Greenhouse

At the International Climate Conference in Oxford, UK, scientists have revealed a shocking new study which studies the possible effects of a 4 degrees increase in the world.  The 130 climate researchers from the UK Met Office presented a world in which temperatures were elevated by 4 degrees Celsius.  This threat is a real concern due to the increasing amount of greenhouse gas emissions.  An exorbitant amount of these emissions have caused the Greenhouse Effect.  This Greenhouse Effect is causing the gradual heating of the Earth’s temperatures.

The Greenhouse Effect is defined as the effect of greenhouse gases (such as CO2) in the atmosphere that heat the surface of a planet of a moon.  These greenhouse gases absorb and emit infrared radiation, and slowly contribute to the overall heating of the Earth’s surface.  What makes the matter worse, however, is that scientists have begun to discuss the possibility of dangerous feedback loops.  For example, the increasing temperatures may cause acceleration in decay and increased acidity in the oceans, both of which would increase the greenhouse gas emissions in the world.  The increase in these emissions is predicted to raise climate temperature by 4 degrees Celsius by 2055.  Action, then, is the only possible answer to this problem.  Experts agreed that a 3 per cent per year reduction would reduce the rising temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius.

At the conference, climate researchers described what our world would look like if it experienced a 4 degree increase in climate temperature.  Disasters around the world would be more common; the North Pole will experience up to a 15 degree increase in climate temperature.  A few more possibilities mentioned at this conference are listed below:

- The Amazon will be gone as we know it.

If temperatures increase, the change in climate, along with forest fires, is predicted to destroy the vast majority of the Amazon rain forest by 2100.  The prediction may in fact be too generous in expected luck.  If the increased CO2 in the climate does not fertilize the forest, we may be in for a bigger case of deforestation.

- The change in climate may cause crop failure and increasing sea levels.

It is a possibility that 200 million people could lose their homes to the rising water levels.  The water could force out those living near water and ice, as melting can cause severe flooding and other dangerous issues.  The researchers also pointed to a possibly major problem in immigration.  As places become more and more unlivable, people will continue to migrate to safer areas.

- Australia may be out of luck.

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is putting a death wish on the continent of Australia.  Even if Australia somehow avoids an extreme increase in temperature, the increase in forest fire frequency may, in essence, set the continent on fire.

- People in India and China may lose monsoon waters.

Monsoon waters are used in India and China to water crops and to drink.  The climate change may cause more extreme weather events, leading to both wetter and drier monsoons.  Aerosols released by greenhouse emissions may prevent the occurrence of monsoons in their entirety.

Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse can be an embarrassing thing to admit to; doctors from around the world often struggle with obtaining the truth from their patients regarding possible domestic abuse.  They may go to a doctor’s appointment to check up on health symptoms, but never reveal to the doctor that they have been victim to domestic abuse.  The doctor is put in a compromising position.  He is supposed to treat his patients, but does not possess the ability to.

That problem may be close to answered; thanks to a new computer program that has learned to pick up on possible clues left on the medical reports of patients.  The computer program can be used to save lives in predicting possible domestic abuse.  Patients that are victims of domestic abuse may do anything to avoid the embarrassment of being detected.  They may take measures to lie to doctors about injuries caused by their partner, or even travel to a different hospital to avoid detection.

The computer program has learned to pick up on clues that even the trained eye of a doctor or nurse may overlook.  The result?  A computer that understands the empirical differences between the medical reports of normal patients and the reports filed by victims of domestic abuse.  This was made possible by Ben Reis, a doctor from Harvard Medical School, who used the computer to compare the medical records of 561,000 people over a period of 6 years in an unnamed US state.  Of these 561,000 people, 19,000 were known to have been victims to domestic abuse.

The computer program then produced an algorithm that focused mostly around common patterns of injuries and mental illnesses of victims.  A few of these indicators are listed below:

- The computer found that certain patterns of injuries pointed to the specific violence of domestic abuse.  A few of these visible physical injuries include: bruises, bite marks, fractures in the face, and laceration.

- It also found that headaches, chronic pain, sleep disorders, fatigue or other signs of stress-related illnesses

- The computer found that alcoholism was a big predictor in women, and that depression and mood disorders were predictors of domestic abuse in men.

The computer program was not without error, however.  It was inconsistent with its detection, which can be expected for a new, free running program.  At times the program would suspect a case up to 6 months before the doctors did.  At other times, however, it failed to detect a case of domestic abuse at all.  The program will be tweaked to obtain both accuracy and a better success rate.

