Did You Know

A biocemist cloning a pet dog

     This article by Bob Grant on February 8, 2008, is about a biochemist cloning a pet dog

     A California lady is paying $150,000 to have her dead pit bull cloned by a South Korean company.  Before the dog, Booger, died, she preserved an ear tissue.  This tissue will be used for the cloning.  She wants to have her dog cloned because Booger saved her life when her arm was torn off by another dog. 

     Another dog was successfully cloned in 2005 by Seoul National University headed by  Lee Byeong-chun.  In 2004, a person paid $50,000 to have a pet cat cloned. 

     I think that it is amazing how advanced the technology has become.  It is also fascinating how you can clone a pet from a simple tissue of material from the animal.  I would have my dog, Dusty, cloned if I had nothing better to do with $150,000.  I can think of 150,000 better things to do with $150,000!

The Lowdown on Hydrocodone

     The article I am reviewing from upfront Scholastic News, "The Lowdown on Hydrocodone" can also be found at http://schloastic.com/headsup.

     This article talks about hydrocodone, which can be found in Vicoden, Anexsia, Lorcet, and Norco, and its abuse by teenagers.  Hydrocodone is a prescribed medicine that treats acute and chronic pain.  It is used in many medicines to help relieve pain.  If it is mixed with achool or any other drug, it can have a very bad affect on your body.

     The good news is that use of illicit drugs has declined in teens since 2001.  The bad news is that nearly 1 in 10 high school seniors abused vicodin, which contains hydrcodone, in the past year.

     I think it is bad abuse these drugs.  God says to have a healthy body.

My Dad's Heart Cath

   My dad began to experience a tightness in his chest and a tingling in his left arm when he was walking on the treadmill.  He made an appointment to see his doctor.  At this visit, the doctor listened to his heart and referred him to a cardiologist to have a stress test performed the next day.

    A stress test is a method for getting the heart up to a certain stress level where the arteries dialate to let more blood through.  If the artieries are blocked, they will not dialate properly and it will show up on the EKG.  First, the doctor will take the patient's blood pressure and heart rate while at rest.  Then they attache sticky elctrodes to the hip, shoulder, and chest.  These will monitor the heart.  The patient gets on a treadmill and every three minutes they increase the pace and the incline.  The test is over when the patient's heart rate gets to a target rate (85% max based on the patient's age) or there is discomfort in their chest or other signs of a problem.  My dad did this test and one of his arteries was 99% blocked.  He was sent straight to the hospital.  They had a room waiting for him. 

   When he checked in to his room, he was already scheduled for a heart cath at 3:30 that very afternoon.  They injected a dye into him so that the vessels would show up better on the film.  A tube with a camera was inserted around the groin area to see the clog.  Then they used a balloon to stretch the blood vessel.  Next they put in a stent (an expanding piece of metal) in the artery. This will hold the artery open for the blood to flow through.  They closed up the incision site with a StarClose, which is a vascular closure sytem.

   My dad had to have three hours of rest.  He had to lay flat on his back and coundm't move his right leg.  After three more hours he could sit up and get out of bed.  He was released from the hospital the next day, Saturday.  Sunday, we went to church together and on Monday he went back to work with a "no heavy lifting" restriction.  Tuesday he was permitted to resume his normal activities.  They put him on a blood thinnner medication so the blood wouldn't get stuck on the stent.  They asked him to slightly modify his diet.   My dad believes this blockage might have been caused by his cholesterol medicine (Vytorin). 

   When he called me on Friday at 12:00 PM, after his stress test, he told me he had to have the heart cath.  I was shocked.  I prayed.  My grandparents took me to the hospital to be with my dad.  At 3:00 PM, he left to go have the heart cath.  They started it at 3:30.  It took just under an hour. 

   My dad is doing great!  I'm glad it is all over and that there was no damage to his heart and he didn't have a heart attack.

Symlin: A New Discovery

    Many diabetics experience blood sugar highs after a meal.  It is difficult for insulin alone to lower these peaks, and blood sugar levels may remain above normal and difficult to control.  One reason for your blood sugar swings is that your body may be missing or may not have enough of a hormone called amylin.  This hormone "is secreted along with insulin by beta cells in response to eating. Amylin helps the body to regulate how quickly nutrients from food are converted into glucose and delivered into the blood, while insulin regulates how quickly the glucose is absorbed by cells. Thus insulin and amylin work together in the process of metabolism." (1)

   Symlin is an artifical form of amylin.  It was discovered by Garth Cooper, an Oxford scientist.  It has been on the market since July 2007, following its approval by the FDA.  It is an injectable medicine for adult (not approved for children) both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.  Symlin is not a replacement for insulin and should not be mixed with insulin.   Symblin may cause a loss of weight.  The user must also be careful of severe lows after eating.

   This sounds like an interesting discovery. There are people who wear a separate pump for symlin.  I think it is smart to wear two pumps, one for insulin and one for symlin.   As a Type 1 diabetic, I would do it!

(1) www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

Information on Glaciers

     A glacier is compact frozen snow.  Two characteristics are that glaciers are formed form snow and move because of their own weight.  There are three classifications of glaciers.  The first is continental glaciers or ice caps.  The largest ice caps are found in Antarctica and Greenland.  Antarctica is almost completely covered and Greenland is 85% covered.  The next classification is valley glaciers which are found on mountain ranges on every continent. The last classification is piedmont glaciers.  These glaciers form a sheet of ice at the foot of mountain ranges.

