Are We Ready For Lightsabers?

Marine Conversations

                      

            Last February 7, Ms. Anna Oposa, Founder and Chief Mermaid of the Save Philippine Seas Movement gave a lecture on her experiences as a marine conservationist. In her lecture, she gave various points as to how and why we need to protect the marine biodiversity, most of which are related to how it affects us human beings. Also, she pointed out that maybe the reason as to why we humans fail to see the damage we caused and are continuing to cause to the marine life is because they are under the water surface, therefore not easily seen. Some points of her lecture also include some reasons why we must not keep marine animals captive and away from their natural habitat, and why we must not make a habit of being so close to the marine wildlife.

The things she said in her lecture are not new information for most of us. What was interesting, though, was that Ms. Anna Oposa did not have an extensive knowledge and background on marine biology and biodiversity. She graduated with a degree in English Studies, but the path that she has chosen to take strays far, far away from the path paved by her college education. Armed with passion and determination, she was able to make a big change in a big way. This remains a reminder for me that we do not need be experts in a field to be able to make a difference.

For information about Save Philippine Seas, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/SavePhilippineSeas

savephilippineseas.tumblr.com

or contact Ms. Anna Oposa at:

http://www.twitter.com/annaoposa

http://www.instagram.com/annaoposa

3D Printing: Paving the way for Heart Treatment

  

 

Taken from International Business Times article entitled: "3D-Printed Hearts From Human Fat Cells? Scientist Says ‘Bioprinting’ Organs Possible ‘In 10 Years’"

                3D Printing has opened the door for countless ideas and possibilities to take concrete form. It allows for the creation of a three-dimensional object of any conceivable form or shape to be made. These materials come out just as they are conceived in the virtual or digital models they are based from with no need for further refinement or removal of excess materials. Though this technology has existed for quite a while already, it is only recently that widespread attention has been placed on it due to it being made available to the public market and the steady decrease of the cost of making and operating such devices capable of doing it. This technology has been utilized for all sorts of means and  projects, but do you know that it has actually been used in the treating and prediction of cardiac disorders?

An international team of biomedical engineers have created a “3-D elastic membrane made of soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely shaped to match the outer layer of the wall of the heart (epicardum)”. Old devices could not cover the full surface of the epicardum or maintain constant contact without sutures or adhesives. The team prints tiny sensors onto the membrane that has the capability to precisely measure the temperature, mechanical strain and PH levels of the Heart along with other markers. These sensors can also deliver a miniscule pulse of electricity in order to combat arrhythmia (or irregular heart rhythm)  With these sensors, doctor are able to more accurately assess and prescribe a treatment for a patient’s disease.

"Each heart is a different shape, and current devices are one-size-fits-all and don't at all conform to the geometry of a patient's heart," says Efimov, the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering. "With this application, we image the patient's heart through MRI or CT scan, then computationally extract the image to build a 3-D model that we can print on a 3-D printer. We then mold the shape of the membrane that will constitute the base of the device deployed on the surface of the heart."

 

This man-made membrane can be inserted into the heart “can be used for treating diseases in the ventricles in the lower chambers of the heart” and other disorders like atrial fibrillation. In the United States alone, this could potentially alleviate the plight of roughly 3 to 5 million patients. Lead scientist Igor Efimov, Phd says that “this is only the beginning”. Through the development and usage of similar devices, medical practitioners can now start to tackle and potentially treat diseases that were formerly non-treatable. 

Today, we are making ground breaking discoveries geared towards heart treatment. But maybe tomorrow, who knows? Some scientists believe that we are actually a decade away from having enough knowledge and technology to actually create a heat out of 3D printing that can be transplanted to a human being.

Source:
"3-D Printer Creates Transformative Device for Heart Treatment" - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225122223.htm

"3D-Printed Hearts From Human Fat Cells? Scientist Says ‘Bioprinting’ Organs Possible ‘In 10 Years’"

http://www.ibtimes.com/3d-printed-hearts-human-fat-cells-scientist-says-bioprinting-organs-possible-10-years-1483568

Three Years Under The Couch

Pepperoni, All Cheese, Hawaiian, Garden Special, Pizza Hut, Sbarro, Project Pie, pizza under your couch,  pizza there, pizza here, pizza everywhere!!!

