The convergence of science and religion

This blog (convergencesciencereligion.org) is no longer active on the web. Go to Science and Mormonism for a continuation of the discussions of science and Mormonism.

Specific Changes in the Brain Associated With Sleep Deprivation Described in New Study

ScienceDaily for November 4, 2010 reported
on sleep deprivation and our brains.

The study, available in Frontiers in Neuroscience, has created an extensive and detailed map of gene activity, known as gene expression, in the mouse brain across five behavioral conditions including sleeping, waking and sleep deprivation. Activity of approximately 220 genes responding to these conditions was examined in detail, down to the cellular level, throughout the brain. Additionally, seven brain areas were examined by DNA microarray analysis, which reports the expression levels of tens of thousands of genes and allows a genome-wide analysis of the consequences of sleep deprivation.

High School Biology Teachers in U.S. Reluctant to Endorse Evolution in Class, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for January 28, 2011 reported on classroom teaching of evolution.

The majority of public high school biology teachers in the U.S. are not strong classroom advocates of evolutionary biology, despite 40 years of court cases that have ruled teaching creationism or intelligent design violates the Constitution, according to Penn State political scientists. A mandatory undergraduate course in evolutionary biology for prospective teachers, and frequent refresher courses for current teachers, may be part of the solution, they say.

Parental Divorce Linked to Suicidal Thoughts

ScienceDaily for January 19, 2011 reported on divorce and suicides among children.

In a paper published online in the journal Psychiatry Research, investigators examined gender specific differences among a sample of 6,647 adults, of whom 695 had experienced parental divorce before the age of 18. The study found that men from divorced families had more than three times the odds of suicidal ideation in comparison to men whose parents had not divorced. Adult daughters of divorce had 83 per cent higher odds of suicidal ideation than their female peers who had not experienced parental divorce.

Smoking May Be Associated With Increased Risk of Breast Cancer

ScienceDaily for January 24, 2011 reported on smoking and breast cancer.

"Smoking before menopause was positively associated with breast cancer risk, and there were hints from our results that smoking after menopause might be associated with a slightly decreased breast cancer risk," the authors write. "This difference suggests an antiestrogenic effect of smoking among postmenopausal women that may further reduce their already low endogenous estrogen levels."

Close-Knit Pairs of Supermassive Black Holes Discovered in Merging Galaxies

ScienceDaily for January 19, 2011 reported on black holes and merging galaxies.

These black-hole pairs, also called binaries, are about a hundred to a thousand times closer together than most that have been observed before, providing astronomers a glimpse into how these behemoths and their host galaxies merge -- a crucial part of understanding the evolution of the universe. Although few similarly close pairs have been seen previously, this is the largest population of such objects observed as the result of a systematic search.

No Direct Link Between Black Holes and Dark Matter, Scientists Find

ScienceDaily for January 20, 2011 reported on black h0les and dark matter.

Massive black holes have been found at the centres of almost all galaxies, where the largest galaxies -- who are also the ones embedded in the largest halos of dark matter -- harbour the most massive black holes. This led to the speculation that there is a direct link between dark matter and black holes, i.e. that exotic physics controls the growth of a black hole.

Montrealers Are Feeding Fish Prozac; Research Shows Influence on Brain Activity While Long-Term Consequences Are Unclear

ScienceDaily for January 22, 2011 reported on pollution of water in Montreal.

Sauvé was quick to point out that there is no immediate danger to humans. "The amount of anti-depressants being released into our river works out to roughly the equivalent of a grain of salt in an Olympic-size swimming pool," he said. "That's not enough to affect people, should they are brave enough to go fishing out there -- I'd be more worried about the trace metals! Nevertheless, we are seeing an impact on the river's ecosystem, which should concern cities everywhere." Further research by other teams will look at exactly what the consequences might be.

When Video Games Get Problematic So Do Smoking, Drug Use and Aggression

ScienceDaily for January 19, 2011 reported on gaming by adolescents.

A new study on gaming and health in adolescents, conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, found some significant gender differences linked to gaming as well as important health risks associated with problematic gaming. Published November 15 in the journal Pediatrics, the study is among the first and largest to examine possible health links to gaming and problematic gaming in a community sample of adolescents.

