Super Earth

What 16 new super earths? Yes, it is true astronomers have found 16 new “Super Earth” planets with one of them being capable of sustaining life because it falls in orbit around its star in a safe habitable zone in the same way that our planet does.

What does this mean? It means that we may not be the only planet that has life on it. I am not saying that there are aliens like the ones that you see on movies out there on this planet. But what I will say that it could be organisms such as bacteria, hosts like worms, or small insects like the ones that we find here on earth. If this “Super Earth” has water on it then it could be possible that it may contain organisms similar to fish. Wouldn’t it be cool if the planet contained the same organisms as ours, how could science explain that? I hope that some of these answers be explained during my life time. As the technology advances as lots of the other post proves by my fellow classmates, it shows that we are getting closer to answering some of the questions that scientist have spent their whole lives trying to answer.

But, these planets are far away and getting to them would be an ultimate challenge. I think our earth should be considered “Super” it is unbelievable and just like we have questions for planets that we have never seen. We also have questions about our magnificent planet that we all call home.

“16 New Super Earths.” Space.com. Purch, Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

In a basic sense, nightmares are just bad dreams. They can make you feel scared and extremely on edge but they are not real so there really is nothing to get so worked up over. They have the power to wake you up from your slumber because they are characterized by vivid imagery and intense feelings of guilt, sadness, anxiety, or fear. Young children experience scary or bad dreams  substantially more often than adults do. This is because between the ages of three and eight is when you can see a lot of separation anxiety. Nightmares at this young age express the usual struggle to cope with issues and fears. They tend to involve a child being chased by wild animals. This stage of development is quite normal for young children and should be viewed as such. Your kid does not need to go to the doctor or a therapist because he/she is having nightmares.

Around fifty percent of adults have reported having the occasional nightmare and they tend to occur more often in women than in men. Because adults do not have the same type of separation anxiety as young children, there are other causes to these bad dreams. Certain illnesses, especially with a fever, and medications could be a cause of nightmares. The main reason for adult nightmares is the stress and anxiety in most of their lives. Big changes in your life or stressful events can easily lead to scary dreams. Dreams where you are being chased are the most common form of a nightmare. Drowning dreams, natural and man made disasters, and falling can also be the theme of a frightening dream. While kids are usually chased by wild animals, adults are more likely to be chased by a shadowy figure during a nightmare. Nightmares can cause for a very scary or exciting night of sleep, but usually if you can find the source of the dreams, you will stop having them.

Today’s United States Navy is made of a network of innovative concepts and cutting edge technology, that when combined through land, air, and sea, results in immense power and war winning capabilities. They are continually upgrading to have the fastest and best ships, weapons, and jets. Recently, the Navy acquired the new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet, which will slowly replace the FA 18 Super Hornet. The first flight of the first jet produced was in February 2011, and as of December 2013, 100 jets have successfully been produced. According to the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the F-35, designed with a 360 degree window, enables pilots to be anywhere from six to eight times more effective on the battlefield and the communication system allows the pilots to safely communicate on a secure network back to base.

There are many interesting functions and capabilities this particular jet has, but what caught my attention the most right from the start was the fact that it has the ability to go supersonic, meaning it can fly faster than the speed of sound. The idea of traveling faster than sound blows my mind; how is that possible?

I came across an article from Fox News published on April 11, 2014 with the headline “Los Angeles ‘quake’ really a Navy jet breaking sound barrier.” In this article, I learned that people in Los Angeles reported having felt the ground move yet what they felt was really the vibrations of a loud “boom” that came from the air. The rumbling the people in Los Angeles felt was produced when a FA 18 Super Hornet broke the sound barrier approximately 35 miles away from San Diego over the Pacific Ocean. U.S. Navy Commander Kevin Stephens quotes in the article, “the sound will propagate in the direction it’s flying,” which caused buildings in L.A. to shake as a result of the plane headed north bound.

Merriam Webster defines a sound barrier as “a sudden large increase in aerodynamic drag that occurs as the speed of an aircraft approaches the speed of sound.” When a plane breaks through this barrier (traveling over 770 miles per hour), the sound waves combine together in front of the plane, and the plane accelerates through this force field, creating a loud boom, otherwise known as a sonic boom, from the change in pressure. This is similar to a large wake created behind a boat when it speeds up.

I really wanted to find out what it took, what kind of engine had to be designed in order to power the plane fast enough to break through a barrier, but had difficulty finding enough information on this subject because it is classified. After considering this phenomenon for some time however, it got me thinking about other various barriers, specifically light barriers. Is it possible to create a shock wave of light by breaking a light barrier similar to supersonic airplanes breaking a sound barrier?

