Yearly Archives: 2015

The Martian

In one of the latest blockbusters to hit the box office, “The Martian,” an astronaut has to sustain life on Mars and, while attempting to do so, finds a way to plant and maintain potatoes.  However, the scientific aspect of this simply does not add up.  There are several components to Mars that will not allow for the plants to be grown there any time soon.

The first point is that the plant would need certain chemicals that Martian soil is devout of.  This problem is actually solved by the astronaut, though, as he uses his own waste as a source of nitrogen.  This also helps many other issues that could pertain to produce on Mars, as it could also add bacteria to the soil.  In addition to this and a few more, it would also make the soil more firm, allowing for it to catch water for the plants as well.  While the astronaut is able to grow the potatoes, he really should not have been able to.  Perchlorates are ridden all throughout the Martian soil, making it impossible to sustain produce.  This chemical would simply kill all the roots of the plant.

Another argument to make is that the lack of sufficient gravity would harm plants.  This claim is absolutely true, although not for all plants.  While the potatoes that the astronaut grows would struggle with the lessened gravity, studies conducted by astronauts on the International Space Station concluded that tomatoes and wheat (among others) actually grew better than they would on Earth.

There are plenty of other variable to consider as well.  The plants would need the perfect blend of carbon dioxide, pressure, heat, light, and nutrients in order to successfully thrive on the red planet.  This would mostly depend on the atmosphere of Mars, which all but seems to be unable of supplying the proper quantities of all these variables.

While scientists believe that humans will begin to be able to live on Mars by the 2030’s, there are still substantial steps that need to be taken to make this possible, such as sustaining the life of produce.  While this was made out to be relatively easy by the astronaut in “The Martian,” humanity still has a long way to go before turning life on Mars from a fantasy movie scene to reality.

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Sources:

http://www.livescience.com/52444-growing-food-on-mars.html

http://www.windows2universe.org/kids_space/lifeonmars.html

CAFFEINEEEE

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So how about that Starbucks line in the hub every morning? The ridiculous one with no end, the one that takes twenty minutes on a good day- yes that one. I wait on that line every single morning without fail regardless on if it affects my attendance to class and so do many other people. But why- why do we wait so long for a simple cup of tea or cup of coffee? According to the FDA caffeine is a natural thing in greater than 60 plants and is at its highest level in our blood after an hour and then it remains there for anywhere between four and six hours. In the United States the FDA reports that 80% of adults consume caffeine every single day whether it be through their cup of coffee or something similar to a five- hour- energy shot (Medicines in my Home). There are many dangerous effects, as well as moderate effects, that caffeine can have on a person’s body and we should explore them before we decide to wait on that Starbucks line again tomorrow.

According to the Food and Drug Administration some of the minor effects of caffeine include: being jittery, not being able to fall asleep, faster heart beat, uneven heart beat, high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety, dizziness, dehydration, and addiction. People develop a tolerance with caffeine as an alcoholic would with alcohol in which they need more to feel awake and when they do not have it they have withdrawn symptoms. One major effect that caffeine can have on a person is death; Yes the excessive amount of coffee we as Penn State students consume can KILL us. The FDA noted a case where a 19 year old overdosed on caffeine tablets which are like five hour energy and contain the same amount of caffeine as 3 cups of coffee (Medicine in my Home). We all think we would never take that much but sometimes we don’t even notice especially with the trinity size at Starbucks or the quadruple shots of espresso in our machiattos. Additionally, Health Line, a health blog, notes that caffeine can cause caffeine to be in the bones, painful breast lumps, fertility woes, bloodstream to baby problems, and brain effects (Pietrangelo). The effects on the brain extend to the addiction it provides and the withdrawals it can give as well as being the cause of headaches. Caffeine can contribute to bone problems such as osteoporosis because it gets absorbed into the bones thus thinning them. Also, if someone is drinking lots of caffeine and is pregnant it can cause the baby to have an increased heart rate and metabolism or even stunt the growth of the baby sometimes resulting in loss of the baby (Pietrangelo). The painful lumps in  the breasts that Health Line mentions are fibrocystic disease and are not harmful, however, what if the anxiety caused by caffeine makes someone believe that maybe they have cancer? What if they believe they have breast cancer but its just the caffeine causing them unnecessary scares and issues?

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Now there are of course benefits of caffeine with the most obvious one being keeping someone alert and awake. According to WebMD, a website headed by physicians, caffeine can be used with things such as ADHD, type 2 diabetes, headaches, and asthma. It can be a positive thing to use for people who suffer from these things especially as a better alternative than drugs. Although caffeine is a drug the National Collegiate Athletic Association allows athletes to use it to keep them awake for their long hours of practice and everything. Furthermore caffeine is present in many over- the- counter medicines like acetaminophen because it can aid in things like migraines and headaches so well (Caffeine). An epidemiologist from Harvard named Frank Hu, according to Alternet.org, conducted a study and looked at his data to conclude that coffee can aid in the prevention of type 2 diabetes because it helps the body make insulin and insulin would regulate the blood sugar of a normal person or of a diabetic (Gonzalez). The Business Insider cites a fact that caffeine can actually help improve memory with certain things such as straight memorization, however, it really varies from person to person. In fact, the claim is that caffeine can have the opposite effect on some people (Loria). Would you want to take that chance?

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All in all after this research there are many things to consider with the extent of the effects that caffeine has on the body as well as whether to start drinking it if a person has not already. Personally I believe after this research that if a person has not yet started to be a caffeine fiend then they should cut their losses and not try it. I’ve never actually read up on the negative effects of caffeine before this and now my morning anxiety and avid headaches make complete sense. Although there is a time and place for caffeine such as studying for exams, it should not be abused. Even with that said, it is better to rest than to cram all of the studying into one night even with the possibility that the caffeine could help the memorization of exam material. Next time I’m waiting forever on the Starbucks line I’ll be thinking of the many health issues that caffeine can cause me and debate the decaf coffee or the passion tea. Many options do not contain caffeine and many do that you would not even think of. Think carefully about what you want to do and put int your body when choosing your drinks and study methods. After all, caffeine is a drug and you wouldn’t do drugs everyday when you get up, would you?

Sources:

Loria, Erin Brodwin and Kevin. “What Caffeine Does to Your Body and Brain.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/physical-and-mental-affects-of-caffeine-2015-4>.

Gonzalez, Robert T. “10 Things Coffee Does to Your Body.” Alternet. N.p., 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.alternet.org/drugs/10-things-coffee-does-your-body>.

Pietrangelo, Ann. “17 Effects of Caffeine on the Body.” Healthline. Ed. George Krucik. Healthline Networks, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <http://www.healthline.com/health/caffeine-effects-on-body>.

Medicines In My Home: Caffeine and Your Body. N.p.: Food and Drug Administration, 2007. Print.

“Caffeine: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings – WebMD.”WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-979-caffeine.aspx?activeingredientid=979&activeingredientname=caffeine>.

Can you remember your dreams?

Everyone has been there. You wake up one morning after a really nice dream and you want to remember it but you can’t. Why? Well the short answer is that science doesn’t actually know yet. Here’s the long answer.

When you fall asleep, you go through the four stages of sleep. The final stage being the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. This is the stage in which you dream. Your brain activity is much higher in this stage. Typically, if you are woken during this stage, you’re more likely to remember the dream. Actually, according to this study, you’re more likely to remember dreams the more you wake up in the night. The study took 36 participants and measured their brain activity while awake and asleep. Half of the participants were “high recallers” because they frequently remembered their dreams (nearly every day) and the other participants were “low recallers” because they hardly remembered their dreams (once a month). Basically, the researchers found that both groups had similar brain activity when they heard their name while asleep. However, while awake the high recallers had a decrease in the alpha wave in their brain. The study says this means that the brains of high recallers are activating more sections of their brain. This possibly suggests that the brain reacts to outside stimuli more and wakes the participants up more which could help explain why they remember dreams more. The study said that on average, the low recallers woke up an average of 14 minutes during the night and the high recallers were awake an average of 30 minutes during the night.

Basically what I took from this is that if you have more brain activity, you will be more likely to remember dreams and not get quite as much sleep. Still, that didn’t explain why. This article talks about the thoughts of Sigmund Freud. Freud  suggested that we don’t remember our dreams because they are thoughts or feelings that we are repressing because we cannot handle them at the time. He says that our brains don’t want us to remember some dreams because they’re too traumatic. This doesn’t make sense to me because I am pretty sure some of the crazy and random dreams I have are not too much for me to handle. So I think this is a possible theory but probably unlikely.

Another theory is that our brains don’t remember dreams because dreams by nature are very vague. This article suggests that dreams that are reoccurring are more likely to be remembered. This theory makes more sense to me. Dreams are very bizarre and we may need to have them more than once to really remember them. Then again, when I have a dream I can never tell if I’ve had the dream before or if it is an especially vivid new dream. This site also talks about ways to possibly remember your dreams better.

