“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”
― John Lennon

Yes, dreams are real. When you fall asleep there are several cycles your brain goes through before waking up, and one of them is where you dream.  This cycle of sleep is called the REM.

This is a super important part of a good night sleep. During the REM cycle the back side of your brain is most active and this is where you have most of your dreams and also remember the most. At night your brain slows down, we do not have to focus on anything and this allows us to have dreams. When you dream, your brain sorts out everything that happened throughout the day. This is why if you had a stressful, chaotic, or sad day you are most likely to have a nightmare. A person that is enrolled in a language is more likely to have dreams than a person who is not. I.e. Spanish, French, ect. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who studied dreams. He said that dreams are “disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes” and said that there are two different components that make up dreams: The Manifest content and the Latent content. The manifest content is what makes up the images you see in your dreams while the latent content is what the dreams mean and the psychological meaning behind the dream. Freud’s theories on dreams and how they work, states that dreams are unconscious desires.  Dreams are very important to a good night sleep, and they represent a good night sleep. If one dreams then they completed all cycles of rest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/dream-theories.htm

Would you want to know if your child will have an incurable disorder, whether it begin at birth or affect them later in life as an adult? It’s hard to say when of course the health of your child is at stake, but your own sanity might be in jeopardy (in the case of knowing your child will get an incurable disorder when they’re an adult). Harriet A. Washington raises some questions that are as equally compelling as they are frightening.

In June and July of 2012 a couple different teams from University of Washington Seattle and then Stanford University announced they had uncovered new techniques allowing the “construction of a comprehensive genome sequence– a genetic ‘blueprint’”, available in clinics in as little as three years from now. One test only needs paternal saliva or blood and the other only maternal blood to unveil their child’s DNA. DNA tests used to unearth conditions like Down’s syndrome and cystic fibrosis already exist, but not a whole genome test that would “predict the mere possibility of disease”.

Washington asks the questions “what is ‘healthy’ anyway?”, pointing out that “males with the chromosome disorder XYY were once thought to have a high risk of violent behavior” and sometimes fetuses with XYY chromosome were aborted. She also brings up that perceptions of disorders change over time, Down’s syndrome as an example, so will our future findings with a full genome test even be necessary or useful?

Of course, the test’s ethicality comes into question as well: “Who has a right to a child’s genetic information? Should there be regulations that compel a physician or the parents to alert siblings and others who may be at high risk of harbouring the gene?” False positives will arise, only scaring the parents and causing anxiety. And do the parents even have a right to this information or is that infringing on their child’s rights?

It’s a very attractive idea, looking into your childs future, possibly even opening a market for personalized medicine and preventive medicine, but it’s also kind of a scary idea. It seems to take away the mystery of life. I agree with Washington, at least it’s still a few years away, giving us some more time to think about it. Complete prenatal genetic tests are not far away and will be accessible for many, is that a good thing? Maybe yes, if it shows that your child will be susceptible to heart disease, then you would make sure to teach them to eat healthy foods and exercise. Would you want to know that your child has the possibility of getting a disease? You decide.

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&dviSelectedPage=&limiter=&u=psucic&currPage=&source=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010641217

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-fetal-genome/

Do Stars Twinkle?

Sometimes when I look in to the sky, I see many objects twinkling, some are planes and some are stars and planets. Stars are something that amuses me because some night the amount of stars in the sky just makes the night seem sort of bright.

Growing up we have all become aware of the controversial song: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. That made me wonder, what are stars and do they actually twinkle.

Stars consist of many basic elements that are found on the periodic table: helium and hydrogen. In fact a lot of helium and hydrogen because the more mass the star has, the more gravitational force it has. The core of each star performs nuclear fusion, which is when two or more atoms collide to create a larger atom. And during the end of the star’s life, it collapses by its own gravitational force, when the star runs out fuel.

“Stars twinkle, I mean scintillate, because as light passes down through a volume of air, turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere refracts light differently from moment to moment” (Stars). Anything outside our atmosphere will seems to twinkle, when we look at it from our planet, but if you were to look at a star from outside our planet, let say from outer space the stars will actually not twinkle at all. The only reason we see stars “twinkling” is because of the distortion of light, when light travels through the star. When light hits the star, due to the layers of which the star consists of, the direction of the light is bent, and it seems as of the star has moved location, which to the human eye appears as twinkling.

