Upset Stomach? Blame Your Childhood

Hygiene in childhood may actually affect adult digestive health.
Researchers at the University of Aberdeen raised genetically similar pigs in one of 3 different environments: outside, indoor, or in experimental isolators. The experimental isolators are environments that allow researchers to control what bacteria get in.
The pigs raised outside had Lactobacillus as the predominant bacteria in the tissue lining their digestive tracts. The pigs raised indoor had reduced Lactobacillus and increased numbers of potentially pathogenic bacteria in their digestive tract. This skewed ratio of gut flora was exaggerated in the pigs raised in the experimental isolators.
These differences that were observed in early life influenced the digestive health of the adult pigs. The bacteria introduced by the early outdoor environment seem to have improved the ability of the adult pigs to maintain proper immune responses in the digestive tract and limited excessive inflammation of the gut.
This work has implications for humans. The authors write in BMC Biology that recent population studies reveal that childhood hygiene is a significant risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel disease.
Its still too early though to blame adult digestive disease on early childhood exposures. The effect on adult microbial diversity and immune responses needs to be studied.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Click here to read research article

Martian Water? Sorry.

Summer on Mars is probably less habitable that previously thought. Evidence of abundant water in Martian magma or lava, may actually be caused by chlorine.

Even though we send probes to Mars pretty regularly, a lot of what we know of the planet actually comes from indirect observation. We don’t see large bodies of water on the planet, but from different observations we try to determine the amount of H2O in the atmosphere, on the surface, within rocks, and possible underground. To do this we need to look at the effect we expect water to have on these structures.

One way to measure the amount of water in the atmosphere is to determine how much infrared light is absorbed. Water vapor absorbs more than other gases. Those measurements need to be corrected for weather patterns, because those values can change frequently.

When looking at rocks, it is possible to see the effect water has had on them. In particular, water will create specific crystal patterns in the rock that can still be observed even after all the water has evaporated.

It was previously thought that Martian lava contained as much as 2% water. This was determined by looking at crystal patterns of meteors that come from Mars. 2% would provide a hefty source of H2O for the Martian water cycle.

New data published in the journal Geology suggests that these crystals were actually formed in a Chlorine rich environment on Mars. It seems as though Mars may be 2.5 times richer in Chlorine than Earth.

Click here to read the research abstract

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Your Christmas Tree has got a lot more going on than just its decorations

Pine trees come in many different species. Depending on its location, how many leaves it makes and the pattern of the bark, a pine tree can be relatively easy to identify.
The closer one looks at groups of similar pine trees, it becomes harder to answer questions about how closely or distantly related they are.
Botanists have many techniques for
working out these problems, but more help is always welcome.
Researchers at Oregon State University published findings in BMC Biology that describe looking at DNA found in the chloroplast of pine trees to help differentiate populations of very similar trees.
Chloroplasts are the parts of plant cells that make the leaves green. They have their own DNA, and each tree only gets its chloroplast
from the plant that makes the seed (its mother.)
Since this DNA gives a somewhat stable reference point for analysis, because it doesn’t mix like most of the DNA found in a cell.
In their paper, Matthew Parks, Richard Cronn and Aaron Liston describe how best botanists can use this chloroplast DNA to tease out otherwise unrecognizable differences or similarities in plants.

Click here to read the original article.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Look Alikes Aren't Always CopyCats

Dolphins and sharks look alike and live in the ocean, but most people regard them as different types of animals: dolphins are mammals with hair and mammary glands so they are more like us than sharks which have gills and are more like other fish.

Scientists call this phenomenon convergent evolution, and there are examples of it in all forms of life. Bats and birds fly and have wings, cacti and euphorbias have spines and grow in deserts, and koalas and humans have finger prints. These organisms are considered by science to have acquired these traits independently of each other - sometimes in response to similar environments.

For the scientist it can be exciting to identify examples of convergent evolution. However a recent study of giant plants suggests that the designation may be given erroneously if not enough lines of inquiry are pursued.

The giant Lobelia is found globally. Its range includes eastern Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, South America, French Polynesia and southeast Asia. Lobelias are most often found as small, herbaceous plants commonly used as ornamentals. So when the various populations of giant Lobelias were discovered spread across the world, it was assumed that this was an example of convergent evolution: that the herbaceous Lobelia will evolve the giant form in response to particular environments.

Alexandre Antonelli published in BMC Biology that all the giant Lobelias are actually related to each other. Scientists call this a monophyletic group meaning they come from a common ancestor and more importantly the giant form of the plant evolved once and all the giant Lobelias today come from that originating population. Antonelli used molecular analysis to establish this close relationship. He found that the giant Lobelias probably came from eastern Africa between 25 and 33 million years ago.

