Author Archives: Jenna Rae Stoklosa

Sweet Dreams

It’s not uncommon to dream when we are sleeping. I find that I dream less often but its not weird when I hear a friend or family member say, “wow I had the weirdest dream last night” But why do we have these dreams in the first place? And do these dreams mean anything?

dreaming

According to the Sleep Foundation, it is unknown as to why we dream, but there are a couple of different theories presented as to why. One idea stated is that it’s because of “neuronal activity occurring while we sleep, especially in REM, and it has been suggested that dreams may just be a meaningless by-product of this biological function.” I think that we may be able to study this theory and have people observed and tested while they sleep. This could then monitor the brain functions that happen while a person is asleep to tell when the dreams occur.

The second theory presented is that dreams incorporate memories with problems that a person could be facing and that dreams deal with emotions. This theory is presented by Rosalind Cartwright, PhD. I think this theory would be harder to study because asking people what they were just dreaming about will not be 100% accurate. Forgetting what they were dreaming about could affect how the dream could be analyzed.

In another article I found, How Dreams Work, common dreams are presented and discussed as to what they might mean. I think that this article is more superficial than the last, and while interesting, should not be taken extremely seriously because it is extremely hard to have an observational or experimental study done for every dream someone has, unless the dream is reoccurring.

I think it will continue to be difficult to discover why we have dreams, but to get closer to our answer we must continue to run sleep studies and try to analyze what they mean for that individual person.

Resources:

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/your-dreams/page/0%2C1/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/dream7.htm

Arthritis and Rain

I developed knee issues when I was in seventh grade, chronic tendinitis. After a couple of years, I noticed that my knees would begin to hurt more just hours or sometimes a day before it was supposed to rain. It became a running joke in my family that when my knees hurt to get out our umbrellas. The weird part is how accurate my knee pain could detect when it was going to rain. Is there an actual reason behind this or is it just a weird coincidence?

rain

According to WebMD, Robert Newlin Jamison, PhD, has studied weather related joint pain and found that the barometric pressure changes could be what is causing the pain. He interviewed people in different cities, to get different people affected in different climates, and found that “Two-thirds said they were pretty sure that weather seems to affect their pain,” he says.

knee pain

Even though there is a strong correlation between the weather pressure and joint pain, it can not be proven because there are people who do not feel increased pain when the weather changes, stated Jamison. 

Elaine Husni MD, a rheumatologist at the Cleveland Clinic, states that the weather does not make arthritis worse but just alters the symptoms, (which in my opinion makes it FEEL worse).

I think a good experiment that could be conducted is to get a large sample size of people with arthritis or other joint issues, and do an MRI of the affected joint on a normal warm sunny day, and then do one again on a rainy cold day. This would then show the amount of inflammation the person is facing on those types of days. This could than make the correlation stronger between weather and joint pain. It would have to be a large random sample size though because of other variables that might increase joint pain.

 

Resources:

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/weather_and_pain?page=2

http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2012/06/the-weather-and-arthritis-does-rain-increase-pain/

Winter is coming.

It’s that time of year again. Where everyone bundles up, drinks hot chocolate, and talks about moving somewhere warmer. Last years winter was awful, but is this year going to be any better? If today’s storm at my parents house in Buffalo, NY  is any indication, then the answer looks to be no.

snow

 

According to the Farmers Almanac, which is usually 80% right, we are in for another “arctic blast.” “Winter will bring a frosty bite and next summer will be its mirror opposite, so get ready for a one-two punch,” says Janice Stillman.

Accuweather also says that this winter will be cold and snowy, stating that it will become extremely cold in november, but the “brunt of it” will be in January and February.

But what causes these extreme temperatures and snowy conditions? According to CNN a polar vortex “is circulation of strong, upper-level winds that normally surround the northern pole in a counterclockwise direction — a polar low-pressure system.”  This then causes extreme cold temperatures in the midwest, east, and south, leaving all of us unhappy and uncomfortable.

But is this weather due to global warming? CNN says that it could be, stating that global warming can cause extreme weather, and a “distortion of the jet stream” which would cause the very cold winters.

The environmental defense fund says that there is a connection but no evidence to say that global warming is the cause. This would make it fall under the category of “correlation is not causation.”

In my opinion it would be very hard to prove that it is caused by global warming but I do understand the strong correlation between the two.

