Once in a while everyone gets Hiccups. Everyone has there methods to get rid of them also. Hiccups are an annoying part of everyones day. Has anyone ever thought of why we receive Hiccups? Another question like why we receive Hiccups. What causes Hiccups? Maybe we will find out.
There is a diaphragm in your vocals that messes around several times per minute it, recurs. A diaphragm is a muscle in the vocal are, a muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. It is a major function of breathing which humans I'm guessing need. It is actually underneath the ribcage. If you tried to stop a Hiccup you would no there is no way of stopping it, Hiccups are uncontrollable. Usually a Hiccup goes away on it own as we know. If you didn't know there are actually two types of hiccups, one called Persistent-protracted Hiccups. Your wondering what that is? PPH is a Hiccup that last over 48 hours. One other is called Intractable Hiccups. These Hiccups happen for more then a month. that has to be annoying.
There is nothing really that causes Hiccups. In fact studies show that Hiccups has no real purpose. where does that "Hic" sound come from? the sudden rush of air into the lungs causes the epiglottis to close, creating the "Hic" sound. what is a epiglottis? It is actually a cartilage flap covered with a mucus membrane and also attached to the root of the tongue. A reflection action is really what a hiccup is, a reflex arc actually. A lot of people try to get rid of Hiccups many of ways, there is no real medical cure. the most popular I hear of is fright. Also in research i have done I have seen that fright is the most common cure. Hiccups are really nothing to worry about. From research I've read apparently drinking a great amount of water cures Hiccups most of the time.
Hiccups may occur from eating a lot, exhaustion, or even excitement. Hiccups are not really a medical condition. The most information accurate i found about Hiccups is that it is a diaphragmatic spasm causing a sudden inhalation that is interrupted by a spasmodic closure of the glottis, producing a noise. would you like to know how to avoid Hiccups? Avoid temperature change also eating rapidly and fizzy drinks. More ways to get rid of hiccups are kind of like house tricks. some of them are; bitting a lemon, breathing into a paper bag, holding your breath, lean forward compressing your chest, ice cold water and tasting a bit of vinegar.
By Jody Conover
Monday, April 30, 2012
time travel
Have you ever wondered about time and how it works. It is crazy and confusing on how it works and people say so much about it. The first man\woman to right about time travel was H.G. Wells. Wells speculated that you could travel to the future and back to the pass. Wells might have been correct when Albert Einstein showed everyone his equation E=mc². "We have a hard time perceiving how time can bend just like other dimensions, so Einstein's predictions seem strange," said J. Richard Gott, author of the book Time Travel in Einstein's Universe and a professor of astrophysics at Princeton University
Nightmares: What triggers them and Are there treatments? By: Attallah Dejesus-Hoard
Nightmares they affect all of us ever since a young age we all have suffered from night terrors. And if you say you haven’t I know you’re lying or extremely lucky. I remember when I was younger and I use to think that once I got older the terrorizing pictures of Michael Jackson (who I feared oh so much) and visions of serial killers (due to overexposure to Friday the 13th sequels at a young age) would eventually fade away. But as I’ve come to realize they may never go away and since they seem to be here to stay why not figure out how they work and maybe even figure out how to beat them.
So lets start with the common triggers of nightmares. I used to get told not to eat to much junk food before I go to sleep or I would get a night terror but I’m pretty sure it was one of those lies told by your parents just so you wouldn’t be to hyped up to go to sleep. The same way they told you that Santa Clause was real just so you’d be good all year long for a bunch of a toy they bought themselves… but that’s a whole other topic. The point is that I’m going to differentiate fact from myth for you. So here are the triggers:
- Medicine – drugs have chemicals in them that can cause the brain to become more “active”
- Lack of sleep – sleep depravation can cause you to have nightmares this has been proven through many test by scientist since sleep is such a required part of our lives which can explain the plot behind “Nightmare on Elm Street”
- Withdrawal- Being taken off medicine proscribed by your doctor or your street pharmacist (cough cough..) can lead to your brain having weird effects if this happens you should “consult a doctor immediately”
Since we now know the triggers lets see some treatments to ending the war on night terrors. I don’t know about you I would love for the night sweats and fear of opening my closet to stop. So lets explore some of the treatments and see how affective they are.
Psychological Treatments (physical treatments with the mind)
- "Imagery Rehearsal Therapy"- This helps the person who experiences the nightmares to stop the endings from their nightmares by having them change them in their head
Psychopharmacological treatment (medical treatments)
- topiramate (Topamax),
- prazosin (Minipress),
- nefazodone (Serzone),
- trazodone (Desyrel),
* If seeking help with through this method consult a doctor*
So there you have it the reasons why you have nightmares and the medical ways to cure them. I hope this answered the question of why we get these night terrors and how they can be cured. So sweet dreams :)
What Causes Sleep Walking ?
