Enzyme Found That Destroys Alzheimer’s Plaques-Trevor Ogundepo

October 2012                           The article I read was titled Enzyme Found That Destroys Alzheimer’s Plague. The Mayo Clinic was the clinic that ultimately found this enzyme. BACE2 is the enzyme that was tested that lowers beta-amyloid more effectively than any other enzyme before.  Beta-amyloid is harmful, because accumulation of this plague acts as a toxic protein in one’s brain. BACE2 attacks the beta-amyloid in two different ways not only does it reduce the size and cutting the beta-amyloid pieces into subsequent smaller pieces causing it to disintegrate. The BACE2 is believed to be an attractive choice of treatment in Alzheimer’s treatment.  I personally believe this is a groundbreaking moment in the science world, because Alzheimer’s affects more than 5 million Americans in the US, making it the most common memory related defect. So the fact that they have found an enzyme that directly attacks the plague that makes Alzheimer’s is huge. From a personal stand point it was hard to watch my grand mother visit her mother in the hospital and get treated as though she were a stranger. This was emotionally taxing for my grand mother to go through, and even when her mother was on her last leg she still did not whom my grandmother was. So that’s tough. So to be informed about a possible cure causes instant elation. As it relates more so to science, Mayo clinic also believes that an harmful side affect of the BACE2 is that it may cause Alzheimer’s. The process that is now in progress is to see whether BACE2 can be used while not putting the test specimen at higher risk for Alzheimer’s. I believe the article is credible as it relates to our field of study, because we directly discussed the effects enzymes have on chemical processes.

-Trevor Ogundepo

Effects of Caffeine

Trey Tickle

Professor Gazdik

Biology 101

2 November 2012

Effects of Caffeine

                There are effects of caffeine shown in molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). Scientists have for the first time been able to visualize the sites of caffeine in living human’s brain. They have explored possible positive and negative effects of the caffeine consumption. Scientist research was published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. They showed images of F-18-8-cyclopentyl-3-(3-fluoropropyl)-1propylxanthine (F-18-CPFPX). In which all show the intake of the caffeine beverages we take in each and every day. Humans taking in so much caffeine, results in up to fifty percent of an occupant brain’s A1. The effects of the caffeine are attributed to the cerebral adenosine receptors.

I learned that the intake of caffeine does have a substantial effect to a human brain. Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. It is an active ingredient in most of our food and beverages. Eighty percent of the U.S. adults consume caffeine each every day with coffee and soda. The effects are known to show in the brain’s A1. So with consuming caffeine on a regular base can affect a person’s alertness, attention, performance, and also reduces sleepiness. I have concluded to stop drinking caffeine myself before this blog entry.

how butterfly wings can inspire new high-tech surfaces

The topic that I choose was called how butterfly wings can inspire new high-tech surfaces in the Science Daily they was talking about how this South American butterfly how it just flapped it’s wings and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio. They also talk about what type of butterfly to because of it color. When I was reading this article the researchers had this thing that made them want to studied butterfly wings and also rice leaves and how their texture can make different products work better. They was trying to make the butterfly wings texture look real on a surface that is plastic. In the journal Soft Matter that Ohio State University they made this texture fluid that would stop the surface from getting dirty and make it look like the real high-teach stuff. They use the Blue Morpho because it is a known butterfly and of it beautiful color so the people that was studying the butterfly notice that it able to keep dirt also water with its wings. Bhushan says that since the butterfly lives in the nature it’s hard for them to stay clean. The butterfly wings are so fragile anything that gets on their wings can make it difficult for them to fly. Bhushan was talking about that how the males and females know each other by its color and the pattern that is how they reproduce. When you look at the wings under you might think that it is smooth but it’s more like roof that is overlapping. The rice leaf looks more like a landscape when you look at it under the microscope which has this wax coating that makes the water drops fall strait down the leaf. The researchers took the two the butterfly wings and the rice leave to see what would be best for texture. After they did all that they made silicon and also plastic to make it look like the rice leave then put this special coating called nanoparticles. They was doing all these test so see which texture that had the nanoparticles for less water to fall on it and was comparing it to the non coated surface the rice leave was 26 percent and the butterfly wing was 15 percent. Then they put this stuff called caribide powder to see how easy it was to clean the surfaces. Then they measure how long that they was under the water then counted the amount of particles was on it before and after they washed it. The leaf came out to 95 percent then the butterfly wing was 85 percent so when you look at it only 70 percent came of the flat surface. So after all this Bhushan thinks that the rice leaf texture would be better for making the fluid go through certain pipes and the Blue Morpho lovely wings texture might be better for medical equipment that can help stop bacteria growth. Why I choose this article is because I love butterfly and to know that they can help the world makes me like them more. They can change our world today and make it better and improve thing also.      

