Common chemical may cause defects in baby boys - Yahoo! News: "Common chemical may cause defects in baby boys By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
Fri May 27, 9:22 AM ET
For the first time, scientists have shown that pregnant mothers exposed to high but common levels of a widely used ingredient in cosmetics, fragrances, plastics and paints can have baby boys with smaller genitals and incomplete testicular descent.
The paper, published Friday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that the more a mother was exposed to the chemicals, called phthalates (THAL-ates), the greater the chance her boy's reproductive development would be harmed. Similar changes have led to decreased semen quality and fertility in rodents.
"We'll follow our children to see what the consequences are," says lead researcher Shanna Swan, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine.
"
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Ion Channels and the Electrical Properties of Membranes
WOW, looks like I found my test case... MS often starts with kids 8-13 years old... Emily and Chris started at about this age... PERFECT!!! lol... wow, so cool, thanks Jared!!
Ion Channels and the Electrical Properties of Membranes: "Myelination Increases the Speed and Efficiency of Action Potential Propagation in Nerve Cells
The axons of many vertebrate neurons are insulated by a myelin sheath, which greatly increases the rate at which an axon can conduct an action potential. The importance of myelination is dramatically demonstrated by the demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis, in which myelin sheaths in some regions of the central nervous system are destroyed; where this happens, the propagation of nerve impulses is greatly slowed, often with devastating neurological consequences.
Myelin is formed by specialized supporting cells called glial cells. Schwann cells myelinate axons in peripheral nerves and oligodendrocytes do so in the central nervous system. These glial cells wrap layer upon layer of their own plasma membrane in a tight spiral around the axon (Figure 11-30), thereby insulating the axonal membrane so that little current can leak across it. The myelin sheath is interrupted at regularly spaced nodes of Ranvier, where almost all the Na+ channels in the axon are concentrated. Because the ensheathed portions of the axonal membrane have excellent cable properties (in other words, they behave electrically much like well-designed underwater telegraph cables), a depolarization of the membrane at one node almost immediately spreads passively to the next node. Thus, an action potential propagates along a myelinated axon by jumping from node to node, a process called saltatory conduction. This type of conduction has two main advantages: action potentials travel faster, and metabolic energy is conserved because the active excitation is confined to the small regio"
Ion Channels and the Electrical Properties of Membranes: "Myelination Increases the Speed and Efficiency of Action Potential Propagation in Nerve Cells
The axons of many vertebrate neurons are insulated by a myelin sheath, which greatly increases the rate at which an axon can conduct an action potential. The importance of myelination is dramatically demonstrated by the demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis, in which myelin sheaths in some regions of the central nervous system are destroyed; where this happens, the propagation of nerve impulses is greatly slowed, often with devastating neurological consequences.
Myelin is formed by specialized supporting cells called glial cells. Schwann cells myelinate axons in peripheral nerves and oligodendrocytes do so in the central nervous system. These glial cells wrap layer upon layer of their own plasma membrane in a tight spiral around the axon (Figure 11-30), thereby insulating the axonal membrane so that little current can leak across it. The myelin sheath is interrupted at regularly spaced nodes of Ranvier, where almost all the Na+ channels in the axon are concentrated. Because the ensheathed portions of the axonal membrane have excellent cable properties (in other words, they behave electrically much like well-designed underwater telegraph cables), a depolarization of the membrane at one node almost immediately spreads passively to the next node. Thus, an action potential propagates along a myelinated axon by jumping from node to node, a process called saltatory conduction. This type of conduction has two main advantages: action potentials travel faster, and metabolic energy is conserved because the active excitation is confined to the small regio"
Monday, April 18, 2005
New Scientist Breaking News - Happiness helps people stay healthy
Happiness brings all things good into our bodies chemistry...
New Scientist Breaking News - Happiness helps people stay healthy: "researchers at University College London, UK, have linked everyday happiness with healthier levels of important body chemicals, such as the stress hormone cortisol.
�This study showed that whether people are happy or less happy in their everyday lives appears to have important effects on the markers of biological function known to be associated with disease,� says clinical psychologist Jane Wardle, one of the research team. �Perhaps laughter is the best medicine,� she adds.