Eating More Fruit and Vegetables Is Linked to a Lower Risk of Dying from Ischemic Heart Disease

ScienceDaily for January 19, 2011 reported on the eating of fruits and vegetables and heart disease.

A European study investigating the links between diet and disease has found that people who consume more fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease -- the most common form of heart disease and one of the leading causes of death in Europe. However, the authors point out that a higher fruit and vegetable intake occurs among people with other healthy eating habits and lifestyles, and that these factors could also be associated with the lower risk of dying from IHD.

More Asteroids Could Have Made Life's Ingredients

ScienceDaily for January 19, 2011 reported on amino acids in asteroids.

Amino acids are used to build proteins, which are used by life to make structures like hair and nails, and to speed up or regulate chemical reactions. Amino acids come in two varieties that are mirror images of each other, like your hands. Life on Earth uses the left-handed kind exclusively. Since life based on right-handed amino acids would presumably work fine, scientists are trying to find out why Earth-based life favored left-handed amino acids.

Scitable Library

There is an online science library that offers free use by visitors to the site. The library is called Scitable and it currently focuses on genetics but will be expanding into other areas of science.

Patients Using Warfarin Have Higher Risk of Death After Trauma, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for January 18, 2011 reported on stress among persons using Warfarin.

"The prevalence of warfarin use in the United States is unknown, but the Food and Drug Administration estimates that more than 31 million prescriptions for warfarin were written in 2004," according to background information in the article. "Warfarin is a commonly used anticoagulant [prevents the formation of blood clots] for the long-term management and prevention of thromboembolic (blood clot formed in one vessel carried by the blood stream to occlude another vessel) events associated with atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm), mechanical heart valves, deep venous thrombosis (clot formed in a vein deep in the body), pulmonary embolism (clot that causes blockage of a blood vessel in the lung), the antiphospholipid syndrome (condition that increases the risk of blood clot formation) and occasionally, myocardial infarction (heart attack)."

Smoking Accounts for Up to 60 Percent of Gender Gap in Deaths Across Europe, Research Finds

ScienceDaily for January 18, 2011 reported on smoking and death.

The reasons why women have been outliving men in developed European countries since the mid to late 18th century, in some cases, have been hotly contested.

Vitamin D Absorption Is Diminished in Patients With Crohn's Disease, Researchers Find

ScienceDaily for January 18, 2011 reported on vitamin D levels.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have for the first time shown that reduced vitamin D absorption in patients with quiescent Crohn's disease (CD) may be the cause for their increased risk for vitamin D deficiency. The findings, which currently appear online in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, also showed that the only way to determine absorption efficiency is to perform a vitamin D bioavailability test.

Vitamin D Levels Lower in African-Americans, Research Finds

ScienceDaily for October 1, 2010 reported on vitamin D levels in African-Americans.

"We know that darker skin pigmentation acts somewhat as a block to producing vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, which is the primary source of vitamin D in most people," said Susan Steck, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina.

Smoking Causes Genetic Damage Within Minutes After Inhaling

ScienceDaily for January 17, 2011 reported on the genetic effects of smoking.

Stephen S. Hecht, Ph.D., and colleagues point out in the report that lung cancer claims a global toll of 3,000 lives each day, largely as a result of cigarette smoking. Smoking also is linked to at least 18 other types of cancer. Evidence indicates that harmful substances in tobacco smoke termed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are one of the culprits in causing lung cancer. Until now, however, scientists had not detailed the specific way in which the PAHs in cigarette smoke cause DNA damage in humans.

Why Coffee Protects Against Diabetes

ScienceDaily for January15, 2011 reported on coffee and diabetes.

Reporting with colleagues in the current edition of the journal Diabetes, first author Atsushi Goto, a UCLA doctoral student in epidemiology, and Dr. Simin Liu, a professor of epidemiology and medicine with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Public Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, show that women who drink at least four cups of coffee a day are less than half as likely to develop diabetes as non-coffee drinkers.