Up until the age of about twelve, I thought it was completely normal for fingers and toes to turn white, purple or dark red when they are cold. That is what always happened to me so I never questioned it. Once I reached the judgmental middle school days, people would scream and cover their eyes when they saw my hands turn these colors. I was completely shocked because not only is it really not that gross, I had never even considered the idea that I was one of the other people this happened to.

The following picture is of my own hand.

One source explains the body’s natural reaction to cold weather is to save heat. It slows down blood supply to the skin and especially to extremities. Most people’s bodies have no problem coping with this but people with Reynaud’s have a weird reaction.

While the cause of Raynaud’s is not certain, there have been links to other diseases such as “lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, or atherosclerosis. (www.webmd.com) ” This is interesting to me because my grandma has rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease. I have celiac disease and my brother has diabetes. Autoimmune diseases run in our family, clearly. Research explains that while Raynaud’s isn’t autoimmune, it has been linked with many autoimmune diseases..

Some treatments for the disease include actions as simple as wearing a hat, mittens and heavy coat. One can try using hand warmers or just staying indoors while it’s cold out. Unfortunately, that is the best advice and help that can be given to those suffering a Raynaud’s attack. One can also avoid common triggers such as the chemical ergotamine which is found in some migraine medicines and birth control pills.

I find that I am constantly complaining about having to wake up for my 9am class each day. It’s always on my mind that I’ll have to get up early when I make decisions such as napping and staying up late. This caused me to start thinking about how crazy it is that just one year ago I would have killed to start school everyday at 9am. My high school started at 8am and this meant I had to get there by 7:45am everyday to be able to go to my locker and then be sitting in my seat by the time the bell rang. I began to think about how this can’t be healthy and decided to look into some debates about why High Schools should start later than they do.

Circadian rhythm is defined as “a daily rhythmic activity cycle, based on 24-hour intervals, that is exhibited by many organisms.” It is often known as one’s internal clock.  A study performed by a Brown University professor actually found that one’s body releases melatonin (a hormone involved in sleeping/falling sleep) later as one matures. Therefore, it is actually harder for a teenager to go to bed early and therefore wake up early than it is as an elementary schooler. They found this information from “melatonin secretions in saliva samples.” 

While sleeping in is often thought to be luxurious, it is much more than recreational. It is “as biological necessity, as important to good health as eating well or exercising.” Sleep deprivation can lead to a weakened immune system, lack of concentration and memory, blurred vision, low daily performance, change in appetite, bad mood, general tiredness and so much more.

Because teens are growing so quickly and going through puberty, they need equally as much sleep as they did when they were children. The recommended amount is 8.5-9.25 and studies show that less than 50% of teens are getting this. In fact, “A National Sleep Foundation poll found 59 percent of 6th through 8th graders and 87 percent of U.S. high school students were getting less than the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights.” (startschoollater.com).

With all these facts down about how few teens get enough sleep and how important sleep really is, I can’t help but wonder why five out of six schools (6th-12th grade) still start below 8:30am.

“Given that the primary focus of education is to maximize human potential, then a new task before us is to ensure that the conditions in which learning takes place address the very biology of our learners.” -Mary A. Carskadon

There’s so much hype about drinking coffee everyday and how it could have many potentially negative effects. People talk about caffeine addictions all the time and I’ve seen multiple blog posts about alternatives to coffee, such as green tea. This caused me to wonder how bad coffee really is for you. If 400 million cups of it are consumed everyday in the United States, could it really be that bad? I would think that if there were serious health losses to drinking coffee, that number would be a lot smaller.

One source explains that drinking coffee triggers Hydrochloric Acid to be produced. Hydrochloric acid, also known as HCI, is something, which is only supposed to be present to digest meals. When one drinks a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, it is merely there for the coffee and nothing else. Many health issues such as “bloating and gas to IBS, diverticulitis and even colon cancer” can be caused from a lack to HCI to break down the protein ingested. If one uses his/her hydrochloric acid on coffee, it is not being used on the things that really matter. This information confused me because I feel as though based on what this source is saying, having any drink first thing in the morning would have the same effect. I haven’t been able to find any facts that only coffee causes hydrochloric acid to be produced.

The mayo clinic linked drinking over four cups of coffee a day to early death. This data could be linked to the third variable concept. The findings could be because those who consume extreme amounts of caffeine have unhealthy life styles.

Thecoffeefaq.com explains that the pH level of coffee is approximately 5. This means that it is fairly acidic. Acids in general “wear out the enamel in your teeth”. In addition to this, teeth are quite porous so it isn’t hard for the coffee to get in them and cause stains. While these stains may seem inevitable on coffee drinker’s teeth, there are ways around them. One can drink out of a straw to have the coffee never even touch his/her teeth. Or, there are crest white strips and other whitening treatments which have been proved to have positive effects on removing these marks.

