According to the American Sleep Association Jet lag is “is a physiological condition caused by disturbance to the body’s natural circadian rhythm, or internal clock”.  It’s something most people have experienced when the travel, being from the west coast I can vouch that the three hour time difference from here to California always messes me up for a good three days until I become used to the different time zone. What I thought was interesting was that here on the east coast I tend to sleep around 1 am and wake up around 9am the next morning, making it 11 pm and 7 am back home on the west coast, but when I would fly between I would still feel the disruption.

The “circadian rhythm” is the “natural tendency of living things” and is that all living things are based around a 24 hour cycle, which influenced largely by the cycles of sun and darkness, day and night. When your cycle is disrupted by changing environments, you can experience an “adverse and conflicting biological and brain wave activity as [your body] attempt to cope to the new cycle”, which results in the symptoms of jetlag such as fatigue and irritability. Bright lights are the “most powerful” way to cause a phase shift, or an advacement or delay in circadian rhythms. Where bright light comes from waking in the morning “makes you wake up earlier” or “phase advance” and where light around the time you sleep, “makes you wake up later” which is known as “phase delay”.

According to the ASA “west to east [coast] travel is considered the more adverse than vise versa, [because] it pushes the  cycle forward rather than back”. Although it is important to note that Jet lag affects each person differently, where some experience it for only a day between time zones, where other can have a more severe case. “Whether circadian rhythms align with the environment is determined by factors such as exercise, melatonin, and light,” says the Scientific American.

http://c3039282.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/homepage/jetlagbhp.jpg

A study conducted by Helen Burgess of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, looked at how to prevent jet lag by departing before phase shifting or leaving for another time zone before you shift in your cycle. The findings of the observational study where that “After three days of light exposure in the morning, the participants’ circadian rhythms shifted by an average of 2.1 hours”. This means that they would be adjusted to the time zones well by two days earlier than predicted, because they were “seeking and avoiding light at the right times” which allowed them to reduce their jet lag as they moved between time zones.

There have been other studies tested ways to cope with jet lag with different variables such as the use of melatonin to judge the change those variables had on the sleep patterns of those traveling between zones. One study called “How to Trick Mother Nature into Letting You Fly Around or Stay Up All Night”, explored the usage of melatonin and found that “taking 5 mg melatonin at local bedtime for 4 days after the flight”, and that later “A review of 10 years of studies showed an overall 50% reduction in subjective assessment of jet lag symptoms with melatonin”. Jet lag is a natural and inconvenient reaction your body has when you change between time zones, it’s healthy to sleep but it is also beneficial to plan ahead of time when you are switching between zones, so the the use of melatonin or adjusting your sleeping schedule before is helpful to combat nasty jet lag.

Work Cited
http://www.sleepassociation.org/patients-general-public/jet-lag-2/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076414

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3841977/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-prevent-jet-lag/

As long as I can remember I have been drinking coffee, something containing coffee, or coffee flavored and whenever I had something with coffee it was always accompanied with my mom saying something along the lines of “You’re too young to be drinking that!” or the classic “Coffee will stunt your growth!” As an adult I drink coffee everyday maybe more than once a day. It’s gotten to the point where my roommate likes to remind me that I am addicted to coffee. The caffeine in coffee is how most adults begin their day, it helps them function, and wakes them up. As we drink more coffee we become more reliant on it and it’s caffeine boost. But when is it too soon to introduce children and young adults to caffeine?

The caffeine that coffee has affects kid’s bodies in the same way it affects an adult it leads to “jitteriness, nervousness, an upset stomach, increased blood pressure and heart rate, and problems sleeping and concentrating”, according to kidshealth.org. Also, most kids are introduced to caffeine through soda. Not only does produce these affects in kids, but because children are younger and tend to weigh less than their adult counterparts, it takes less of these drinks to have their affects.

http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/files/2012/02/coffee1.jpg

In a study done it was cited that boys are actually more affected by caffeine intake than girls are. This study looked at how low doses of caffeine affect kid’s blood pressure and heart rates. They took 52 kids between the ages of 8 and 9, and 49 kids from the ages of 15-17 and monitored their results. It found that “Caffeine slowed heart rates and increased blood pressure in all the children”, but according to the study’s lead Jennifer Temple of the University of Buffalo, that of course is not a new finding. Although, one finding that was interesting was that there was  difference in the gender in terms of the stimulant’s effects. The younger group that the caffeine had no difference in gender in terms of the heart rate, but in the older group it did where the boys felt the effects stronger than the girls did.