Resources:

http://www.edf.org/blog/2014/07/15/bundle-polar-vortex-returns-it-climate-change

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/06/showbiz/polar-vortex-explanation/

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/us-2014-2015-winter-forecast/35422753

http://www.almanac.com/content/winter-weather-predictions-old-farmers-almanac

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/here-comes-snow-wall-weather-blankets-buffalo-n250951

Is it worth it to take vitamins?

From when we were little kids, we were told that it was good to take your daily vitamin, and lets be honest, Flintstones vitamins were awesome.  But are vitamins really that beneficial?

flintstone

 

According to the American Heart Society, supplements can be somewhat beneficial but are in no way a replacement for the actual food that provides nutrition. Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D says that some “foods provide many bioactive compounds and dietary fiber that typically aren’t found in supplements.” She continues to state that supplements should only be taken if recommended by a doctor.

The American Heart Association also gives do’s and don’ts of supplements, an example of each one is: DO eat a healthy diet and DO NOT rely of supplements.

WebMD has given some insight to the topic as well. They have published information of three studies that were done to see if vitamins were any more beneficial to the body besides just having a healthy diet.

According to WebMD the studies were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal. They found that the vitamins add no or little health benefits, Dr. Eliseo Guallar stated, “We believe that it’s clear that vitamins are not working,” The study showed that the vitamins showed little differences between the placebo pill that was given.

This study I find to be interesting because it goes against what we were taught when we were children. If these results are in fact true, then that means that there is no need to take a vitamin because they don’t really make a difference.

These experiments would be classified as a false negative if in fact vitamins do make a difference. Like we learned in class there is always room for chance, even if the probability is really small.

I think one way to see if vitamins make a difference in the long run would be to start an experiment with children, giving some vitamins, and others a placebo pill, and to observe them into adulthood. This would give researchers an idea of how vitamins work into the future and if they do make difference.

Resources:

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20131216/experts-dont-waste-your-money-on-multivitamins?page=2

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Vitamin-Supplements-Healthy-or-Hoax_UCM_432104_Article.jsp

Is your personality based on birth order?

It is a common stereotype that the youngest sibling is spoiled, the middle child is often forgotten and the oldest is the star child. But does the actual order of when you were born really effect who you are?

The-Birth-Order-Effect-581x449

According to Psychologist Kevin Leman, some common traits between each child are:

Oldest: The first born child tends to be more of a leader, due to being the oldest sibling, tend to be more reliable, and perfectionists. ” They are model children who have a strong need for approval from anyone in charges,” states Leman.

Middle: The middle child tends to feel as though they do not get as much attention. Because of this Leman says they tend to value their friends as more important. They are independent and tend to not be as open with others.

Youngest: The last born tend to be more social. They are often viewed as the baby of the family and so this causes them to be more spoiled. Leman states that the youngest of the family is more likely to be “financially irresponsible.”

Only Child: Only children tend to be like the oldest but more extreme. They are even more perfectionist and look to please others just as much.

Leman’s theories are similar to those given from others. Dr. Gail Gross has similar traits for oldest, middle, youngest, and only child, and so does Perri Klass M.D.

The information given by all three of these professionals all support the notion that “correlation does not equal causation”. Each personality trait of each child is correlated by what order they were born, but I do not think it is  an actual cause of their personality. There are many third party variables that can also affect a child’s personality.

However with the many observations that have been published I would say that there is a strong correlation between the two.

Resources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/personality-traits-linked-to-birth-order/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-gail-gross/how-birth-order-affects-personality_b_4494385.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/health/08klas.html

One more drink?

College is a time for students to study hard and work towards their degree. College is also a time for students to socialize and have fun with friends. A joke known by college students is that you’re not an alcoholic if you are in school. Many people know their drinking limit and can control themselves when it comes to alcohol. Others however start to depend on alcohol and fall into the category of an alcoholic.

Jackdaniels

Alcoholism is a disease. It is a problem that people face where they can’t control their drinking, need to drink more as they become more dependent on alcohol, and can affect not only the alcoholic but friends and family members as well.

Becoming an alcoholic can come from a couple of different things. The Mayo Clinic states, “Alcoholism is influenced by genetic, psychological, social, and environmental factors.” If a person had started drinking at a younger age they are at a higher risk. Family history also plays a role in alcoholism, those with alcoholics in their family are also at a higher risk.

