When we talk about people, each other, we often discuss all of the differences we have—the way we look, the way we think, our personalities, the list could go on and on. Clearly, we’re completely different from each other—or does it just appear that way? Think back to your middle/high school science class days. We were taught that humans are 99.9% genetically similar to each other. The small .1% makes a huge difference in our appearance, however, right beneath the skin we are all the same.

The outer layer of our skin is referred to as the epidermis. This is the portion of skin that we can physically see when we look at one another, the bacterial microbiome of the epidermis does, in fact, vary from person to person. Age, and gender play a huge role in the appearance of the epidermis—we know that the skin of an elderly person looks very different than that of a young adult. However, if you dig a little deeper to the layer of skin beneath the epidermis called the dermis, the bacterial microbiome is the same for every person. Any age, any gender, we are all the same. The study conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen used skin samples of knees and hips from patients who were undergoing surgery, all of the patients involved did not have any infection before surgery and were generally healthy—the bacterial microbiome of the dermis from all the samples were the same!

This information is important because bacteria is one of the main factors in many different skin disorders. Understanding the bacterial microbiome of the dermis will allow scientists and researchers to further study, understand, and even cure or prevent certain skin disorders. “It is important that we drop the assumption that we are all different, and that the microbiome of the skin does not matter very much. We do know that bacteria play a major role in skin disorders. Therefore, we need to understand the bacteria and the skin in its three dimensions,” says co-author Thomas Bjarnsholt, Professor at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen.

“It is important that we drop the assumption that we are all different…”

Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200212104733.htm

University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. “Right beneath the skin we all have the same bacteria.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 February 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases

Damaged DNA, or DNA breaks, can be extremely harmful to cells resulting in mutation and putting individuals at risk for many different things—cancer being one of the most critical results. Researchers have found ways in the past to repair DNA breaks, but the latest breakthrough from researchers at the University of Toronto have found a new way to repair some damaged DNA using liquid droplets containing complex filaments and protein connectors.

This new discovery challenges a past belief that damaged or broken DNA essentially “floats” around with no direction. In 2015, associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at U of T, Karim Mekhail and fellow researchers first challenged the past theory by showing that damaged DNA could in fact be transported to certain areas fortified with particular repairing components in the nuclei of a cell. Later, the same researchers were able to show that damaged DNA travels via lines of extremely thin microtubule filaments that also move, further challenging the “floating” theory. In the most recent discovery, Mekhail and lead author Roxanne Oshidari were able to show shorter “lines” of microtubule filaments and the droplets are able to coordinate together to create a functioning DNA repair centre.

Mekhail made the statement, “The liquid droplets work with intranuclear microtubules to promote the clustering of damaged DNA sites. Repair proteins at these different sites assemble in droplets that fuse into a larger repair-centre droplet, through the action of the shorter nuclear microtubules.” The larger droplet that stems from this process then projects a web of filaments that connect with the “lines” of longer microtubule filaments that continue to transport DNA to a functioning repair centre.

Mekhail finished with the closing statement, “We can’t rely on the old ways of observing. We need to update our software and also go back to looking with the human eye, guided by simulations when needed,” referring to the software used in the past while conducting studies on DNA repair. To me, the statement is a friendly reminder that things, even science, constantly change and room for improvement is always possible! Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200205132349.htm

University of Toronto. “Genome stability: Intricate process of DNA repair discovered.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 February 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200205132349.htm>.

Artificial or “natural” sweeteners are consumed by millions of people every single day for various, and valid, reasons. While consuming low-calorie sweeteners is considered safe during pregnancy and breast feeding, new evidence suggests that negative side effects are possible. Recent studies have found that these products could actually be putting certain health factors at risk in fetus’s and infants when consumed daily by their mothers.

Aspartame is the technical term for a certain artificial sweeteners which is used as a sugar substitute, commonly in beverages. According to Dr. Raylene Reimer, PhD, University of Calgary professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, and Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Cumming School of Medicine, newly found evidence suggests the low calorie sweeteners may increase obesity and have other cardiovascular risk factors on fetus’s and infants. The study, conducted on mice, showed that when matter from offspring of mothers that consumed artificial sweeteners was introduced to the sterile bodied mice, significant weight gain and poor blood glucose control was an outcome. Although there is not yet a complete understanding of why it happens, this study showed how—even though neither the offspring nor the mice had directly consumed any of the artificial sweeteners, the mother of the offspring did, which triggered the obesity and poor blood glucose. In other studies, the presence of certain sweeteners were detected in breastmilk, which contributes to the belief that consumption of these products by mothers can still affect their children even outside of the womb.

Some of the most common brand names of the artificial sweetener aspartame include “Equal” and “Nutrasweet.” “Stevia” is another commonly consumed sweetener that is considered to be natural, however daily consumption of even this alternative NOT containing any aspartame showed similar impacts. This means that although some artificial sweeteners like “Sweet N’ Low” and “Splenda” don’t contain aspartame, risk factors could still be present. Hopefully with this information, researchers and scientists can continue to make breakthroughs in finding optimal diets for healthy mothers and children. Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129174510.htm

University of Calgary. “Low-calorie sweeteners do not mean low risk for infants: New research shows the impact ‘diet’ ingredients have on body weight and gut microbiota.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129174510.htm>.