Did you know that in Europe, they once called pizza as a “Poor man’s meal” because they just have to put what they have on top of a dough and just heat it. Well now, it’s one of the most common and well-known foods in the globe. With sizes ranging from bite size, to sizes as tall as five feet, anyone has access to it with just one dial on their phones.

With pizza being one of the most craved foods in the current era, innovations and different ways of presenting it has been presented. There are the pizza ice creams, where the pizza is shaped into a cone and ice cream is put on it. If you happen to be in the north of the Philippine islands, you will find a “Pizza Pinakbet” where “Pinakbet”, a famous viand, made of vegetables, in the country is put on top of it. In the recent years, pizzas with thick ends that has sausages, cheese and even cheeseburgers in it were introduced. 

Lately, thin crust has been a major trend in the leading pizza chains. Finally, observe that pizza chaines that offer large pizzas, with up to 50” or more in diameter, are slowly appearing like mushrooms.   More and more weird but catchy ways of eating and making pizza has roamed the crust of Earth but here’s something outrageous, a pizza that can last for three years… even without freezing it.

This idea began when the US military was surveyed bon what to be added on their “military meals ready to eat” or MREs. Every time that the survey was conducted, pizzas are always the winner. Unfortunately, pizzas are easily rotten and are not advisable as an MRE. After two long years of research, experimentation and failures, the scientists at the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center in Massachusetts are testing a prototype pizza to be included in the MREs.

Pizzas are easily perishable because of the combination of cheese, sauces, meat and vegetables that causes immediate bacteria growth. Now, to make the life of the pizza longer, the dough must not be entered by bacteria. The key that was used to solve this problem is to keep the water in place and make the whole pie hostile to bacteria.

 “To stop the dough from going soft, scientists used a type of preservative known as humectants, which include various kinds of gels and sugars (honey is sometimes used as one.) Humectants keep food moist by binding to water; in this case, they lock it into the rest of the ingredients. The pizza's acidity is also adjusted to make it less hospitable to bacteria, and iron filings in the package help absorb any air that gets into the packet. The result? "You can basically take the pizza, leave it on the counter, packaged, for three years and it'd still be edible."- an article by Adi Robertson at www.theverge.com/

With all these results and processes, you might say that all those processes will eventually take the “pizza experience” from the pizza by taking away its original taste. However, that’s not the case for these military pizzas. Scientists who tasted the military pizza compared the taste with the pizza stored in 80 degrees Fahrenheit for the same amount of time and it tasted the same. In fact, it tastes as if it was a fresh home-made pizza even after three years.  

With this evolutionary pizza, there will come a day when you will see a pizza under your couch. Don’t hesitate, dig in! 

Sources:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/14/5411508/military-pizza-prototype-lasts-three-years-without-spoiling

http://kotaku.com/military-pizza-could-last-up-to-three-years-1524684937

Wake Up!

“Wake up! Wake up! You are late!”

“Just… five… more… minutes”

Poof! It’s all gone! It felt as if it was real. I was in that moment. I was doing this and that. I saw things that I wanted to see and more. It felt so real that I was so tired of the activities that I had. First off, I was doing something and I saw something. Wait, what was it again? What did I just do? Oh well. Remembering what I have dreamt about will only give me headaches.

Does this ever happen to you? Finding it hard to recall what you have dreamed about? Or not even remembering that you had a dream? This happens to me all the time. Apparently, I am one of the “low dream recallers”. From the name itself, it means that I have hard times in recalling what my dreams are. Now, if you remember what your dreams are, you are in the “high dream recallers” club.

It is not like I don’t remember any of my dreams. I sometimes do enter the “high dream recallers” club but, that’s when it felt as if I was awake the whole time.