In the end, while there are clearly visible down sides to consuming this drink; they aren’t too awful. There’s going to be downsides to everything and many people find it worth it for the extra energy which is provides. The main importance is just have coffee in moderation. This rule applies to basically everything.

This weekend I went home and visited my adorable, four year-old, lab mix dogs. It was so nice to see her (and my parents). When I first walked in the door, she attacked me with kisses and scratches all over my legs. This reaction was expected but what wasn’t expected was that afterwards she just stared at me and wagged her tail on the ground. Usually, she wags her tail in the air. This caused me to start to wonder why dogs wag their tails and what the different wags mean.

An interesting post talking about why dogs wag their tails explained that it is serves as a signal, a way to communicate with other beings. It explained that a ” dog will only wag its tail when other living beings are around-e.g. a person, another dog, a cat, a horse or perhaps a ball of lint that is moved by a breeze and might seem alive.” A different source added that while they do use their tails to signal happiness, they also use it for anger and annoyance. Every single article I have looked at about this topic emphasized the importance of not assuming a dog is happy/excited when he/she is wagging his/her tail.

In the past, tail wagging has usually been measured through movement and height but recently, there has been a new scientific finding. Apparently the side on which the tail is wagging can say something about the dog’s general mood. Tails wagging more to the right seem to have more positive moods. I found this very hard to believe, it just didn’t make sense to me but after doing some deeper research, I have yet to find a source which says this is untrue. Furthermore, there were a study conducted to support these findings. They took “30 family pets of mixed breed and placed them in a cage equipped with cameras that precisely tracked the angles of their tail wags. Then they were shown four stimuli in the front of the cage: their owner; an unfamiliar human; a cat; and an unfamiliar, dominant dog.” (same article). The dog’s tail reaction with each of the increasingly nerve-wracking stimuli, was consistent with the data.

It is important to know a dog’s natural tail position because this is where it will be if she is relaxed. A nervous dog will generally put her tail low and between her legs and and a happy dog will wave her tail back and forth with increasing speed and force as mood increases.

The same source warns to keep an eye out for dogs with their tails straight up. This could be a sign of aggression or threat. The main way to tell the difference between an angry dog and a dog just wagging her tail is is to look at the rest of the body. It will give clear signals towards the dogs mood through things such as eyes, ears, mouth and posture.

Hair removal is a topic often debated in modern day society. Girls remove hair from their legs, arms, under arms, bikini, lip, eyebrows and more. It is the style these days to be hairless, sort of like this cat.

There are so many ways to remove hair such as shaving, plucking, creams, waxing, threading, laser, and electrolysis. In my opinion, waxing and shaving are the most popular so I’ve decided to do some research on which one is the best option.

Nads.com argues strongly for waxing. They explain that it lasts longer, won’t leave cuts and actually causes the hair to grow back slower than it would from shaving. This is because waxing pulls the hair out from the root, unlike shaving. The follow diagram explains what they two do to the hair they remove.

After seeing this diagram, it is easy to understand why hair takes longer to grow back from waxing. Even the tiniest growth will be seen after shaving but it has a while to go once completely pulled out of the root, by waxing.

While waxing might seem like the more sensible option in that aspect, shaving definitely wins out when thinking about the financial aspect. Razors are very cheap and reusable. Shaving is also a good option because it can be done in the comfort of one’s own home, at any time. It is quick, efficient and easy.

When one thinks of waxing, pain usually comes to mind. One article talks about how the more one waxes, the less painful it becomes. They explain that they believe this is because one gets used to the pain. Personally, I disagree with that theory. From my personal experience, I think it hurts less as time goes on because there is less and less hair (because it grows back thinner). And of course the build up and anticipation decreases.

In the end, it depends on each individual person, their lifestyle and their pain tolerance. Both are sufficient and popular methods.

On a normal day, my hair is curly and frizzy. On days when it is humid outside, this just gets even worse. I have no choice but to put my hair in a braid or a bun to avoid the extreme puffy-ness. I was wondering if there is a scientific explanation for why humidity makes hair frizz.

One article explains that “humid air causes hydrogen bonds to form between water molecules and the proteins in your hair, triggering curls and frizz.” It also talks about the fact that our hair is super sensitive to humidity and is sometimes even used as a tool to measure it. In a way, our hair swells up as moisture passes through it. The follow picture shows exactly what happens during this “swelling” process.

