Vitamin D supplement study in children reduced catching flu almost in half
Vitamin D: Calcitriol is the active form of vitamin D found in the body.
Courtesy JaGa
Last week I blogged about why Vitamin D is needed for health.
This week I came across another study showing that Vitamin D is a flu fighter. The study has just been published online, ahead of print, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In the study children were asked to swallow six pills a day (25% dropped out). Half of the children's pills were placebos (fake). The pill givers did not know which pills were fake (double blind).
Incidence of influenza A was 10.8 percent among the 167 kids who received vitamin D pills. That's in contrast to a flu rate of 18.6 percent among an equal number of children getting identical looking inert pills. Doctors monitoring the trial confirmed flu cases using a test to assay for the influenza-A germ.
Vitamin D group had fewer asthma attacks
The study also noted that two asthma attacks occurred during the trial among kids getting the vitamin, compared to 12 in the unsupplemented group. The study doesn’t say whether the same number of kids with a history of asthma were in each group so this result may not be valid.
Better protection after 3 months of Vitamin D
The researchers also stated that it may take almost three months “to reach a steady state of vitamin D concentrations by supplementation". I interpret this to mean that takes our bodies about 90 days to accumulate an effective Vitamin D concentration (less illness after 3 months of taking vitamin D than during initial 3 months).
Tags : .thumbnail.jpg "Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951): The Harvard Gazette is copyrighted, but no copyright for the image is specified by the magazine.")
Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951): The Harvard Gazette is copyrighted, but no copyright for the image is specified by the magazine.
Courtesy Harvard University Gazette
Henrietta Lacks 1950s Cells Still Alive, Helping Science
Even though Henrietta Lacks died in 1951, her cells are still alive.
By 1954, Henrietta Lacks' cells known as HeLa were used by Jonas Salk to develop a vaccine for polio.
"In the half-century since Henrietta Lacks' death, her ... cells ... have continually been used for research into cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping, and countless other scientific pursuits".
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
"A new book by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, examines the extraordinary impact of HeLa on science and the effects of that unchosen legacy on Lacks’ family." Wired
Antennas key to navigating during migration
Monarch migration: The antenna is vital to navigating.
Courtesy L-T-L
Ever wonder how monarch butterflies navigate. They use the sun you might say. The sun is constantly moving, though. Well, maybe a built in clock helps. How important are the eyes compared to the antennas?
To figure out what was important scientists dipped some antennas in clear varnish and some in black paint. The ones with clear varnish had no trouble navigating. The ones with black paint covering their antennas could not.
That not only showed the antennas were sensing light for navigating, it also showed that the sense of smell isn't involved in finding the way, since both paints blocked that ability. USA Today
Learn more monarch migration
The study was led by Dr. Steven M. Reppert, chairman of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. I urge you to visit his faculty web page which explains how his team is using anatomical, cellular, molecular, electrophysiological, genetic and behavioral approaches to more fully understand the biological basis of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) migration.
The incredible detail and depth of their research made me appreciate how understanding one little thing like butterfly migration can lead to better understanding how complex things like the human brain works. This recent paper published in science was titled, Antennal Circadian Clocks Coordinate Sun Compass Orientation in Migratory Monarch Butterflies.
Want to help track monarchs? The Minnesota Zoo is offering visitors the chance to participate in a monarch tagging project. (Data from tagged monarchs helps scientists learn about their amazing migration.)
August 30, 4 - 5 p.m.
September 6, 4 -5 p.m.
(Dates are subject to change depending on the weather.)
Cost is $10 per person. Children under 10 should be accompanied by an adult. Call 952.431.9273 to make a reservation.
My mom just sent me an E-mail. Why's that worthy of a Buzz post? Well, it just so happens that she's on board the OSV Bold, the US Environmental Protection Agency's only ocean and coastal monitoring ship. (It's crawling along the coast of Maine right now.) From the boat, scientists are able to sample the water column, ocean bottom, and sea life to get a sense of how the ocean is being impacted by human activities, and how we can better manage what goes into it. If you're curious, you can follow the adventures of the OSV Bold on Twitter, or read the daily observations log. (There's a photo of Moms in the batch posted for day 4, but her face isn't visible. Just trust me: she's the beautiful on the Bold. Oh, and lest you think this is a completely frivolous and nepotistic post, check it: www.whitehouse.gov picked up the story, too.)
