#33 How much sugar do different fizzy drinks contain? (English)

How much sugar do different fizzy drinks contain?

The main focus of this internal investigation will be on the comparison between the sugar content in different fizzy drinks.A fizzy drink is a nonаlcoholic, flаvored, cаrbonated bеverаge, usually commerciаlly prеpаred and sоld in bоttles or cans drink^[1].Before 1980th different fizzy drinks companies used sucrose or table sugar in order to produce the drinks but after 1980th they changed these sugars to high-fructose corn syrup.^[2]However some of the companies still use sugar because the drinks with sugar are consumed better.

The sugar content of the drink depends on what type of the fizzy drink the person is drinking.There are different types of the fizzy drinks like ; full fat fizzy drink, diet fizzy drink and zero fizzy drinks.All of them are different because there are different amounts of sugar content in them.There are six types of sugars, and these are : glucose,fructose,maltose,lactose,galactose and sucrose.These types of sugars are added to the fizzy drinks in order to make them more sweet and tasty.Even though the drinks that contain these sugars have a a good taste,they can be damaging to health.Most of the drinks that contain these sugars in them don't have any vitamins and have a lot of calories, therefore they are called ‘empty calorie’ drinks.The typical full-fat fizzy drink contains a lot of sugar content and a lot of empty calories in it.One can of full-calorie soda contains 33 grams of sugar and 136 calories with no vitamins and only trace amounts of some minerals. Many brands contain even more.People that drink these full-fat fizzy drinks on the daily basics take in hundreds of empty calories per day,therefore putting themselves at risk of gain weight which can later on cause variety of health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Fizzy drinks can be damaging not only for the heart but also for the teeth. These drinks contain citric acid which enables the enamel of the teeth,therefore causing enabling the erosion to occur.Thus, by drinking the fizzy drinks with a big sugar content may lead to the teeth decay.The American Dental Association stated that people that people that are drinking fizzy drinks three or more types per day have a 17% to 62% higher risk of having tooth decay than the people that don’t drink them at all.^[3]In the other had there are also fizzy drinks that contain zero fat. These drinks contain non-nutritive or calorie-free sweeteners which are bigly-concentrated to be sweeter than sugar. These sweeteners are: saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame and acesulfame-K. The people who have diabetes and cannot consume the drinks that contain more than 5 grams of sugar,can safely drink these zero calorie fizzy drinks and this is approved by theAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Therefore,it can be said that there are different sugar contents in different fizzy drinks.

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^[1]"Fizzy Drink." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015

^[2]Types of Sugars in Sodas." Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
^[3]"Sweeteners - Sugars: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.

 

KAA

#32 The placebo effect (English)

The Placebo Effect

 We often hear people say, "it's all in your head," when we complain or feel sick for example. But what if this statement turned out to have some truth behind it ?

The placebo effect is a term used to describe a situation where a fake treatment, can improve patient's condition because they believe that they are receiving a treatment. It can however also cause a patient to feel worse. For example if they are constantly told that they look sick, they will start to believe it themselves and therefore actually start to feel ill.

Placebos are used during studies to help researchers understand the effect a treatment or drug might have on a certain condition. In order to show this, some people are given the real drugs while others receive a substitute enabling the researchers to look out for effectiveness and even side-effects. Placebos, as mentioned before can have positive or negative effects or even no effect at all. They are said however to have an effect on conditions such as depression, sleep disorders and pain. This is because the placebo effect focuses on the relationship between the mind and body. The main theory states that it is all due to our personal expectations. For example when a person has a headache they may decide to take a painkiller. The individual expects to feel better and therefore even if they were not given real medication; it is possible that their body's own chemistry can cause similar effects to that of the painkiller.

One study demonstrating the placebo effect involved individuals with asthma. Although the people who used the placebo inhaler did not do any better on breathing tests than those who had used the real inhaler, when asked how they perceived the treatment they revealed that they felt the same amount of relief as they did when using the médicine.

 

MCA

#31 Los estornudos (Español)

Los estornudos

¿Por qué estornudamos?

• La nariz tiene la función de puriscar el aire del organismo. Al entrar aire por la nariz este se caliente, se humidifica y finalmente se filtra para que al llegar a los pulmones llegue lo mas limpio posible. En ocasiones el aire no llega suficientemente filtrado por lo que se da el estornudo. Esto ocurre cuando hay un exceso de suciedad en el aire, exceso de bacterias y virus en la mucosidad nasal y también se puede dar por una reacción alérgica. En cualquiera de estas circunstancias las células nerviosas de los tejidos nasales emiten impulsos al tallo encefálico  ( sección del cerebro que contiene los centros de reflejo) y este remite las señales a los músculos pectorales, al los abdominales y después al diafragma, que contraen los pulmones en un espasmo. El la faringe los músculos se contraen para evitar que el aire que fue expulsado entre en la boca y que salga mas fácilmente por la nariz.

Datos curiosos:

• ¿Cuánta velocidad puedo alcanzar un estornudo?
Un estornudo puede llegar a una velocidad de 160km/h
• ¿Por que cerramos los ojos al estornudar?
Estornudar y que se nos cierren los ojos es un reflejo, uno de protección. Este nos protege ante infecciones que podríamos adquirir al hacerlo con los ojos abiertos. También al estornudar liberamos aire que va a una velocidad muy alta y si nos llega a los glóbulos oculares podría causar severos daños.
• ¿Por qué estornudamos cuando una luz brillante nos ilumina?
Esto se da por una estimulación de la mucosa nasal por la radiación ultravioleta

AAM

#30 Could we cure HIV with lasers? (English)

Could we cure HIV with lasers?
[TED Talks Science and Medicine: 'Could we cure HIV with lasers?' by Patience Mthunzi]

HIV patients take in staggering numbers of pills to withstand the intense pain. However, compared to the number of pills swallowed, they are not effective. As the pills travel through many organs to reach the nerve system, the lungs and the lympth notes (where the virus is sleeping), they dilute. At the time, the pills dilute and lose its efficacy, the virus starts to spread more and to infect other cells (especially, the CD4 T-cell) in the blood.

