Why Onions Make Us Cry

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Book author and chemist Eric Block has the definitive answer why onions make us cry based on his new book, where he identified the substance as syn-propanethial-S-oxide.

A Mouthful For A Substance That Answers Why Onions Make Us Cry.

This substance, according to Block in his new book Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and The Science, which has evolved through time as a defence mechanism to prevent it from getting eaten.

“See, the onion is a perennial bulb that lives in the ground with lots of critters who are looking for a snack,” says Block. “So it has evolved a chemical defence system.”

A cross-sectional examination of the onion, according to Block, would show us that the onion’s bulb shape is a work of genius. In each cell you will find a glob called a sealed vacuole, that is filled with enzymes. When these cells get torn through teeth bites of knife cuts, the blobs break up to release the enzymes and mix together with other substances of the onion to generate that irritating concoction.

Because these substances are very tine, it gloats in the air and find their way to the eyes or nostrils of the one nearest to the sliced onion.

How to avoid from shedding tears?

Slicing onions with a fan blowing air against it and away from the face would divert the flight of the irritating substances and keep it away from the slicer. Another way is to pop the onions inside the fridge for a few minutes before slicing them, as the substances are less volatile when cold.

Using goggles may not be helpful either, since the molecules could still go up through the mouth and nostrils, eventually leading up to the eyes to cause irritation.

However, don’t try to shun onions away from your diet as the very same irritants are the ones that give onions its tasty flavour.

Before you get too sentimental, try using what Block is recommending and stop focusing too much on why onions make use cry and instead, enjoy the good tasting pleasure that you can get out of it,

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The Future of 3D Printed Hair

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A single strand of hair with all of its characteristics may be fairly complex, but a team of researchers was able to develop a method of creating 3D printed hair in minutes.

3D Printed Hair Is Not As Easy As You Think

Researchers from the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were inspired by animal and human hair, even plants. They tried find ways to mimic these patterns through less resources and time.

It was a pain-staking process not because of the hardware need, but the software programmed to design and recreate the patterns. From this they were able to develop Cillia.

Their work was presented before the Association for Computing Machinery’s CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

What previously took hours to do, now could only take minutes with the Cillia software platform.

More Than Just Wigs Or Toupe.

Designers can now create figures with detailed surface textures like coarse bristles, and paint brushes among others with the use of Cillia.

While the micro-pillar structures are not intended to create wigs, the researchers claim that it may be possible.

“When people hear about 3-D printing hair, the first thing they think about is definitely hair extensions, but the purpose of this project is looking beyond the aesthetic perspective,” says study author Jifei Ou an MIT graduate student. “What kind of new functionality can we bring to the material?”

They studied three main functions like adhesion, sensing and actuation, as they went on creating printed arrays similar to Velcro pads with LED lights. They also even invented hair that has the ability to move objects using a series of vibration movements using the hair structures.

Just like real hair

What made the cillia study unique is that researchers aim to use these materials to detect movements of fluid or air, similar to organic hair that act as sensory receptors.

“We are also looking for more functions that hair structure can provide. For example, thermal protection,” Ou explained.

They hope to someday explore the possibility of making it as real as hair, but the focus of their studies right now are more on its practical uses in industries or machinery. They however, did not close their ideas on it becoming a breakthrough technology in medicine or biology.

With the 3d printed hair already in the picture, it would not be a distant reality that it could become a good mane of hair.

Image Credit: Researchers hope to go beyond wigs with 3-D printed hair – CNN

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Plant Burger Sizzles Like Meat

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This new food item expects to become the new trend in food fashion, as this new plant burger sizzles like meat in a flaming grill, tastes and smells like it, you wouldn’t think it is real meat.

New Plant Burger Sizzles Like Meat And Tastes Like It, Too

This ingenious new product is the brainchild of Patrick Brown, a former Stanford University biochemist along with his research team from Silicon Valley-based start-up Impossible Foods.

Diners from New York, Loa Angles and San Francisco will start to get their hands on this revolutionary food product this summer. This took Brown and his team five years in the making, with much excitement in anticipation of the launch of their new hamburger.

Their mind-blowing product is an un-canning replication of the hamburger patty itself- it sizzles, browns when cooked and oozes out fat when cooked. What’s more, it does not have any animal meat in it- purely a plant-based meat substitute.

“The demand for meat is going through the roof, and the world is not going to be able to satisfy that using animals — there’s just not enough space, not enough water,” says Brown who is also the founder and CEO of Impossible Foods.

Much healthier and costs less

Brown says that their burger will be the answer to addressing the concern of a growing demand for global meat, as well as the need to come up with healthy food alternatives. He says that their burger product is healthier because it is plant-based, less resource-intensive and is relatively cheaper to produce.

