Was Doña Tota Right?

          Some of you may remember certain person mentioning the “Doña Tota’s boldo tea” for relieving stomach aches. Let me inform you that it seems not to be such a funny fiction, people; actually, these so called old wives’ tales have become a fascinating object of study for several scientists.

         Even though these may not contribute very much in our memory as a vast number of grannies tend to say, raisins can be a good remedy for our teeth. Dentists usually recommend not to consume raisins provided the high amount of sugar that they have; however, a study conducted by the microbiologist Christine Wu from the University of Illinois in Chicago led to find out that raisins contain five chemicals which are able to destroy several oral microorganisms such as the streptococcus, the major causative of cavities in our teeth, and those are: oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, betulin, betulinic acid and 5 - (hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural.

For those girls who became obsessed with their figure and drink no other thing but green tea in the evening, there is spectacular news: apart from its polyphenols and tannins that burn your fat and help you lose weight—if you combine it with a balanced diet an exercise, of course—it was proven in animal testing conducted by the molecular toxicologist Thomas Gasiewicz of the University of Rochester, NY that a compound named epigallocatechingallate—also known as EGCG—can alter the structure of HSP90, one of the proteins responsible for cancer. This does not mean, nevertheless, that it is 100% assured that green tea will cure cancer, since this has not been proven yet in humans.

So, do you still think that Doña Tota’s boldo tea story is just an old wives’ tale or you may give it a try some time?

Why Einstein was a Genius?

When we ear the name "Einstein" we think of an old man with a funny haircut, always wearing the same suit, and a very very intelligent man. And have you ever questioned why was he so clever, what was about this guy that was different from others?

At an early age Albert was not a big shot. He didn't speak until he turned 4; failed some subjects at school and even a teacher said that Albert was not going to do anything in life. Little did he know.

That was about his early age. I will skip his career (because is not the topic) and will tell you about his afterlife. After he died his brain was donated (by his family) to science to see if his brain was different from the rest, ordinary people. At first weight Einstein's brain was a bit smaller than averege (1230 grams), but then they started finding the differences: A greater density of neurons in some parts of the brain and a higher than usual ratio of glia (cells that help neurons transmit nerve impulses) to neurons. Also several regions feature additional convoltions and folds (wrinkles that give brain's unique shape) For example, the regions on the left side of the brain that facilitate sensory inputs into and motor control of the face and tongue are much larger than normal; and his prefrontal cortex-linked to planning, focused attention- is also greatly expanded.



Maybe he came out with all his theories because he needed to show us how he saw the world that told hin that he was a misfist.

Mother to be, you better avoid drinking

Do not panic! If you have an occasional (one or two glasses of wine a week) drink in your pregnancy your child wont be born with "different abilties", but it may harm his/her IQ.

Researchers from Oxford and Bristol University looked at the IQ scores of 4.000 children as well at the drinking frequiency of their mothers. And  they found that the IQ of children whose mothers had an alcohol intake of one to six unites (glasses) was two points lower by the age of 8 than other kids whose mothers had avoid alcohol completely.

But a previous research demostrated that there is no connection between alcohol intake and the IQ of the baby.
The topic is still open, why do you think mothers take that risk?, eventhough they know that drinking is not good for them and their babies they say that "there is no harm in one glass of wine once a week". There are a lots of problems, not only a lower IQ. In the following video we will see some of those problems and how does is affects the baby in the womb.

Now that you know about this, that sometimes people seem to forget, do you any case of mothers driking while their pregnancy and her child has a problem mentioned in the video?
and are you 100% willing to give up drinking?

Cloning humans for organ transplant? Nah, thanks, I'll just have it printed :)

Cloning humans to solve the lack of organs for transplant seems to be a good idea since long lists for transplant are no close to an end.

An American company is making good progress on a new technology that might be the key to solve the tedious problems of organ transplant. The technology that this company is using, is the one that prints 3D copies of organs that are totally functional in the human body.

So far, this technology allows to create only organs like the skin, because more complex organs need to be created with very small features like blood vessels, detailes that this technology is unable to do. Of course in the future, the possibility of reaching the level of creating more complex organs is very high.

In this video you can see how the process is done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sWyeO4oxVtY

Although this tech is really amazing, it allows us to critically think about this topic of creating organs in a controlled environment, because just like cloning is a very controversial topic, because of the risks and the limits that humans may follow, this technology is very "dangerous" too, because if we keep moving forward with this, in the future we might be able to create a human being, just like now we create organs like the skin.

