CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VII)

A new ‘spin’ on concussions

Student Society for Science                                                                                                         31-1-15

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/new-%E2%80%98spin%E2%80%99-concussions?mode=topic&context=39

SCIENTIFIC SHIELD: Brain & Behavior 

SUMMARY:

Rugby and football players, boxers, mixed martial arts ... They are people whose sports involve too much contact.In this article Hernandez explains that how these people can brain injury with a tackle and he shows us how many hits they receive.Hernandez and his team recruited football players, boxers and a mixed-martial-arts fighter for their study. Each athlete was fitted with a mouthguard. He or she wore it to practices and in competitions. The researchers also recorded video during those times. This allowed the scientists to view head movement when sensors recorded strong acceleration events. More than 500 head impacts occurred. Each athlete was evaluated for evidence of a concussion caused by those head impacts. Only two concussions emerged.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL: I'm a rugby player, and is not true at all that we receive 500 head impacts! Rugby, football, boxing...maybe aren't the safer sports in the world but they aren't risky as it seems to be in the article. The methods used to measure head impact forces are not yet reliable enough for doctors to use to diagnose a likely head injury. It means that the experiment is not reliable at all. So in my opinion the hole experiment is useless. I think that using a mouthguard with a sensor and recording a matc we can't know why the injureds are cause or how. Another fail of the experiment is the fact that they create a  a computer program that modeled the head and brain. It showed what brain areas were most likely to twist or suffer some other type of strain but is not reliable at all. To sum up, it's true that we've to take care with our brain but we can't exaggerate things.

GLOSSARY:computer program  A set of instructions that a computer uses to perform some analysis or computation. The writing of these instructions is known as computer programming.concussion  Temporary unconsciousness, or headache, dizziness or forgetfulness due to a severe blow to the head.strain  (in physics) The forces or stresses that seek to twist or otherwise deform a rigid or semi-rigid object.

sensor  A device that picks up information on physical or chemical conditions — such as temperature, barometric pressure, salinity, humidity, pH, light intensity or radiation — and stores or broadcasts that information. Scientists and engineers often rely on sensors to inform them of conditions that may change over time or that exist far from where a researcher can measure them directly.

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VII), by Marina Dorca

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VII), by Marina Dorca

News' title: Plastics at sea create raft of problems.

Date of publication: January the 7^th, 2015.

Source of information: Student Society for Science:

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/plastics-sea-create-raft-problems

Scientific field: environmental biology.

Extract:

A piece of plastic scooped from the North Atlantic Ocean. It shows the tell-tale bite marks of a fish.

Recent studies have estimated that seas contain about 5,25 trillion pieces of plastic.

Scientists found this results worrying, as plastic can cause lots of problems in marine ecosystems. First of all, fishes and other species can ingest plastic by mistake. Previous studies showed that plastics can soak up toxic chemicals which are released when ingested, triggering health problems. Besides, they can get entangled in plastic bags.

Scientists ask companies to set up systems to recycle plastics. They also would like to see governments pay fishermen to bring back lost nets and buoys that they find floating in the ocean.

Turtle trapped in a plastic bag.

Critical appraisal: Taking care of the environment

This article reveals the enormous problematic related to the plastic thrown in oceans and seas. The studies results have surprised me enormously, because I didn't expect seas to contain so much plastic, triggering awful consequences for sea life.

In first place, I'd like to say that I don't agree with the companies that throw away its waste. They get rid of them by leaving them in fields or directly throwing them to sea. Although it's obviously easier, they should recycle its waste if they want to save the environment. I really think governments should force this enterprises to have its own recycling plan, and fine the ones that don't do so. Moreover, they should write firm laws about this matters in order to control the situation.

Secondly, I think that we should take more care of our planet. Maybe we don't realise, but the earth we live in is all we have and we should value it more and be thankful with it. Despite the fact that we are not going to live forever, I believe that we should leave our world as pure as we can because future generations don't deserve to live in such a contaminated world. Although we are used to say that our actions won't make a difference, if we all do something we can go far.