According to Dr. Christopher S. Baird, who answers science questions with surprising answers, planes are capable of breaking the sound barrier because sound is simply a “traveling vibration of air molecules.” Sound waves pile up into pressure that only strong airplanes can break, creating a shock wave/sonic boom. However, “nothing can travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum,” so neither a plane or space ship would ever be fast enough to break through the light barrier due to physics; a never ending supply of energy would be needed to create an optical shock. If not in vacuum, the speed of light moves more slowly through other objects with more dense materials and certain objects can break the light barrier if traveling very fast, which creates a shock wave known as a Cherenkov radiation. An example of this is high-energy electrons that travel through water that are released from a nuclear reaction; as they travel through the cool water faster than light, it creates a shock wave of light seen as a blue-ish color to the human eye. It is also possible, but less likely, for objects to break through the light barrier in air but very very high speeds are required. One example of this is when high speed particles are released from Supernovae into the atmosphere as cosmic rays and are sometimes fast enough to create optical shock waves. So overall, I found it is possible to break a light barrier, just as it is possible for planes to break a sound barrier.

Watch the first minute of this video of jets breaking the sound barrier.

Sources:

http://sciencequestionswithchris.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/can-you-make-a-shock-wave-of-lightby-breaking-the-light-barrier-just-like-supersonic-airplanes-break-the-sound-barrier/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sound%20barrier

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question73.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/11/los-angeles-quake-really-navy-jet-breaking-sound-barrier/

https://www.f35.com/about

At my high school we had one of the largest mini-THONs in Pennsylvania. Watching videos of the kids who come to our family hour (kids who have been to Hershey Medical and are now in remission) almost every video contains a parent who says that their child would never be in remission if it weren’t for them remaining hopeful. It kind of makes sense, if you are very ill and have this mindset that you are going to succumb to your illness, chances are that you aren’t as willing to fight through the pain or do everything necessary to get better. Also, those who believe that they will lose the battle against cancer often make unhealthy decisions because they believe that they won’t be around much longer to make any decisions. But then there are those who believe that they will get better, and they power through the chemotherapy sessions and do everything they can to stay as healthy as possible. Some people are very skeptical about this phenomenon though because to some it doesn’t seem possible that thoughts can change your physical health.

Jerome Groopman, author of “The Anatomy of Hope”, wrote: “Belief and expectation — the key elements of hope — can block pain by releasing the brain’s endorphins and enkephalins, mimicking the effects of morphine. In some cases, hope can also have important effects on fundamental physiological processes like respiration, circulation and motor function.” Groopman studies have shown that having hope positively impacts the nervous system, which then positively affects the whole body, giving it a higher chance of recovery. (CNN)

More interesting research on the topic came from Duane Bidwell who studied hope in kids with chronic illnesses. His studies show that there are five main modes of hope:

• “Maintaining identity by continuing to participate in activities and relationships that help patients retain a sense of self outside diagnosis and treatment.
• Realizing community through formal and informal connections that help patients understand they are not alone in living with disease. This community is made real through conversation, visitation, consultation and participation in daily activities.
• Claiming power by taking an active role in treatment by setting goals, self-advocating, monitoring and maintaining one’s own health.
• Attending to spirituality, activated through religious, spiritual and other contemplative practices.
• Developing wisdom, which involves both gaining pragmatic, medical wisdom derived from one’s own experience and finding ways to “give back.” (CNN)

According to Bidwell’s research, any of these modes of hope will help the healing process. This study connects to what I said earlier about those who believe that they are going to get better: they actively participate in their lives, do everything to stay as healthy as possible, they try to keep connections with those around them, and have as much fun as they can while laying in the hospital. These people, the ones with hope, although it’s not 100% scientifically are the ones that keep pushing and reach recovery.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/11/health/hope-healing-enayati/

Any student who has previously played a sport whether it be through a club or in high school knows that the coach always reminds players to “stay hydrated.” Many times they tell you to drink plenty of water throughout the day, even when you’re not thirsty, so you are hydrated for your game later that night. However, drinking too much water can be fatal.

According to sports medicine physician Dr. James Winger, drinking too much water and sports drink is the reason for the deaths of two high school football players. This over-hydration in athletes is called exercise-associated hyponatremia. This form of hyponatremia occurs because athletes hydrate even when they are not thirsty. During exercise, too much fluid in the body can cause the body to become overwhelmed with the ability to remove water. As a result, the sodium content of blood becomes dangerously and abnormally low which causes cells to absorb excess water which then results in swelling.

There have been two cases in the south where football players have died because of exercise-associated hyponatremia. After drinking two gallons of water and two gallons of sport drink, Zyrees Oliver collapsed at home after a practice and then died later in the hospital. After vomiting and complaining of a leg cramp in the second half of a football game, Walker Wilbank was taken to the hospital where he had a seizure and then later died. Jennifer Lea Strange and Matthew Carrington also died because of water intoxication, however their deaths were not caused by athletics. There have also been multiple suspected deaths of runners due to hyponatremia.

