The Veg-FruitWed, 01/16/2013 - 9:39pm by nfocha Tags:
Week 1
My diet is the sun and moon; when I eat well (about 95% of the time), I
am a bit health-crazy. However, if I decide to take a leisurely retreat
from my healthy habits, I enjoy my break thoroughly. My diet most
days can be termed a vegetarian diet. A loose definition of
vegetarianism is a diet that excludes meat, fish, and poultry.
Therefore, meals can be expected to consist of vegetables, fruits, nuts,
grains, etc. Of course, this is excluding that 5% of the time when I
ache for a steak. Anyway, the main reason I became a vegetarian was
that I wanted to be just like Tina Turner, also a vegetarian. No, just
joking. Actually it was a decision made during my years at community
college. A boy handed me a flyer with a website on it that, out of sheer
curiosity, I looked up.
Tina Turner singing "Simply the Best"
For twenty minutes I watched blood drain from animals while they
were still alive and I saw animals beaten, kicked, cursed, and tortured.
After that, it did not really matter whether it was a gimmick or not; I
just could not go back to meat. I later learned that 18% of the world’s
pollution was due to animal production and that the overconsumption
of meat in American was leading to our population’s increase of
obesity, cancer, and heart attacks (Bittman). Although I believe that
vegetarianism was a wonderful decision for me, it did require me to
find new edible favorites. One of these discoveries was olives, which
do not just have interesting origins, but delicious and amazingly
healthy benefits.
Olives are fruits of the Olea europea tree (a remarkable tree that
typically lives for hundreds of years). As just-picked olives are too
bitter to eat, curing methods depending on the olive variety, region
cultivated, and desired taste, texture, and color are used to reduce
their intrinsic bitterness before they are consumed. Contrary to belief,
olive color does not always correlate to olive maturity. Some olives
start green and remain green or
end up black, while others start black and remain so or turn green. For
instance, the California Mission Olive, which is the olive that is
particularly unique in the United States, are typically picked green and
un-ripened, lye-cured, and exposed to air to trigger the oxidation and
conversion to a black outer coat (Slevkoff). In addition to the olive’s
scrumptious taste, they are known to promote numerous health-
protection nutrients. Most recognized are the olive’s considerable
antioxidant and anti-flammatory properties. On another note, diets
containing olives also decrease the risk of osteoporosis in estrogen
lacking individuals; a health benefit discovered by French researchers
testing the effects of olive rich diets on ovary-less rats (Olives).
As olives are a delectable treat and remarkable source of antioxidant
and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients that have the potential to protect
from diseases in the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous,
musculoskeletal, immune, inflammatory, and digestive systems, I think
we all have a perfect excuse to eat these black and green treats daily.
Bibliography
Shifko, Robert. “Nutritional Benefits of Black Olives”. LIVESTRONG.COM
The Limitless Potential of You. 17 October 2010. eHow Health. 16
January 2013. < http://www.livestrong.com/article/281836-nutritional-
benefits-of-black-o....
“California Mission Olive”. Slow Food USA Supporting Good, Clean, and
Fair Food. Mission Olive Preservation, Restoration and Education
Project (MOPREP). 16 January 2013.
< http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/
califor....
Slevkoff, Jack. “How I Cure: Olives – Using a solution of water and
lye”. GemWorld. 16 January 2013. < http://www.cureolives.com>.
“Vegetarianism in a Nutshell”. The Vegetarian Resource Group:
Vegetarianism in a Nutshell. The Vegetarian Resource Group. 16
January 2013. < http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm#what>.
“Olives”. The World’s Healthiest Foods. The George Mateljan
Foundation. 16 January 2013.
< http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?
tname=foodspice&dbid=46>.
Fried Cats and Human DogsTue, 01/22/2013 - 4:12pm by nfocha Tags:
Week 2
I did not have a furry friend to cuddle up with during my years living at
home; however, it was not for the usual reason that parents provide
their children. My mum, whose wacky sense of humor I inherited, told
me that in Vietnam, my mum’s home country, dogs are eaten and not
kept as pets. I don’t really remember, but I believe I was shocked. I
can say that I had a vivid image of my mum serving up my would-be-
cat on a platter, so I withdrew my plea for a black, fat, and selfish
feline. Of course, soon after I realized that my mum would not actually
fry a mammal in her frying pan; however, by then I was used to the
“no pets” rule in our house. Even though I had a happy pet-less
childhood, I improvised as much as I could with spiders, rolly-pollies,
furry orange catapillers, and a very large mouse which kept me fairly
busy. For fun, I would like to ask you what would be your ideal pet.
Mine would be the gluttonous and loyal Garfield as he always makes
me laugh.
Garfield's Snack Attack
In any case, the artwork that interested me most was the Hox Zodiac
project created by our professor Victoria Vesna and Siddharth
Ramakrishnan, who is a Neurosience and Integrated Applied Science
researcher at Columbia University. This project especially interested
me because even though, as a senior at UCLA, most of my schooling
has been focused on the sciences, I have always been awed by the
beauty, individuality, and variety of art. The Hox Zodiac project
combines the fascinating medical potential of the Hox gene with the
mysterious Zodiac system developed to help maintain health and
balance. Discussing about this project in class reminded me of the
Vietnamese Zodiac, called Tu Vi, based on the Eastern Zodiac system.
