Kwashiorkor!

http://main.nc.us/openstudio/tinamanley/Iraq/kwash.htm

1.       Kwashiorkor is  an acute form of childhood protein-energy malnutrition. It is severe malnutrition when children have a diet that is high in carbohydrates and low in protein. It usually affects children in impoverished countries because of the lack of recourses that they have; occasionally it effects the elderly as well. It is predominately found in impoverished countries that have been affected by drought, and countries that had political unrest.

2.       Protien is useful because it is one of the main classes of food that provide energy to our body. So, if we don’t have very much protein that enters our body, we are lacking on the energy that it provides.  And due to the lacking of energy, it could stunt growth, and lower resistance to disease. Without the protein that our body needs it could potentially lead to a disease called kwashiorkor.

3.       In popular low carb diets, like Atkins, we think that that we are going to lose weight and get healthier by cutting out most of the carbohydrates in our body. But that is not the case. In these low-carb high-protein diets they could cause you more harm than good. In recent studies it shows that these diets could contribute to cancer and heart disease. To healthily diet is to eat good sources of protein like tofu and almonds. Also eat good fats like olive oil and avocados.  Also make sure to look at the nutritional labels to know you are getting good protein. The main t thing is to moderate your diet.

Due to low carb diets such as the Atkins diet you are depleting your body from glycogen resulting in harm to your muscles and liver. It could cause you to get tired more often and just lose overall energy that you need to sustain a healthy life.  You lose muscle, and your skin will get saggy. Getting rid of your carbohydrates also results in a rise in insulin. Lack of carbs also could affect your mind as well. Overall we see that these diets are not good for you and you need to maintain your protein and carbohydrates so you can stay healthy and live an abundant life.

4.       In low carb, high protein diets there are many dangers. By adding more protein to a diet would cause severe stress to your body. Also, it would cause a buildup in ketones. Ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. And while your body is getting rid of the ketones, it is also getting rid of a lot of water which could potentially put you at risk for dehydration. And due to the dehydration, it strains your kidneys. And you could end up feeling sick, and dizzy. So if you are planning on dieting, stay away from this diet. It could cause you more harm than good.

R. Gent

Nylon, the Revolutionary Invention



http://listverse.com/2007/10/07/top
-10-scientists-who-committed-suicide/
 Wallace Carather

     Wallace Carathers' is considered the Father of Science in man-made polymers. He is the man responsible for most of the clothes we wear today, most of the things we use today, and so many man-made objects that we have today. Yes, he invented polymers, in other words our main resource for clothes and anything that involves plastic. This man is also responsible for 49 other patents in his life. He was a brilliant organic chemist, and will live on through his accomplishments.
     His relationship between science and engineering in his creating of nylon was very important. He used his background in organic chemistry to help him build a new, cheaper, and more versatile version of silk. The chemists used chemicals they extracted from coal, water, air, petroleum, natural gas, and agricultural by-products to nylon. And with engineering skills they put all of these chemicals together to form this amazing fabric.
    Nylon was revolutionary because it ultimately changed most everything that we use on a daily basis now. In the medical field they use nylon strands to stitch wounds together, in the clothing industry nylon is used for an array of many different things, it's used in fishing line, in carpets, in parachutes, in machine parts, in tires, in hair brushes, in pantie-hoes, and in all sorts of fabrics. It was revolutionary in the fact that it gave us a chance to make so many different things so much faster, and cheaper.

http://www.steinwall.com/ART-nylon.html
Nylon molecular structure

    Synthetic materials have changed the products that are available today because there are so much more available! I mean, without these synthetic materials there wouldn't be half as much as there is out there now. These materials are the basis of what most things in the store are made of. Also, it made the products that we do buy much more cheaper, because if they weren't using these materials they would most likely still be using silk, which is much more expensive then nylon.
    The synthetic materials that I come into contact with today are the clothes that I wear every day! They are all made with nylon or some form of synthetic material. Also my tires on my car, my hair brush, my furniture. All of which I use everyday.
   If synthetic materials didn't exist I think that all of those things would be made with silk. Since ultimately nylon was based off of silk, and has many similar qualities.


R. Gent

A Lower IQ? Whatttttt?!

http://www.livescience.com/culture/090924-childhood-spanking.html

Abstract Week 5 The Science of Spanking Your Children


Summary:

In a recent study involving hundreds of U.S. children, it showed that the more a child was spanked the lower his or her IQ compared with others. In that study two groups of children were tested, 806 aging 2-4 and 704 aging 5-9. Both groups ended up getting smarter after four years, nut the 2-4 year olds who were spanked scored lower on an IQ test than those who didn’t get spanked by 5 points. In the age range 5-9 the children who got spanked also scored lower than those who didn’t by 2.8 points. This study also took into account the parental education, income, and cognitive stimulation by the parents so the tests ended up being statistically significant. Some doctors say that being spanked causes a traumatic experience resulting in having the child stress which can affect the brain adversely. And that the stressed cause could potentially lower the IQ of the child. It is supposedly making the children stray away from independent thinking and causing them to do just what they are told and not think for themselves.



