Check out Beatrice the biologist!

In the words of the owner," Beatrice the Biologist is part science blog, part comic, and part incoherent rambling: science edutainment at its finest."

Have fun :)

Check out more of her, here:

http://www.beatricebiologist.com/

Albert Einstein on clarity and understanding

One cannot help but quote the witty Albert Einstein.

PhD Vs Marriage

Lol, Jorge Cham and his wittiness ^_^   Enjoy :) 

Marriage and Ph.D.  well they seem so analogous. I guess that's why some PhD students say that they are married to their theses or they are in a relationship with their theses and its complicated ;)    

I guess, married PhD people must be having either a lot of patience or quite depleted stores of patience. Anyway let's just hope most of us get lucky and aren't too lazy ;)

Why do we shed tears when we cry?

One trait of us humans is that we cry, an emotional cry, along with shedding tears. Crying helps us to deal with the emotional and mental pain we feel. Feeling sad is understandable as sadness is an emotion that we all might feel from time to time but why do we shed this watery liquid along when we are sad?

 No other animal or mammal specifically show this behavior to convey their sadness and yet we do it very instinctively. In the 1998 science fiction movie, Soldier, Sgt Todd is a soldier trained from infancy to not show any emotions. All he knows is aggression and fighting on command. During the course of the movie, he finds real human company and kindness but due to his non-social skills as well as an unfortunate misunderstanding, he is asked to leave from their establishment. There is a scene after this when Todd is sitting alone, staring into space and then suddenly tears start flowing from his eyes. He touches them and is surprised.

Sometimes tears surprise me just like that. Okay I am sad but I guess not at the level where I would cry and yet when tears start flowing, I actually become sad. It is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then after a good cry, the world seems like a better place. I wonder what is the neuro-scientific basis for that ? why we cry? and why crying makes us feel better? why we shed tears which makes our pain apparent? and tears are like water, good that they aren't colored otherwise they would have streaked our faces. Tears are colorless but they are somehow plainly visible.

Some theory says that crying is a response towards sadness which makes others aware of our pain - consequently it helps an individual to get help and further leads to bonding. This behavior could be easily seen in the case of babies - though their crying is mostly more sound, less tears. But yes, unless babies cry- their care takers might not know that they are hungry or they need a change of diaper.

Crying can't be bad, it just makes other people around uncomfortable and my personal opinion is that is why it is discouraged. But it makes the individual feel so much better. It reminds me of a poem by Alfred Tennyson, Home they brought her warrior dead.

HOME they brought her warrior dead:

She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:

All her maidens, watching, said,

‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,

Called him worthy to be loved,

Truest friend and noblest foe;

Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,

Lightly to the warrior stepped,

Took the face-cloth from the face;

Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,

Set his child upon her knee—

Like summer tempest came her tears—

‘Sweet my child, I live for thee.’

The line to be noticed here is, 'She must weep or she will die'. The importance of weeping has been well characterized since the olden times. Life begins by crying - how can crying be bad then?

So cry, cry like a baby. Reminded me of Kasey Chamber's song of the same title. Just for the fun of it, here are the lyrics :)

Cry like a baby

Well I never lived through the great depression
somethimes I feel as though I did
And I don't have answers for every single question
But that's OK 'cos I'm just a kid

Well I've seen pictures of my mother
When she looked exactly like me
And I've seen all my friends running for cover
Running from something they can't see

And it's not easy to get handle on my life
but I have tried it time and time again

But I still cry just like a baby
And I answer back to feel a little free
And I still fly even though I'm gonna fall
But I'm too far to let it get to me

Well I'm not much like my generation
Their music only hurts my ears
And I don't hide my pain to save my reputation
It's too hard to keep up with these years

And it's not easy to a habit disappear
But I have tried it time and time again

Brain stem cell transplant

Consider this : If the kidneys stop functioning, we can go in for a kidney transplant, if the liver degenerates, there's liver tissue transplant. Corneal transplant, Pancreatic transplant, Lung transplant, Thymus transplant and so on the list goes. Now the question that one might ask is: Can we go in for brain transplant? Can we treat or control the neurodegenerative diseases by simply injecting in new brain cells?