Since the Earth’s atmosphere is turbulent, all images viewed up through it tend to “swim.”…  When a star’s single point in object space fails to map to at least one point in image space, the star seems to disappear temporarily.  This does not mean the star’s light is lost for that moment.  It just means that it didn’t get to your eye, it went somewhere else” (Twinkle). Scientists use the word astronomical scintillation when they refer to the so-called twinkling we see. The farther the star is from Earth’s atmosphere, the more they twinkle. That is exactly why planets don’t twinkle. They are close to the Earth’s atmosphere and are very large in mass; very seldom can we see a planet twinkle.

So have we been living in a misconception our whole lives due to the song “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, well it depends on how we see it. We may be able to agree with this controversial song, that stars do indeed twinkle. But the extraterrestrial life living in outer space may as well disagree and claim this song is bogus.

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/twinkle.html

Why Do Stars Twinkle?

September 28, today’s date. Time’s running so far that winter’s coming again to Penn State. Bunch of visitors come and complicate “what a beautiful campus” with seeing all grounds of fallen yellow leaves dancing. During that process, has one of them ever wondered why those leaves have different colors like yellow, brown and purple? Why some trees still can keep their leaves for a whole winter? The roles in here is so magic and have a lot of story can talk.
Let’s talk about the most interesting part: why leaves can fall every year at the same time? As we all know, the most important use of leaves is photosynthesis: leafs use the mini pipes spread on every corner of the tree to get water and feed bake energy to the root. Once fall coming, the time of the day become shorter and shorter, and that as a signal to the tree is: it’s time to take a rest! During trees sleeping in winter, they start to taking off the foods they stored in the last year instead of getting energy from photosynthesis. In order to use those energy as long as possible during the cold winter, trees would close the pipes of leaves, cut the route they get water and materials from the root. After doing that, the breath time of one tree would reduce at least 80% in winter time, and the cost of it, is leafs dead and fallen. Following that fallen process, different trees can make different colors of fallen leaves. The most beautiful colors: red and purple we see from maple trees leaves are the result of glucose. Without photosynthesis, glucose lived in leaves are trapped. After going through the cold night and bright sunshine, it turns out to red, and purple- if that turning process going deeper. As for the yellow appears in some kind of trees, surprisingly, is the real color those leaves have! The reason leafs shows green is because the original color- yellow is covered by the green chlorophyll (color brought by photosynthesis process).
Although the fallen of leafs make the view of winter a little bit of boring, it is lucky that there’s evergreen to provide hope to this cold land. Evergreen trees have one common characteristic: leaves of them are made special by tree factory- our nature. Some of them like the fir and pine, use needle shaped leafs to restrict breath. Others like holly, have broad but hard leaf faces. Sometimes when the weather’s extremely dry and tough, they could curl up, and cut down the breath speed followed.
In the end of this article, I want to thanks all leaves fallen, after all, it is them who provide nourishment to make the next colorful spring, and the cost, is themselves.
Citation:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/plants-in-winter.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=fallen+leaves&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&rlz=1I7DMUS&biw=1280&bih=929&tbm=isch&imgil=lhp4CtzxD848LM%253A%253B4G_kHSbUwZbiMM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.wallpaperden.com%25252Fnature-autumn-fallen-leaves.shtml&source=iu&pf=m&fir=lhp4CtzxD848LM%253A%252C4G_kHSbUwZbiMM%252C_&usg=__NnTjfRZkBRS-PZ8kDzuxBm2Nw_M%3D&ved=0CEoQyjc&ei=dpcoVKvXEveJsQTB2YDACw#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=-c7RpQomVuJ1rM%253A%3B6078Eu18zBQ3NM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages.fineartamerica.com%252Fimages-medium-large-5%252Ffallen-leaves-les-palenik.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffineartamerica.com%252Ffeatured%252Ffallen-leaves-les-palenik.html%3B900%3B600

Many students on Saturday went to the game and if the score wasn’t miserable enough the weather decided to add insult to injury (literally) and gave many people some pretty wicked sunburns. Now we all understand how sunburns work, if you are exposed to long outside to the sun your skin will develop a red tone and be very sensitive to the tough. I decided to do a bit of research though and go a bit more in depth as to what exactly is occurring in your skin while the game disappoints you.

The basic issue at hand is absorption of far to much Ultraviolet exposure. The body’s response to it is to dilate the blood vessels, which causes a loss of moisture in your skin; this causes the tightness many people often feel when they know sunburn is coming on. Some people may feel itchy in the areas being exposed and rub the areas periodically as the burn intensifies. Your body will try to defend itself against the rays by developing melanin. For those of you who enjoy tanning (which is also very damaging to the skin) you may be familiar with this term. Melanin is the pigment that is produced when your body tans. But when a person is exposed to more sunlight then the body can produce melanin to compensate for that’s when the threshold is passed and the skin becomes burned. Some people may claim to develop a tan after receiving a burn and this is possible but obviously not advisable.

