Since 1997, rovers on Mars have been exploring the riveting red planet eventually through an Exploration Program created by NASA. The first rover was the Sojourner, a 25-pound, 6-wheeled robotic explorer. Sojourner sent more than 550 pictures back to earth, which kept scientists busy for years. One of the more fascinating things that it found on the surface was pictures showing rounded pebbles and “conglomerate” rocks, indicating that there was something pushing different types of soil together at some point in the past. This was evidence of a more water-rich planet and indicated that the plain Sojourner was on may have been formed from floods.

Following Sojourners time in this intriguing place, there have been 3 other successful rovers to land on Mars: Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. They have all contributed to the expansion of our knowledge of Mars through findings, images, and other discoveries. Here are 7 of the most interesting discoveries that these rovers have found:

1. Spirit: discovered modern waters, or possibly frost, which had altered rock surfaces. There were complex coatings on olivine basalts to prove this. This was found on the Gustev Crater.

2. Curiosity: measured the radiation on Mars. This is interesting because it can help inform the hazards if human visitors were sent to the planet. The radiation levels are comparable to those experienced by astronauts the International Space Station.

3. Opportunity: discovered wind-blown ripples. These were found on the Meridiani plains and are indicators of a previous wind regime, probably when Mars’ spin axis tilt was different than it is today.

4. Spirit & Opportunity: discovered Dust Devils. These show how sand and dust are moved by the wind in Mars’ very thin atmosphere.

5. Opportunity: prior habitable environment. Opportunity found evidence through clays and formation rocks that suggests Mars may have been habitable for millions of years. These rocks were the oldest rocks examined by the rover, about 4 billion years old.

6. Curiosity: possibility of previous life (cont’d). Thanks to Curiosity, scientists found more evidence that Mars likely had the chemistry to support living microbes. Curiosity drilled into Martian rocks and discovered carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur–all of which are the “key ingredients” to life.

7. Curiosity: significant geological diversity. Curiosity found different types of gravel, streambed deposits, possible volcanic rock, sand dunes, mudstones, and cracks filled with mineral veins. This variety of sand and rock found in the Gale Crater surprised Scientists.

Opportunity has been going strong on Mars for over 10 years now, even though its twin, Spirit, was declared dead in 2011. Curiosity is still on the Red Planet as well, gathering new information and making new discoveries daily. Within the past 18 years, so much information and evidence has been gathered about this planet. I am interested to see what comes of it in the future, and if habitability will ever be an option again.

Pain comes in all different forms. Some may claim to have a high pain tolerance while others may squeal at the pinch of a vaccination needle. What causes this variation? Why do some people take pain in different ways? Is it genetic, self-controlled, maybe how you were nurtured as a child? Research is starting to point to the genetics of it, especially that of eye color and hair color.

In 2014, during an annual meeting of the American Pain Society, Dr. Inna Belfer of the University of Pittsburgh presented a study possibly linking eye color to these differences in pain tolerance. This study contained 58 healthy, pregnant women at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. 24 of these women were in the dark group while the other 34 were considered the light group. The results of this study suggested that the women with lighter eyes suffered less anxiety after birth and the dark group experienced a more dramatic response to pain.

“While more work is needed to find the reasons for this difference,” the researchers said, “a genetic link seemed likely.”

Eye color isn’t the only genetic quality that seemed to alter pain tolerance–hair color did as well. An increasing number of studies shows that redheads are uniquely composed in terms of pain perception and body reactions. This research has revealed that they tend to be more sensitive to the cold, are less responsive to subcutaneously administered anesthetics, and suffer more toothaches thus fearing the dentist. This decreased responsiveness to the anesthetics is most likely reason that they suffer more anxiety regarding dental care than most other people.

This study consisted of 144 participants, 67 with natural red hair and the remaining 77 with dark hair. They had to complete validated survey instruments that were to measure their dental care-specific anxiety, fear of dental pain and dental care avoidance. The authors concluded that they were more than twice as likely to avoid dental care.

The main problem with both of the studies I included in my blog is that the two variable groups were not equivalent in size. This could lead to inaccuracies in the results, but based on the strength that they have, I’d be confident in saying that the results are correct. Both of these topics are continually researched today and are trying to expand the studies as well.