According to Temple, “right now we don’t have enough data in kids to know what the long term effects of repeated exposure to caffeine would be,” so it will be interesting to see how the intake of caffeine in young children will affect them later in life.

http://guardianlv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Caffeine-and-Children-Does-Not-Mix-Well-Together.jpg

Then in another study published by Pediatrics, states that although caffeine consumption has not increased over the past ten years from 1999 to 2010, but did find that “coffee and energy drinks represent a greater proportion of caffeine intake as soda intake has declined”, and about 78% of kids consume caffeine daily.

Both studies are interesting because it shows the shift of caffeine in children shift away from soda toward energy drinks like Monster or Red Bull. What would be nice to see is how much of their caffeine intake is influenced by their environment such as their parents or their school work. It is safe to say that a child under 12 most likely should not be consuming caffeine on a regular basis, and if a young adult should be drinking caffeine filled beverages it should be in moderation and monitored by their parents.

Work Cited

http://www.livescience.com/48615-how-much-caffeine-should-kids-have.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699625/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/child_caffeine.html

http://www.today.com/health/kids-caffeine-may-be-dangerous-combination-new-study-suggests-1D79801666

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/02/04/peds.2013-2877.abstract

It’s common to hear “you’ll never get a job looking like that” or “getting tattoos will ruin your chances of getting a job”, as a young person when talking about getting a tattoo done. Despite the fact that as of 2013 23% of Americans have a tattoo according to a Pew Study, the connotation toward tattoos in the work place is still negative. If such a significant amount of people have tattoos, how is it that having visible tattoos still seems to be the kiss of death for those seeking jobs?

A study conducted by Saint Andrew’s University of Management’s Dr. Andrew Timming, explained that when he spoke to 14 hiring managers who worked in various fields such as banks and prisons. He asked them their opinions on tattoos on a prospective new hire and what they thought about them in a work context. The replies of some of the managers were that a  “woman manager told him that ‘they make a person look dirty'”, that “subconsciously, that would stop me from employing them”, and “tattoos are the firs thing they [fellow recruiters] talk about when the person has gone out the door”.

Timmings said that although he himself likes tattoos, he agreed that “most respondents agreed that visible tattoos are a stigma”, and he also explained that the reason most employers has a dislike of visible tattoos was that because they were more fearful of how a customer would react.

Although, it is important to consider that according to Timmings the majority of the respondents that replied negatively were more likely to be of the older generation. Age is a large variable.  So it can be seen that as the older generation goes out of the work force and the hiring and management positions go to those who belong to a younger, more progressive generation that tattoos may no longer be an issue for employment. As well as the study didn’t really factor in the benefits of the having tattoos in other professions such as a prison guard with tattoos would increase their “respect” or the fact that hiring managers may put more importance in the candidate’s ability to perform which an article in Forbes points out. As well as the fact that Timmings on spoken to 14 different hiring managers so his study doesn’t necessarily represent the majority.

So yes there is still a stigma around having visible tattoos and their ability to affect your employment. Although, it should be more closely looked at as how other factors such as age of the hiring manager and  the line of work play into the employer’s decision as well.

Work Cited

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change.pdf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/tattoos-hired-job-chances-study_n_3873425.html

http://www.management-issues.com/news/6745/tattoo-taboo-what-employers-think-about-ink/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2013/02/27/having-a-tattoo-and-a-job/

http://www.salary.com/how-tattoos-affect-your-career/

I have been wearing makeup for a long time, it started out as something I had to do for dance performances, then gradually starting in the eighth grade I started to wear makeup on a daily basis. Foundation, pressed powder, eyeliner, blush, eyebrow pencil or mascara are all little tools lots of women use to enhance their facial features and for different reasons. It’s used to enhance how you feel and help you in a way control how you are perceived and presented to other people.