Because of the frizzy nature of my hair, I have tried a lot of different hair products. Some are gels while others are mousses or creams. While they all look and smell different, they each have the same goal, fighting the frizz. Moknowshair.com explains that Silicone, a chemical found in almost all hair products, “attach(s) to the hair (to) create a barrier that stops external moisture, mainly humidity, from getting in the hair shaft.” I picture it to essentially cover the cuticle (in the picture) and hold it down to avoid the raising in the second picture. This makes sense but leads me to wonder why some products work better than others for different people if they’re all made with the same chemical. The same article goes on to explain that the other ingredients in hair products vary. Most contain a type of protein and oil and it seems that different ones of these just work better with different types of hair.

I use two products everyday, Moroccan Oil and Oui Dad. I took a look at both of their ingredients and was surprised to see that neither contained Silicone! Moroccan oil contains anti argan oil and vitamins while oui dad contains Wheat protein, amino acids and vitamin A. I find it interesting how they could have completely different ingredients while trying to obtain the exact same goal.

According to another source, there are three types of hair frizz. There’s “surface frizz, halo frizz and in the curl frizz. There doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid a certain type, it just has to do with one’s natural hair type. This source suggests getting a different hair cut, shampooing less often and just hoping for better weather! Prevention.com talks about how different shampoos can effect frizz. It explains that it has to do with the PH level of the shampoo, which has a direct effect on how much it dries on one’s hair. Dry hair makes the cuticle level more likely to rise and therefore hair to frizz.

I am five foot and five inches and am the tallest person on my high school gymnastics team. http://teens.lovetoknow.com explains that the average height of a teenage girl between the ages of 16 and 17 is 64 inches, 5 feet and 4 inches. On this scale, I am about average. My question is whether gymnastics just attracts short people because the sport is easier when one is small or does it Stunt one’s growth?

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 31: Alexandra Raisman of the United States of America competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team final on Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on July 31, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Sports injury bulletin explains a study performed in Australia where they measured the “height, sitting height, leg length, lengths and breadths of the humerus, radius, femur, and tibia, diet, serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), testosterone, and cortisol in pre-pubertal and early pubertal gymnasts and similar-aged, normally active non-gymnasts”. At the end of an eighteen-month period, they found that there was no difference between the two groups. An explanation for this could be that rather than gymnastics stunting people’s growth, it is small people who chose to do the sport. Tall people know that they are at a serious disadvantage when competition against one who is smaller. Most people did gymnastics as one point in their childhood but maybe it is only those who were smaller who continued because they were the ones succeeding in the sport.

The same article explains the other side of the question too. It looked into the skeletal age of some gymnasts, which is the measure of the maturity of our skeleton that can be the same, less or more than our real age. It showed that most gymnasts have a bone age of their actual age, which is very normal, in child hood. It isn’t till late adolescence when their bone age begins to slow down and is not caught up to their real age. Some people believe that this is because of the extremely strenuous exercise gymnasts due during puberty.

One other explanation for gymnast’s heights being generally lower than non-gymnasts could be damage to the growth plates. Tumbling put immense pressure on the body and the forearms. Doing this often could definitely have a permanent on effect on the distal radius.

The “Freshman 15” is a concept that I’ve heard about forever. I never really thought much of it because it always seemed so far away. Even this past summer, I ate lots of ice cream and seldom exercised. Now that I am at Penn State, I keep thinking of the dreaded freshman 15 and have decided that I should probably start exercising. I’ve never really gone to the gym before because I’ve done gymnastics my whole life and the whole concept sounds painfully boring to me. Going on a walk sounds like a nice and easy way to get some exercise but I keep wondering if a run would be much more/how much more beneficial.

The New York Times explains that it depends on what you are trying to gain from this exercise. People exercise for many different reasons; weight loss, heart health, stamina, endorphins, fun, etc.. Nutritionaction.com discussed a study performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California where they compared the weight loss of runners and walkers after 6 months of doing their respected exercise. They found that jogging or running 11 miles a week led to approximately the same weight loss; the only difference being that walkers had to put in more time to get to the 11 miles. This study showed that it’s not the intensity that effects weight loss, it’s the calories burned.

Another study compared about 16,000 walkers with approximately 30,000 runners. The New York Times explained that “Participants were asked about their weight, waist circumference, diets and typical weekly walking or running mileage both when they joined the study, and then again up to six years later”. Almost every single one of the runners was thinner and kept off the weight better than the walkers. Also, when put in a room with a huge buffet right after doing their respected exercise (running or walking), the runners seemed to have a much smaller appetite than the walkers. This suggests a definite possible reason why the runners kept off more weight than the walkers.

In conclusion, while running is a more vigorous exercise, both running and walking have immense health benefits. One must figure out what he/she is trying to achieve before deciding on one.

