clhs sciblog

A new study has taken place at UCLA, researching the effects of an high fructose-diet.  Everyone knows that a lot of sugar is not good for you, but the results of this study are very interesting.  This study shows that a high steady diet of fructose slows the brain, the slowing of the brain hampers memory and learning.  Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said that,”Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think.”  This may be scary to many people since sugar is relied upon by so many people to keep them awake, however there is more information that was discovered during this study.  The researchers also noticed that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the sugar.  Sugar is in so many foods, but this study was focused on high-fructose corn syrup, which is a sweet liquid that is added to foods.  Over 40 pounds of this syrup is consumed by the average American yearly, according to the USDA.

This study may worry many people since energy drinks and soda, which are packed with sugar, are relied upon to help especially students stay awake studying during the wee hours of the morning.  Fernando Gomez-Pinilla advises to consume at least 1 gram of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which is found in foods such as salmon, walnuts, or flaxseed.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the future and what information is discovered about this sugar syrup that is consumed daily by millions of Americans.

To read more about this click here

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High fructose corn syrup

Have you ever wondered how three-sided snowflakes are formed?  Well, your wondering has come to an end because of an experiment that was done in California (ironic) by Kenneth Libbrecht.  The snow that Mr. Libbtecht works with is grown in his laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.  He and his fellow physicist, Hannah Arnold, conducted a recent experiment in which they discovered the answer to how three-sided snowflakes are formed.  Now, we all know that snowflakes are usually hexagonal, but over the years, snowflakes with three sides or three short and three long sides have been spotted.  For the experiment, Libbrecht and Arnold created an artificial snowfall and examined the flakes.  They found that there were more triangular flakes than had been expected.  Maybe triangular flakes aren’t so rare after all…then, how are they formed?  The team of two suggested that as a snowflake is falling through the air, it comes into contact with a small peace of dust.  This could cause one edge of the snowflake to tilt upwards.  When that happens, the two sides pointing down grow faster and become fluffier.

Now that we know more about the aerodynamics of snowflakes, this knowledge can be used to learn more about building airplanes and launching rockets into space.  I had never heard of a three-sided snowflake before, so now I hope that one day I will get the privilege of seeing one.

To read the full article, click here.

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Everyone knows that the blind can’t see, unless Jesus comes down and decides to heal them all. While mere mortal humans have not been able to actually make the blind see, progress is being made. Two British men by the names of Chris James and Robin Millar who have been blind for many years now have their vision partially restored. How is this possible, you may ask? They each had a surgery in which a thin, 3mm microelectronic chip was placed behind the retina. From there a fine cable traveled to a control unit behind the ear. These chips each contain 1,500 pixels which take over the role of photo receptor rods and cones. Light that reaches the chip through the eye stimulates the pixels, which then sends the optic nerve and brain electronic signals. Although previous tests have been run with artificial vision in the past, none have been so successful or put the retina to such good use. This technology uses flashes of light and is completely black and white. Chris James reported with excitement, “I am able to make out a curve or a straight line close-up but I find things at distance more difficult. It is still early days as I have to learn to interpret the signals being sent to my brain from the chip.” Unexpectedly, the other British candidate Robin Millar started to dream in color again after 25 years. While this might not seem like a crazy thing to a normal person, to a blind man it is like living an entirely different life.

This is a simply amazing technology. A few years ago, we could only make up science fiction that this technology could actually happen. This advancement has only just started, and there are many more changes and improvements that could be made, such as seeing in color or seeing more than just the outlines of images. Right now, only tests are being run, but in time, hopefully this treatment will be affordable to the average person. God is great for creating amazing doctors who can come up with the technology to help people.

To learn more, click HERE

Though it seems difficult to imagine, a robot struggles to simply pour juice into a plastic cup. While one hand holds the glass bottle firmly, the other one must gently grasp the cup. Researchers at Saarland University have finally created a robotic hand that can accomplish both tasks with ease and yet including the actuators is hardly larger than a human arm. This was only possible by a novel string actuator who made use of small electric motors to twist strings. Thus, this robotic hand is very powerful yet delicate. One day it could be used as a helper around the house or even catastrophic scenarios! Who would have ever thought?

Developers made it very clear and their specific goal to create their robotic hand with a broad spectrum of human traits. They wanted its artificial muscles to be able to deliver large forces by simple means. Scientists have taken great steps in robotic research to develop various concepts and to focus on increasing the versatility with which two-arm robots can be implemented. Researchers explained that robots need to have hands that will be able to compete with actual human hands, implying that they need to be capable of grasping with strength, but at the same time, gently. The challenge was then to make the necessary technology fit within the robotic arm and making sure that it won’t significantly differ from a human arm in regards to size and form. After much evaluation, the team came up with the idea of using strings that are twisted by small, high-speed motors, and now being capable of exerting high tensile forces within a compact space, meaning that the robotic hand can touch diverse objects, grasp them, lift them, and place them gently in a new position.

“Each robotic finger, which like a human finger is composed of three segments, can be controlled precisely by means of the individual tendons,” describes Chris May, the novel miniature actuator. It’s incredible the capability the robotic hand now has and how similar it is to that of humans. Soon, the vision of robots being our personal assistants in our homes, operating rooms, and even in industrial settings, is now becoming a reality. This can definitely be considered a burden and a blessing because it in some sense promotes laziness to the strong and able, but at the same time it offers aid to those who are unable to do things on their own.

