause it to happen. To be honest, as I’m sitting here writing about yawning I can barely help myself from getting the urge. According to this article, based on studies contagious yawning may be due to our empathy for others. Whether we notice it or not, we could be connecting with someone else’s emotional state; therefore, how tempted you are to yawn after seeing someone else yawn is a depiction of how much empathy you feel. A study was conducted by researchers to test this theory. The researchers selected 40 psychology students and 40 engineering students, and each of them was placed individually in a waiting room with an undercover assistant who yawned ten times in a period of however minutes. The results showed that psychology students, who are being trained to pay attention to others’ emotions, yawned an average of 5.5 times in the waiting room, and the engineering students yawned an average of about 1.5 times.

Chocolate has always been my guilty pleasure. In the first few weeks of November after all the Halloween candy sales, I always consume more chocolate than anyone ever should. Also during this time I start to notice a difference in my skin and I start breaking out more than ever. I’ve always heard the myths that chocolate consumption causes acne to develop, but does it really have that much affect on your skin?

This assumption would definitely make sense considering it’s always the times I eat more chocolate that i start to see differences, but is it a myth? According to the Huffington Post, there is little evidence that chocolate itself actually causes skin to break out; however, foods with high-sugar/ high-fat diet can increase sebum production and promote inflammatory responses in the body which will ultimately cause acne. So overindulging in these foods will most likely increase my risk of breaking out. Well this is most definitely true about all the milk chocolate and white chocolate I consume during this time, but what about dark chocolate? Isn’t dark chocolate supposed to be less in calories and contain less fat? After reading the whole article in the Huffington Post, I read that dark chocolate still contains numerous amounts of fats and sugars, which are ingredients that trigger acne breakouts.

According to webmd.com, a study was done on 10 men ages 18-35 who had previous diagnosis of acne. They were told to eat as much chocolate as they wanted in a sitting up to three 4-ounce candy bars, but besides that they were to stick to their normal diets for a week. On an average, the men used in the study had three pimples before the experiment, but by the end of the week the average was around 18 pimples. For some people this is just enough information for them to put down the candy bar and probably never pick one back up again; however, in this search 100% pure chocolate was used, which had a major advantage. Numerous of these small studies have been conducted and have shown different results. Most dermatologists tell their patients that chocolate causes acne for some people and not for others. Too many personal genetic and other third variables have an effect on development of acne. Although my question wasn’t directly answered by my research, I learned that like most things, the causation of acne due to the consumption of chocolate is very dependent on third variables.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/news/20110208/does-chocolate-make-acne-worse

http://www.livestrong.com/article/522491-does-dark-chocolate-cause-pimples/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/does-chocolate-cause-acne_n_1566076.html

A couple years ago I became obsessed with avocados. It got to the point where I was probably eating an avocado a day, but my mom would frequently tell me not to worry about it because she said, “an avocado contains ‘good fats,’ like almonds.” That led me to wonder, what’s the difference between a “good” fat and a “bad fat?” Aren’t all fats the same?

The truth is that we all crave fats and their essential to our diets. According to womenshealthmag.com, Vitamins A, D, E, and K all need to bind to fat to be absorbed; therefore, one should never cut all fats from his or her’s diet. After some research, I realized what my mom called “bad fats” were the man-made trans fats. These have been proven to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol because of the process they undergo and the chemicals added to make the fats last longer on the shelves. “Good fats”, or unsaturated fats, chemically means that there is one or more double bonds in the fatty acid chain. These are more natural like avocados, nuts, fish, and vegetable oils. These are more natural foods, satisfy the essential fats that our bodies need, and they contain many potential health benefits. I was smarter to eat an avocado for fats instead of having a bag of chips; however, too many of a “good fat” or “bad fat” will have both have negative outcomes.

“Good Fat, Bad Fat: Learn the Difference To Lose Weight.” Womenshealthmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

When I was younger, my parents announced that our summer family vacation would be a ten day cruise to Bermuda. I was obviously excited, but I remember being a little bit nervous because the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of Bermuda at this young age was the Bermuda Triangle. I remember hearing how things suddenly go “missing” in the triangle or “disappear” and I was convinced that exactly that would happen to the cruise ship I’d be on with my family.

Since I’m here writing this, I obviously survived the cruise against my younger me’s doubts; however, now I’m wondering exactly where things that have gone “missing” in the Bermuda Triangle go? There’s a couple different theories suggested by people and scientists as how these people suddenly disappear and exactly where they go. For example, one theory is that this is a result of natural disasters. This suggests that a storm could have come quickly and sunk ships or caused airplanes to crash, but resulting in no evidence. Another theory, is that there’s a “wormhole” that is not yet understood by humans and it transports these missing travelers to other times and places. Also, people believe that it could be rogue waves. These are simply several waves that accumulate together to become one huge monstrous waves that can seriously damage ships, the waves get so high that they could also damage a low-flying plane. Another theory that is extremely popular is the idea of aliens. Most of the alien theories have to do with abductions. To me, the theory of natural disasters is the most practical and makes the most sense. The theory of aliens seems too far fetched, and I cannot fully picture a wave large enough to crash a plane. The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle remains unsolved for now.