Growing up as a child, I was a victim of the ever-growing divorced parents population. I can name about 10+ different friends of mine who have divorced or separated parents as well, showing how it seems to have become an ordinary deed in our society today. A study from 2014 shows that from 1980 to 2010, divorce rates have doubled among persons over 35 years of age. I don’t necessarily think that divorce is an evil in life, but it does make me question the science behind it and behind relationships in general as well as the effect that they can have on an individual. My personal association with my parents divorce is the reason I am interested in the subject and have a desire to research it further.

Love is a murky subject to affiliate science with. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition is as follows:

“Feelings” and “science” aren’t exactly synonymous. One is internal and personal, while the other is worldwide and knowledge based. But there has been some noted science behind the act of love and being in love. There are neurochemical changes: dopamine levels increase, as well as adrenaline and norepinephrine, raising heart beat levels and creating a feeling of euphoria. So where does divorce come in to this equation? A Northwestern University study notes their understanding of it, believing that increasing rates are due to a change in nature of expectations of each other in a relationship, such as higher psychological needs. In the past century, the primary goal of marriage was to provide the basic needs for each other (food, shelter and safety) rather than love and companionship. If those needs were met, the marriage would most likely be a success. In today’s day and age, the goals and needs have changed.

Another big issue that comes to mind when talking about divorce is the impact that it will have on the children if there happen to be any in the relationship. Research says how children whose parents divorced when they were between birth and 5 years old have a greater level on insecurity in their relationships with parents than those who have divorced parents at an older age. The stress on the child also increases likeliness of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, delinquent behavior, and teen pregnancy in females. However, this is primarily evident in children whose parents have suffered an ugly divorce, a spiteful relationship between the two adults which brought the children into the center of it.

This isn’t to say that all divorces are bad decisions or negatively impact the child. In fact, my parents divorce has probably made me a better and happier person. My point is that it is evident that there is science behind love and divorce, and plenty of research to prove it.

As our population ages, especially the baby boomer generation, an interest in life expectancy is growing for physicians. They are starting to see correlations and ask questions about the relationship between walking speed and expected lifespan. The speed is a great predictor of health, especially that of senior citizens. However, after discussing this subject in one of my other classes, I would like to determine whether or not walking speed can predict life expectancy.

Four years ago, there was an analysis conducted at the University of Pittsburgh on this subject. The analysis had more than nine studies with over 34,000 people 65 years or older. The null hypothesis in this situation would be that walking speed has nothing to do with life expectancy. On the other hand, the alternative hypothesis would be that walking speed is a predictor of life expectancy. Some third, confounding variables could include health problems, family history and lifestyle choices. The researchers proved the alternative hypothesis correct. Faster walking speeds were associated with living longer. It showed that, down to the tenth of a meter per second, an older person’s pace, along with age and gender, can predict their life expectancy. The main problem with this study, however, is that they used individual participant data. It is likely that the participants may have altered their data or reported it incorrectly. Also, this study is from 2011, so some of the results may not be accurate today.

In addition to the study conducted on speed and age, there have also been self or secondhand reports linking the two. One article noted the changes that her mom went through in her sixties after she started going to the gym more often and taking yoga classes daily. She says how “the now 64-year-old walks like she’s 44.” This is an indicator that exercise is a way to maintain a quicker pace or improve your slower pace. I find this quite obvious, as exercise has been proven to lengthen lifespan. It does this by controlling your weight, boosting energy, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol among many other things. 

As our doctors continue to search for ways to predict life expectancy and span, it is very likely that they will start paying more attention to walking speed in the coming years. Not only is it very accurate, it doesn’t require any machines or hardly extra time, preventing the spending of more money on technology services. It is also very reliable and can be an eye-opener for the patients.

Size is relative in a world like ours. A quarter may seem big compared to a dime, an adult to a child, even a house to an apartment. Yet, some things I’ve always considered to be massive, no matter what compared to. One of these things is the sun. The radius of the sun is 432,450 miles (only the radius!!!) while the radius of the earth is only about 4,000 miles. Just take a look at the image to the right to see the comparison of the sun to the earth and other planets. See, the sun is something that represents the definition of “massive” or “enormous” or “colossal” to me. That was until I stumbled upon an article noting a recent discovery of a black hole in the universe.

