(omni)science

Ice, Ice baby

vidyant — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:31:10 +0000

My sister is always munching on ice, and truthfully, it’s kind of annoying to have that constant crunchy noise in the background. We all tried to get her to stop but she just wouldn’t give up the ‘habit’. She is a bit nutty anyway, so we just let it go hoping that eventually she would get over it.

Today however, while I was getting my daily dose of news, I found an article on NY Times that suggests that my sister’s ice cravings – called pagophagia – are not just a bad habit but is actually sign of iron-deficiency anemia.

Anemia is a lack of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) or hemoglobin, either of which ultimately lowers the ability to carry oxygen in the blood, leading to hypoxia. Iron is necessary for proper hemoglobin functioning, and therefore lack of it also leads to anemia, which apparently leads to pagophagia. Iron supplements in the diet curtail these ice cravings, so there must be a connection but I’m not quite sure if I understand it. I don’t think anyone does. There are a few theories I found, but nothing conclusive or even remotely satisfying. So, I’ll hold on my judgments but as soon as I find something plausible, I’ll post it.

Basically, if you can’t seem to get enough ice ever, start eating some broccoli and perhaps even some iron supplements. Your teeth won’t be destroyed, your tissues will get more oxygen, and more importantly, your annoyingness meter will go down a few notches.

Collapsed Veins

vidyant — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:54:34 +0000

I was volunteering at the hospital today, and Mr. X was there because of alcohol-related poisoning. The nurse in charge of him was kind enough to let me shadow and help her, while she tried to get some blood samples. Surprisingly to me however, she couldn’t find a single vein in either of his arms. What? I had heard about veins disappearing after frequent injections, such as in drug use like heroin, but I thought it was some sort of metaphor that flew over my head.

Apparently not! I researched it after I got back and fascinatingly, the veins actually literally disappear in a condition called collapsed veins. Basically what happens is that after damage to veins, because of injections and such, blood starts to clot around the damage due to turbulence in blood flow. We all know that. But after frequent damage, the clots start blocking the veins. Once completely blocked, the veins collapse. These veins never recover and hence the disappearance.

Wait! If the vein disappears blood would never get back to the heart, and that should lead to death. Right? Aha! “You have been been well-trained, my young apprentice.” But, the body figures out another way of routing the blood back to the heart through deeper veins.

I found this really helpful link: How veins collapse. Enjoy!

Just amazing. And that’s why I love biology.

Oppose the Max Baucus proposal

vidyant — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:27:13 +0000

Here is more from sickforprofit.com on exactly why the Senate Finance Committee proposal is “a dream come true for the health insurance industry”.

P.S. If you really like numbers and real data, here is a chart that compares the Baucus Bill with the HELP Bill proposed by Kennedy that includes the public option. You can see the HELP bill is cheaper and it would provide competition for the health insurance industries so they can’t hike up the prices.

I got this chart from Health Care for America Now! article. They talk about other reasons why we should oppose the Senate Finance Committee Bill (Baucus Bill). Health Care for America Now actually has a whole pdf file with a bunch of cool charts like these. I promise you will be enlightened.

Max Baucus exposed by Bill Moyer

vidyant — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:48:33 +0000

I already told you about John Ensign, one of the members of Senate Finance Committee, and his motives for siding with the insurance companies. What a douche! But unfortunately, he is not the only one. Max Baucus, Democrat Senator from Montana, heads the committee and he is even more corrupt. Bill Moyers explains exactly why it is that even though 60% of the American people want public option, they are not going to get one. Watch the video. Please…

P.S. What do you say? I’m pretty sure that’s conflict of interest and unethical. I would love to see Baucus in jail. Oh and remember, that the latest plan from the committee does NOT include the public option. More scoop on that in the next post.

15% of Americans lack health insurance

vidyant — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:56:08 +0000

Bloomberg.com says 1 out of 7 people (43.8 million Americans) didn’t have health insurance in 2008. With economy showing almost no signs of improvement I doubt the number has gone down. Here is the application chart with all the numbers.

