Sunday, March 1, 2009
Aerobic Cellular Respiration
No way would humans be able to function using just anaerobic cellular respiration. ATP molecules increase with oxygen in the Electron Transfer Cycle. Our Aerobic cellular respiration cycle (including Krebs) needs oxygen; without it we would not survive... over long periods of time we would not be able to sustain our mass functions on only 2 ATP. We use anaerobic cellular respiration all the time, such as during colder exercise processes. If you take a look at our cold-blooded friends, they are often lazy and only prone to using quick bursts of energy infrequently... a snake can use the energy from a mouse over a long period of time, while that mouse eats 10% of its own body weight in food every day.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Deforestation
Deforestation, and the lumber industry in general, is downright criminal. At least in the United States we have some semblance of rules put into place to somewhat replant when we take over land for shopping malls. My dad was a forest ranger for years and he would constantly complain about the type of trees that they use. Destroying rare and complex trees and replanting generic seedlings can cause massive problems... also, do you think the US Forest Service is immune to all the weird budget stuff lawmakers connive to make room for tax cuts?
A lot of the plants and wood we use comes from Canada. I wonder how well their government is set up in monitoring wood usage and replanting forests.
A lot of the plants and wood we use comes from Canada. I wonder how well their government is set up in monitoring wood usage and replanting forests.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thoughts on Obesity
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/
Think we have an ongoing problem with obesity? I wanted to be a nutritionist at one time (I wouldn't call myself a health freak but I exercise regularly and most people around me see that as excessive) but there's so much pseudoscience and depression in the field that I decided to look elsewhere.
I've mentioned a few times that the level of ignorance that runs through the school system can be staggering. The only health education I got as a kid was watching a health education film in high school (about seven years ago.) The only thing I remember of it was 1) it was sponsored by Hershey's 2) It advocated exercising every day 3) It told the story of a fat guy who only played tennis twice a week who had a heart attack.
...yeah, so the only thing it imprinted in my head was exercise = heart attack.
We need ongoing health education in classes, complete with real classes, food planning, and repeated hammering of information... seriously, is understanding and healthy living for the next seventy years of your life more or less important than remembering the specifics of the sum of two sides of a triangle?
I read somewhere else (but don't really trust the source seeing as how they wanted to sell me pills that only target abdominal fat reduction) that 8 out of 10 people aged 25 are currently obese. I'd say about half of all my friends are obese and from looking at most of the people around me, this is probably spot on.
Personally, I've been effected by obesity and health related problems in the family. My dad has type 2 diabetes and now has to watch everything he eats, though he does this poorly. Also, my brother was diagnosed as borderline diabetic when we were kids; thanks to my parents not paying attention, the day before a blood test he ate a ton of red licorice, and I'm pretty sure this accounted for his spike in blood sugar! They gave him gruff for years over it, even though he generally is a healthy person.
Another thing that surprises me is I land exactly in 50/50 down to the pound when it comes to weight and height... yet everyone I've ever met has called me skinny. Obviously, something is forcing weird ideas into our heads to give us skewed views of weight and normalness.
Think we have an ongoing problem with obesity? I wanted to be a nutritionist at one time (I wouldn't call myself a health freak but I exercise regularly and most people around me see that as excessive) but there's so much pseudoscience and depression in the field that I decided to look elsewhere.
I've mentioned a few times that the level of ignorance that runs through the school system can be staggering. The only health education I got as a kid was watching a health education film in high school (about seven years ago.) The only thing I remember of it was 1) it was sponsored by Hershey's 2) It advocated exercising every day 3) It told the story of a fat guy who only played tennis twice a week who had a heart attack.
...yeah, so the only thing it imprinted in my head was exercise = heart attack.
We need ongoing health education in classes, complete with real classes, food planning, and repeated hammering of information... seriously, is understanding and healthy living for the next seventy years of your life more or less important than remembering the specifics of the sum of two sides of a triangle?
I read somewhere else (but don't really trust the source seeing as how they wanted to sell me pills that only target abdominal fat reduction) that 8 out of 10 people aged 25 are currently obese. I'd say about half of all my friends are obese and from looking at most of the people around me, this is probably spot on.
Personally, I've been effected by obesity and health related problems in the family. My dad has type 2 diabetes and now has to watch everything he eats, though he does this poorly. Also, my brother was diagnosed as borderline diabetic when we were kids; thanks to my parents not paying attention, the day before a blood test he ate a ton of red licorice, and I'm pretty sure this accounted for his spike in blood sugar! They gave him gruff for years over it, even though he generally is a healthy person.