Although coaches recommend drinking water before, during, and after games to stay hydrated, Winger recommends only drinking when thirsty. The risks of drinking only when thirsty is mild dehydration which can be treated easily with smaller risks associated with it.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140902143238.htm

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-teen-dies-from-drinking-too-much-water-gatorade/

http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/26364634/jackson-prep-football-player-dies

When a person consumes alcohol, it shows up on someones breath because it gets absorbed from the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines into the bloodstream. Alcohol is not digested upon absorption or chemically changed in the bloodstream. As the blood goes through the lungs, a physiologically predictable amount of the alcohol will moves across the lung membranes and into the lungs themselves.

Once in contact with the air in the lungs, it evaporates and is exhaled. The concentration of the alcohol in the air in the lungs is directly related to the concentration of the alcohol in the blood. Alcohol leaves the body via the breath, because the percent of the total blood alcohol that exists this way is predictable, the alcohol content of the breath can be used to calculate the total blood alcohol content, or BAC. The hand-held breathalyzer uses electrochemical fuel cell technology to identify the elements found in the sample, of course, searching specifically for alcohol. Some devices use an infrared spectrophotometer to scan the sample, identify alcohol and calculate its percentage content. The ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol is 2100, so the alcohol content of 2100 milliliters of exhaled air will be the same as for 1 milliliter of blood. The math is simple from there and leads to blood alcohol readings expressed as a percentage of alcohol in the blood.

The partition ratio can vary between 1700 and 2400 depending upon the individual and local environmental conditions, leading to a breath analysis reporting either a higher or lower calculated blood alcohol reading.

In the 1954 Dr. Robert Borkenstein of the Indiana State Police invented the Breathalyzer. It was first developed for police use to test alcohol levels. The breathalyzer contains a system to sample the breath of a suspect and also two glass vials containing the chemical reaction mixture. The breathalyzer also has a system of photocells that a re connected to a meter that measures the color change associated with the chemical reaction. Other devices include a intoxilyzer and a alcosensor. The intoxilyzer detects alcohol by infrared spectroscopy, while the alcosensor detects a chemical reaction of alcohol in a fuel cell.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/automotive/breathalyzer3.htm

It’s tough being in a sticky situation and having to make a hard decision. A lot of the time when making a choice, we are angry at the idea of having to make that decision. Is it possible that anger helps us make the decision? Perhaps anger helps us make the better decision?

Professors at University of California, Santa Barbara challenged old science experiments that said angry people are less analytical and found out that anger aid in positive decision making. They conducted a study based on analytical reasoning. Two groups were formed; one was angry and one was not. Both groups were told to write essays on a problem and a solution and the angry group was more successful in the end. The test proved the researchers hypothesis true.

How does being angry help make a better decision though? It seems that angry people disregard information that is irrelevant to the topic on their mind. The non-angry people keep irrelevant preferences in the back of their mind. Anger is seen as a motivator of analytical thinking now, instead of a barrier. Anger demands response. Whether the response is harmful, violent or promising, a response is still given.

Anger helps clear the mind of all unnecessary thoughts and distractions. It only makes sense that anger would help one make a better decision.

Work Cited

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/anger-decision2.htm

I wanted to figure out if the clothing we wear really does say something about us. Not only if it said something about us, but if it affected the people around us. Will the color I wear today make an impression on you?

Causation: The color I’m wearing effects emotions

Reverse Causation: Emotions effect the color I’m wearing

Third variable: The season in which we wear the color. What I mean by that is red is considered a winter color in the fashion world, and orange would be seen as a summer color. Maybe wearing those colors at the wrong time would not have the same effect on someone.

Women’s Health Magazine made quite a point of this. It said : “The serene shade [blue] soothes the person wearing it and makes the people around them feel at ease, say researchers at the University of British Columbia” (Dold). So now you know that you are probably more relaxed when you are wearing blue, and so are the people around you. When I want to create an ease filled environment I’ll remember to fill it with blue. It creates a vibe that makes you relax.

The article also said, “Psychologists at the University of Rochester found that men are more attracted to women wearing the ruby hue” (Dold). People love red. It is the color that gets the most attraction from the eyes and the brain. It is very easy to notice something in red because of the attraction levels it causes us as a people. Mistakes are corrected with red, red cars always get pulled over more often, there is always a woman in a red dress ect. Taylor Swift even wrote a song about feeling Red, if that counts for anything that relates to emotion. Because she is the mostly renown as an artist for her emotions.

It also continued on to the color of creativity, “Whenever you want to feel inspired, pull on something purple” (Dold). If you need to write a blog and need to sit down and get it done, you should probably put on purple. It will get the creative juices flowing and you will be inspired soon enough. This is probably because purple is not a common color. It is a color that you must be inspired to wear. Something makes you want to put on purple because it is the farthest thing from basic.

Furthermore it said that, “The preferred shade of fashionistas, cops, and CEOs, black is the universal color of authority” (Dold). This should go unsaid. Black is the color of power, but it also seems to connote negativity. I suppose this is why the magazine made a connection between an authority and black.