He concludes his paper stressing that there be careful analysis before making assumptions about morphological development and convergent evolution in all organisms.

Click here to read the original article

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Obese? Not Me! Tell the Fat Guy.

Overweight, Normal, or Underweight most of us mis-perceive our actual body size.

Tiffany Powell reported at the American Heart Association Science Sessions that obese people who mis-perceive their ideal body size have double trouble: they already have increased risks associated with obesity and they think they are smaller than they should be.

5893 people who participate in the Dallas Heart Study were asked to self-identify their body size as below normal, normal, or above normal. The difference in perceived body size was compared with the subject's actual body size.

Those with below normal or normal body sizes generally self-identified as being larger than their ideal. Those with above normal body sizes saw themselves as being below their ideal.

The people who underestimated their larger than ideal body size were more likely to be female, African American, had a higher body mass index, higher systolic blood pressure, and higher insulin resistance.

Powell concluded that addressing this mis-percerption may be important in preventing and treating obesity.

Click here it read the research abstract

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Last Chance for a World Without HIV and AIDS - Scientific Station™ - 20 November 2009

Read the research article

Last Chance for a World Without HIV and AIDS by Brendan Craughwell

Robert Smith and fellow researchers in Canada propose in the journal BioMedical Central that we may now have our last, best chance at eradicating HIV and AIDS.

And the way to get rid of it. . .money.

$60 billion dollars has been raised to spend on treating HIV and AIDS for the next 20 years. This money will be held in reserve and released incrementally.

The researchers developed a mathematical model demonstrating that with population growth and global migration HIV will perpetuate itself in humans despite this 20 year plan.

However, the model predicts that if the plan is modified and funded at $63 billion over 5 years, eradication may be possible.

This linear differential equation model divides the world by regions and directs the spending in each region to achieve a 2/5 reduction in the HIV infection rate by focusing on education and condom distribution.

Eradication must occur on a global scale to be effective.

Should these interventions not be made, the model predicts that in twenty years HIV eradication will no longer be possible due to the high cost of dealing with a larger world population.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

I'll have a TofuPup, but does it taste like fish now? - Scientific Station™ - 17 November 2009

Soybeans are used for a variety of foods: tofu, soy milk and edema-me. Lines of genetically engineered soybeans have been developed to manufacture a precursor of one of the Omega-3 fatty acids used to promote heart health.

Stearidonic acid also called SDA is converted into this Omega-3 in our bodies.

We usually get this particular Omega-3 from fish. William Harris of the Stanford Medical School tested whether or not SDA from these soybeans worked as well as fish oil at raising our blood Omega-3 levels. His finding is that SDA derived from modified soybeans produces statistically significant increases in blood Omega-3 levels.

This means soybeans may become a major source of Omega-3 in our diets in the future.
Regulatory testing is still underway for the soybeans, so it will be a few years before it hits the shelves.

This study did not address the taste of the oil.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Look Me In The Eye! - Scientific Station™ - 14 November 2009

Look me in the eye

Attention seeking at first glance seems to be a purely human quality. However our reliance on vision is rooted in primate evolution. Seeing has helped us find better food, safer housing, and more attractive mates.

Vision has become so important to us that we first seek out others' eyes in new situations. It worries us when others do not return our glance.

Jeffrey Klein, Stephen Shepherd and Michael Platt published a review in Current Biology examining the neural circuits that mediate visual information and influence our social attention.

Not only who looks at us, but who we are looking at and how "betrays much about our own identity" the authors write "who we are, where we come from, our gender, age and social status" are all on display in our gaze.

Click here to visit the original article


copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Womb Acoustics - Scientific Station™ - 5 November 2009

When do we learn to talk? Just published research suggests human fetuses in their third trimester are acquiring language they hear from their families.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Hungry, Hungry Lions - Scientific Station™ - 3 November 2009

How many people did the lions who hunted the Uganda Railroad construction in 1898 eat?

Using carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from the killer lion carcasses, an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimates the lions at 35 people in 1898.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Vaccines

Would you want to live in a world without vaccines? I don't. In fact I probably wouldn't be alive in a world without vaccines. None of us would be.

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Global Warming

There's definitely a lot of heat around discussion of global warming. You have taken your stance, but do you understand what it is you either support or reject?

Let's see how you handle this question.

If global warming is caused by the aggregate accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere how does cutting emissions fight global warming if we continue to release CO2?

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.

Evolution

Do you believe in evolution? Frankly I don't care. I want to know if you know what you are talking about. Answer these questions, and let's see if we have a shared understanding of what we're arguing about.

What evolution is?

How does predetermination fit into a description of evolution?

copyright 2009 Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved. SCIENTIFIC STATION is a trademark of Brendan Craughwell. All rights reserved.