According to a research by a team led by Perrine Ruby, Inserm researcher at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, “high dream recallers” are more “awake” while they are dreaming than the “low dream recallers”. The former wakes up twice as much as the latter, research says and they are more sensitive to auditory stimuli while asleep. With these activities of the brain, the high dream recallers often wake up in the middle of the night, but for shorter periods of time, and thus, easily remember piece by piece what their dream is.

The research by the team was conducted using a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and was conducted with some volunteers who were classified as “high dream recallers” and “low dream recallers” beforehand. The main results of the research showed that the “high dream recallers” experience more activity in the part of their brain that is involved in the attention to external stimuli or the surroundings.

"This may explain why high dream recallers are more reactive to environmental stimuli, awaken more during sleep, and thus better encode dreams in memory than low dream recallers. Indeed the sleeping brain is not capable of memorizing new information; it needs to awaken to be able to do that," explains Perrine Ruby, Inserm Research Fellow.   

How about sleepwalkers? Why do most of them don’t remember that they walked and did something during their sleep?

According to an article on kids’ health, sleepwalking occurs during the stage where the sleepwalker is in deep sleep. That is right! When someone is sleepwalking, it is very hard to wake them up. Inferring from the statement given by Perrine Ruby and for the case of sleepwalkers, you would say that since they don’t wake up for a time, they won’t be able to encode that they sleepwalked. Well, if that’s your answer, you may be wrong.

According to another research by Antonio Zadra of the University of Montreal, there are a proportion of sleepwalkers that actually remember what they did and the reason for their actions. It’s just that it is different from reality. An example of that is the case of the man who walked and sprayed water on his dog in the bathroom. He remembered the event clearly, it’s just that the dog was on fire; thus, the reason for him to spray water on his dog.

Now, just a friendly advice from the doctors, professionals, bloggers on the net and from the people who have experienced doing this: DO NOT WAKE UP SLEEPWALKERS WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPWALKING!

Why? You may shock them since they are from a deep sleep and who knows, you might get a bruise or two.

Hence, the case of the sleepwalkers is somehow different to that of the dream recallers.

Are you a high dream recaller? Or are you a low dream recaller? Do you sleepwalk? Find out now and get back to sleep and when you wake up, tell me, do you still rememb—

“Wake up! Wake up!”

“Five… more… minutes… please… I was about to tell the reader something”

“Uhm.. Great! What was I about to tell them?”

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140217085915.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/remember-sleepwalking-memory-sleepwalk-awake-sleep_n_2876014.html

Fides VS Ratio: Medieval Science, Dissent and Cultural Change

          It is a common knowledge that the Church, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, holds the greatest power during the medieval times. People immediately follow the decrees issued by the Pope or the Holy See because they think that their words are absolute since they are the so called “representatives” of God in this world. Faith reigns supreme as kings and queens are twisted in the hands of the officials of the church. The nobles fear that opposing them would result to the loss of support from their subjects. 

  From: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/art/giotto.htm

Given that circumstance, it does not prevent medieval science to prosper and to pursue the knowledge that it is looking for. It still continued its journey towards the understanding of occurring phenomena on our planet. But how did medieval science do such a feat?

           Last February 10, I was able to know how medieval science did battled faith and the authority derived from knowledge. In the lecture entitled “Cultural Change, Dissent and Medieval Science” by Dr. Jovi Miroy from Ateneo de Manila University, I was able to see how science flourished in the times when religion controls everything. I first learned that the Roman Catholic Church was able to maintain their power through the so called power knowledge or the power derived from knowledge. Aside from that, it is also discussed that the truth which prevailed is the kind of truth which depends upon the credibility of the individual speaking and not from facts or evidence. Credibility induces believability which leads to authority.