      Glaciers form when only some of the snow above the snow line melts in the summer.  Then it refreezes and another layer of snow falls on it.  Then year after year it becomes more and more compact and dense.  This process causes it to change into a granular ice called nv.

      Glaciers move because of gravity.  Sometimes they move on a thin layer of water.  Valley glaciers move faster then continental glaciers

      Water from the glacier goes penetrates the gaps in the rocks.  The water freezes and expands; the rock breaks off, and becomes part of the glacier.  This is called plucking or quarrying.  There are two ways the rock is used.  The first is abrasion, is where the rock acts as a piece of sandpaper.  The second is called bulldozing where the glacier is pushing everything in its way.

      All sediment of glacier erosion is called drift.  The four different types are till, drumlins, glacial erratic, and stratified drift.  As the glacier moves and or melts, it leaves behind rock and rock flour that had become a part of it.

      When a glacier reaches the ocean, it melts and sediment goes to the ocean floor.

     The geology of Antarctica can be found on the internet, at the library, and in encyclopedias.      

Mississippi First Aid Kit Items

What I would put in a Mississippi first Aid Kit

• First Aid Book
• Bandages
• CPR barrier shield
• Insect repellant
• Gauze
• Ace bandage
• Disinfectant
• Sunscreen
• Aloe Vera
• Neosporin
• Lotion for poison ivy/oak
• Latex gloves
• Water
• Salt
• Snake bite kit
• Ibuprofen
• Aspirin
• Benadryl
• Splint
• Light
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Large cloth for slings
• Tarp
• Alcohol wipes
• Safety pins
• Athlete's foot powder

Antarctic First Aid Kit Items

What I would put in an Antarctic First Aid kit

• First aid book
• Scissors
• CPR barrier shield
• Splinter picker forceps
• Antibiotic ointment
• Antiseptic towelettes
• Tincture of Benzoin
• Butterfly closure strips
• Moleskin (blisters)
• Latex gloves
• Infectious control bag
• Antimicrobial hand wipes
• Sterile dressings
• Adhesive tape
• Bandages
• Cotton tip applicators
• Extra-Strength Tylenol
• Antihistamine
• Motrin
• Anti-diarrhea medicine
• Safety Pins
• Splint
• Aloe Vera
• Sunscreen
• Duct Tape
• Salt / hydration fluids
• Powder for rashes
• Athlete's foot powder
• Waterproof matches
• Thermometer
• Scalpel
• Dental filling kit

Arctic Melt

Our Brain

   What is the most complex computer?  Is it a Dell?  Is it an Apple?  No it's your brain!  It's weight is less than 3 pounds. It has 12 billion neurons.  It has 50 billion supporting glial cells. It controls body functions.  Your brain gives you the ability to think, remember, and imagine. 

   Your brain is divided in half by the longitudinal fissure.  The left hemisphere controls language, math, logic and the right side of your body.  The right hemisphere controls spatial abilities face recognition, visual imagery, music, and the left side of your body.

   Your brain is also divided into four lobes: the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, the frontal lobe, and the temporal lobe.

   The parietal lobe plays important roles in forming sensory information from different senses.  The frontal lobe controls conscious thought; if there is damage it can result in mood changes. It also deals with planning, organizing, and problem solving.  It controls your personality, behavior, and emotions.  The occipital lobe controls sense of sight.

 The temporal lobe controls senses of smell and sound, as well as sorting new information.  It deals with our short term memory. 

     Learning about the brain is important because it can help doctors diagnose a problem in the brain.

Phone Interview With Doug Stoup

     On Tuesday, December 18, 2007 my brother, Matt, and I talked to Doug Stoup.  Doug is an explorer who is guiding two other men through Antarctica to the South Pole.  They are walking and skiing the same route that Ernest Shackleton had planned in 1916.  Shackleton was never able to take this route because his ship, The Endurance, was crushed by ice.  We were sitting on stools in our kitchen with a speaker phone between us.

     To prepare for the call, I listened to his pod casts each day that he had posted, watched a four- part A & E movie about one of Shackleton's trips to the South Pole.  I also researched about the climate conditions.  Then I prioritized my prepared questions that I wanted to ask him because his battery might run low down.

     Before the call I was nervous.  It took four tries to connect to Doug because he was late getting to the waypoint.  We had a good connection. It was easy to talk to him.  He was using solar energy to recharge his Ipod and cell phone.  They measure in nautical miles and he told us that there are 16 nautical miles in a degree.  They are not using dogs to pull their sleds because dogs, or any animal that is not naturally there, are not allowed in Antarctica.  Each man is pulling approximately 240 pounds.  They had to gain a lot of weight for this trip because they will use up a lot of calories in the physical exercise and cold climate.  They must eat 8,000 calories a day!

How Space Effects Your Bones

     People lose bone mass at a normal rate for men of 1% to 2% per year, and women at 3% to 5%.  The International Space Station (ISS) crew lost 2.2% to 2.7% bone mass for every month they spent in space.  The loss of bone mass can cause fractures and other serious musculoskeletal problems.     

     The weightlessness, lack of gravity, causes this bone mass loss.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation says that at least 25 million people have bone loss and it costs them $18 billion dollars to national health programs. 

     Researchers have found a drug, zoledronate of the bisphosphonate class of medication, which decreases the amount of bone loss.  Another possible solution is a bathroom-like scale that shakes 30 cycles per second that would trick the skeleton to think it was under earth's gravity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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