After looking at a few different articles, it was unclear of how much your risk increases of becoming an alcoholic if it runs in your family, or if you started drinking at a young age. This would then put the risk of becoming an alcoholic at a relative risk because there are no definite numbers. However, in a more broader sense (not looking at the exact cause),according to Medline Plus: about 3 out of 10 people are at risk for alcoholism, which is an absolute risk.

So while college students may joke about being an alcoholic while in college, they need to know that it can become an actual reality and that they need to be careful of how much they drink.

Resources:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000944.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcoholism/basics/definition/con-20020866

Is TV making us dumb?

On average, Americans watch 34 hours of TV a week. This time watching TV is taking away time spent outside, playing sports, socializing, and doing work. Americas youth is spending more time watching the screen than going out and interacting with others. The question is, is this TV watching making us more stupid?

tv

An experiment done by Nigel Barber, Ph.D shows that it depends on the type of household the child is growing up in. In his studies he found that children in middle class families who watch a lot of TV tend to see lower grades. This is because instead of interacting with their family members, who can offer the child a stimulating conversation, they are watching TV. The Tv watching also takes time away from the child’s homework time, which can lead to lower grades.

On the opposite side, if a child comes from a low income family, the study showed that watching TV can actually help raise grades. This is because watching TV can be more stimulating. In these situations, the parents tend to not spend time talking to their children about things that can be educationally beneficial.

In my opinion this study has flaws. The study did not include as to what the children were watching on TV. There is a big difference between watching an educational or news program and watching cake boss. How do we know that in the case of the lower class children, they were watching more news programs, as opposed to the middle class children who were watching reality TV? We do not know what these children were watching, so we can not see which programs were benefitting or negatively affecting the children.

Because of this flaw in the study, the fact that TV can cause lower grades must be correlation and not causation. We can not rule out the chance of reverse causation, saying that it’s the kids with lower grades who are watching more TV, and that its not the TV itself that is making them stupid. Like I also said before, we do not know what TV shows the children are watching and that can have a big impact as well.

Resources:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/200903/does-watching-tv-make-us-stupid

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/americans-spend-34-hours-week-watching-tv-nielsen-numbers-article-1.1162285

What color is that?

Growing up, we learned that the sky is blue, firetrucks are red, and grass is green. But is the green I am seeing the same color that other people are seeing? When we were little, we learned the names of different colors, but is the color green that I learned the same color as someone else?  After looking further into the topic, I have found that we might not be seeing the same colors after all.

SONY DSC

Tom Stafford explains how most people have 3 different photoreceptors that differentiate color. This is what allows us to see color and so if you are color blind, that means that one of the photoreceptors is weak. But even if one of them is not weak, that doesn’t mean that you won’t see a different color as someone else, but yet both know it as the color “blue”.

He brings up an interesting point and says “…that some difference is inevitable. We use common words, and use them to refer to shared experiences, but nobody can see the same sunset, merely because perception is a property of the person, not of the sunset”

What I took away from this is that whatever colors the sunset actually is, every person sees it differently. Looking at it this way takes away the idea of reverse causation. This means that the color of the object is always the same color and its the person eyes that affect the color, and not the object that is affecting what the person is seeing.

Resources:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120209-do-we-all-see-the-same-colours

 

IUDs for Teens

Whether parents like it or not, more and more teens are becoming sexually active. And one of their biggest fears is teen pregnancy. Over 750,000 teenage girls are pregnant each year.

One form of birth control that is becoming more popular and used by teens is an intrauterine devices or IUD. An IUD is a small plastic t shaped device placed in a women’s uterus. Many parents are not in favor of this method because in the 1970s IUDs were linked to infertility and miscarriages.

However according Arefa Cassoobhoy, MD, MPH, more research has been done and doctors now have more information about IUDs. IUDs failure rate is less than 1%, and can be used for 3,5, or even 10 years, depending on when you feel you might want to have children. The thought that IUDs cause infertility is untrue, after the IUD is removed fertility comes back quickly.

IUDs seem like the perfect solution to prevent unwanted pregnancy. It is much easier than having to worry about taking a pill everyday at the same time, which many teens will forget to take. My only concern with this method, is where is the science to back up that IUDs don’t cause infertility. They state that fertility returns quickly but they should definitely include evidence as to how this is true.