-Angelique Delarosa 

Which trout has a better memory?

Taylor Noblett

Bio 101

Gazdik

Which trout has a better memory?

A fish’s personality can tell a lot. From how it learns and responds to threats or predators. There are two kinds of trout that Brown looked at. One was a shy trout and the other was a bold trout. The shy trout are a little more cautious, have a good memory, and can remember a predator’s sense better than the bold trout. The shy trout has a better chance of mating and defending where it lives because it keeps the sense of its predators. So when a predator comes around it knows it and can escape while the bold trout are forgetful and have a lesser chance to mate and survive because it does not remember the predators smell. A trout needs to be able to retain a predators smell wherever it goes because a predator can show up anywhere at any time.

Brown and his team set up a tank with removable Plexiglas and tested which fish would escape the test tank faster. He found that the bold trout would move quickly and use risky behavior. While the shy fish was more cautious and took its time to avoid being risky. Brown and his team also had the trout remember the smell of pumpkin seed. They tested to see which trout would remember the smell after 24 hours and after eight days. By the end of their research they found that the personality of the trout helped them remember the smell. Both the bold and shy trout remembered the smell after 24 hours, but when it came to the eight days the shy trout came out on top.  

            I feel that personalities can tell a lot especially about trout. Some animals are smart while some are not. This test of the two trout shows that even though they are the same fish they do not retain information the same. This test was a good way to determine which trout would remember and which one would not, but I feel as though they should have done more than just this test to test their memory. I chose this article because I love animals, and I have been trout fishing a few times. It was interesting to learn about one of the animals I hunt and see how their minds work. The article is relevant to society because some people, especially animal science people are interested in animals and fish, and some people, like me, like to learn about animals they hunt. This article also helps show society that not all trout have bad memories like the bold trout. 

resisting the sweet tooth

Trevia Hunt




Too many children in many countries are exposed to high amounts of fats, sugar and carbonated full foods. The TEMPEST program set out to find out how to teach young children in Europe how to supress the temptation to eat sweets. This research project took nine researchers each from a different European country to find out this answer. One of the members name is Liliya Nureeva, a student at Aarhus University.

The TEMPEST research project has come with ways to help children resist the desire to eat sweets and snacks. First the researchers had to address the problem of increasing overweight children and teenagers in Europe."Children and teenagers need to know more about health and the tools available so that they themselves can become involved in defining their diets and eating habits," explains Liliya Nureeva from the Department of Business Administration at Aarhus University.

Liliya believed that some children find it easy to avoid their unhealthy habits by completly avoiding them. Others use distractions such as sports to band their addiction as well. Then others set their own ground rules for eating unhealthy foods. Some eat fresh fruit everyday and some just eat sweets on the weekends. As long as children are aware of the techniques that will work for them, they can take actions to control the intake of unhealthy foods.

Pointing out the unhealthy aspects of children and teenage lives and then discovering ways to change their habits can be very challanging. One must first help the children/teenager develop knowlge about what is exactly the temptation. Then they must set goals and unique rules based on the individual on how to break away from these unhealthy habits. Liliya believes that parent, school teachers and people who have a close relationship with children and teenagers need to constantly inform students about different eating habits and strategies they can incoporate into their daily lives.

Cancer Bound:

Trey Boatwright

11/3/12

Health & Medicine Blog

Cancer Bound: How some carcinogens evade removal by stabilizing the various DNA they attack

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) which is a potent atmospheric pollutant that is fused together will form aromatic rings and do not contain heteroatoms or carry substituents. As a pollutant, scientist are concerned because of some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic and mutagenic. The PAH’s are found in cooked foods, such as meat cooked at high temperatures. Grilling food or barbecuing foods are perfect examples. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are lipophilic, which means they mix more easily with oils than water. PAH’s in the environment are found primarily in soil, sediment and oily substances, as opposed to in water or air. But once you have ingested or inhaled, the multi-ringed molecules are converted into reactive carcinogenic compounds that can bind to DNA.

If DNA is damaged, DANA messes up the genetics during cellular replication, which could possibly cause cancer. If the PAH has evades someone’s system it is the Nuclear Excision Repair (NER) job to repair the system. The PAH lesions are more resistant to repair than others. A New York University research team conducted research on the insight on the ability of certain PAH derived lesions to evade the DNA repair machinery. They found that some lesions stabilize the DNA they damage, which makes it hard for protein to be repaired. “The stability of the DNA double helix is a key feature that determines whether DNA is flagged for repair in the first place y protein called XPC. The protein patrols the genome looking for weakened areas. When it finds one, it slips a structure called beta-hairpin between the strands, marking the DNA for Nuclear Excision Repair. 

