Usually after a hot day in the sun or a long work out session most people are going to tend to grab an ice cold drink to help them cool down.  I know I personally enjoy cold water after a hot day but sometimes it feels like it does nothing to help cool me down.  Is this because drinking a hot drink can actually help cool us down more effectively than a cold drink?  A neuroscientist from the University of Cambridge, Peter McNaughton, explains that we have nerve receptors in our mouths and tongues which receive signals from different things.  Surprisingly enough our tongues have an abundance of this special receptor called TRPV 1which responds to heat (Palca).  So naturally if you are going to drink something hot, these receptors are going to send a signal to your brain.  Your brain will then know that the sensation your tongue is feeling is hot.  Once the brain gets this signal, it turns on our cooling mechanism to cause us to sweat more (Palca).  If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense.  We want our bodies to cool down faster and usually sweat is the best way to do so.  If we want to sweat more, then why wouldn’t we do something to cause that?

from graytcoffeehouse.com

I think this was a very interesting way to look at how we can have misconceptions about things in our bodies.  People all around the world drink tea and coffee even if it is hot outside.  It is probably a good idea that they do because it just be might be helping them to cool down.  It would be really compelling if we could do a study with two groups of people, one who drinks cold drinks after feeling hot, and the other who drinks hot drinks after feeling hot.  The subjects could then record how long it took for them to cool down.  It would have to be a well designed study to get the right results.  But, there still could be some questions, such as does this work in every situation or is this helpful for every person?  So, next time you are really hot, try drinking a hot drink instead and see if this actually helps cool down more than a cold drink.

Works Cited

Palca, Joe. “Cool Down With A Hot Drink? It’s Not As Crazy As You Think.” NPR. NPR, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/11/156378713/cool-down-with-a-hot-drink-its-not-as-crazy-as-you-think>.

I am obviously a procrastinator considering that I am writing this blog the day before it is due (which is the same thing I did for the first blog period).  I am not exactly sure why I put this stress and anxiety on myself again but, unfortunately it has happened again.  This is not the only time that I have procrastinated on work and it surely will not be the last.  It is known that there have been cases of procrastination since the beginning of time and it shows no signs of stopping.  One psychologist, Joseph Ferrari, says, “What I’ve found is that while everybody may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator” (Jaffe).  It is interesting to think that everyone may procrastinate at some point in their lives, but that does not necessarily mean that they are a procrastinator.  Let’s take a look at what it means to be a procrastinator and the different types of procrastinators.

from: Google Images

By experts, procrastinating is defined as “the voluntary delay of some important task that we intend to do, despite knowing that we’ll suffer as a result” (Jaffe).  In my opinion, this is a very good definition of procrastinating because I know I emotionally suffer from it but, I will still delay most of my work until the very last minute.  Some argue that procrastinating can be helpful because there is the push to get work done and others argue that they can do their best if they work under pressure (Jaffe).  I am personally one who believes this because if I’m under pressure, I know I have to get something done.  But, psychological scientists believe the opposite because they believe that procrastinating can cause problems such as the ability to solve a problem or prioritizing/organizing important ideas (Jaffe).  This shows that we may not be doing our best work while under pressure or procrastinating.  Not all procrastinators may not fall under the same category but there are two main ones, which are chronic procrastinators who “have perpetual problems finishing tasks” and situational procrastinators who “delay based on the task itself”(Jaffe).  I identify with the situational procrastinators because I do not procrastinate on all of my work, it really just depends on the task at hand and how motivated I am to finish it.

One of Ferrari’s studies involved bringing students into a lab and telling them that they would have a mathematical puzzle.  One group was told that the puzzle was just for fun and another group was told that it was to test cognitive knowledge.  Both groups were allowed time to relax, prepare for the puzzle, or play others game before having to do the mathematical puzzle.  It was shown that the procrastinating students in the cognitive thinking group delayed their time practicing for the puzzle.  None of the students in the group who thought the puzzle was for fun delayed their practice (Jaffe).  I think this was a very good way to perform the study and find the students who were procrastinators.  Another study was done to look at the emotional side of procrastinating.  This study involved the participants reading a scenario that described anxiety that caused the person in the scenario to delay action.  The procrastinators would answer questions and by their answers the researchers would be able to determine if the procrastinator would want to improve their mood in the short term or embrace their anxiety to learn about something for the future.  Most procrastinators seem to think that they will be more emotionally stable to finish a task in the future if they comfort themselves in the present (Jaffe).  I think both of these studies are important to show that procrastinating can not only negatively affect the brain’s processing, but different emotions such as stress and anxiety.  I think both of these studies did a good job at showing the different sides of procrastinating.  But I think there could be third variables that could be present in these studies and why people procrastinate.  There could also be reverse causation with procrastinating because stress and anxiety could cause people to procrastinate their work.