In February of this past year, researchers in China discovered a black hole, which they say is 12 billion times more massive than the sun. Their findings were published in Nature, an international weekly journal of science. It is difficult to even imagine something of that size, 12 times heavier than the sun. And it got this large in an abnormally short amount of time of 875 million year after the big bang. This is “astonishingly young” in comparison to other black holes of its size.

I’d like to clarify what a black hole is to have a general understanding for everyone who reads the blog. According to NASA, it is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot escape. Black holes are invisible due to this inability of escaping light, so space telescopes with special tools are needed to find them. They form when the center of a large star collapses upon itself. This causes a supernova, which is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space.

The most interesting part about this black hole is that it gained such an enormous mass in such a short amount of time. One possible explanation of this could be that it was formed by the collapse of a very large gas cloud, rather than a star. What ever the reasoning behind its creation, this black hole has been remarkable in its discovery and will continue to teach us valuable things about outer space.

Antibiotics are the holy grail of this past century. Penicillin, being the first antibiotic discovered in 1929, is estimated saving over 200 million lives since its first actual use as a medicine in 1942. However, these drugs have been used so widely that infectious organisms that the antibiotics are supposed to kill have adapted, according to the CDC. This is making these antibiotic drugs less effective, a major problem in our society today. Each year, approximately 2 million people become infected with bacteria that resist antibiotics, which results with at least 23,000 deaths due to these infections. However, due to a a recent incredible scientific discovery, we may have found a way to fix that: Teixobactin.

The discovery of antibiotic Teixobactin is the first in nearly 30 years and, according to scientists, has the potential to fight against a range of major infections. The infections listed include fatal ones such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. Studies have also shown that this prototype drug works against harmful bacteria in such a unique way that is greatly unlikely to lead to drug-resistance. Drug resistance–the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics–has quickened in recent years and has alluded to a major problem in our world due to the dependency we hold on these drugs. The resistance has spread worldwide. With the success that Teixobactin is capable of, we have the opportunity to avoid increased resistance and the number of deaths that it would cause.

Where does it come from?

Simply put, Teixobactin is from the soil. It comes from a bacterium called Eleftheria terrae. Soil is full of bacteria which are always in competition, killing off each other for the resources and Eleftheria terrae happens to use Teixobactin as its weapon to kill off the other bacteria. Since it is only present in soil bacteria, most organisms haven’t been exposed to it enough to develop resistance traits–the reason for its hopeful success. Another interesting part about its discovery is how it was found. Teixobactin was found in a soil microbe which, in the past, have been extremely difficult to discover alive antibiotics in. 99% of soil microbes can’t be grown in a lab because the conventional method kills them off. With Teixobactin, however, researchers discovered a method to keep more of these microbes alive to grown in a lab.

With success in mouse studies, Teixobactin is looking incredibly hopeful for the future of medicine. The true test will come soon when clinical trials with humans begin, revealing side effects not evident with the mice if there are any. It will take time (and money) for this antibiotic to be developed, but it is seemingly worth the wait at this point in time.

Everyday I wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and am faced with the same question: what shoes should I wear today? Usually my answer is dependent on the weather outside and the season of the year, but today as I was picking up my go-to converse sneakers, I snuck a glance at my heels. Of course, I would never wear heels to walk all the way from Pollock to the Forum–or to any class in general–but this glance sparked an idea for my next blog post. Are high heels harmful?

Answer: Yes.

Why?

Wearing high heels for extended periods of time can alter the way that you walk leading to long-term issues in your bones and joints. They may also lead to lower back issues, affecting the curvature or a change in the way the pelvis moves. They also promote ankle related injuries, according to The Guardian.

How?

Extended wear of heels will continually bend your toes in an unnatural position, causing
different ailments including ingrown toes, irreversible damage to leg tendons, etc. Also, your foot slides forward in shoes 2 inches or higher, redistributing your weight incorrectly. This increased weight on your toes causes you to overarch your back, making a posture that can strain your knees, hips and lower back, according to Dr. Natalie Nevins, an osteopathic physician.

Study?