It continued on with saying, “[Orange is] enthusiastic and inviting, you should wear it when you want to appear social, friendly, or approachable” (Dold). So if I put on orange will you feel more compelled to talk to me and be my friend? According to the article you will. Orange is a social color because it also draws attention, but not in an intimidating way.

The last one was that, “This hue [green] puts you and others in a good mood, according to research from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam” (Dold). I guess this is because green puts people in a good mood anyway. It reminds you of nature and life and money. Good things are usually green. Except for the fact jealousy is greatly connected with green as well.

Works Cited

Dold, Kristen. “What Your Clothing Color Says About You.” Womenshealthmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

I have to make a confession; I am a YouTube addict. One of the channels I find most informative is Health Care Triage. Here, Dr. Aaron Carroll discusses various medical topics. One of my favorite episodes discusses the risks and benefits of using antibacterial soap. It sure sounds great, a magical substance which kills all the nasty bacteria coating your hands, but can we be so sure?

Supposed Benefits

You might think that antibacterial soaps will prevent you from getting sick. Here’s the problem, most of your illnesses are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Both the flu and mononucleosis are caused by viruses, which antibacterial soap has no effect on. But let’s give the soap the benefit of the doubt.

If you are trying to kill bacteria, antibacterial soap is no more effective than regular soap. Some studies have shown that antibacterial soap is slightly better at killing off bacteria, but these studies also require their participants to wash their hands for 30 seconds more than 15 times per day. That’s just not realistic. When it comes down to normal hand washing, your regular soap is doing just fine.

The Risks

Now that we know antibacterial soap isn’t really helping, is it harming at all? This question has yet to be fully answered. All we can say now is that antibacterial soap may be detrimental to human and animal health.

                    www.thesingingsunflower.com

A 2006 study revealed that the key ingredients of antibacterial soap may actually damage your immune system, increasing your risk of allergies and hay fever. Interestingly enough, this increased risk for allergies was consistent for minors of all ages, races, sizes, and socioeconomic levels. The harmful effects of antibacterial soap don’t discriminate.

Sadly, the antibacterial chemicals also leak into our watersheds, exposing animals to dangerous side-effects. Small animals in these watersheds are at a higher risk, as the chemicals build up faster in their systems than in larger animals like humans. It’s not just a local problem. Studies in the Atlantic have found antibacterial chemicals in 31% dolphins. While the long-term effects of these chemicals are not completely clear, I shudder to think how this will impact marine life.

The Decision

When it comes down to it, antibacterial soaps are doing more harm than good. These soaps are no more effective than regular hand washing and studies suggest that they may be damaging our immune systems. If these chemicals aren’t helping us stay healthy, why use them?

Photo courtesy of http://webservicesinc.net/social-media-management/

I love social media.  My instagram, twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Yik Yak keep me up to date on what’s going on around me.  No matter how many times my mother tells me to put my phone away because these “apps are a waste of time and brain cells”, I’ve always felt like there was more to it than that.  Is this idea that social media is dumbing us down a myth?  A recent study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface tried to debunk this idea.

As humans, we are a copycat race.  We have advanced to where we are today by watching others and mimicking, therefore adapting.  So, in this age of the internet, will the endless amounts of information at our fingertips confuse us, or increase our knowledge base?

Phys.org described the experiment as follows:

“…researchers tested university students with a series of brain-straining questions. 100 volunteers were separated into 5 social networks each with 20 individuals. Connections between the people in the networks were assigned randomly by a computer to fit 5 different network patterns. At one extreme all the people in the network were connected directly to all the others, and at the other extreme there were no connections at all. To test how these networks helped the people in them to learn, the scientists quizzed the volunteers with a ‘cognitive reflection test’, a series of questions which rely on analytical reasoning to overcome incorrect intuition.  To see if the social networks helped the people in them to improve their answers the volunteers were asked each of the questions 5 times. The first time the volunteers had to figure it out on their own, the next 5 times they were allowed to copy the answer from their neighbours in the network.”

In the end it was discovered that the individuals with well connected networks performed better each time they were asked a question and each time they had the chance to steal their neighbors answer.  This finding proves that when we have well connected networks we mimic our peers, which helps us form the correct answer (Is Social).

In a way this is great.  We are becoming smarter by way of mimicry of our networks.  But the study didn’t stop there.

“The scientists compared how well the volunteers faired in the three consecutive questions to see if the volunteers were actually getting better at figuring out the problems themselves or just at copying the right answers. They found that there was no improvement from one question to the next; even when individuals had realized in the first round of questions that finding the solutions required deeper thought, in the next question they were back at square one.”

So where does this leave us now?  In the long run it seems that social media may make us dumber, or at least leave us at the same level as before, but for now it is increasing our knowledge base.  Although this study is a sizable advancement, I fell as if there aren’t enough factors being taken into consideration.  What if the person’s networking isn’t as advanced as it seems to be in this study?  Scientists didn’t seem to take into consideration that over half of children are already using social media by the age of 10 (Reporter).  What kind of networking could a seven year old possibly achieve?  Mom, dad, and Suzy from the playground?  In my mind we are still left with the same answers we had before.  We have no idea.  There are still so many questions to be answered when it comes to the long term effects, but because of social medias newly formed presence it may be awhile until we see the studies that may shock and scare the entire world.