Now that the damage has been done its time to treat the burn. Everyone has heard that Aloe Vera is the best treatment for a burn, but why is this true? It turns out that the use of Aloe Vera in medicine can be dated back to the ancient Egyptians where it was regarded as the immortality plant. It makes sense considering how strong the sun is in Egypt that a burn ointment was considered a gift from the gods. The plant is full of anti-inflammatory compounds which can be found in the clear gel is secretes when cut open. When applied to the burn this gel is very quickly absorbed and gets to work reducing swelling and redness allegedly. However there aren’t actually very many studies supporting the idea of Aloe Vera actually treating the burns. Instead majority of doctors agree that while it does reduce pain we cant say for sure that it speeds up the healing process by a very measurable degree. So the actually of the plant is that its main power lies in its pain relieving qualities.

There are only a few ways to definitely speed up the healing of sunburns. The first thing you should do is take a cold bath, shower, and apply a cold compress to the area. This is the standard practice for treating regular burns so it makes sense that it works in mild skin burns. Next is the keep yourself hydrated as a sunburn greatly decreases the moisture in your body and you need to replenish it to allow your body to heal quickly. Lastly and most important is to stay out of the sun until your skin is no longer sensitive. So unfortunately despite some creams advertisements there is no overnight cure for a sunburn. The only option you have really is to be proactive about them and remember your sunblock next time.

http://www.dermalogica.com/what-is-a-sunburn%3F/ys_skinaging_4,default,pg.html

http://healing.answers.com/remedies/the-beneficial-impact-of-using-aloe-vera-for-sunburn

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/aloevera

“Girls go to college to get more knowledge, boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider.” Research has shown that girls in high school have higher grades in all subject areas compared to their male counterparts and score better on English tests, however males score slightly higher on math exams. So if males have higher math test scores, why do they have lower grades in math class? Why do female high school students have a higher success rate, more people on honor roll, and higher high school  graduation rates than males? Are males less intelligent than females or is something else effecting these results?

One of the factors researched was what students spend time on outside of school and how that could affect their grades. More females read for enjoyment outside of school, or participate in theatre or dance, which creates a higher success rate in English class. As compared to boys who spend more time playing videogames online, playing sports, are more likely to participate in science fairs; this and the more time spent on the computer seems to give boys a mathematical advantage over girls. This data can help explain the test score differences, as it is easy to see how one can score better in an area of interest as opposed to a class they aren’t very fond of, but then why do girls outperform boys in non-test math and science grades?

The lower grades of males could be attributed to behaviorism in classroom settings. Teachers have reported that their female students are much more well behaved, more attentive and more eager to get good grades. Males however are a much larger cause of classroom disruption and seem less willing to participate in a classroom setting. And high school completion rates (in four years) for boys is around 63%, while for females it is 75%. More males drop out to go into the work force, while the main reason for female dropouts is pregnancy.

Therefore girls aren’t necessarily smarter than boys, but maybe just more focused on their achievement in school, or more willing to participate actively in class then their male counterparts. Personally I think that the data more strongly supports a behavioral causation for poorer grades as opposed to gender causation, and that gender coincidentally correlates to differences in behavior and grades as well.

Source:

Downey, D., & Yuan, A. (2013). SEX DIFFERENCES IN SCHOOL PERFORMANCE DURING HIGH SCHOOL: Puzzling Patterns and Possible Explanations. The Sociological Quarterly, 46(2), 299-321. Retrieved September 28, 2014, from JSTOR.

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

Apparently, yes. There have been numerous studies done over what was previously thought to be just something people laughed about. I came across a Huffington Post article describing a fascinating experiment done just last year by researcher Nakajima at Japan’s Kwansei Gakuin University. Because of previous studies he did in 2009, he knew that people could match owners to their dogs just by looking at pictures of their faces. He set out to explain why.

In the new experiment, 500 people were shown two sets of photographs, “one set showed pictures of real dog-owner pairs, while the other set had random pairings of people and dogs. The participants were randomly assigned to one of five different ‘masking’ photo conditions, pictured below: no-mask (in which the human’s and the dog’s faces were unobstructed), eye-mask (the human’s eyes were blacked out), mouth-mask (the human’s mouth was blacked out), dog-eye-mask (the dog’s eyes were blacked out), and eye-only (where just the eyes of the human and the dog could be seen).”