What Causes Sleep Walking?
First off sleep walking is a sleep disorder that causes people to get up and walk around when your sleep. Weird right? Sleep walking often happens when the person is in a deep stage of sleep. The person is unable to respond during this is happening and doesn’t usually remember after it occurs. It is associated with incoherent talking. Which is when a person’s speech cannot be understood. This can come about from drinking, Delirium, Liver Failure and etc. Sleep walking occurs mostly in your childhood and can last up into adulthood.
Episodes of sleep walking can range from quiet walking about a room to a running or the person trying to escape. That’s crazy, trying to escape your protected home and going somewhere that might be dangerous and waking up not knowing where you actually are. If you do end up back in your bed, you tend to not know exactly what happened that night. Basically your eyes are open and they look glossy. You’re staring straight ahead as your roaming a room. Older children that have these symptoms usually are embarrassed when they wake up because of what they might have did while in this comatose type sleep.
Now to answer the question sleep walking is caused by …
- Genetics – it occurs more in identical twins. And, also it is a great chance of it happening if a first-degree relative has a history of it. So , it is a condition that is thought out to be inherited.
- Environmental Factors- Sleep deprivation, Chaotic sleep schedules, make sure you get enough sleep! Also from Stress, alcohol intoxication.
- Drugs can be another cause. Usually from drugs that help you relax or sleep, or drugs that treat psychosis, stimulants that increase activity and drugs that treat allergies.
Also there are medical conditions that can contribute to the causes of sleep walking..
· Abnormal heat rhythms. Which is when your heart doesn’t beat at the right beats it should.
· Fever
· Gastroesophageal reflux ( food or liquid coming back up from the stomach up into the food pipe.
· Night time asthma
· Night time seizure (convulsion)
· Obstructive sleep apnea ( a condition where you stop breathing for a brief moment)
· Psychiatric disorder
Treatments for sleepwalking is needed when is its totally bad. Medication can be given to control this problem. Such as ProSom, Klonopin, Trazodone. There is also some steps to lessen the impact of sleep walking. There is no actual way to completely stop this action but certain things can minimize one’s risk. Also there are plenty of ways to keep sleep walking safe , by keeping a safe sleeping environment, sleep on the floor, lock doors and windows, cover windows with heavy drapes, & place an alarm by the door or somewhere close by.
Why do tigers have stripes?
Why do tigers have stripes? Good question, tigers have stripes for many reasons. Tigers are descendants from the Asian continent. They have long flexible bodies that stretch to length when running, and extensive reach and grab abilities. Along with many other animals in the cat family, Stripes allow tigers to blend in with its surroundings while hunting. Although tigers are the largest in the cat family and have no enemies except man, camouflage helps. Tigers have developed these stripes millions of years ago through a process called adaption. Tigers are fast, fit, and skilled hurters so many wonder why they would need camouflage.
Tigers live in tall grassy areas with tangled undergrowth. They are one of the most feared in the jungle because of there notorious hunting tactics. Tigers can easily outrun its prey but they choose to lay waiting in the grass for the right moment to kill. Some animals are colorblind to red and green; luckily tigers are neither red nor green, but there color scheme can be hard to spot. “Most scientists believe that wild animals are color blind, or do not see vivid colors” (www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com). To many animals tigers vertical stripes would look like shadows, the stripes make its body shape unknown, making it hard to determine animal or just a figment of the imagination. Tigers can have stripes in combinations of orange, black, brown, tan and white. No tiger in the world has the same pattern of stripes, they are all different. Even though it looks as it is only fur, a tigers stripes is apart of its skin too.
Although tigers have amazing hunting skills and the ability to blend in, its life span is beginning to decrease. The number of tigers in the past century has been cut short in today’s numbers. There is almost 30% less tigers in the world today then there was 10 years ago. Tigers have gone onto the deadly list of becoming extinct, but luckily it is becoming harder to find them because they are being protected. In conclusion, tigers stripes are an addition to its vast hunting abilities, but the big question is will its stripes help it survive today?
Andre Jackson
Questioning Lymphedema!
When I was a baby, I was diagnosed with lymphedema. As I became older, I started to question myself what it is and what were the causes. I did some research and came to the conclusion that lymphedema is basically a major swelling in the body part(s). It involves the blockage of the lymph vessels with lymphatic fluids in the interstitial tissues of the body that accumulate. Lymphedema usually occurs in the arm(s) or leg(s).