Maybe they could do a study with women who used to use IUDs and now have children, or find a way to test just how quickly fertility returns to give women a better understanding of what they are putting into their bodies.

Resources:

http://blogs.webmd.com/breaking-news/2014/10/birth-control-iuds-for-teens.html

Why do women live longer?

I have heard people mention that women live longer than men, but I didn’t know why. So, I decided to dive deeper into the topic and see as to why women live longer. After reading articles, I discovered that its not just humans that have the women living longer.

“It turns out that the females of most species live longer than the males. This phenomenon suggests that the explanation for the difference within humans might lie deep in our biology.” said Thomas Kirkwood, an experimental gerontologist. His thought his that women live longer than men because women are less disposable. This is because of the importance of the female reproductive system. The women’s body must be strong and able to make healthy babies. The women must be strong enough to support another life during pregnancy and this contributes to why a women’s body is so strong and able to live longer.

old lady

Other studies suggest that women live longer then men because men tend to die from heart disease at an earlier age than women. “They’re protected from it until menopause, since their bodies churn out estrogen, which helps keep arteries strong and flexible”, says Dr. Legato. Men can develop heart disease as early as their 30s where it happens much later for women.

My favorite suggestion though as to why women live longer than men is because men are more likely to take an unsafe risk. According to the CDC unintentional injuries are the third leading cause of death in men, and According to Dr. Legato, the part of the brain that develops responsibility and risk calculation develops much slower in men than in women.

It seems as though there is no way to experimentally prove that women live longer than men, its just based on observational study. But if this picture is any indication, then I think the observations so far are correct!

man on door

 

 

 

Resources:

http://news.health.com/2014/10/13/why-do-women-live-longer-than-men/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-women-live-longer/?page=2

Do dogs know who they are?

If you look into a mirror and see your reflection, you know that it is you. Humans use mirrors to do their hair, fix their makeup, and make sure their outfit looks good. But have you ever put a dog in front of a mirror? The dog will most likely bark at its own reflection, thinking that it is another dog. They do not understand that the dog looking back at them is in fact themselves.

puppy

A man named Mark Bekoff, a biologist from The University of Colorado, thinks that just because dogs aren’t able to recognize their own reflection, doesn’t mean that they aren’t self aware. Noting that a dogs strongest sense is smell and not sight. He did an experiment where he would take his dog for a walk in the winter (the experiment lasted 5 winters) and during his walks, he would scoop up his dogs pee, and later place it near the dog to see his reaction. What he found was that the dog spent much less time re-sniffing his own pee, than the time spent sniffing and peeing over another dogs pee. This suggests that the dog recognized his own smell and knew that it was his own “yellow snow”.

This experiment was different than others performed, which involved mirrors and animals, because it used another sense other than sight. Mark Bekoff used a different approach to see if a dog was able to recognize himself.

I think that this experiment is a good start to test the self awareness in dogs but it is not clear evidence as to whether they actually are self aware or not.  Testing senses other than sight is also a good idea because like Bekoff said, a dogs sight is not its strongest sense and so it might not be the best way to test the dog.

Resources:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/03/03/134167145/i-sniff-therefore-i-am-are-dogs-self-conscious

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201107/does-my-dog-recognize-himself-in-mirror

Sleep Drunkenness

Ever wake up confused about where you are or of what time it is? Ever wake up to an uneasy feeling? You may have been experiencing Sleep drunkenness. Sleep drunkenness is when a person wakes up in a confused or disorientated state and it affects about 1 in 7 Americans.

sleeping

Sleep drunkenness can actually be very severe and can lead to people injuring themselves and others. Common incidents include hitting the person in the bed next to them or injuring themselves in some way. According to Dr. Maurice Ohayon, one man accidentally killed himself by waking up and falling off of a dock into water.

Sleep Drunkenness is often brought on by jet lag. Some people believe that sleep drunkenness might be brought on by other sleeping disorders, mental illness or medications that a person may be taking.

Dr. David Rye, a professor at Emory University, conducted a study consisting of more than 19,000 people over the age of 18. In the study, they asked who had experienced confusion when waking up, if they had any mental illnesses, and if they were taking any medications.

84% of the people who said that they had experienced sleep drunkenness also said that they experience other sleep disorders. A link was also found between sleeping too much or too little and the occurrence of sleep drunkenness.