80% of the time, people could match the pictures of owners with their dogs just by looking at the faces, 73% of the time when the owners’ mouths were covered. Chance is to blame for about 50% of people that were able to correctly identify the pairs when the eyes of either the owners or the dogs were masked. But when people were shown only the eyes of the person or the dog, they could pair them correctly 74% of the time.

I was skeptical at first, but 74% is a rather large percentage to accurately guess just on eyes alone! I consulted with a few more articles and apparently this phenomenon is due to “familiarity.” We like what we know, and I think I can safely say that most of us know our faces quite well, so if we see a dog that resembles ourselves, we are more likely to adopt that dog. Not surprisingly, it’s been noted that personal characteristics also seem to rub off onto the dog, as well as their dogs temperaments rubbing off onto their owner.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/people-look-like-their-dogs-study_n_5838278.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/06/dogs-and-their-owners_n_5051792.html

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201308/do-dogs-look-their-owners

Like most other teens, I find myself getting about 7 hours of sleep during the week nights.  As an 18 year old, this is not enough rest at all.  Every day I wake up fatigued and groggy.  Some people, in order to make up for this lost sleep go out and buy an energy drink such as red bull.  Is this a healthy habit or are these drinks affecting our health?

We all have things to do and people to see.  In our fast pace society it’s not always so easy to get 9 hours of sleep each night.  Everyone has so many demands on their time that they need an extra boost of energy besides sleep.  It has been reported that those who drink energy drinks do have an increase in mental alertness.  These sweet tasting drinks also contain vitamins and minerals that are important to one’s health. (Tiffany Tseng, symptom find)

The cons of these energy drinks outweigh the pros.  Potential weight gain, cardiovascular problems, and dependency are all serious problems that can come from such drinks. Since these drinks are packed with so much sugar and caffeine they tend to have a ton of calories. So, even though you are getting a short boost of energy, it comes at a high cost.  If you aren’t careful it is very easy to gain weight just from drinking these daily.  People that are drinking tons of these types of drinks are also much more at risk for cardiovascular problems, for example, rapid heart beat. Energy drinks can be highly addictive so many people become dependent on them to wake up in the morning and get them to function throughout the day. Some people even suffer from withdrawal symptoms like mood swings if they don’t have their energy boost.  (Katherine Zeratsk, healthy lifestyle)

The moral of the story is simply to limit the use of drinking energy drinks.  Instead of having these drinks daily, save them for a time when you are desperate!

references:

http://www.symptomfind.com/nutrition-supplements/the-pros-and-cons-of-energy-drinks/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/energy-drinks/faq-20058349

Planning on bulking up for the winter? Plan on slimming down for the summer? Society is constantly striving to change their appearance, a lot of the time, to look better and ultimately to feel better!

It’s no secret that there are countless amounts of supplements available to the public and it’s also no secret that there are countless amounts of people using them incorrectly. One supplement in particular is protein powder. This supplement is known as the “building block” supplement for most nutrition and training programs. Protein powder is sold in such a manner that it appeals to many buyers. With a wide variety of options/flavors- the brands make it easy for everyone to find one that they like!

Protein powder is known to help weight lifters or heavy gym goers gain the weight that they need to gain the body that they want. However, if not used correctly or in a strict manner, the supplement isn’t able to perform it’s job.  Muscles use protein as a source of fuel and repair. When finishing a strenuous session at the gym, your muscles are torn- only slightly but, torn nonetheless. The main indicator of a good workout is the soreness you feel afterwards. Studies have shown that when protein is taken between 20 minutes after your workout, it goes straight to those torn muscles and helps to repair and rebuild therefore helping to increase the size and strength of those muscles. With continuous and constant use of the protein powder along with continuous weight lifting, you will be able to pursue those goals you are after.

So what about the rest of the human population who could care less about weightlifting and who have never been interested in a gym membership? Do these supplements appear to them as well? Well the answer to that is OF COURSE they do! Protein is essential in the human diet and allows our bodies to function properly. The protein we consume is used to repair and form new cells and is important for our growth and development. The protein is broken down into amino acids which the body needs in large amounts to maintain good health.

