Monthly Period Woes Might Have A Bonus November 19, 2007
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Human Body, Stem Cells, Tough Stuff.Tags: endometrium, menstruation, period
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Some of my readers may not yet be menstruating while others have experienced their monthly period for years now (boys, you’re obviously excluded!). For a minority of girls, it’s a dreaded, monthly process of cramps but for most women, it’s accepted as just a necessary occurrence that allows us to experience pregnancy. It’s also a normal and natural part of growing up. But wait, menstrual blood might just have another purpose now!
Ever wondered what your endometrium looks like under a microscope? Well, wonder no more and have a look at the picture above!
Stem Cells
My regular readers already know that stem cells are one of my favorite topics but let me tell you – I didn’t quite expect to learn what I did when I read one of the most recent studies on stem cells. It has been suggested that menstrual blood might be a viable source of stem cells. If you want to refresh your memory on stem cells, then check out my stem cells primers: What Are Stem Cells? and Where Do They Come From?
Credit: U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program.
Endometrial Stem Cells
Two different research groups have found endometrial stem cells in menstrual blood. If you’ve forgotten, the endometrium lines the uterus. Each month, it is shed during menstruation and then prepares for a fertilized egg by growing into a 5 mm thick lining over the course of approximately one week. The lining itself has literally billions of cells, which researchers have been keen to use as a potential source of stem cells. An investigative lady named Caroline Gargett of Monash University in Victoria, Australia originally identified endometrial stem cells in the uterine lining. Unfortunately, actually removing the cells is a tricky process and also very invasive! Finding endometrial stem cells in menstrual blood, however, makes this process a whole lot easier!
First Things First
So how do the researchers actually know that the cells they have found truly are stem cells? If you think back, you will remember from previous posts that I talked about the special properties of stem cells. The cells identified by the researchers have these special properties, which means they can proliferate and differentiate. Struggling to recall what those two words mean? It means they can make copies of themselves and they can also become specialized cells.
Two Studies Are Better Than One
Generally speaking, the more studies done on the same thing that show the same results, the better! There is so much human error that can happen in a scientific study, so it makes the results more believable when different research groups obtain the same, or similar findings.
Julie Allickson, a scientist at Cryo-Cell International in Florida, identified endometrial stem cells in menstrual blood but her work still has yet to be published, which means it hasn’t stood up to the peer review process. According to Allickson, the cells she identified showed the characteristic properties of stem cells.
In another study, Xiaolong Meng and his colleagues at the Bio-Communications Research Institute in Kansas analyzed cells taken from the menstrual blood of two women. What did they find? They found that the cells showed characteristics of stem cells, such as proliferating quickly as well as differentiating into more specialized cells such as muscle and nerve.
What Now?
Identifying sources of adult stem cells is really important because it gives us more options for using stem cells to treat disease. Another issue is the danger associated with removing stem cells from the body. If you think about your bone marrow or uterine lining itself and then imagine surgery to remove those tiny cells, it’s really invasive! There are all sorts of risks associated with surgery, such as infection and side effects from anesthesia. If scientists can harvest stem cells from something like menstrual blood, it means fewer risks and complications for the patient. Another dilemma is the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells – many people are against the use of embryonic stem cells, which means that finding valuable sources of adult stem cells is an important alternative!
Your Body Can Save Lives
I think one of the fascinating things about finding new sources of adult stem cells is that your own body has the potential to save lives. Under the right conditions, your body’s stem cells can be coaxed to differentiate into specialized cells that could be used to treat a range of diseases. It’s also ironic, in a way, to think that each month menstruation occurs when your body doesn’t conceive a new life – yet your menstrual blood, rich in endometrial stem cells, has the potential to save lives. It’s one more thing that makes being a woman really cool!
