If you’re like me and have curly hair, some days it is nearly impossible to get your hair to stay still.  Humidity is my worst nightmare and some days it is nearly impossible to do anything to it.  This got me to thinking, what makes hair curly?

In article published in Time Magazine, they say that curly hair is determined by physics.  In a study published in the Journal Physical Review Letters explained why curly hair can be hard to control at times. 

The investigation concluded that, “the biggest variale curly hair has to reckon with is weight.”  This means that the longer the hair grows, the more of a burden hair becomes.  Eventually, the strand will become too heavy and topple over.  In opposition, straight hair is more 2-D and really only moves in 2 dimensions. 

If you have curly hair and it is shorter, it creates more of a 3-D helix.  This means that the strands grow, “up, down, swooping in an angles, doubling back on itself.” If the hair is longer than the head or beyond, the researchers call it’s called a 3-D local helix, which is more complex. 

Curly hair can be attributed to genetics.  In a 2009 study conducted it was determined that, “a heritability of between 85 and 95 percent.”  This research showed that the way a curl bends depends on its follicle.  If a follicle is asymmetrical the hair that is produced is more likely to curl.  If the follicle is symmetrical, then the hair grows straight. 

This study also showed that even if you are born with symmetrical follicles, it is still possible to have curly hair.  The scientists who conducted this study, determined that, “a cellular receptor called EGFR clusters on the outer root sheath of a follicle and appears to regulate the growth of hair.” 

The study can be seen here

Conclusion

Although scientists can look at the physics and theoretics of curly hair in many studies, curly haired people like myself look at the problem of criss less theoretical.  There can be theories and studies conducted on curly hair that looks at the algorithms behind it, but for the most part everyday people will continue to try to tame the mane with styling products.

Works Cited

Time Article

Popular Science

Whenever I am on my computer, I am usually listening to music.  No matter if I’m reading news articles, taking random quizzes on Buzzfeed, or doing homework, I am almost always listening to music.  This got me to thinking about the connection between listening to music and doing homework or studying.  Does listening to music while trying to study or complete homework have a negative impact?

There have been many studies completed to try to find out if listening to music while doing homework has a negative or positive effect.  The results are mostly mixed.  A study completed by the University of Phoenix reported that music can be distracting when doing homework, especially if there are lyrics.  They suggest that students who listen to music with lyrics while completing work have a harder time concentrating and may later have a hard time remembering the information. 

You can read the full report here.

Another experiment by the University of Wales Institute in the United Kingdom, focused on different sounds and the ability to be able to recall information.  They had the participants of the study try to remember and later recall letters in order. They were tested in different settings like a quiet room, music they like, music they don’t like, and others.  In this study similar to the one conducted by the University of Phoenix, the participants performed the worst while listening to music. 

However, some studies have shown that listening to music that is instrumental while doing homework can help.  A study from the University of Dayton found that students who were listening to classical or instrumental music in the background performed better in spatial and linguistic processing. 

Conclusion

So what can be summed up is that it really depends on what music is being played to determine if it is helping you study.  It mostly points in the direction that listening to music while studying or doing homework is a distraction.  However, instrumental music has shown to help students while studying. 

Works cited

Seattle Pi

Mind the Science Gap

Have you ever been somewhere, and smelled a certain scent that suddenly takes you back to a fond memory? Well, this is something that happens to me quite frequently.  Whether it is the smell of a type of food that I ate at a dinner party or family dinner, or a season like Fall or Summer, scent has a strong impact on the way I remember life events. This got me to thinking, why do certain smells trigger memories?

A website that deals with psychological effects, Fifth Sense, reported that smell has the strongest link to memory, more so than any of the other senses.  Olfactory Function helps link the sense of smell that you obtain to a memory.  Many times, this happens spontaneously or unexpectedly.

Researchers have found that the formation of autobiographical memory starts to take place between the ages of 15 and 30.  Marisa Larsson, of Stockholm University, says that this makes sense because, “it’s when people are going to college, getting married, and starting to establish themselves in the world.” 