�This is the best data to date that associates positive emotional feelings with good effects on your health,� says Carol Shively, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US. �We usually concentrate on things that are either bad or wrong, rather than good or right.�"
New Scientist Breaking News - Happiness helps people stay healthy: "researchers at University College London, UK, have linked everyday happiness with healthier levels of important body chemicals, such as the stress hormone cortisol.
�This study showed that whether people are happy or less happy in their everyday lives appears to have important effects on the markers of biological function known to be associated with disease,� says clinical psychologist Jane Wardle, one of the research team. �Perhaps laughter is the best medicine,� she adds.
�This is the best data to date that associates positive emotional feelings with good effects on your health,� says Carol Shively, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US. �We usually concentrate on things that are either bad or wrong, rather than good or right.�"
Saturday, April 09, 2005
New Scientist Premium- X chromosome activity different in every woman - News
New Scientist Premium- X chromosome activity different in every woman - News: "Baffling variations between women have emerged from an X chromosome study - some females may get an overdose of X genes
UNEXPECTED and baffling variations between individual women have emerged from a study of the X chromosome.
While men have one X and one Y chromosome, women have two X chromosomes. If all the genes on both X chromosomes were active, women would get an overdose of the proteins these genes code for. To prevent this, every cell in the early female mammalian embryo switches off one of its X chromosomes, which then remains silent in all the descendants of that cell - a process called X inactivation.
However, while some cells switch off the X inherited from the father, others switch off the X chromosome from the mother. So most women are a mixture of two different cell populations, each of which is expressing genes on a different X chromosome"
UNEXPECTED and baffling variations between individual women have emerged from a study of the X chromosome.
While men have one X and one Y chromosome, women have two X chromosomes. If all the genes on both X chromosomes were active, women would get an overdose of the proteins these genes code for. To prevent this, every cell in the early female mammalian embryo switches off one of its X chromosomes, which then remains silent in all the descendants of that cell - a process called X inactivation.
However, while some cells switch off the X inherited from the father, others switch off the X chromosome from the mother. So most women are a mixture of two different cell populations, each of which is expressing genes on a different X chromosome"
New Scientist Life's top 10 greatest inventions - Features
New Scientist Life's top 10 greatest inventions - Features: "THE BRAIN
BRAINS are often seen as a crowning achievement of evolution - bestowing the ultimate human traits such as language, intelligence and consciousness. But before all that, the evolution of brains did something just as striking: it lifted life beyond vegetation. Brains provided, for the first time, a way for organisms to deal with environmental change on a timescale shorter than generations.
A nervous system allows two extremely useful things to happen: movement and memory. If you're a plant and your food source disappears, that's just tough. But if you have a nervous system that can control muscles, then you can actually move around and seek out food, sex and shelter.
With brains come senses, to detect whether the world is good or bad, and a memory. Together, these let the animal monitor in real time whether things are getting better or worse. This in turn allows a simple system of prediction and reward. Even animals with really simple brains - insects, slugs or flatworms - can use their experiences to predict what might be the best thing to do or eat next, and have a system of reward that reinforces good choices.
The more complex functions of the human brain - social interaction, decision-making and empathy, for example - seem to have evolved from these basic systems controlling food intake. The sensations that control what we decide to eat became the intuitive decisions we call gut instincts. The most highly developed parts of the human frontal cortex that deal with decisions and social interactions are right next to the parts that control taste and smell and movements of the mouth, tongue and gut. There is a reason we kiss potential mates - it's the most primitive way we know to check something out.
BRAINS are often seen as a crowning achievement of evolution - bestowing the ultimate human traits such as language, intelligence and consciousness. But before all that, the evolution of brains did something just as striking: it lifted life beyond vegetation. Brains provided, for the first time, a way for organisms to deal with environmental change on a timescale shorter than generations.
A nervous system allows two extremely useful things to happen: movement and memory. If you're a plant and your food source disappears, that's just tough. But if you have a nervous system that can control muscles, then you can actually move around and seek out food, sex and shelter.
With brains come senses, to detect whether the world is good or bad, and a memory. Together, these let the animal monitor in real time whether things are getting better or worse. This in turn allows a simple system of prediction and reward. Even animals with really simple brains - insects, slugs or flatworms - can use their experiences to predict what might be the best thing to do or eat next, and have a system of reward that reinforces good choices.