One thing that I found interesting about this article was that lesions are formed from bending the double helix out of its normal shape to form areas of damage. And I learned that there are a high percentage of pollutants found in grilled food because of the way it is being cooked. The smoke that is being formed with the cooked food is affecting the food in different ways. Body wise, humans react differently from each other. Some may get sick while others won’t.

Fear of the Dentist Is Passed On to Children from Their Parents

Kyle Houghtaling

Bio 101

Dr. Gazdik

Fall 2012

Blog Entry

            The article that I found most interesting was in the RSS feed “ScienceDaily:

Health & Medicine News”, and was titled “Fear of the Dentist Is Passed On to Children

from Their Parents”. This article spoke on the emotional transmission of dentist fear

amongst family members, especially that of parents to children. The article emphasized

the importance of how a parents reaction to the dentist effects how their child will feel

about the dentist. They proved this in a study of 183 children between the ages of 7 and

12 in Madrid that concluded fear levels amongst the father, mother, and children are

interlinked.  That study was published in the International Journal of Pediatric Dentistry.

However, the article also explains why the father is the largest factor in influencing his

and his wife’s children. The author, Lara Sacido, states that father was described as a

mediating variable and that children mainly pay attention to the father when determining

whether or not a situation is stressful. It was also stated that the mother’s reaction can be

influenced by the fathers reactions to the dentist. Sacido then stated the two most

important implications of the results that she obtained. One was the need to involve

mothers, and especially fathers, in dentist fear prevention campaigns. The other was to

make fathers attend the dentist and display no signs of fear or anxiety. It was obvious to

me from the beginning that a child’s response would be somewhat dependent on how

their parents react to the situation. However, I did not know that the father had a larger

influence than the mother. I had previously assumed that it would be the mother because

of the attachment that children get to their mothers when being raised, but I was wrong. I

also found this article more interesting than the rest simply because my mother is a

dentist. Whenever I visit my mom at work I always see the frightened faces of kids

waiting for their appointment with my mom to come. I never quite understood the fear on

their faces because this is something that I had never experienced. I believe this is

because I was born into it and found myself at the dentist much more often than a normal

kid due to my mothers profession. I also believe that this article has a great relevance to

society because of the understanding that it gives to parents and how they should act not

only at the dentist, but in other potential stressful environments. Their actions have been

proven to directly effect how their child will react to those same situations in the future. I

believe that this article can help educate parents around the world on how to react to

potentially stressful situations wen they are in the presence of their children.    

Dylan Burdick-Hunt for Life under Antarctic Ice Heats Up

Hunt for Life under Antarctic Ice Heats Up

Exploring the lakes on the glaciers is an important exploration for scientist everywhere. Determining if there is life in the form of bacteria could result in hundreds of new species being found. These new species could carry chemical compounds that could solve problems like diseases or could be the next energy source.  I think that is important that the scientists are taking a very cautious approach to the drilling of this hole when it comes to cross contaminating it. The drill that is used is going to be wrapped in a sterile bag until the drill is ready to be in the hole. The water that is going to pumped into the hole will go through a five stage series of filters which the scientist say will make the water more sterile the that ice that usually forms over the lake.  The time restraint the scientists are dealing with is going to be the biggest factor in whether they fail or succeed in my opinion. The drill teams have 24 hours to set the probes and receive the samples before the ice freezes and cover the hole that they drilled. If the hole is covered the scientists and drill teams have enough fuel to pump hot water and make a second hole. The fact that Lake Ellsworth is a puddle compared to other lakes in the glaciers of Antarctica make the possibility of finding bacteria a lot better. This expedition is only one of the many drilling expeditions that are going to occur. The lack of results in this expedition could hinder more lake drillings to occur.

Nikkole Stehl

     Medical News Today has released an article concerning prenatal and childhood exposure to flame retardant materials which leads to various developmental issues. The main concern is a substance called Polybrominated- diphenylethers, which is commonly found in the household. Two PBDEs have been banned because of the hazards to health since 2004, but furniture such as couches or flame retardant foam and carpets before that time contain those matierials. The effects of this exposure is an impaired evelopment of nervous system, as well as hormone disrupting effects on estrogen and the thyroid. This chemical has also been linked to the increasing female hyperthyroidism in the United States, because of it's direct effects on the endocrine system. It bioaccumulates in breast milk, is linked to infertility and collects in fat tissues as well. It can enter the body through inhaling it, and small amounts in food. The health effects of PBDE continues to rise.

