Well, spring is finally here… in California!
Here is what we are reading today:
“Google Glass, the tech giant’s experimental eyewear-based computer, may soon give epidemiologists a faster and more reliable way to track infections and other diseases. Researchers report online today in ACS Nano that they’ve created an app that allows Google Glass wearers to snap pictures of common immunology-based diagnostic tests and immediately beam those images back to a central computer server.”
“A couple weeks earlier a team of researchers led by Diana Reiss and Preston Foerder, then at City University New York, had visited Kandula’s home at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. They placed sticks and sturdy cubes around the yard and strung a kind of pulley system similar to a laundry line between the roof of the elephant house and a tree….”
“For human beings, feelings of romantic love and sexual desire are often intertwined in complex ways. Recent work by neuroscientists, however, has pointed out ways these two feelings are actually different.”
“Bill Watterson went back to the drawing board for one more round.
The celebrated but reclusive Calvin and Hobbes creator agreed to illustrate the movie poster for a feature-length documentary about comics titled Stripped. The film tells the story of the decline of newspapers and how it’s affecting the medium of strip comics. Watterson also gave a rare audio interview for the film.”
“Professors Pradeep G. Bhide and Jinmin Zhu have found evidence that ADHD associated with nicotine can be passed across generations. In other words, your child’s ADHD might be an environmentally induced health condition inherited from your grandmother, who may have smoked cigarettes during pregnancy a long time ago. And the fact that you never smoked may be irrelevant for your child’s ADHD.”
“Bisphenol A is a chemical that is used in a wide variety of consumer products and exhibits hormone-like properties. Fetuses, infants, children or adults exposed to the chemical have been shown to exhibit numerous abnormalities, including cancer, as well as reproductive, immune and brain-behavior problems.”
“So the scientists turned to human embryonic stem cells. Co-authors Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director and physician-in-chief of the Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine and director of the Stem Cell Derivation Laboratory of Weill Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Nikica Zaninovic, assistant professor of reproductive medicine, generated stem cell lines from donated embryos that tested positive for fragile X syndrome.”
“”One of the major problems with the nervous system is that it doesn’t regenerate very well after injury,” said Chay Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., the George W. Brumley assistant professor of cell biology, neurobiology and pediatrics. “Neurons don’t multiply, so when they’re injured, there’s a loss of function. We’d like to know how to get it back.””
“The researchers were looking for these noncoding genes, Kosik continued, because as organisms become more complex through evolution, the number of these noncoding genes has greatly expanded. “But the coding genes—the ones that make proteins—have really not changed very much,” he said. “The action has been in this noncoding area and what that part of the genome is doing is controlling the genes.””
“If you don’t listen closely to what patients with Wernicke’s aphasia are saying, you might not notice that it makes very little sense. Their speech “sounds” normal.
Wernicke’s aphasia affects comprehension, usually for both written and oral language. Patients with this condition cannot repeat sentences they hear. They can’t understand what they hear. Surprisingly, they do not seem upset about their deficits.”
“A new study by Professor Jeff Bowers and colleagues at the University of Bristol argues that highly selective neural representations are well suited to co-activating multiple things, such as words, objects and faces, at the same time in short-term memory.”
“”Phantom-limb pain is very common in amputees,” said study researcher Max Ortiz Catalan, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden. “Unfortunately, today there is no single treatment that works for everybody.””
17 Comments
jnlui · March 2, 2014 at 3:51 pm
I really enjoyed the article about Bill Watterson. Calvin and Hobbes was one of my favorite books/comics as a child. This situation reminds me of J.D. Salinger, and how he also became a recluse after all the attention he had gotten from the media after his publications. Unlike Salinger though, it is nice to see Watterson participating in something again. It also goes to show that this is probably a very important topic to him, and because of his passion for cartooning and the industry he agreed to do the poster of stripped. The trailer seems very interesting as well, because I feel that unlike the newspaper industry, comic books are something that won’t die as easily if ever. Comic booking has such a strong fanbase, and is so simple and captivating. Its a different form of media, but its like a movie, or a book, its just story lined and distributed differently.