The answer to this question is neither “yes” nor “no”, but “could be”. Yes it could be possible and presently the scientists are trying hard to change the “could be” to “yes”. The brain stem cell transplant is the newest possible strategy to treat neurodegenerative disorders wherein stem cells are transplanted into the brain that prevent the existing nerve cells from dying.

According to a recent report co-authored by several international research groups and led by Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (2010), the mechanism by which these injected brain cells prevent the existing brain from dying is by quickly establishing direct channels called gap junctions to the diseased or threatened nerve cells. These gap junctions allow molecular signals to pass back and forth between the transplanted brain cell and the host brain cell and thus prevent the latter from dying out.

So far, 400 Multiple Sclerosis patients worldwide have shown signs of recovery by this method. A landmark in this area was on Oct 20^th, 2005 when the FDA approved the first brain stem cell transplant on six Children suffering from Batten Disease, a rare genetic neurodegenerative disorder. Right now, intensive research is on to make Brain stem Cell Transplant, a safe and acceptable mode of treatment.

So far so good. 

Now looking at the other side, a report published in Nature claims that unregulated brain stem cell transplant can cause brain tumours. Also a research team of MIT, recently claimed that Brain Stem Cell Transplants are more complicated than previously thought because the adult stem cells found in the brain are pre-programmed to make only certain kinds of connections making it impossible for a brain neural cell to be transplanted to the other parts of the brain or spinal cord.

Well, the case for brain stem cell transplant may not be very strong but certainly progress is going on. We hope that one day brain stem cell transplant does become a reality and help to treat millions worldwide suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, brain damage or stroke.

Brain & Behaviour : from molecules to the mind

The human brain is an immensely fascinating yet a complex riddle. We may be further led to wonder at the ingenuity of the fact that to decipher this riddle, the only tool which can be used is itself. Only a brain can solve the puzzle of the brain. The solution to this conundrum would therefore, also give an insight into the many other unanswered questions concerning neurobiology, the most fascinating of which is the development and sustenance of behavior.

Behavior can simply be defined as the way an organism behaves or conducts itself. Among the most important ideas of the twentieth century, was the increasing acceptance that all aspects of human behaviour are functions of the brain. 

Now that we are in twenty-first century, the notion that Brain is equivalent to behaviour is still far from being accepted, let alone being understood in terms of its implications. This would bring us to two questions: Does our different brains determine our behaviour and hence learning about the brain, tell us about the behaviour? The second question would be, do changing our behaviour mean a change in our brain? or vice versa? Intriguing questions, are they not?

A major part of our behaviour comes from our learning. This learning takes place by the net accumulation of our experiences and is stored in our memory. We learn to avoid behaviours which harm us and adapt more to the behaviours which benefit us. Also, there are People who show varying degrees of self-destructive behaviour, which is interesting as there is learning here, that the so-and so behavior is bad, but still there is no change in the behavior. This can be seen clearly in the case of substance abuse patients.This is something which the science is trying to explain at the cellular and molecular level.

Synaptic Plasticity plays a very important role in this learning and memory. Synaptic plasticity refers to the change in strength of the synapse in response to either use or disuse of transmission over synaptic pathways.  It takes place at the molecular level, so this means that ultimately our behaviour could be explained on the basis of the behaviour of the molecules. Also it is known that the synaptic transmission could be increased or decreased by activity and hence we come to a very interesting phenomenon: behavioural changes which take place by changes taking place at the synapses.

Although relatively little is known about the functional roles of these phenomena, such changes in synaptic function and structure remain the leading candidates for some of the fundamental mechanisms by which experiences of any type cause the reorganization of neural circuitry and thereby modify thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Thus, it is not totally untrue to say that our behaviour is being governed by the behaviour of the molecules in our brain. Hopefully, by understanding the behaviour of these molecules we can understand the link between the brain and behaviour better.

Dogs left behind in Fukushima : stressed

The multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 caused one of the biggest nuclear disasters in the history of Japan and was second only to the Chernobyl incident of 1986: More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from within a 20-kilometer ring around the site and the possible debilitating impact on the environment is still not known. But it was also a calamity for thousands of pets left behind. The animals were, of course distressed . Now researchers claim that evidence that the Fukushima event was particularly devastating, at least for the estimated 5800 dogs registered in the area.