From the river to the ocean, CMOP is there
in Earth Structure and Processes and The Water Cycle, Weather and Climate
Mouth of the Columbia River
Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual LibraryHave you ever wondered what happens when a river ends and the ocean begins? Well, the scientists at the Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction (CMOP) do. Based out of Oregon, the center conducts their research on the Columbia River. Their goal is to understand and predict how humans and the climate affect the costal margins. The research has three themes, to test and advance the way research is done, to understand the human and natural variables that affect the margin, and to integrate the two previous themes to create a functional research station.
So, are you still contemplating the question, what is going on in this unique area where fresh water that has travel the country meets the salty water of the ocean? Well, the center has opportunities for K-12 students and teachers and undergrad and graduate students to become involved. Everything from summer camps and programs for middle and high school students to internships for the undergrad and grad students. Not interested in traveling? Data is also available on their website for the free-lance researcher.
Before the next time you jump into the big blue, quench your thirst for knowledge and see what CMOP is doing to research and preserve the coastal margins of the Columbia.
U of M scientists announce breakthrough against AIDS virus
Human Immunodefieciency Virus (HIV): Photo Credit: C. Goldsmith
Courtesy Public DomainResearchers at the University of Minnesota announced the discovery of a simple guard against the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Microbiologists Dr. Ashley Haase and Patrick Schlievert announced their findings in the journal Nature. Haase has been studying the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) for more than 25 years. Schlievert is an expert in infectious diseases.
The prevention is relatively simple: an over-the-counter lubricating jelly is mixed with a common and inexpensive food additive known as glycerol monlaurate (GML) and applied to the sex organs of female laboratory monkeys. The test subjects were then exposed to the simian version of the virus (SIV). In all five cases the treated monkeys showed no signs of infection while untreated monkeys all became infected. (One treated subject later became infected although researchers aren’t sure exactly why. It may be she became infected after the study ended).
The new treatment shows promise in fighting the sexual transmission of the AIDS virus in women and could lead to prevention of the disease spreading in both sexes. Every day HIV infects more than 5000 people somewhere in the world, and in Africa women make up more than half the new cases.
HIV spreads through a person’s bloodstream by hijacking the host-body’s own immune cells activated to fight the infection. HIV transmission can take place through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person, or by the sharing of needles with someone who is HIV positive. A pregnant woman with HIV can sometimes infect her baby in utero, or during birth, or via breast-feeding. Infection via blood transfusion is less common now that most blood banks screen for the AIDS virus.
Schlievert warns that this is only a treatment to guard against further transmission of the virus responsible for AIDS (as well as other sexually transmitted diseases), not a cure for those already stricken with the disease.
Isn’t it remarkable that a compound of a common water-based personal lubricant and inexpensive (1 cent per dose) food additive found in ice cream and chewing gum could lead to a simple way of guarding against infection from this devastating disease?
The clean-up crew at the British university probably didn't enjoy this part of their job, and the guy's office they cleaned didn't need or want this type of dirtiness taken away. Read all about it here.
Some of Liza's RSS feeds
Courtesy Liza Pryor
"Stanford creates 100 million dollar energy research center"
"Stanford University is creating a 100-million-dollar research institute that will focus on energy issues, including the search for ways to reduce global warming, officials said."
"Home turbines fail to deliver as promised, warns British study"
"Home wind turbines are only generating a fraction of electricity promised by the manufacturers while some even fail to yield enough energy to run the turbine's electronics, a British study warned on Tuesday."
"'V-wing' turbine gets study cash"
"An unusual design of wind turbine with a pair of giant vertical wings could one day be generating electricity for the UK Grid."
"China's BYD to bring plug-in hybrid, electric cars to US in 2011"
"China's BYD Auto announced plans Monday to enter the US market in 2011 with a range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. It would likely be the first Chinese automaker to enter the highly-competitive US market and beat many established automakers in offering an extended-range electric vehicle to US consumers."
"A bicycle evangelist with the wind now at his back"
"For years, Earl Blumenauer has been on a mission, and now his work is paying off. He can tell by the way some things are deteriorating around here."
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