Virtual Reality Helps Smokers Kick the Habit

http://news.discovery.com/tech/virtual-reality-smoking-addiction.html

http://www.sciencecodex.com/crushing_cigarettes_in_a_virtual_reality_environment_reduces_tobacco_addiction

A study published in CyberPsychology and Behavior has shown that virtual reality treatments in conjunction with other methods can help smokers quit. The study, conducted by researchers from Canada's GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and the University of Quebec, consisted of 91 smokers split into two groups. One group entered the virtual reality environment and chased down and crushed floating cigarettes, while the control group crushed floating balls. This particular treatment took place four times a week.

During a six month follow up after the research concluded about 20% of the control group reported having abstained from smoking during the past week, while 39% of the experimental group reported having abstained. Although the researchers weren't sure of the exact cause of the cigarette crushers' higher success rate, they did partially attribute it to helping motivate smokers to resist the urge. 23% of the experimental group reported having flashbacks of the crushing exercise during cravings, and said that this helped them to resist it. This is opposed to only 3% of the control group. However, the session was not always helpful. Some of the participants rationalized that they were capturing and storing the cigarettes during the exercise, instead of simply crushing them.

It is also important to note that participating in the cigarette crushing exercise increased retention rates. People in the experimental group, on average, stayed with the program for more than 8 weeks. People in the control group stuck it out for an average of less than 6 weeks.

I think that this is an extremely interesting study. I find it particularly interesting to see virtual reality, something typically associated with gaming or other less than productive activities, being applied in a new way that can actually help people with emotional disorders and addictions. There has also been use of virtual reality in recent years by the University of Southern California to try to help Iraq vets deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I think that this is a growing technology to be watched in upcoming years as it expands to be used in various areas of therapy.

Ashley Desjardins- Simple blood test spots early stages of Lung Cancer

Currently, in the United States over 150,000 people die of Lung Cancer. This makes it the cancer with the highest death rate, followed closely by colon, prostate, and breast cancer. The reason it is so dangerous is because before symptoms due to the tumor show up, such as coughing up blood, the cancer has spread. A recent scientific discovery has been made that would allow 99% of these cases to be detected and possibly treated to avoid the devastating results of this disease.
This innovation, called the LC Detect, was developed by Mark Semenuk, a researcher at Panacea Pharmaceuticals in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It consists of a simple blood test that measures levels of the protein human aspartyl beta-hydroxylase (HAAH).This is a protein that is visible in all patients with lung cancer but rarely in healthy patients. Scientists believe that HAAH has several properties that make it cancer causing. One is that it travels to the surface of a cell which makes it more susceptible to chemical signals that promote growth. Also, if it stays on the surface for too long then it can fail to mature properly and can become cancerous, as well as the levels in the blood getting too high. The high levels can be detected when certain antibodies are put into the blood that change color when they bind to the protein. Abnormal levels that would be picked up are anything more than 3 nanograms of HAAH per milliliter of blood.
While this test alone cannot determine the existence of cancer, when it is paired with chest x-rays, CT scans, and other imaging technologies the results are almost always definite, as to whether or not the person has cancer. This can then help the doctor decide if treatment is possible and if the disease is curable.
In one experiment, 303 people’s blood was tested, 160 of these people were known to have lung cancer at various stages. The test accurately diagnosed the existence of cancer in all of these patients, except for one.
In another study, 60 patients, 15 of whom had the earliest stage of lung cancer were tested. All 15 cases were detected, proving that this test can accurately detect the illness early on.
What attracted me to this was the fact that it is so deadly because there are no symptoms until it is too late. With this test people may have more of a chance of surviving and it could no longer be a death sentence because it could be detected early on.

Works Cited
Simple blood test spots early stage Lung Cancer. New Scientist, 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2009. .