Larsson started testing different ages of people on this theory.  She first had to choose smells that were not everyday, common scents. For example, she did not use coffee because people smell coffee everyday, and would not link back to a specific memory. Larsson ended up choosing scents like lily of the valley, chlorine cloves, and tar. She chose tar because, “it is an odor that is related to wood and Springtime,”.  Even if people would have smelled that scent in later years, they think of early memories. 

After completing this study, Larsson linked that early memories comes from one of the main functions of smell, to warn us about things that could be harmful or dangerous.   For example, if you ate something previously and got sick right after, every time you smell that scent again you think about when you got sick and do not want to eat it. 

Emotions also have a large impact on smell.  This is how the perfume industry comes up with the many scents: power, desire, sweet, sultry, or clean.  There have been studies that these connections can be seen through the brain. 

Emotions and scent also play a large part in our attraction to others. There has been a large amount of research that has shown that our scent or body odour, the smell produced by the genes which make up the immune system, plays a large part in how/why we choose our partners (subconsciously). 

Conclusion

Smell and Memory have a strong connection and has been proven to have a connection unlike memory and the other senses.  It can help bring back memories from the past or from your childhood. So, the next time you smell a certain scent and it makes you remember an event from the past, don’t be alarmed because this is completely normal and something that everyone has probably experienced. 

Works Cited

Fifth Sense

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2012/april-12/fragrant-flashbacks.html

Grey’s Anatomy: My favorite show for the past few years.  I watch it religiously every Thursday and wait for what medical issues and diseases the patients in that episode are going to be experiencing. The show is about a doctor, Meredith Grey, who is starting out as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, where her mother Ellis Grey was an award-winning and prestigious surgeon.  It is found out that Ellis is suffering from Alzheimers and later passes away from the disease.  In a later season, Meredith gets tested to see if she has the gene for Alzheimers and find out that unfortunately she has two marker for the disease.  I often wondered how realistic this plot line was.

After doing some research, I found that the show’s writers and producers get in contact with the Hollywood Health and Society (HH&S).  HH&S is a program at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center that helps provide accurate medical information for health storylines in movies and TV Shows.  For this plot line involving Meredith and genetics, the show reached out to Tina Wu, Ph.D., a professor in the Dept, of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.  Wu then gave “an in-depth lesson” to the Grey’s Anatomy team on Genetics.

Wu gave them specific information on testing Personal Genetics.  To read the information she gave to HH&S, go here. 

Because Alzheimer’s had a large focus on the show for multiple seasons, I wanted to find out more about the genetics of Alzheimers and the accuracy of this plot line. Meredith’s mother Ellis, suffered from early onset Alzheimers.  Early-Onset Alzheimers occurs in people ages 30-60.  Many times, Early-Onset is caused by an inherited change in one of three genes, many times resulting in early-onset familial Alzheimer’s Disease, or FAD.  According to the National Institute on Aging, “A child whose biological mother or father carries a genetic mutation for early-onset FAD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting that mutation.” 

A scene from Grey’s Anatomy

With this information, there was a very strong chance that Meredith would carry a genetic marker for Alzheimer’s.  The plot line was very much plausible in real life, and did stay medically accurate as well.  I was surprised to see that this particular plot line stayed as medically accurate as it did, because of the way the show is set up.  The show is a drama, so many times things are often over exaggerated or deal with very rare medical circumstances.  However, this storyline involving Meredith Grey, genetics, and Early-Onset Alzheimers is very much a realistic situation and could occur in every day life. 

Work’s Cited

HH&S

Alzheimer’s Research

Science Behind Grey’s

Gardasil is one of the most widely known vaccines created to prevent certain strains of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), specifically Types 6, 11, 16, and 18.  Gardasil protects against HPV strains that are sexually transmitted, and also helps prevent Cervical Cancer.  It is administrated through 3 shot over several months, and is recommended for females around the ages of 11-12, or before being exposed to the virus. First only recommended for females, it is now also recommended for males. 

When Gardasil first became introduced, there was much buzz about it leading to more promiscuity.  Many believed or thought that by receiving the HPV vaccination, girls are more likely to engage in sexually risky behavior than girls who did not receive the vaccine. The question of, “Does the Gardasil Vaccine promote Promiscuity?”. 

This however, was rebutted and in an article published in the journal Pediatrics, it was stated that, “Girls who are vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV) are no more likely to engage in sexually risky behaviors than girls who don’t receive the vaccine.”