Besides, there's the sea ecosystems issue. If we carry on like this, plastic could cause a decrease in sea life. This may even suppose the extinction of some species. As we don't want so, we have to join forces in order to reduce the amount of plastic in our seas. It's the sum of little actions that will help enormously our oceans and its live.

Luckily, amid this reality there are many individuals and groups aware of the environmental issue which are cooperating to improve this reality. Coastal clean-ups is one of the numerous initiatives that are being held in cities like San Francisco. I think we should all get involved in this kind of campaigns or promote them in our cities in case there isn't any being done.

Who has never been heartbroken with the photo of a poor turtle trapped in a plastic bag? So, if you are sensible enough to feel sorry for this animal, then you should surely be able to do something with this situation. Everyone can put his two cents.

Glossary:

Buoy A floating device anchored to the bottom of a body of water. A buoy may mark channels, warn of dangers or carry instruments to measure the environment.

Debris Scattered fragments, typically of trash or of something that has been destroyed. Space debris includes the wreckage of defunct satellites and spacecraft.

Embrittle To make brittle.

Filter feeder A water-dwelling animal that collects its nutrients or prey by filtering them out of the water. Some of the best known examples are bivalves, such as clams and mussels. But some whales use long plates of baleen to essentially do the same thing. They suck in water and then use their filtering structures to catch and retain edible materials that had been in the water.

Gyre (as in the ocean) A ring-like system of ocean currents that rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counter clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Many of the biggest, most persistent gyres have become collection sites for floating long-lived trash, especially plastic.

Ingest To eat or deliberately bring nutrients into the body by mouth for digestion in the gut.

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VI)

Black holes are on collision course

Student Society for Science                                                                                                         18-1-15

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/black-holes-are-collision-course?mode=topic&context=60

SCIENTIFIC SHIELD: Space

SUMMARY:

Black holes are regions of space where the gravitational field is so intense that no matter nor light can escape. In the center of a distant galaxy — a massive collection of stars — two supermassive black holes are now preparing to face off. The two are closer to each other than any other known black-hole duo. And they are providing astronomers a first peek at the final stages of a possible collision. 

The two black holes live roughly 3.7 billion light-years away so they aren't a problem for us . Their home is a quasar witch brightness typically varies randomly. But for the last two decades, light from this quasar has not. It has varied.

Its thought that it happened because of the two black-holes. 

A distance of just a few hundredths of a light-year separates the black holes. So they seem destined to spiral together and eventually merge. This smashup will likely result in a single, behemoth black hole. But don’t hold your breath awaiting the fireworks. This collision is still roughly 1 million years off.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL:

When we are travelling by car we always complain because our destination is too far. When we talk about space distances we can't imagine how far are two things that appear to be very closer.

This review makes me think in the inferiority of our brains. We can't imagine everything that happens around us and a black holes merge is one of this things. We aren't able to see them but we try to understand them.

The space is something unknow. Maybe, one day, the sun kills us whit a solar-ray or maybe a meteorite destroy the Earth by accident. 

We won't be able to know everything that happens outside our solar system.

GLOSSARY:

black hole:  A region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter nor radiation (including light) can escape.

light-year: The distance light travels in one year, about 9.48 trillion kilometers (almost 6  trillion miles). To get some idea of this length, imagine a rope long enough to wrap around the Earth. It would be a little over 40,000 kilometers (24,900 miles) long. Lay it out straight. Now lay another 236 more that are the same length, end-to-end, right after the first. The total distance they now span would equal one light-year.

quasar: Short for quasi-stellar light source. This is the brilliant core of some galaxy (massive collections of stars) that contains a super-massive black hole. As mass from the galaxy is pulled into that black hole, a huge quantity of energy is released, giving the quasar its light.

random:  Something that occurs haphazardly or without reason, based on no intention or purpose.

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VI), by Marina Dorca

CMC'S NEWS' REVIEW (VI), by Marina Dorca

News' title: Nano air pollutants strike a blow to the brain .

Scientists track super-small pollutants that are inhaled into the brain.

Date of publication: December the 17th, 2014.

