Biology in Action » Scientist in Focus

The Placebo Effect

biologyblog — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:10:45 +0000

by Stephen Freedley

It as been common medical knowledge since the days of early medicine that placebo effects are a true and documented occurrence. Moreover, physicians in the past have used innate pills as treatment for disorders. Today, the medical field has recognized the benefits of the placebo effect. By definition, this effect is caused by the patients belief that the treatment a physician gives will help in some way. This belief has been shown to diminish pain, as well as help treat disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

This effect is a solid demonstration of what is known as the effects of the conscious mind on the body, or the mind/brain problem. Even today, we still are just scratching the surface on the full effects of what our brains are fully capable of as well as what the extent of their control over the body is.

True or false? We only use 10% of or brain currently.

If the simple thought of a treatment working can trick our brain to helping relieve our ailments, what could the potential surmount to?

Can you propose a study that would be sufficient to look at these effects?

Would it be possible, in the future or today, to have the capability to cure oneself?

Source:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=placebo-effect-a-cure-in-the-mind

Scientists discover why teeth form in a single row

biologyblog — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:51:08 +0000

by Allison B

There is a question in scientists’ minds as to why mammals develop a single row a teeth, while sharks sport several. They conducted a study that may help guide efforts to re-grow missing teeth and prevent cleft palates, which is one of the most coming birth defects. As the baby is I the womb, their teeth and palate are tightly controlled in space and time by gene expression. According to the article, gene expression is the process by which information stored in genes is converted into proteins that make up the body’s structures and carry its messages.

Researches discovered that turning off a single gene is mice resulted in development of extra teeth, next to and inside of their first molars. Past research also showed that involved biochemical players are active in humans as well.

A question that can be asked throughout all this is why extra teeth are formed? In the U.S. adults aged 20 years and older are missing an average of 4 teeth due to come type of gum disease, trauma, or congenital defects.

The article ends stating this statement, “Beyond medical applications, our results suggest that diversity in the number of tooth rows across species may be due to evolutionary changes in the control of the BMP4/Msx1 pathway,” Jiang said. “In mammals, Osr2 suppresses this pathway to restrict teeth within a single row.”

Questions:

1) In your opinion why do you think teeth grow in a single row as opposed to multiple rows?
2) Did you find anything interesting about this study that was conducted?

Source

Help Build Strong Bones

biologyblog — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:22:58 +0000

by Natalie Z

This article talks about how running increases bone density, more so than traditional strength training. Bone density is very important, for the stronger your bones, the less likely you are to get osteoporosis. The research was conducted by the University of Missouri, and they found that the BMD of the runners’ spines were higher than the cyclists’ BMD. The stress that is put on the bones during exercise actually helps them to get stronger, and running is definitely a high-impact activity. This article was very interesting to me since I am a runner.

Source

Nobel Prize Winner Dies at 85

biologyblog — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:06:27 +0000

Daniel Carleton Gajdusek
(9/9/1923 – 12/12/2008)
was an American physician, medical researcher and corecipient (with Baruch S. Blumberg) of the 1976 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his research on the causal agents of various degenerative neurological disorders involving prions.

During the 1950s, Gajdusek traveled to New Guinea to research an unusual disease that was killing members of a native tribe called the Fore.

Gajdusek discovered that these tribe members were engaging in endo-cannibalism, the practice of eating members of one’s own tribe. This unusual habit enabled tribe members to add much needed protein to their diet, after the victim had died of natural causes. Upon inspection of the victim’s brains, Gajdusek discovered holes in the brain tissue that resembled sponges. He coined the term transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. He discovered that once the tribe members stopped their cannibalistic ways, the disease went away. He wrote several papers on this new discovery, and things remained rather quiet on this subject until the mid-1980s, when the disease reared its ugly head in cattle in Great Britain.

In the early 1980s, a new epidemic called Mad Cow, or Creutzfeldt-Jacob (CJD) struck England . 146 died people in England which resulted in the slaughter of millions of cows, and almost crippled the cattle and dairy industries. The incubation period of Mad Cow Disease, , could be as long as 25 years. Mad Cow Disease, or CJD, is incurable and 100 percent fatal.