As we talked about in class, not everything can be explained by science. Perhaps this is one of those topics. Or, perhaps we simply need to do more research on the topic. Then again, does it really matter if we remember our dreams? Probably not, but it is a highly discussed topic anyway.

Weight Loss or Weight Gain?

Fun fact: I’m a vegetarian/vegan. How many times do you hear this every time you do an ice breaker from countless people? Well, I’m one of those people because i love to tell people so that maybe they will get the idea to become one also. The first question I usually get from people is “how much weight have I lost since becoming one” and I’m kind of confused as to why that’s always everyone’s first thought. When I became one it wasn’t anything to do with being healthy or my weight- it was entirely because in my opinion, eating something that was living with flesh and blood is disgusting. It always makes me think why people have this misconception because truthfully in my past five years of being one I have eaten more junk food and carbs and gained more weight than ever before. There are many benefits to being a vegetarian, especially when done the correct way, however I just can’t help but wonder if everyone else is doing it for weight. Then I also wonder: does being a vegetarian help you to lose weight?

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So I typed in this question on google and one of the first links to appear was this this one. According to the Vegetarian Times one of the main reasons to “go veg” is that the person can lose weight or at least maintain it at a low number. The website then cites a study that was conducted in California by Dean Ornish, the director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in which they gave overweight people a diet that consisted of being a vegetarian and followed them for a few years (Why Go Veg). The study concluded that the diet worked because the people lost an average around 24 pounds within a year. Now, that sounds pretty good to me except that that’s only 2 pounds a month and that is the average. The study as cited in this article, although there are others, is misleading because they do not display all of the data (Why Go Veg). Although anecdotes are not reliable I can personally say it has not helped me lose weight and in addition correlation does not equal causation. There could have been third variable factors such as the persons exercise or amount they ate in this study which the website fails to recognize. According to Nutrition Secrets, a website that specializes in nutrionist knowledge, there was a study at the Arnold School of Public Health in which they conducted a randomized control trial where people were assigned to be vegetarian, vegan, fish only eater, semi vegetarian, and meat eaters for six months. After the time was up they noticed that the vegans lost the most weight at an average of 16.5 pounds (Kamo). Additionally, Livestrong gives tips on their website as to how not eating meat can help you lose weight including portion control and nutrient density. Those of us who do not eat meat have more leniency with portion size and everything so that we are still not eating as many calories and as much fat. Live strong also lists disadvantages of becoming a vegetarian and how to do it wrong (Vegetarian Weight Loss Program).

I know proper vegetarians could lose weight easily and maintain it low but most people do not know how to do that. It took me until recently to notice all of the mistakes I was making in my diet especially since I’m a picky eater. I’m that vegetarian that dislikes most beans, chick peas, and so much more; Which is not good. Rodale Wellness is a wellness website that contains a list of the biggest mistakes that vegetarians make and I noted that I do everything on the list. The list contains: forgetting protein during meals, not paying attention to quality of the food, and not realizing how high in calories vegetarian food is. All of these things can contribute to gaining weight as a vegetarian. The page lists solution to the above problems and an in depth explanation into it. By not having protein during a meal it doesn’t really fill you up and then you want to eat more causing more calorie intake until you are full. Also, for the second problem someone needs to pay attention to the fact that candy and fried food may not have meat but that does not mean it is good for you. In no way is it okay to shove sugar down your throat just because you don’t eat meat. Lastly, many vegetarian meals such as frozen ones are ridiculously high in sodium and calories and should not be overlooked. The article notes that, “frequently used vegetarian ingredients, like nuts, seeds, oils or soy cheeses, can pack in calories and fat.” The same is true for vegans because their foods are made with almost the same things if not more sodium (Can Being a Vegetarian Make You Fat). Happy Herbivore is a vegetarian/vegan website that sells meal plans and recipes for people like me. One of the tabs is a blog and one lists the main “culprits” as they call them for weight gain while being a vegetarian. The following are things that they consider to be causes of weight gain: oil, vegan substitutes, caloric density, salt, drinking calories, alcohol, eating out, fiber- broken foods, dried fruits, coffee, and overeating (Nixon). It is pretty difficult to cut these things out and most people overlook these simple things that could cause them to not gain a “vegetarian 15” like a “freshman 15”.

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So in conclusion being a vegetarian/vegan CAN reduce your weight IF you do it correctly. By taking in all of the tips listed in this blog you can help lower your weight and live a healthier life. Of course there are those of us, like me, who do eat copious amounts of junk food and it still may not completely show, HOWEVER, my arteries and intestines may be ruined from the obscene amount of salt thrown in my food and the junk I eat. I plan on taking this to heart and really working on this not for the weight loss- but to be healthier and benefit my body. There are many advantages to this diet for yourself and for the world, however, the motivation for most people to change their diet is the weight factor and how healthy it is for their body. So next time you pick up a steak think about this: Are the numbers worth it?

“Why Go Veg?” Vegetarian Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/why-go-veg-learn-about-becoming-a-vegetarian/>.

Kamo, Mike. “Does Being a Vegan Truly Make You Live Longer And Lose More Weight?” Nutrition Secrets. Nutrition Secrets, 08 June 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nutritionsecrets.com/going-vegan-lose-weight-live-longer/>.

“Vegetarian Weight Loss Program.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/363856-vegetarian-weight-loss-program/>.

“Can Going Vegetarian Make You Fat?” Rodale Wellness. N.p., 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2015. <http://www.rodalewellness.com/food/can-going-vegetarian-make-you-fat>.

Nixon, Lindsay. “Not Losing Weight on a Vegan Diet? Here’s Why.” Meal Mentor. N.p., 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <https://www.getmealplans.com/#weekly_plan>.

Zzzzzzz….

I don’t know about most people, but I have a pretty noisy roommate. She stays up way later than I do and loves to listen to her shows without headphones and call her boyfriend. So of course when I’m trying to sleep and I don’t want to say something I put my headphones in and drift off to my music. Sure I could use earplugs, but how uncomfortable is that? So I created a sleep playlist for myself composed of sleepy songs that wouldn’t make me want to get up and dance. But sometimes when I wake up in the morning I don’t feel as refreshed as I should no matter how much sleep I got. I still have my country music playing in my ears as when I went to bed and I got over 8 hours of sleep… so why don’t I feel like it?

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What most people don’t realize when we fall asleep with music or the television on in the background is how much it really affects our sleep. We’re all guilty of it including myself because I either am trying desperately to drown out the noise of my roommate or I pass out with my Netflix playing, however, this can actually be detrimental to our health. Because of the noise during our sleep our sleep stages never complete. Stages 1 and 2 are light sleep and then stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep that we experience. While sleeping with noise it can cause us to toss and turn and never fully get into stages 3 and 4, which we need for a good nights rest according to the Sleep Foundation. Furthermore there are different types of noise according to this foundation that can affect your sleep (Sleep Foundation). White noise is defined by them as a fan or air conditioner to help drown out the noise of something like a door opening and is not bad for your sleep cycle because it remains at a constant, steady volume and flow. A television or music however are constantly changing tempo and volume so they disrupt everything and do not allow you to sleep well. The Sleep Foundation reports that 5% of Americans report using white noise in their rooms while they are trying to sleep (Sleep Foundation). “PsychCentral” lists four main things to avoid to get a good night’s rest on their website and among them is advising people to not listen to music while even in their bed claiming that the bed is specifically used for sleeping (PsychCentral). A bunch of doctors on “healthtap.com” answered people’s questions about sleep and music. Dr. Robert Woods, a psychiatrist, states that during sleep the brain is trying to ignore the music that is playing while you try to sleep and furthermore says “that would require more energy and activity in the brain thus the quality of sleep could be compromised.” Many other doctors agreed with him or had similar things to say on the matter (Health Tap).

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Although it is common knowledge that noise disrupts the sleep cycle, some people have other theories. The “Mozart Effect” according to The Mozart Effect website is “the uses of music and sound [to] improve listening disorders, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, autism, and other mental and physical disorders and injuries” (Mozart Effect). According to a blog on World Biology Education, some people also believe that music helps them fall asleep quickly and deeply, but it could be a distraction to the mind. Sleeping is a time where the brain gets rest and how can it rest if it is trying to process and listen to a song or a television show? Sleepio is a website that claims that sounds of nature, ambient music, classical music, audiobooks and podcasts are good things to listen to while falling asleep and will aid in improving the quality of sleep (Simon). Another website titled “No Sleepless Nights” provided a bunch of different sleep playlists for someone to help them fall asleep such as Beethoven’s “Symphony 9” or “Ambient Life” by Diatonis (The Best Music to Sleep To). Through the many websites I researched I’ve noticed that some people truly feel the music helps them sleep better. So is everyone different or is one of these theories wrong?