Works Cited

Jaffe, Eric. “Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastinating.” Association for Psychological Science. Association for Psychological Science, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/april-13/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination.html>

Most of us have heard of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) because of a small sticker that is usually on most plastic water bottles and containers saying that they are BPA free.  I’m sure that most of us have also heard that many manufacturers have stopped putting this chemical in their plastic because it is know to cause cancer and other harmful defects.  Who would have known that something as harmless as a sales receipt could also contain this harmful chemical?  I know that I come in contact with some type of sales receipt almost everyday, so this worried me to find out this news.

from: info.milestoneadvisors.net

A study was done at the University of Missouri to prove that sales receipts which are made from thermal paper could be the cause of high levels of BPA in humans (Thermal Paper).  Most people, including myself, would not think that a small piece of paper could be the cause of such high BPA levels in our systems.  BPA is known to “alter signaling mechanisms involving estrogen and other hormones” and could show underdevelopment in fetuses (Thermal Paper).  This could be especially bad for women and their reproductive systems.  This chemical is being used as a print developer in many paper products such as sales receipts, plane tickets, ATM receipts, etc.  The worse part is that if we are touching any of these thermal paper products, the hand creams, soaps, hand sanitizers, or sunscreen that are present on our skin could affect the amount of BPA that is absorbed into our skin (Thermal Paper).  This is not good news for us because these products are in most people’s everyday routine and they are used to combat other things such as germs, dry skin, or sunburn.

The study involved the human subjects to first wash their hands, then touch a thermal paper product, and finally eat french fries with their contaminated hands.  After this occurred, their results came back to show that the BPA was absorbed very quickly into the human system (Thermal Paper).  So not only can the BPA be absorbed into directly into our skin, but it can contaminate our food as well.  This shows that there is even more of a reason to wash our hands before eating our food.  Another study from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center did a study involving looking at the levels of BPA present in human urine.  They looked at 24 volunteer’s urine before the study and detected that 83% of the samples included BPA.  After two hours of holding sales receipts without gloves, 100% of the post urine samples contained BPA (Urine BPA Levels).  Both of these studies seem to have been pretty well done but, both were small so there could have been room for some chance.  Also from these studies, we do not know who is more at risk of higher BPA levels in their systems because the volunteers were not specific.  Another thing that we would not be able to tell is how much BPA will cause cancer and over how much time could it happen.  There needs to be a bigger and more controlled study to possibly give us those answers.

Works Cited

The JAMA Network Journals. “Continuous handling of receipts linked to higher urine BPA levels.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 February 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225162706.htm>.

University of Missouri-Columbia. “Thermal paper cash register receipts account for high bisphenol A (BPA) levels in humans.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141022143628.htm>.

Most women probably have experienced a time when their dad, brother, or boyfriend has forgotten an important event or something simple.  I know I have experienced this many times in my life, especially since I grew up with two brothers.  There is now a study that shows why women do actually remember more than men in long term memory.  Two psychologists from Stockholm, Sweden form this result from their study.  They performed the study by showing various black and white pictures of androgynous faces such as ‘female’, ‘male’, or ‘just faces’ to three groups of people.  Women were able to remember the women faces more correctly than the male faces (Sex Differences in Memory).  Women seem to be able to visually remember things more than men.  Women can remember aspects of another woman’s face because they seem to pay more attention to features on a woman’s face rather than a man’s (Sex Differences in Memory).  From this study they were able to prove that women were better at “remembering words, objects, pictures, or everyday events” which are known as verbal episodic memory tasks.  Men were able to remember “symbolic and non-linguistic information” which are known as visuospatial processing (Sex Differences in Memory).  It is interesting that they could find out this much information from this small study.

from: dailyhealthpost.com

Although this study seems interesting to see which gender can recall facial features in pictures, it is not enough information to to completely convince me that women have a better memory than men.  Since the study was done with only a small amount of people it could have been due to chance or a presence of third variables.  Also the type of people in the groups were not specified, so we do not know whether they were generalized or not.  It would be interesting to see if age is a factor on whether females have a better memory than males.  I think it would be more compelling to do a study on a group of female children and a group of male children and follow up with them over a few years to see if their memory changes as they get older.