A study done by professors from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, set out to prove the harm that is associated with high heel wearing. They investigated the movement behavior in 11 female subjects, either heel-wearing or barefoot. They walked on a motor-driven treadmill at 4 km/hr in two separate trials. The observations they saw displayed that high heel walking is characterized by a less predictable and more complex pattern than walking barefoot. Simply put, high heels increase risk of injury when walking as compared to no shoes at all.

Conclusion?

Avoid wearing heels for long periods of time, if at all possible. However, if you do need to wear them, try out thicker heels (wedges) because they are easier to balance in. Also, it is recommended to add soft insoles which will help reduce pressure on the body.

There seems to be a connotation attached to the 2 words fast food when they are together. Bad, gross, fake, unhealthy. Yes, much of fast food seems to embody all of that. However, I’m curious what the worst of the worst is–which fast food options you should most certainly try to avoid if at all possible. I’m hoping this article will inform all of you as well.
First, I think it is important to understand why fast food is so unhealthy in the first place. One major factor is that it contains high levels of sugar. A standard burger that you’d find at a fast food joint contains about 10 grams of sugar, about the same amount you would find in a few cookies. Also, these meals have a high calorie content, often empty calories. One fast food meal can contain as much as 1500 calories, which is way more than half of what a typical adult needs. Other major issues with fast food are trans fat, digestive problems, poor nutritional value, and preservatives.

Business Insider, a celebrity, American business, and technology news website, decided to study nutritional value from 20 different fast food chains to discover the unhealthiest of them all. These foods were ranked based on their calories, so the one with the most calories was considered the unhealthiest. Some of the more popular foods that made the list include KFC’s pot pie (790 calories and 45 grams of fat), Taco Bell’s Cinnabon Delights (930 calories and 53 grams of fat), Panera’s mac and cheese (980 calories and 2030 mg of sodium), and Chipotle carnitas bowl (1365 calories and 66 grams of fat). However, the winning meal went to Panda Express with the 3-Entree plate, containing over 2000 calories, 88 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 2860 mg of sodium and 235 mg of cholesterol.

What that study showed me was that the calories add up without many people realizing. However, there are evident ways to avoid a few hundred calories if you really set your mind to it. Instead of getting 3 burger patties on one sandwich, request just one or two. Opt out of the extra cheese and various toppings on that Chipotle bowl and stick with the basics. Ask for dressing on the side. Try sticking to lean roasted or grilled meats instead of the fried. Also, it is always a good idea to avoid the soda machine. There can be up to 400 calories in a large soda, which is easily avoidable.

The conclusion that I’ve drawn is that all fast food joints offer meals which are extremely unhealthy in regards to caloric intake, fat, cholesterol, etc. However, if you order smartly, you can easily reduce the unhealthiness you might be consuming.

This past weekend, I found myself sick with a cold and cough. I tend to overlook those kinds of illnesses, since they aren’t exactly physically restricting for me. However, my aunt suggested I use some of her essential oils since I was with her for the weekend. She gave me multiple, rubbing them under my neck and between my wrists. I even had one that I had to swallow like a pill. Within the past 2 years, she has become obsessed with her oils, and swears by them for any type of sickness or pain. As I was applying the oils, mainly to satisfy her, I decided that I was going to write my next blog on them and research to discover how helpful they truly are.

The hardest part about researching essential oils is that there are two extremes. There are those who are obsessed with them and use them daily, and then there are those who are polar opposites, calling them a scam. But I did find some research on them:

The first information is from the University of Minnesota. They expressed how there is difficulty in conducting research on essential oils. They are not standardized–each plant is unique depending on location and time of harvest. Also, it is quite difficult to conduct blind studies on them because they contain an aromatic scent. Third, it is hard to get funding for research on essential oils because of the testing. However, they did finish the article noting how the oils show positive health effects for many health concerns (infections, pain, anxiety, depression, etc).

Another source I found summarized the relation between aromatherapy/essential oils and cancer. Aromatherapy was used by patients with cancer as supportive care for their general well-being. This was a randomized control trial involving 42 cancer patients. The patients were randomly assigned to receive massages weekly with or without aromatherapy. They used a lavender essential oil. The authors reported no significant long-term benefits in pain control or anxiety, but sleep scores improved significantly. There were also reports of significant reductions in depression scores.

