benjaminburk's blog

Depression is becoming more and more common throughout society. This increase in presence has lead to a influx of studies that have lead to many advancements in the treatments of the disease. One specific study has found the beneficial side effects acupuncture has on depression. The study used multiple trials of low and high risk patients in order to test the effects. The study that when paired with medication overall acupuncture ahd a positive effect on relieving stress in the individual. This lowered stress level in turn lead to a decerease in the severity of the depression. 

Protein is one of those fascinating nutrients that allow extremely good for you there is a maximum healthy limit. There has been numerous studies that have proven this but the exact amount of protein that is in fact to much seems to vary study to study. This specific study goes on to discuss the differences in how the body takes in fast-digesting versus slow-digesting protein. In respect to fast-digesting proteins a young adult can take in 20-25g of protein while still maintaing a lean-tissue building process. This is because the fast-digesting proteins lack the surplus of other macronutrients that could hinder the digestion process. Conversely slow-digesting proteins are more likely to contain other macronutrients that can slow down the digestion process meaning a young adult would be able to consume more because of the delay in amino acid uptake. The study concluded in saying that based on the results a human would most benefit from a 1.6 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day diet in order to maximize the lean-muscle building process.

The Central Nervous System (CNS) is responsible for the bodies response to and immense amount of stimuli. A recent study has gone on to map the CNS in a highly dimensional single-cell procedure that has assisted in showing how the CNS has specialezed and specific immune cell subsets in order to respond to stimuli. The subsets include, but are not limited to, tissue homeostasis, immune defense and neurological diseases. This newly found highly dimensional procedure has proven very beneficial in mapping part of the brain and CNS that have never been seen or studied before. It has specifically helped in the study of the pathology of the specific subsets of immune cells, present in order to respond to specific stimuli. This new data may lead to immense adavancements in medicine, including treatments of debilitating neurological diseases, by identifying disease mechanisms, biological markers and possible thereapeutic targets. 

The differences observed between the two figures could be attributed to multiple factors. The fact that figure 2 contained a flower with hints of white and Figure 1 did not is most likely because the flowers pictured in the respective figures are not the same flower. The varying sizes of flowers in panel A of Figure 1 versus panel B of Figure 2 or panel B of Figure 1 versus panel A of Figure 2, means that the pictures were taken from a closer location, were taken with a larger zoom or were taken with a different type of camera all together.

The overall construction of the figure, the color of the shading, the lack of arrows, panel label colors and what appears to be the switch of the close up of the flower and the far shot of the plant, in Figure 2 versus Figure 1 can simply be attributed to the lack of explanation of how to construct the figure in the methods section.

Observational differences are present throughout the figures. The flower pictured in the original, Figure 1, the pictured flower does not have a hint of white on it. Meanwhile in the replicate, Figure 2, has a hint of white on it. Another difference is that the flower pictured in panel B of Figure 2 appears larger, than the flower pictured in panel A of Figure 1. Also the flower pictured in panel A of Figure 2 appears larger, than the flower pictured in panel B of Figure 1.

Other differences appear when you look at the overall structure of the figure. The shading color of the map in panel C of Figure 2 is red, which is different than the blue color used in panel C of Figure 1. More of China is also shaded in panel C of Figure 2 than in panel C of Figure 1. Also the panel labels, A, B and C, in Figure 2 are white with a black background, however in Figure 1 they are black with no background. Lastly in panels A and B of Figure 1 there are arrows indicating location of important structures on the plant and flower, meanwhile in Figure 2 these arrows are absent.

Earlier in the week I discussed the topic of photosynthesis, but never touched upon the topic of dark and light reactions. The photosynthesis reaction can be broken into two seperate sub-reactions, light and dark. As described by its name the light reactions gain their energy and are activated by light photons. As the intesity of light increases the amount of products produced, speed and efficiency of the reaction are increase. The light reactions involve two photosystems connected by an electron transport chain, these two systems function optimally at 680nm and 720nm light wavelegths.The dark reactions on the other hand, are considered to function independently from it, meaning they do not need photon energy of any sort to produce products. The process of the reaction is the Calvin cylce, which invovles the fixation of carbon into carbohydrates and the dissacotiation of water. This carbon fixation occurs in the stroma and requires NADPH and ATP in order to occur effectively. The ATP and NADPH the dark reactions use are the products of the light reaction, therefore without the light reactions and in turn the presence of light, the dark reactions would cease to occur because of their use of the ATP and NADPH.

In my plant physiology 510 class I am currently reviewing the topic opf photosynthesis. This has been a common topic covered in my science classes throughout my academic career. Although I have not gone into this much depth in any class before, it is truly fascinating. On the surface photosynthesis is a simple reaction that involves the reduction of CO2 to glucose and the oxidation of H2O into oxygen. But as I have learned in the past few weeks it is a very complex reaction that includes to photosystems and multiple protein complexes. The backbone of this process is the electron transport chain that connects the two photosystems. It also has two different sub reactions, light and dark. Light reactions, just like their name states, occurs in the presence of light. Meanwhile dark reactions do not require the presence of light. The perfect of efficiency of the reaction is amazing and makes it quite obvious as two why it is one the essential reactions to life itself. 

In the spring of 2018, as part of the Writing in Biology class at the University of Massachusetts I was assigned a project with the specific goal is to create a multi paneled scientific illustration that displays a flowering plant on the Umass campus. ​

The project also hoped to enhance my scientific writing ability and the ability to construct a methods section that can be followed by a complete stranger and still provide the same results. The plant I picked was Camellia Japonica, a flowering plant native to eastern China and southern Japan. The organism was found Durfee Conservatory and Garden on the Umass campus between UHS and Morrill II. It is a flowering organism that is not within normal human reach in order to reduce the amount of interaction with the sample. It is a bright pink flower on a small tree like plant, allowing it to be easily identifiable. The fact that the organism has reduced human interaction and is also easily identifiable will allow this experiment to be easy replicated by other interested scholars.  Overall this organism will provide a wonderful sample for this experiment and should allow for a successful multi-panel to be created.

The Central Nervous System (CNS) is responsible for the bodies response to and immense amount of stimuli. A recent study has gone on to map the CNS in a highly dimentional single-cell procedure that has pointed to the fact that the CNS has specialezed and specific immune cell subsets in order to respond to stimuli. The subsets include, but are not limited to, tissue homeostasis, immune defense and neurological diseases. This newly found highly dimmentional procedure has proven very beneficial in mapping part of the brain and CNS that have never been seen or studied before. It has specifically helped in the study of the pathology of the specific subsets of immune cells, present in order to respond to specific stimuli. This new data may lead to immense adavancements in medicine, including treatments of debilitating neurological diseases, by identifying disease mechanisms, biological markers and possible thereapeutic targets. 

It is a well known fact that as humans age the cognitive function of their brain degrades. Certain disorders, diseases and other health aspects such as drug abuse or traumatic injuries can cause an increase the speed of degradation. However, the mechanisms responsible for the normal degradation, outside of the injuries, drug abuse or disorders, is still relatively unknown. But a new research study has shown that the decline in function may be a result of astrocyte dysfunction. Astrocytes help with the formation and elimination of synapses in the brain. In the study, done on mice, it was found that the aging resulted in increased reactivity of astrocytes. This up-regulation of reactivity causes the astrocytes to lose their ability to carry out their normal functions and release toxins that destroy neurons. This loss of function change in the astrocytes results in cognitive degradtion and an increased susceptibility to traumatic brain injuries in aging brains.