Through my findings and research I have concluded that it truly depends on the person whether the music or television will affect their sleep. Through personal experience I know that when I put my playlist on at night to fall asleep it clearly affects be because the next day I am useless and a zombie despite the maybe 10 hours of sleep I got. By reading all of these different health websites and opinions of doctors I’ve seen how it can be a good thing, however, I mainly tend to agree with Dr. Robert Woods with the fact that how can you fully fall asleep if your brain is working to eliminate the noise of the music or listen to it. I think I’ll try to sleep in silence from now and on conduct my own experiment by myself on myself and I believe everyone should try it because according to the conclusion of my findings: everyone could be different.

Sources:

“Hear.” : Sound & Sleep. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <https://sleepfoundation.org/bedroom/hear.php>.

“Top 11 Doctor Insights on Is It Bad to Sleep with Music on – HealthTap.”HealthTap. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <https://www.healthtap.com/topics/is-it-bad-to-sleep-with-music-on>.

“The Mozart Effect® – Books, Music, Resources and More!” The Mozart Effect® – Books, Music, Resources and More! N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <http://www.mozarteffect.com/>.

Kyle, Simon. “Sleepio.” Sleepio. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <https://www.sleepio.com/articles/sleep-aids/sleep-music/>.

“The Best Music To Sleep To.” Nosleeplessnights.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nosleeplessnights.com/great-music-to-fall-asleep-or-relax-to/>.

The Fake World of Restaurant

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At some point in their existence, I would bet every single person in this class bar none has visited a fast food restaurant and, even though the food may not be of great quality, enjoyed the scent of the restaurant. I know I certainly have. But while scouring through the news a couple of months ago, I found out that this is often nothing more than artificial scents pumped into the air. I remember reading the about how the fast food franchises used those scents to increase the amount of food customers would buy at their locations. That may be their goal, but do fake smells actually entice people? I predict that people can indeed be enticed by false odors.

All sign point to this true. Scent machines were installed at a café at Legoland in what turned out to be an experiment without ever intended to be one. At the end of the first day, an employee is mentioned to feel that “they couldn’t believe how much they sold.” The logical answer in this case is to say that the scent machines caused this uptick in sales, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Third variables are everywhere here. The theme pack could have had extra visitors that day, or a favorite item could have been a daily special. There is no way to say for sure whether the artificial scent was the cause of the increase. What is known is that the same company that produced the scents for this café also produces them for such fast food brands such as McDonalds, which could be used to draw a correlation to increased fast food sales when the scent machines are installed. While correlation does not equal causation, this is no reason to rule out the importance of the connection keeping consistent with my alternative hypothesis.

All though my alternative hypothesis was holding up, I wanted to know the science behind smell enticement. This article at US News details this process. Smell goes through the nose directly into the brain. This occurs before we even have time to think about it, meaning that the smell emotionally creates a pull on us before we even process what is happening. It is via this mechanism US News says that fake odors can take advantage of, making us crave something before we can make a logical decision about it.

While there is major scientific study to prove my theory, it appears that I can tentatively reject the null hypothesis in this case. All evidence points to the fact that smell can indeed influence people to buy a certain food, or more of it for that matter.

Is Homeschool Bad?

As much as I hate to admit it, I loved school. Elementary school, middle school, and high school that is. Everyday was a new activity and chance to talk to my friends during class, ignore lectures, have gym class, play on school teams, and work with my peers. I took full advantage of everything my school offered including playing and managing sports teams, being in clubs, and really trying to make friends while also focusing on my school work. My best friends come from the people I met one day during class and I couldn’t imagine it not being that way. About 2.2 million students are homeschooled across the United States according to the National Home Education Research Institute. So how on earth do people deal with homeschooling? Where do they make their friends and does it affect their ability to make friends later in life? Besides just not having friends, are there other affects of not experiencing these simple childhood things such as gym class?

(RNS1-apr23) The Romeike family studies around a table at home. For use with RNS-HOME-SCHOOl, transmitted on April 23, 2013, Photo courtesy Homeschool Legal Defense Association.

In my life I have met one person who was homeschooled, and he was a tad awkward. Sometimes he wouldn’t know what to say or couldn’t work in a group well with others and I always wondered how that could be. We ended up becoming great friends, but only after four years of him being in a public high school. According to everydaylife.com, children who do not go to regular school and are homeschooled can have severe effects on their social skills because they do not interact on a daily basis with other people their age so they do not have the chance to form relationships. Also, they could just not know any basic communication skills because they spend the day with one single teacher which could be their parent (Blau). Furthermore without basic communication skills and knowledge on how to work in a group, how could one have success in a career? Most jobs look for people with ample skills in working with others and experience and those who are homeschooled do not have experience. When being put into a group for a project everyone must take on the responsibilities and tasks they are given and divide them up while at the same time working in tandem. The person who was homeschooled the person could either try to do everything themselves and not allow others or not do their part because they do not know how to just do one part of something. Similarly to group projects at work and at school, doing a sport works the same way with learning how to work with others as one rather than on one’s own; Homeschooling does not offer sports or extracurriculars. One last disadvantage to the social skills of a person who is homeschooled according to a website about how to successfully homeschool your children is that they do not receive the diversity they need in their lives just sitting at home. Everyone comes from somewhere different and everyone has a different story to contribute to the classroom and to the workplace (Successful Homeschooling). For example if someone has never worked with someone of a different ethnicity or economic background how are they supposed to properly integrate themselves and work as one with someone so different?

Although there are many social downsides to homeschooling, it does have profound effects and advantages as well. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, people who are home schooled score around 15 to 30 percentile points higher than students who are not homeschooled on standardized tests such as the SATs. The NHER also notes that students who are home schooled can perform well in life with socializing in the careers and also be involved in extra curricular activities, however, there is still a percent that does only remain in their house (Ray). Additionally according to timeforlearning.com, a website and tool for those who are homeschooling, there was a study conducted at then University of St. Thomas in which they noted that students who were homeschooled graduated college at a rate of 66.7% while those who were in public school graduated at a rate 10% less than that (Homeschool). The National Center for Education Statistics states that 91% of the parents who chose to homeschool their children said it was because of environmental concerns at public schools. Although some of these parents present a good point due to the fact that there could be drugs and such in public schools, they are not taking into account the fact that then the house is the only environment the student will be exposed to (NCES). What if the house is messy or the situation is not good at home? Those students will then have no escape and be trapped. Regardless, no matter how good things can be at home for someone, everyone needs time out of the house in a different environment to relax and escape just as someone needs their house to escape from their stresses and worries at school. These things may all be great with the higher test scores and graduation rates of home schooled students, however, they still cannot develop social skills at the same rate and levels that students in public schools can because there is no one to work with in groups or collaborate with on projects.

After reading these statistics and conducting my research about the positives and negatives of homeschooling and how it can affect the social skills of the student I myself have concluded that there is a negative affect on those who are homeschooled. They cannot possibly possess the social skills needed in life after being in their house all day with just one teacher one on one as they would get being in a classroom of 25 students with different teachers for every subject. Students need diversity and variety in their lives especially starting at a young age. Students are being homeschooled starting in kindergarten and that can affect their brains because that is when students experiment with friendships and make friendships. Can you imagine entering college or even high school knowing basically no one while everyone else knows each other? Can you imagine how used to different teachers they are while you are not? Can you imagine socializing with people during lunch after not socializing with anyone your whole life? Can you imagine being homeschooled?

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Sources:

Ray, Brian. “Research Facts on Homeschooling.” Research Facts on Homeschooling. National Home Education Research Institute, 6 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nheri.org/research/research-facts-on-homeschooling.html>.

“Homeschool, Afterschool, Summer Study – Time4Learning.”Time4Learning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. <https://www.time4learning.com/homeschool/homeschoolstatistics.shtml>.

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=91

Blau, Liza. “Social Disadvantages of Home Schooling.” Everyday Life. Global Post, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/social-disadvantages-home-schooling-26526.html>.

“Homeschooling.” Homeschooling. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/>.

Drugs and our personalities

We know there are people out there that do drugs, everyday or once in a while. They can also make you really chill at least from seeing others doing it. What I want to focus on more is how does a drug affect a person’s personality, specifically marijuana.

Of course most people know that since the 1960s people have smoked marijuana, and today its the most popular illegal drug used almost everywhere. “In fact, according to a recent survey, more than 106 million Americans have tried pot, and about 16.7 million are regular users.” It’s composed of these crumpled up leaves called cannabis and has chemicals like THC.