Works Cited

Association for Psychological Science. “Sex Differences In Memory: Women Better Than Men At Remembering Everyday Events.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 February 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220104244.htm>

Is the gluten-free diet a health craze or a beneficial diet to a healthier lifestyle?  I know many family members and friends that have started a gluten-free diet and I even find myself not eating as many products that contain gluten.  The people that I know that eat a gluten-free diet, eat that way because they have an actual allergy or intolerance to it. It seems like gluten-free diets are becoming more and more popular, but is it because the allergy to gluten is becoming more abundant or is it becoming a new trend that food companies are taking an advantage of?  Just in Canada alone products that are gluten-free have caused an enterprise of $90 million and is projected to grow even more throughout the next four years.  The U.S. has a market of $4.2 billion and is also expected to rise (Gulli).  It seems like every major company and restaurants are creating gluten free foods to gain more customers.

Celiac’s disease, which is the name for a gluten allergy, can cause people many different problems especially in the immune system.  Specifically bloating, diarrhea, other gut issues, skin rashes, joint problems, etc. can be caused when gluten is not properly digested (O’Brien).  Dr. Alessio Frasano started a study with 13,000 patients that had blood samples taken, to check the antibodies in their blood.  He founded that 1 in 133 people tested positive with Celiac’s disease, which was published in 2003 (O’Brien).  Although this study shows that people are showing signs of Celiac’s disease, it is actually very hard to diagnose.  It is hard to tell the difference between having the disease and having an intolerance to it because the symptoms are the same.  There is no test for gluten sensitivity so people are self-diagnosing which can cause problems (Gulli).  They could be eating foods that lack general nutritional value.

Now onto whether everyone should eat gluten-free or if it should just be the people who have a real allergen or intolerance to it.  People who are deciding to get rid of gluten in their diets, also known as ‘gluten avoiders’ may be putting themselves in danger.  They may be eating foods that lack beneficial nutrients in them if they decide to buy gluten free foods instead.  These foods can lack vitamins, fibers, and mineral and instead contain fillers that have no beneficial nutrition to them (Gulli).    These so called ‘gluten avioders’ think they are doing their bodies good when in fact they may be ingesting food that is higher in fats and lower in proteins.  It is more positive to eat naturally gluten-free foods such as natural fruits, vegetables, and meats rather than to buy processed gluten-free foods.  Skipping out on popular gluten items such as bread and noodles may not be enough because gluten can be hidden in almost any food (Gulli).  It may be important to see a doctor before going on a full out gluten-free diet.

from en.wikipedia.com

From these studies gluten allergies are very real and can cause some annoying problems for those who have Celiac’s disease.  Since there are no tests for gluten sensitivity there is no way to know if eating a gluten-free diet is beneficial to those who may feel better while on the diet.  Doctors may need to find a way to determine if gluten sensitivity is real.  They could possibly implement a double blind placebo study to determine whether this gluten sensitivity is real.  They can have the patients record how they feel after eating certain foods and hopefully make a decision after that.  I think if they had a large, well developed study they could determine if gluten sensitivity is real.  As for people who do not have an intolerance or allergy, they should not be eating processed products that are labeled as gluten-free because they are not doing them any good.

Works Cited

Gulli, Cathy. “The Dangers of Going Gluten-free.” MACLEAN’S. Rodger’s Digital Media, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/gone-gluten-free/>.

O’Brien, Keith. “Should We All Go Gluten-Free?” The New York Times 25 Nov. 2011, Magazine sec. The New York Times Company. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/magazine/Should-We-All-Go-Gluten-Free.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>

First off, what exactly are antioxidants? “Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that may protect your cells from the effects of free radicals” (Henderiks).  You made read this statement and wonder what are free radicals and why are they harmful?  “Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food for energy, or by environmental toxins like cigarette smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, weaken the immune system and may play a role in heart disease, arthritis, cancer and other diseases” (Henderiks).  Free radicals are actually very dangerous and can be caused by many things.  It is important to do what we can to get rid of them.  Antioxidants are a very good way to do so, along with exercise.

Now that we know what antioxidants are, why are they good for us?  There are many compounds that are rich in antioxidants, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene, zinc, selenium, and manganese (Henderiks).  All of these compounds are good for our bodies and help us in different ways.  Although it is good to take supplements of these, if you feel that you are lacking these naturally in your diet, it is more important to eat foods that have these compounds in them naturally.  Many fruits, vegetables, and grains contain these compounds.  “The more color you have on your plate, the more nutrition and potential antioxidant-wielding capacity you have” (Henderiks).