“Protein supplements are often recommended by physicians after a patient has undergone surgery, to speed up the healing process. Protein powders are commonly used by vegetarians or vegans who are not getting enough protein from their diet without meat.”

http://www.ehow.com/about_5068230_protein-powder-actually-work.html

http://www.sciences360.com/index.php/how-proteins-are-broken-down-into-amino-acids-2-5024/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002467.htm

Cannibalism is a very strange concept. Why would people want to eat other people? Well for the people of New Guinea, it is a religious act. During funeral services the Fore people in New Guinea “prepared and consumed the tissues (including brain) of deceased family members.” Cannibalism is a disturbing act, but besides it being somewhat uncivilized, are there health risks to it?

According to the epidemic levels of Kuru in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the consumption of human muscle and brain can be very dangerous, especially if the deceased has Kuru. Kuru is described as “an extremely rare and fatal nervous system disease.” If the deceased has Kuru, and then a healthy person consumes their brain or comes in contact with a wound, they are likely to contract Kuru. Kuru causes “abnormal proteins” to be produced that are called prions. Prions cause tumor like masses to form on the brain. In addition to these deformed proteins being produced, Kuru can also cause healthy proteins to copy the shapes of the deformed proteins, causing the masses on the brain to increase, further harming the patient.

Kuru has many different symptoms to it. A person with Kuru would likely have difficulty walking, poor coordination, trouble swallowing, slurred speech, and any symptom that could be related to neurological damage. The problem with Kuru is that it is slow moving, making it very difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, to diagnose Kuru a series of neurological tests have to be done, and in underdeveloped areas this is difficult to do. Also, since the disease progresses slowly it is hard for patients to recognize the symptoms. Many cases of Kuru are not discovered until the person has died.

If by some miracle a patient is correctly diagnosed, there is still no treatment for the disease. The only type of recommendation a physician could make would be to stop participating in cannibalism. Most people who contract Kuru “die in a comatose state within six to twelve month after experiencing initial symptoms.” This does not mean that it is months after contraction a person will die. This means that after years of having the disease, and symptoms finally begin to show, the patient will most likely die in a matter of months. The disease does not cause a problem for many years but, once it does the body is ravished by it.

Overall, my take on cannibalism remains unchanged. Not only is it an inhumane practice, but it is also a deadly one. While some cultures embrace the ritual, it should be avoided due to possible disease contraction such as Kuru.

imaging of regular brain (on left) and Kuru infected brain (on right)

Sources:

http://www.healthline.com/health/kuru#Diagnosis5

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm

Have you ever heard of the diet tea? Well if you haven’t, the diet tea is a tea that’s supposed to help you lose weight. Many people believe this tea would work because the tea carries almost no calories and the caffeine in the tea is potent enough to increase body function to help burn off calories. However, according to experts, the tea is made from plants that can cause certain disorders like diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fainting, chronic constipation and even death.

According to this site, “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once stressed that the laxative teas and dietary supplements of most concern are those containing one or more of the substances, such as aloe, senna, rhubarb root, buckthorn, castor oil, and cascara.” These laxative substances are known to have the ability to relieve constipation and promote bowel movements. However, studies have shown that laxative- induced diarrhea does not reduce the absorption of calories. The reason for this is because laxatives don’t work in the small intestine, where calories are absorbed; instead it works in the large intestine.

From the previous statement, it made me wonder that if laxatives don’t work in it’s rightful place (the large intestine) then can it harm our body? The answer to that is yes. Overdosing on laxatives can permanently damage the gastrointestinal tract and weaken and soften the bone, a condition known as osteomalacia. Osteomalacia is usually caused by many factors like Vitamin D deficiency, certain surgeries, kidney or liver disorders, etc. In this case, it is caused by the lack of vitamin D. As I mentioned before, laxative- induced diarrhea does not reduce the absorption of calories because calories are absorbed in the small intestine. However, vitamins, on the other hand, are absorbed in the large intestine, where the laxatives take place. Therefore, overdosing on laxatives means you are actually taking away the vitamins D’s that your body needs for bone support. Due to this, overdosing on laxatives can cause you may serious issues like osteomalacia.

Besides the serious disorders there are some less serious issues that can occur from drinking diet teas. These problems include stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea. However, these symptoms only last for several days.

Due to all the problems with drinking diet tea, the FDA is now making all manufactures of Chinese diet tea to put a warning label on the product box. So the next time you plan on drinking diet tea for weight loss, please think about the consequences before drinking it.