Source of information: Student Society for Science:

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/nano-air-pollutants-strike-blow-brain

Scientific field: Environmental biology

Extract:

This article exposes the recent findings made by different scientists in the world in reference to the pollution and its relation to brain health.

This kind of pollution is found in large cities were there are mountains nearby which prevent the wind from clearing the air like for example Los Angeles or Mexico.

The air in these cities contains nanoair pollutants which slip right through the cells. The damage caused is very diverse; the affectation of DNA, the hardening of blood vessels, local inflammation,... But the effects who worry scientists the most are the ones which can harm the brain. Research has shown that this pollution can affect the nerve's chemical messages, and the part of the brain related to learning and remembering.

Air pollution in Mexico City.

Pollutant nanoparticles

 Critical appraisal: The balancing entry of pollution.

Nowadays scientists discover more and more negative effects of pollution on health, as can be seen in this article. Affectations on IQ, reduction of the smell ability, hardening of blood vessels,... and an endless list of other affectations.

But, despite being aware of this reality, very little is being done to change this situation. Consumerism, car emissions of CO₂ and factory gases between other factors are making the world even more contaminated. And amid this actuality we're being both the victims and the killers of this society. We could really do something to change today's world but sometimes it's easier for us to just to continue with our lifestyles without caring about the consequences it entails.

First of all, I completely disagree with the fact that lots of people set before his personal interests to the common ones. For example, we could reduce enormously the car emissions of CO₂ if we took the public transport whenever it's possible. But the thing is that people tend to look for its benefit and they prefer the comfort of the car although it's more polluting.

Secondly, there's the fact of industrialization, which has caused extremely large cities with lots of inhabitants. I think that globalization and urban lifestyle has promoted attitudes and habits which are no good for our environment, and moreover, for our health. The phenomenon of consumerism, for example, makes the companies produce even more and therefore pollute more. All the polluting gases from such industries or cars concentrates on cities and, in turn, air quality decreases. Breathing this air all day for years leads to severe health problems.

However, there's still people that don't care about pollution effects and that are disrespectful with environment. I guess that's because they're not able to see the consequences of their acts long-term.

So, in balance, I believe that although sometimes it's easier for us to do some things in a non-ecological way, we should think twice and consider the health effects our actions could cause, because our health is one of the most important things we have and we must take care of it.

Glossary:

Acute An conditions, such as an illness (or its symptoms, including pain), that is typically short in duration but severe.

Alzheimer’s disease An incurable brain disease that can cause confusion, mood changes and problems with memory, language, behaviour and problem solving. No cause or cure is known.
Antioxidant Any of many chemicals that can shut down oxidation — a biologically damaging reaction. They do this by donating an electron to a free radical (a reactive molecular fragment) without becoming unstable. Many plant-based foods are good sources of natural antioxidants, including vitamins C and E.
Autopsy Examination of body tissues after a person dies, typically performed to determine the cause of death.
Blood-brain barrier A barrier of tightly packed cells that carefully regulate what molecules can — and can’t — enter the brain. The barrier protects the brain from foreign substances in the blood and helps to maintain a constant environment for brain cells.
Immunity The ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or poison by producing and releasing special protective cells.
Inflammation The body’s response to cellular injury; often involves swelling, redness, heat and pain.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) An imaging technique to visualize soft, internal organs, like the brain, muscles, heart and cancerous tumors. MRI uses strong magnetic fields to record the activity of individual atoms.
Mitral cells Cells located in the olfactory bulb (a region of the brain) that relay information about smell to various regions of the brain.
Nanoparticle A small particle measured in the billionths of a meter.
Pathology The study of diseases and/or conditions that lead to death. People who work in this field are called pathologists. They look at what causes a disease, how symptoms develop and may examine all stages of an illness.
respiratory tract Parts of the body involved in breathing (also called the respiratory system). It includes the lungs, nose, sinuses, throat and other large airways.
Stroke (in biology and medicine) A condition where blood stops flowing to part of the brain or leaks in the brain.
 Video:
Here's a very interesting video which will help you to understand how pollution affects our brain.