Dengue

So. Dengue Fever. Who doesn't want to know about dengue fever?

Dengue fever is a disease that is commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical climates and is transferred by mosquito bite. Some symptoms of dengue include muscle pain, a high fever, and a specific rash. The rash is itchy, blotchy, and usually located on the back of the plagued victim. Visual Aid! 

Dengue is a relatively rare disease, assuming the society at risk takes proper precautions. However, in India, the health department has "officially accepted [the] rise of dengue cases in the city" (The Times of India). there has been, approximately, a twelve percent increase in dengue cases in India. 

Yahoo News reported today that Malaysia will be using genetically engineered male mosquitoes to curb the occurrence of dengue fever. Laboratory tests in Malaysia present high optimism. The plan is this: release genetically engineered male mosquitoes into the wild to mate with female, disease spreading mosquitoes. The genetically engineered males produce offspring that live shorter lives, curbing the population of dengue-carrying insects.  

I think it would be most effective if the scientists in Malaysia created a hormone that turned all of the male mosquitoes to homosexuals. Ultimate turn-off for those female mosquitoes.

Just a thought.

quod erat demonstrandum

Invertebrate Insanity!

In the midst of all of my frantic homeworking and chemistry lab-ing, I finally find a break to talk about something really, really awesome.

Jellyfish.

These guys are the ultimate. They don’t have a brain, heart, or bones, but they have existed for more than 650 million years, outdating dinosaurs and sharks.

I guess being stupid isn’t all that bad. Take that, educational system.

There are all sorts of jellyfish. In fact, there is a species of jellyfish that exist in every ocean. There is even a jellyfish, even though science doesn’t consider it a “true” jellyfish, named Craspedacusta sowerbyi, that survives in fresh water.

One type of jellyfish, the Box Jellyfish, is the proud owner of one of the most deadly venoms in the world. Its toxins attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells of its victims. Humans who experience these stings experience so much pain, that they usually go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before they are able to get back to shore.

Box Jellyfish, or sea wasps, are pretty freakin’ huge. They weigh, on average, about 4.5 pounds and can grow to 10+ feet long. Check this out. The guy is 6 feet tall.

Earlier this year, Rachael Shardlow, a 10 year old Australian schoolgirl, swam into the tentacles of a box jellyfish, losing her sight and her ability to breathe. As she was being pulled from the water, the jellyfish’s tentacles were still clinging to her limbs. She lost consciousness shortly after. “When I first saw the pictures of the injuries I just went, ‘you know to be honest, this kid should not be alive’. Usually when you see people who have been stung by box jellyfish with that number of the tentacle contacts on their body, it’s in a morgue,” said Jamie Seymour, a researcher of jellyfish at the James Cook University. Rachael survived the sting, and her father states that she still has some memory loss and still has many scars from the attack.

I’ll put a link to the story at the end of this blog post, if you’re extra curious.

Side note: another super cool sea animal is the sea turtle. They aren’t harmed by the box jellyfish stings and they actually eat them! Craziness.

Look at this funny comic strip!

Rachael Shardlow story:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1269236/Rachel-Shardlow-Girl-survives-worlds-deadliest-box-jellyfish-sting-Australia.html

quod erat demonstrandum

Fat Thighs Vs. A Fat Abdomen. Surprising results.

As I was perusing the internet today, I came across a strange observation made by Mayo Clinic Researchers that suggests that fat thighs are actually healthier than a fat abdomen. 


Weird, right?


Mayo Clinic Researchers fed volunteers ice cream, candy bars, and energy drinks to help the volunteers gain weight and studied the mechanisms of fat growth in the human body. The results were rather interesting. "'The cellular mechanisms are different," explains Michael Jensen, M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist and lead author of the study. "The accumulation of abdominal fat happens largely by individual cells expanding in size, while with fat gain in the femoral or lower body, it's the number of fat cells that increases. So, different mechanism, different impact.'" (Science Daily) 


So. Weight gain that is below the belt line actually decreases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and strokes when compared to weight gain in the abdominal region. Not that unhealthy weight gain is advisable. Ever.


It is unfortunate that humans can't control where they gain weight. Because if this inconvenience, the circumference of a person's waistline should be monitored. A person can maintain a "healthy weight", but have a waistline that is putting their heart under unnecessary stress. According to Dr. Neli Stoyanova , a normal male waistline is 102 centimeters and a normal female waistline is 88 centimeters. 


What does normal even mean? I hate it when statistics are based on "normal humans". Normal humans don't even exist. 


Whoa. Alzheimer's has been connected to obesity, too. I'm no expert, but it has something to do with the inflammatory affect insulin, a hormone the body produces that controls the metabolism of glucose in the body, has on the brain. Susan Craft, PhD, a University of Washington researcher,   found 16 super brave volunteers that allowed Susan's research team to infuse them with insulin and sugar. This kept their sugar levels relatively normal while producing a high insulin level. The high insulin level resembles those whose bodies have created a high insulin resistance level, for example, people who are obese and have, or are at risk of getting, diabetes.  Then the research team gave the 16 volunteers spinal taps in order to study the spinal fluid. *Cringe!* 


The results were, in Craft's opinion, striking.


In the small span of time the insulin was being administered, the team found that the brains of the volunteers were swollen, the spinal fluid had abnormally large levels of  F2-isoprostane. 


According to the always helpful online-medical-dictionary.org, F2-isoprostane are "isoprostanes derived from the free radical oxidation of arachidonic acid. They occur through non-enzymatic oxidation of cell membrane lipids."


Alzheimer's patients have been observed to also have high brain levels of F2-isoprostane.


I do believe the following equation is now valid. Obesity → Insulin Resistance → Brain Inflammation → Alzheimer's. My goodness.


I went off on a tangent. But, a related tangent.


I kind of think that this whole study of fat thighs versus a fat abdomen is kind of redundant. Fat anything isn't healthy. One is just more unhealthy than the other. Nonetheless, now we understand the mechanisms that separate lower body fat cells from abdominal fat cells.

quod erat demonstrandum