To read more, click here.

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Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. It is caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain and mostly occur as the baby grows in the womb. However, it can also happen at any time during the first two years of life, while the baby’s brain is still developing. A team of Rice University seniors, also known as Helping Hands, hopes to restore strength and flexibility to the hands and wrists of children with cerebral palsy.

Jenna Desmarais, a senior at Rice, noted, “These kids have a real problem with their hands. The fingers and wrists are locked into a sort of claw-like position. Even after surgery to correct it, they need physical therapy to get stronger.” Thus the team was inspired, ultimately by their mentor, Gloria Gogola, a pediatric hand and upper-extremity surgeon, and made the rehabilitation device, the Dino-Might. Often cases, the wrist and its associated muscles and tendons, though corrected, are still very weak and must be exercised in order to be restored to normal use. Gogola wanted a rehabilitation device that could exceed expectations and make a difference to significantly help a patient. Dino-Might did just that and more by securely positioning the patient’s limb, sensing and recording its strengths and providing a workout for the weakened wrist. Dino-Might even prompts the child to appropriately adjust his or her movements with a computer game starring an animated dinosaur. By playing the game, the child tells doctors how strong he or she is and how he or she can use her wrist and hand. The game is used as an incentive and ultimately helps doctors learn the patient’s strong points and record their strengths, while at the same time, making them stronger.

There have been many other devices similar to Dino-Might, but none have been as complete and satisfying to Gloria Gogola as Dino-Might. “Every time the device is used on a new patient, it is adjusted and customized to fit that individual,” says Desmarais. The information given to doctors is very accurate for that specific patient, therefore the doctor is not just getting a general idea, but a precise picture of that patient. Dino-Might has also been used on older patients suffering from stroke and spinal cord injuries and has proven to be a remarkable advancement. Without those wonderful scientists who want to improve technology and advance medical devices, children like Tim, would never have the fine motor skills that they have today because of those life-changing aids! What a blessing!

To read more, click here.

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Researchers are allowing the development of energy-efficient LED devices that use ultraviolet (UV) lights in order to kill bacteria and viruses.  There are multiple applications for this discovery, such as drinking-water treatments and sterilization of surgical tools.  UV treatment would be beneficial because it would be cheaper and last a lot longer.  This could help out to treat water in other countries as well.  The team of scientists working on this outbreak were able to significantly improve the amount of UV light that can pass through the substrate.  This topic will have a lot more attention on improvement and advances because of how cost-efficient and effective  this technology can be.

I think this is a really neat discovery and surprising to know it hasn’t been addressed before.  Although if UV rays are a main contribute to skin cancer the sterilization of UV on a human probably wouldn’t be applicable.  I personally would not feel like my water would be as clean by only going through a filter of light.  But since its science, I would trust this procedure.  It’d be great if this technique could spread around the world so everyone would be able to have clean water.

To see full article click here.

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Recently scientists detected an enormous sunspot located on our Sun that is 60,000 miles long. The sunspot, named AR 1476, has been firing off many very powerful solar flares towards the Earth along with a strong solar storm. There are three classes of solar flares: C-class, M-class and X-class. C-class are the weakest of the three and pose little threat and have minute effects on the Earth. X-class are the strongest and can disrupt the Earth’s satellites and infrastructure. M-class flares, which this particular sunspot have been emitting, are in the middle and may create geomagnetic storms and cause miraculous northern light events.  Thus, the flares currently being unleashed are not presently posing any threats to the Earth, even though they have the ability to large bursts of radiation.

Although the M-class solar flares being emitting are not causing harm to the Earth, there are still always possibilities of solar activity hurting our planet. It important that scientists monitor solar activity since much damage could come from extremely powerful solar flares or storms. Sometimes the effects of such flares can be dazzling and breathtaking such as with the northern lights displays that may occur. The effects can also be disastrous for Earth orbiting satellites and other spacecrafts. So, it is beneficial that scientists monitor solar activity in an attempt to prevent harm to those devices.

To read the article, click here.

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The European Space Agency sent up the Envisat Satellite more than ten years ago and has been in a low-Earth orbit ever since. It is an enormous device with its body being about thirty feet long and sixteen feet wide, along having a solar panel of forty-six feet. Altogether the satellite weighs about 17,600 pounds and cost about 2.9 billion dollars to construct and operate. During this time it have been very successful in observing our planet. However, about a month ago the satellite mysterious ceased functioning and was recently officially declared dead in space on May 9th. It was planned to be placed out of commission in 2013 until it suddenly failed. The satellite is estimated to take about 150 years to steadily spiral down back to the Earth. Since the Envisat is in such a low-orbit it could pose as an obstacle for other spacecrafts that travel past it. There will be various space debris trackers that will moniter the dead satellites movement and work to prevent any collisions with other stellar crafts.

Having numerous dead satellites pollute the space around our planet is not a good thing. There is already so much space junk up there already. There needs to be more measures taken in the removal of dead satellites and other space debris. These silent devices pose threats to other fully operating satellites as well as aircrafts that may pass the dead satellites. Especially considering the fact that many of these dead satellites are located in a low-Earth orbit and could crash down to the Earth at any given time. Scientists have proposed various ideas for removing space junk including a space vacuum, a net-wielding spacecraft to drag out debris, and a large laser to steer debris back to Earth. However, none of these machines are currently in the works.

Click here to read the article.

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