Another thing that surprises me is I land exactly in 50/50 down to the pound when it comes to weight and height... yet everyone I've ever met has called me skinny. Obviously, something is forcing weird ideas into our heads to give us skewed views of weight and normalness.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Psuedoscience!
Ahh, the internet, where crazy ideas, which should be utterly destroyed, go to live on. If you ever have a crazy idea, fetish, or addiction, there's a forum out there that will support, nay, encourage your problem.
One of my favorites are crystal machines: http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/article/278. There are a myriad of forums set up detailing how to set up quartz and amethyst "channeling stations" wherein you chant and direct your energy into fulfilling your wishes. The naysayer in me thinks some company out there is making money selling this crap. The realist in me is thinking they believe they are selling a service to generally help people.
Love the phrase, "The Atlantean Power Rod contains the very essence of ancient advanced science," in the article I just linked.
As far as science that I think is phony but haven't at all looked into (really, I swear) that would have to be Extenze and the myriad of other penis enlargement commercials that assault me oh so subtly when I'm trying to watch old episodes of the Twilight Zone on Scifi at 3am.
On one hand, a million consumers cant be wrong, right? Did you know that Kit Kats are insanely popular in Japan because the Japanese phrase "kitto katsu" roughly translates to "I hope you succeed!" http://alphamale.typepad.com/blog/2006/04/how_kitkat_beca.html There are a myriad of products in Japan that are popular because their Kanji sort of looks like Japanese phrases.
From what I remember reading, Extenze is basically an herbal supplement with a kick. It has all those weird herbs that haven't been tested, or haven't been tested well, that people swear will work and usually involves the phrase, "ancient chinese secret." Scientists are too busy to look into the chemical composition of these herbs, but you think the penis scientists would be right on that.
On the other hand, I assume that Extenze and a lot of those other products rely on chemicals that increase blood flow, such as Viagra does. That doesn't really count though... right?
Still, possibly poisoning yourself beats bee stings: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21897789-7642,00.html
One of my favorites are crystal machines: http://www.llewellynencyclopedia.com/article/278. There are a myriad of forums set up detailing how to set up quartz and amethyst "channeling stations" wherein you chant and direct your energy into fulfilling your wishes. The naysayer in me thinks some company out there is making money selling this crap. The realist in me is thinking they believe they are selling a service to generally help people.
Love the phrase, "The Atlantean Power Rod contains the very essence of ancient advanced science," in the article I just linked.
As far as science that I think is phony but haven't at all looked into (really, I swear) that would have to be Extenze and the myriad of other penis enlargement commercials that assault me oh so subtly when I'm trying to watch old episodes of the Twilight Zone on Scifi at 3am.
On one hand, a million consumers cant be wrong, right? Did you know that Kit Kats are insanely popular in Japan because the Japanese phrase "kitto katsu" roughly translates to "I hope you succeed!" http://alphamale.typepad.com/blog/2006/04/how_kitkat_beca.html There are a myriad of products in Japan that are popular because their Kanji sort of looks like Japanese phrases.
From what I remember reading, Extenze is basically an herbal supplement with a kick. It has all those weird herbs that haven't been tested, or haven't been tested well, that people swear will work and usually involves the phrase, "ancient chinese secret." Scientists are too busy to look into the chemical composition of these herbs, but you think the penis scientists would be right on that.
On the other hand, I assume that Extenze and a lot of those other products rely on chemicals that increase blood flow, such as Viagra does. That doesn't really count though... right?
Still, possibly poisoning yourself beats bee stings: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21897789-7642,00.html
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Trans Fats (week 3 continued)
Though this article is probably quite old, here's something from AICR about trans fats. The site: http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pub_ENews_20070517_bad_trans_fat
It boils down to the difference between, "boosting “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels while lowering “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels." Here's another link that breaks it down into bites of information that you can use in your daily life: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Cholesterol_explained?open
While it's more complex than you think, fats/lipids are pretty much the same as steroids, which is the same as hormones, and trans fats confuse your body really bad when it comes down to regulating cholesterol.
It boils down to the difference between, "boosting “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels while lowering “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels." Here's another link that breaks it down into bites of information that you can use in your daily life: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Cholesterol_explained?open
While it's more complex than you think, fats/lipids are pretty much the same as steroids, which is the same as hormones, and trans fats confuse your body really bad when it comes down to regulating cholesterol.