Tragedy has been striking Earth for quite sometime. From experiencing unbelievably warm weather during winter in cold weather states, to remarkably insane tropical storms, not to mention, do seasons even exist anywhere anymore? You might be familiar with the cause—something we refer to as Global Warming. Rising sea levels due to Global Warming is another one of the many severe effects, and even threatens to completely reshape the U.S. Eventually, costal cities will essentially be extinct.

Researchers at University of Southern California have recently determined that at the rate sea level is rising, 13 million people will be inevitably demanded to relocate to a different city by 2100. Right now you’re probably thinking how terrible it would be to live in one of these cities and thankful that you don’t, but the reality is every single person is going to be effected.

The study was published earlier this week and used trained artificial intelligence to project existing rising sea levels and combined it with population projections to predict where people would migrate. When these cities are destroyed, people are going to have to have somewhere to relocate, which means rising population in inland areas near the coasts, metropolitan areas in southeast U.S., and rural areas in the Midwest. Austin, Texas is predicted to be at the top of the destination list of migrants from the southeastern coast. What this means is not only will billions of people be forced to relocate and completely start a new life, billions of other people will be forced to adapt to accommodate the sudden, extremely large rise in population of their current cities.

What will be done to expand the anticipated migration cities to accommodate such large numbers of people? What will happen to the pricing of homes, and job availability? The geography of the U.S. is going to change fast and dramatically over the next few decades, and we need to prepare. Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122150021.htm

University of Southern California. “Sea level rise could reshape the United States, trigger migration inland: AI shows climate change-driven sea-level rise could trigger mass migration to cities inland.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122150021.htm>.

We all know wildfires are never a good thing—they destroy the homes of millions, seriously impact health conditions, and cause significant damage to the environment, but the story here is the damage actually goes even further than you might think. Air pollutants from wildfires and even controlled burning have been found from Canada and the southeastern U.S. all the way in Connecticut and New York City. If that doesn’t sound like a huge deal, think of it this way—that’s potentially over thousands of miles!!!

The air pollutants from the smoke only took days to travel over hundreds of miles and caused a noticeably large increase in pollution concentrations in New York City and Connecticut. The study, which was conducted in 2018, released on January 21st, 2020 and led by researchers in the Drew Gentner lab—associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering—found pollutants in the New York metropolitan area corresponding with New York-area air quality advisories for ozone. The researchers used three types of evidence including smoke maps from satellite imagery, backtracking 3-D models of air parcels, and data from observation sites to determine that the pollutants’ originated in both Canada and Southeastern U.S. in two separate cases. The danger of the pollutants’ is the content of particulate matter they produce such as black carbon and other primary organic aerosols consisting of a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, giving it the name PM2.5.

PM2.5 is a serious hazard to health when inhaled and also has huge impacts on air quality and the climate. As the air pollutants travel, the level of PM2.5 was found to decrease with distance but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s less dangerous, any level of PM2.5 is potentially harmful. Lead author Haley Rogers, an undergraduate student at the time the research experiment took place, made the statement “When people are making predictions about climate change, they’re predicting increases in wildfires, so this sort of pollution is likely going to become more common.” Co-Author Jenna Ditto, graduate student in Gentners’ lab also made the statement “ Studies indicate that there are no safe levels of PM2.5, so typically any level of it is worth taking a look at.”

Gentner suggests “..this is certainly something that needs to be considered as policy-makers put together long-term air quality management plans,” and I agree. We are running out of time to turn the climate around and save our planet from Global Warming, and are clearly being thrown more obstacles as we try to fight. It may take a lot of work, but we can make it happen—what actions can you take to make even one small step towards improving our environment? Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122080607.htm

European Geosciences Union. “Air pollution in New York City linked to wildfires hundreds of miles away.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122080607.htm>.

Journal Reference: Haley M. Rogers, Jenna C. Ditto, Drew R. Gentner. Evidence for impacts on surface-level air quality in the northeastern US from long-distance transport of smoke from North American fires during the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS) 2018. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2020; 20 (2): 671 DOI: 10.5194/acp-20-671-2020

Over the past 5 years, researchers have done a few studies regarding soybean oil consumption and negative affects on the brain. In 2015, researchers from the University of California – Riverside determined that soybean oil induced multiple negative affects on mice including diseases such as diabetes, as well as insulin resistance, obesity, and fatty liver. In 2017, the same researchers from UCR found there is a way to modify soybean oil by lowering the content of linoleic acid which had less of a negative affect in the insulin resistance and obesity categories. This led them to believe that lineolic acid was the contributing factor to the negative affects.

However, earlier this month researches determined in a study that there may not be a difference in the affects between soybean oil with or without linoleic acid. In fact, they found MORE negative affects soybean oil had on proper brain function of male mice used in the study. The oil negatively affects a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which contributes to your metabolism and body weight, body temperature, reproduction, physical growth, and stress responses. Researchers also believe that soybean oil could contribute to other serious genetic diseases, however it has not been proven to cause any. Many other genes in the mice fed soybean oil were also affected including the gene that produces oxytocin, the “love” hormone— levels of the hormone were lower than the mice not exposed to the soybean oil.

