1

Just Chat! / What is your favorite simple healthy breakfast....?

« on: 22/08/2009 08:26:27 »

How about some hot oatmeal with crushed banana and strawberries mixed into it, and then add a little maple syrup and milk on top. Tea or coffee on the side. Could do juice if it's a hot day. It's the perfect breakfast!

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Just Chat! / Re: Freudian Word Link

« on: 17/08/2009 15:14:38 »

Calorie

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Physiology & Medicine / Can fatty acids be absorbed through the skin?

« on: 17/08/2009 11:35:55 »

Unfortunately omega 3 fatty acids can only be used metabolically if we have ingested them first. Once we have ingested our omega 3 rich foods and supplements, they are broken down via the normal digestion process into smaller molecules that we need for cellular function. Sorry! Maybe you can try finding some alternatives. Do you eat a lot of tofu? It offers some omega 3's. Walnuts are also a good source. Good luck!

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Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Re: H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Poll - Would you take the H1N1 vaccine, if offered?

« on: 10/08/2009 14:00:16 »

I don't really think it's necessary for someone as young and healthy as myself to get the vaccine. People are forgetting that swine flu is no different than the normal flu. If you have haven't had complications from the normal flu in the past, there really isn't a reason to suspect you would have complications from swine flu. It should also be taken into consideration that the virus will probably mutate rendering the vaccine mostly useless. As with most flu vaccines, supply will not be able to keep up with demand. Young and healthy people should avoid getting the vaccine so that people in high risks groups can receive it instead.

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Physiology & Medicine / What are vitamins and minerals in our diet?

« on: 10/08/2009 03:25:19 »

Hi Chem4me

That doesn't really answer the question. We all know they are essential in small quantities but what are they?

We rely on thousands, maybe millions, of chemicals for our various body functions. Since most of them are made within us I assume they are organic but are not all vitamins. Think of all the hormones, for instance (some of which, such as Vit. D, are classed as vitamins). What makes some of them vitamins?

To be very specific, in metabolism vitamins generally act as co-enzymes needed to drive specific metabolic reactions forward. A co-enzyme is any small molecule that is necessary for the functioning of an enzyme. Without them, reactions couldn't proceed and we would fail to synthesize the essential energy (ATP) we need to survive. 

Iron isn't really a vitamin, but we need iron in our red blood cells so that we can transport oxygen. Every blood cell contains hemoglobin. Each hemoglobin contains an 4 iron groups which allows oxygen to bind. Red blood cells then carry the oxygen molecules all over the body to be used.

I don't suggest anyone licks or eats straight iron. Just eat a healthy diet with occasional red meat. It can be noted however in some countries where starvation is common, people will start craving and eating dirt as a way to enhance their iron and vitamin intake but it doesn't usually help.

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Just Chat! / Where do you go to when you need to think?

« on: 09/08/2009 08:08:47 »

When I lived back in the states, I used to go on a walk though the woods that backed up to our house.

Now that I live in urban Australia, I go to a little Italian bistro down the street, listen to my ipod, sip my coffee.

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Guest Book / Should we be worried?

« on: 05/08/2009 08:45:02 »

I too am a farking virgin but it sounds intriguing. Is it a site where stupid people talk about very uncomplicated subjects? I,m sure I'll feel Stupider, yet infinitely smarter for having visited.

Well they started it!!!!!!

You get your mix of idiots and intelligent people. Basically, each day 50 odd, amusing, and interesting news articles from around the world are posted and the community of fakers discuss them.

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Just Chat! / Re: Freudian Word Link

« on: 04/08/2009 13:05:32 »

Froth

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Where are the intermediates between apes and humans?

« on: 04/08/2009 13:00:33 »

This questions comes up so often. The number one reason people reject the theory of evolution is because they don't understand the theory.

We did not actually evolve from monkeys and no real scientist would ever declare that we evolved from monkeys. Since this is a VERY common question, I am going to directly quote a source that has already answered it. 

Humans did not evolve from monkeys. Humans are more closely related to modern apes than to monkeys, but we didn't evolve from apes, either. Humans share a common ancestor with modern African apes, like gorillas and chimpanzees. Scientists believe this common ancestor existed 5 to 8 million years ago. Shortly thereafter, the species diverged into two separate lineages. One of these lineages ultimately evolved into gorillas and chimps, and the other evolved into early human ancestors called hominids.


Since the earliest hominid species diverged from the ancestor we share with modern African apes, 5 to 8 million years ago, there have been at least a dozen different species of these humanlike creatures. Many of these hominid species are close relatives, but not human ancestors. Most went extinct without giving rise to other species. Some of the extinct hominids known today, however, are almost certainly direct ancestors of Homo sapiens. While the total number of species that existed and the relationships among them is still unknown, the picture becomes clearer as new fossils are found. Humans evolved through the same biological processes that govern the evolution of all life on Earth.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/cat02.html

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Just Chat! / Re: Freudian Word Link

« on: 04/08/2009 01:39:45 »

Radius

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Physiology & Medicine / What's making that noise when you swallow?