Basically, each year in the zodiac system is represented by a yearly
animal sign and its personality attributes (there are twelve animals).
Slight differences in the animal representations set Tu Vi apart from
the Chinese Zodiac (i.e. the ox and rabbit are replaced by the buffalo
and cat). Instead of repeating only every twelve years, however, the
five earthly signs (Wood, Fire, Metal, Water, and Earth) are combined
with the twelve animals to create a cycle of 60 years. To look up your
own horoscope, please go to this
website: http://www.viethoroscope.com/. I, myself, was born in 1994
and therefore I am a wood dog and should be loyal, dependable,
unselfish, intelligent, open-minded, stubborn, lazy, and cynical. I very
much hope that I am not lazy or cynical, but the others sound better
than I expected. Anyway, I close with a link to a trailer of a very cute
Japanese manga series that I used to watch that builds its storyline
around the legend of the zodiac. I hope you have fun watching it and if
you would like to watch the full series, there is always Hulu!
Japanese Manga (Fruits Basket) link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Qtyj2o5CNyY.
Bibliography
Cohen, Barbara; Ngoc, Huu. “The Vietnamese Zodiac”. ThingsAsian:
Experience Asia Through the Eyes of Travelers. 1 March 1998. Global
Directions, Inc. 22 January 2013. < http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-
photos/1198>.
“Fruits Basket”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 22 January 2013.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 January 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruits_Basket>.
“People: Lab Member Profile: Siddharth Ramakrishnan”. Bioelectronic
Systems Lab. 22 January 2013.
<http://www.bioee.ee.columbia.edu/~siddhur/>.
Ramakrishnan, Siddarth; Vesna, Victoria; Yoldas, Pinar. Hox Zodiac. 22
January 2013. UCLA Art/Sci Center.
<http://artsci.ucla.edu/hox/#body>.
“VietHoroscope: Your #1 source for Vietnamese horoscopes and
zodiac signs”. VIET horoscope. 22 January 2013.
<http://www.viethoroscope.com/>.
Bloody Bats…Fake DNA?Thu, 01/31/2013 - 3:27pm by nfocha Tags:
Week 3
Last Thursday’s class, Romie Littrel conducted a fun and enlightening
workshop that utilized polymerase chain reaction or PCR to find those
in the class who have the gene that encodes for bitter taste
perception. I have always been curious about PCR because, even
though I learned about it theoretically from my community college in
biology and organic chemistry, my lab experience in replicating DNA
was by using bacteria (i.e. the “old way”). PCR is quite fascinating in
that it speeds up what usually takes days, in to just about two hours.
In those two hours, the PCR enables researchers to produce millions of
copies of a specific DNA sequence through cycles that consist of
heated denaturation, annealing left and right primers, and Taq
polymerase (a thermostable DNA polymerase enzyme that synthesizes
DNA molecules from its nucleotide building blocks) synthesizing new
DNA. Using PCR in class brought to mind an application of PCR that,
being a murder-mystery fanatic when I am not pounding away at my
textbooks, I encountered in the past: fabricating DNA evidence. In
2009, Israeli scientists developed a means of fabricating blood and
saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of
the blood and saliva. In addition, they even found the method of using
a DNA database profile to construct a sample of DNA to match without
obtaining any tissue from the profiled person.
New use for pig's blood...planting evidence.
There are two methods to obtain fabricated DNA. The first method is
the most simplistic and requires a real, if small, sample of DNA which
can be then amplified into a large quantity of DNA using whole genome
amplification. The concept of whole genome amplification, also known
as WGA, arose as PCR was adapted to replicated regions of genomes
that are of biological interest. WGA is the process where genomic DNA
is copied multiple times over to produce larger amounts DNA; basically
an akin process to PCR. A sample of blood is then obtained from one
person and centrifuged to remove the white blood cells. The leftover
red blood cells (RBCs) that lack genetic material are injected with
another person’s DNA, thus giving the blood type of the first person
along with the DNA of the second. The second method requires access
to DNA profiles, usually found in law enforcement databases. These
databases contain libraries of genomes from which the scientists can
clone tiny DNA snippets represntng the common variants at 13 spots in
a person’s genome. To prepare a DNA sample matching any chosen
profile, researchers mix the proper DNA snippets together (they
believe that about 425 different DNA snippets would be enough to put
together every conceivable profile). All in all, even though fabricated
DNA has the potential to lead to faux evidence and is a potential
invasion of personal privacy to others, it is an extraordinary use of PCR
and makes for a very twisted plot in a thriller.