jnlui · March 2, 2014 at 4:25 pm
I think there is a strong gray zone when it comes to sexual desire and romantic love. In many relationships, it has a mix of both. Ideally I believe that a relationship that truly works and last, has both in healthy proportions. It is impossible to have a lasting relationship in which both parties are truly happy when they skew to one side too much. I agree that it is probably identifiable in brain scans. But I think that it would be difficult to tell how strong or true a relationship is just based on brains scans, as you would have to base it off those scans, and I think any relation that has a mix of both, will have different reactions for each, which will make it difficult to truly gauge a relationship off of just scans.
kdouglas · March 2, 2014 at 5:50 pm
The article on elephants was informative. I’ve known that elephants were intelligent, but I had no knowledge of how much they rely on their trucks for sensory purposes. Although it seems like they are misunderstood animals, I do not know if discontinuing their presence in zoos is the right option. As long as they are cared for, and their needs are known, keeping them in zoos seems reasonable. However, they do need to be intellectually stimulated, and zookeepers need to be aware of how much they use their trunks for sensory purposes. This function is extremely important for them. More research needs to be done before a decision about captivity is made.
wesleychoy · March 2, 2014 at 6:40 pm
I thought the article was pretty surprising because I never thought of the wide range of societal influences the google glass can have. Though I’ve only seen a handful of people actually wear the glass around since it has been available, I think technology on the glass to analyze common immunology-based diagnostic tests would be better suited on smartphones since those are more readily available. That being said, the central computer that analyzes the diagnostic tests is a huge step against pandemic diseases which i think will certainly serve the population well in the future.
kdouglas · March 2, 2014 at 7:11 pm
The neurons that respond selectively are amazing. I am aware of the degree of specialization that occurs within the brain, but I had no insight as to why it occurred. Different parts of the brain having different functions is evidence for specialization of function, but the fact that there are individual cells dedicated to particular people takes this to the next level. The neural connections that can associate the specific person with specific memories also prove specialization, and this makes seemingly fleeting memories of faces the product of a high degree of interaction and involvement in the brain. This is fairly intriguing.
wesleychoy · March 2, 2014 at 8:30 pm
In the article “Distinguish Between Desire and Love”, I thought it was interesting finding out the biological reasons, or differences between desire and love. I had always learned from other classes that the two are not the same as many young people generally confuse sex and actual love. Another interesting part of the article was how estrogen levels actually take a back seat to testosterone levels for women when discussing sexual desire. In addition with desire’s counterpart love, the article also provided insight to different regions of the brain contributing to love and desire, with the posterior insula correlating with sexual desire and the anterior insula correlating with love. I think this research will be really helpful to explain to young children whether teenagers, or college students, as many out there including myself can have a hard time distinguishing the differences between love and desire.
Silvano J. Gonzalez · March 2, 2014 at 9:02 pm
This is the first time I’ve read about Wernicke’s Aphasia and I enjoyed reading about how it differs from Broca’s aphasia. It intrigues me to learn how damage in different areas of the brain can have distinct and specific effects on the person with the damage. This is especially interesting to me because I want to concentrate in and learn more about cognitive neuroscience, and especially about communication and language and how they function and interact with all the different areas of the brain. The part of the article that stood out to me the most was the different emotional reactions from the people with Broca’s aphasia compared to the people with Wernicke’s aphasia. Perhaps being able to comprehend the speech of others, but being unable to communicates themselves causes people with Broca’s aphasia to feel isolated, and this does not occur to the same degree in those with Wernicke’s aphasia because they can’t comprehend others or communicate themselves. Those with Wernicke’s aphasia may not feel isolated because they’re not receiving messages from others, while those with Broca’s aphasia are receiving the messages but may feel that they are alone because they cannot be understood, a feeling which might to them feel tantamount to being ignored. It is also peculiar how people describe their situation after recovering from Wernicke’s aphasia. Reports that they felt that they were unable to stop speaking makes me wonder if they processed language in other regions of the brain while the lack of processing in this particular region made it feel almost as if they weren’t the ones producing the language at all.