Either way, the program provides doctors with a tool that can be used to detect domestic abuse early.  It gives the doctor the option to choose whether to mention it and recommend treatment or to keep quiet.  In a world where domestic violence is prevalent in every society, the computer program may give some hope to the efforts of preventing domestic abuse.

Internet

There is no other place in the world as convenient and informative as the Internet.  Whether you are yearning for a sports fix of your favorite team, keeping in touch with your friends, or playing an Internet game, the Internet has an infinite amount of things to do.  Shoppers have the option of picking out their favorite dress from the comfort of their own home.  Law students have the ability to research cases from online databases, avoiding a trip to the library.

It then comes at no surprise that many children around the world, especially in Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea have developed an addiction for the Internet.  It has gotten to the point where parents are itching for some sort of evasive action plan, in order to avoid their children becoming victim to Internet addiction.

Internet addiction disorder is defined as the excessive use of a computer that eventually interferes with daily life.  The Internet can act as a deterrent to society for an individual, providing the individual with avenues out of normal social expectations.  Phone or in-person conversations are replaced by instant messengers and social networking sites.  Physical activity such as sports are replaced by Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (or MMORPGs).  Internet addiction disorder has become the topic of discussion recently, with pundits claiming its legitimacy as a psychological disorder and critics claiming that the Internet may in fact only amplify the existence of other disorders.

The problem with the idea of Internet addiction is that studies attempting to measure the amount of addiction around the world have ended up with significantly different results.  For example, a very recent study from Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital found that, out of 2300 11-year olds, 11 per cent ended up with an Internet obsession.  The problem, then, is that other studies have found the number to be under 2 per cent, and each study likely uses a different set of parameters to label Internet addiction.

So how can parents around the world know who is more susceptible to Internet addiction?  The study from Taiwan found a few predictors among the children they studied, listed below:

- They found that boys and girls had different results and predictors to Internet addiction.

- Depression was found to be a strong predictor of Internet addiction.  Children experiencing depression may turn to the anonymity of the Internet for comfort.  For example, a child scorned in his or her school may come home and play an Internet game with a group of anonymous friends to feel welcomed.

- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (or ADHD) is a disorder common among young children that affects their attention span.  It is a highly over-diagnosed disorder, however.  The safe assumption is that a lack of patience or attention span can cause a child to turn to the Internet for satisfaction, as there is an infinite amount of things to do.

- Social phobia was a strong predictor, especially to girls.  The avoidance of socially normal activities can often be attributed to time spend on the Internet.

Obesity in 2008

Obesity continues to be one of the great problems of America.  Unquestionably the most obese nation in the world, America has began to see more and more negative consequences of an obese population.  Politicians have begun to fight obesity, often through legislation.  Americans, on the other hand, must not want the world to think of chubby children eating Cheetos watching cartoons when they imagine America.  Sadly though, this may be the exact image that our nation conjures.  Our fight against the growing problem of obesity may be one of the most defining events of this century.

Adding fuel to the fire is a recent discovery that shows that obesity may act as a safety blanket for cancerous cells in chemotherapy medicine.  To put it simply, fat cells have been found to “protect” cancer cells from destruction via medicine.  The specific cancer studied was leukemia, and when combined with other studies, scientists are convinced that they may have found an answer to why obese children were more likely to relapse.  Cancer is still medicine’s biggest mystery, and this discovery offers scientists significant information about the mysterious disease.  At the University of Southern California, endocrinologist Steven Mittelman conducted an experiment that led to this discovery.  Mittelman injected obese and normal-weighted mice with cells known to cause childhood cancer.  He and his colleagues then treated the mice with a chemotherapy drug and found that the normal-weight mice were less likely to get “full-blown leukemia.”  They then focused their studies on human cell lines and subsequently found that fatty cancer cells were much more likely to resist the chemotherapy drugs.  The two theories derived from these studies are that fat cells either act as a sponge soaking up the positive effects of chemotherapy or send signals that prevent the death of cancer cells.

The discovered link between obesity and cancer has added another reason to the long list of reasons to fight obesity.  Below are some of the other threats of obesity:

- Obesity is extremely dangerous to your health, and can severely affect your life expectancy.  It has been linked to cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.   Being obese can make you more susceptible to these diseases and therefore reduce your life expectancy.

- Obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy by 6 or 7 years, and is noted as responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year in the United States alone.  Lower BMI obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy by 3-4 years, while extreme obesity may reduce life expectancy by 20 years or more.