THC otherwise known as tetrahydrocannabinol and its the main ingredient in marijuana.  This “triggers most of the mood and mind changes associated with pot” When you take those few hits, the way you think , move, and eat becomes loopy. This is due to the receptors in our brain. “Marijuana overactivates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors”

  • visual aspect: colors
  • Coordination: everything around is spinning slowly
  • Mental: decision making plunder; start forget stuff

These effects can last from about an hour to three or four. Some might even be permanent. There was one study done with people who have smoked marijuana looked at their IQs to see how much ir decrased by. The ones that started smoking during their teenage years “lost an average of eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities did not fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults.”

This relates to what we were talking about yesterday with risks specifically the exposure and hazard. When we first start to smoke drugs like marijuana we have think that nothing bad is going to happen to me, and if so I can just stop. Once we start though, its going to be hard to stop. So before smoking marijuana think about the effect it could imapct to the decisions you have to make later on in life.

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Does Global Warming Exist?

Global warming. It does exist. It doesn’t exist. The endless discussion continues on. According to the website for Live Science, global warming is the “gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate.”

There is no question that the Earth’s climate has progressively changed through the years, but how much exactly? Is it at a level where our planet’s inhabitants should be concerned? Are we the people to blame? If you look at the facts that NASA has put out, there is an overwhelming amount of facts supporting global warming as something that is currently happening and should be watched. In fact, 97% of climate scientists agree that global warming is a result of human activity. In the last 1,300 years the warming of the Earth has sped up at a greater rate. This has been confirmed through technological means such as satellites to capture images from above the Earth as it continues to orbit. The way scientists have considered global warming to work is through the greenhouse effect. When the rays from the sun hit the Earth’s atmosphere, a portion of the heat from the sunlight is reflected back into space, while the remaining heat is soaked by greenhouse gases made up of methane and carbon dioxide, which are gases already present in our atmosphere. The problem is these gases have been increasingly lingering in the air since the Industrial Revolution. If these gases are spreading at a greater amount that means that the more the sun shines, the increase in the amount of heat that will get caught in our sphere, thereby raising the overall temperature of the planet. How is this the result of humans, you ask? The answer is that we release greenhouse gases through activities including driving cars, using an excessive amount of electricity which we receive through power plants, landfills, and so forth. By reducing any of these activities is meant to show a reduction in what has been an increase in heat because of the greenhouse gases spreading.

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On the surface, this seems to be a logical explanation that the Earth’s temperature is in fact heating up, however many would disagree. While there is no question that the Earth warms in some way, there is conflict as to how much and what is the cause. A study done by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences came out stating that if you look at the leaves on plants, the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed has been underreported by 16% meaning there has been over reporting of just how much greenhouse gases still pollute the air. So while there is warming that is occurring, the preventative measures to combat the problem have been wildly over exaggerated and are unnecessary costs as the issue isn’t as big as it seems to be portrayed. Furthermore, John Coleman of The Weather Channel has high doubts that global warming is a true event. He claims that heat waves are decreasing, polar ice and polar bears are on the rise and the amount of storms we see has remained consistent. In fact, there are reports that polar ice has increased by 50% since 2012. But how credible can this guy be? The views gathered are from findings made by the NIPCC (Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change). In these findings, the NIPCC makes the bold statement that there has been no such warming in the last 18 years.

Much concern has also been expressed about the accuracy of models showing the changes in climate. Roy Spencer, who once worked as a scientist for NASA, decided to take 90 climate models and view the results of their similarities. These models serve the purpose of showing surface temperature as well as satellite temperature. He said that these models have failed to do their job and that “more than 95 percent of the models have over-forecast the warming trend since 1979, whether we use their own surface temperature dataset (HadCRUT4), or our satellite dataset of lower tropospheric temperatures (UAH).”

Sources: 

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2013/12/17/cryosat-satellite%20-findings-arctic-ice-increase/

http://www.express.co.uk/news/clarifications-corrections/526191/Climate-change-is-a-lie-global-warming-not-real-claims-weather-channel-founder

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/522307/Climate-Change-Doubts-Study-Shows-Overestimate-Forecast-Weather

http://www.iop.org/news/13/jul/page_60512.html

http://www.livescience.com/topics/global-warming/

http://nsunews.nova.edu/global-warming-work/

http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2015/06/07/what-does-global-warming-mean/

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/02/18/5-scientific-reasons-that-global-warming-isnt-happening-n1796423/page/full

Socioeconomics and school performance

Typically students from wealthier areas or school districts do better in school and move on to graduate and even attend college. Wouldn’t you think the students from lower socioeconomic school districts and families would have more of an incentive to do good in school. Studies show this is not the case, but why is it this? I believe it is because these students are given up on and looked at as a waste of time.

A study conducted by East Tennessee State University looked at socioeconomic status on student achievement in rural areas of east Tennessee. The sample of the study was 8th grade students from 2006-2007 in four different elementary schools. Using a 2-way analysis of variance model was used to compare the means of the study. The independent variable was the school itself and the socioeconomic status of the students. The dependent variable was the questions answered correctly in each subject. The findings from this study show that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds need the extra help from schools because at home they don’t have the supplies or support in order to do well.

From information published in The Wall Street Journal, 77% of adults who come from the top income quartile earn a bachelors degree by the time they are 24 years old. Only 9% of adults did this from the lower quartile. So there is a clear indication of how socioeconomic can effect academic performance. Approximately half of the minority population in high schools will graduate, this tends to be the lower socioeconomic population majority of the time. The students who come from low socioeconomic families don’t have the same resources as other students. Like educated parents or school materials at home necessary to complete homework. There is third confounding variables to be considered when discussing this matter, but something has to be done to fix this problem in schools.

A possible solution to this problem with academic performance would to conduct an observational study in which there would be three groups. One group would be the low socioeconomic school district, another would be the higher socioeconomic school district, and the third would be the two mixed together. My theory is that if we blend school districts together and give children with low socioeconomic backgrounds a better education then academic performance would increase, as well as graduation rates. This is one possible experiment that could be conducted.

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music to my ears

Have any girls ever experienced a heart break and resorted to Taylor Swift songs? Have guys ever completed the best workout in the world because of the pump up songs blasting through their headphones? Remember the dreadful days when we all played an instrument in elementary school against our will?  Music affects each and every one of us on a daily basis, but no one truly knows what occurs in the brain during the event of listening. Music impacts us positively in ways we do not imagine. It improves and benefits individuals and society, it can also positively impact our health, our moods, and our stamina. Any and all music listeners should tune in, as well as those who feel skeptical. I personally have been practicing and trained in vocals since a young age. I have learned so much about who I am, as well as built my character through this art. Singing allows me to release stress and replace it with happiness. If you aspire to improve your health in simple and positive ways, music may be the answer. Both listening and practicing can cause enormous changes in a person that will improve their life forever.

Music truly matters, listening to a song strongly effects various parts of the brain in unique ways. A health journalist, Adam Ramsay, says “There are studies showing that areas responsible for aspects, such as memory and vision, can ‘light up’ in response to music.” The first main impact is this, listening to music proves to change our moods. Music correlates with the reward system of the brain. Two other stimuli, Food and light, cause a reaction in this part of the brain. Listening to pleasurable music, whatever genre it may be, triggers the release of dopamine (researchers at McGill). Our moods vary, but music’s ability to boost our sadness or happiness always remains the same. If one feels sad, a somber song will only increase the level of sadness. If one feels happy, “pump up” music will make them ecstatic. Another impact of music involves endurance, listening to “up beat” music actually increases speed. Music can help increase endurance by as much as 15 percent, the perception of effort during exercise lowers, and energy efficiency increases (Brunel University). If you are looking to gain motivation at the gym, music does the trick. The third impact of listening to music relates to the effect on one’s health. Frequently, studies show that music can help lower heart rate, blood pressure, help relieve pain and anxiety, and improve a person’s quality of life. It also improves the lives of those affected by mental illnesses. As Dr. Williamson says, “’It can give them a sense of control back, as well as creating a calm personal atmosphere and blocking out some of the disturbances around the patient.” The final positive impact I will be mentioning is the ability of music to improve one’s focus. Music allows the cerebral cortex to increase the speed of beta waves therefore, allowing people to be better equipped to concentrate. All should participate musically in society, it brings people together and binds nervous systems. Health, focus, endurance, and moods become positively altered through listening to some tunes.