The researchers compared behavior patterns and levels of the stress hormone cortisol excreted in the urine of dogs rescued from the Fukushima exclusion zone with dogs abandoned in another region of Japan. It was found that the Fukushima dogs had much lower levels of agression towrads unfamiliar people, were harder to train as well as exhinited less attachment to caregivers as compared to dogs from other region according to the team reports in Scientific Reports. Stress hormone levels were also five to 10 times higher for the Fukushima dogs and persisted for much longer after their rescue.

Team member and animal behavior specialist Miho Nagasawa, of Azabu University in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, says it is unclear whether the greater stress resulted from experiencing the earthquake, a longer time before rescue, or the sudden and complete disappearance of humans.






http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/scienceshot-fukushima-dogs-were-.html

Targeting the sense of smell of mosquitoes to combat malaria

A research conducted by scientists from Vanderbilt, Northwestern & Stanford University have found a possible anti-malarial target in the sense of olfaction of the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes  (Anopheles genus) use its sense of smell to detect the host to take its blood meal from. By comparing the homology shared between the fruit fly and the mosquito for the genes responsible for olfaction sensory pathway, scientists have found them to be similar in the case of Arr1, an arrestin protein. This protein could possibly be targeted to make anti-malarial drugs.

Research paper:
William B. Walker, Elaine M. Smith Taha Jan, L.J. Zwiebel. A functional role for Anopheles gambiae Arrestin1 in olfactory signal transduction. (2008) Journal of Insect Physiology 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031.

Being a nice person : the plus and the minus

Nice guys finish last, an oft repeated statement which has been attributed to the baseball manager Leo Durocher who used it first in 1939.  Though his remark was regarding the 'nice' baseball players who didn't have the killer instinct to make their team win, this statement has been applied to many different social scenarios and most commonly to the gender attraction.

It is stated that nice guys are not preferred by women. That women might crib and cry that 'All men are bastards' but actually it is they who 'prefer' the deviant ones. Is it because bad guys tend to get ahead in life often as compared to the nice guys who make way for others? Or is it the sheer thrill of being with a rebel and wanting to tame him?

 And of course it isn't hard to understand why 'success' is attractive. Since the time of Neanderthals and probably before that as well, females chose strong partners who would provide the best for their children. This behavior is also seen in many other animals species. And in the world of humans, it is more or less the same even today- the rich and successful males who might be inconsiderate and bratty are somehow more attractive to the females than the nice, sensitive kinds. Success is an aphrodisiac and somehow the female brain has equated it with brashness. Hence the attraction.

Anyway, but what is interesting is thinking about the advantages of being a nice girl. In terms of male and female relationships, nicer females might not have specific advantages as compared to the good looking bratty females, but let us talk about the advantages nice girls have in their relationship with other females. A  group of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, and Arizona State University set about to seek precisely these answers in the wild baboons at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. After their research of almost 20 years, they came up with a whole trove of biological and genetic information.

They worked out a complex behavioral analysis of the females and found that females who scored high on the 'nice meter' were approached most often by other females, were most sociable in general, and had stable relationships. "Aloof" females, though less sociable, also had stable relationships. Not surprisingly, "loner" animals were most often left alone and their partner relationships were also less stable. These 'loners' also had strikingly higher glucocorticoid levels than did the other two groups, suggesting that stress takes a greater toll on the less socially adept.

"This is a highly innovative study," says anthropologist Sarah Hrdy of the University of California, Davis. "It uses behavioral measures that are meaningful to the baboons themselves to probe the relationship between fitness and personality style." Hrdy says the paper clarifies previous work by these and other authors showing that close social bonds—"friendships, if you want to call them that," she says—help ensure the survival of a female's offspring as well as her own longevity.

So being a good, non competitive female is good for a female to bond with other females. This is turn increases her longevity and lowers her stress level.

Take home message?

Being a good girl might be increasingly being viewed as something which is more of society-pleasing but maybe a few qualities of this good girl image like 'kindness', 'friendliness' 'caring' etc could possibly lower the stress levels of females. So it might be good to be a good girl :)