Sources:

http://www.learn-about-tea.com/chinese-diet-tea.html

http://resetnation.weebly.com/dangers-of-using-laxatives-for-weight-loss.html

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteomalacia/basics/causes/con-20029393

With fall right around the corner, pumpkin everything is a hit! At this time, we see tons of pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, pumpkin cheese croissants, pumpkin cookies, etc. You get the point. After thoroughly researching to find the perfect pumpkin pancake recipe, I came across an interesting ad claiming that pumpkin is actually great for us! I am now super excited to make all these wonderful pumpkin goodies.

(Pumpkin decorated by mwah)

Why should you eat more pumpkin? Because of the many health benefits that come with consuming this super delicious fruit (yes, pumpkins are considered berries!)  Pumpkins are full of antioxidants that can maintain joint pain, organ health, stress relief and muscle injuries. Pumpkins are filled with Vitamin C. Vitamin C is great for our immune systems to protect our bodies from harmful bacteria. Vitamin C also guarantees a beautiful skin elasticity. Pumpkins are a great source of fiber. Fiber is so important for those who have tummy issues especially! Pumpkin seeds are high in protein as well! Stores actually sell pumpkin seeds separately. They are great little additives to sprinkle over some hot oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, ice cream, etc. Pumpkins contain tons of potassium and zinc to prevent cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Pumpkins are very low in calories as well. This is great because you can add pumpkin to anything, and not be afraid of the calorie additives! As you read before, I was searching for a delicious and healthy pumpkin pancake recipe online. I figured since pumpkin was such a low cal additive, why not create a pancake with them? Pumpkins are also rich in healthy fats. We need healthy fats to burn fats.

Now that you’ve heard my spiel, I hope you go out and try something pumpkin-spiced today! With the leaves changing color, a pumpkin-anything sounds more than appropriate. Enjoy!

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night from a bad nightmare? Have you ever had such a bad nightmare that you woke up trembling and sweating? This happens to millions of people across the nation. So, why do we have nightmares? Is there a scientific reasoning behind them? Let’s find out.

Nightmares are essentially bad dreams. They can make us feel extremely scared and anxious, usually causing us to wake up. According to RealMeaningofDreams.com, children experience more traumatizing nightmares than adults. It reports that adolescents between the young ages of three to four and seven to eight experience the more frightening dreams. However, nightmares at this age are considered commonplace because we are dealing with fears and issues.  Nightmares occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. This is where the majority of dreaming takes place and most of them take place in the early hours of the morning.

According to Deirdre Barret from Harvard University, nightmares contribute to human’s survival. He believes that nightmares can help the brain focus and concentrate better. Barret’s theory is that nightmares have developed for psychological reasons: “Nightmares probably evolved to make us anxious about potential dangers. Even post-traumatic nightmares, which just traumatize us, may have been useful in ancestral times when a wild animal that had attacked you, or a rival tribe that had invaded might well be likely to come back.”

In addition, there are certain factors that can cause nightmares in individuals. If you take particular medications for illnesses or a bad cold, medications can cause bad dreams to occur. Stress is the primary reason why adults and people in general have nightmares. If you are going through a transition such as changing your job or moving into a new home, this can be a cause of bad dreams. Also, experiencing a traumatic event(s) in your life (car accidents, injuries, surgeries, deaths) can lead to an illness called Post Traumatic Nightmares. These are bad dreams similar to nightmares, but they have a more serious extent to them. These type of nightmares occur due to a traumatic event one has experienced, and the nightmare frightens him/her again (maybe even more than when he/she actually went through it).

Even more surprising, reported by WebMD, one out of every two adults has nightmares. Two to eight percent of adults in the world are “plagued” by nightmares, meaning they are consistently having problems with bad dreams. Even eating a late night snack can possibly cause nightmares. This is because your metabolism is increased after eating and the brain becomes more energetic. A study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorder Center determined that out of 389 Canadian people, 8.5% said their nightmares were caused by food. The University of Tasmania conducted a study in which six males ate mustard and Tabasco sauce. The piquant taste of the sauces increased the males’ body temperatures during the first stage of sleep and lengthened the time period from being awake to completely asleep. Not only do spicy foods tend to cause bad dreams; even sweet and sugary foods do. The Journal of the Mind and Body declared that junk food also causes nightmares. Foods such as candy, ice cream, and other sweets increases the waves of the brain, which causes seven out of ten people to experience bad dreams. Who knew that eating late at night can cause certain dreams, especially nightmares to occur?

Even more interesting, a study conducted in 2004 showed that people who sleep on their left sides tend to experience more nightmares than people who sleep on their right sides. Prevention Magazine also reported that individuals who sleep on their stomachs tend to have the most “emotionally-charged” dreams. Personally, I sleep on my stomach, so I found this statistic extremely fascinating.