           If science derives its power from knowledge, medieval science relied heavily on logic to supersede opinion and even the revelation of faith. Using Aristotelian logic, natural science was the model intellectual endeavor. Science (Or scientia) goes beyond the so called doxa (both opinion and faith). But how did this kind of thinking move forward? Now dissent comes into the picture. Dr. Miroy said that with dissent, there is a sense of belief suspension and the reliance on the rational aspect in the pursuit of truth. I learned that medieval science played a crucial role in developing a system of abstraction; speculation which is different from authority and even from revelation. This created a clear distinction between ratio and fides. Medieval science was able to the real truth – not something derived out from authority.

From: http://skoolshopblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-years-resolution-logical-thinking.html

 

         But it seems that having dissent is not enough. According to Dr. Miroy, simply dissenting does not lead to changes in the system – particularly a cultural change. It is the shift in mental models that would lead to a change in behavior. In addition to that, Dr. Miroy also emphasized that change is not just achieved through changing leaders and slogans, but through changing the way we think and enacting it at the same time. These are enactment of certain mental models designed not only to instigate reflection but also change. It just means that we have to behave differently by thinking differently through enactment. Dr. Miroy also said that the goal of medieval science is to understand change in nature in order to bring about change itself. He even gave a quotation from a source saying that “He who understands the natural world has a dominion over it.”

From: http://tips.slaw.ca/2013/practice/embrace-change/

 

And the most interesting concept of the lecture that really struck me is the outcome versus inquiry kind of thinking. Instead of focusing on what you can accomplish materially, one should focus on a more general and abstract way to achieve something. The example he gave is the question “How do I get rich?” as against to “How do I pursue my dreams?” I guess there is nothing wrong if you think like the person formulating the first question, but I see the second one more appealing and more forward thinking. Being able to go beyond the material aspect in life is more desirable for me, I guess, than being limited with the technicalities in life.

           I really appreciated the lecture given by Dr. Jovi Miroy in such a way that it shows that one should not just accept everything heard from certain personalities just because they have the so called credibility to talk. The best things to believe in are things obtained through facts or evidences. We should also learn to show our disagreement to things that we deem incorrect. Like in UP, if there are rules that we think is not appropriate for us or is not protecting our welfare, we have to show our disapproval. But this alone is not enough to effect change. We have to change our mindsets and to turn these mindsets into reality in order for us to bring cultural change for the betterment of the society.

                                                    Not just a cup of coffee

                         

                                                      From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com 

           Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It was estimated that the people across the globe consume 1.6 billion cups of coffee daily (International Coffee Organization, 2013). It has become an integral in the lives of many people across the globe. From the humble farmer to the business executive, coffee has been the go-to beverage when one needs to stay awake. But did you know that coffee doesn’t only keep you alert but also has other health benefits? Here are a few benefits that coffee can give you:

1) Coffee is widely known to carry caffeine. What many people don’t know is how it functions. Caffeine blocks adenosine which increases “neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine” which leads to a net stimulant effect. (Gunnars, 2013). Thus brain mood and function is improved.

2) Caffeine in coffee can also increase the number of fatty acids in your bloodstream (Jacques, 2013). This stimulates a person’s muscles to absorb and burn fat for fuel and saves your body’s carbohydrate supply for other activities.

3) Drinking coffee can make your mind sharper. TIME reporter Micheal Lemonick says: “When you're sleep-deprived and you take caffeine, pretty much anything you measure will improve: reaction time, vigilance, attention, logical reasoning -- most of the complex functions you associate with intelligence.” (Lemonick, 2006)

4) A massive antioxidants can actually be found in coffee. In fact, coffee serves as the biggest source of antioxidants for western people, beating fruits and vegetables! (Gunnars, 2013)

5) Coffee has also been linked to preventing certain diseases. Coffee has been associated with lower risk of diabetes and liver diseases. (Jacques, 2013)

These 5 reasons are just the tip of the iceberg. Countless more studies that are being conducted are exploring and discovering more and more ways coffee improves the wellbeing of people. So the next time you take a cup of joe, remember that this beverage doesn’t just serve to keep you awake.