There are many symptoms that can trigger lymphedema but they can be medically treated. My question is; Is there a cure for lymphedema? Research says that there is no cure for lymphedema and once it develops, it can be a long-term, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful condition requiring daily treatment.
Symptoms of lymphedema include:
- swelling of an affected limb, which may develop gradually or suddenly
- tightness of the skin and a feeling of heaviness in the affected area
- discomfort or a feeling of "pins and needles" in the affected area
- pitting edema, which can be identified by observing a temporary indentation in the swollen area when pressure is placed on the affected area
- aching in the adjacent shoulder or hip due to the increasing weight of the swelling limb
- tight fitting of a ring, wristwatch, or bracelet, without a gain in weight.
There are three stages of lymphedema:
- Stage 1 (spontaneously reversible)—tissue is still at the pitting stage and soft to the touch. Upon waking in the morning, the limbs or affected areas are of normal or almost normal size
- Stage 2 (spontaneously irreversible)—tissue is non-pitting and no longer soft to the touch, fibrosis begins to form, and the limbs increase in size
- Stage 3 (lymphostatic elephantiasis)—swelling is irreversible and the affected areas are very swollen. The skin hardens and begins to break down, fibrosis is more extensive, and patients may need surgery to remove some of the swollen tissues.
Even though there is no cure for lymphedema, there are many treatments/therapies to prevent the maximum swelling of the affected areas. Compression techniques include the use of compression garments, compression aids, and compression bandages. These techniques encourage natural drainage and prevent swelling by supporting tissues in a way that aids in drainage. Compression garments are knit, stretch sleeves or stockings. Compression aids are custom-fitted sleeves, stockings, or pads made of fabric-covered foam. Bandages are an effective and flexible means of compression. Exposure to extreme heat has the potential to increase lymphedema swelling, so an affected person or a person at risk of developing lymphedema should avoid hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms.
Exercise is important for a person with lymphedema, but only in moderation. If the extremity starts to ache, the person should lie down and elevate the swollen limb. Recommended exercises include walking, swimming, light aerobics, bike riding, and yoga.
Is a virus a living thing? There are many arguments between the scientific communities whither virus are actually a living thing. First of what is a living thing? I’m sure we all remember C.D. G.O. H.A.R.D.E.R which is the main 10 characteristics of all living thing. But let’s break this down are their some grey areas? Viruses do reproduce and now they have beaten the argument that there are too little. Scientist has just discovered something called a “Mega virus”. The genome of Megavirus chilensis is 6.5 percent bigger than the regular Dna Bactria 
Tail regeneration
How does the regeneration of lizard a lizard tail work?
It is fasinating how a animal like a lizard could get its tail cut of but in a couple of hours it just grows back. That is called tail regeneration."The Australian gecko lizard Christinus marmoratus can shed its tail voluntarily (tail autotomy) and regenerate a new complex tail consisting of skin, muscle, fat, cartilage, and neural tissues".(www.fasebj.org/content/17/3/479.full) It is a fact that the lymphatics of the lizard is a gland. There is the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) it is just like a molecule that exist inside the gecko.
After testing and working with the salamander we can tell that it would take up to 18 weeks for a full tail to grow back to its full size. Does the regeneration use any brain power to make it work or does is just happen naturally for them? "Reptiles have a protein growth factor homologous to human VEGF-C at the carboxyl terminus". There are sometimes when the regeneration process takes a little longer then it should, there appears to be a lag time before lymph angiogenesis is triggered. The "expression dramatically increased between 3 and 6 wk after autotomy, and was significantly up-regulated above levels in original tails at 9, 12, and 15 wk".
Top 5 Rawest Pictures of the Year
Purple Crab
5 .
This is a purple crab found in the Philippine Island of Palawan. It was a new crab just found this year. The crab has purple, violent, orange, and even a little bit of red. These are not found on a regular basis.
4 .
This is a picture of a underground river that was found in New York City. Called the Sunswick Creek. It exists only as a meager flow through buried sewer-like pipes.
3 .
This a tiger diving into a pool at Six Flags. The face is not from disgust or anger. Rather, it results from how these big cats scrunch up their nose to keep water out. This is a raw picture.
2.
Black Hole of Calcutta, Australia
 |
1 . Hang En Cave , Vietnam Underground Cave , It can flood 300ft when flood season arrive here . |
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Hybrids
Hunter Miller
April 2012
Hybrids
What are
hybrids? What do they do? What are they for? Hybrids are a “different” type of
species when the egg of one animal and the sperm by humans because they are not
normally able to in the wild of another such as a “male tiger” and a “female
lion” make a “Liger” which has characteristics of both animals. Ligers enjoy
swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like
lions. Ligers exist only in captivity because the habitats of the parental
species do not overlap in the wild. Hybrids are very rare in nature and are
most of the time only made by humans intervening with the animals and sex
cells.
