Laugh...It's good for you! Science in the News...

In the News

Laughter Is the Best Medicine
Though many experts are skeptical of the results, a small new study suggests that laughter may be as beneficial as exercise. Participants who watched a humorous 20-minute video clip showed decreased levels of the appetite-repressing hormone leptin afterwards, suggesting that repetitive laughter can affect hormones in the same way that exercise does. Those who watched a violent video clip showed no statistically significant change in leptin levels. Although the physiology of laughter is not well understood, studies since the 1970s have shown that laughing can help reduce blood vessel constriction, boost immune function, and relieve stress. More ... Discuss

Source:

In the News provided by The Free Dictionary; Accessed May 13, 2010.

I often use news articles, like this one from today's In the News, to bolster interest in science. Here are ideas that may engage students: enzymes, leptin, "statistically significant," stress, and many more. Watch where this article can lead your students!

For example: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v382/n6588/abs/382250a0.html is an article on leptin, accessed today. Here's one sentence from the abstract: "A TOTAL deficiency in or resistance to the protein leptin causes severe obesity^1–4. As leptin levels rise with increasing adiposity in rodents⁵ and man^6,7, it is proposed to act as a negative feedback 'adipostatic signal' to brain centres controlling energy homeostasis, limiting obesity in times of nutritional abundance^1,3. Starvation is also a threat to homeostasis that triggers adaptive responses^8–12, but whether leptin plays a role in the physiology of starvation is unknown. " Hmm! Want to read more? Some of your students might want to keep reading. See how a news article like the one shown can be used to bridge to the journal articles like the one on leptin. (For more on this, contact Dr. J about a Reach Reading ^TM Workshop.)

In the News article is requoted here because when the day changes, the article is not the same:

Diseases can improve Science Literacy... What was that?

If you or someone in your family has a disease, you might Reach ReadTM to find out more about it. Students are the same way. The first journal article on a particular subject might be tough, but by the fifth one, you got most of the lingo down, and the reading becomes easier. The first one, though, you'll need to keep a dictionary (physical or digital) nearby.

Here's an example on, "glycemic index:"

http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/142/3/1148

When you have, "a need to know," hard words won't stop you. Even if you can't read the article, you can carry it in to your doctors' offices as your own, "reading material," and have a positive effect on your health care (my opinion and experience).

Now, back to the example of, "glycemic index." Let's look at the author and title of the above-referenced journal article:

Endocrinology Vol. 142, No. 3 1148-1155
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society

Monounsaturated Fatty Acid Diets Improve Glycemic Tolerance through Increased Secretion of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1¹

Antonio S. Rocca², Jonathon LaGreca³, Juliana Kalitsky³ and Patricia L. Brubaker

Departments of Physiology (A.S.R., J.L.G., J.K., P.L.B.) and Medicine (P.L.B.), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Patricia L. Brubaker, Ph.D., Rm 3366, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A8. E-mail: p.brubaker@utoronto.ca.

Hmm! What words do you know in the title?

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Do you have them all on your list? Congratulations! Now for the rest of us...

Do not panic!

You are in the Reach ReadingTM zone. Whew!

Take it slowly, like Einstein did when he read. It's ok to take a long time, even to get through the title. Oh, by the way, science fair people, it is a good idea to support some of your work, in background information or in discussion, by citing journal articles, so, take your time. You can do it. (Do I sound like a cheerleader yet?) Ah! That is more like it. relax. You are not supposed to know all the words. In fact,

No one knows all the words.

Source: Joan Beinetti, Reading Specialist and Home School Expert; Personal Communication with J. S. Shipman; 1989.

Don't you feel better knowing that, "No one knows all the words." Even geniuses use dictionaries. You don't have to be afraid of science any more (if you ever were.)

That release felt grand, didn't it. You don't have to be afraid in front of students of needing to look up words. It is expected!!! They should expect it of themselves. You are, "modeling," that desired behavior while learning new vocabulary yourself.

After slugging through the first article, the rest get easier and easier. Note, I didn't say easy. But after about five articles, they may seem easy to you. And, you will know a lot about your disease.

"Glycemic index," isn't a disease," you say.

"I know that," I reply. So, let's get on with the matter at hand. People with diabetes, pre-diabetes, people who are hungry all the time, people who drink a lot of water (more than everyone else), people who are hypoglycemic, people who are obese, people who are sooo slim, people who are, "just right," ...many people have diseases related to the, "glycemic index."

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More by Joan Beinetti:
http://blog.bravewriter.com/2007/08/16/freshening-the-homeschool-plan/

More on and by Patricia Brubaker:
http://www.obesitynetwork.ca/members/view.aspx?id=126&title=Patricia+Brubaker

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Patricia+Brubaker+Toronto&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Search

Turmeric and Curry versus Cancer and Alzheimer's..Building Science Literacy Skills

Curcumin (found in turmeric and curry) attacked [...] cancer cells using an alternative cell signaling system (not, "apoptopsis," in other words).