Matt Eschbach - Antimatter

Antimatter consists of "negative" particles called positrons which directly oppose matter. If a particle and an anti-particle collide, they annihilate each other and leave behind a burst of energy. This does not violate the theory of matter and energy creation and destruction, rather the two particles become the energy from the collision. Thwe following is a quote by the Stanford online News Service: "The Big Bang, according to the most basic physical laws, created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Whenever a particle of matter meets its antimatter twin, they annihilate each other, leaving behind only a burst of energy. The particles of energy -- photons -- zipping through the universe today are evidence that a lot of annihilations took place. However, the fact that we are here is proof that the annihilation was incomplete: There is one particle of matter for every billion photons. It's the cause of this one-in-a-billion imbalance that scientists are trying to understand." (Stanford News Service)

Antimatter is not just a theory: it has been artifically produced in science lab experiments! In 2008, physicist Hui Chen, who works at the Jupiter laser facility of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has discovered that shooting a laser through a piece of gold the size of a pin head produces over 10 billion positrons of antimatter! "'We’ve detected far more anti-matter than anyone else has ever measured in a laser experiment,' said Hui Chen, who led the experiment. 'We’ve demonstrated the creation of a significant number of positrons using a short-pulse laser.'” (Sciencedaily.com)

Discovering the secrets of antimatter is a huge step towards understanding our universe. If scientists can figure out why there is more matter in the universe than antimatter, they may be able to uncover new information about the origin of the Big Bang.

Sources

Calder, Neil. "Antimatter experiment hits a key milestone." 19 July, 2004. 8 Nov. 2009 <http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2004/luminosity-719.html>.



DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "Billions Of Particles Of Anti-matter Created In Laboratory." ScienceDaily 18 November 2008. 8 November 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/.

Photo from: http://science.howstuffworks.com/antimatter1.htm. Image was taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Gila Monster Saliva: Medication and Weight Loss Drug?

Who would have imagined that this venomous lizard could actually provide humans with an essential ingredient that helps type 2 diabetics maintain healthy blood sugar levels and lose weight? And through proteins in its saliva, nonetheless.

The Gila monster is one of two venomous lizards in the world, located in the Southwest of the United States and in Mexico. Although posing little threat to humans due to its extremely sluggish movements, its venom (when released through its salivary glands through chewing) causes edema and a sudden drop in blood pressure.

“Over the past decade, researchers have isolated over a dozen proteins and individual toxins from the lizard’s saliva. One of these, exendin-4, was found to be almost 50 percent identical to a hormone found in the human digestive tract that boosts the production of insulin when blood sugar levels spike” (Servoss). “The endangered lizard's poison stimulates the body's production of insulin, a hormone that helps cells process blood sugar. It can prevent blood sugar levels from dipping perilously low, or stop it from spiking and causing damage to the liver, kidneys, eyes and limbs” (“A Hormone…”). While this medication described is based off of the saliva (because it was only 50 percent identical) and not directly taken from the venomous creature, the studies and findings of this particular protein (exendin-4) within the saliva was the main starting points in determining the correct medication. Byetta (the FDA approved medication) is a synthetic form of the said protein secreted from the Gila monsters teeth. This medication was FDA approved in 2005, when a three-year study on the synthetic version – renamed exenatide – “showed that it helped patients with type 2 diabetes maintain healthy blood sugar levels and lose weight” (Servoss). While insulin injections have proven to be effective for this disease, this new drug has provided people with a less stressful application piece, where the drug will remain in the body for a longer period of time, allowing the patient to not have to inject the drug quite so much and with much more ease. More recent studies have even been able to find that this drug is helping non-diabetic patients lose weight as well. With this new discovery, people have reported losing much more weight with this drug than with other weight loss supplements they’ve used.

While it was only a few years back that this drug Byetta was established, it was during the early 1990s at the Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center in New York that endocrinologist John Eng discovered the active ingredient in Byetta, called exenatide, while studying a sample of Gila monster saliva (Hammons). Dr. Eng was known for testing animal subjects in hopes of identifies hormones that may have benefits to humans or to the advancement of science. When discovering this hormone that could potentially benefit diabetics and the input of drugs into their bodies, he intently studied this protein and went to the Veterans Administration (VA) for support. The VA, however, denied their support and did not patent his idea because “it did not address a veteran-specific ailment, such as spinal cord damage or some other combat injury” (“A Hormone…”). Knowing this, Eng had to work that much harder to get someone to patent and look upon his discovery in hopes of accomplishing something with this newly discovered protein.