The final source I have is my cousin, Heather. She now works for doTERRA, an essential oil company, and actually advocates for and sells the oils. She uses them for herself and her kids and claims to have seen improvement in their quality of life, especially in her son Reed. Reed has Williams Syndrome, which I have previously talked about in a blog, and she has switched him from a bunch of the medications he was previously on to oils as an alternative.

There still seems to be much debate over the true qualities of essential oils, but from all of the research I have found, it seems accurate that they are helping more than they are harming. There have not been many negative effects noted about them, no results being the closest to that. In conclusion, it is evident that essential oils are a positive and healthier alternative to some other medications.

I’ve been a victim of separation anxiety all of my life. I still hear stories from my grandparents and aunts about how I wouldn’t even let them hold me when I was younger because I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from my mother for that long. I always giggled and smiled back at them, awkwardly avoiding the thought that I might still be that way. I knew when I started college I would be a bit homesick at first, but I thought it would fade away quickly. Tons of people go to college and they all seem fine, right? I went through the six weeks of summer session and still found myself lying in my dorm room bed upset that I wasn’t at home even as fall semester rolled around. One night during my last week of summer session, I decided to look up Separation Anxiety and try to figure out how to fix my emotional uneasiness. However, the results had my feeling more uncomfortable than ever:

If you can’t see it due to the pixelation, all of those results contain the word “child” or “baby” in them. I started to believe that there was something wrong with me, being a 17 year old girl reading about a disorder that seems to only affect children. So, that’s why I’ve decided to do this blog, to figure out if separation anxiety can affect an individual at all ages or simply the youngest ones, as well as the causes and treatments available.

The first study I found was a longitudinal examination between separation experiences and development of separation anxiety at the ages of 3, 11, and 18. The results found that vicarious learning in the middle childhood was the variable most strongly related to separation anxiety at the age of 11. This means that what was happening earlier in life affected how severe the separation anxiety would get. However, this study did not answer my questions about whether this disorder goes away for everyone or if it’s possible for all ages so I kept looking.

According to the Textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, separation anxiety symptoms usually peaks between the 9 and 13 months of age then return around 4 or 5, when beginning school. If untreated, it can persist into adulthood. There are also some biological factors: genetics and psychological processes. Also, as one can assume, the home life and way that a child is raised can affect the degree of separation anxiety as well.

Conclusion: Separation anxiety can affect a person at any age. The severity of it, however, usually tends to fade over time. I believe that I was just experiencing extreme homesickness, not to confuse the two, because of such a large life change that I was going through. If you are experiencing this as well, I greatly recommend joining a club or getting involved in some way–there is bound to be some organization that you fit perfectly in!

Since starting college, I’ve found my schedule to be drastically different than it was in high school. I used to do my homework at 5 o’clock everyday, right when I got home from school and practice. I used to be in bed by about 10:30 every night. I used to wake up at 6:30 everyday. Now, I’m lucky if I’m out of bed by 9:30 and back in bed by 11. The biggest change that I’ve noticed with my time schedule is actually the time that I work out. I’ve started a routine of going to the gym at 10:30 every night (because they always show Jeopardy on the tv right in front of the elliptical I like!!!). The other night, as I was doing my classic elliptical workout, I started thinking about this change, and whether it was affecting my body or not. That’s why I’ve decided to figure out what the best time to workout truly is, or if the time of the workout has no effect.

A 2010 study published in The Journal of Physiology found that exercising in a fasted state stimulates energy provision via fat oxidation. This fasted state is referring to the morning, after a night’s sleep and prior to eating breakfast. These results were found through an experiment with healthy male volunteers. There were 3 groups: the control and 2 independent variable groups. The control did not train at all. Both independent variable groups did train, but one ate a breakfast of carbohydrates beforehand while the other did not eat anything. The results showed that training in the fasting group was the most potent in regards to preventing weight gain (not necessarily weight loss).  This was intriguing to me. Health-wise, I’ve always been told to eat before doing any type of strenuous activity as I should try to avoid passing out. Also, I always feel like my workouts are worse in the morning because my body is still tired and not at its full capacity for physical activity.