Curcumin may help stimulate immune system cells in the Alzheimer's disease.

These ideas are from the following article:
http://in.reuters.com/article/healthNewsMolt/idINTRE59R1E020091028?sp=true
accessed 05 November 09.

The article is a story about science. Can you find original sources for the research?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Curcuma longa is the genus and species name of the plant from which we get the spice turmeric that is used in curry.

• http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/21/21/8370?ijkey=b00e7ff2c0179f5c53fc45cf486c0fbcd461d537
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1702408/
• http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/107555303321223035
• http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/107555303321223035?cookieSet=1
  
• http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867407010884
• http://www.curcuminoids.com/rh_2006.pdf

Pumpkin science around the world

International science literacy... More on pumpkins

Here is a sampling of research articles on pumpkins (or their relatives) from around the world. ---This post is still under development---

Mineral analyses of storage reserves of Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita andreana pollen HR Skilnyk, JNA Lott - Canadian journal of botany, 1992 - cat.inist.fr

… Oviposiçâo de Bemisia tabaci Biótipo" B" por Genótipos de Cucurbita moschata e Cucurbita … ELL Baldin, LC Toscano, ACS Lima, FM Lara, … - Boletín de Sanidad Vegetal. Plagas, 2000

Glyoxylate cycle enzyme activities are induced in senescent pumpkin fruitsL Pistelli, B Nieri, SM Smith, A Alpi, L De Bellis - Plant Sci, 1996 - 万方数据资源系统

首页 > NSTL期刊 > Plant Science. GLYOXYLATE CYCLE ENZYME ACTIVITIES ARE INDUCED
IN SENESCENT PUMPKIN FRUITS. The presence of isocitrate ...

History of the cultivar-groups of Cucurbita pepoHS Paris - Horticultural Reviews, 2001 - 万方数据资源系统

… recherches sur les caractères spécifiques et les variétés des plantes du genre Cucurbita C Naudin, C Naudin - 1856 - books.google.com

… do fruto na produção e qualidade de sementes de Cucurbita maxima x moschata. JF Pedrosa, GM Oliveira, F Bezerra Neto, MR … - Horticultura Brasileira, Brasília, 1987

Field resistance of Cucurbita species to powdery mildew(Erysiphe cichoracearum)
A Lebeda, E Kristkova - Zeitschrift für Pflanzenkrankheiten und Pflanzenschutz …, 1994 - cat.inist.fr
Field resistance of Cucurbita species to powdery mildew(Erysiphe cichoracearum).

Zur Lokalisation von Dehydrogenasen des Energiestoffwechsels im Phloem von Cucurbita pepoLocalization of Dehydrogenases of Energy Metabolism in the Phloem of Cucurbita L.pepo L. …J Lehmann - Planta, 1973 - Springer

… Nachweis trittierter wasserlöslicher Substanzen in den Siebröhren von Cucurbita und … K Schmitz - Planta, 1970 - Springer

Sickle cell News...Cut death toll in half.

Link to today's news article on a sickle cell anemia vaccine for future reference.

Use science in the news to draw attention to new developments and to help engage your classes in the activities of science and their results. Also, draw attention to the international nature of science.

Can your students find real laboratory reports in refereed journal articles about sickle cell anemia?

Dimensions and Life span: "Thunder thighs" a good thing?

Todays article (from the left-hand column) for future reference is linked here.
http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-42210520090904

Consider the source when reading a science news article. Is it credible? The news is a story about science. It is not a "primary source." Remember, the primary source is the publication of the lab report by the scientist(s) as (a) refereed journal article(s).

There are other posts within this blog on, "primary sources," and on, "referred journal articles."

Do you agree or disagree with this article? Why, or, why not? Support your answer with sources and quotes or paraphrases.

Students often think to themselves, "Simple machines, again!"

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Here's a Look at a Primary Source Article

Here's a look at a primary source article (related to the September 10th post) via a link. If you can't get a direct link by clicking, your librarian can likely help you get a copy via interlibrary loan, or, you can try the library at a nearby college. Please follow the rules for the links. For example, the patient link is not to be used for educational purposes. It is only for patients. The Medical link does have a 30 day free trial today. Your institution may have access to these or other on-line refereed journal article access.

The genetic response to short-term interventions affecting cardiovascular function: Rationale and design of the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (HAPI) Heart Study

Here's an activity to try: Draw two interlocking circles for a Venn diagram. Then lable one as Primary source and one as a story about science (or a secondary source). Use the Venn diagram to help you compare and contrast the two articles.

(c) 2008 J. S. Shipman