Practicing music whether you play an instrument or sing, incredibly impacts your mind and body. For example, music possesses the ability to put people in trance states. These “trance states” allow the mind to enter an altered state of consciousness in which ecstatic singing and dancing may be involved. If you ever held the title of a performer or seen an outstanding performance, you should recognize this state. You are transported to a place/ state of mind that allows you to truly feel and perform the music. Some describe it as existing in a trance. Active engagement with music sharpens the brain’s early encoding of linguistic sound. Speech makes  use of structural auditory patterns. Musical training develops skills which enhance perception of these patterns. Eight year old children with just eight weeks of musical training showed improvement in perceptual cognition compared with non trained children. For this reason, in elementary school we all took that tedious recorder class, and in middle school the principle forced us to choose an instrument and learn it. Well, we can all thank administration now! Most likely being musically trained aided in our intelligence and brain development. Perceptual cognition holds importance because it is critical in developing successful reading. On top of intellectual development, it also aids in social development and health. Practicing music carries the ability to slow things down for patients with diseases like turrets. If you suffer from a disease such as this, getting caught up in our high speed society and your own personal struggles commonly occurs, music will decrease symptoms and slow things down. Practicing music has major effects on health, social and intellectual development, trance states, and symptoms.

For those of you who completely disagree that music positively impacts society, there is an argument for that as well. Music is a very broad topic, and people question whether or not something such as rap is benefiting our society. While some argue otherwise, some people believe music impacts the youth of our society in a way that causes violence and sadness.  If you listen to “happy” music, you easily turn your mood cheerful. It improves brain development, blood pressure, heart, and respiratory rates. This shows true through the effects of Music therapy. If none of this proved true, there would be no reason to build an entire profession around the position. If you think about what kind of music a majority of our youth listens to, the first thing that comes to your mind most likely avoids gospel music or classical music, but you think of rap and pop. Main stream music possesses a history of portraying sex, violence, drugs, and other things that media should not be advocating to teenagers. Just as I said earlier, the words and sounds that you input into your ears have an output much similar. That being said, if a person inputs rough sounds (harsh beats and profound words, curse words) relating to negatively associated topics, they most likely put out similar behavior and/or begin to feel sad. Music decreases academic performance, turns bad moods worse, results in mental disorders,  influences vulnerable teenagers’ decisions, and much more. For example, previous studies have shown that teens who listen to heavy metal sometimes show relation to substance abuse, mental disorders, suicide, or risk-taking behaviors during their adolescence. Teens are the future of our society, how they act and feel impacts all of the generations to come.

Music surrounds each and every one of us on a daily basis. Whether we are shopping in a store to some background tunes, or blasting pump up music through our headphones while running on the treadmill, music affects society regularly. While music commonly surrounds us, the question is, does music have a positive or negative impact on humanity? Although music has shown to be harmful in some ways, it shows to be even more beneficial. It makes differences in peoples lives regarding health and much more. All the information proves music helps, so will you turn up the volume for the radio?

Does sugar increase the risk of diabetes?

Growing up I would constantly be told by my mother that I eat too much sugar and that I would get diabetes. Even years later I still wondered if eating too much or a lot of sugar would cause someone to get diabetes. Diabetes is when the body can’t produce insulin or can’t use the insulin it produces correctly. The null hypothesis here is that eating sugar doesn’t increase the risk of diabetes, and the alternative hypothesis is that eating sugar does increase the risk of diabetes.

At The University of California San Francisco researchers observed 175 countries over the last decade. Food supply data was contracted from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and estimates from the International Diabetes Foundation on people 20-79 in these countries. Researchers in the study accounted for third confounding variables like obesity, total calorie intake and a lot of other factors. The study found that a population with increased sugar in food supply had higher type two diabetes rates. Not only was the availability of sugar correlated to the risk of diabetes, but when sugar was limited in a population the diabetes rates dropped over time. The study does not directly prove causation, as epidemiology cannot show causation.

The study done by researchers shows that an increase in sugar increases the risk of diabetes over a population. Later in the future some kind of randomized test needs to be conducted to see if increase in sugar increases the risk in diabetes. Although feeding test subjects large amounts of sugar would be unethical, the test could lower a persons sugar intake to see if it reduces the risk of diabetes. This future study was proposed by a researcher at The University of California San Francisco. The randomized trials would give researchers a possible cause and effect statement.

Based on this study increases in sugar consumption correlate to increase in risk for diabetes, but causation cannot be determined because it is an observational study. Further experimentation is required to get clear results, but as of now the studies done support that too much sugar may increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.

 

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Childhood cancer survivors aren’t completely cured

Whenever we hear about a child who has been diagnosed with cancer it is a tragedy, but there is no better feeling then hearing that a child beats cancer. Surviving cancer at such a young age takes strength and courage to complete all the tests and treatments. After all the suffering and joy have going through and beating cancer are children completely safe? According to research they are more likely to have recurring strokes if a first stroke already occurred.

Null Hypothesis: Cancer has no relationship to the recurring strokes

Alternative Hypothesis: Cancer has a relationship to the recurring strokes

A study from The University of California San Francisco’s brain center shows that childhood cancer survivors that suffer a stroke have double the risk of a second stroke. Findings shown in Neurology a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology support Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD in saying, “we are saving more children with life-saving interventions.” The only down side is these interventions are said to be having life long effects. Of 271 respondents who reported a first stroke, 70 reported a second stroke. This is double the rate of the normal population. Patients who had cranial radiation therapy were 33% more likely to have a reoccurring stroke. All this information appear in the following study.

Cancer doesn’t seem to cause the stroke. The third variable of radiation therapy that targets the brain causes the first stroke. The children get cancer and then the treatment they have to face to save their life is causing the first stroke, but why is it more likely to face another stroke?

With the current research nobody can understand why the reoccurring stroke occurs, but researchers have figured out how to know who high risk patients are. Knowing this treatments will need to be designed to prevent reoccurring strokes in children after facing the horrors of cancer. The study done was the only one I could find, but from the results this is a field of study that needs more research done to fix the problem presented.

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Does playing football at an early age increase the risk for brain damage later in life?

We all know football involves a lot of physical contact and huge hits. Often injuries are fairly common like concussions or other injuries due to being hit. If a young child begins to play football at an early age will they have an increased risk for brain damage later in their life. I wanted to investigate if all that contact at an early age could have very negative side effects.

study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine of NFL retirees was conducted to see if repeated impact had an effect on the brain prior to age 12. This period is when a child’s brain begins to develop aspects like memory and verbal IQ. 42 former NFL players were used ages 40-65, half played football before the age of 12 and the other half played after the age of 12. Subjects were tested in 3 different ways. They completed a Wisconsin Card Sort Test, Neuropsychological Assessment Battery List Learning test, and Wide Range Achievement Test. These tests test for disfunction within the brain. They concluded that those who played football before the age of 12 performed significantly worse than those who played after the age of 12. The study concludes that playing football during a key period of brain development increases the risk of cognitive impairment later in life.

Another study done at The University of Tulsa’s Laureate Institute for Brain Research  was done to see the volume of the hippocampus in football players. The hippocampus is the region of the brain associated with memory, but more long term memory. 50 college players were tested along with 25 non football players. 25 of the college football players who had not suffered any trauma to the head like a concussion had a hippocampus that was similar to the 25 non football players. The second group of 25 college football players had a hippocampus that was on average 25% smaller than the control of non players. Conclusions made were that the longer the player played football, the smaller the size of the hippocampus.

Based on results from these studies football players eventually struggle in everyday life because they face such hard hits. That is part of the sport, but if these hard hits are faced at a point in a child’s life when the brain is developing, it may cause effects earlier in life. Some proposals to not allow head contact before the age of 14 have been made. This would involve children playing flag football later than normal.

The contact of playing football has a clear correlation with brain damage that affects one later in life. There is no third confounding variable that causes this brain damage, and the studies suggest clear results. Although only small sample sizes are present in this various studies it may be hard to find football players that are willing to participate in such an experiment. Would making children play flag football up until the age of 14 be that big of a deal if it was going to prevent brain damage? I don’t think so.

 

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Is it possible to be addicted to your cell phone?

Have you ever found yourself constantly checking your phone, knowing there was no reason for it. Always updating social media to see if someone posted something new. Or even that vibrate we feel in our pocket, when in fact the phone hasn’t vibrated at all. I know I am guilty of all this and I am wondering is it possible to be addicted to your cell phone.

As technology becomes more and more advanced, people continue to immerse themselves in it. When was the last time you had a friend who didn’t have a cell phone? According to a study done at Baylor University, female college students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their phone and men spend around 8 hours a day on theirs. Now if you factor in an average of 8 hours of sleep each night, that leaves about 6-8 hours in the day where a student does not use their phone. This study was based off of 164 college students, and they were asked how much time they spend sending emails, on Facebook, etc. Although this sample is small, it could be a could representation of the population at hand.

The study not only asked how long students spent on their phone, but to agree or disagree with certain statements. These included statements like “I spend more time than I should on my cellphone,” or, “I get agitated when my cell phone is not in sight.” The studied showed a difference in addiction for men and women. Men’s use of social media correlates to the risk of addiction. Women use their phone in order to maintain social relationships, but use of phone doesn’t equal addiction. The driving force that shows a possibility for addiction is the lift in mood from checking one’s phone.