Because of my stubbornness and unwillingness to admit my late night workouts aren’t the best, I decided to continue searching for another study on the best time to workout. The next study I found was conducted at the Clinical Research Center at the University of Chicago. They divided 40 healthy men into 5 groups where one group did not exercise (control) and they other 4 did at various times of the day (independent variables). Blood samples were then taken and showed that levels of 2 endocrine hormones increased a lot more for those who exercised either in the evening or late at night. This increased level means that the metabolism is adapting better at this time of the day. However, the conductor of the study did state how, in his experience, not everyone was suited to exercising in the evening.

As you can see from these mixed results, the best time to workout is still up for debate. If you are trying to maintain your weight, try a morning workout before you eat breakfast. If you are trying to lose a few pounds by stimulating your metabolism, try an evening workout. I conclude that as long as you are doing some type of physical activity on a daily basis, then the time does not affect it at all. But if you aren’t enjoying a run at 7 in the morning, then you probably will not run as hard or fast than if it were at a more comfortable time. Thus, it is all up for personal preference to determine the best possible workout time for you. I’m going to stick with my 10:30 pm workouts thanks to the Jeopardy motivation, and I highly recommend it for everyone else too.

Many runners have probably heard of the common injuries of shin splints and stress fractures. Some have probably even experienced them firsthand. But most people have probably never heard of Compartment Syndrome, a painful condition in the legs. I hadn’t even heard of it until a few weeks ago, when one of my teammates on the club track team collapsed at the finish line following a 1000 interval. Apparently this has happened often to her, as the coaches and other girls knew exactly how to handle it, propping her upward against someone else’s legs and keeping her responsive. For the record, this teammate is an amazing runner, probably state competitor level in high school and possibly recruited for some D2 and D3 level track programs. After witnessing this incident, I wondered to myself how she continues to run daily knowing the pain she will probably experience. I was also curious what exactly Compartment Syndrome is, which is what I decided to take on in this blog.

Simply put, Compartment Syndrome is a painful condition which occurs when the pressure within the muscles grows to dangerous levels. The name derives from the “compartments” of the lower legs, where the muscle pressure increases. Especially for runners, the blood supply to the muscles increases during the activity, but since there is no room for expansion of the muscles, the compartments can’t accommodate for the increased blood supply. Just typing this evokes a sense of extreme pain for me. What is happening is similar to filling up a balloon. If you continue to fill it with helium, eventually it will burst from too much pressure. However, unlike the balloon, the compartments of the legs cannot expand, making the situation even worse. I did discover that there are some treatments to this condition. They are the following:

1. Extended rest. This means no running hard activity on the legs for 3 to 4 months. However, this isn’t always successful as pain may return afterwards anyways.
2. Surgery. The procedure is called a fasciotomy. A long incision is made in the fascia of both compartments of the lower leg to release the pressure. You can see this incision in the image on the right.

This girl on the track team has not had surgery, as far as I know. I believe she took an extended rest period last season, but the pressure has obviously returned. The fact that she continues to run is inspiring, but it is also terrifying. Knowing and witnessing the pain that she is enduring seems crazy to me, but I guess that’s what you have to go through if you’re dedicated enough!

Compartment Syndrome isn’t only linked with runners, however. It can commonly develop after a serious injury, surgery, or during a critical illness. This type is chronic, meaning it can develop over weeks.

This condition is something that affects many but also that many have never heard of. I think that it is important that more people are educated on it to understand what others may be suffering from.

Pretty much everyone in our society understands the harmful effects that cigarettes offer. There are hundreds of advertisements, commercials, even billboards expressing the disgust they contain. It is a lot more unlikely that you will see a billboard revealing the harms of cigars. Cigars seem to almost have a celebratory connotation. They appear to be a topic of use at events such as weddings, birthdays, even graduation. Why is this? Why are cigars used as celebratory objects while cigarettes are viewed as death in a stick? Is one better/healthier than the other? To figure this out, I decided to research and compare the harmful effects of the two.

To start, I wanted to understand what each object was exactly, so I found their definitions:

Cigar: A cylinder of tobacco rolled in tobacco leaves for smoking.

Cigarette: A thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco rolled in paper for smoking.