Application:

I have never really thought that spanking could have a bad affect on a child’s IQ; it never really crossed my mind that that was one of the downsides of spanking children. Sure, I thought of the emotional abuse it could contribute to but nothing long term like this. And even though that spanking has been shown to have negative consequences that parents will still fall back on it because it is a quick fist. I believe that the negative consequences will outweigh the positives, so I don’t think people should spank their children for everything. I do understand however, that that is a way to show children that what they are doing is wrong and cannot be done that way. But from personal experience I understand that there are other ways to punish a child that is equally effective. Such as putting them in a time-out. That is what my parents did most of the time and it worked better than spanking, from what me and my sister knew, we knew that spanking would last for three seconds and then we could go back to what we were doing. But with the time outs we were bored for five minutes, which seemed like a lifetime to us, and we didn’t want that to happen again. So I see where these people are coming from. Having your child be less intelligent because of the way you punish them just seems unreasonable to me when you can have your child be just as intelligent as they can with a punishment just as useful as spanking.

R. Gent

Makeup, Not as Pretty as You Think

http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/the-science-of-mineral-makeup-402761.html

Abstract Week 4


Summary:

Have you ever thought that the make-up you are rubbing on your face will actually make you look worse in the long run? Well, if you are using chemically-based make-up, it most likely is. Studies have shown that using chemically-based make-up my make your skin pre-maturely age and it is important to use anti-aging make-up that helps the healthiness of your skin. Chemically based make-up creates an environment where bacteria can infect the skin; also the oils can substantially irritate and damage your skin. So, the best way to avoid this is to resort so something natural and pure, as in mineral make-up. Since mineral make-up is made with all natural minerals they can be potentially used for every kind of makeup you might have sitting on top of your vanity. It comes in a variety of colors, just like the minerals in the world do. It also can be applied to all types of skin and will not block or clog pores. Also, mineral make up is actually good for your skin; it serves as an acne treatment, an anti-aging solution, and usually has an SPF of 15 or 20.





Application:

I personally wear make-up every day, so this is a great thing to have in the back of my head. I figured that having chemically based make-up on all the time could potentially be damaging, but this really sewed up some loose ends for me. I am really careful to use good make-up so I don’t pre-mature my aging, but now that I see mineral make-up can help with even more than that I’m sure that I will go out and try it! Also, since the mineral make-up does come in a bunch of different colors and shades it will be perfect for when I want to spice up my eyes with some cute eye shadow. I found that this article was really helpful and I will use it the best that I can. I just hope that my skin isn’t already damaged due to me using the make-up I have been using. And hey, it’s a good excuse to get new make-up. ;)


R. Gent

Watch Out! Water!

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63358/title/DNA-damaging_disinfection_by-products_found_in_pool_water


ABSTRACT WEEK 3
SUMMARY:

Recent studies have shown that swimming in your pool might not be as safe as what you think. Scientists have found that some of the chemicals in chlorine and other disinfectant chemicals that you put in your pool could contribute to damage in DNA cells. Since disinfecting agents are designed to kill germs, it also seems to produce mutangenic chemicals. Scientists have found that low concentrations of DNA-damaging chemicals have been isolated from drinking water in the past, but never has it been found in pool water. Until now. They tested swimmers to see if the chemicals effected them and found that the rates of DNA mutations were low, and could potentially be fixed. And although swimming is a healthy, fun activitiy…there are some negative attributes that aren’t recognized, like this. Scientists have found that even though the chemicals could for low counts of mutagens, that this problem is not life threatening. But it’s still good to take precaution and after swimming in a chlorine, and chemical filled pool to shower thouroughly to remove all of those chemicals.

APPLICATION:

I think from this study I am most definatly going to take a longer shower than usual after I get done swimming. I just find this kind of thing a little scary, and even though it is found in low counts I still do not want my DNA to be messed with. I think that scientists will soon find ways to disinfect a pool without having these kinds of side-effects. And seeing that there have been the same kind of chemicals found in drinking water is even scarier. But I guess that it is kind of like a win-lose situation. If we don’t have these chemicals it would be a lot worse towards our body, with all of the sweat, urine, and skin particles floating around in the pool it is a risk that we are going to have to be willing to take, because the side-effects from swimming in contaminated surely would be worse. I hope that scientists will soon find a chemical that will be less damaging to our DNA, but still gets rid of the germs found in pools.


R. Gent