     I have learned that simple household objects that are seemingly harmless such as couches, carpets and rugs can be hazardous to an individual's health, particularly women, her unborn baby and small children. It seems as though health concerns are growing greatly associated with synthetic and mass manufactured objects.

     I chose this article because it is important to the health. It has given me further insight into the unexpected hazards of household objects. I am particularly interested in such articles for my own health, and the health of my future family. Imported furniture, toys, clothes etc from foreign countries that don't put as much concern on the hazards of manufactured goods. When I have my own home, I would like to become knowledgable about which goods are safe and unsafe for my home, and family.

WORKS CITED:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/251992.php

Outbreak of Meningitis

Quentin Mack

BIO 101 A

Professor Gazdik

October 30, 2012

Meningitis Outbreak

CBS News recently released an article on the outbreak of Meningitis originating from Massachusetts. According to the state officials, the meningitis emerged from steroid injections produced by the New England Compounding Center, which sent out drugs that were not completely sterile. Meningitis is often caused by allergies to drugs or fungi and it affects the brain and spinal cord; in the case of the outbreak, the cause of it was a strain of fungus called Exserohilum rostratum, which is a common type of fungus but has never been the cause of meningitis before. CBS News medical correspondent, Dr. John LaPook, determined that the fungus was a result of poor sanitary conditions and lack of maintenance for laboratory equipment. The investigation revealed that dirty floor mats and a leaky boiler were the cause of Exserohilum rostratum in steroid injections, which led to an outbreak of meningitis that had killed twenty-three people and left more than three hundred sick. The state of Massachusetts has since revoked the license of New England Compounding Center along with three pharmacists responsible for the meningitis outbreak.

            I chose this article because it shows the neglect of the New England Compounding Center to see that the proper sanitation of their products could prevent side effects, but this outbreak was more than a simple side effect. Fungi are known to grow in damp conditions and the lab was an exceptional area for Exserohilum rostratum to grow in. My grandmother was a nurse so she has been exposed to situations that required the proper sterilization of products through the use of alcohol. It was required of her and others working with medicine to use alcohol to sterilize needles before injections as well vials used to contain drugs such as steroids. It just shows a lack of concern among pharmaceutical companies in the distribution of medicine if they cannot maintain the simple standard of sanitation which could have prevented the outbreak. The welfare of people's health is at risk if pharmaceutical companies cannot understand how easily diseases can be carried around and how people can get sick because of poor sterilization.

 

 Work Cited:

"Mass. moves to revoke license of firm tied to meningitis outbreak."CBS News. CBS News, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Fruit Fly genome offers New insights

Amanda Dollman

Professor Gazdik

Bio-101-A

October 29, 2012

     “Fruit Fly Genome Offers New Insights into the Forces That Shape Genetic Variation”

Medical News Today recently published an article.  Fruit Fly Genome Offers New Insights Into The Forces That Shape Genetic Variation.   The goal of the research is to better understand the forces that shape genetic variation.  Drosophila melanogaster also known as fruit flies like humans, originated in Africa, and that’s where they show the most genetic diversity.  Flies that left with us tens of thousands of years ago when they want back to Africa they made new populations with flies that never left. Most of the theory and statistical methods in human genetics were originally motivated by studies of flies, because they’re easier and faster to work with.  The work reveals strong evidence of pervasion natural selection throughout the D. melanogaster genome. Compared to where human genomes show little adaptation over a hundred thousand years.  The study of fly genetics will help to better understand Human genetics.  Helping figure out how flies shape genetic variation will help relate this to us and more variety is good for the species of the human race, it makes us stronger.

I chose to write about this article because we have been talking about two methods of cellular reproduction.  We have been learning about asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction in my Bio- 101 class.  So when I heard the last two words Genetic Variation, this made me think of sexual reproduction because in comparison to asexual, sexual reproduction allows more variation on your genes.  What color your hair would be or perhaps the color of your eyes.  Therefore it made me very interested in reading this article.  I was very surprised to learn the close comparisons of human genetics to fly genetics.  How research on fly genome can help human genetics.  I also didn’t know we both originated in Africa and that’s also where we show the most diversity.  It’s amazing if you really think about it how many strains are out there.

Work cited:

n.p. "Fruit Fly Genome Offers New Insights Into The Forces That Shape Genetic Variation." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 16 Oct. 2012. Web.