http://www.chicmags.com/6-must-makeup-products-girls/

A study done in 2011, found that “[makeup] increases people’s perceptions of a woman’s likability, her competence and (provided she does not overdo it) her trustworthiness, according to a new study, which also confirmed what is obvious: that cosmetics boost a woman’s attractiveness”, according to the New York Times. The study conducted studied 25 females between the ages of 20-50 years old and of caucasian, hispanic, and african american descent, and they were photographed with 4 looks consisting of: barefaced (no makeup), natural, professional, and glamorous. Then, 149 people were surveyed and they looked at each photo for the allotted time of 250 milliseconds giving them enough time to make a fast judgement per photo. Then, a separate 119 adults were given time to stare at the photos for as long as they liked. Of those who participated in the study from the original group there were 61 males and in the second there were 30 males.

The results of the study were judged based on the “varying intensities of luminance contrast” or in other words how the lips and the eyes stand out int contrast to the rest of the facial features, and found that women with more makeup in those particular features (like the glamour look)  were more “competent” than those who were barefaced. Although, those with heavier makeup looks were deemed more “competent, attractive, and likeable”, they also cause “trustworthiness” to decrease.

Samples of the various women of different ethnic descents that were used as subject in the study

According to Professor Etcoff, the author of Survival of the Prettiest, “there may be a lowering of trust, so if you are in a situation where you need to be a trusted source, perhaps you should choose a different look”, saying that the amount of makeup a women wears should reflect the situation they are in. You don’t go into the office with the same amount of makeup you would say in a nightclub, because you want to be dressed appropriately for the given situation.

Although, it is important to remember if that amount of makeup is what makes you as a person feel more confident and secure in yourself then wear it. Makeup should help illuminate the best features of yourself, both inside and out. If a bold red lip helps your confidence as much as it does making your lips look great, wear it. As well as if you are more confident without any makeup at all then that’s great. Etcoff also stated that “there has been a cultural shift in ideas about self adornment, including makeup”, meaning women are no longer using it as only a tool to attract men, but also as a tool to help themselves and see their use of makeup as their choice now, no longer something that is dictated by society.

Other factors that could be considered that were not taken into account then judging the women who were studied were those who applied makeup that did not complement their skin tone in both color and texture. Bobbi Brown of the Bobbi Brown makeup company suggests that “People will have a bad reaction if it’s not the right color, not the right texture, or if the makeup is not enhancing your natural beauty”. Also, the fact that as a society as a whole people who are considered “better looking” get treated differently regardless of the moral conflict of that being wrong and flawed logic.

Makeup is a tool to make you feel better about yourself, this study only measured how others perceive you. It doesn’t measure the effect makeup had on the subjects, in fact they were not even allowed to look in the mirror because of that.

Work Cited

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025656

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/fashion/makeup-makes-women-appear-more-competent-study.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cosmetics-make-women-likable-competent-trustworthy-attractive-study/story?id=14659706

Sea-Monkeys, the easiest and cheapest pets you had growing up. Either you had them, knew someone who had them, or watched that one episodes from The Rugrats where Tommy and Chuckie tried to set theirs free. All you had to do was pick them up at a Target or Walmart and add water, and bam 24 hours later you had some new little creatures to call your own. Although, since these tiny friends were instantly there once you added some water and patience, it was always magical as a child to understand how they just came to be. The question being what were these things swimming around?

http://www.benjamin-toys.com/ori-pic/6746.jpg

These cute little creatures that helped teach us responsibility are not actual monkeys, go figure, but actually a species of brine shrimp known as Artemia salina. Discovered and marketed by scientist Harold von Braunhut, he “observed their eggs have a long shelf life out of water, and, once hatched, they’re pretty easy to care for,” according to USATODAY.com.

Sea-Monkeys “are derived from crustaceans that undergo “cryptobiosis,” meaning they can enter a state of suspended animation in times of adverse environmental conditions, and stay in that state indefinitely, until conditions improve,” says livescience.com, so they basically sit in their plastic bags and wait until their conditions improve. By improvements meaning a child takes the dried shrimp and adds water. The shrimp obtained their name due to that when they do reached “improved conditions”, their tails resemble that of a monkey’s.