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Dinosaur Breath Tells Secrets November 14, 2007
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Animals, Dinosaurs, Environment, Evolution, Think About It.Tags: birds, breath, respiratory
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Sssssssh. Believe it or not, dinosaur breath can tell us quite a bit about how dinosaurs evolved and what sort of life they experienced. Led by Dr Jonathan Codd, a team at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom did some investigating and found that theropod dinosaurs had respiratory systems that were similar to modern marine birds and wildfowl. If you’re not too well versed in dinosaur lingo, then ‘theropod’ might be a new word for you. Theropods were the quick-moving, massive, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs that roamed Earth. They also had powerful legs and clawed hands. The results of the investigation are really cool because they give us some insight into how dinosaurs actually breathed. The full details of the research were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Credit: Jonathan Codd of the University of Manchester. Let the battle begin! This picture shows a Protoceraptops fighting it out with a Velociraptor mongoliensis. The lengthy uncinate processes can be seen on the rib cage of the velociraptor.
I Knew That
There already are studies showing that dinosaurs were the direct ancestors of birds but scientists are still trying to find out to what extent anatomical features are shared. So, even if you already knew that there were a bunch of avian characteristics in dinosaurs, there is still lots to learn as new features are identified – like dinosaur breathing structures! Much of what we know is built upon heaps of studies. We basically keep adding new information to the pot – sometimes this information makes us say ‘Wow, the old idea was way off!’ Other times it extends what we know by explaining it in more detail. In this case, we’re simply adding new information to the mix!
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Inhale and exhale! We already know that birds – especially diving birds – have really well functioning respiratory systems. In fact, they have one of the most efficient systems of vertebrates. Why so efficient? It’s because they need loads of oxygen to keep up their constant flying. They have special breathing structures called uncinate processes. After looking at fossilized remains of dinosaurs and birds, the researchers found that uncinate processes were also present in dinosaurs. Codd talked about how dinosaur breathing is more specialized than was first believed:
Our work on modern birds has shown that the way these animals breathe is more complex than originally thought. The uncinate processes are small bones that act as levers to move the ribs and sternum during breathing. Interestingly, these structures are different lengths in different birds – they are shortest in running birds, intermediate in flying birds and longest in diving birds.
The dinosaurs we studied from the fossil record had long uncinate processes similar in structure to those of diving birds. This suggests both dinosaurs and diving birds need longer lever arms to help them breathe.
Finding these structures in modern birds and their extinct dinosaur ancestors suggests that these running dinosaurs had an efficient respiratory system and supports the theory that they were highly active animals that could run relatively quickly when pursuing their prey.
Ultimately, the uncinate processes allowed the dinosaurs to move around very fast, which meant they could rapidly capture prey. Right now though, you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief that this article wasn’t about bad dinosaur breath! With all the raw meat they ate, I have a feeling it would have been really gross. Yuck!
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Antibacterial Protection Right Under Your Feet November 8, 2007
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Diseases, Environment, Human Body, Tough Stuff.Tags: antibacterial, clay
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Clay – it’s that dirty looking, messy and just plain ol’ gunky stuff we find on the ground. But researchers have just recently found out that it also has some neat antibacterial properties too! A unique type of French clay has been found to terminate all sorts of bacteria, even antibiotic resistant ones that have become a very real and frightening challenge to combat. On top of that, the clay has been found to beat an icky pathogen – Mycobacterium ulcerans – that can cause skin ulcers in several parts of the world, leading to amputations.
Investigating Clay
This particular clay isn’t something new. In fact, it has been around for centuries where it was thought to have medicinal value, being used for skin cleansing and treating the bacteria that cause the icky ulcers I just mentioned. It was when geochemist Lynda Williams of Arizona State University learned of the clay’s power against Mycobacterium ulcerans that she gathered up a crew of curious researchers who were all eager to study the properties of the clay.
The researchers dubbed the clay CsAg02. What a complex name! I sometimes give a little sigh and wonder why they can’t give the clay a less technical name – like Super Germ Buster Magnifique (that last bit was my ode to the French nature of the clay!). They learned that it’s a strong alkaline and has a pH of 9.4 to 10. Its cool greenish color is from a chemical form of iron. Still, lots of other clays have these same properties, so it’s clearly some other aspect of the clay that’s responsible for its potent antibacterial properties. Hmmmmmm.
Aha!