« on: 04/08/2009 01:31:20 »

Sorry, I took that out because I thought it sounded unreasonable after I wrote it. But if you contract your throat muscles, you can get movement from the epi. Another thought would be that when we swallow the larynx quickly moves upwards which could create some sound.

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Physiology & Medicine / What's making that noise when you swallow?

« on: 04/08/2009 01:26:38 »

Could be! I hadn't considered it. More forceful swallowing could potentially be causing the epiglottis to project stronger and make more noise.

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Just Chat! / Re: Freudian Word Link

« on: 03/08/2009 13:58:45 »

Hunger

I could definitely go for a big old steak right now (sorry cow  [:-'(])

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Do Whales Drink Salt Water ?

« on: 03/08/2009 13:26:44 »

It's funny you asked this question. My sister is a marine biologist and when I visited her over the holidays (I live in Australia, she lives in Michigan), I asked her the same question. My background is in molecular biology so I assumed they had some sort of cellular mechanism to deal with increased salt intake but apparently they get most of their fresh H20 by the organisms they eat. The H20 inside these organisms is still salty, but not as bad as drinking pure ocean water. However, they still ingest some sea water. This was compensated via evolution by developing some really efficient kidneys which remove salt from the blood and excrete it in urine.

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Why aren't humans still evolving?

« on: 03/08/2009 13:04:01 »

Well there really isn't an advantage to having them because 1.) they are useless, 2.) they cause more harm than good as they often become impacted and cause infection, 3.) for most people they result in long term pain until removal.

It is thought that environmental factors are influencing the growth of wisdom teeth but we don't exactly know why. Some scientist think that it is the evolution of our jaws, which are becoming more narrow and not allowing the growth of wisdom teeth in the first place. Wisdom teeth do not actually start to develop until after birth. Therefore if our genetics determine that our jaws will be more narrow than our ancestors, the wisdom teeth will not develop. This also accounts for the impaction most people suffer if they do have them. Right now 35% of the human race does not have wisdom teeth, however we do know that this percentage will increase with every new generation.

Unfortunately for me, I was born with all 4. They became extremely impacted and I suffered a major infection. During the infection I had a really high fever and passed out in the bathroom. I hit my head on the toilet and got a bad concussion and had to be rushed to the hospital. The moral of my story: Wisdom teeth suck and thank god we're evolving without them!  []

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Guest Book / Should we be worried?

« on: 03/08/2009 11:33:30 »

I had never heard of Fark until now...I feel quite innocent! []

Fark is one of my favorite sites for time wasting when I'm in a lab waiting for my tests to finish running, or when I'm sitting at home with nothing else to do. I have read so many articles that I would not have come across otherwise. Try it out sometime

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Why aren't humans still evolving?

« on: 03/08/2009 11:27:41 »

Madidus_Scientia is correct but there are some examples that are obvious. One example of evolution that is really obvious to the general public (you don't have to be a geneticist to understand) is that more and more people are born with less than 4 or no wisdom teeth. Thousands of years ago we needed wisdom teeth in order to help us chew through the tough meat and plants that were available to eat. With new technology we can be more selective about what we eat and cultivate different foods which can be cooked and easily digested with little chewing. Now that wisdom teeth are basically pointless, we are evolving without them.

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Physiology & Medicine / Can forcing your cheeks into a smile make you feel happier?

« on: 03/08/2009 11:00:49 »

There has been some recent neuro research that has shown that the act of smiling (even a forced smile) triggers a release of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter or the brain's "feel good" chemical. People with depression are often linked with decreased serotonin levels and this research shows that they can increase their levels by smiling or acting happy even if they are not. I doubt the increases is enough to replace depression medications. It is most likely something you would add on top of medications and therapy. Although those without depression could definitely benefit by increasing their personal happiness.

Here is an article on serotonin if you are interested: http://www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com/insight_answers/serotonin.php

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Physiology & Medicine / What's making that noise when you swallow?

« on: 03/08/2009 08:33:04 »

My thoughts are that when we quickly take a large swallow of food or water we produced more powerful esophageal contraction than the little swallows. Perhaps this is causing the gulping noise. It could also do with the fact that when we drink something quickly, we swallow a lot of air. That's all I've got for this one and my physio books have nothing.  [xx(]   

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Guest Book / Should we be worried?

« on: 03/08/2009 07:36:14 »

I didn't know we'd been 'farked'!  I checked the profiles of many of the new folks - and quite a few had very similar links - london taxis, airport transfers, coach hire etc.  Sadly, I think many of them intended to spam us.

What did Fark have to say about us?

Someone posted a direct link to one of the forum topics. The headline was:

"Very smart people talking about very complicated subjects. I feel smarter, yet infinitely stupider for having visited" Under the "Interesting" tag.

Here is the link to the Fark forum discussing Naked Scientist: http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4518194