But until then, all we know is that if you fit into the group of well networked adults, you may or may not be victimized by social media.

Sources:

“Is Social Networking Making Us Stupid?” Is Social Networking Making Us Stupid? N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://phys.org/news/2014-02-social-networking-stupid.html>.

Reporter, Daily Mail. “More than Half of Children Use Social Media by the Age of 10: Facebook Is Most Popular Site That Youngsters Join.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2552658/More-half-children-use-social-media-age-10-Facebook-popular-site-youngsters-join.html>.

I remember in my junior year of high school in my biology class, we watched an episode of MythBusters about cups of water exploding in the microwave when superheated, and when I got to college I immediately remembered this, since now I pretty much live off of a microwave. What if I wanted to make a cup of tea? Or heat some water up to make instant ramen? This was one of the main questions I had when I wanted my first cup of noodles and I couldn’t decide if it was safe to heat water up in the microwave, so I did my research.

There have been documented cases of water being superheated and exploding at the slightest touch but this is actually quite rare. According to this Snopes.com article, it takes near perfect conditions for this to happen, but in the slightest of chances that this could happen, the FDA has some guidelines you can follow:

Water is much less likely to explode if there is a foreign object in the cup with it. For example, adding instant coffee will greatly reduce the risk of an explosion.

Also, following the instructions in the microwave’s manual will help.

Another thing you can do is to not heat the water for extended amounts of time. For example, if you need to heat your water for three minutes, it’s best to do it in four 45-minute increments. This will allow the water to cool down slightly before it’s next heating.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to find the best time setting for your water and sticking with that time setting. Consistency will lessen the chance of an explosion because you’ll know from experience that a certain time setting works best.

Our eyebrows are one of the most expressive, identifying, non verbal forms of communication. They can be scrunched when ones angry, or have one of them go up if they are wondering about something. Today, people pluck, trim, and thread their eyebrows for a better physical appearance, but the real question is, why do we have them in the first place?

The answer is because of evolution and the natural loss of body hair over time due to natural selection., but our eyebrows remained. The real main purpose of them is for protection of our eyes, just like how the purpose of the hair on our head is to protect the scalp. If you think about it, if you are on a run with sweat dripping down your forehead, or caught in a rainstorm, the arch of our eyebrows keep the sweat or rain out of our eyes and instead, go down the sides of our face, allowing us to see clearly. Also, although sweat is natural and comes from our bodies, the salt in it irritates the eyes, which would be extremely uncomfortable if our eyes got irritated every time we sweat, and would make doing basic daily activities nearly impossible.

Some researchers think that if evolution didn’t play out as it did, and humans ended up not having eyebrows, we would have had another form of protection such as an extremely large, shelf-like forehead, or extra long eyelashes.

http://zidbits.com/2011/02/why-do-we-have-eyebrows/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGkbruHKduQ

Summertime is over; it’s starting to get chilly out and it becomes dark earlier. It’s a harsh reality but winter is coming. Do you have the wintertime blues? There is actually a known disorder, and it’s called seasonal depression. Seasonal depression is a type of depression that starts at the same time annually, with symptoms appearing in the fall into the winter.

While it is unclear the direct cause; there are several theories that could explain seasonal depression. Experts think that that the biological clock is disrupted due to reduced sunlight. Another plausible theory is that a reduced production of serotonin may lead to a feeling of lingering sadness.

So what makes a person more susceptible to season depression? It is most common in women, younger people, those with a family history of the disorder, those inflicted with other forms of depression, and those who reside further from the equator (who are familiar with four defined seasons).

The symptoms do not differ entirely from other forms of depression. Irritability, lack of energy, hypersensitivity, oversleeping, and weight gain are common symptoms. An interesting treatment is light therapy this attempts to trick the brain by showing bright lights that mimic summertime lighting to affect serotonin (brain chemicals linked to mood).

This disorder is interesting, however I cannot help but wonder is this is a direct correlation or there is a cofounding variable. Let’s test out the theories.

Direct correlation: wintertime causes depression (possible)Reverse correlation: depression causes wintertime (no)Third or cofounding variable: Less free time in winter, not as many hours in the day, or going back to school, not exercising as much (possible)

The idea that a third or cofounding variable certainly seems like it could be the cause of season depression. Having less free time, not as many hours in the day, and having to return to school all are stress-inducing scenarios that could link to seasonal depression. People are known to work out less in the winter. Who wants to get out of bed on a cold winter day to drive to the gym? It’s understandable, but when exercise can increase serotonin it would make sense that this could cause seasonal depression.