So what can you do to help prevent nightmares? The most important thing to do is to discuss your nightmares with those close to you. Especially for children, discussing nightmares with parents can directly benefit the child because it can help decrease the number or severity of nightmares. Another preventive measure is to stop eating junk foods late at night, as well as eating meals in the latter part of the night. If the nightmares are so bad that you can never sleep, a therapist or medication is recommended.

Sources:

http://www.asdreams.org/nightma.htm

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52228/what-causes-nightmares

http://www.livescience.com/32730-why-do-we-have-nightmares.html

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/nightmares-in-adults

http://www.realmeaningofdreams.com/nightmares.html

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Penn State University attracts students from all over the country. These students bring along with them different customs, habits, and dialects. Even the people from a few hours away say words differently than what you may be accustomed to. My inspiration for this post came from a heated debate with a guy from the Philadelphia area. He was drinking a glass of “wooder” but I tried to explain to him that he was drinking “wahhter.” This got me thinking about dialects and their origins.

According to an article from Oxford English Dictionary, “…dialect is any variety of English that is marked off from others by distinctive linguistic features. Such a variety could be associated with a particular place or region or, rather more surprisingly, it might also be associated with a certain social group—male or female, young or old, and so on.” Dialects are not to be confused with accents. Dialects include a small range of different pronunciations for a smaller category of words including grammar and vocabulary native to that particular region. Whereas accents encompass the sounds alone of how words are said in the entire conversation. Andrew has an accent, but someone from Philadelphia has a dialect.

The article explains that it is impossible to classify a certain dialect as “correct” because each dialect has existed for countless years and extends to early history. The most distinguishable aspect of dialect is the regional vocabulary. For example, some areas in the United States drink soda, while others drink pop. Dialects form as a result of social factors and upbringing. The influence of family, friends, neighbors, education, etc. all play a part in the child’s cognitive reception of words and their meanings that form in the early developmental stages.

According to Smithsonian.com, a child starts to differentiate between words as early as 6 months old where he/she rehearses and processes the language for when he/she is capable of speaking. When the child does begin to speak, the language will mirror the sounds and twangs that the adults around have always spoken, thus forming its dialect from the very beginning. As a result of the vocal characteristics solidly forming so early, it is very difficult to adapt away from those forms. This is why even after all the time Andrew has spent in America, he still has his strong New Zealand accent. It’s most likely too late for his brain to rewire the way which it processes sounds and language.

Dialect extends beyond region. Depending on the upbringing, social class can play a huge role in the language even if the two different people being compared are from the same town. This also applies for age gaps–you don’t talk exactly the same as your grandfather. Even men and women speak differently, usually as a result of societal pressures.

In the end, there is no distinguishing the correct dialect, because everyone believes that the way they speak is the “normal” way to speak. Thus, the “wooder” vs. “wahhter” debate remains unsettled.

My thoughts: My favorite part about this concept is seeing how influence social science is. I think it’s important to remember that science goes beyond biology and chemistry, and simply observing human behavior is just as scientific. Also, it is interesting to see how the biology (example- the way infants interpret the sounds around them so strongly) influences the social science (example-how Philadelphians pronounce words) proving that everything is interconnected in our world.

Sources:

http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-use/english-dialect-study-an-overview/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/accents-are-forever-35886605/?page=1

Have you ever looked at a series of holes and felt chills down your spine? Does the look of things clustered together bother you so much that you cringe and feel as though your skin is crawling? Are you bothered just reading this? There’s a name for that, it’s called Trypophobia, and it is literally the “fear of holes.” The site of holes and various naturally occurring things in nature can cause fear and anxiety in a trypophobe. SImply seeing images can cause the same reactions.

I had seen a picture of a lotus flower pod once and I have never been so disgusted by anything, so I looked up “Fear of holes” and Trypohpobia was exactly what I found. I have never heard of it a day in my life, but I asked a few people what they thought of it and got the same reactions. It was never a huge concern of the scientific world, but recently some scientist have been looking into the matter and more research can be found documented on the web as the phobia becomes more known.