These definitions are almost exactly the same, despite a few additional words. One main difference I found between the two products is that cigars can come in a variety of sizes and weights while cigarettes are typically uniform. I guess this gives cigars more of an appeal, since they can cater to a larger audience. By why does this make them more special? Large cigars can contain more than half an ounce of tobacco. This is equal to as much tobacco as a pack of cigarettes, taking nearly an hour or two to smoke it. How about the nicotine comparison? According to DoctorsLounge, a website dedicated to providing educated answers from physicians, most cigarettes deliver about 1-2 mg of nicotine to the smoker while a cigar tends to have 100-200 mg. This is an astounding difference.

In conclusion, it is quite obvious that both products are destructive to ones health and should be avoided at all costs. I’d say it’s still up to interpretation on which one is healthier; it depends on a variety of factors from consistency of use to types, etc. Hopefully, however, there will be more publicity on the harms of cigar use since that seems to be lacking at this team. I am interested to see if this will change in the coming years.

Being a college student at a large university, many of us have heard about or seen the effects alcohol can have on individuals. Many have probably even seen the effects it has had on themselves. Take a walk down College Ave on a Saturday night or walk past Canyon Pizza and you’ll see what I’m talking about. No one really questions what is happening to their brain or body, they just let it happen. I’m writing this blog to discover what is actually happening inside of an individual once they are experiencing a drunk state.

Last weekend, Onward State published an article with statistics from a Saturday night at Canyon Pizza. The author sat outside, soberly, for two and a half hours tallying many different things. Some of the most intruiging statistics that I found in the article were 746 total slices of pizza purchased(!!!), 20 people who drunkenly interacted with this author, and people who tried to enter through the exit (11). This raised one main question for me that I had previously not even considered: Why does alcohol make you hungry?

In the first article I read addressing this issue, it listed three factors as to why alcohol makes you hungry: inhibitions, science, and blood pressure. The explanation behind inhibitions basically said how this is a reason that people drink alcohol–to reduce their stress and anxiety–and then it will reduce the guilt someone feels after consuming that McDonalds or Canyon. The explanation for science was that the alcohol is stimulating the hypothalamus which deals with hunger. So by stimulating the hypothalamus, you’re getting hungry when you usually wouldn’t. The final explanation was that since alcohol is considered a “poison”, you’re body is working to get rid of it, which along the way reduces your blood pressure which tends to result in a “sudden carb craving”.

This article answered some of my questions, but I wanted more information. Alcohol has calories so why doesn’t that satisfy the need? In the next article I found, doctors addressed this and conducted experiments that showed people who ingested alcohol would end up feeling more hungry. The conclusion that they came up with was that alcohol directly interferes with appetite control in your brain. Food actually looks more appealing.

I still am lost as to how this is possible, but I do agree that it is true. I wish there was a way to reverse this, but for now, people will continue to drunk eat and wait in 20 minute lines for Canyon Pizza. Enjoy!

I was born into a family of runners. My dad ran track here at Penn State and my brother was a state competitor in track and field, so it was only natural that I would take the same track (lol) as them. I started running at a young age, and eventually competed on both the track and field and cross country teams in high school and now the club track team here at Penn State. It has been an activity that I can always rely on to improve my mood no matter the circumstances and I love that. Many people talk about the “runner’s high” that comes with the exercise, and I’m writing here today to find out whether this high is actually a thing or a pigment of our imagination.

Many things happen to your body during something as simple as a thirty minute jog. Your heart beats faster, directing blood towards your muscles.  Your body releases chemicals called endorphins, triggering a positive feeling in your body. You start to breathe heavier because your body needs to create added supplies of ATP. The list goes on and on. The reason that many have hypothesized about the “runner’s high” is because of this release of endorphins.

One hypothesis proposed that there were real biochemical effects of exercise on the brain and that these endorphins released acted as the brain’s “naturally occurring opiates”. This was accepted by leading endorphin researchers not associated with the study. I find this hypothesis reasonable and accurate. As a runner, I can say that running has not only impacted my body in a positive way, but has certainly also improved my mentality and mood. However, I’m not so sure I would associate this with a “high”.

Yes, running has been proven to release endorphins. Yes, it has also been proven to improve a state of mind. However, the connection between these two is lacking. I believe the connection is a mental game. Running improves your mood because who wouldn’t feel better after working out?! You just burned those calories and are feeling great about it! I don’t think this feeling of euphoria is simply because of the endorphins released, but the other factors that researchers and people in general are overlooking. This “runner’s high” isn’t a pigment of our imagination; it’s a feeling of satisfaction that any type of exercise should produce.