Seven years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This means that I can’t eat any gluten. While it might seem like an easy thing to avoid, mainly seeming to be in bread and pasta, but I soon realized it is much more than that. Soy sauce and some salad dressings often contain flour to thicken them and even one breadcrumb falling into my food can send me into incredible stomach pain. After being informed that a pill is coming out which will allow everyone with Celiac Disease to eat some gluten, I could not be more excited…or skeptical. It just sounds too good to be true.

One article explaining the pill says “NEW PILL WILL LET PEOPLE WITH CELIAC DISEASE EAT GLUTEN-FILLED MEALS OF THEIR DREAMS”. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where eating gluten attacks the small intestine and essentially tears it up. It causes terrible stomachaches and in some cases, headaches, migraines and cold soars. The new drug uses antibodies found in egg yolk to coat the gluten as it passes through the digestive track and therefore have it not set off the sensitive gluten receptors.

Another source explained the actual experiment that tested the new drug. In Finland, they found 41 participants who had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and gave half of them a placebo and the other half the real pill. They then had each person consume 2 grams of gluten per day. The results showed that those who had taken the pill had better results then those with the placebo. While this is very exciting news for me, I can’t help but think that it’s an inhumane trial. It is seriously unhealthy for someone with Celiac Disease to eat gluten and could cause complications later on in life. The fact that they could ask people to do that while knowing that 50% of them are receiving absolutely nothing to protect the body from gluten is unethical.

An opposing opinion states that this pill could be very dangerous because we don’t know the long term effects. Glutendude.com explains “I am against it…100%. Our bodies are telling us gluten is poison and you want me to take a pill so I can do what exactly? Eat food that I KNOW by body rejects? I’m good…thanks.” The article also talks about the amazing improvement in celiac awareness by restaurants and food stores, which will lessen substantially now that there is a “cure”. This pill is not a cure, it’s rather an aid for those suffering with celiac. In addition, the drug has not yet been proved effective, only safe.

While I can see both sides of the argument, I believe that while it is still a while away, this pill is a huge break through and scientists will ensure its safety and effectiveness before putting it out on the market.

The actual concept of a roller coaster makes everyone who goes on one seem completely crazy. After a summer of amusement and water parks, I began to wonder why we find such pleasure in rides. Research suggests that there’s not one reason that makes people to want to go on crazy roller coasters that flip and spin them in every direction, it’s a combination of the freedom to scream, the thrill, and the new and exciting experience.

Research explains that roller coasters are all about illusion. While you feel like you’re going a thousand miles per hour and dropping down a drop bigger than the world, it’s a number of different factors that contribute to this essentially false feeling. 80 mph in a car would feel like nothing out of the ordinary while some of the roller coasters considered the scariest and fastest in the world do not exceed this speed. An extreme example is my favorite ride, Space Mountain. It’s located at Walt Disney World in Florida and is terrifying. When I looked up the maximum speed it hits, I was absolutely shocked. It’s only 28 miles per hour! Space Mountain is completely indoors and uses light and sound to trick the riders into thinking they are going insanely fast.

It has something to do with the fact that people can feel like they’re taking risks and experience the same thrill as a dangerous activity while knowing deep down that they’re safe. It’s the same concept with scary movies and haunted houses. Student.societyforscience.org explains that people are born with gene to want to thrill seek, or not. This separates those who go on the rides with the water pistol players. The New York Times explains that “the craving of thrills may be hard-wired into those who thrive on the level of primitive brain activity that physical danger stimulates.”

Student.societyforscience.org/ also suggests that people go on rides for the freedom. In almost every other situation, one would get dirty looks and most likely be considered crazy if they were to throw their hands up and scream at the top of their lungs. It’s a bonding experience between a person and the other total strangers on the ride. In addition, it’s a way to less lose and for a moment, completely forget about any problems and just scream.

Hi my name is Jen Wales and I’m a freshman here at Penn State. I’m from Rye, New York which is about 40 minutes from New York City and 4 hours from State College, PA. I’m currently in the Division of Undergraduate Students but am highly considering switching into Education. I did an internship last June where I worked in an elementary school art room for a month. It was a great experience and I loved teaching/getting to know the kids. Also, I coach gymnastics so teaching kids is something which I feel very comfortable with and enjoy doing. Honestly, I am taking this class because I needed a science class as a Gen Ed. I have never been good at science nor have I enjoyed it. It’s not that I don’t find it interesting, I just really struggled to understand and succeed in all my science classes in high school. That is also why I’m not majoring in science.

Here’s the most recent song i’ve listened to.

This is a picture of my dog. I miss her so much!