Ways to Help the Environment

An interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor proposes several ways to slow global warming and limit the impact of CO2 emissions. All of the theories discussed are purely theoretical at this point, and some of the more outlandish ideas are to use satellites with movable mirrors to deflect some of the sun's energy, or dispersing a cloud small, highly reflective particles into the atmosphere which would function as billions of tiny mirrors.

Though the ideas themselves are firmly in the realm of science fiction at this point, what concerns me is that the article never addresses the issues of who would fund and control such a global scale effort. Paradoxically, it may be a good thing that even the most feasible of these plans is still a long way from being implemented, considering the potential to abuse or even weaponize some of the ideas that were discussed.

The Genetics of Fear

A study published in a recent issue of Psychological Science has helped shed some light on the genetic underpinnings of the human fear response. Participants in an experiment were trained to fear an image when it appeared on a monitor by administering an electric shock, and researchers measured the participants ability to "unlearn" their fear by showing them the same image the following day, but omitting the shocks and seeing how the subjects reacted. The results showed that those who have a polymorphism coding for a short version of the enzyme COMT--which facilitates the breakdown of dopamine--are much more susceptible to neurotic behavior and anxiety disorders.

This is a great article because it shows how the popular assumption that one's response to fearful stimuli is a learned behavior may be wrong, and the study points the way towards eventually crafting different medications for people with specific genetic profiles.

Yucca Mountain Project Getting Scrapped

Despite the fact that the government has already spent $13.5 billion on the project, the Obama administration has decided to scrap plans to use the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Pro-nuclear energy groups are understandably angry about this reversal, especially considering that no other central facility exists to handle the waste generated by America's nuclear power reactors (the waste is currently stored on site at the power plants).

Alcohol in pregnancy may give kids a taste for booze

I stumbled upon this article about alcohol consumption during pregnancy and its consequences on the fetus. As we all know, what you consume during your pregnancy really affects your child and its health once you give birth but a study with mice and alcohol further confirms this notion with respect to alcohol:

Alcohol may taste sweeter if you were exposed to it before birth, suggests a study in rats. The findings may shed new light on why human studies have previously linked fetal alcohol exposure to increased alcohol abuse later in life, and to a lower age at which a person first starts drinking alcohol.

Alcohol's taste is a mixture of sweet and bitter components. To test whether prenatal alcohol exposure could affect the perception of these components, Steven Youngentob at the State University of New York in Syracuse and John Glendinning at Columbia University in New York measured how avidly rats consumed ethanol, sweet water or bitter water.

They found that young rats whose mothers had consumed alcohol during pregnancy preferred ethanol and consumed more of the bitter water than the offspring of mothers that didn't consume alcohol. Rats that had been exposed to alcohol in the uterus also seemed to be more attracted to the smell of alcohol.

Prenatal exposure seems to reduce the perceived bitterness of alcohol, making it seem sweeter, says Youngentob.

Both of these differences seemed to disappear once the rats reached adulthood – but only if they hadn't tasted alcohol during their youth. If prenatally exposed rats did consume alcohol in their youth, these preferences seemed to become set for life.

"The take-home message is to keep kids away from alcohol for as long as possible – particularly if they have had prenatal exposure," says Youngentob.

Aversion therapy?

The next question is whether it might be possible to reverse these preferences.

"If we knew a child had prior fetal exposure to ethanol, are there strategies that could be used with those kids to devalue those odour and taste preferences?" Youngentob asks. For example, preliminary studies in rats have suggested that giving a young prenatally exposed rat some alcohol and a drug that makes them sick at the same time, stops their craving for alcohol.

Youngentob also believes that the ability to transfer dietary flavours from mother to fetus may have had evolutionary benefits.

"One of the ways that animals learn what's good to eat in the world, is on the basis of what mom ate during pregnancy," he says. We already know that babies will show a preference for the flavour of anise if their mothers consumed it during pregnancy, and flavours can also be transferred through breast milk.

This is a great thing to keep in mind for the future for yourself and your friends. Although it seems like an obvious concept, a study into this subject with definitive proof of alcohol and its effects really conveys an important message to all of us about this matter.

www.newscientist.com

Wine and Cancer

So as I was scanning the headlines today, I saw multiple articles on wine and its help or hindrance in the fight against cancer. Namely, it's interesting to me that so many studies come out these days that tout wine and other alcohol as good things one minute and a bad things the next. Check out the findings on following studies and decide if/how it will impact your drinking habits.

From:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303161423.htm
"Men and women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day could increase their risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research."

From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lifestyle/Wine-ups-breast-cancer-risk/articleshow/4246455.cms
"A new study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has revealed that both red and white wine are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk. The researchers found that women who consumed 14 or more drinks per week, regardless of the type (wine, liquor or beer), faced a 24 percent increase in breast cancer compared with non-drinkers."

From: http://www.livescience.com/health/090307-isns-wine-beer-bones.html
"A glass of wine or a bottle or two of beer a day may strengthen the bones of older men and women, but drinking more than that could actually weaken bones, according to new research from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. [The researchers] speculated that silicon found in beer is contributing to the higher bone density in men. It is less clear why liquor and wine might protect bone density."

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL47056620080414
"A compound found in the skin of red grapes and red wine may help induce pancreatic cancer cells to malfunction and die, a lab study has found. They found that the wine compound disrupted the activity of the cancer cells' mitochondria, energy-producing centers needed for cells to function. Resveratrol also impaired certain cancer-cell proteins that thwart chemotherapy by pumping drugs out of the cell."

Broccoli and Asthma

Here’s something that caught my eye because it had to do with asthma. Apparently there is a compound that naturally occurs in broccoli and some other “cruciferous” veggies which may protect against the inflammation that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases.

The chemical, Sulforaphane, causes concentrations of antioxidant enzymes in the airway areas to increase and that may protect us from the free radicals which lead to the inflammation. The UCLA researchers who performed the study gave 65 people varying amounts of broccoli or alfalfa spouts (which don’t have Sulforaphane) and found the people who were given broccoli had significant increases in the antioxidant enzymes.

The research team says it is too early to say how much broccoli one needs to ingest to see the effect, but they recommend including it in any healthy diet.

You can see a press release on the research at this website:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uoc--bmh030209.php