There is no direct causal link to why seasonal depression exists so it is interesting to explore other factors.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20021047

http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/seasonal-affective-disorder?page=2

As technology use increases, more and more people today use laptops. What they don’t realize, is that the electromagnetic radiation given off, can be more dangerous than any other radiation in the environment today. When I do my homework, I tend to sit on a chair with my laptop on my lap. You see so many people today even just keeping there laptop on their lap while watching TV or hanging out. There is a lot of research done to prove that laptops are especially dangerous when they are used on your lap. The FCC report regarding safety from EMFs in 1996 states that “A laptop needs to be placed at least 20 cm from the body.” However, this study was only measuring thermal dangers of a laptop. What researchers are more concerned about  are the non-thermal hazards of laptops-“The long-term effects on the immune system and the links being drawn between laptop radiation and serious conditions and diseases.” This is an article I found on all of the possible diseases/conditions that are linked to EMF’s.

Research published in the Environmental & Occupational Health journal cites a study in which they measured EMF levels in five commonly-used laptops of different brands. They found that although the EMF values were within the guidelines, “The EMF values in laptops were actually deemed risky in these guidelines for tumor development.” These values are also extremely high when the laptop is closer to the body. Health experts recommend that you put your laptop on a table or any kind of surface while you are using it. They also recommend that if you do use it on your lap, that you keep a pillow of at least 6″ thickness between your lap and the laptop.

Having your laptop on your lap can be especially dangerous for men if they’re concerned about their reproductive health. A study to evaluate the direct impact of laptop use on human sperm was published in January 2012 in Fertility & Sterility, “Showing a significant decrease in sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation. And this was after just four hours of exposure.”

Dr. Blank,  one of the most experienced researchers of the cellular and molecular effects of EMFs in the United States, explained how DNA is especially vulnerable to electromagnetic fields of all kinds. He says that there is evidence of harm, and that the harm can be significant.

” As Dr. Maret explains in an interview with ElectromagneticHealth.org, your body is a                                           complex communication system where cells, tissues, organs, and organisms “talk” – it’s a veritable “electronic symphony in your body.” This communication includes finely tuned bio-electrical transmitters and receivers, which are tuned like tuning into a radio station. And when you expose a radio antenna to a significant amount of external noise, you get static, and that is what is happening to your body in today’s EMF-saturated environment” (Mercola).

In conclusion, yes, your laptop is dangerous! To help prevent the harmful risks of EMF’s, there are simple precautions you can take like keeping it on a table top, not typing too close to it, or using a battery powered laptop. These steps are important to remember not only for kids, but for adults as well.

Works cited

“Your Laptop Is Dangerous on Your Lap.” Earth Calm. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

“Warning: Laptop Use Exposes You to EMFs.” Mercola.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Human Calculator

After reading a post of a fellow classmate about superheros it actually brought back a memory of a television show that I had watched called Stan Lee’s Super Humans. This gave me an idea about this post. We may not have people like superman, spider-man, or the incredible hulk; nevertheless we do have people with extraordinary supernatural powers. What I have to share is not about actual superpowers like strength but instead is about super intelligence. One in particular would be a man named Scott Flansburg.  He is in the Guinness’ World Records for having the fastest speeds of mental math.

You can ask Scott to add five 3-digit numbers and he can do so with ease before you can even punch the numbers into your calculator. He can also replicate this supernatural talent with division, times tables, and other math problems. Scott travels to different school taking to children, give lectures and speeches to adults at conferences, appears on talk shows to talk to everyone in the world.  There is no real explanation for Scott’s gift; however, he tries to teach others that they can calculate like him (not at the same rate of speed).

Click on this Washington Post article to see if toy can add like Scott.

Strauss, Valerie. “A Real “human Calculator”” The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company, 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

“Scott Flansburg The Human Calculator® | Global Ambassador of World Maths Day.” Scott Flansburg The Human Calculator. Web. 19 Sept. 2014

I knew that the scent of somebody played a role in the laws of attraction. But I would have never guessed that it was this extreme. We cut people off in a second, and we do that in large part because of the way they smell. And it is not the smell of their perfume or cologne or deodorant. It is that underlying natural smell that you only pick up when you enter someone’s house or they lend you their clothes.

Causation: Smells cause attraction

Reverse Causation: Attraction causes smells

Third Variable: Brain perception of the smells, attractiveness ect.

The article I read at first stated that “These are micro-smells called pheromones. They’re so subtle you can’t detect them consciously, and at the same time, powerful enough to influence your decisions about attraction” (Oz). I’m pretty sure it is a subconscious thing that I, myself have never took notice to until today. For example when you walk into a new house, you always make decisions on it; in large part somewhat consciously on the smell. It continued on to say that “These chemicals are also important because they help animals distinguish each other” (Oz). Science says that we are animals, so this would mean that we also may be using a scent of smell to distinguish each other. The animals do so to prevent mating with family. We could be doing that in the same way.

Here’s how it happens: “These odorless steroids float through the air, stimulating the nerves in your nose. The nerve signals travel to your brain, triggering complicated chemical reactions” (Oz).