Brown took advantage of his career as a biochemist to analyze meat at a molecular level to determine what makes burgers cook, smell and taste the way it does, what makes it squishy when raw, then firms up and browns on a flaming grill.

This knowledge, together with his belief, that everything from fat tissues to muscle cells can be copied using compounds sourced from plants.

After five years of intensive research, Brown finally got his solution from a combination of plant based compounds that replicated the properties of meat.

Scientific transformation from plant source to hamburger meat

It just did not end with the meat itself, Brown says they want their burgers to become a surreal experience in sensory pleasure- just like meat burgers grilling over coals.

They engineered the smell by isolating individual components of a cooked meat aroma and developed their meat scents that they integrated into their burger meat. The same goes with the oozing fat when grilling, where his team used coconut oil that stays solid at room temperature and liquefies when it comes to contact with heat.

Brown believes that their product will not only become a hit for vegans, but may even win over some meat lovers, as people get to experience and for a plant burger sizzles like meat this would not be an impossible idea.

Image Credit: Silicon Valley’s Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes And Sizzles Like Meat – NPR

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Light At Home Recovery Moves To Keep You Going

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So get up people and don’t let your rest days become a day-long slumber in bed but do at home recovery moves to keep the fire burning to inspire you to look forward to your next training days.

Just do light at home recovery moves

As rest is important to your daily or regular workouts, just make sure to do some light movements to keep your momentum going until the next training days.

Foam Roller

Start rolling out the knots in the muscles before the stretching then start digging into the trigger points. Lie across the roller as the arms are open to increase shoulder mobility. Also roll your feet across the roller to work the arches.

A pickle jar can also help do for more a slightly bit more intense pressure to help ease the muscles.

Dowel or PVC Pipe

It works like the ROM apparatus and use it for the shoulder pass throughs to maintain the chest form. With the right hand, hold the dowel from behind then reach across the body with the left hand to grab the lower end of the dowel. Pull it forward and up to stretch the triceps then switch to work the other side.

You can also use a mop, broomstick or a curtain holder for this routine.

Protein cookies

As you rest, you can load up on proteins. The protein cookies are a good alternative so that the body will not crave for sweets as your muscles are at rest and on recovery.

Lacrosse Ball

This could help work along the trigger points that the foam roller would not be able to work on. This could help add pressure on the pectoral muscles and the lats that connect your shoulders. It could also provide good massage effects on the back along the spine and the arch of the feet.

Resistance Bands

Tie one end of the band and slide over the leg. With just the right tension, stand with the feet close together and slowly swing your banded leg to stretch it away. Do not overstretch it, just enough to tighten the glutes then try switching position with the other leg and do the same motion.

Trigger Point Massage Tool

Try to apply pressure to the hip adductors. You can use two tennis balls taped together to form a peanut. You can also use lacrosse balls. Just sit on one side and apply the balls to the hip adductors and gently move to and fro for a soothing massage pressure.

Cold Roller

Applying cold pressure on your aching fascia muscles can help soothe the pain and provide relief. You can use a small jar with water and place in the freezer. Once frozen, use it to apply pressure to your tired fascia muscles to get instant relief.

So make the most of these at home recovery moves and relief hacks to keep you going and to add some variety to your weekday workouts. 

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Unlikely Drug May Block Breast Cancer Found For A Different Disease

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In a new study from the journal Nature Medicine, researchers claim an unlikely drug may block breast cancer in a formula already available in the market to originally treat osteoporosis.

Unlikely Drug May Block Breast Cancer In The Form Of A Formula For Osteoporosis

According to the National Cancer Institute, around 12% of women in the United States develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

About 65% may also develop breast cancer by the age of 70 for women found with a breast cancer gene mutation called BRCA1.

However, a drug already available in the market originally formulated to treat osteoporosis may be the answer to treating breast cancer.

This, after scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia claims that a drug formula called denosumab would stop breast cancer cells in its tracks.

Jane Visvader, a co-author of the study, says that their findings indicate proof that denosumab was able to stop certain mutated breast tissue cells from progressing to cancerous tumours.

Gene mutation may help stop breast cancer tumour growth

“If this is an effective prevention strategy, then our hope is that it will be possible to prevent or delay breast cancer in women with a BRCA1 mutation and possibly other women at high genetic risk,” says Visvader, adding that, “it would be great if this strategy could ‘buy time’ for women considering having mastectomies.”

Their findings were based on analysis of 33 breast tissue samples with no BCRA1 mutations and another 24 mutated samples.

The researchers saw that a molecule called RANK was common among a certain subset of cells with the BCRA1 tissues. These are the same ones likely to develop into tumours.

New promise for breast cancer treatments

“We have now been able to pinpoint the precise culprit cells and were very excited to see that they express the RANK protein,” says Geoff Lindeman a co-author of the research and a clinician-scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

“Over the last few years, it has become increasingly clear from the work of several groups that RANK ligand, which switches on RANK, is an important regulator of cell growth in the breast,” says Lindeman.