McCaughey gets it handed to her by Ratigan

vidyant — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:29:46 +0000

Ahh! What a pleasure to watch. She’s the same woman who helped kill Clinton’s health care plan in the 90s. How did she do it? Same way she is doing it now… by lying, fabricating facts, and misinforming the American public. Somebody needed to show her, her place and call her out on her lies. Dylan Ratigan of Morning Meeting on MSNBC did it beautifully. She should no longer be allowed on any genuine debates about health care.

Update: Btw, notice how she gets hella b****y. And Weiner completely breaks down her argument.

If you should want the whole scoop on Bitchy McCaughey (I’m sorry, I meant Betsy), or about her 2 hour debate last night with Anthony Weiner, in which he referred to as a “pyromaniac in a straw factory,” you should totally check out Talking Points Memo. (Just on a side note, they are amazing and I don’t know what I would do without them. But don’t tell them that!)

Exposing the hypocrisy of Republicans deciding your health care

vidyant — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:59:07 +0000

Remember John Ensign? Let me refresh your memory: He is the Republican Senator of Nevada who was recently humiliated for his extramarital affairs and therefore had to abdicate his position as Chairman of Republican Policy Committee, the fourth highest spot in Republican Party leadership. Blows my mind how people that run on moral values, family first, love the Lord, etc. are so often caught in extracurricular activities.

Anyway, now that you remember who he is, you should know that he is also on the Senate Finance Subcommittee for Health Care, which means he is part of the pack that decides whether you get affordable health care (previous blog article on this issue). Of course, he voted no on the first two proposals. Surprised? Gasp!

Here is a quote I pulled from NYtimes.com: “Does anybody believe Congress would let this public plan go away once it has a constituency? No way. Once it’s started, you will never get rid of it. Congress will subsidize it more and more, allow it to grow and grow.”

Apparently, he gets a lot of contributions from insurance companies. Health Care for America Now! has pulled together an ad they are playing in Nevada, which exposes Ensign’s hypocrisy. Don’t let him steal your and my affordable health care. Please?

Surgery videos from 1930′s (WiredScience)

vidyant — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:31:28 +0000

Wired Science pulled out some awesome black-and-white surgery videos from the 1930s from the annals of British Medical Association. Warning: They are pretty gruesome but show how complex surgeries were done back in the day with somewhat primitive tools and no computers. I highly recommend it just because it’s pretty fascinating.

How does the proposed health care plan affect you?

vidyant — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:49:01 +0000

I love NPR but that’s beside the point. NPR has got an excellent excellent interactive application that allows you to figure out just how the new proposed health care plan will affect you. It gives you the advantages and the drawbacks. So, don’t just listen to people feeding you their opinions, read the facts and decide for yourself.

A woman becomes pregnant, while being pregnant – WEIRD!!!

vidyant — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:38:53 +0000

An Arkansas woman, 31, became pregnant while already being pregnant. This happened two weeks into her first pregnancy. Basically, she will have a baby and then another one two weeks afterwards. Apparently, it’s only the fifteenth case known to us and is called superfetation (what an awesome name!). She has a super fetus!!! Btw, here is the link to the news article.

The mechanism behind it is not really known but some scientists think that it happens when the menstrual cycle keeps on going even after a woman becomes pregnant. Usually what happens is that a woman’s menstrual cycle ceases once she becomes pregnant because she stops producing Leutinizing Hormone (LH). LH is responsible for causing the ovarian follicles to grow and ovulate on the fourteenth day of the month. No LH means no ovulation, no egg, and therefore no fertilization.

More as I wrap my head around it and figure out more mechanisms and perhaps more hypotheses. I know, a nerdgasm but I can’t help being fascinated by this…

Wait! Somebody in my lab brought up an excellent point. What happens when she goes into labor? Is one fetus really just going to chill there while the other is being born? Contractions can’t be selective! This just keeps getting weirder and weirder! and that’s why I love biology. Help me understand this please, if you got any ideas.