The three headed device by Patience Mthunzi

The question is raised: could we treat HIV directly without the risk of the anti HIV drugs' dilution? Patience Mthunzi, laser scientist in South Africa, finds the answer with the the use of lasers. She strongly believes that lasers could be the most efficient type of treatment to cure the HIV. As of now, lasers are only used to poke or drill extremely tiny holes in HIV infected cells. In fact, Dr. Mthunzi is inventing a three heades device: the laser (first head) making an incision, the camera (second head) leading, and the drug sprinkler (third head) delievering the drug directly to the site of infection. When this technique is actualized, the complete eradication of HIV in the body will be realized.

People living with HIV

Several facts about HIV:

• HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) is found in blood and sexual fluids and spreads mainly through unprotected sexual contact and the sharing of hypodermic needles and equipment.
• When a person becomes infected with HIV, it damages his or her immune system, leading to immunodeficiency; the immune system can no longer fight off common germs and pathogens, so a person infected with HIV becomes ill from diseases that don't usually affect someone without HIV.
• HIV is one of the world's most significant public health challenges, particularly in low and middle income countries.
• An HIV-infected person may not have any symptoms of diease during the asymptomatic period.

[Reference]
TED Talks science and medicine, WHO, WebMD, CBC

KSJ

#29 Why do leaves change color in the fall? (English)

Why do leaves change color in the fall?

In the spring and the summer is when the leaves create food needed for the trees growth, this process is known as photosynthesis. This process requires cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color, to convert the light energy into food. Chlorophyll is only found in plant cells, which is why humans aren't green. In the fall, the amount of light and changes in temperature stop the leaves from making food. The cholorophyll breaks down and the other pigments like xanthophyll (yellow) and carotenes (orange) that were masked by the green are visible. While this is happening a special layer of cells develop at the stem of the leaf which gradually severs the supporting tissues, making the leafs fall. Weather also has an impace on what color the leaves turn. Above freezing temperatures will make bright red maples, while early frost will dull this bright red. Rainy/Overcast days also increase the intensity of fall colors.

Evergreen trees do not lose their needles in the winter. This is due to the difference in the kind of leaves that Evergreens have compared to other trees. Evergreens have needles, needles have less surface area than larger, flatter leaves, and can resist changes in temperature and humidity easier. This allows the chloroplasts to survive and continue to produce food for the tree all year round.

 PoS

#28 Sleeping and the Biology of Dreams (English)

Sleeping and the Biology of Dreams 

Dreams, we all have them. They can be good, bad or just plain weird. The question is, what exactly are they? The word dream can be defined as series of thoughts, images and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Only around 95% of our dreams are remembered by the time we get out of bed which is crazy seeing as the average person dreams four to six times every night. Now, these dreams can last a few seconds but usually they range from five to twenty minutes.  People are more likely to remember their dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. REM stands for rapid eye movement and is a phase of sleep distinguished by random movement of the eyes, low muscle tone throughout the body, and the tendency of the sleeper to dream vividly. It is said that dreaming can indeed help you learn, as well as develop your long term memories.

There are four stages of sleep. The first stage is where you drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. Muscle activity and eye movement both get slower. It is in this phase where individuals can often feel the sensation of falling as they experience sudden and random muscle contractions. In stage two eye movement stops and brain waves become slower with the infrequent burst of fast brain waves. As a person enters stage three, extremely slow brain waves, known as delta waves, are distributed with faster and smaller waves. Finally, in stage four, the brain pretty much only secretes delta waves. The last two stages are referred to as deep (delta) sleep. However, in 2008 the use of stage four was removed by the sleep profession in the US and is now considered stage three. These four stages can be seen on the graph above.

We dream for several reasons such as to represent unconscious wants, to explain random signals from the brain and body, to strengthen and process information gathered during the day or perhaps to work as a form of psychotherapy. Not only this but there has also been several surveys conducted which show that men and women often dream about different things. For example most women’s dreams feature family members, babies and children. Men’s dreams are also found to be more aggressive.

To conclude, despite lots of research and experiments, our knowledge of dreams remains very limited.

 

McA

#27 산마늘(명이나물) (한국어)

산마늘(명이나물) Allium microdictyon Prokh

 

아래 사진들은  Sentier Nature de « La Versoix »에서 관찰한 산마늘이며, 사진은 핸드폰(갤럭시S3)으로 촬영하였다.

명이나물은 주로 무리를 지어서 자란다.

꽃봉우리와  one penny(d:2cm) 크기 비교

Sentier Nature de "La Versoix"

명이나물의 원뿌리 관찰

산나물은속씨 식물에서 외떡잎식물강으로 분류된다.

 

산나물은 산지대의 나무숲, 그늘진숲속, 풀밭, 산허리에서 자라는 풀이다. 원산지는 아시아다.

 

후각:전초에서는 강한 마늘 냄새가 난다.

촉각: 잎의 윗부분은 표피에 의해 부드럽다. 하지만 반대편은 조금 거칠다.

시각: 진한 초록색을 띠며, 뿌리에 가까워질수록 색이 연해진다.

미각: 강한 마늘향이 공존한다.

 

산마늘은 자양강장, 피로회복, 소화, 통증 완화, 구충, 해독

*전초: 꽃, 잎, 줄기, 뿌리 따위를 모두 갖춘 풀의 온전한 포기

참고: http://kofpi.tistory.com/102

 http://jdm0777.com/jdm/sanmaneul.htm