The more complex functions of the human brain - social interaction, decision-making and empathy, for example - seem to have evolved from these basic systems controlling food intake. The sensations that control what we decide to eat became the intuitive decisions we call gut instincts. The most highly developed parts of the human frontal cortex that deal with decisions and social interactions are right next to the parts that control taste and smell and movements of the mouth, tongue and gut. There is a reason we kiss potential mates - it's the most primitive way we know to check something out.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
taoist-arts.com: News: Tai Chi Helps Parkinson's Patients
taoist-arts.com: News: Tai Chi Helps Parkinson's Patients: "Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese form of martial art that is practiced by about 300 million people worldwide, incorporates circular, concentrated movements that are proving helpful for Parkinson's disease patients. In Tai Chi, when one part of the body moves, all parts move, and the exercises improve flexibility, energy and balance.
'The patients get such wonderful benefits from it,' said Lyvonne Carriero, Parkinson's program coordinator at Shands. 'They say after one class they can see a difference in their balance.'
At a recent class, Jones and Saul were joined by their wives, Mae and Elayne, respectively, and about a dozen other participants. Instructor Genera Holladay led the group through a series of postures that were challenging but designed around the limitations of Parkinson's patients. Tai Chi techniques vary by style, and Holladay, who also is a pharmacist and acupuncturist, was using modified medical forms of the Yang style.
'This class differs from most Tai Chi classes,' said Holladay, who learned the ancient art while living in Japan and Korea in the early 1960s. In martial arts, the movements are geared outward for defense and striking. For this class, she emphasizes inner energy instead.
'If we are in a challenged health position, using these same techniques can strengthen the body for health,' Holladay said. 'Instead of letting the energy out, we use it to strengthen the organs, bones and muscles.' "
'The patients get such wonderful benefits from it,' said Lyvonne Carriero, Parkinson's program coordinator at Shands. 'They say after one class they can see a difference in their balance.'
At a recent class, Jones and Saul were joined by their wives, Mae and Elayne, respectively, and about a dozen other participants. Instructor Genera Holladay led the group through a series of postures that were challenging but designed around the limitations of Parkinson's patients. Tai Chi techniques vary by style, and Holladay, who also is a pharmacist and acupuncturist, was using modified medical forms of the Yang style.
'This class differs from most Tai Chi classes,' said Holladay, who learned the ancient art while living in Japan and Korea in the early 1960s. In martial arts, the movements are geared outward for defense and striking. For this class, she emphasizes inner energy instead.
'If we are in a challenged health position, using these same techniques can strengthen the body for health,' Holladay said. 'Instead of letting the energy out, we use it to strengthen the organs, bones and muscles.' "
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
New Scientist Breaking News - TV may turn four-year-olds into bullies
so we know how depression can make us sick... So what about the TV pumping our minds full of crap? How uncivilized do we ahve to get before we will change this???
New Scientist Breaking News - TV may turn four-year-olds into bullies Young children who watch a lot of television are more likely to become bullies, a new study reveals. The authors suggest the increasingly violent nature of children’s cartoons may be to blame.
Previous studies have linked television to aggressive behaviour in older children and adolescents. But a team led by Frederick Zimmerman, an economist at the University of Washington in Seattle, US, has now traced the phenomenon to four-year-olds.
The researchers used existing data from a national US survey to study the amount of television watched by 1266 four-year-olds. Then they compared that amount with follow-up reports - by the children's mothers - on whether the children bullied or were "cruel or mean to others" when they were between six and 11 years old.
New Scientist Breaking News - TV may turn four-year-olds into bullies Young children who watch a lot of television are more likely to become bullies, a new study reveals. The authors suggest the increasingly violent nature of children’s cartoons may be to blame.
Previous studies have linked television to aggressive behaviour in older children and adolescents. But a team led by Frederick Zimmerman, an economist at the University of Washington in Seattle, US, has now traced the phenomenon to four-year-olds.
The researchers used existing data from a national US survey to study the amount of television watched by 1266 four-year-olds. Then they compared that amount with follow-up reports - by the children's mothers - on whether the children bullied or were "cruel or mean to others" when they were between six and 11 years old.
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