What color is a Polar Bear?

...Green?

...Purple?



What color is a Polar Bear? The answer to this question seems pretty black and white, when in reality the answer is that polar bears are transparent…yes, that’s right, polar bears are transparent. The long, thick hairs that protect the polar bear and keep it warm are hollow and transparent. The reason they appear white is because air spaces in between each hair scatter and reflect all the colors of the visible wavelengths of light, rather than absorbing it. Because of this, polar bears appear white.
Oddly enough, there have been some cases of polar bears being green! This has happened in a few zoos around the world. It is caused by algae growth in the pools that are in polar bear enclosures. However, the algae that turns the polar bears green isn’t on the surface of their hair, it’s inside it! Ewwww!!!!
Also, in Argentina a polar bear turned purple when it was given medication to treat a skin condition!!


http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/polarbear.html
http://www.nwbotanicals.org/mediawatch/purplebear.htm

It glows in the dark!

While swimming off the coast of Puerto Rico, the water glows with every stroke. Every stroke through the clear water left a wake of white-ish blue light. This was caused by tiny organisms, known as dinoflagellates. On a warm summer night, lightning bugs fly around sporadically glowing in the dark. A jellyfish swims through the ocean, glowing as it makes it way around. How do they do that, it’s so cool! The answer is that these organisms all contain proteins, which produce bioluminescence, which is a natural phenomenon, in which living organisms convert chemical energy into light energy.
In 1962 scientists identified two proteins which allow organisms to glow, one produced blue light while the other—green fluorescent protein, or GFP—turned that blue light a brilliant green. GFP has been used to tag genes and cancer cells, so that they can be tracked throughout the body. But what is really cool is that scientists have inserted the GFP into different animals, such as mice, rabbits, cats, pigs and dogs, so that they too can glow in the dark! [1]
Follow the link and heck out this video to see a glow in the dark mouse! It’s awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0UzdYRnMtY&feature=fvw



[1] http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/findings/sept09/greenlight.asp

Women Should Drink Beer

Yes you read the title right. Women really should drink beer. A study in the February issue of the Journal of Food and Agriculture tells about how the silicon in beer can promote bone health. In beer silicon is present in the form of orthosilicic acid (OSA). Scientist have long known that OSA is important for building bone and connective tissue. Of the OSA in beer 50% of it can be used by the human body and its also known that OSA is present in bananas but the human body can only use 5% of it. There was a wide range of silicon in the 100 beers sampled in the study but there was an over all average of 30mg/L of silicon in beer. Humans naturally take in 20-50mg a day from overall consumption. Drinking two beers could achieve that daily amount but taking more in can definitely do the body no harm.

So now we have that information on silicon in beer, but why should women drink beer? Well as women age its also well known that their bone health decreases after menopause, making it easier for bones to break and fracture. We know this as osteoporosis. Sure men are capable of acquiring osteoporosis, but it's seen more in women. There have been studies before this one on beer and silicon on women and healthy women and it focused on 1700 women tested for bone health. In that study they looked at bone health in the each woman's hands. What was found was that the women who enjoyed a cold one had thicker and better bone health in their hands.

Having these two studies should tell women that beer is good not only to drink but could possibly fight the onset of osteoporosis in their future. So those of age women out there go and enjoy a nice cold one for bone health!


*Resources to come*

Arsenic's Link to Cancer

Being the tox nerd that I am, I actually enjoy learning about how drugs are metabolized in the body, finding out what makes tetrodotoxin (puffer fish venom) so deadly, and speculating as to why I developed an eye twitch ever since I accidently spilled atrazine on my arm last Friday (true story). I'll get that checked out...after more blogging! I'd like to take this time to impart some toxicological knowledge upon the masses. It's well known that Arsenic is detrimental to one's health. It has been used as a pesticide because it inhibits several essential metabolic enzymes. However, this must not have always been the case as women in the Victorian Era would mix arsenic with chalk and vinegar to improve make their skin complexion lighter. Pain is beauty I suppose. But I digress, arsenic exposure has also been linked to cancer. The mechanism as to why arsenic causes tumor growth has been unknown up until a recent discovery published in the journal Cancer Research. They found that arsenic causes tumors in mice and bladder cancer patients by affecting the awesomely named "Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway". Chronic exposure to low arsenic levels in water can over-activate the signaling pathway which can cause tumors to form in the bladder. Stay thirsty my friends.

Arsenic Over-Stimulates Sonic Hedgehog Pathway

Thinking About Applying to Med-School???