Silvano J. Gonzalez · March 2, 2014 at 9:23 pm
In response to “is BPA good for you?,” I think that it is frightening but also expected that we would scientifically prove that there is an issue with a chemical that exhibits hormone-like properties that was deemed safe in America. I think that some of these substances are put into production in consumer products far too quickly, before any type of really in-depth studies on their effects can be done. They are put into production for monetary purposes, as it is evident that someone can stand to profit from using cheaper, better materials. Ultimately, I think the risk is too high to justify the use of substances that can have damaging effects like BPA. Some argue that the effects are practically negligible, but every day more and more studies appear that prove just the opposite. Risking the health of humans who are at the very beginning of their life is not something that should be done under any circumstance. It might be true that in the beginning we didn’t know any better about the potential hazards of BPA, but as we learn more about it and learn that it is not something that should be put into our systems, we have to learn to accept scientific evidence and change back to a healthier form of living. I think there are structural, societal barriers to avoiding these situations and going back to leading a healthier lifestyle, but we have to take it one chemical at a time and learn that profit won’t keep our future generations healthy.
BonnieBurns · March 3, 2014 at 10:41 am
I found the article “Prenatal Nicotine and ADHD” to be very interesting and eye-opening. I have always known that there are repercussions to a mother smoking before or during pregnancy, but I found it very interesting to find that there is new evidence displaying that a generation above the mother (mother’s mother) smoking could cause repercussions not in their child, but their grandchild. I feel like this idea may have gotten overlooked for a long time because people often don’t think to look to generations back, they instead just look at the immediate parent’s behavior and actions to see how this impacts the child, but we are actually seeing how older generations could indirectly affect the child. I also found the correlation between the high spike we are currently seeing in adhd and the amount of women that smoked around WWII (that would be these kids grandparents) and this generational skip to make sense as far as timing goes. It will be very interesting to see how further development in this area goes. I also wonder though if some of the high adhd cases coming at this time are not mostly due to this generational gene skip, but also a sign of the times, of parents and doctors diagnosing kids with adhd more readily, when they don’t actually have it?
BonnieBurns · March 3, 2014 at 11:10 am
The article about treatment of phantom limbs, intrigued me. I find it extremely interesting that even when a limb is gone, and maybe even for many years, people still feel ‘phantom’ pains and sensations in this limb that isn’t even there. The new treatment seems like a good idea, in which the signals from the phantom limb are connected with electrodes, to make the patient feel like they are controlling a virtual arm. It is amazing to think that the patient just thinking about his phantom limb, can then make the virtual limb move too and make an ease of pain and better feeling in the phantom limb. It really seems to me that this therapy, and the overall phantom limb trend, could be beneficial to the use of prosthetics to the patient. It seems to me that if someone can still feel sensation in a ‘phantom’ limb, then shouldn’t a prosthetic attached in this same place allow for a displace in movement in the prosthetic? With further research on the new therapy, I think we could make major progress in the use of prosthetics in those with missing limbs.
mackenzierowe · March 3, 2014 at 11:21 am
Re: “Virtual Reality Treatment Relieve’s Amputee’s Phantom Pain”
The technologies we are developing today are pretty incredible. I love seeing science used for the betterment of mankind. I can’t imagine the trauma one must go through after becoming an amputee. If the experimental treatment involving virtual reality is even moderately helpful in reliving phantom limb discomfort, it is something that should be explored/tested further.