Bibliography
1) http://molecular.roche.com/About/pcr/Pages/ApplicationsofPCR.aspx
2) http://www.lgcgenomics.com/whole-genome-amplification
3) http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-08/scientists-prove-dna-
evidence-can-be-fabricated
Love Is In the NeurochemicalsTue, 02/19/2013 - 1:26pm by nfocha Tags:
Week 6
The lovely workshop last Thursday on Valentines’ Day with Christina
centered on aphrodisiacs and the controversial disembodied cuisine
and cultured meat. Aphrodisiacs are substances (in this case foods)
that increase sexual desire. The term “aphrodisiac” originates from
the greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. There have been
many foods and drinks alleged to help Aphrodite accomplish her claim
to creating love and sexuality. However, these allegations may just
have a placebo effect, i.e. they create love and sexual feelings because
those who eat them believe that they will, or there may be actual
sound science. Researching some foods that have claims to being
aphrodisiacs, I found several that may actually promote attraction. For
instance, watermelon is rumored to act similar to Viagra but not in the
sense that it directly boosts libido or treat erectile dysfunction, but
because it relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow increasing
chances of romantic feelings. Other examples of these kinds of foods
are oysters (which are said to increase testosterone) and chocolate
(which increases release of tiny molecules called neurotransmitters in
the brain like serotonin). As you can see, most of these foods do not
directly promote attraction between individuals but increase chemicals
in the brain (neurochemicals), block receptors (molecules on the
surfaces of cells that receive neurochemicals or signals).
A chocolate love.
Learning about these foods abilities to play with molecules in our
bodies reminded me of studies done on prairie voles, a small vole
found in central North America that looks a bit like a mouse but the
size of a rabbit, and the monogamous love that they and only about
5% of mammals experience. Scientists studying these cute creatures
found that oxytocin in female voles promote the mother and child
bound during their pregnancy; the curious thing is that oxytocin (a
hormone that acts as a modulator in the brain) also creates the pair
bond between voles after mating for twenty-four hours.
Just had to share this picture...
Since male voles cannot undergo pregnancy, vasopressin (a hormone
found in most mammals) receptors were significantly higher in male
voles’ lateral septum to create the same parent-child bound and
vasopressin release in the hypothalamus causes pair-bonding,
monogamy, displays of jealousy, and preference for one partner. All in
all, food may be the cause of our happiness, but neurochemicals are
the reasons we love and attract.
Sources:
1) http://www.sciencemag.org/content/322/5903/900.full
2) http://science.howstuffworks.com/aphrodisiac3.htm
3) http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/sexual-and-
reproducti...
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodisiac
5) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/health/18real.html?_r=0
6) http://www.dnalc.org/view/2376-Love-Pair-Bonding-and-Prairie-
Voles.html
Event - Female Competition and Dispersal Patterns in Chimpanzees SeminarSat, 03/23/2013 - 1:54am by nfocha Tags:
Week 10
I attended the Female Competition and Dispersal Patterns in
Chimpanzees seminar on Monday, February 25th where Anne Pussy, a
professor Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University presented her
research on mother-infant relationships and effects of maternal
conditions on behavior of young chimps. Most interesting in her
lecture was that mothers on a high fiber diet lose about 10% of their
body weight and show a significantly higher rejection factor to their
offspring than do mother’s on a lower fiber diet (and therefore, I
suppose a higher weight). To compensate for this mother aversion,
progeny will increase their attempts at contact. Further trials have
revealed that the lower the mother’s weight, the more rejecting she
would be.
A mother chimp and her child...
Other important findings of Professor Pussy’s research was that infants
are not passive recipients of maternal care decisions and that infants
have adapted to respond to variations in maternal behavior. I have
usually found studies of chimps interesting because of their highly
intelligent behavior compared to rats or mice that I usually use in my
lab studies. I am happy to say that I found the correlation between
weight and rejection of mother’s to be astounding, as I would have
thought that the lower the female’s weight, the healthier she would be
and the more she would be willing to take care of her progeny. Also
the discovery that young chimps adjust their behavior depending on
their mother’s reactions and behaviors is very human-like and an
impressive find.
Event - LASER (March 7th)Sat, 03/23/2013 - 1:30am by nfocha Tags:
Week 10
To the left, Marepe's amplifying head and to the right is Tschape's
Transmogrification of the Woman.
On March 7th, 2013, I went to the Leonardo Art Science Evening
Rendezvous (LASER) event and listened to several of the most
inventive and exciting artists, authors, researchers, and so on. Some
of these people include Madeline Schwartzman, Amisha Gadani, Seri
Robinson, Blanka Buic, Allison Carruth, and more. One of the projects
that captured my interest was Madeline Schwartzman’s, an artist and
author, book called “See Yourself Sesing: Redefining Human
Perception.” Schwartzman’s book explores the relationship between
design, the body, technology, and the sensations over the last fifty
years. Some of these innovative ideas that she includes in her books
are seeing with your tongue and plugging your nervous system directly
in a computer. My favorite in her book is the Acoustic Head by Marepe
which is designed to amplify singing and the Transmogrification of the
Woman by Janaina Tschape.
Defensive
Procupine
Detaching-Skink-Tail Dress
Another favorite presenter of mine was Amisha Gadani, an artist, who
designed defensive dresses. One such dress was a porcupine dress
with quills that stand erect when the wearer hunches over in a
protective position. Another fascinating dress is a mimic of the skink’s
ability to detach its tail when captured by a predator. Listening to
these presentations was a wonderful opportunity and made me curious
enough to explore fields and ideas that I would never had known
about.