What's your stance on this topic? Do you think that this technology can become something "dangerous"? Do you think that nature, and biological processes related to procreation, will not be needed any more? In case you are in need of an organ, would you agree on receiving and lab-created one?

We can keep on asking lots of questions, but the thing is that medicine and technology are making gigantic steps in this field, and you never know what is going to be the next thing that is going to surprise us all.

Here's another video related to the topic that provides more information, enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

Freestyle rapping and brain activity: How does it work?

Have you ever seen a rapper perform and wondered how they manage to come up with those complex rhymes so naturally? Well, a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and other Communicational Disorders (NIDCD) found out that for a rapper to create those rhymes, some brain processes have to take place.

The study consisted of twelve rappers dropping some rhymes while on a MRI. First, they had to memorize a given set of rhymes and a beat to perform to. Once they did that, they were given the same beat, but asked to freestyle instead. No matter whom the rapper was, their brains activated differently when memorizing than when improvising.

When a rapper improvises, some parts of his brain shut down, more specifically the areas that are linked to self-control and monitoring; essentially, any area that might disrupt the creative flow of ideas. While on the other hand, when improvising, other areas lit up to help the rapper with his freestyle rhyming and those are the portions of the brain related to motivation, integration and activation, and also the areas linked to the mental lexicon and vocabulary. If you think about it, it’s something pretty logical as if you overthink too much, it won’t come up as a natural freestyle rhyme. So, in a way, the rapper has to disconnect from his brain to be able to rhyme. The same would happen to Usain Bolt if he started thinking about how to run and move, or how are his opponents doing; his performance wouldn’t be the best.

So, what are the implications of this study, apart from understanding how rappers are able to do what they do and how? Well, researchers are not sure yet, but in a future it might help to develop quicker thinking and, who knows, maybe any of us would be able to become amazing rappers.

Here's the link to the full article where you'll also find the explanation of the picture above.

Freestyle brain activity

Smoking Marijuana may be a new experience.

An Israeli company states that they could manage removing THC from marijuana; being, in this way, able to use the plant with medical purposes and no side effects.

The majority of the countries around the world do not allow the cultivation, transportation, possession, and of course consumption of marijuana. As the herb is considered illegal because of its side effects –physical effects are related to increase heart rate, dry mouth, reddening of eyes, muscle relaxation and a sensation of cold or hot in hands and feet; psychological effects mention a lower alpha waves frequency in the brain.

Considering all the causes mention, the Israeli company “Tikkun Olam” (which means “healing the world”) decided to isolate THC and growth a new plant just composed by cannabidiol improving the quality and the benefits of this medicine, thanks to this new properties Israel government allows the use of this new medication.  

Zahi Klein, who works at this company, claims that patients can have a normal day, referring to being alert all the time and having control of the reality. Adding that, “it has the same scent, shape and taste as the original plant, but the numbing sensation that users are accustomed to has disappeared.”

It seems that, the new plant could have huge potential treating complex, degenerative and painful diseases, of course providing that any policy frustrates its use.

This link will provide further information about at least twenty-five diseases that have been treated under the traditional marijuana plant (means containing THC plus cannabidiol), that maybe can be treated with the new plant in the future, according to the illness requirements.

If you were suffering from a painful disease (arthritis, cancer, migraines, nausea), would you try smoking marijuana in order to feel better? Would you recommend to someone you know who is experiencing any complicated disease? Do you believe in that this new treatment will be successful?

Attention women: a new bra can detect cancer

A company named First Warning Systems developed a bra that could detect cancer. How does this work? The bra is equipped with several sensors in the cups that can pick up temperature changes in the breasts. This would leave a mark (fingerprint) that can alert doctors of the presence of malignant cells.

This new technology is claimed to have 90% specificity and sensitivity. Women have to wear it for at least 12 hours so then can accumulate the temperature enough. Then, you have to submit the measurements to the company and for wait for a result. These results are among:
Normal 
Benign 
Suspected for breast tissue abnormalities 
Probable for breast tissue abnormalities

But, some doctors such as Dr. Therese Bevers, medical director of the cancer prevention center at the Univ. of Texas, have claimed that, even though this is a good idea, it might not always have good results. They stated that malignant processes have a different temperature level, but this level may not be very high. Besides, when compared to other cancer detectors, the results not always match up.

This technology has still a lot to be improved; it needs to go under much more testing to see the real implications of temperature regarding malignant cells.

Would you be willing to try a new technology, if it is not one hundred per cent accurate in its results?