Then I did some more research and came across an article in Psychology Today that said, “Some researchers think scent could be the hidden cosmological constant in the sexual universe, the missing factor that explains who we end up with” (Svoboda). This is because we subconsciously will be immensely un-attracted to someone, and we can not figure out why. But this is why we could be entirely repulsed by someone who is completely perfect on Instagram or Facebook.

“It may even explain why we feel “chemistry”—or “sparks” or “electricity”—with one person and not with another” (Svoboda). IS THIS WHERE “THE SPARK” COMES FROM? Could it be that the spark is actually real, but it underlies subconsciously in our smell? It is considered the greatest lie of all time, to not meet up with someone again. You tell yourself “there was no spark” and excuse yourself from ever seeing the other person again. But maybe there literally was no spark because they did not smell good enough for your brain to make a positive chemical reaction to.

“One of the most common things women tell marriage counselors is, ‘I can’t stand his smell,'” says Herz, the author of The Scent of Desire (Svoboda). It is funny how this also  plays a part in divorce as well as initial attraction. People grow to make good connotations with each smell. The more you grow to dislike your husband, the more repulsive his smell becomes to you. I guess this goes for everyone. If the guy a girl is on a date with subconsciously smells like her repulsive ex boyfriend to her, the girl will become immediately un-attracted.

So what would be a good experiment here? How would someone test this out? I suppose men could be given randomized clothing worn by women. They can be told to tell which ones are the better smells, and then they could be set up on dates with the women whose smells they found enticing. It would actually probably a really good gameshow. If they found the girl attractive in person, the smell test would show to play a very prominent part in the laws of attraction.

Works Cited

Oz, Dr, and Roizen, Dr. “The Scent of Attraction – Youbeauty.com.” YouBeauty. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Svoboda, Elizabeth. “Scents and Sensibility.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

A new study suggests that women who have undergone some sort of traumatic event such as miscarriages, rape, abuse as a child, etc. have been linked to addictions to food. These women took a survey where they were asked if PTSD was experienced because of the trauma that these women endured; they were asked if they had certain symptoms to determine if it was PTSD. Along with these questions the women were also asked if they’d noticed that they were  eating food more often than not which, as the survey shows, is relatively true.

There were almost 50,000 female participants in the study, all of whom were asked the same series of questions. It was found that the women who had more symptoms of PTSD were more likely to be addicted to food.

Overall, 66 percent of those who had experienced a traumatic event reported at least one symptom of PTSD, according to the study.

The researchers also found that 8 percent of all women in the study had food addiction. But this disorder was more common among those with PTSD symptoms: Nearly 18 percent of women with 6 to 7 symptoms of PTSD had food addiction, compared to 6 percent of women who had no PTSD symptoms during their lifetime. (Although the study did not ask whether a doctor had diagnosed the women with PTSD, people with four or more symptoms of PTSD may have the condition, the researchers said.)

The link between food addiction and PTSD symptoms was strongest among those whose PTSD symptoms occurred before age 10 (Trauma and Food Addiction Linked for Women).

One problem with the study that was pointed out is that it did not ask when their PTSD started, therefore it cannot be determined whether the food addiction or the PTSD came first. For me, another problem that I had with this study is its accuracy. What other food addiction levels is this study being compared to? What if there’s little difference between other women who have other conditions like depression or anxiety which have little to nothing to do with trauma? Also, why weren’t men surveyed. If they were surveyed and showed similar results couldn’t it be determined that food dependency was a side effect of PTSD rather than another linked issue? There are many problems with this study because it allows so many questions unanswered. If it was conducted in a better way, I’m sure it would be more convincing.

Bibliography

Have you ever wanted to have the power of healing yourself like the heroes in the comic books? Well, that might be a possibility in the near future. There is a new research program out that has dedicated itself to figure out if a chip implanted inside of the human body would allow it’s inhabitant to tackle any infections or injured organs at rapid speeds.

How this would happen is the tiny chip would send electrical pulses through it’s inhabitant’s body; doing this allows the chip to gather information on the condition of your organs and send the necessary stimuli to help combat the infection/injury.

The idea for the technology is based on a biological process known as neuromodulation, in which the peripheral nervous system (the nerves that connect every other part of the body to the brain and spinal cord) monitors the status of internal organs and regulate the body’s responses to infection and disease. When a person is sick or injured, this natural process can sometimes be thrown off, according to DARPA. Instead of making a person feel better, neuromodulation can actually exacerbate a condition, causing pain, inflammation and a weakened immune system (Tiny Implants Could Give Humans Self-Healing Superpowers).

Now you may be thinking, “Hey, don’t they have devices that are very similar to this already available?” And the answer to your question is yes. However, the neat thing about this device is that it is very small and can be implanted with just a needle. It’s quite a revolutionary design because that enables it to be placed “exactly where it is needed at the nerve endings” (Tiny Implants Could Give Humans Self-Healing Superpowers).