So, if you are looking for a way to improve your mood or feel better about yourself, go for a run. Release those endorphins and see where it takes you. Although I don’t believe it is actually a “high”, you will feel better afterwards, and that’s what matters.

6 years ago, my oldest cousin Heather was pregnant. She was expecting her second child (also her second son). After nine months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a premature baby who, as she would find out, had many health implications. Her son, and my second cousin, was named Reed. His health issues ranged from developmental delays to cardiovascular problems and other life-threatening matters. After months of doctor appointments and medical tests, Reed was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome. Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic condition that comes with these issues previously mentioned, but is also associated with extremely social personalities and a love for music. As Reed grew older and older, this was piercingly clear. He would talk to anyone he saw–no matter where, what race, what age–and his tune was amazing. As interesting as I find the harmful issues that come with Williams Syndrome, I’m more interested in the benefits and gains that are associated with it.

How can a genetic condition produce something as odd as an inclination to music?

A study was conducted by professors at the University of Connecticut to figure this out. They invited 16 individuals with Williams Syndrome to participate in a program called Music & Minds to help enrich and study these musical talents. What they found was that 10 of the participants had mid- to high-level skill and potential with music and that 94% of the participants demonstrated an overall gain in comprehension. My cousin Reed is definitely one with this positive impact in his life. He is extremely into music, holding a tune before he could even speak a whole sentence. I believe that the music involvement is also part of the reason that these people with Williams Syndrome have such social personalities. 

Here is my cousin, Reed. He is (obviously) happy in this picture, and in life in general. His social abilities are impeccable, talking to anyone in sight. Music most likely does strengthen social bonds, giving us an oxytocin boost which is known to play an important role in increasing bonding between people. This quite possibly impacts why those with Williams are so social.

Although Williams Syndrome has negatively affected Reed in so many ways, it has also blessed him with this amazing talent. Yes, rare genetic conditions are normally associated with lots of setbacks. However, this unique quality is something that really should be valued above that.

Pizza is a beautiful food. With the variations of shape, size, and toppings, it can be customized to nearly anyone’s wants and/or needs. Even though it is unfortunately filled with grease and calories, I still find a way to fit it into my diet multiple times a week (as I’m sure many of us do). It is also one of the most addictive foods, gaining a rating of 4.01 on a 5 point scale, according to the Huffington Post. In this study, pizza beat out chocolate, potato chips, and even soda for the most addictive. So, why is it so addicting? Science has helped prove that it indeed is, and has given reasons why.

Earlier this year, The University of Michigan held a study hypothesizing that highly processed foods share pharmacokinetic properties with abused drugs. The study concluded that these highly processed foods which are associated with food addiction very likely may share characteristics with drugs of abuse. Many variations of pizza are processed, packaged and frozen, making consumption quick and easy whenever a craving comes around. Especially as a college student, I find myself stocking my miniature freezer with hot pockets, bagel bites and pizza rolls, prepared to gorge whenever the time comes. The processing of this food is partial reason for the addictiveness it holds, but I myself believe there are other reasons many of us can’t get enough of this food sent from heaven. Here are my reasons:

1. It is an attractive food. I honestly don’t think I can say that I’ve ever seen an unattractive pizza. A food always seems better if it looks better.

2. It is widely available. Take a walk downtown and you’ll see at least 10 different pizza shops within a mile radius. The availability gives the opportunity to eat more of it more frequently.

3. You can have many different variations. If there was only one version of pizza, I’m sure many people would get sick and tired of it quickly. However, due to the wide range of toppings available and the unique touch from each restaurant, it is hard to find one you don’t like.

This University of Michigan study was actually the first study to examine which foods can truly be implicated in food addiction, but I doubt it will be the last. Food is something that everyone needs to survive, but is also something that can lead many to their deathbeds. Future studies of the addictive qualities pizza (and other foods) may contain is essential in maintaining healthy lives for our world and attempting to prevent the addictiveness. Until then, eat up. Here’s a picture for you to feast your eyes on: