Twins!

Genes dictate so many things about us - eye color, skin color, hair color, genetic defects can lead to disease, etc.  The list really goes on and on.  However, there is another factor that goes into "who we are" - nurture.  Where we grow up, how our parents raise and love us, and the type of life we are exposed to.  What is interesting about identical twins is that they share genetic material and are typically raised in the same environment, yet they grow to be two very different people.  Scientists have been studying twins trying to understand how this comes to be.  It's fascinating!

National Geographic has dedicated a large article to twins in their recent issue.  A summary of the article was published today on the Daily Mail.  Check it out!

National Geographic Article: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/01/twins/miller-text

Daily Mail Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079492/National-Geographic-twins-Johanna-Evas-beaming-eyes-painting-beautiful-picture-sisterly-love.html

A really old mattress...

Scientists claim to have found the oldest mattress ever in South America.  Unsurprisingly, it is made of grass and leafy plants, but was ~ 12 inches in height.  I think it sounds a bit cozy, if not maybe a little itchy.  A top sheet made of similar materials is also probable, as is the idea that entire families slept on one mattress.

Here's the article from National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111208-oldest-mattress-africa-archaeology-science/

Moon Landing C Rock

I thought I'd heard most of the "Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were standing on a sound stage" theories, but this one was new to me.

In one photo from the their famous landing, you can see a rock that clearly has the letter C on it (shown below).  Conspiracy theories say this rock was a prop and the C was its code letter (just as if there was a Rock B and Rock D, etc).  Unfortunately, this one was left turned towards the camera.  NASA says it was a piece of hair or imperfection with the camera lens.

Just some references for the "C Rock"...

http://www.braeunig.us/space/hoax.htm
http://www.studyphysics.ca/apollo2.pdf
http://www.conspiracy-theories-hoax.com/apollo-moon-landing-hoax-camera-problems.html

PSA: Neti Pots

I know Neti Pots are popular these days, but this article reminds you to use only bottled, distilled, pre-boiled, or sterilized water with them.  Otherwise, you possibly run the risk of infecting yourself with N. fowleri.  The link is still unconfirmed, but the CDC is investigating two recent deaths.

On my main blog, Amedeo, I did a whole post about N. fowleri and how it kills its victims.

News article about Neti Pots: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2074957/Deaths-brain-eating-amoeba-linked-sinus-remedy-colds.html

N. fowleri explanation on Amedeo:  http://www.amedeo-amedeo.com/search/label/Amoebas

Leukemia and Down Syndrome

I learned in my reading last night that children with Down Syndrome are at a greater risk of developing leukemia than the rest of the population.  The risk is ~ 20-fold greater.  I had no idea.

The paper I was reading was looking for genes on chromosome 21 that might play a role in leukemia susceptibility.  Children with Down Syndrome have trisonomy 21 - three copies of chromosome 21.  Typically, a human should only have two copies of this chromosome.

Because the paper is still unpublished, I can't report it here (yet), but here's a link to a more general overview about this topic.  Granted, it's from 1987, but it's still informative.  I also gave a link to a 2008 paper from The Lancet that discusses new breakthroughs in research on this topic.


LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2955886 (1987 paper)

LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=bercovich%20the%20lancet%202008 (2008 paper)

Waking up from a Coma

Coma = a state of extreme unpresonsiveness; there is no voluntary movement and in deep comas, there is no response to painful stimuli.

Human consciousness can be thought of a spectrum with fully awake and alert at one end and death at the other.  Other forms of altered consciousness on this spectrum?  Confusion, drowsiness, stupor and coma.

Some people can be comas for years.  It is very rare that someone in a coma for that long will wake up, but here's a remarkable story.  Patricia White Bull slipped into a coma while giving birth to her son Mark via C-section in 1983.  She woke up, quite suddenly, on Christmas Eve 1999.  That's sixteen years later.  Her youngest was in high school, her family had moved and her husband had divorced her.  However, he said he's willing to get back together if she is.

About Comas: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/coma


Patricia White Bull's Story: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2000/0002.htm
Patricia White Bull's Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/591847.stm

LEGO Bricks

I learned today that the word LEGO is a combination of two Danish words: leg godt.  It means "play well."

Oddly, "lego" also means "I put together" in Latin.

You know what "volvo" means in Latin?  I roll.  Just so you know.

LINKY for LEGO: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-US/group/default.aspx
About LEGO: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllego.htm

I love Mario.  He's oddly cool in LEGO format, too.

Anti-Nausea

I have many many pregnant friends, but this is the first I'd heard of this...  Obviously, talk to your doctor before you do anything, but B6 and Unisom together make an effective treatment for morning sickness.

I was looking for a better reference for this, but Pfizer doesn't market Unisom for nausea so I'd have to dig a bit deeper.  This article discusses the issues with a pregnant woman and some OBs.  I'd like to add more information to this short little blurb, but here's what I have so far.

LINK: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/health&id=3658783