Mmmm... (week 3)
Hey everyone,
Today I'm going to take a look at my absolute favorite snack: a box of Jujubes. Half the fun is fusing your jaw closed with gummy artificial fruit flavor, as well as picking gobs of carnauba wax from your teeth for the rest of the day.
Natural Ingredients: Sugar, White mineral oil. Oh wait, mineral oil is just added petroleum byproduct. With a name like "mineral" oil you think it would be healthy.
Artificial Ingredients: Corn syrup, Modified Food Starch (Potato), Carnauba Wax, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1)
at 110x4.5 servings = 495 Calories, I've put worse things in my body. Actually, this week I really haven't. Not the most unhealthiest food (and, of course, I did not buy it to be healthy), but I dare you to find something more artificial.
Today I'm going to take a look at my absolute favorite snack: a box of Jujubes. Half the fun is fusing your jaw closed with gummy artificial fruit flavor, as well as picking gobs of carnauba wax from your teeth for the rest of the day.
Natural Ingredients: Sugar, White mineral oil. Oh wait, mineral oil is just added petroleum byproduct. With a name like "mineral" oil you think it would be healthy.
Artificial Ingredients: Corn syrup, Modified Food Starch (Potato), Carnauba Wax, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1)
at 110x4.5 servings = 495 Calories, I've put worse things in my body. Actually, this week I really haven't. Not the most unhealthiest food (and, of course, I did not buy it to be healthy), but I dare you to find something more artificial.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Am I alive?
According to our study guide, there are six characteristics of life:
1. Cells - All living things are composed of one or more cells. While it's weird to think of us as multi cellular beings, and not one unifiable "self," that odd feeling should go away after a few hours.
2. Organization - Everything from the small - cells - to the large - social and cultural themes.
3. Energy use - Metabolic use of energy.
4. Homeostasis - An internal stabilization. This includes our body temperature, heart pressure, PH, energy balance, etc. We use a certain level of energy (see above) to maintain homeostasis.
5. Growth - Cells (genetic code) divide and change. We have measurable development.
6. Reproduction - the propagation of genetic information, sexual or asexual. Some types of animals cannot reproduce, though other members of their species can.
As this is the used definition for "what is life" I think I can safely say I am alive. I'm not looking at anything outside of this definition. For example, I recently read an article in Scientific American about us being 3D holograms produced on the edge of the universe by energy waves against 2D forms. While interesting, I think it's a bit silly to ponder life for too long, knowing full well I will not come up with the perfect philosophical solution to my ideas.
1. Cells - All living things are composed of one or more cells. While it's weird to think of us as multi cellular beings, and not one unifiable "self," that odd feeling should go away after a few hours.
2. Organization - Everything from the small - cells - to the large - social and cultural themes.
3. Energy use - Metabolic use of energy.
4. Homeostasis - An internal stabilization. This includes our body temperature, heart pressure, PH, energy balance, etc. We use a certain level of energy (see above) to maintain homeostasis.
5. Growth - Cells (genetic code) divide and change. We have measurable development.
6. Reproduction - the propagation of genetic information, sexual or asexual. Some types of animals cannot reproduce, though other members of their species can.
As this is the used definition for "what is life" I think I can safely say I am alive. I'm not looking at anything outside of this definition. For example, I recently read an article in Scientific American about us being 3D holograms produced on the edge of the universe by energy waves against 2D forms. While interesting, I think it's a bit silly to ponder life for too long, knowing full well I will not come up with the perfect philosophical solution to my ideas.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Go Firs!
Hey everyone, just wanted to get my hellos out of the way. I didn't get to meet any of you this first week of school (was out of town and am now just getting caught up), but I hope to soon.
I'm 23, currently living in Foresthill (just moved back from the Roseville area), and am a major in Psychology, looking to get into UC Berkeley next fall. I've majored in everything from Digital art in San Francisco to Nutrition in Sunnyyvale. I've been going off and on to Sierra since high school but am convinced I only have a couple of semesters to go before I never have to see campus again :) I actually have an ID from Fall of '02.
A couple rules: Be friendly and think before posting. Hopefully it won't be too hard or strenous to do either!
I'm 23, currently living in Foresthill (just moved back from the Roseville area), and am a major in Psychology, looking to get into UC Berkeley next fall. I've majored in everything from Digital art in San Francisco to Nutrition in Sunnyyvale. I've been going off and on to Sierra since high school but am convinced I only have a couple of semesters to go before I never have to see campus again :) I actually have an ID from Fall of '02.
A couple rules: Be friendly and think before posting. Hopefully it won't be too hard or strenous to do either!
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