In my opinion, this study has many flaws. I think to make this study more successful, they should observe the people as they sleep. Have a control group of normal sleepers, a group of jet lagged or sleep deprived sleepers, and a group of people with sleep disorders. If they run the experiment like this, then they can observe and see the sleep drunkenness and what might cause it, instead of just asking people about their sleep patterns. This would give the researchers more reliable data than just the sleep survey.

So what do you think? Have you fallen victim to sleep drunkenness?

Resources:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20140825/sleep-drunkenness-is-common-and-linked-to-other-behavior-issues

Is exercise bad for your teeth?

This is not a question that I ever thought I would be asking. Exercise is supposed to be good for you. However after reading an article in the New York Times, I found out that exercise can in fact, be bad for your teeth.

 

tooth

After olympians mouths were examined in 2012, many of them were found to have “poor oral health” but there was no link as to why. Some thought it was do to the amount of sugar in the drinks that athletes drink, gatorade, powerade, etc. But after a study was done in Germany, there was little to no correlation between the sugary sports drinks and bad teeth.

After more testing, the researchers discovered that when the athletes were working out, less saliva was being produced. This caused the athletes mouths to become very dry. The dryness of the mouth along with the lack of salvia caused more tarter to build up on the teeth, thus causing the bad oral hygiene.

What I like about this study was that at the end, the researchers came out and announced that this study was based off of a small group of athletes vs a control group, and that it was not conducted for a long amount of time. Right from the beginning of the researchers publishing their findings, they were looking for someone to come along and criticizes them.

I think that in order for this to be a really good study, researchers should observe athletes and non athletes, for a long period of time and they should observe those who have access to regular dental care. I think that if they could also have a group of non athletes, start doing more athletic things, then they could monitor their teeth and see if their is a change from the beginning to the end.

Resources:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/is-exercise-bad-for-your-teeth/?ref=nutrition

Wasted Space

Space. I’m not talking about the amount of space you have in your dorm room. I’m talking about outside of our atmosphere, where planets orbit the sun and many things are left to be discovered. Venturing to space is a great deal and it takes incredible equipment to get us there. However what happens to the satellites, non functional space crafts, and other gadgets that are no longer being used?They are left to orbit the earth and are known as “Space Debris”.

Mir_on_12_June_1998edit1

If you have seen the movie “Gravity” then you have seen what space debris can do.It can collide into other shuttles and satellites and destroy parts or the entire thing. The debris is a threat to the International Space Station and other functioning space shuttles. Lets not forget that debris is also a major threat to the humans working in the ISS and the other space shuttles.

According to NASA, there are more than 500,000 pieces of debris orbiting the earth. NASA tracks all of these pieces so that they can keep track of their whereabouts and make sure they are not headed towards an active/inhibited piece of equipment. NASA also works with the United States Department of Defense, and both work to keep track of all the debris, some as close as 1 yard in the geosynchronous orbit (the orbit in which the debris is in sync with the earth’s time, 24 hours).

NASA has elaborate guidelines and rules as too when evasive maneuvers should be put in place and whether or not a piece of debris is a threat to our equipment and astronauts. Depending on much time mission control has to avoid a collision; sometimes they will actually be able to move the ISS slightly so it is out of the way of the debris. However, when mission control is notified of a piece of debris with less time, they can either close hatches between the modules, or have the people aboard the ISS get into what is called the Soyuz spacecraft, or as NASA calls it, the life boat. In the event of a collision, the crew would be able to leave the spacecraft in the Soyuz.

These “space debris avoidance maneuvers” are in place to make sure that no damage is done and to keep the people in the ISS and space crafts safe. I however, wonder if there is a way to “clean up” the debris in some way. So instead of avoiding it we are taking it out of space, and possibly reusing some of the parts. Instead of just letting it float up in space useless and harmful, we can recycle them. This would then solve the collision problem and keep space excursions safer.

I think that if we could find a way to reduce the amount of space debris and clear space of all the clutter, than that would be a much better solution instead of just avoiding the debris. We are in a technology based world that will be sending many more objects and people into space, the more debris, the harder it will be to avoid it and maneuver giant equipment around. I understand that this is what has to be done now to ensure the safety of the astronauts and space crafts, but I do not think that they are doing it in the best way possible.