Since Gardasil was first launched in 2006, the vaccination rates have been lagging. Many times when vaccinations are introduced and the rates lag it is because of knowledge about the vaccine that could be questionable.  However, the reason for Gardasil’s rates lagging was not due to knowledge, but to belief: beliefs that would not be changed due to facts.

The main belief against Gardasil was by parents who thought that if their daughter (or son), was given the vaccine it would lead to sexual promiscuity.  This could be possibly due to the belief that the vaccine, “encourages more sexual-risk taking owning to protection from the vaccine.”

A study was conducted in Ontario to test the effect that the HPV vaccine had on sexual behavior among adolescent girls.  The study was conducted on girls in 8th Grade who before (2005-2007) and after (2007-2009) the girls received the vaccine.  The results of the study concluded that there was no evidence that the HPV vaccine had any effect on sexual behavior of adolescent girls. 

The full report can be seen Here.

Another study published for Time Magazine regarding whether sexual behavior and the HPV vaccine are related,  was conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Emory University.  The study followed over 1,000 girls in 2006-2007 when Gardasil first became available.  Out of the participants, 493 received at least one of the doses and the other 905 received some other vaccine that was not related to a HPV Vaccine.  The study followed the girls for three years and recorded their behaviors in regard to sexual activity: whether they were tested for STD’s, took a pregnancy test, and taking contraceptives. 

Again, these results concluded that the girls who received the HPV vaccine had no difference of sexual activity than the girls who did not receive the vaccine.  About 10% of the girls had, “one of the sexual activity outcomes and less than 1% were diagnosed with an STI or had a pregnancy test.”

Time Magazine Article

So in regards to the question, “Does the Gardasil Vaccine promote promiscuity?”, multiple studies have proven that no, it does not.  It really has no effect on whether the adolescents who receive the vaccine are sexually active or when they become sexually active. Its sole purpose is to prevent HPV and help prevent cervical cancer, which is really only helping our future generations, not encouraging a promiscuous lifestyle. 

Works Cited:

Gardasil Website

No, the HPV vaccine does not cause promiscuity

As a 19 year old female in college, I deal with cosmetic products first hand on a daily basis.  Most days I use these products without considering how or where they were made.  But recently I have been thinking about how the products are tested. Are they being tested on animals?  Are they eco-friendly? These are the questions that I have been considering in recent times

I started looking into it more, I found out that some of the products that I use on a daily basis are tested on animals and some are not.  Peta’s website has lists of companies where you can see if they are animal cruelty free or not.  You can see the list here.

I was glad to see that one of the brands of makeup that I use the most, Kat Von D, is completely cruelty free.

An example of a Kat Von D product

It is becoming more and more popular to use eco-friendly products and products that are not tested on animals in society.  A report written by the Physicians Committee reported that a survey showed that 72 percent of Americans oppose testing cosmetics products on animals. The survey also tested the public’s knowledge of animal testing.  A total of 62 percent said that they were aware of the animal testing. 

To view Graphs that support this claim visit here

These graphs clearly show the trend that the majority of the population do not agree with animal testing.  It it easy to see the trend that people were more likely to use products that were not tested on animals.

Works cited for this information

In conclusion, more people today are concerned about animal testing and are starting to become more aware of it.  I think it is something that  I want to focus more on when I buy beauty products and I definitely want to shy away from products that are tested on animals. 

Hey! My name is Emily and I am a Public Relations major in the College of Communications.  I am from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a small town about an hour and half east of State College.  So far, I am really enjoying being a freshman at Penn State and am looking forward to the upcoming year.

I took this class because it was recommended to me by the advisors at the College of Comm. when i was signing up for classes during NSO.  As a Comm major, science is not my strong point and the advisors acknowledged that I may find this course interesting because it looks at science from a different perspective.  So, I decided to go ahead and sign up for the course.  I am much better at writing  than science which is why I am a not  a science major and in the College of Communications.

In my spare time in high school, I took dance at a studio in my hometown, singing and playing the piano and guitar, and hanging out with friends. I also work at local restaurant and the local news radio station that is in my surrounding area.

A video that I took while working at the radio station WKOK

With my fellow seniors at my last dance recital