Some people are skeptical about the subject because of the fact that tests were ran on mice, which have different brains and translations than humans. It also has not been determined which chemicals in soybean oil are responsible for the negative effects, but it is NOT linoleic acid. (Remember? Both oils produced with linoleic acid, modified and unmodified, still caused genetic disruptions.) None the less, soybean oil is THE most consumed and produced edible oil in the U.S., so it’s always good to be aware about the potential affects products you’re putting in your body could have. Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200117080827.htm

University of California – Riverside. “America’s most widely consumed oil causes genetic changes in the brain: Soybean oil linked to metabolic and neurological changes in mice.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200117080827.htm>.

1/16/2020

Hookah is a popular form of smoking tobacco alternative to cigarettes and e-cigarettes, especially among teens and young adults such as college students. But is it any safer than smoking a traditional cigarette? The American Heart Association answers that with a hard NO. While the act of smoking hookah can be entertaining and something to do with friends at local Hookah Bars, it’s actually a lot more dangerous than what we’re led to believe.

A hookah consists of a head where the tobacco/charcoal brick is placed, a water chamber, and 1 or multiple hoses with mouthpieces attached. What makes hookah entertaining is the “tricks” you can accomplish with the smoke; bubble blowing, smoke rings, “dragon breath,” as well as the extreme variety of different flavors available. Because of this, a lot of people seem to think there aren’t really any risks that come with smoking hookah, at least it’s not a cigarette, right?

Wrong. In a recent study using mice, researchers discovered smoking tobacco from a hookah causes blood clots to form on average about 27 times FASTER in mice exposed to hookah smoke versus the mice that were not exposed. It can also contribute to abnormal blood function. Researches have determined that smoking hookah is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than smoking traditional cigarettes. Of course any form of tobacco inhalation increases the chance of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. If you choose to partake in hookah activities, be aware of the risk that comes with it, and pass the knowledge onto your peers! Click the link for the full article!!! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200116080410.htm

American Heart Association. “Hookah smoke may be associated with increased risk of blood clots.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200116080410.htm>.

1/15/2020

500,000 residents around the Taal Volcano located in the Philippines have been living on edge since Sunday, January 12th 2020– The day the regions 2nd most active volcano started erupting. There is a possibility the volcanic eruption could intensify, putting thousands of lives in danger. Scientists are unsure at this time which direction the volcano will go which has everyone on edge.

Taal Volcano is capable of many deadly hazards if its current activity intensifies. Steam-driven eruptions were the behind the initial eruption of Taal, which causes ashes to shoot high in the sky. The danger this poses is the fact that Taal is surrounded by two bodies of water and an underground hydrothermal system, which can lead to the steam pressurizing until it explodes if it comes in contact with magma and lava. The two bodies of water that surround Taal also raise a flag for the risk of a tsunami, which could be triggered by the volcano collapsing into the lake OR by a large wave of volcanic matter and debris reaching the water.

Volcanologists are keeping a close eye on the volcano’s activity, but cannot determine what the outcome will be at this time. Using different instruments such as GPS around the volcano to detect ground expansion, and tracking seismic signals, all precautions are being taken to keep up with Taal’s activity and keeping residents safe. Action has been taken by authorities to evacuate residents near by, in case the volcano decides to take a turn for the worse. Please keep the residents affected by Taal in your thoughts, as this must be an unimaginably, nerve wrecking, scary time for everyone.

Click the link for the full article by Andrea Thompson! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-taal-volcano-explosively-erupt-heres-what-scientists-are-watching/

Thompson, Andrea. “Will Taal Volcano Explosively Erupt? Here’s What Scientists Are Watching.” Scientificamerican.com, 14 January 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-taal-volcano-explosively-erupt-heres-what-scientists-are-watching/

1/13/2020

It’s that time of the year again—sounds of sniffling, coughing, and sneezing filling your ears—fevers, chills, nausea, and vomiting taking over—the aroma of hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, and antibacterial soap floating through the air —flu season is in full swing! The stomach flu, scientifically known as Norovirus, can be contracted in many different ways, but what if I told you your blood type could make you more susceptible to the virus? 

The virus, which has 29 known different strains, depends on the unique shape and structure of these molecules in the small intestine to be able to attach and possibly attack a persons immune system. Depending on which of the 29 possible forms of the virus a person has been exposed to, their blood type may not include the molecular structure required for the virus to attach to and successfully attack the immune system.

 If you’ve ever wondered why a group of your friends was affected by the stomach flu and you managed to escape the fate, it could be your unique blood type that kept you safe from the virus! Click the link for the full article by Patricia L. Foster! https://www.livescience.com/blood-type-stomach-flu-norovirus-risk.html

Foster L., Patricia. “Your Blood Type Might Influence Your Risk of Getting the Stomach Flu.” Livescience.com, The Conversation, 13 January 2020, https://www.livescience.com/blood-type-stomach-flu-norovirus-risk.html