As I was searching for an interesting article to write a blog post about, I came across this bizarre article.  According to the Huffington Post, a study shows we’re more attracted to the body odors of people who vote like us. In my opinion, this is the most random study I have come across.

Researcher Rose McDermott of Brown University found that, “people could not predict the political ideology of others by smell if you asked them, but they differentially found the smell of those who aligned with them more attractive.” To me, this just seems like a coincidence. Does having a particular political view cause us to have a particular scent? Or vice versa?

She conducted a study in which she collected the body odors of individuals and found that people liked the scent of people who shared similar views and repelled the scent of those who had opposite views.

I think scent plays a big role in attraction to people; however, I’d like to see more research on this topic.  It’s such a random and bizarre study that it’s hard to prove these findings are legitimate. Further research and studies should be conducted in order to prove this phenomena.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/17/body-odor-political-beliefs_n_5832672.html?utm_hp_ref=health-fitness&ir=Health+and+Fitness

Ever since I started this semester, my first semester at college, my sleeping habits have been horribly disrupted. I find myself staying up late at night, like I’m doing right now, and having to get up early for class.  During the day, I can’t keep my eyes open and am unable to concentrate in class.  Then, I end up taking too long of naps and staying up for hours catching up on homework and re-teaching myself the things I was too tired to learn earlier. All of this causes me to become more and more stressed and unable to relax most of the time.  Stress is obviously bad for your overall health, and this Huffington Post article, 5 Ways Stress Wrecks Your Sleep (And What To Do About It), clearly states the negative effects of stress and how to handle it.

According to the article, 42% of adults report to getting poor/fair sleep when they are stressed out.  In addition to not sleeping as well, stress can increase the risk of insomnia, causes you to overthink at night and not being able to shut your brain off, and can cause a cycle of this behavior.  Additionally, stress can increase the risk of anxiety.

To help prevent any of that from happening, the article has a few suggestions.  Try smelling lavender, which has been proven to relax the body (try the Bath & Body Works stress or sleep collection). One can also write down thoughts before going to bed to help relax your mind.  Counting and deep breathing can also help with relaxation.

I know from here on out I’m going to try to get my sleep schedule back on track in addition to forming better study habits.

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/17/stress-and-sleep_n_5824506.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Many people are under the impression that diet soda is better for you than regular soda.  Sure, it has less, if any, calories but that isn’t the only thing people should be looking out for.  I’m sure most people have been told that the chemicals in diet soda are worse for you than the sugar and calories in regular soda. So where is the research to back up this claim?

According to the Huffington Post article, This Might Explain Why Diet Soda Drinkers Are Often Overweight, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have discovered that, “artificial sweeteners may have a deleterious effect on our gut bacteria.” This can further cause a glucose intolerance that can lead to obesity and diabetes. Therefore, people who drink diet sodas think they are doing their bodies a favor; however, they are ultimately contradicting themselves.

Dr. Eran Elinav primarily conducted studies on mice.  He established a control group: mice received either plain or sugar water.  His experimental groups received water with an artificial sweetener such as sucralose, aspartame, or saccharin. Dr. Elinav found that, “the mice who had been drinking artificially sweetened water developed significant glucose intolerance.”

When he took his research and studied human subjects, he found similar results. “He found that those who reported eating more artificial sweeteners were more likely to be heavier, have larger waists and higher blood glucose levels when fasting.”

After hearing that diet soda is bad for you all my life, I’m glad that I found research to back up this theory.  Although I’m not sure of further research, this study seemed pretty legitimate.  I never drink diet soda myself and neither should anyone else if they want to avoid various health complications.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/artificial-sweeteners-gut-bacteria_n_5837646.html?ir=Healthy+Living

Peacocks are among the worlds most beautiful birds.  They can be seen most typically at zoos       among the United States and in other nations.  The common belief is that peacocks are not able to take flight easily because of the large tails they possess; however, recent research has proven this not the case.

According to the Huffington Post article Turns Out Peacocks Tails Aren’t Such A Drag After All, researchers from the University of Leeds in England have conducted studies that prove this popular theory wrong. I personally never even knew that peacocks could fly in the first place so this article was particularly interesting to me.

Dr. Graham Askew studied peacocks initially with their normal tails then preceded by clipping the tails off to see if it would make a difference.  The surprising results revealed that, despite the  weight difference, the peacocks were still not able to take off anymore quickly than normal.

It’s clear that the tail is not used for flying purposes; however, the article states that, “the peacock tail is considered a prime example of sexual selection, a form of natural selection in which some animals have specific features that make it easier for them to attract mates–and thus reproduce. Other examples include lions’ manes and elks’ antlers.”

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/peacock-tail-sexual-selection_n_5843950.html?utm_hp_ref=science

Most people are familiar with the common saying, “eyes are the window to your soul.” By stating this, it is typically referring to our emotions.  If an individual looks particularly sad or happy or certain other emotion, one can usually tell by a look they have in their eyes.  Not only do eyes say a lot about how one feels on the outside, but scientists are now discovering that the eyes can reveal more about human health than we thought.

According to this video, titled Eyes: The Windows to Your Health, by National Geographic, doctors are able to see signs of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease simply by using a microscope to get a close look into your eyes.  Using this technique, they are able to see brain tissue in the retina, blood vessels, and red blood cells within the capillaries in the eye.  Instead of feeling or listening to your body, they can see the physical changes in your eye, which may hint towards something else going on within your body.

Ophthalmologist Neal Adams, the narrator, states, “over 1/3 of all known genetic syndromes involve the eye.”  This includes nutritional deficits, nerve damage, and vitamin b deficiencies.  In addition to this, stress is a big strain on the eye, causing the cells to leak fluid like a blister.

This article, titled Your Eyes: A Window to Your Health, by the Health Hub at Cleveland Clinic also informs us that metastatic cancer can also cause abnormalities in the eye, which most cancers do not do.

I personally had no idea this kind of information was able to be discovered simply by having your eyes checked.  Next time you’re at the doctor, maybe you should consider having them take a closer look. You’ll never know what they might find.

Sources:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/140408-eyes-health-vin?source=relatedvideo

http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/01/your-eyes-a-window-to-your-health/

Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie. I’m a freshman here at Penn State and I’m enrolled in the College of Communications.  I’m taking this class because I’m required to take a science class and my advisor told me this was a great class to take if I’m not much of science person.

I’m not a science major because it was never my strongest subject throughout middle/high school and although I find it incredibly interesting, its not something I want to pursue.