“10 Explanations for the Bermuda Triangle – Listverse.” Listverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Have you ever wondered why McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s all use orange, red, and yellow in their logos and advertising? The truth is, that the these colors supposedly trigger hunger in most people. I know for a fact when I drive past these food chains I always get a little hungry; however, I never believed it was because of the colors incorporated in the logos. If this is true, than that’s definitely some smart advertising. But that made me wonder, how does simply seeing a color spark an appetite?

According to bluesky-web.com, color has an incredible effect on your mood, perception, and likes and dislikes. Red, according to azscience.org, make your heart beat faster and yellow gets your metabolism going, so the combination makes ones hungry. The red easily gets people attention, increases energy, and causes excitement. So, these colors release certain endorphins in your brain which make you hungry. To me, it still seems ridiculous that a color can have a scientific reaction on your appetite. Next time you drive by one of the bright fast food chain’s bright signs you’ll be aware of your instant drive for the fatty foods.

“Color Psychology.” Color Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

Being a freshman and making the transition from high school and living at home to being independent and battling new college classes, can make one extremely tired. Nights when I have to stay up to 2am to finish a paper has made me realize I need to learn how to manage my time better, but also it makes me wish that I never had to sleep. That made me begin to wonder, why do we sleep?

One theory according to howstuffworks.com, is that it’s the only opportunity for our brains to store or discard memories, thoughts, or events we’ve experienced throughout that day. There was a study done on rats, and scientists were able to observe that the same neurons that fired when a rat was doing a task were fired when the rats were sleeping. Also, this would make sense with the fact that we sometimes wake up with a clearer head and outlook on things in our lives. This makes the expression “sleep on it” seem much more realistic.

My first thought as to why we sleep was that it would be a time for our bodies to rest; however, I read on howstuffworks.com that our bodies in general do not rest, but our brains rest. This could be another theory as to why we sleep -to give our brains a break. Personally, this theory makes the most sense to me because I know if I’m overly tired and still doing work, I start making silly mistakes because I feel as though my brain needs rest for a better performance.
Although scientists are not exactly sure as to why we need sleep, I know for a fact I’d be able to get SO much more done in a day if sleep wasn’t a thing; however, even though we don’t know the exact reason why we sleep, we know for a fact that it’s definitely good for our bodies and  brains.

“HowStuffWorks “Why Do We Sleep?“” HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

For some reason, the first thing I think of when I think science is cloning. The concept of cloning can be controversial, yet an extremely interesting and kind of exciting idea. The thought of creating someone exactly like yourself in every way is super intriguing. So I was wondering, is it actually possible to clone oneself?
According to Cloning for Dummies, a clone is a cell, group of cells, organ, or a whole organism produced by asexual reproduction whose genetic information is identical to the parent cell or organism. Cloning has always been thought about and studied by scientists, but recent major developments in technology have brought the study to levels it has never been before.
In 1984, the first successful cloning of mammals was reported. Scientists in both Switzerland and the United States were able to successfully clone mice. Twelve years later, a whole sheep named “Dolly” was cloned. Dolly lived seven years until she died due to lung cancer and arthritis. Dolly brought to numerous scientists a greater interest in the cloning of human beings.
Although it can be a controversy due to ethical issues, the first human embryos were cloned in 1993. They were fertilized in tubes and to be planted into the wombs of women who were unable to become pregnant. Unfortunately, none of these eggs were able to develop enough to be transplanted into a human uterus.
According to livescience, to clone an animal it’s required that researchers remove the nucleus of an egg cell. When they do this, it also removes essential proteins to help cells divide, which has caused many experiments to fail. The extremely high rate of death and risk makes cloning people unethical.
In conclusion, scientists have proved in recent years that cloning human embryos is possible; however, major accomplishments in successfully cloning a whole human being haven’t been reported yet. Numerous scientists report that they’re confident within the next couple years that human cloning will be fully possible.

Work Cited:
“Cloning for Dummies: Introduction.” Cloning for Dummies: Introduction. Tripod.com, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.
Rettner, Rachael. “Could Humans Be Cloned?” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 16 May 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.

Hi everyone, my name’s Abby. I’m hoping to study broadcast journalism over the next four years. I decided to take this course because I heard it’s awesome and perfect for anyone who really doesn’t enjoy science. I chose not to major in anything having to do with science because I’ve always hated having to study it in past years, and I’ve always been stronger in other subjects. I’m looking forward to this class and especially for learning if fish have feelings.