Studies are now showing that eating high doses of some of these compounds may be toxic to our bodies or counteract with some medications.  We are still unsure of how much antioxidants we should take.  One study shows, “A 1997 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 60 mg of vitamin E a day strengthened the immune system in a group of healthy patients at least 65 years old, and 200 mg generated a four-to-six fold improvement after four months. However, 800 mg of vitamin E resulted in worse immunity than receiving no vitamin E at all” (Parnes).  This shows that we are just not sure how many antioxidants can actually be beneficial to our health and when we should start taking them to make a difference in our body.  Although many studies have shown that antioxidants may have reverse effects on our bodies, there are still too many studies that show that they help prevent many diseases.  There are many potential impacts of antioxidants on our bodies but, we do not know exactly how different ones work together to prevent free radicals (Parnes).  With this information, it is good to have a balanced diet and not take too many supplements, especially if you do not need them.

Works Cited

Parnes, Robin Brett.  “Antioxidants: What You Need to Know”  26 November 2002.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/antioxidant.htm>  19 September 2014.

We all have heard, during our childhood, to eat our carrots because they were good for our eyes.  Is this actually true?  The answer is yes and no.  It is not necessarily the carrots so much as it is the vitamin A or beta carotene that is found in them.  Just eating carrots will not improve blindness in the eye but, they will help eye health overall (Winkler).  So, it is important to eat carrots or other vegetable with vitamin A because it is an essential nutrient for the health of our eyes.  This idea was founded after a 1998 John Hopkins study that even a pill that contained vitamin A would improve eye health (Smith).  A lack of vitamin A, especially in developing countries, has lead to blindness (Winkler).  Although, again, no matter how many carrots a person eat, it will not change their vision.  So, yes carrots are good for the health of the eye but they will not change them.  Vitamin A is also found in other naturally orange foods (Winkler).  It is also true that if a person eats too many carrots or orange foods, that the orange pigment will transfer to the skin (Winkler).  So, make sure you watch how many carrots or other orange foods you eat because it can potentially cause the skin to turn orange.  Although it is not harmful to you, it just shows that you may not be eating a balanced diet.

Have you ever wondered how this myth started?  Well, it actually started during WWII, when a night fighter ace, John Cunningham, killed many enemy planes at night (Smith).  Who would have known that carrots would ever be associated with giving people the ability to see better in the dark.  This idea is thought to be come from the Ministry of Information.  Many people even started growing their own carrots and eating more of them because they thought the carrots would give them more of an advantage during the frequent city blackouts (Winkler).  It is very interesting that people thought that carrots could give them a sort of “special power” to see at night.

Works Cited

Winkler, Sarah.  “Are carrots really good for your eyesight?”  19 August 2009.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/eye/carrots-eyesight.htm>  19 September 2014.

Smith, K. Annabell. “A WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark Read More: Http://www.smithsonianmagA WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark.” Smithsonian.com. 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-wwii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-that-carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark-28812484/?no-ist>.

Pictures from Google Images and Smithsonian.com

At home, I have three cats and I’ve always wondered the significance of their purring.  I always thought that it meant that they were content or comfortable in a situation but that might not necessarily be true.  Researchers are finding new answers to this question.  First off, how exactly do cats purr?  Today, researchers have the theory that it begins in the brain.  Purring is, “A rhythmic, repetitive neural oscillator sends messages to the laryngeal muscles, causing them to twitch at the rate of 25 to 150 vibrations per second (Hz)”. (Stuart).  This is a large range of frequency that can actually be beneficial to cats.  Researchers have seen that this range could promote self healing and improve bone density (Scientific American).  With this new and interesting discovery, humans could maybe get a sense of how to improve our own bones.  It is also thought that since cats spend so much time conserving their energy by sleeping, purring provides “a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy” (Scientific American).  So, there may actually be a reason that cats sleep most of the day; they need to conserve energy.  It also leads to show why cats purr during stressful or vulnerable times to self-heal themselves.  Researcher Elizabeth von Muggenthaler of the Fauna Communications Research Institute in North Carolina (FCRI) was the first to realize that self healing might be one of the main reasons that cats purr (Stuart).  Cats have also proved to have better bone and muscle health compared to other domestic animals, like the dog (Scientific American).  As a cat owner, I found it really interesting to find out that a cat’s purr is more significant then just showing affection.  I never would have thought that their purr could be so important to their health.  Next time I hear one of my cats purr, I will know that they are potentially healing themselves.  Although it is still not exactly known why cats purr, it is thought that cats do not only purr just to show that they are content, they may also purr in stressful situations and use purring to heal.

Other interesting facts about cats who purr: “Cats that purr, such as mountain lions and bobcats, can’t roar, however. And cats that roar, such as lions and tigers, can’t purr. The structures surrounding their voice box (larynx) aren’t stiff enough to produce a purr” (Stuart).