Sources:

International Coffee Organization, “Frequently Asked Questions“, http://www.ico.org/show_faq.asp?show=35

Lemonick, Michael. “A smart way to start the day” CNN.com, http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/01/11/caffeine.smarter/

Gunnars, Kris. “7 Reasons Why Coffee Is Good For You” Popular Science. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/why-coffee-good-you-here-are-7-reasons

Jacques, Renee. “11 Reasons why you should drink Coffee”. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/coffee-health-benefits_n_4102133.html

New Ideas on Medieval Thought

Often we speak of the Medieval period as an age where Roman Catholicism was in dominion. From the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas to the writings of Dante and the architecture of churches, almost every achievement we can idenitify from this period involves the prevailing religion because of our notion that it was the Church who controlled culture, philosophy, and state affairs. In other words, culture and development were stagnant.

But the talk of Prof. Jovi Miroy of the Ateneo de Manila University, dubbed as “Cultural Change and Dissent in Medieval Science”, shattered this presuppositions. He claimed that medieval science actually delved into the intricacies of “motus” or change. In analyzing this concept of change, it was as important before as it is today to look at power relations in knowledge. Professor noted that during the medieval period, authority was very crucial, but it was never singular or univocal. Inventions, philosophies, education and culture that most of us know of during this time were spearheaded by church leaders and members of the monarch. If Prof. Argument is true, then this could be because of the misrepresentation of history; the monopoly of thought being an effect of manipulation in distribution rather than in production. After all, medieval science proved that controlling the production of knowledge was no easy feat especially when truth is based on credibility, which is at the very foundation of their authority.

In medieval science, it could be hard to establish and defend credibility through faith alone. Professor Miroy claimed that medieval science relied heavily on logic to supersede opinion. People back then were looking for something beyond faith, something that will help then understand not only the descriptive aspects of phenomena but the casual reasons for their occurrence.

With the advent of technology and electronic devices, pluralism today is as inevitable as it is needed. We call any systemized and organized knowledge as part of hegemony, a tool of capitalism. In the medieval times, the systematic and organized knowledge is not specifically of the dominant ideology (Roman Catholicism) but of ancient Greek learning which is hardly monolithic and not coherent. The goal was to develop a system of abstraction which was different to that of authority.

The diversity of knowledge amidst Christendom and monarchy means dissent is possible, but again we only talk about this centuries later because there was a manipulation of history. However, if it wasn't for this dissenting opinions/thoughts, cultural change, and most especially the age of Renaissance, wouldn't have been possible. The same is true in our present society. Because dissent comes from those living at the fringes of society, it is possible that cultural change will come from them, too.

Professor Miroy's lecture on medieval science opened some very interesting take-off points from which we could explain this perennial desire for cultural and societial change. His discussion, however, were only half-baked for he failed to contextualize his concepts, give concrete examples and connect them to the present, which could have been an effective method in analyzing the history he's presenting.

Starry Starry Road

Most of us grew up staring at our very own constellations on our ceilings made of glow in the dark stickers. Now, Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night can be experienced while riding the bikes at the Netherlands.

Sparkling heritage in the Province of Noord-Brabant

The Eindhoven region will receive the first innovative bicycle path in the Netherlands. The 600 metres long bicycle path runs where Vincent van Gogh lived from 1883 to 1885 and will have a unique design comprising thousands of sparkling stones designed by artist Daan Roosegaarde. The bicycle path will be designed by Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans and is part of a joint venture between the municipality of Eindhoven, Van Gogh Brabant, Vrijetijdshuis Brabant, Eindhoven 365 and Routebureau Brabant.

 The light stones will be used to create patterns in the path that will charge during the day and emit light during the evening. This creates an interplay of light and poetry. The design this way provides a modern interpretation to Vincent van Gogh. Cultural heritage and innovation merge in this new, public landscape. The first impressions will be presented during the symposium ‘Leading in Leisure’ on 24 October, an initiative of the Province of Noord-Brabant and part of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.