To figure out just how the clay blasts away bacteria, Williams and her team treated the clay with potassium salt, which pulls out charged molecules. Without these charged molecules, the antibacterial power of the clay was blocked! So, this means that the bacteria are somehow affected by the charged molecules. Now, the next step for the research team will be to study what minerals keep these molecules active and rearing to fight against the bacteria.
Bacteria Beware
Researchers also wanted to check out what effect CsAg02 had on different microbes. How did they do that? Well, they took cultures of microbes and incubated them with CsAg02. You might have heard names of bacteria that are commonly implicated in cases of food poisoning – Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. We can give a big kudos to CsAg02 because it knocked them both out by stopping their growth! Researchers also incubated CsAg02 with strains of mycobacterium that can lead to skin infections. How well did it handle those? It stopped their growth as well!
So the clay kills bacteria – big deal, right? Actually, it is a really big deal! By figuring out just how the clay fights these powerful types of bacteria, we can learn new ways of killing some of the bacteria that plague humans. The clay could also provide antibacterial protection in air filters and sewage treatments. So, as sludgy and benign as clay may look, it still packs a powerful antimicrobial punch!
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Sex, Birth Control And Religion Are A Complicated Mix November 3, 2007
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Drugs, Human Body, Psychology and Behavior, Science and Politics, Tough Stuff.Tags: church, morning-after pill, pope, pregnancy
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Last week, the Pope spoke during an international conference in the Vatican City, where he stated that pharmacists should have the right not to sell medications that they personally believe could block pregnancy or trigger an abortion. The response? Some politicians and pharmacists were outraged at the Pope’s comments. You might be wondering what medications the Pope was talking about? Well, one medication that would be affected is the morning-after pill.
Morning-After Pill
You’ve maybe heard about this pill already – either from the Internet, friends, your parents or sexual education classes at school. It can best be summarized as a pill that aims to stop you from becoming pregnant if contraception wasn’t used or if it failed. Actually, the term ‘morning-after’ isn’t totally accurate because the pill can be taken up to 72 hours after sex, although the sooner you take it, the better it works. There are also several myths around the morning-after pill – one of which is that it causes an abortion. If you are already pregnant, the pill won’t cause an abortion. It works prior to pregnancy occurring by preventing your ovaries from releasing an egg and it also works by changing the lining of the womb, which means a fertilized egg can’t be embedded.
When Religion Joins In
The Pope’s comments caused a lot of controversy, in part, because they were taken as an attempt to cut off access to important health services. Livia Turco – the Health Minister – explained how the Pope had the right to encourage young people to be sexually responsible, but that he couldn’t tell professionals such as pharmacists what they could or could not do. By law, a pharmacist must provide a medication that has been prescribed by a doctor.
The Church’s Stance
The Church, however, feels that birth control and abortion are morally wrong and that nothing should stop the occurrence of life, which begins at conception and ends when natural death occurs. What about working professionals who are Catholic? Pharmacists who are practicing Catholics sometimes have asked a colleague to provide the medication. Other times, they find they have to put aside their personal beliefs when they dispense the morning-after pill.
The main controversy with the Pope’s recent comments isn’t even so much that he has his opinion, but more so that he is making statements to health professionals about how to conduct themselves at work. Still, some politicians support the Pope’s right to speak his mind whereas others believe that the Pope is meddling in politics and healthcare – areas he shouldn’t be meddling in at all!
Elsewhere In The World
In places like the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, the morning-after pill is available without a prescription. There are, however, parameters around the availability – such as a person being over 18 in the United States. On top of all that, there is still a lot of controversy around the morning-after pill in countries that allow it to be obtained over the counter. Even though it is currently available without a prescription, that doesn’t mean the law will never change to revert it back to prescription status. The Pope’s influence is significant in terms of the public perception towards contraception as well as how politicians view access to this important form of emergency contraception. This means that his influence isn’t limited just to the Vatican City, but it also spreads to other corners of the world and could, in part, shape laws around the morning-after pill’s availability in your country. What do you think? Is the Pope meddling and should he keep quiet, or do you think he has the right to share his message with the world?
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