In their experiment, researchers injected tissue samples with denosumab as an inhibitor as it is known as a treatment for bone loss in cancer patients as it targets RANK ligand. The test was successful in preventing tumour development in mice and tissue samples.

The scientists claim that further studies are still underway to determine the long term effects of this approach. Although this unlikely drug may block breast cancer, it will just be a matter of time before the results would determine if this would become an option for breast cancer patients.

Image Credit: Unlikely drug may block breast cancer in high-risk women – CNN

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The Pros And Cons Of Led Streetlights

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The American Medical Association strongly encourages the use of LED streetlights to minimize health and environment issues.

LED streetlights produce less heat and lasts longer.

This policy statement by AMA gained unanimous approval during their last annual meeting in Chicago, in response to the growing popularity and practical uses of LED lighting indoors and outdoors.

Cities and municipalities are already replacing their streetlights with the more efficient and power saving LED units that are proven to save more energy and require less maintenance.

The AMA, however, points out while the benefits are tremendous, the need to properly design the LED structures must also consider minimizing potential effects to health and the environment.

Specifications for LED streetlights must also be carefully considered.

According to AMA, they recommend that outdoor street lighting must have a colour temperature (CT) threshold of 3000 Kelvin (K). CT is the measurement for spectral content of light with the colours of yellow, red, blue and green. A higher CT rating means greater blue light concentration, which results to more white light.

Many cities like New York and Seattle are retrofitting their street lights with LED CT ratings of 4000K to 5000K. This means a high level of blue light. Other cities are following suit.

Complaints of LED-produced lights

Some quarters, however, express their concerns regarding mounting complaints of vision-affecting glare. One recent example is from Davis, California. Residents were constantly complaining that the LED streetlights lights were harsh to the eyes and needs replacement.

A couple of problems were raised on LED’s ‘white light’ which is glare and discomfort. Since LED light is concentrated and has high blue light, it causes glare that causes papillary constriction. Sufficient levels of blue light can even cause damage to the retina.

Street lighting guidelines for using LED

In order to balance the pros and cons of LED street lighting, AMA gave out three recommendations to serve as a guide for LED streetlights retrofitting

First, to support the proper conversion of community-based LED lighting to reduce energy use and impact to the environment. Second , to encourage measures to minimize and control high levels blue light by reducing glare with the use of filtering shields and avoid affecting sight. Third, to set the bar of 3000K or lower CT for outdoor installations like roads and streets with proper shields to prevent glare, as well as dimming the lights during off-peak hours.

There may not be a perfect solution for LED streetlights yet, according to the AMA, but they hope to see better technologies soon to address these concerns.

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Traditional Herbs To Power Digestion

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Using traditional herbs to power digestion helps the body regulate the process when the system makes it difficult to do so due to lack of proper nutrition or not having good eating habits.

It is safe to use herbs to power digestion

In fact, using traditional herbs to power digestion processes in the body helps our bodies to function optimally, when it sometimes gets affected by a sudden change in eating habits or when the process weakens due to illness.

Symptoms of a poor digestive system ranges from sleep deprivation, lack of energy to irregular bowel movements. It also causes skin problems in several cases.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is known for using traditional herbs to help improve organ processes that are most often associated with body health like the liver, spleen and the stomach linked to the digestive system.

The practice of using natural herbs is traced back thousands of years with the Chinese and has been documented through generations, with most of these herbal medicine practice have been proven effective over years and years of treating conditions and promoting better health.

List of herbs below:

Geng Mi – This is the Chinese term for rice, which TCM claims soothes the digestive system. The substances that give rice its sweetness tone and strengthen the stomach.

This is also the reason explained by TCM that people who have stomach disorders are made to eat congee or rice porridge, mixed with several herbal ingredients and spices to aid in the healing process.

Ji Nei Jin –  Translated as ‘chicken inner golden’  this refers to an herb that looks similar to chicken gizzards and promotes digestion and found to push stagnant food down the belly.

Shan Zha – Also known as the hawthorn berry. It can be brewed like tea to drink after every meal. The sweet sour taste of the extract is good for digesting meats and fats. It has also been known for promoting cardiovascular health.

Mai Ya – The Chinese name for barley, which is high in soluble fiber that helps facilitate the digestion of starches and carbohydrates. It also helps in the breakdown of food and excreting waste from the intestines.

Chen Pi – This is the skin of the orange or tangerine. It has been known to regulate the digestive system and helps prevent stomach cramps or sudden fatigue that indicates a poor digestive process taking place.

Make sure that you consult a TCM practitioner before using traditional herbs to power digestion so they may be able to help you with the right amounts and proper consumption in order to optimize the health effects.

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