If so... DITCH THE MCAT PREP BOOKS AND PICK UP THAT X-BOX 360 CONTROLLER BABY!!! That's right, the study most males ages 5-33 have been waiting for, the February issue of Archives of Surgery reported that surgeons who played video games did better on a standardized surgery exam than their slightly more focussed counterparts who spent less time playing video-games. The study looked at how well 33 surgeons and surgical residents performed on a test called the "Rosser Top Gun Laparoscopic Skills and Suturing Program". This program gives each surgeon a score based on how quickly and how well they are able to complete several simulated surgery techniques. The scores of the each of the 33 surgeons were calculated, and the score results were compared with the amount of time each reported playing video-games. As unbelievable as it may sound, surgeons who reported spending at least 3 hours of mind-numbing quality time with their game system of choice a week made 37% fewer errors and were 27% faster than those who didn't. So take heed misguided med-students, your time is nigh. Kick back, grab a cold one, and by all means, trash talk the 14 year old you just pwned. In fact, don your head set proudly and let everyone know that the game ending shot you just made with laser like precision came from the person that will someday perform their tracheotomy.

In all seriousness, the implications of this study may not be as wild as they seem. Check out this video of a remote control heart surgery to see how a video-game enthusiast may someday save your life.

Gene Doping, the new Steroids?

            With the winter Olympics in full swing I thought an article on performance enhancing therapies might be an interesting topic for discussion.  In 2004, the human genome was completely decoded.  Since then, individuals have discovered a new way to manipulate the genome in a method called gene doping.  This methodology offers the opportunity for athletes to enhance their performance in a way that cannot be detected by the current day performance enhancing drug tests used to detect steroids.  

            Gene doping is a treatment in which a change is made that purposely alters an individual’s DNA though various ways such as pills and injections. One gene doping method that has currently been seen to be successful is to inject rodents with IGF-1, or insulin-like growth factor, a chemical manipulation of naturally occurring IGF. When this chemical is injected into rodents it causes the muscles that are ruptured during exercise to heal quicker thus allowing the animal to exercise more.  Therefore, should this process be applied to human models it would allow them to lift more weights since their muscles are healing faster . It is also believed that IGF-1 can boost that initial strength and healing process in muscles as well as artificially block myostatin production. This would allow the muscle to keep growing in strength without putting in half the effort as would normally be needed.

  

            Beyond the realm of IGF-1 injections, the option of pills exists. That’s right imagine taking a pill the size of a vitamin. You could go to sleep looking like Jack Black, and wake up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This treatment option has already been utilized to make pills such as the synthetic protein called Aicar. This synthetic compound was shown to enhance rodents who did not regularly exercise endurance by 44% in four short weeks.  On the other hand another artificial compound GW1516, improved endurance capability by 75%.

            So now that we know the technology exists for illegal gene doping to occur the question of how can we treat or prevent it from occurring arises. Many obstacles exist with testing for these compounds, which ultimately makes the concept of gene doping more attractive to the individuals who want to cheat. Just think now instead of using fourteen year olds passed on as eighteen years olds, the gymnasts can just take miracle gene doping pills making them agile as ever.  That’s good news for China….........just kidding.

One issue that exists with testing is the ability to determine a difference in gene make-up without an athlete's genetic code already on file for comparison. The only feasible way right now to conquer such an issue would be to have a urine and blood bank for athletes.  Although this solution seems improbable and complicated it has actually been announced that it will be used for the London 2012 Olympics.

            Although most of the debate for gene doping comes from the notion that it is immoral and unethical, serious health risks exist for those who use such drugs. The biggest risk sited is that it is unclear to scientists how a gene mutation could be stopped once started. 

So is it worth the risk?  Some say athletes have the right to prepare for a match by using whatever technology they want. However, it seems rather ridiculous that gene doping would be supported as a technological option when such up roar has already occurred the genetically perfect basketball player Yao Ming. Whatever the case, I’m sure athletes such as Apollo Anton Ohno and Lebron James will continue to amaze the sports enthusiasts for years to come. The question however exists as to whether the athletic amazement will come through natural hard work or through artificial compounds.  I guess the answer will come when swimmers start appearing with webbed hands and feet, and runners can sprint at twice the normal human speed. So not only will opponents be mad to see Michael Phelps in the lane next to them, but imagine he has frog like hands. This sounds like the myth of super hero tales yet with gene doping, it’s possible.

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Could 2012 Really Happen?

For years movie directors such as Steven Spielberg have been producing disaster flicks showing worldwide catastrophe in one way or another. However, one of the most frightening new releases named “2012” focuses on the probability of the end of the world on December 21, 2012 based on the prediction of the ancient Mayan calendar.  According to their predictions the world will end on this date, which falls on the winter solstice.  On the winter solstice, the earth will be in perfect alignment with the sun as well as the middle of the Milky Way galaxy, which holds a black hole. The alarming part of this theory comes with the fact that it is supported by geo-physicists that predict a pole shift will occur resulting in worldwide catastrophe.  The video below shows a small portion of a history channel documentary that utilizes history professionals as well as a variety of scientists to determine the feasibility and probability of such an event occurring.

Probability of 2010