- The increased risk in physical and mental conditions is another threat of obesity.  The biggest link of obesity to a medical condition is type 2 diabetes, where excess fat has been found in about 70% of diabetes cases.

- Social stigmization may be another unforseen threat of obesity.  The stigmization of the obese, especially by the common public may cause depression and other mental conditions.

The discovery of the link between cancer and obesity has caused even more concern about the growing problem of obesity around the world.  While cancer still remains cureless, the more we learn about its causes, the better chance we will have of developing preventive measures.

Sleep

Alzheimer’s has always been a mysterious disease.  Scientists have not yet found the cause of Alzheimer’s, let alone a cure or proper treatment of it.  Recent studies show, however, that there may be a correlation between sleep and the progression of Alzheimer’s.  But first, let’s aim for a better understanding of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common form of dementia, usually diagnosed in those aged over 65.  At this point, it is still terminal and incurable.  Alzheimer’s is known to be caused by plaques or tangles in the brain.  The degenerative aspects of Alzheimer’s may be its most defining characteristic, a horrifically slow death brought upon by the degeneration of the senses and loss of memory.  As it is a degenerative disease, the medical community focuses on the management of patients suffering with Alzheimer’s.  Common preventive and management measures include mental stimulation, exercise, and a proper diet.  As you can tell, these measures are anything but technically medical.  Suffice to say, scientists and researchers have been hard at work in clinical trials and experiments to find any breakthroughs regarding the disease.

It is a bit ironic, then, that sleep has been found to correlate with the onset of Alzheimer’s.  Sleep, the most instinctual function of humans, was found to lower the levels of proteins in the brain and spinal fluid that cause the onset of plaques associated with Alzheimer’s.  Conversely, wakefulness was found to raise the levels of these proteins, leading scientists to the conclusion that sleep, or the lack of sleep, may in fact lead to Alzheimer’s.  As the exact cause of these plaques are still unknown, the assumption is made that these proteins can eventually clump and lead to symptoms of Alzheimer’s.  This discovery is big for scientists, who now better understand the onset of Alzheimer’s.  To the everyday public, though, the information acts as a wake up call.  No longer can a workaholic claim that he or she does not need sleep.

When people hear that they may permanently lose brain cells to a lack of sleep, they may reconsider catching up on Survivor after work and catch a few extra winks.  Here are some tips for good sleep that can help you protect your brain:

1.  Exercise daily – Daily exercise can help you get a good night of sleep. Exercise kills two birds with one stone, as it is commonly used for the management of Alzheimer’s.  In addition to these two benefits, exercise is extremely beneficial to your overall health, even if it is not extremely intense.  A brisk 30 minute walk or jog can help your sleep quality and do wonders for your health.

2.  Avoid the bright lights of electronics before you sleep – Using the computer up to the minute before you sleep may make it hard to fall asleep.  This goes the same for watching television.  If possible, keep your sleeping area separate from your electronics.  Stop using the computer at least 30 minutes before you head to bed, it will help your body get ready for the night.

3.  Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and smoking -  Each of these three are commonly consumed on a daily basis, and each of them can cause a sleepless night.  Tobacco smoke and caffeine can stimulate the brain, making it hard to fall asleep.  Alcohol, while seemingly sleep inducing, actually deteriorates the quality of sleep.

Green Roofs

A new green technology is here:  The Green Roof.  Kristen Getter, the leader of a study carried out at Michigan State University, examined 12 Sedum-covered roofs.  They then grew their own.  In the end, they discovered that the roofs had the ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, just as any other plants would.  The difference now is that the space usually taken up by commercial housing can now contribute to the environment.  The green roofs provide the housings an option that can reduce their carbon footprint on the world.  Green technology is defined as the application of environmental science to conserve the natural environment and resources.  However, in a time where green is the world’s favorite color, innovations such as this do not always add up.

For example, the researchers found that the roofs could absorb up to 375 grams per square meter.  In actuality, this amount of carbon absorption does not make up for the amount of carbon used to make the roof itself.  It was estimated that a green roof would take up to 7 years to actually become carbon-negative.  It is not commonly known, but many green technologies are not as efficient as we would like to think them to be.  For example, while recycling allows cans, plastics, and paper to be reused, the labor and resources expended in its process cancels out its net worth.  Critics even go as far to say that the recycling process makes matters worse.