As for the anatomy of the creatures, they obviously don’t appear as they do on the packaging. They aren’t animated part fish/human/mermaid/thing as advertised. In reality, they are tiny little clear shrimp no bigger than the size of the end of a pencil. They breathe through their feet and also have a thirds eye that they happen to lose as they approach Sea-Monkey adulthood. Sea-Monkeys probably appeal to kids probably because not only are they a low maintenance pet, but they also they are these animals that teach them how to care for something and take care of it.

http://savetheriver.us/wp-content/uploads/sea-monkey-closeup.jpg

Work Cited

http://mentalfloss.com/article/56755/16-amazing-facts-about-sea-monkeys

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/columnist/popcandy/2003-07-15-pop-candy_x.htm

http://www.livescience.com/33907-sea-monkeys.html

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/question191.htm

http://seamonkeyworship.com/faqscience.html

The worst part of summer is when you go to the beach and the attendant manning the booth says you can’t come in because the park is experiencing Red Tide. Not only are your day’s plans ruined, but so is the beautiful and familiar blue ocean you’ve always known.

Red Tide or HABs is short for harmful algal blooms, which basically mean that red tide occurs when “the population of certain kinds of algae known as dinoflagellates explodes,” according to the Center for Disease Control, or CDC. This means when certain algae in the water bunch together and reproduce quickly, they can change the chemical levels in the water causing the water, to change in color to red, which is what I have commonly seen, or even orange, brown, or yellow. This extensive growth of algae can “deplete the oxygen and block the sunlight that other organisms need to live, and some can produce toxins that are harmful to the health of the environment,” again, states the CDC.

Monterey Bay, CA http://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/redtide.html

Red Tide has been reported in most costal communities within the United States. It is important that Red Tide is cleaned up, because since it damages the ecosystems within the ocean. It is also dangerous to those who live near the costal communities because much of their economies are based off their environments so, for example, those who sell seafood would be effected financially because they would no longer be able to offer that product.

Although, Red Tide begins with the overgrowth of algae, it is also important that factors that contribute to it can be prevented by humans such as refraining from polluting the oceans and being more mindful in terms of their run off water and how it will affect the ocean. This is furthers reminds us that even if you dispose of a liquid down a public drain it will end up going to the ocean and causing harmful affects. Sure, you’ve always known that throwing your trash on the beach or letting your dirty water run off as you wash your car has to go “somewhere”, but now you can visually see the consequences of your actions. So always remember to dispose your waste properly.

“The goal is to give communities advance warnings so they can adequately plan for and deal with the adverse environmental and health effects associated with these ‘red-tide’ events,” says the scientists at the National Ocean Service, which is how they are working toward preventing HABs from occurring.

Work Cited

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/hab/default.htm

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/redtide.html

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/

http://www.seaweb.org/resources/briefings/algae.php

http://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/redtide.html

With the Creamery only a walk away, it’s a given that ice cream will regular staple in our diets, but when we eat too much of Peachy Paterno or Death by Chocolate,  why is that we get brain freezes from too much ice cream?

Ocean Beach, California

Brain freezes, or sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, occur because when you eat ice cream or something just as cold, when it touches the top of your mouth, it causes the blood vessels there to dilate. “The dilation of the blood vessels triggers pain receptors, which release pain-causing prostaglandins, increase sensitivity to further pain, and produce inflammation while sending signals through the trigeminal nerve to alert the brain to the problem,”, which is the reason for why you get “brain freezes” says chemistry.about.com. Simply, the blood vessels on the roof of your mouth become larger causing the receptors there to identify the pain this causes, and bam the headache. 

Ways to prevent an ice cream headache? Warming the top of your mouth with your tongue works, where the heat your tongue naturally produces will transfer to warm up the roof of your mouth until both parts are equivalent in heat. Or if you’d like to avoid the great ice cream freeze all together, “simply eating cold foods more slowly can help prevent brain freeze” or “arming foods up a tiny bit in the front of your mouth before swallowing them”, according to kidshealth.org. 

Eating ice cream should always be an enjoyable experience, so try and savor each bite and save yourself from a brain freeze by eating slowly or drinking something slightly warmer as you eat your favorite freezing cold treat.