Although many have never heard it, there are plenty of people who suffer from this phobia. A study conducted by a psychological scientist named Geoff Cole referred to Trypophobia as the most common phobia you’ve likely never heard of, and that sounds about right to me. There is no clear cut reason out there as to why people have such reactions to to holes, but in Cole’s case, he met a man who had reported having a reactions to a picture of a Blue-Ringed Octopus (a high venomous animal). In showing the man more pictures of venomous animals, it was found that he had the same reactions! Cole came to the conclusion that maybe our fear of holes is simply due to evolutionary adaption, in which we fear the animals who look as if they are dangerous and pose a threat. In that case, the phobia makes total sense as a result of humans simply expressing a natural reaction to things that could be dangerous. However, this explanation hasn’t been proven and there is still much research to be done to find a true answer.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/understanding-trypophobia-why-some-people-fear-holes/

Fear of Holes May Stem From Evolutionary Survival Response

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/04/218958362/the-inside-story-on-the-fear-of-holes

How many of us have been in a crowded room surrounded by classmates on all sides sitting in silence taking that major test, when suddenly…you get that tickle. That oh-no! tickle in the back of your nose that makes your eyes water and chin quiver. That sneeze is coming. If you’re anything like me, you hate sneezing in public. You get those looks and those distorted faces of people thinking “you just got me sick, you nasty, unhealthy vermin”. So, you hold it in.

DO NOT DO THAT.

If you hold in such a powerful reaction going on within your body, you are at risk of popping a blood vessel in your head or neck. This can cause death.

There are other ways of getting around this awkward moment. Rub your nose, breath hard in and out through you n nostrils tilt your head back, or like I do, say “apples, apples, oranges oranges” in your head, and you forget to sneeze. It truly works for me.

However, if the sneeze is already in progress, it is better to just ah-choo. It may not seem detrimental, however, there are more than a few dangers. A Live Science article bullets some:

• cause injury to the diaphragm
• break a blood vessel in the white of the eye, causing bruising of the white part around the iris
• force air up the Eustachian tubes in your ears and cause a ruptured ear drum or an injury to the inner ear that could lead to vertigo or hearing loss
• weaken a blood vessel in the brain and cause it to rupture due to the momentary elevation of blood pressure

Some people may even suffer from aggressive sneezes that come with an entire set of health problems;

• A violent sneeze by someone who had sinus surgery can push air into the space around the eye and cause it to bulge, or push air into the brain cavity and cause an intense headache or even stroke
• A violent sneeze could cause a neck injury from a sudden extension of the neck
• A violent sneeze can cause momentary incontinence

So the next time you plan to sneeze, just duck and cover, and let it go.

Sources:

http://www.livescience.com/32776-is-it-safe-to-hold-in-a-sneeze.html

In a regular night of your 7 years old, hugging one fluffy bear, you lying in your bed along, suddenly, you felt like seeing a blink from a green eye in your room’s corner. Then you turned on the light, but found nothing. Is this description familiar to you? Maybe everybody has this same experience when we were kids. But have you been asking yourself the reason? Why people afraid of dark even when they are lying in their own home? Is there really something hiding in our closet during the night?
The fear people have to the dark environment is natural. Showing by one research, the fear of the dark is seldom showed up before 2 years old, that is to say, when children grow up older, their afraid to dark became heavier. Followed children’ brain develop, the memory’s storage become stronger, and some of bad memories like the memory of on thrilling movie, or the memory of one disgusting screen showed in a TV program can be easily collected and then turned by kid’s imaginary to the fear of dark. Because in the dark environment, people cannot see anything but the shadow of leafs in our curtain, and obviously, that makes people feel uncomfortable, like something’s losing control but we don’t know what happen in the dark- what if that disgusting huge worm is lying under my bed? Then, the imaginary’s work firms our fear that “ there is a guy lying in my bed” or “ there’s definitely a hand waving”. The best way to release that kind of fear is “don’t care about it, just let that hand go” if you can fight your naughty imaginary, you can fight with your fear to dark.
Actually, besides that reason- our memory and imaginary, for me, there’s maybe another explanation: the thing we feared of is not the dark itself, the thing really scared us is the feeling of “not sure about it”. Like the fear we hold to death, because we don’t know, and do not have the way to know what will happen after the death, but if we don’t know what it’s like, we don’t know how to take a control of it, and people feel anxious about that kind of unsure.
Truly that we cannot know what happen in the dark, but don’t feel so bad to it and try not let your imaginary control your mind. The next time you feel afraid, just close your eyes, and leave that hand in the dark along.

Citation
http://gizmodo.com/why-were-afraid-of-the-dark-and-why-its-good-that-we-a-1448915260http://deldellm.hubpages.com/hub/Scaredofthedark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_the_dark