27 Oct. 2012. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/251477.php

Bryant 

Biology blog

10/19/12

Alzheimer’s Disease

            The article I chose talks about how Alzheimer’s may be a result of an anti cancerous mechanism.  The main risk for Alzheimer’s disease is aging.   Scientist simulated the act of aging by using hydrogen peroxide, which acted as a metabolic stress that is similar to the one that causes aging.  Scientist found that cells stop dividing and began secreting large amounts of inflammatory protein.                                      The article had a lot of information on the whole process of obtaining the Alzheimer’s disease.  Statistics were shown and also broke down the different age categories comparing the chances of obtaining the disease.  The effect on apoptosis (cell suicide) and senescence’s both led to inflammation and were leading problems on older people in the chances oh having Alzheimer’s. 

            I enjoyed this essay, as it was very informational and talked on a disease that man people are effected by or know someone affected by it.  One of the scientist Torres stated, “If we can clear senescent cells, then we can probably clear Alzheimer’s.”  Scientist has tested different ways of cures for the disease and is coming close to their cure.  

      Compounds that could Thwart Post-Taumatic Stress Disorder.

 

 

          A recently posted article in ScienceDaily, on Oct. 15, 2012, has given insight to a new set of  compounds that may possibly reduce the long term effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on traumatized civilians and active military personnel. Professor Anantha Shekhar and colleagues at Indiana University have been conducting experiments on rats by way of what is called a "conditioned fear test". This is used to trigger the rat's brain to activate a chemical called NMDA, which in turn causes a protein reaction producing Nitrous Oxide. These two chemicals are scientifically proven to be vital in the successful formation of fearful memories. Based on their research Professor Shekhar and her colleagues have specified testing two small molecules known as IC87201 and ZL006 to disrupt such NMDA regulated Nitrous Oxide production, and by doing so potentially offer a way to prevent long term damage due to PTSD. If these compounds are further proven to stop long term damage from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder we could possibly see them being produced into a medicinal form and administered, within a couple hours prior to an event, to traumatized citizens and also military personnel immediatly following a combat incident.

         I chose to read and review this article because I am currently a 68W Combat Medic in the United States Army and have trained in feild hospitals and also military hospitals here in our country. PTSD is always a great factor in screening soldiers who are returning home from deployment but often goes unnoticed and undocumented, left then to terrorize soldiers later in life and cause many other problems. I believe that if these compounds can be created and regulated they would provide a great deal of relief for soldiers who have undergone traumatic events and also their families. Many people who are effected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder may not know that they have it for a matter of time after the incident occurs, it could take days, months, or possibly years to effect that person. If these molecules can prevent this from happening without further damaging any parts of our body or creating worsened side effects it will be a great discovery for science both in the civilian and military sectors.

 

 

 

-Adrian Garrett

Analyzing The Sheep Genome For Parasite Resistance.

  Science Daily published a recent article about analyzing the sheep genome for parasite resistance. Researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) were looking for genetic resistance for a parasitic nematode that infects numerous herd of Ovine. The nematode is a gastrointestinal parasite that enters the sheep through the mouth while grazing on pasture. The parasites are common in tropical regions and Africa. The ovine will suffer from diarrea, anaemia, weight loss and sometimes even death. These side effects cause great issues for many economies in third world cultures. The USDA and ARS are working with researchers in Kenya in hopes of identifying genes that become tolerant to the parasites. If the genes become parasite resistant then herders can increase production, which in turn makes them more profit. In one study, scientist mapped out regions of the genome that are resistant to the parasite. They bred Red Maasai sheep, which is tolerant to the parasite and bred it with a Dorper, which is more likely to get the parasite. The offspring were then backcross bred with Massai ewes to ensure there tolerance of the parasite. This study showed that 20 percent of the offspring were carrying parasite resistance traits. They offspring were grazed on the same pastures where the nematodes were found and blood was collected from the sheep's gastrointestinal system to detect the amount of parasites. The crossbred offspring were found to have less parasites than their parents. The future studies will use the OvineSNP50 which will be able to examine more than 50,000 locations in the genome.

  I chose this article because my parents are sheep farmers. My family is always consulting with veterinarians to try to vaccinate our heard in order to increase production. Sheep are prone to parasites because they burrow in the ground and sheep graze on the breeding grounds of them.
Overall, I enjoyed this article because it shows relevance to my personal life as well as my academic life, as an agriculture major. It shows relevance to society as a whole because sheep farmers will always have to worry about way to prevent parasites from destroying a heard. Scientist will always need to develop new medications in order to increase production which in turn increases profit.

-Katelynn Shelby McCarthy