Other animals that are hybrids are Mules. They
are a combination of a horse and donkey and are used for working on farms and
doing work that donkeys cant do because they are to small and not strong enough.
Other animas include hybrid striped bass a.k.a. wipers or “white rock bass” and
tiger trout which are brown and brook. What is unique about tiger trout is that
they have an extra setoff chromosomes which gives them a survival rate that
rises from 5% to 85% survival rate There
is a downside to hybrids even though they are a new species, they can’t
reproduce. The definition of hybrid is: the
offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or
genera, especially as produced through human change for specific genetic.
Even though they can’t reproduce,
they have some purposes or cool things about them. Mules are used for work; ligers
aren’t used for anything in particular but are the largest cat in the world. Charles
Darwin began the hybrid revolution by proposing that species of plants and
animals will change over time. The changes or mutations that helped a species
survive were the traits in a species that were then more likely to be passed on
to the next generation such as color, blood type, and characteristics.
Some hybrids are not even living!
Most people know the “Toyota Prius” this is a hybrid. It is combined with
electric and gasoline motor making it a hybrid car. The uses of a hybrid car
are to improve gas mileage, reduce pollution, and give people a cheap type of
transportation that will take a “dent” out of their wallet which will help the
economy and gas prices and will help out everyone and is the cheaper solution
of the future. Even though they are a great help to the economy and peoples
wallets they are not the solution to all the problems and hybrids can help but
aren’t the perfect cure
Even though almost all hybrids are
made in nature, that doesn’t mean all of them are made by humans. It is a rare occasion
in the wild, with the brook trout having 84 chromosomes and the brown trout 80.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Why do people get darker in the sun?
Why do people get darker in the sun? This is a question i had for years and can now answer. There is a chemical in your skin called Melanin. When you go out in the sun this chemical gets darker with the harmfull uv rays of the sun. The Melanin is located in the epidermis.
The skin is made up of three different sections The Epidermis, The Dermis, and The Subcutaneous fatty tissue. In the Epidermis there is two main chemicals Melanin Granules which is responsible for making people darker. Also in the Epidermis is the Melanocytes. In the Dermis is the oil gland, the nerve, and the sweat gland.
People with the darker skin generaly live closer to the equartor. If you live near the equator the suns naturally bad for you radiation is most intense. Melanin acts as a sheild so that the suns radiation doesnt get through. It also prevents sun burn damage. Which could cause Mutation to the skins DNA and that could cause different kinds of cancers. The harmfull radiation rays increse durnig sumer and decreases during winter.
The skin is made up of three different sections The Epidermis, The Dermis, and The Subcutaneous fatty tissue. In the Epidermis there is two main chemicals Melanin Granules which is responsible for making people darker. Also in the Epidermis is the Melanocytes. In the Dermis is the oil gland, the nerve, and the sweat gland.
People with the darker skin generaly live closer to the equartor. If you live near the equator the suns naturally bad for you radiation is most intense. Melanin acts as a sheild so that the suns radiation doesnt get through. It also prevents sun burn damage. Which could cause Mutation to the skins DNA and that could cause different kinds of cancers. The harmfull radiation rays increse durnig sumer and decreases during winter.
The Science Behind the Slapshot
Many aspects of the game have to deal with science, but in particular shooting the puck. Whether it is a snap shot, also called a wrist shot or a slap shot they both deal with the nature of science. The hockey puck is the fastest object in the sports nation, because of the amount of force that is put into every shot. If the puck is hit at the right spot and has enough force behind it, the puck can go up to 100mph or more. But it also depends on how strong the player is and the amount of power the player puts into their shot. A slap shot that goes a 100mph or more requires technique, stature, and power that is transferred from the player to the puck. The weight transfer comes from the back of the skaters legs, travels through to the stick in the players hands. As the game has developed over the years, so have the sticks, from wooden to fiber glass. With wooden sticks it was hard to get a hard shot off without your stick breaking, but with the new light weight fiber glass sticks that weigh little to nothing makes it a lot easier to get a hard shot off.
For example Boston Bruins defensemen Zdeno Chara, a 6’9, 255 pounder has won the hardest shot competition numerous times with shots going 105.4, 105.9, and this season’s new record of 108.9mph. When Chara took that 108.9mph shot his stick did break. If a shot that hard struck a person it could easily break or shatter bones or can result in death. The speed of the puck happens when the player strikes his stick violently on the ice right behind the puck, and uses his weight to bend the stick and energy is stored. Then the kinetic energy of the puck after impact is equal to the amount of energy that was stored in the stick. An advantage of the energy storing in the stick is that it strikes the puck faster than the player can which causes the puck to go faster.