Another study done at Elon University in North Carolina surveys students in heavy populated parts of campus about cell phone addiction. The findings further prove that cell phone addiction is becoming more frequent. More than half the students surveyed said they were addicted to their cell phone and felt disconnected without it. We thrive of instant communication with one another. Students surveyed believed that we forgot how to interact face to face and this addiction will only get worse as time goes on. More proof to my question about if cell phone addiction could be real.

These studies are both observational, as they are both surveys, so they can’t prove that there is an actual addiction to cell phones. Also correlation cannot mean causation in this case. When college students are the sample for both of these studies, it creates a bias because typically college students will own a cell phone. Also it is a very small sample compared to a population, so a larger sample size may give clearer results.

From these studies you may think, so what. People use their cell phone all the time, but that doesn’t prove addiction. Although it does not prove addiction it shows a strong correlation that people are using their phone to get a lift in mood from checking social media or either talking with friends. If you take away alcohol or tobacco from somebody that is addicted they tend to panic and get anxiety and eventually experience withdrawal. Well when somebody’s phone dies or is misplaced immediately they will look for a charger or scramble to look for it. These actions show signs of withdrawal that support possible phone addiction.

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Does older age pregnancy cause higher risk of autism in kids?

Autism has become a major concern in science, what causes autism and how are risks of autism   increased. Does an increase in maternal age during pregnancy have an increased risk for pregnancy? Why does age have anything to do with the outcome of the child. I want to find out if this is true and is it because of a confounding variable, like age of the mom’s partner or something else.

Risk of autism seems to increase slowly when the fathers age increases, but has a sharp increase when the mother’s age increases. A study done on Swedish children between the years of 1984-2003 was conducted to examine the effect of maternal and paternal age on autism. The sample was 417,303 Swedish children. The conclusion of the study was that increasing maternal age increased the risk of autism regardless of the risk of paternal age.

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This study has a good sample size and eliminates the possibility of the only confounding third variable I could imagine for this case. So a correlation can be made that increasing maternal age will cause an increased risk for autism. The results based off of this one study seem to be pretty clear.

Another study done by the organization Autism Speaks looked at the health records for 5 different countries for more than 5.7 million children. Over 30,000 of these children were recorded as having autism. This study also found that children were 66% more likely to have autism if they were born to dads over the age of 50. The cause is that older parents have genetic mutations in their sperm and egg cells. The study founded that age of the parent is not a cause for autism, but a risk factor. Most children born to older parents will in fact develop normally.

Using epidemiological scientific studies reported before January 2012, researchers conducted a meta-anaylsis to see if in fact increasing maternal age cause an increased risk for autism. The meta-anaylsis did in fact support this hypothesis, and even after consider other third confounding variables like paternal age, the association was still upheld between increasing maternal age and increased risk for autism.

It is unclear as to what kind of conclusion can be made based off of these three examples. Most commonly it appears that increasing maternal age has the greatest affect on the risk of autism, but with further research and more studies to be conducted on an important matter, a conclusion will soon be made. The two studies conducted are well done, as well as the meta analysis.

 

Does Dumbo live in the ocean?

It may seem with all of the creatures that have already been discovered, that there aren’t many unknown animals left for scientists to explore, but with 46 new creatures found a day in 2006, according to Arizona State University’s International Institute for Species Exploration, there are always new ones to learn about. Scientists predict up to 100 million more species are left to be found.

One of these creatures that is seldom heard of is the Grimpoteuthis, or Dumbo Octopus, nicknamed after the fins that resemble large ears protruding from the side of their bodies. The name comes from Disney character Dumbo, the elephant with large ears. As Dumbo the elephant used his ears to fly in the Disney movie, Grimpoteuthis uses its fins placed above its eyes to swim upward.  Since the creatures live deep in the ocean, fins allow them to travel easier in the high pressure rather than propelling, which is a means of transportation for other breeds of octopuses.

Grimpoteuthis’ live 13,000 ft below sea level, hovering on the ocean floor and making them the “deepest living of all octopus species” that are known. The species has so far been found in New Zealand, Australia, Monterey Bay, California, Oregon, Philippines, and New Guinea. Due to the cold water and lack of sunlight at the bottom of the ocean, the creatures have adapted their reproductive abilities in order to survive and not go extinct.

Dumbo octopuses are able to successfully reproduce upon seeing another one of its kind. In order to do this, females “carry eggs in different stages of development and they are able to store sperm for long periods of time after mating with a male”, which is necessary for survival considering their living circumstances. Females wait until the environmental conditions are adequate to fertilize the egg, using the stored sperm to do so, and then attaching the eggs to a hard surface on the ocean floor. There is never a specific breeding season for these creatures as it can happen at anytime and the males “have a separate protuberance on one of their arms that transports an encapsulated sperm packet into the female’s mantle.”

Another unique trait Grimpoteuthis possess is a “degenerated radula-type opening” in their mouth, which gives them the ability to swallow food whole. Their typical diet consists of “pelagic invertebrates,” commonly known as small plankton. They forage for floating “copepods, isopods, bristle worms, and amphipods.” Since the Grimpoteuthis prefer to live on the floor of the ocean, predators are limited for them and human behavior will not typically affect the species, but large marine  may dive down to find a meal. Some of these include sharks, whales, and dolphins.

Dumbo octopuses are smaller than the average common octopus, which averages in a length of 4.3 feet, dumbo octopuses only grow to around eight inches tall, weighing 13 pounds. Along with their short stature and large  fins, other noticeable features includes eight webbed tentacles, U or V shaped shell, beak mouth, large eyes, and they can be seen in an array of colors including blue, red, green, and semi-translucent.

The ocean is a large, vast place and home to millions of animals, plants, and other species. The Grimpoteuthis, or of course Dumbo Octopus, is oftentimes unknown, which is unfortunate due to their remarkable characteristics. They have adapted to their cold, dark home of the ocean floor in order to have a higher success rate when reproducing and eating small creatures they find. This animal only makes me more excited to see what else is lurking in the depths of the ocean.

Canada = New North Pole?

More recently we have been becoming more and more concerned with the Earth’s magnetic field. Studies have shown that the magnetic field has been weakening a drastic amount, causing concern. An article by Kelly Dickerson called Earth’s Magnetic Field Flip Could Happen Sooner Than Expected explains that the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field could result in a pole switch. First off, if you do not know the poles are the two main points on the planet where the most axis of rotation occurs. With that said every hundreds to thousands of years an entire flip will occur making the North Pole the South Pole and vice versa. However the poles slowly move across the world in order to become reversed.

In another article named Shocking New Evidence Suggests Earth Is About To Experience Pole Shift
It suggests that the North and South Pole, with certain circumstances could very well be located in Canada and slightly below Australia. Imagine State College having the same weather forecast as Greenland. Believe it or not State College is nothing compared to the winters of Greenland. With that said the studying of the lava motions in the Earth’s core allows for scientist to predict the movement of the magnetic field however recently random twists of the field have been occurring reversing and making the poles unsustainable. With that said if these twists occur often enough they may become permanent and result in Canada becoming a new North Pole. Now wouldn’t that just be great for Burlington.

 

Caffeine Addiction Worse than Alcohol?

The+Caffeine+Poster+1.0e.graffle-2Every morning I get out of bed and quickly make myself a cup of coffee. If you told me I could not have a cup of coffee for a year I am not sure how I would react or more importantly how my body would react. It has become such a regular routine that it is becoming just natural for me to get my daily dose of caffeine. If you told me I could not consume alcohol for a year I could get by with no problem. This led me to the hypothesis, is caffeine more addictive than alcohol?

Caffeine is made from various plants or can now be found in a man made form. One can argue it is the most abused drug in America because Americans consume so many products that contain caffeine such as soda, coffee, energy drinks, weight loss pills, and many more. On average Americans consume three cups of coffee per day. One 8oz cup of coffee can contain nearly 200 mg of caffeine, and if you add up two more cups that equals a staggering 600 mg. When caffeine enters the body dopamine is released in the brain causing the body/mind. This makes the body want to do it again and again, making addiction a realistic possibility. The American Medical Association has come out and said that consumicaffeinepercupng moderate amounts of caffeine is not harmful, but a great deal of Americans consume way more than the recommended amount.