I think this is a very interesting idea as well as it is a revolutionary one. It baffles my mind thinking about the actual size of the device and then comparing that to it’s task. It seems unimaginable. Granted, the device hasn’t actually been made yet but the fact that we believe it’s possible is still pretty exciting. It makes me think about all of the innovative technological devices that are yet to come. If we could create something that helps heal our bodies, perhaps we could create something that adds years onto our lives, or prevents us from dying for a while. Heck, if we can create devices that can conquer death, maybe a time machine isn’t out of the question either.

Bibliography

Since the 4th grade, I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve always been considered to be on the more “creative” side of the intelligence spectrum, being a very musical person as I’ve played both the guitar and alto sax nearly my whole life. I’ve always had a tendency to “think outside the box,” so from personal experience I can support the hypothesis of ADHD making kids more creative. Scientifically, creativity can be defined with divergent thinking concepts. Divergent thinking is being able to think spontaneously with unexpected ideas, also known as “thinking outside the box.” Convergent thinking is the opposite, and is just the ability to deduct incorrect answers with logical reasoning. Kids with ADHD divergent thinking abilities are usually off the charts, whereas their convergent thinking skills are sub-par. A study was conducted by Holly White of the University of Eckerd and Priti Shah of the University of Michigan in order to see if this hypothesis was indeed true.

The study included sixty college students. Half of the students were diagnosed with ADHD, and the other half didn’t have ADHD. Both groups were similar in GPA and other academic areas. Both groups answered questions about their achievements in creative areas. These areas included music, humor, writing, etc. The study found that students with ADHD were significantly more successful in these areas than those without ADHD. It also found in another series of questions that those with ADHD prefer to come up with ideas whereas those without mostly prefer to develop ideas. This relates back to divergent thinking and the ability to spontaneously come up with ideas. The ADHD kids appear to be stronger in this area. A double-blind study in 2009 found that those on Adderrall with ADHD and those that weren’t medicated showed no difference in divergent thinking by performing several tests. However, ADHD kids taking Adderrall were shown to have improvements in convergent thinking. Now only one question remains, why?

I have came up with several hypotheses about these findings within the studies. In individuals with ADHD, their thoughts are spontaneous and cluttered. They are impulsive and are more open to ideas that individuals without ADHD might dismiss as odd or weird. In order to come up with new innovative ideas, especially in music I’ve personally found, one must be very open-minded and experimental. When writing a song most people might reject certain chords within a song for sounding too out of the ordinary and not traditional. Musicians with ADHD are more impulsive with their ideas and in turn are more experimental leading to more creative sounding music. The is a plus side to individuals with ADHD as I’ve observed that individuals without ADHD, especially musicians, might rely on drugs to further expand their mind and be more creative in song writing. It is why many musicians tend to write there best work while under the influence of drugs. They become more experimental with things and in turn, more creative. Their brain doesn’t reject certain ideas as being weird or out of the ordinary. In terms of the Adderrall improving convergent thinking, I believe it is due to an increase in attentiveness to detail. Convergent thinking applies to traditional standardized test taking. When going through a multiple choice question individuals with ADHD, including myself, tend to skip over minor details that end up changing the context of the problem. They also tend to over-think the answers and drift off-task. When on a stimulant medication such as Adderrall, attentiveness is increased and these careless mistakes aren’t made as frequently.

In conclusion, I believe it’s true that ADHD individuals have a strong advantage in creativity. They have the advantage in divergent thinking, whereas non-ADHD individuals are stronger in convergent thinking. Their strength in convergent thinking leads them to be better logical reasoners.

Sources:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201106/is-the-adhd-brain-more-creative

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/02/08/adhds-upside-is-creativity-says-new-study.html

http://old.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110311153543.htm

Do you ever find yourself in an important conversation yawning in the persons face? Not only is this ridiculously embarrassing but, it looks like you’re bored out of your mind. I thought of this question when I was rushing last week and desperately trying not to yawn in the faces of the girls I was talking to. What I learned was opposite of what I had previously believed.

Researchers have found that we don’t yawn because we are tired we yawn because when you’re tired the temperature of your brain increases. When we yawn it cools off our brain and puts it back to the temperature it needs to be at to function properly. With this knowledge it then sparked another question, why does yawning seem to be contagious?

Scientists at the University of Vienna recently did a study in which they observed pedestrians yawning in both Austria and in the United States. What they found was that individuals yawned most when they were in weather that was cold enough outside that when they yawned it cooled there brain down, but not hot enough to make there brain increase in temperature.

Another study done at the University of Albany discovered that yawning could be influenced by something as simple as a hot or cold pack. They had individuals watch a video in which people were yawning and either hold a cold or hot pack to their head. They found that the people with the hot pack on their heads were 41% more likely to yawn than those with a cold pack on their heads.

In conclusion yawning is the bodies’ way of cooling down your brain and is highly contagious in certain temperatures.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-do-we-yawn-nothing-to-do-with-boredom–were-just-cooling-our-brains-say-scientists-9356468.html