This article is not written to criticize green technology, but instead to highlight the technology that is making a difference, or may make a difference in the future.  Green roofs are just one of many innovations that may benefit the environment.  Listed below are 4 breakthroughs in green technology that may provide a brighter, but hopefully not too much warmer, future.

1.  In 2008, MIT chemist Daniel Nocera discovered a catalyst that he claims will drop the cost of extraction hydrogen and oxygen from water, possibly opening the door for inexpensive systems that use water to store solar energy.  Nocera’s catalyst allows the extraction process to work at room temperature and ordinary pressure.

2.  Green communities have become a reality.  Technology has allowed communities to live completely off the grid.  In these green communities, houses often use solar energy to power the amenities inside.  In addition, these technologies can better help equip houses in normal communities with more environmentally healthy choices.  For example, solar panels on the roof can provide a house with enough energy to sustain itself without having to use gas or electricity.

3. Solar thermal plants, or “the other solar power,” are a new type of green technology that uses sunlight to create steam that, in turn, power turbines.  The new technology uses mirrors and avoids relying on direct sunlight to produce energy.  Instead, it has the ability to create energy even after the sun goes down.

4. In Sweden, Scotland, and parts of the US, scientists have begun to use a new technology that harnesses the power of the ocean to create power.  The technology focuses tidal pulls and forces of waves into energy and feeds this energy directly into the nation’s power grids.  It is completely renewable and produces zero emissions.

Carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon whose nanostructure is cylindrical in shape.  These nanotubes have many applications, especially in the fields of nanotechnology, electronics, and architecture.  Often used as thermal conductors, these nanotubes also host unique electrical properties and are surprisingly strong.

Now these carbon nanotubes may serve as an efficient fertilizer as well. A plant biologist named Mariya Khodakovskaya worked with nanotechnologist Alexandru Biris at the University of Arkansas in this discovery.  In their experiment, they planted tomato seeds in a soil that contained carbon nanotubes.  The resulting measurements found that the carbon nanotube medium facilitated faster germination and growth than those without nanotubes.  The nanotubes were found to penetrate the out layer of seeds, providing water with greater entry into the seeds, accelerating germination.

The experiment studied 270 tomato seeds and a control group of 90 seeds.  The 270 sterile seeds were placed in a growth medium containing carbon nanotubes while the control group seeds were placed in a medium sans nanotubes.  Their findings showed that 30% of the nanotube-exposed seeds had germinated within 3 days, an extremely significant find as none of the control group seeds had begun to sprout.  Within 4 weeks, tomato seedlings exposed to the nanotubes had grown to twice the height of that of the control group.  This finding is still unproven, however, and both Khodakovskaya and Biris have additional plans to continue the research.

Fertilization is but one of the many possible applications of these carbon nanotubes.  The rest of this article focuses on the other uses of carbon nanotubes:

1.  Structural applications

The structural applications of carbon nanotubes are numerous due to their extraordinary strength.  Such applications include waterproof and tear-resistent textiles, increased concrete strength, fire protection, increased strength in sports equipment, and synthetic muscles.  The structural applications of nanotubes is a list that will continue to grow as companies innovate around the flexible molecules.

2.  Electromagnetic applications

Carbon nanotubes have unique electrical properties that allow them to be used in artificial muscles, conductive films, magnets, solar cells, transistors, displays, and many more.

3.  Chemical applications

Carbon nanotubes are used in many chemical applications, including filters of air pollution, the storage of hydrogen, and water filters.  In water filters, the microscopic tubes allow water molecules to pass through them while restricting larger particles.

The continuing research on the applications of carbon nanotubes will likely produce countless other uses in the near future, especially in the fields of nanotechnology and electronics.  The technology is not without controversy, however.  The possible toxicity of these nanotubes has been cause for concern.  Scientists are continuing to study the toxicity of these nanotubes, but the general consensus is that an overexposure may be a serious risk to human health.  For example, a study from the University of Cambridge found that carbon nanotubes can cause cell death.  Despite these worries, scientists continue to innovate, as the potential applications of these nanotubes are too vast to consider stopping their research.

Nobel Prize

The 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to 3 researchers, Elizabeth Blackburn from the University of California, Carol Greider from Johns Hopkins University, and Jack Szostak of the Massachusetts General Hospital.  The 3 researchers were responsible for discovering the reason that chromosome tips preserve even through cell division.

The study found that chromosome tips are protected by telomere caps built by an enzyme named telomerase.  The findings may help scientists better understand the growth of cancer cells and the death of normal cells.  The potential applications for the treatment of cancer and aging theory are vast and still filled with untapped potential.

