Monthly Archives: November 2016
Toucan Play That Game
Can Measles Cure Cancer?
Recently, scientists have discovered a tumor cell marker that is a receptor for measles, suggesting the possibility of using measles virus to fight cancer. Tumor cell markers are proteins produced by cancer cells or other cells in the body in … Keep Reading
Is “Vape Nation” At Risk?
E-cigarettes were originally made as a safer alternative for those addicted to cigarettes, but could this “safer” alternative really be just as deadly? The rise of e-cigarette smoking has surpassed the amount of traditional cigarettes smoked. The teen world seems … Keep Reading
The Effect of PEDs on the Human Body
PEDs stands for performance-enhancing drugs. Performance-enhancing drugs improve the physical performance of the user by increasing the male hormone, testosterone. Performance-enhancing drugs have been outlawed in most sports, because they offer athletes an unfair edge over opponents, and is not … Keep Reading
Lungs from Stem Cells
Scientists at the University of Michigan have been able to develop very small lungs made from stem cells, but before recently they have not been able to have them work in an organism. Recently, they discovered a way to have … Keep Reading
From Poison to Life Saving
Snakes have been stereotyped as being extremely dangerous to humans due to their poisonous venom. Although this is true, it is now coming to scientists attention that people suffering from cancer should be praising snakes venom and the protein, contortrostatin, … Keep Reading
Got Milk?
More recently evolutionary biology has revealed something interesting about lactose digestion (or lack thereof) that shows some populations have a gene which enables them to continue to digest lactose products into adulthood. As babies, humans are both with sufficient ability … Keep Reading
Monkey to Man
In the beginning of time, there was not a single human on Earth; there was only single-celled organisms that were filled with the potential to become something extraordinary. Single-celled organisms spontaneously evolved from the inorganic matter found on Earth after … Keep Reading
Why Are Mosquitoes Annoying? They Get Under Your Skin.
Mosquitoes (Culicidae) are those bugs that swarm around sucking blood from different types of animals. They create many different problems, such as transferring diseases from one host to another. Some species of mosquitoes even carry other parasites and passes the … Keep Reading
The GMO Food Controversy
Image from Wikimedia Commons Do you really know what you’re eating? GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food in the United States. GMO foods are genetically modified organisms, or foods that have had new genes from … Keep Reading
Do Cell Phones Have a Permanent Effect on Teenagers’ Brains?
As teenagers, we are known to be “addicted” to our phones. This is one phrase that makes adolescents furious, but little do we know that there are damaging effects on our brain from the cell phones. According to Common Sense … Keep Reading
Cancer Isn’t “Just Cancer”
Cancer is not a single disease. It’s hundreds of diseases. Although there are many common themes in cancer, such as loss of responsiveness to growth signals with a resultant ability to grow unchecked. Other common capabilities of cancer cells include … Keep Reading
Stem Cells in a Blanket
Image from Wikimedia Commons Around the world nearly 22 transplant patients die each day waiting for an organ. The fact that there is a worldwide shortage of organs has prompted scientists to seek other ways of finding organs for transplantation. … Keep Reading
An Iceless Arctic Is in the Near Future
The Arctic, the polar region found in the northmost part of the Earth, is well known for its beautiful icebergs that carry on for miles, the brisk, cool air, and its community of different species ranging from seals (Phoca groenlandica) … Keep Reading
Something “Fishy” is Happening to American River Ecosystems
American Rivers contain a wide variety of plants and animals that work together to create a sustainable environment. The plants grow, the animals eat the plants, those animals then get eaten by others, and so on. But, sometimes factors can … Keep Reading
Snake Evolution
Image from Wikimedia Commons In the past, science was incapable of comprehending even the most basic functions of evolution beyond the term itself. Today however, scientists around the world are utilizing these major advances in order to better understand how … Keep Reading