So without science, really no sports could be played because every sport has science in it. There are so many aspects in hockey that have to deal with hockey like, skating, the puck, the stick, and goaltending. There’s a lot of things that have to go into these things to, power, technique, stature, balance. So the next time you grab a stick and wonder what goes into getting that hard, fast shot it all comes from the amount of force you put into it.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Drugs and Addiction
By: Anay Estrada
Have you ever wondered why drugs are so addictive? Why people are so caught up with taking heroine, cocaine, and other illegal substances? Take Whitney Houston for example, why didn’t she just stop taking drugs? Why didn’t she quit? Why? Many people believe that anyone can easily quit the substance they are on, but it’s not that easy.
Scientists believe that some drugs increase the level of the chemical dopamine after each usage. What is dopamine? Dopamine is the pleasurable feeling you get after having sex, jaja, it’s also that “high” feeling you get while taking such substances. Some drugs induce the level of dopamine making you crave more amount of the drug after each use. (!)
Scientists believe that some drugs increase the level of the chemical dopamine after each usage. What is dopamine? Dopamine is the pleasurable feeling you get after having sex, jaja, it’s also that “high” feeling you get while taking such substances. Some drugs induce the level of dopamine making you crave more amount of the drug after each use. (!)
Ahhhh, so basically it’s like taking a free fall at Seaside Heights
Source: http://ehsbioblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/yawn.html
Why is Cauliflower white?
As a child i use to think that cauliflower was the most nasty's vegetable but it is actually better for you if you eat cauliflower instead of broccoli. Broccoli and cauliflower are in the same vegetable family, they are actually the same vegetables but two different colors. Scientist say that cauliflower is one of the cruciferous vegetable. Also, they say the lack of exposure to sunlight does not allow chlorophyll to develop. Which means that's the cauliflower is more likely to stay one color due to the lack of sunlight.The color is not produced so the white color remains the same. Cauliflower is also a good source of vitamin C.
Cauliflower and broccoli are both in the cabbage family. They might be appear to look the same, but they have different amount of nutrients and they have different calorie contents. Both cauliflower and broccoli are high-fiber, low-calorie vegetables, but cauliflower has a slightly lower energy density. Cauliflower and broccoli have different amount of spectrum of minerals.The both are high in sulfur containing called glucosinolates. It also give a people a less chance of having cancer.
You can look up information on these sites: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/
Why Do Chameleons Change Color?
Have you ever just thought about how several animals change colors? This seems to be the topic of the science world today, “Why do chameleons change color”. Many scientists think they change colors because of the environment, but actually chameleons have a process in chromatophores (cells that give skin's color) two types of pigments: one black (melanin) and another one, of various colors. In my opinion, chameleons change colors because they’re afraid of something coming to get them like prey, so they camouflage they’re skin. The article also stated the chameleons make their body still and wag really slow to make the delusion that they’re just a twig or leaf just blowing in the wind. In fact when a chameleon is attacked by a predator it’s color turns a reddish brown with yellow stripes. Color also signals changes in light and temperature in the environment. In the morning, after a fresh night, the chameleons will warm in the sun, flattening their flanks, which turn black.
Source ‘’ http://news.softpedia.com/news/Why-Do-Chameleons-Change-Color-47360.shtml
How do you hear sound?
Ears, you probably thought that they weren’t as important as they really are. Ears are in the top ten most important organs in your body. Without them u wouldn’t be able to hear and that would be a problem. Imagine crossing a street without hearing anything? You probably would get hit by a car. How do u hear sound? Hearing sound is a very complicated process. Other processes such as smell and taste are chemical reacted processes but hearing is a mechanical reaction. Your sense of hearing is mainly based on physical movement.
We also hear different sounds from different vibrating objects because of the variations in their sound frequency. A higher frequency surely means that the fluctuation in air pressure switches back and forth more quickly. When the vibration switches back and forth faster the sound tends to be higher pitch, when the vibration switches back and forth slower the sound tends to be much lower. Air pressure plays a big role in this process. The level in air pressure when it fluctuates is called amplitude which determines how loud the sound is.
But another important process on how you hear is how your ear catches the sound waves. The outer part of your ear called the pinna catches the waves. Have you ever wondered why your hears have so many ridges and grooves in them? Well when the sound wave hits your ear it goes into those ridges helping you pinpoint the direction where the sound came from. But the brain always has a big role in everything in your body. When the ear catches the wave it translates the sound into something you can understand.
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