Resources:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html#.VCh4YitdVuA

Are dogs really man’s best friend?

Dogs have been a part of families for hundreds of years. I know in my family, my two dogs rule the house. They are 20 pounds of fur and barking and I couldn’t imagine growing up without them. But to some, they are so much more than just a companion.

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There are actually several health benefits in owning a dog. They keep you active, taking them to the park and for walks/runs. According to doctors Foster and Smith, because of the increase in activity, owning a dog can increase chances of surviving a heart attack from 1 in 87 to 1 in 15. They can also detect seizures, and many dogs spend their lives working for kids and adults, alerting others when their owner is about to have a seizure. In some trials done, some dogs were even able to detect cancer, sniffing and honing in on unusual moles or marks on peoples skin, which then turned out to be cancer.

Many single people will own dogs because it keeps them from becoming lonely. Elderly people find that owning a dog after a loved one has passed away has helped the grieving process because they have a sense of security within their pet. Owning a dog also teaches kids responsibility and how to care for another living thing.

So while some people may prefer cats, I definitely agree with the notion that dogs are a man’s best friend, because when it comes to your well being and health, no one seems to care more than our furry friends.

References:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1201

http://www.livescience.com/35463-seven-surprising-health-benefits-dog-ownership-110209.html

Is that your real face?

Last week, America lost one of the funniest people in show biz. Joan Rivers passed away last thursday. She was known for her work in the TV industry, most recently starring in Fashion Police on the E! network. I had the pleasure of meeting Joan Rivers last year at a book signing at my local bookstore. But, while she sat there cracking jokes and making fun of people, I couldn’t help but stare at her face. It was so wrinkle free, I almost wanted to bounce a quarter off her forehead to see if it would bounce right back. The amount of plastic surgery she had done was astonishing. And she is not the only one who has overdone it on the face lifts either. There is even a new TV show “Botched” all about plastic surgeries gone wrong. It has left me wondering why so many people are obsessed with getting plastic surgery.

463px-Joan_Rivers_3_Musto_Party_2010_Shankbone

Some people choose to get plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes, others for reconstructive purposes and many claim to get plastic surgery for reconstructive reasons but actually had it done for cosmetic reasons. The amount of different things you can have done is crazy. Anything from a basic face lift, to chin surgery, ear surgery, a nose job, butt augmentation, and even a thigh augmentation. These are just a few of the many possible surgeries people chose to have done every year.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, In 2013, 12.6 billion dollars were spent on cosmetic plastic surgery in the USA.  91% of the procedures done in 2013, were on women, and the other 9% on men. 49% of these people who had plastic surgery were between the ages of 40-54.

Now it could be my young age, but I personally do not understand why anyone would have plastic surgery. What happened to aging naturally and loving who you are at any age.  Instead of getting rid wrinkles through surgery, why don’t people just take better care of their skin now. Use sunscreen when you go to the beach, use makeup that has SPF already in the product, drink more water, etc. Society is upset with how people stereotype and judge others on appearance, and yet a great amount of them are going under the knife to make themselves look “better”.

On an episode of “Botched”, a TV show on the E! network, a women went to Tijuana for a tummy tuck, and it did not go well. She ended up having to have the surgery redone once she got back to the US and the doctors had to fix a lot of mistakes. (eonline).

Why anyone would go to Tijuana for any type of medical procedure is beyond me. There are risks for having any type of surgery, but to go and have a surgery that is not medically necessary in the first place, and then to have it done in Tijuana, just seems stupid. If I were her (thank god I’m not) I would NOT have gone to Tijuana to get a tummy tuck. I would have researched a lot of different places in my own country and found the most reliable and cleanest doctor to perform the surgery.

I personally think that plastic surgery is unnecessary, but maybe ask me again in 30 years…..Here are some links if you want to learn more about plastic surgery!

References:

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/plastic-surgery-statistics/2013.html

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/about-asps/leadership/asps-presidents-message.html

http://www.eonline.com/shows/botched

1st Post

Hey everyone! I’m Jenna and my major is public relations. I’m taking this course to fulfill a science gen-ed and since I am not a big fan of science classes decided to take this one!  The reason I am not taking majoring in science is because science has never been able to hold my interest and I never excelled at it in high school. Here is my live link and here is a picture!IMG_0164