Personally, I find this discovery and new drug so fascinating because of where it originated from. In some random way, scientists tested the saliva of a Gila monster (something I wonder how they ever came about) and ended up finding this useful protein. I think it is remarkable that it so closely resembles a human protein that helps with blood sugar levels. I was drawn to this article because of the fact that a venomous animal who is becoming endangered has something to provide humans with a disease as big as diabetes is really wonderful. The advancement with this discovery might then, in turn, cause scientists to research other animals and perhaps discover other things that will be greatly useful for diseases that humans are facing in our world today. But because of the growing endangerment of many animals (including the Gila monster), it might be extremely detrimental for humans. If we begin to lose certain animals, than we will ultimately be losing discoveries and medications scientists have found (like Byetta). We must somehow find a way to savor these animals, if you will, and protect them from becoming completely extinct.

Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States, and it has been increasingly raised as the obesity levels have skyrocketed. This drug will not only help these people by lowering and improving their blood sugar levels and weight, but it will allow for improvement on previous diabetes drugs (such as insulin injections), because it is an advancement on it. This discovery will greatly impact humans in the United States and around the rest of the world because with the decrease in diabetes and obesity, our society might become less economically unstable and start working towards bettering our society as a whole – physically, economically, and socially.

This discovery clearly demonstrates a scientific finding because of the use of experimentation of an animal’s proteins and salivary substances. As dictionary.com states, science is the “systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation” (“science”). Using this term, this discovery that Dr. John Eng found would absolutely be considered science because not only did it ultimately prove successful in helping people with a disease to live longer and healthier, but he identified the knowledge of a new protein through observation and experimentation of the saliva of a Gila monster.

As seen through the readings and discussions we have done in class, many of the scientists and researchers from past times have found new discoveries through intense experimentations and observations of several things. Many were also rejected by others (whether it be society, the church, or other scientists) and their research was often supported by few people. People like Paracelsus and Newton had research that wasn’t supported because it lacked information or went against what people thought. Just like these scientists, Dr. John Eng was rejected when he found his discovery because there wasn’t enough evidence and information to support and prove that his findings would come of anything.

Works Cited

“A Hormone That Treats Diabetes Better Than Any Other Medicine." Diabetes In Control. A free weekly diabetes newsletter for Medical Professionals. 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2009..

Hammons, Steve. "American Chronicle | New diabetes medicine from Gila monster saliva causes excitement ." American Chronicle . 26 Sept. 2006. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

"science." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 04 Nov. 2009. .

Servoss, Jeff. "Treating Disease With Nature’s Deadliest Toxins | Unusual Organisms | DISCOVER Magazine." Science and Technology News, Science Articles | Discover Magazine. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. .

Lose Yourself

The music video for the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem was directed by himself, Paul Rosenberg, and Phillip G. Atwell. The video was made in 2002 by Shady Records. Eminem is an American Rapper who was born in Detroit who become a household name after his first record, The Slim Shady LP in 1999. He then went on the release four other albums since then including the newest this year, Relapse. He has sold more than 75 million cds worldwide. Marshall Mathers has rose from a screw up nothing from Detroit to a worldwide superstar name Eminem. He married his high school sweetheart, Kim and had a daughter named Hallie. His publicity and popularity has made him travel so much that he has family problems and gets divorced with Kim. He talks about these problems with Kim and Hallie in the song, with clips of his family.

In the video it shows clip from his movie, 8 Mile, which was loosely based around his life growing up in the poor area of Detroit. I was drawn to this music video because Eminem is one of my favorite artists and I have listened to all of his cds, and this happens to be one of my favorite songs by him. The music video is very meaningful because he raps about his life and struggles to become who he is today, a true rags to riches story. The subject is his life growing up on 8 mile road and coming from underground rapper to worldwide phenomena.

This is art because it takes a lot of time and creativity to write a song with meaningful lyrics and even more time and creativity to create a video that can portray the meaning of that song. In my opinion art is something that one creates a work that creates an emotional reaction from the viewers, whether it be positive or negative.

I also chose this because it is a rap music video, and I'm sure there's a good chance that nobody else would choose from this genre so I hope my choice was original.

Digital Ants

Works Cited 

Ant Intelligence. Digital image. Dsc.discovery.com. Discovery, 10 Sept. 2010. Web. . 

When recently searching for a scientific discovery I went on Discovery Channels web page. This was helpful because there are many scientific discoveries’ that are being explained. One that intrigued me was Digital Ants discovered by scientist at Wake Forest University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  So what do these digital ants do? The ant’s act as an antivirus software but better, they crawl inside your computer looking for suspicious activity. Once the ants discover unusually activity it reports it to a superior and multiples many more ants around the virus or “worm” to control it. When a problem is fixed the ants “die” and just a few crawl through the computer. This makes it better sense because usually an anti virus program is on a timer and operates on a schedule. Most people have the anti virus operate at night. When operating during the night the computer uses most of the computers power, which then leaves the computer vulnerable to infection of a virus. The ants can operate all the time because they are so small and use minimal power.