I have often heard many people joke that coffee is the only thing getting them through the day, but thousands of people are dependent on the drink leading to negative side effects. One of the biggest is withdraw and a study has shown that caffeine withdraw occurs with 10 possible symptoms: headache, fatigue, decreased energy/activeness, decreased alertness, drowsiness, decreased contentedness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and foggy/not clearheaded.   “The negative effects of caffeine are often not recognized as such because it is a socially acceptable and widely consumed drug that is well integrated into our customs and routines.” Of adult 18 and older 7% (16.6 million) of them suffer from alcoholism. Millions of people struggle to deal with it every day, but it is believed every three of four caffeine regular caffeine users are addicted to the drug. 68 million people drink three cups of coffee a day, leading to the conclusion that of these people 51 million of them are actually addicted.

It is nearly impossible to make the argument that one addiction is stronger than the other because that is a personal thing with too much bias to determine. Based off the numbers one can conclude that there are more people addicted to caffeine than alcohol in America. After my research there is not enough evidence to fail to reject the hypothesis that caffeine is more addictive than alcohol. Although there may be more people addicted to caffeine, there are many outlying factors that play a role in causing this such as if someone was exposed to the drug at a young age or how much sleep one may get.

 

http://www.michaelshouse.com/drug-addiction/most-addictive-drugs-world/#_ftn25

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x

http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/01/29/caffeine-addiction-is-no-joke-for-some/65142.html

http://healthresearchfunding.org/shocking-caffeine-addiction-statistics/

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The Simple Secret to Live Longer!

So what if I told you I had a secret to make you live longer? What if I told you it was a simple change in your lifestyle? Now what if I said everyone could do this? Optimism is a simple change in the way you think about everything in life that could aid in lengthening your stay on this planet. How could something so simple have this great of an effect? Science proves it. There have been countless studies for this theory and all of the outcomes have shown that optimism helps you live longer. Of course there’s always that 5% chance that they’re wrong but they could not be due to chance because the results keep repeating; This is no fluke. How can you make this change in your life and how does it work?

Optimism-Breeds-Optimism

WebMD, an online medical journal, has an article about a study done that was in the magazine Archives of General Psychiatry in November 2004 and you can see the study here . The study had 1,000 people of both genders that were between 65-85 in which they divided them up into groups depending on the different levels of optimism each person said that they had. This was an observation, not an experiment and was not randomized because the people disclosed how they were feeling and that is how they were divided up. 10 years later the researchers checked in and the people who reported being highly optimistic had a 55% lower risk of death and even a 23% less risk for any heart- related death. They concluded that there were a few factors for which optimism could cause a longer life including: “optimism is associated with more physical activity, moderate alcohol use in women, and less smoking (Warner). Optimism is associated with better health in general. People in poor health tend to report more pessimism. Optimists may cope with stress differently and more effectively than pessimists do. Furthermore according to the NYTimes an observational study was done where researchers surveyed 660 people that were older than the age of 50 in Oxford, Ohio in 1975. They were given sentences with both positive and negative statements about their lives and were asked whether the agreed or disagreed with the statements. In 1998 researchers followed up and noted that the ones who had answered positively to the questions lived on average 7.5 years longer than the others and some were still alive then (Duenwald). The scientists took into account third variable factors such as age, race, socio- economic background and found that none of those could have affected it; That it was really the optimism.

Now I know not everyone can be optimistic every 5 seconds of their lives because there are hardships that take time to get used to. In addition to this there is being too optimistic. Some people are perfectionists and that is not key in living a longer life. Perfectionists would see the negative in situations because they need everything to be perfect. For example if they failed their test they may think it is the endow the world just like a pessimist rather than realize that next time is another opportunity to do better. Optimism really does help a person to feel better, be healthier, and even live longer. If you don’t believe me, try it. Try seeing failures as opportunities and bad situations as little specks of dirt. Be happier. Be optimistic. Be healthier. Live longer.

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Sources:

Warner, Jennifer. “Optimism May Help You Live Longer.” WebMD. WebMD, 1 Nov. 2004. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20041101/optimism-may-help-you-live-longer>.

Duenwald, Mary. “Power of Positive Thinking Extends, It Seems, to Aging.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2002. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/19/science/power-of-positive-thinking-extends-it-seems-to-aging.html?pagewanted=all>.

Can eating more veggies and fruits can aid with mental and physical abilities ?

Todays’ society has reached milestones in the fields of health.  Scientific research says that eating healthier today can aid in your later life.   While there are now able to treat numerous colds, viruses, and diseases, llet it be known that, it is better to take care of your body before your health becomes a threat to your life. In other words, watch what you eat!  Plating less junk foods and more dietarily healthy foods today can make a vast difference tomorrow.

Correlation between Health and Foods

EAT MORE NATURAL FOODS! Natural foods are the foods grown from the ground of earth, meaning they are the foods of nature. An article from The Huffington Post wrote of studies which showed that vegetarians live longer, healthier lives than the average meat eater!

The nutrients of fruits and vegetables are essential to maintaining a healthy functioning body. One of the key concepts to maintaining a healthy body involves proper nutrition. For those meat lovers, I am not telling you to lay off those bloody steaks; I am telling you to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your daily lives! Raw fruits and vegetables usually have the components to help the organs of the body remain free of chronic diseases. Eating “raw” foods is the healthiest way to absorb your nutrients. As your foods are not being over processed, you are not losing any of it’s original make up, that will aid your body.

Washington Top News post entitled, “Sugar, junk food can slow you down your brain,” claims with sources from Yahoo that, “A UCLA study recently found that rats fed a fructose solution had a difficult time navigating a maze.” These rats apparently “showed signs of slow learning and memory loss.”  The website even told of other correlational studies, another study being in Britian, based off of children who eat junk food and their IQ scoring.  The study included about 4,000 children who were at the age of 3 and monitored for their eating habits.  Researchers of the reported that within the first three years of life brain grows at a high speed pace, making good nutrition important.  This goes to show you that what you eat can harm you later as even bad nutrition at an early age can hinder young children abilities mentally.  Because they are not consuming enough nutrients, they’re “brains never grow to optimal levels

Proper nutrition can easily be accomplished by having a colorful daily intake of various fruits and vegetables. An article from the website coreperformance.com goes into the depth of the actual benefits between specific food colors and the human body.

“Eating a variety of colorful food provides vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to nourish your body…”
The Nutrition Team August 20, 2012

Ever heard the phrase “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away”? An apple is just one of the numerous foods of nature that can helps prevent a future doctor appointment from showing up.

Here’s a photo that actually shows what scientists have found out about specific food colors and their benfits to the human body:

Phytonutrients-Infographic4

Image from https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/wp-content/uploads/sites/29639/2015/09/Phytonutrients-Infographic4.png

In the Western culture, unhealthy eating is the culture norm. Mainly in the United States, people are over weight due to poor diet and lack of exercise. Yet, in the Eastern Hemisphere it is apparent that they are not only less obese, but have a healthier diet plan as well. People who eat more vegetables provide a correlation with the idea that healthy eating provides a healthier lifestyle. Throughout parts of Asia the idea of eating more fruits and vegetables has become a lifestyle. The Huffington Post says that on average “vegans are 30 pounds lighter,” and “lean people are also more likely to exercise regularly, eat plants, and avoid cigarettes than overweight people.”

This video of eastern monks (from happyhealthpage.com), goes to show that eating healthy not only benefits humans physically, but mentally as well! A study at Deakin University has correlated the idea of eating well to someone’s mental health, specifically the hippocampus.  Apparently people who eat unhealthy are more likely to have a small hippocampus.  The hippocampus is related to learning, memory, and emotions.

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus

When areas of the brain are undeveloped or harm this may affect mental health as well as physical health.  We must keep in mind that we are able to conduct normal physical function by having a health body and brain.  This results back to young kids in Britian, showing from a young age damage is possible. Professor Felice Jaka of the study at Deakin University who lead the research, made a statement that, “It is becoming even clearer that diet is critically important to mental as well as physical health throughout life.” The study itself was published in BMC Medicine.  Entitled, “Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus: a longitudinal investigation,” a meta-analysis that studied if dietary intake had an effect on the volume of the hippocampus.  225 participants with ages ranging between 60-64 were involved in the study. After completing a questionnaire, and scans for possible relations between the left and right of the hippocampus with any possible connections to western world food and a more healthier alternative diet were compared at 4 years apart.

Nevertheless, the study concluded its findings that there are relations of poor nutrition intake and left hippocampus volume.  Meaning the lack of nutrition could result with hard end points effecting your bodily functions.  These are just some things to consider in life.  Eating more fruits and veggies in the end would allow your body to absorb more of its essentials to function.  Make sure to plate more plant foods people!

 

 

 

Does Ginger Decrease Nausea?

After having a bad stomach virus this past week, I looked online for many home remedies that could help with nausea. Here are a few things that I found that help nausea. 

  • Apples
  • Saltines/Crackers
  • Water
  • Nuts
  • Chicken broth
  • Gatorade
  • Bananas
  • Mint
  • and Ginger

I never thought ginger would be helpful with nausea, so I raised the question to see if it actually does.

