My Science School

Your heart beats over 100,000 times in one day. If you take an average of 80 beats per minute, your heart beats about 4,800 times per hour. That's 115,200 times per day, and 42 million times a year! In an average lifetime, your heart will beat more than 3 billion times!

High blood pressure (a reading greater than 120/80) is quite common, affecting more than 30% of the US population! Untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart attack or stroke.  While there are certain factors that increase high blood pressure, such as smoking and a poor diet, there are plenty of things that you can do to normalize your blood pressure as well, such as reducing stress, eating better and working out.

Since we know that stress is a major factor leading to multiple heart conditions and issues, one major step that you can take to improve your heart's condition in the long-term is to reduce stress in your life.

Unfortunately, there are stressful aspects of our lives that we cannot eliminate entirely, such as traffic on your commute home.  Instead, we can alter our reactions to those stressors, helping to normalize our blood pressure over time.

In addition to the lifestyle changes and possible medications suggested by your physician, you may want to consider adding medical hypnosis into your health journey.

Credit : PR News Wire

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The raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is actually a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). Unlike many other fruits, once picked, unripe raspberries do not ripen. There are over 200 varieties of raspberries; most are red, but you'll also find purple and yellow ones. Russia is the world's leading producer of raspberries, supplying 21% of the world total.

Members of Rosaceae are generally woody plants, mostly shrubs or small to medium-size trees, some of which are armed with thorns, spines, or prickles to discourage herbivores. The genus Rubus (e.g., blackberries and raspberries) chiefly contains arching shrubs or scramblers of irregular, often tangled appearance. Herbaceous perennials are found in several genera, most notably strawberries (Fragaria), cinquefoil (Potentilla), avens (Geum), and goatsbeard (Aruncus). Most species in the family have alternate leaves, and small leaflike structures called stipules are routinely present at the base of the leaf stalks.

The bisexual flowers vary from small to large and range from white to various shades of yellow, pink, orange, lavender, or red. Typically flat or shallowly cup-shaped, the flowers are radially symmetric and feature flower parts in multiples of five or four. The sepals and petals are almost always free from each other, and many species bear a characteristic hypanthium, or floral cup, from whose rim the sepals, petals, and stamens arise. The hypanthium is often lined with nectar-producing tissue. Most species are insect pollinated and produce a variety of fruit. In fact, the family is divided into four subfamilies based primarily on fruits: Spiraeoideae (Spirea subfamily), with follicles (dry fruits that open on one side); Rosoideae (rose subfamily), with achenes (dry fruits that do not open) or, in Rubus, drupelets (small drupes [fleshy stone fruits]); Amygdaloideae (plum subfamily), with drupes; and Maloideae (apple subfamily), with pomes (fruits in which the hypanthium becomes fleshy).

Credit : Britannica 

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The eyes of the Arctic reindeer change colour with the seasons, from golden in the summer to a deep blue in winter. The part that changes colour is the tapetum lucidum - a mirrored layer behind the retina. The interminable Arctic winter forces

the reindeers' pupils to dilate for months to allow more light in; pressure in the eye increases, preventing fluid from draining naturally. This compresses the tapetum's collagen fibres, which in turn makes it reflect shorter wavelengths, notably the blue light common in Arctic winters. In summer, with the usual gaps between the fibres, the tapetum reflects yellow wavelengths. The technique allows the reindeer to make the most of changing light levels in their extreme habitat.

In dark conditions, muscles in your irises contract to dilate your pupils and allow more light into your eyes. When it’s bright again, the irises widen and the pupils shrink. The same thing happens in reindeer, but the interminable Arctic winter forces their pupils dilate for months rather than hours. Over time, this constant effort blocks the small vessels that drain fluid out of the eyes. Pressure builds up inside the eyeballs, and they start to swell. “The animal’s moving towards glaucoma,” says Jeffery.

These events also change the tapetum. This layer is mostly made up a collagen, a protein whose long fibres are arranged in orderly rows. As the pressure inside the eye builds up, the fluid between the collagen fibres gets squeezed out, and they become more tightly packed. The spacing of these fibres affects the type of light they reflect. With the usual gaps between them, they reflect yellow wavelengths. When squeezed together, they reflect… blue wavelengths.

Credit : National Geographic Society 

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October 6, 2021, marks a historic day in humanity's fight against malaria, as the WHO approved the rollout of the malaria vaccine. RTS,S/AS01 also known as Mosquirix among children living in sub-Saharan Africa and other at-risk regions. Though the vaccine protects against only 30% of infections, its rollout is a breakthrough, because developing a vaccine against complex malaria parasite is a herculean task.

Mosquirix was developed by British drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline in collaboration with health non-profit PATH and a network of African research centres, with partial funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The vaccine is the result of 30 years of research and it targets Plasmodium falciparum, the most common parasite causing malaria in Africa. The vaccine offers no protection against the other four species such as P vivax, P ovale, P knowlesi and P malariae which are prevalent in Southeast Asia, Americas and Europe.

Countries will need to take individual decisions on whether to introduce the vaccine or not and also work out funding arrangements on their own.

The WHO recommends the use of RTS,S for the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by the global health body.

“RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden,” the WHO said.

According to its estimates, more than 260,000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually. That is why WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the approval of the vaccine as a “historic” development. 

“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control. Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year,” he said in a statement.

Credit : The Print 

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While research on gene editing has been happening for a while, the idea of performing it on humans on a large scale has been a subject of debate. The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a slew of recommendations in July 2021, on how to ensure gene editing research is used for the public good. It called on countries to stop any research that might lead to the birth of genetically edited human beings. The WHO established a committee in 2018 to develop standards for human genome editing. The committee produced a series of nine key, recommendations in its report. Among other things, it stressed the need for regulation and the creation of a database to track all forms of gene manipulation, providing a full overview, including pre-clinical research.’

The reports deliver recommendations on the governance and oversight of human genome editing in nine areas, including human genome editing registries; international research and medical travel; illegal, unregistered, unethical or unsafe research; intellectual property; and education, engagement and empowerment. The recommendations focus on systems-level improvements that WHO believes are needed to build capacity in all countries to ensure that human genome editing is used safely, effectively and ethically. In addition, the reports provide a new governance framework that identifies specific tools, institutions and scenarios to illustrate practical challenges in implementing, regulating and overseeing research into the human genome. 

Moving forward, the organization will convene a small expert committee to consider next steps for a human genome editing registry. WHO will also convene multisector stakeholders to develop an accessible mechanism for confidential reporting of concerns about possibly illegal, unregistered, unethical and unsafe human genome editing research.

Credit : AABB 

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