I would be interested in reading the results of the expanded clinical trials. I wonder if this kind of virtual reality treatment is more of a short-term solution to the problem of phantom limb pain. What happens when the trial is over and the patient goes home? Will pain return shortly after or will the that brief escape from reality end up helping in the long term?
tabithaahearn · March 3, 2014 at 12:30 pm
I found the article, “Elephants are even Smarter Than We Realized” truly interesting. I have read a number of articles regarding the intelligence of elephants, but I liked how this article explained actual examples of what elephants have done to show their intelligence. I also thought it was interesting to note that previous studies on elephant intelligence were aligned with human “lens.” One reason this study was so successful was because it was designed in a way that permitted the elephants to portray their intelligence. It would not surprise me if zoos sought to capture this intelligence and use it to entertain incoming visitors.
tabithaahearn · March 3, 2014 at 12:39 pm
I agree with the article in the concern that desire and love are two distinct emotions that are commonly used interchangeably. For this reason, I found it interesting that distinguishable differences can be found biologically between the two. The fact that separate hormonal systems are associated with the two emotions, as well as the evidence found in the brain imaging studies by Stephanie Cacioppo both suggested valuable insight. While I lack a lot of personal experience with these set of emotions, I like to think Cacioppo’s ending point is valid, that romantic love may grow out of the initial sexual interest and desire.
eilamarinero · March 4, 2014 at 2:44 pm
The Science Is In: Elephants Are Even Smarter Than We Realized
I have always thought that zoo’s were horrible and depressing… similar to going to an animal pound. I am fascinated by elephants and their uniqueness. It breaks my heart to read about the stats of captive elephants. Centuries ago psychiatric patients were put on display, meaning the public would pay to come see them. That is exactly like a zoo. Most people think that putting mentally disturbed people of display like that is inhumane. But how is it not inhumane to put animals ,who have been taken from their natural habitat, in small enclosures? the last time i went to the zoo I was there around closing time and I was wondering where the animals were. it turns out that at night the animals and lured into even smaller enclosures inside and locked in cages until the zoo opens.
It makes us actually pay attention when science states that elephants are intelligent and use their senses just as we do, but what about all the other animals that scientists are not studying? For example, pigs are really smart and yet we allow factory farming to abuse them beyond belief and still continue to eat their products. I could probably write on this topic for hours but getting back to the elephants. Hopefully now that scientists are doing worldwide studies on them, their wellbeing will be a priority rather than sacrificing their health for our entertainment. I would love to see more studies done on other animals as well.
I was watching the news last year and i saw an elephant painting, it was quite remarkable.
nmarston · March 4, 2014 at 4:40 pm
The BPA article was scary to read. I had learned about the damaging effects of BPA in other classes and it is so alarming to me that despite numerous research studies, the US government has made no major efforts in banning the chemical or restricting its use. It is in almost everything we use, and as the article points out, with high exposure comes lifelong and damaging effects. As we’ve discussed in class, fetuses are in a very vulnerable state as they develop within the womb. I hope in the near future we can make some major changes to combat the use of BPA.
nmarston · March 4, 2014 at 5:03 pm
I found the phantom limb pain article very interesting. I had heard of it before but had never understood why it occurred. Although unusual, it does make sense to me why an amputee could feel phantom pain; for most of you life you had a limb, one day the limb is gone, but your brain still functions as the limb exists because it has developed with that limb existing. So creating a treatment using electrodes that affect the brain and give an altered reality for the participant would seem most effective as you can directly control those signals in the part of the brain that directed your limb. I think this is an amazing breakthrough for patients suffering from phantom pain and I hope similar treatments are developed in the near future.
mackenzierowe · March 6, 2014 at 10:40 am
Re: “What is Wernicke’s Aphasia?”
When I finished reading this article, I thought how lucky I am to not suffer from Wernicke’s Aphasia or Broca’s Aphasia. I’m not even sure which condition I would rather be struck with: blissful ignorance over conscious depression would be preferable, but at least with Broca’s Aphasia I would be able to comprehend others & attempt to communicate my thoughts in an organized way. The quote from the Wernicke’s aphasia patient reminds me of the “word soup” symptom of certain schizophrenic patients. I’m sure some people who interact with a Wernicke’s patient often assume there are deeper psychological disorders at work. I would be interested to learn about the treatment for Wernicke’s aphasia and the rate of recovery.