Down to a Science, San Francisco Science Cafe and Science Blog

Another Study on Atrazine

May 11th, 2008 by Kishore

Zebrafish

On Science Friday this past week, Holly Ingraham of UCSF was interviewed on her new study of atrazine’s impact on human placental cells. This builds on our conversation with atrazine, starting from March’s discussion on atrazine in frogs. In the study, they showed atrazine (& its metabolized products) increased activity of a gene that results in abnormal baby weight. Also they found amplification of a gene that is highly active in infertile women (no direct association yet).

Science Friday interview with Holly Ingraham

Holly also studied atrazine impacts on zebrafish, a widely used animal in developmental studies. She observed some genetic changes at doses as low as 2 part per billion (EPA’s drinking water limit is 3 ppb). In terms of human effects, she started to see genetic changes at 200 ppb (syngenta called these levels environmentally irrelevant). The chief effect in humans was changing hormone signaling mechanisms, which is fairly significant.

Future studies will focus on how atrazine affects the brain, specifically areas that control metabolism. This will hopefully shed light on why atrazine affects endocrine cells.

A quote from Holly:

These atrazine- sensitive genes are central to normal reproduction and are found in steroid producing tissues. You have to wonder about the long-term effects of exposing the rapidly developing fetus to atrazine or other endocrine disrupters.

Her research was funded by the National Institutes for Health.

Takeaway:

More Info:
Paper in PLoS One
Science Friday chat with Holly
UCSF Press Release on Study
Recent Paper Questioning Reproducibility of Atrazine Effects in Frogs

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Category: Pesticides | No Comments »

It’s not easy being Green

May 6th, 2008 by Kishore

KQED Quest ran a great piece tonight detailing the rapid decline in frog population, especially here in the Bay Area. Frog population declines have been happening for over 10 years. Our March speaker, Dr. Tyrone Hayes, detailed the rising data indicating severe stress on frogs, from climate change to pesticides. The resulting immuno-suppression is scientists’ best guess at the decline.

Check out the piece below. It also indicates how a newly discovered fungus is playing a role in the decline.

And here’s an additional web only piece featuring Tyrone Hayes.

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Category: Pesticides | No Comments »

This is my Brain (not on drugs)

May 5th, 2008 by Kishore

fMRI of my brain
One of the goals of my science cafe and blog is to humanize the science and the scientist. But I often get asked about all these studies I often quote. Who are these people? How do the researchers find these subjects?

It was probably a touch simpler to just interview some past study participants, but where’s the fun in that? So I took part in a meditation/anxiety study in February.

The study focused on emotion processing & anxiety and how these might change with mindfulness based stress reduction or cognitive-behavioral therapy i.e. how meditation affects anxiety.

The process was similar to the one shown in this vid (courtesy Science Friday)


Day 1 was relatively simple…just a phone screen making sure I was capable of taking part in the study. I’m not pregnant, I meet certain demographic criteria, I’m not currently in any other studies, yadda yadda.

Read the rest of this entry �

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Category: Drugs, Neuroscience | No Comments »

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide - In Memoriam of Albert Hofmann

May 1st, 2008 by Kishore

Alex Grey's painting of Hoffmann
Dear beloved Albert Hoffman passed away on Tuesday at the ripe old age of 102.

Who’s Albert Hoffman? He’s responsible for the little marvel: LSD.

From the NY Times obit:

“Through my LSD experience and my new picture of reality, I became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom,” Dr. Hofmann told the psychiatrist Stanislav Grof during an interview in 1984. “I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

Years after his initial accidental ingestion of the drug, Hofmann became an advocate of its use…mainly as a tool for psychiatry and he hoped as means to awaken man to his connection to nature. He did emphasize sacred use of the drug, treating it with the reverence that many native societies treated psychoactive plants.

In many ways, I see Hofmann furthering the natural synthesis movement (isolation & replication of active molecules occurring in plants). He was a great service to that area of chemistry.

I have never used LSD, but certainly the drug of “enlightenment” has impacted my life. I’d be without a lot of good albums without it (credit for that joke goes to the eternal Bill Hicks below).

More Info:
NY Times Obit
Erowid Section on Hoffmann

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Category: Drugs | No Comments »

Science Cafes @ the Maker Faire

April 29th, 2008 by Kishore

Maker Faire

This weekend is the annual Maker Faire, a celebration of the DIY enthusiast (read: mad scientists of the world). It’s an incredible, family friendly event with a whole host of things to do, see, and MAKE. The Faire is at the San Mateo Country Fairgrounds, more info available on their website: http://makerfaire.com/

This year, there will be science discussions happening at the Maker Faire. From 12-4 PM on Saturday & Sunday. I’ll be there on Sunday helping facilitate the cafe discussion. So come on down and join the fun!

The lineup includes (but not limited to):
- ZEKE KOSSOVER: physics circus

- PAULA SHADLE: biology/animals

- CHRIS McCARTHY: astronomer

- SUSAN McCARTHY: author/animals

- KEITH DEVLIN: math

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Category: General | No Comments »