I was drawn to this breakthrough because I hate it when I get a virus on my computer. I uses my computer a lot more than I would like to and when it is infected with a virus its difficult to keep up with school and work. This break through seems as if it could be very helpful on many computers. I also like it because it makes sense. I never knew how previous anti virus software worked and when you understand how something works I think you feel more comfortable using it. This idea is relatively simple and makes sense.

In our world this could stop people from infecting computers with viruses and control and detect virus quicker. Obviously, this would make a lot of peoples lives easier not having to deal with annoying viruses and broken computers. The scientist made this clear by explaining what the Digital Ants do and how they work.

In my opinion this is science because computer viruses is a problem that many people have and their needs to be an easy way to deal with them. This is a break through that helps people deal with the problem. Scientific break through do not have to have to be huge all the time like inventing the telescope. They can be small things that could help everyday people. 

If the scientist we are discussing in class were still alive I would say that Newton could have easily invented Digital Ants. Newton was obviously a very smart man who if was still alive would be a leading scientist making ground breaking discoveries. The things he invented in comparison to Digital Ants were much more complex. Newton did not have anybody’s examples to look at. I believe he could have easily worked on the project of Digital Ants.

Sustaining Human Life in Space

It's been 37 years since the last person walked on the moon. Since then, more countries around the world (aside from the USA) have been planning to launch another moon exploration mission sometime in the future. On these missions the astronauts clearly need food, water, and air. As most of us already know, when we inhale oxygen our bodies release carbon dioxide. Along with that, a basic knowledge of the digestive system would tell you that our bodies also naturally convert food and water into liquid and solid waste. So what do they do with these excretions?

They had previously developed a physio-chemical life support system that recycles water by purifying membranes and uses electrochemical processes to replenish the air with oxygen and rid it of harmful carbon dioxide. Bodily waste is ejected outside the rocket to burn up in the Earth's upper atmosphere. So why haven't we been exploring space even more since we have this technology down? The problem is that the limitations on the amounts of food they can supply their crew members also limits the amount of time they can explore.

So, right now they're working on the ability to grow their own ecosystems off planet. Who's really working hard to develop this idea? Mike Dixon, an environmental scientist at the University of Guelph in Canada. He came up with the idea of developing "green plants" that give oxygen, consume carbon dioxide, recycle the water, and supply nutrition. Also, NASA's Ames Research Center in California are studying this idea of generating a similar ecosystem. The biggest problems they're facing are that the infrastructure and power needed to support a "plant-based regenerative life support" is large, which requires a lot of material, money, and time. One plant isn't enough, there needs to be an entire ecology maintained for a long time first.

The MELISSA Project (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is currently studying bacteria and organisms that turns urine and feces into vegetables, water, and fresh air. By first obtaining the idea from the organisms found in a lake, they are now trying to apply the same type of processes (of converting solid waste into nutrients and photosynthesis) to the ecosystems of human living.

In recent news, the MELISSA Pilot Plant Project at the University of Barcelona, Spain is spending the next few years testing a "crew" of 40 lab rats. If this study proves to be successful, they will eventually move onto human testing (which may take years). Also, two companies by the names of Odyssey Moon and Paragon Space Development are planning to land mini greenhouses of mustard seeds on the moon in 2014. The current research has already helped decrease chemical runoff in our environment, and has also created a new process of water recycling that reduces the amount of required water in the military's laundry.

If these experiments end up working as planned, this could mean that we may one day sustain human life on the Moon or even on Mars. The implications of this advancement are that we would have the capability of human colonization beyond just one planet.

Billings, Lee. "Living Off the Land." SEEDMAGAZINE.COM. 20 July 2009. Web. 03 Nov. 2009. "Billings, Lee. "Living Off the Land." SEEDMAGAZINE.COM. 20 July 2009. Web. 03 Nov. 2009. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/living_off_the_land/.

This was fascinating to me because the idea that applying natural ecosystems to human life and improving space exploration could eventually lead to establishing space stations with sustainable living conditions! It's crazy to think about!