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In one study, ginger was used to test motion sickness. The subjects to this study were 80 new sailors, who were prone to motion sickness. Half of the group was given powdered ginger and the other half was given a placebo. Researchers found out that, “those who took powdered ginger had less vomiting and cold sweats compared to those who took placebo.” Since this study was very small it is hard to make any conclusions.

Another study was conducted with pregnant women and the relationship with nausea. Thirty pregnant women who had severe nausea were given either 1 gram of ginger every day for 4 days or the placebo. Women who took the ginger supplement reported that they had more relief than the other women who received the placebo. The study was later conducted again with 70 pregnant women, and similar findings were accounted for. Those who were given the ginger reported less vomiting and nausea and the others who were given the placebo still had severe nausea.

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Many people who go through chemotherapy experience nausea and vomiting. In one particular study, patients were randomly assigned 0.5 grams, 1.0 gram, or 1.5 grams of ginger or just a placebo. These were given to the patients along with Zofran (anti-nausea medicine), three days before the patient’s first day of chemotherapy.

Researchers found that the patients who were given the 0.5 grams of ginger and the 1.0 gram of ginger ranked their nausea on a scale of 1 or 2 out of a 7 point scale. The patients who were given the placebo reported nausea at a 4 to 5 on the scale where 7 was the highest rating of nausea.

So what does this mean? There is no certain data that tells us there is a correlation between ginger and its ability to help stop nausea but this is due to lack of studies on this topic. In order to conclude anything further, we need more research to be done on this topic. Otherwise, when you are feeling nauseas, I recommend grabbing some saltines and a bottle of ginger ale !

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Old Myths

Another story I heard as a child was to not to sit too closely to the TV or I would hurt my eyes. This cautionary tale came from my grandparents when they babysat me. I always listened to their advice, but I was never sure why I did it. It never made sense to me on why this could hurt your eyes. This topic was brought up in Psychology 100 and it peaked my curiosity. Is sitting too close to the television bad for you? This was much easier to find out than I expected.

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Back in the 1960’s, sitting too close to televisions actually did hurt you. However, it is probably not for the reason you think. General Electric TV issued a statement warning their consumers that their televisions radiated excessive x-rays because of a factory error.  The amount of radiation given off was anywhere from 10 to 10,000 higher than the safe rate. If you sat far enough away from the television and only watched it periodically, than you were safe. General Electric eventually figured out that if they put a leaded glass shield around their televisions, then their consumers were safe. At this point, this stigma about sitting too close to the television was already created. Even though there has been nothing similar to this since then, many people still believe watching television too close is bad for you.

But I’ve heard it is bad for your eyes?

There is no truth behind this statement. It is probably just another rumor stemming from the radiation problem in the early 1960s. Dr. Lee Duffner, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, has reassured parents that watching television close up doesn’t do any physical damages to your eyes. In fact, the American Academy of Ophthalmology stated that children focus on things closely better than adults without eyestrain. This means that many kids actually develop the habit of sitting close to the television or reading things closely. It is just a habit that kids form.

Not all rosy

While sitting closely to the television causes no lasting effects, it could be a sign that the child is nearsighted and needs glasses. Sitting close to the television also causes eyestrain. This can be uncomfortable and cause headaches, but goes away once you turn the television off.

Verdict: You can sit as far away or close to the television as possible. Sitting too close to the television was once dangerous, but now it is just a myth that won’t go away.

Listening to Music While Doing Homework/Studying Lead To Better Results?

While sitting down to study in the Findlay Commons I look around and notice all the different study habits between students. A certain study habit is more effective for someone in comparison to others because all brains work differently when trying to integrate memorization or muscle memory.  A study shows the most effective study habits include practicing by yourself, memory games, and going to your own quiet place. Those ways are typically the way I study. But, when I walk around the commons I notice more people than not wearing headphones and studying. I never really understood the reasoning of listening to music while studying because it is another voice in your head that takes away the sole purpose of memorization. Since I never understood the meaning for this interesting study habit, I researched whether music leads to better results for those that listen to it.

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I tried to listen to music while studying and could not focus on the task at hand. But, a study shows that music is beneficial when studying. A study done by Elana Goodwin states, “Studies have shown that listening to music before studying or performing a task can be beneficial as it improves attention, memory, and even your ability to do mental math as well as helping lessen depression and anxiety.” The researchers typically compare this to the Mozarts Effect. For those who do not know, the Mozarts Effect is a study that shows while listening to Mozart’s music one receives a short-term improvement in their capabilities.

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But, I found a flaw in there correlation with Mozarts Effect. I walked up to 10 different kids in the Findlay commons that were studying for a quiz or midterm and listening to music. I proceeded to ask them what genre of music they were listening to and whom. The responses varied from rap, to pop, to country, but none of them had Mozarts’ pieces playing in their earbuds. The survey take was very small, but typically high school/college students who have proven to benefit from listening to music while studying are listening to different genres.

Another study done also proves that listening to music can effect studying. But, the studying must be an organizational related study. Perham, the researcher involved in the study claims, “Listening to music may diminish your cognitive abilities in these situations because when you’re trying to memorize things in order, you can get thrown off and confused by the various words and notes in the song playing in the background.” The organization of one’s study can be altered because of the words or beat that is constantly in one’s head. The music genre does not matter, the sound effects the performance in itself.

The studies shown prove that music can be both beneficial and digressive. Differentiating between the type of study someone is engaged in plays a key factor. Also, the person’s tolerance level to noise and whether they use it progressively can determine whether they listen to music while studying. Studying should not be based off other peoples’ opinions of how study. There is no better way to study but your own because different study habits make one more comfortable in comparison to others. This study shows that I should not be so quick to judge other students and how they study because maybe they find it beneficial. Some people succeed when put in specific scenarios, and one scenario I will never find useful is music during study hours, but people are different and results vary.

Works-Cited:

1.) http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/149570/Do-Or-Dont-Studying-While-Listening-To

2.) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281386/

3.) http://psychcentral.com/lib/top-10-most-effective-study-habits/2/

4.) http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/08/does-music-help-you-study/

 

Is Society Too Dependent on Computers/Phones?

When was the last time you did not know the answer to a question and you researched the answer? I am not referring to researching the answer using your phone/computer/tablet/or lap top. I am talking about looking through a book or article to discover the answer to the question. The answer anyone would give me would most likely be along the lines of, “I could not tell you, I cannot remember.” How about the last time you wanted to come in contact with someone and you just drove over to there house to talk to the face to face? Probably going to get the same response. I ask these questions because I believe society is becoming too dependent on computers and technology to the point where they would struggle without it, including myself.

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In a study, people were asked to give a personal opinion of whether they believe society is too reliable on technology and how they came up with that response. The results were one-sided. 77% of people responded believe society as a whole relied too much on technology to succeed. Some of the responses looked like this, “Thirty years ago, 90% of the kids were outside getting oxygen and playing sports. In addition, they were building forts and enjoying life. In this day an age, more than 75% of our children are playing video games and staying indoors. Now, our dilemma is that we are having a weight issue with our children. Child obesity is a growing concern with our nation.” Those numbers used are an exaggeration, but he has a point. Very few, if any, enjoy the outdoors and can enjoy life without technology sitting in front of them.

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Walk through campus and see how many times you see two people standing right next to each other, but do not say a word to each other. People have shown they can hold conversation over the internet and through phone, but put a real face in front of them and they struggle. Conversation is now viewed as a skill in today’s society, and our citizens should not have to avoid face-to-face contact because of their addiction to a cell phone or computer.

A computer or phone has been a great development for technology and has lead us to various technological advances, but with the good, also comes the bad. MNN did a study of seven different signs showing the controversy of why society is based around technology. A few of the signs included, “Without your phone you feel naked, Nobody knows a phone number, and if the internet is down, work is over for the day.” Society has integrated technology into every aspect of human life so we cannot live without. Jobs, breakthroughs, and values have all been invested into your hand held phone and computer you take for granted. A study shows the brain when realizing a phone is broken and our thought patterns. The patterns show the same as if it was a man who was clinically depressed and needs help. If one breaking a phone and leading into emotions that are similar to a man who needs help emotionally, the definitive answer is society has issues with their connection to society. So here is my advice to you, put your phone down when at that point in time it is not a necessity and go outside and get some fresh air because the importance of enjoying yourself without technology has been lost.

Works-Cited

1.) http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-we-too-dependent-on-computers

2.) http://www.liutilities.com/articles/is-society-dependent-on-computers/#.ViooiTZdHIU

3.) http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/stories/7-signs-we-are-too-dependent-on-technology

4.) http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/dec/22/phone-smartphone-loss-damage-grief