Works Cited

“Why Do Cats Purr?” Scientific American. Scientific American, Inc., 3 Apr. 2006. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-cats-purr/>.

Stuart, Annie. “Why Cats Purr.” WebMD. 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/why-cats-purr>.

We all know that one person who is always on their phone or computer, or you are guilty of that yourself, but overuse of technology may be causing negative effects on our society.  For the new technological age, it is important for everyone to get the phone, or tablet, or flat screen T.V.  One of the first problems that is associated with too much technology is that it may be rewiring our brains (Richtel).  Our brains are working differently while using technology and even after we are done using it.  Our ability to think straight and keep our thoughts organized is being destroyed by over use of technology.  There is too much information coming into our brain at one time so, it is causing our brains to be scattered. ” Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress” (Richtel).  Even off of technology, our brains are still unable to focus correctly (Richtel).  So, too much use of technology is changing the way our brains are taking in information.  These problems impact children more than adults because their brains are still developing.  They can have over stimulation from technology that can deter them from learning to set priorities (Richtel).  It is important for children to have less exposure to technology because it is harming them in the long run.

Our society consumes much of it’s time on some type of technology instead of being social or interacting with family and friends.  Whenever I am around campus, I see many people on their phones, working on their laptops, or listening to music.  According to the New York Times article, “At home, people consume 12 hours of media a day on average, when an hour spent with, say, the Internet and TV simultaneously counts as two hours. That compares with five hours in 1960, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego.”  Although technology is an important feature in our society and has allowed us to make many advancements, it is taking over our lives, slowly.  Maybe we should spend less time on our technological devices and spend more time interacting with other people face to face.

Works Cited

Matt, Richtel. “Your Brain on Computers – Attached to Technology and Paying a Price.” The New York Times 6 Jan. 2010, Technology sec. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Picture from Google Images

We have all heard that we should eat breakfast before we go to school at least once during our academic career, but no one has ever told us the significance of it.  Research has shown that a healthy breakfast (emphasis on healthy) helps to improve academic improvement in both children and adolescents. “According to the Healthy Children website, about 8 to 12 percent of school-age children skip breakfast entirely, and among adolescents, this rate is even higher, reaching to up to 30 percent”(Live).  Many different studies have been done since 1950-2013 to prove this hypothesis.  The studies were done on different types of children/adolescents and their situations, such as different populations (included areas with well-nourished and undernourished children) and different socioeconomic statuses.  The study showed mostly positive effects, especially in those who are undernourished (NCBI).  So according to this, many children or adolescents would grab a bowl of their favorite sugary cereal once or twice a week and expect to do better in school.  It is important to eat a quality breakfast that will provide enough energy until lunch time.  It is also important to continue these habits everyday, not just whenever it is convenient.Eating breakfast has shown to specifically help with performance in mental performance in mathematics (NCBI).  Children and adolescents were shown to be able to handle more complex problems and even participate more in class discussions (Live).  Eating breakfast before school does not just improve academic performance in children and adolescents but it helps them to maintain body weight and receive more vitamins than those who do not eat breakfast.  “Two systematic reviews report that children and adolescents who habitually consume breakfast have reduced likelihood of being overweight” (NCBI).  There seem to be many positive effects for children and adolescents who eat a quality and frequent breakfast before school.

Although there are these studies that show positive effects, it is complicated for researchers to study behavior in classrooms and measure it.  There is not a standardized way to measure behavior in the classrooms.  “Similarly, few examine the effects of breakfast on tangible academic such as school grades or standardized achievement test relative to cognitive outcomes” (NCBI).  Researchers need to find a specific way that would produce the best measures of classroom behavior.  One way they could do it, is to put all of the children or adolescents who have had a quality breakfast in one room and record their behavior and then do the same with children or adolescents who did not eat any breakfast.  Although behavior is hard to measure, direct measure of academic performance may have more of an impact (NBCI).  So after all of this data, it looks that it can be shown that eating breakfast does help academic performance.

Works Cited

Adolphus, Katie, Claire L. Lawton, and Louise Dye. “The Effects of Breakfast on Behavior and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents.” NCBI. PMC, 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737458/>.

Coila, Bridget. “Does Eating Breakfast Help Your Performance in School?” Live. Demand Media, Inc, 22 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/289854-does-eating-breakfast-help-your-performance-in-school/>.

Pictures from Google Images.

Hi!

My name is Celina and I’m from just south of the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.  I’m currently in DUS and have no intentions of studying anything science.  I’m taking this course because it was recommended by my adviser, who has heard many great things about the class.  I struggled through science in high school and I’m honestly just not very interested in it.