This semester has had its ups and downs for me, personally and campus wide. The ritual of attending this science class on Tuesdays and Thursdays took on a therapeutic angle. Whether it's hearing ridiculous statements in other classes or witnessing people abuse the current sad state of science literacy in the country, Hammond 220 on Tuesdays and Thursdays became a source of comfort. Comforting in that I knew I would always be challenged to think rationally and logically while suppressing the power our intuition has over us.

Well, technically it's called spermicide but then again, that's not exactly what's going on with the electromagnetic waves given off by your laptop's WiFi.

Well, the original entry was so much better and more informational and all, but the site crashed and deleted the whole thing, so I had to rewrite it in about 3 minutes. Thanks Penn State.

An article says that passing through a doorway into another room actually can cause a person to forget things.  The example used in the study is that when someone leaves a room to go to the kitchen to get food, the frequently forget what they went into the room for.  In the study performed by the University of Notre Dame, they had participants walk across the room and try to perform memory tasks, then do the same when walking through a doorway into another room.  When they did this, the results showed a significant decrease in basic memory.  They believe that the brain categorizes rooms into "episodes" and once the room is left it becomes harder to access the information from the previous episode.

This is an interested revelation, but it would be more interesting to find out why this happens.  If they could find a reason the brain does this, it could be possible to not only solve the problem, but gain a greater understanding for how the brain processes memory as a whole.  Doing so could actually unlock an answer to people that suffer from more serious amnesia, such as dementia.

Skinny... yet Obese?

 

 

We may look at ultra thin people and think, "How can they eat so much fast food and not even partake in one minute of exercise, and still not be obese? The fact of the matter is that they are actually obese. How can this be? They have such a low BMI index! Being slim doesn't mean you're healthy. Thin bodies can still carry plenty of visceral, or intra-abdominal, fat. This means you may have a low BMI, but a high percentage of body fat, leading to problems such as high blood pressure or high blood sugar. Be aware of the warning signs.

 

Warning Sign #1: Your family has a history of heart disease.  An individual whose family has a prominent history of heart disease is more prone for accumulating plaque in the arteries in which this buildup may lead to coronary disease or possibly a heart attack. A parent with an early-age heart attack should be a red flag for you and your siblings, explains Massen, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute. "If your father had a heart attack at age 40, that's different from a father with a heart attack at age 65 or a grandfather at 90."

"The more family members you have with [blood vessel] problems, the closer they are related to you, and probably the younger the age when they had their problems -- those are the significant risk factors," says Massen.

 

Warning Sign # 2: You Exercise less than 3 times per week. Exercise is extremely vital to maintaining a healthy body inside and out. Exercise contributes to a healthy blood flow, allowing "fresh" blood to reach all parts of your body, thereby clearing away blocked arteries and allowing for more blood to reach vital organs. Additionally, regular and consistent exercise promotes a healthy youthful look, (which I know many of us are in the prime of our lives and don't need to look any younger). However take this fact: My mother who is turning 50 next year looks the same as she did when she was 20 yrs old How does she do it?  She exercises and follows a healthy diet. I understand that I have no scientific evidence consistent with the fact of my mother's appearance but it does demonstrate a significant correlation. Research shows that you should do cardio first. Published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, one study examined how many calories exercisers burned doing one of four workout combinations: running only, strength training only, running followed by strength training, and strength training followed by running. "Researchers found that while all exercisers experienced a strong "after burn" (a higher rate of calories burned when at rest after exercise) for the two hours after working out, the strength-training and run-strength training groups had the highest exercise after burn of all."

 

 

Warning Sign #3: You eat fast food and/or junk food more than once a week. You may look thin and trim, but hidden inside, your body is struggling to pump blood through your blocked arteries. You may have the body of a 20yr old but your heart is working as though you were 200 lbs and 40 years old. So please, you may think that if you are thin that you can eat whatever you want. False! You are still harming and affecting the way your body functions and operates. A person with a higher BMI than a thin person may be in way better shape. Yes, they look bigger on the outside but on the inside their blood flow and metabolism is healthier compared to a thin person consuming large amounts of fast food/junk food (anything that isn't simple and basic and over processed).

 

So be safe and watch out for your well- being!

Don't simply think because you are thin it foregoes the need to eat right and exercise.

 

Here is a website that offers the variety of cardio exercises that will really get you into shape!

 

Here is a live link about family history and predisposed diseases.

Since Andrew was talking about the existence of aliens on Tuesday I found this article about how we will go about searching for life on other planets. The Kepler space telescope has been searching for planets, and has found over 2000 since its launch on March 7^th 2009.

Scientists have proposed 2 new classification systems the first is called the Earth Similarity index, it's basically how close a planet matches earth in terms of size and temperature. This is important because water is essential for life and there needs to be liquid water on the planet. Size is important because a planet that's too small doesn't have enough gravity to support an atmosphere and one that's too large will have too much gravity and crush anything on them. This may not be true though, like Andrew said, maybe they didn't' need water and aren't carbon-based.

The second is the Planetary Habitability Index, this one looks for solid surface, and if it has an atmosphere, it bypasses the Earth-centric thought about life.  It's a lot more wide-open in terms of the planets we can look for and it may be the system of the future because life may have been able to evolve in different conditions than earth.

I'm hoping that these mission are a success....I really want to find a habitable planet, or even better one with life.

 

    It's no secret that climate change isn't a uniform occurrence over the whole planet, different parts of the globe are experiencing changes in temperature and other climate factors faster than others.  One of the hardest hit parts of the globe is the Arctic region which, as I'm sure many of you know, has been experiencing rapid increases in temperature and this change is having a profound, noticeable effect on the environment.

Mono is a serious illness that plagues many young adults, especially those in college.  A few days ago, I went to the doctors because I was sick and found out that I have mono so I am currently at home resting until I get better.  And I can tell you firsthand, mono is no fun. 

 

Mononucleosis, also known as mono or the Kissing Disease is a common illness that can leave those infected feeling weak for weeks and even months.  Mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.  It is most often seen in young adults.  Children can get the virus but it usually goes unnoticed since the symptoms are mild.  Older adults do not usually get mono because they eventually become immune to it.

 

Mono is spread through contact with saliva, mucus from the nose and mouth, and sometimes tears.  The virus can be spread through kissing so it has been nicknamed the kissing disease.  If you have mono, avoid spreading the illness by not kissing anyone or sharing drinking glasses, eating utensils, or toothbrushes. Basically anything that touches your mouth.

 

Once you get mono, you won't get it again and the symptoms go away for good.  But the virus can still be spread as the virus becomes active from time to time.

 

The most common symptoms of mono are a severe sore throat, swollen glands and tonsils, high fever, inability or difficulty swallowing, weakness and fatigue.  These symptoms start four to six weeks after you become exposed to the virus.  Mono also caused your spleen to enlarge.  Severe pain in your upper left abdomen means your spleen has burst and that could be life-threatening if not treated immediately.  All the symptoms besides weakness and fatigue usually go away after 3-4 weeks.  The fatigue and weakness may last several weeks to several months.

 

Mono is diagnosed and confirmed by a blood test.  Self-care is the main treatment for mono.  You need to get plenty of rest and may even have to be on bed rest which may keep you from school or work for a while, like me.  Avoid heavy-lifting and contact sports because these may also cause your spleen to burst.  Take acetaminophen and ibuprofen to relieve sore throats and headaches and reduce fevers.

 

So basically avoid getting mono at all costs.  Do not share drinks with people or kiss someone you think may be infected.  It's not fun to be sitting at home doing nothing all day because you have to rest.  Since it is so prevelant in college students, we need to be extra cautious and be aware of the causes.