sharrath's blog

Figure 1. Polar Bear's Natural Habitat. A polar bear finishing devouring its meal of the day. 

Photo by Orion Wiseman available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/79305942@N00/6976721482

Protein being one of our major food groups in our health plate is also a very controversial topic when determining what is good or not good for the human body. There are different sources of protein such as meats, fish, nuts, beans/lentils, cheese and poultry. Red meat is said to be high in saturated fat and is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. A carcinogen is a substance that has the ability to cause cancer in living tissue, meaning that humans should limit the amount of red meat eaten a week. Although these meats such as lamb, beef and pork are 'probable' causes of cancer, they dont indicate the risk of getting cancer. There are benefits however to eating lean red meat such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron. Red meat is not only classified as being a probable cause of cancer, but it is also a leading cause of heart disease. In the states, cardiovascular disease is the number one leading cause of death. Many Americans should consider limiting the amount of red meat they eat and substitute it with a variety of other protein dense and vitamin dense foods such as tofu, fish and beans/lentils. A variety of vegetables also have a high content of protein and fiber such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and brussel sprouts.

The landscape of medicine is continually changing especially with so many advancements in technology and the increasing emphasis on patient-care. Without scientific research, many of these advancements would have not been able to occur. Scientific research is an essential component in the advancement of healthcare as it can provide important information about disease trends, outcomes of treatment and functional abilities. These outcomes can lead to significant discoveries, development of new therapies and result in the overall improvement of public health.

I already had previous knowledge of processed foods not being good for the human body/gut microbiome. But I thought it was interesting reading this because so many people switch to diet coke instead of regular coke thinking that it would harm them less. However, it is harder for our bodies to process fake sugar than actual real cane sugar meaning that people should resort to having the actual food instead of a “fat free” or “sugar free” food. I think nutrient in the US is a very controversial topic has many foods that are sold here in the US are banned everywhere else in the world. These ingredients that are legal here in the US could also explain the reasoning for having such a high rate of obesity. Overall, I think people should be more cautious of what they are eating and how much of something they are eating. 

I am someone who has struggled with acne for the past couple of years and have used several topical and medicinal treatments to help with my acne. I thought this article was intriguing as the extract from both broccoli and cauliflower was a success. Personally, I wouldn’t think that extract from these two vegetables would help with treating acne which I found was interesting. I think that after this has been done and has been proven to show promising results for patients; I believe that there are numerous other plants that could have the same results with treating acne that researchers have yet to discover/test. Skincare is such an essential component to individuals and being able to test out more plants would only help us get closer to finding a better treatment.

Many people are able to go about their daily lives without coffee however, those who have started to drink this addicting drink somewhat begin to depend on it after some time. Unfortunately, I have been drinking about one cup a day for a couple of months and have seemed to become addicted to this drink. Today, I tried to go without having my daily cup in the morning and by around 12pm I started experiencing an atrocious headache. It felt like someone kept hitting a sledgehammer into the right side of my head, at the same time my mood changed and I became so angry with the world. Mondays are also the longest days for me, so I ended up going to peets and ordering a small cold brew because I couldn't go on with the rest of the day without a cup of coffee. I'am now coming to a conclusion that I may be addicted to this dangerously amazing drink...

The first step to making any dish is gathering the ingredients and that is exactly what I did as I made my way to Whole Foods. Cream cheese, ranch, blue cheese, shredded cheese, chicken and hot sauce is exactly what was purchased. I made my way home and cooked the chicken and began to shred it into little pieces and put it all in a bowl, i added about 4 cups of shredded chicken. The chicken had to be shredded into very fine small pieces in order for it would be easier to eat. I added a whole pack of cream cheese, 1 cup of ranch and 1/2 cup of blue cheese after and mixed all the ingredients until it was all a consistent homogenus mixture. Adding the shredded cheese was last and mixing it all in. I then added mixed cheese on top of the dip and put it in the oven at 325 degrees for 12 minutes until all the cheese was melted. The buffalo dip was now ready to serve for Super Bowl Sunday. 

Protein being one of our major food groups in our health plate is also a very controversial topic when determining what is good or not good for the human body. There are different sources of protein such as meats, fish, nuts, beans/lentils, cheese and poultry. Red meat is said to be high in saturated fat and is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. A carcinogen is a substance that has the ability to cause cancer in living tissue, meaning that humans should limit the amount of red meat eaten a week. Although these meats such as lamb, beef and pork are 'probable' causes of cancer, they dont indicate the risk of getting cancer. There are benefits however to eating lean red meat such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron. Red meat is not only classified as being a probable cause of cancer, but it is also a leading cause of heart disease. In the states, cardiovascular disease is the number one leading cause of death. Many Americans should consider limiting the amount of red meat they eat and substitute it with a variety of other protein dense and vitamin dense foods such as tofu, fish and beans/lentils. A variety of vegetables also have a high content of protein and fiber such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and brussel sprouts.

Partner: Cameron Bailey

https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/home

After exploring the site, Trends in Ecology and Evoulution, we have decided that the site itself is a reliable source. The papers on the site are well organized including many references from scholarly sources. You are also able to easily view where the information from each individual source is used in the article. This site is also active on social media and hold around 15,000 followers on twitter and 8,000 subscribers on Youtube. We then determined that this site was a research review site that included an editorial board that listed reviewers and authors along with their contact info and dates.

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a disease that nearly resembles polio in which the disease includes cold like symptoms followed by loss of muscle control and paralysis of arms or legs. Approximately sixty-two cases have been reported around the States in about twenty-two states. Scientists have slowly, but surely narrowed down suspects in which this disease could be caused by. The enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) was narrowed down to be a possible suspect. Although the evidence doesn’t completely make this assumption conclusive EV-D68 is suspected by many scientists. This enterovirus spreads through saliva and mucus and causes similar cold like symptoms and sudden loss of muscle control. Kenneth Tyler of the University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine in Aurora reported that several strains of EV-D68 could cause paralysis in mice. EV-D68 seemed to attack nerve cells directly causing this loss of control. If the enterovirus is indeed causing the paralysis, scientists are still unsure exactly of why it is only doing so in few cases. Although there is no vaccine against EV-D68, a possible vaccine developed in China had shown positive results in mice.