This also marked the first time that two woman have won the Nobel Prize for medicine.  This discovery may prove to one of great impact, as the possible implications for the theory of immortality are extremely intruiging.  It has been considered common knowledge that every living organism gets old and dies due to the deterioration of ordinary cells.  Now, with the new insights brought upon by this study, scientists may be able to finally understand why cells die with age.

The study revealed the reason that chromosome DNA remains intact through cell division.  Intuitively, the replacation of chromosome DNA should get progressively shorter with each division.  In finding out that the repeating sequences at the tips of chromosomes were responsible for protecting the DNA during cell division, Jack Szostak had effectively solved the mystery of chromosome preservation in cell division.  Cancer cells were found to be able to increase their level of telomeres, allowing infinite duplication without degeneration.  This was important in cancer research, as the Geron Corporation of Menlo Park, California has been working to develop cancer treatments that slow the growth of cancer through the attack of these chromosome telemeres.

Winning the Nobel Prize is the ultimate goal of many researches.  Blackburn, Greider, and Szostak, with this research joins a prestigious list of scientists and researchers who have gotten the ultimate recognition in their field, the Nobel Prize.  Nobel Prize winners are among the most distinguished in their field.  The rest of this article notes the recent past winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine.

- In 2008, Harald zur Hausen, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, and Luc Montagnier won the Nobel Prize for their research on the human piplloma viruses that cause cervial cancer, along with the discovery of the human immunodificiency virus.

- In 2007, Americans Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies along with the UK’s Martin J. Evans won the Prize for their studies on a new technique of mouse gene manipulation.

- In 2006, Americans Anrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello won the Prize for their studies regarding the control of the flow of genetic information.

- In 2005, Austrailians Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren won the Nobel Prize for their discovery of how Helicobactor pylori affects gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

As you can see, the Nobel Prize is awarded only to those who make significant breakthroughs in the medical field.  The chromosome research done by the 2009 winners has opened the door for the continuing research of chromosome research, cancer research, and aging.

Stress

Years after the war, a veteran may end up lying on his bed all night, unable to sleep.  Flashbacks and nightmares plague his mind, and anger rushes through his veins.  It has been 2 months since he has returned from his military post, but unfortunately, the events he experienced continue to haunt him, preventing him from being a normal citizen of society in his work, home, and every day life.  The next day, he may go to his doctor to treat his symptoms, to find that he has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.  His doctor prescribes him an order of Benzodiazepines, containing Valium, to reduce his anxiety and help him fall asleep.  Is the doctor helping the veteran overcome his posttraumatic stress disorder, or is he hampering his ability to recover?

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a disorder of anxiety that usually affects those experiencing a physically traumatic event.  Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder may include flashbacks, difficulty falling asleep, anger, and paranoia.  Those experiencing impairment from everyday activities due to a traumatic event for over a month are diagnosed.  Extreme physical or psychological trauma, or a combination of both, is the common cause of posttraumatic stress disorder.  Those victim to the disorder struggle often with the symptoms, and finding the right treatment is paramount to reviving his or her functionality.

Recent studies have found that benzodiazepines, or sleeping pills, can in fact prolong one’s recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder.  Scientists have studied the effects of these sleeping pills on the mind of somebody suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.  In 2002, volunteers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were tested with benzodiazepine.  Those who received the sleeping pills displayed more outward symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a week than those who were given a placebo.  In another study, mice were given benzodiazepine and tested for symptoms.  Again, those with exposure to benzodiazepines displayed more symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.  There has been no concrete proof that these sleeping pills may have the same effect on humans as of yet, but the research has brought upon a cause for concern among the medical community.

So what are some safe ways to deal with symptoms of PTSD?  The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has come up with a few:

1.  Cognitive Therapy

There are two types of therapy that can be used for effective treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.  In cognitive therapy, a therapist helps the victim understand his or her symptoms along with his or her perception of the trauma.

2.  Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy, on the other hand, focuses on dropping the fear associated with the negative memories.  Hopefully, these therapeutic strategies will lessen the symptoms.

3.  Medication

There are medications available for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs) such as Prozac can help depressive symptoms.  They may or may not work, as medication affects each person differently.

4.  Group Therapy

In group therapy, victims of posttraumatic stress disorder talk with other people who have shared similar experiences.  The sharing of experiences may relieve stress and even help the victim better understand their symptoms.  Group therapy also provides the victim with relationships that may aid in their recovery.