The Roosegaarde - Van Gogh bicycle path makes use of the light-emitting techniques of the Smart Highway concept, a joint development of Studio Roosegaarde and Heijmans for the highway of tomorrow. Preparations for the initial pilot of the innovative bicycle path have since begun. Plans call for the final design to be ready to be experienced in 2014, which will make this the first bicycle path of its kind in the world.

Though the materials may not be the same as what we use in our bedrooms, we could make use of the same concept and make our own Starry pathways in our backyards.

Reference:

http://uk.heijmans.nl/Roosegaarde-%20Van_Gogh_Bicycle_Path#.UvoNtGKSxhX

My Hormones Beat For You

From www.diamondbackonline.com

Since it’s February, this is the best month to relate love with science.

 At one point in our lives, we will fall in love. But how did it evolve? That “something” that makes our heart go wild, that “something” that gives butterflies in our stomachs, that “something” that makes our cheeks blush – all because of that special someone. But do we consciously know how these even happen? Or will it remain that “unexplainable and magical feeling”?

According to Helen Fisher of Rutgers University in New Jersey, there are three stages of falling in love. And each stage involves various set of chemicals in found in our bodies.

The first stage is called Lust. According to the dictionary, lust is “a strong sexual desire.” Sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, are what drive lust in motion. A recent study in the University of Chicago shows that even a casual chat with a female stranger increases the levels of testosterone by one-third. The result is, “the stronger the hormonal reaction, the more marked the changes in behavior” (Vaknin, n.d.).

The second stage is called Attraction or the Love-Struck phase. All you think of is that special someone, you easily daydream about him/her, and you can’t even take your eyes off of him/her (Well you’re lucky if you’re in the same class or even sitting beside him/her.). There are a group of neurotransmitters called “monoamines” that are responsible for these feelings:

• Dopamine brings about the feelings of pleasure, desire, and reward. It was found to also be involved when one uses cocaine or nicotine. Hence the aptness of the song title "Your Love Is My Drug" by Kesha.

• Norepinephrine or adrenalin is responsible for increasing heart rate, sweating, shaking, or stuttering when your crush suddenly talks to you.

• Serotonin contributes to our feelings of happiness with the appropriate amount of levels. This is also responsible for making us crazy and insanely in love. Well who doesn’t think of his/her crush, special someone, or loved one day and night?

From dawnmaslar.com 

The third stage is called Attachment. On a more serious note, this involves commitment and responsibility for one another. There are two chemicals involved in this stage: Oxytocin and Vasopressin

• Oxytocin is said to be present in both sexes during an orgasm. The hypothalamus also releases this neurotransmitter during childbirth for production of milk and for developing a protective and strong bond between the mother and the child. Oxytocin can probably deepen the relationship and attachment after having a sexual intercourse. This is probably the reason behind the belief that “the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes.”

• Vasopressin or anti-diuretic hormone has the primary function of water retention through reducing the amount of urine. It helps the body reabsorb the available water to keep the organs normally functioning. This hormone may work on the principle of “help[ing] you to fall in love and stay[ing] that way”(Ellis, 2014). An experiment showed the effects of a drug that suppressed the release of vasopressin in male prairie voles (a kind of rodent), and the result was that latter's relationship with their partner deteriorated. Vasopressin levels were then found to be higher in monogamous than  in polygamous relationships. In humans, some studies claimed a positive correlation between higher levels of vasopressin and happiness in blissfully-married couples or couples in committed relationships. Since affection and commitment may be associated to emotions, the influence of vasopressin on the latter may be of big importance to the persistence of a long-term relationship.

Knowing our emotions should not only involve our external environment, but also internal mechanisms that made those feelings possible. Emotions have biological bases that aid the individual’s survival. Just like love, our body works in mysterious ways, and these hormones revealed how we exist in congruence to other people and to our environment. Who knows, an objective and scientific view on love may even help us find our “the one”?
 

From www.mrscienceshow.com

By: Angeline Mora

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232248.php
http://samvak.tripod.com/lovepathology.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-vasopressin.htm
http://www.youramazingbrain.org/lovesex/sciencelove.htm