Work cited:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/how-brain-freeze-works.htm

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/ice_cream_headache.html

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/03/156155297/when-ice-cream-attacks-the-mystery-of-brain-freeze

As someone from Southern California I was always told growing up if I ever got stung by a jellyfish, I should just have a friend pee on me and be done with it. Although, as one of the few who has never actually been stung by a jelly, I do wonder does pee really relieve the sting?

Mission Beach, San Diego

Jellyfish stings come from “specialized cells in the surface of its tentacles calledcnidocytes. Each small, bulb-shaped cell holds a barbed, threadlike tube, called anematocyst, filled with venom. On the outside of each cell is a tiny hair called a cnicocil”, and when it stings you as you either play in the tide, body surf, or swim that is a result of a tentacle detaching itself from the jellyfish and latching onto the skin of the victim. Symptoms of the sting happen right away, where “the pain radiates from the sting site and starts to itch, burn and throb as it blisters”, according to Joseph Burnett, a dermatologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center

When stung by these cute little creatures, it’s important to know that urinating on your friends isn’t a good idea because urine contains salt and by peeing on them the salt in your urine could actually make things worst. It would “[throw] off the salt balance between the outside and inside of the cell, can also can also cause the stingers to fire”, causing more harm than good for the victim stung. 

So instead of peeing on your friend in need, go to your nearest lifeguard and alert the of the situation. Most likely they will offer you vinegar, which 5% acetic acid, to rinse the affected area, and even if that doesn’t work warm seawater is a good trick to keep the stinging down.

Work Cited:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31427/does-peeing-jellyfish-sting-actually-help

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-urinating/

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-23502032

Two babies, two bottles, two college tuitions to worry about, being a twin is not only a blessing but also an interesting occurrence because it is always curious as to who in the family will be the one to have the next set of twins. I as a twin, have always believed having twins skip a generation because my mother’s father was a twin, and I have twin cousins born to my uncle, my mom’s brother, so my family was lucky to have two sets of twins in the same generation. Knowing first hand how difficult it can be to have twins I always sighed in relief knowing I wouldn’t ever have multiples, but once I started to research this topic I soon found out that my premature relief was exactly true.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, famous fraternal twins.

Yes, it can be hereditary to have fraternal twins, because “Fraternal twinning is caused by a gene on the X chromosome. This gene may cause hyper-ovulation — when a woman’s ovaries release more than one egg per ovulation cycle. A woman can inherit the hyper-ovulation gene from either of her parents” according to Go Ask Alice of Columbia Health. So it is possible to pass the “twin gene” along, which is why the birth of multiples is common in a family, although this explanation doesn’t explain the birth of identical twins. Identical twins are conceived due to the fact that they are born of the same fertilized egg that divides into two and share a single placenta, but there is “no known gene that influences this process, it is considered a mere coincidence when one extended family has multiple sets of identical twins” says the Anahad O’Conner of the New York Times. The occurrence of identical multiples are of mere chance, and unfortunately have no way of being perviously detected until the mother is given an ultrasound.

The idea that twins skip a generation can be due to the fact that the women who conceives the twins inherited the gene to over-ovulate from her father, and since men biologically cannot have kids it appears as if the “twin gene” has skips one generation for the next, but it is possible for the birth of twins to happen in two consecutive generations all depending on the inheritance of the special over-ovulation gene. So the verdict? Fraternal twins can run in families where identical twins are likely a coincidence, and the idea that twins can skip a generation is simply just a myth.

Sources:

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Twins_identical_and_fraternal?open

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/02real.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-genes-influence-whethe/

http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask86

http://www.babycenter.com/0_when-and-how-to-find-out-if-youre-carrying-twins-or-more_3579.bc 

Hey guys!

Well, I’m Katherine Loughrey and I am currently a Communications major hoping to either go into Journalism or Public Relations in the future. I’m from San Diego, CA and before anyone says “Why would you leave California and come here…?”, I chose Penn State because the school, much like this class, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen back home so I went with it. Anyways, I am not currently a science major because although I took various science classes throughout high school, those classes were interesting but I always found myself daydreaming about the beach in them rather than focusing on memorizing all the bones in the body. As well as I chose to take this class because my advisor informed me that it was a class for those who weren’t science majors or that into science,  so here I am.

Here’s a lil piece of San Diego for ya