It’s strange how imagination often becomes reality. In the 13th century, Leonardo da Vinci designed machines that were extremely similar to modern day machine guns, submersibles and helicopters. Jules Verne’s sci-fi novels, written in the 19th century, such as Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and From the Earth to the Moon all had elements in them which were deemed quite marvelous, if not impossible, at the time when they were written. Fast-forward two centuries, and we find ourselves with the technology that allows us to travel around the world in much less than eighty days, explore the bottom of the Mariana trench, which is eleven kilometers deep, and we can adventure far beyond the Moon.

In the 21th century, in a world brimming with various forms of multimedia, it is not surprising that we can find our next scientific potential in the world of television. A curious Japanese children’s animated program called “Pokemon” (short for “Pocket Monsters” as it is known in Japan), features a parallel universe in which creatures called pokemon (similar to animals in our world) are collected, reared and trained by Pokemon “trainers” for their special abilities. These creatures vary widely in sizes and shapes; therefore these Pokemon trainers often have to resort to a small piece of gadgetry called the Pokedex in order to determine the types of Pokemon. The Pokedex is a small, portable encyclopedia that allows to identify Pokemon on the spot, and gives the statistics on that particular Pokemon. It’s an essential tool that trainers use to capture Pokemon. (In fact, the show’s catchphrase is “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”)

What does this have to do with scientific advances? Well, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had something similar to a Pokedex in our world, a portable reference that allows us to identify organisms on the spot? This technology would make it easier for researchers to identify the organisms that they want to work with, and would make plant field guides or bird handbooks obsolete. They could also be updated by automatically downloading the latest version from the Internet, so one would never be stuck with an old or incorrect edition either.

Sounds like fantasy? According to Dr. Paul Hebert of the University of Guelph, this may not be such a silly idea after all. He’s the father of the Barcoding of Life Data (BOLD) initiative, which endeavors to compile a public library of DNA barcodes for all known named species. The system works similarly to the barcodes found on packaging in supermarkets. Each species has a unique, naturally existing DNA “barcode” of its own, found in its genome. A library of such barcodes would make it much easier for researchers to identify what species they are working with. It would decrease duration of the identification process from several days to a few hours!

To produce these “barcodes,” short genetic markers found in the mitochondrial DNA are used to identify species. All eukaryotic cells have mitochondrial DNA, and as mitochondrial DNA mutates relatively fast between species, the markers procured from this source should have variance that reflects the differences between individual species.

Appropriate genetic markers must fall under the following criteria:

(a) It must reflect significant genetic variability and divergence on a species level.

(b) It must be a short sequence that allows for ease of DNA extraction and amplification.

(c) It must have conserved flanking sites that may be used to produce universal primers. (Primers are short DNA strands that attach to single stranded DNA and allow specific sizes and sequences of DNA to be replicated.)

A commonly used genetic marker for barcoding is the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) gene. It’s approximately 648 base pairs long, and 95% of all animals have this. Researchers picked CO1 because it fulfills all of the requirements as noted above, and it also is an essential gene. Cytochrome c oxidase is a transmembrane protein that is found in the mitochondria, and it is the last protein in the electron transport chain. The electron transport chain is responsible for creating the cell’s ATP or energy, and as such, it is an essential gene.

Using this CO1 gene, Hebert et al barcoded 260 of 667 breeding bird species in Canada, and found that every single bird had a different CO1 sequence. All of the North America birds, to date, have already been barcoded using the CO1 gene.

Even ancient life could be barcoded using the same methods and genes. Lambert et al published a paper in 2005 that discussed how extinct flightless birds called moas were sequenced from 26 moa fossil bones, and all 26 CO1 sequences obtained were found to be unique. Researchers could do the same to other extinct creatures – recently extinct ones such as the Tasmanian wolf and the quagga to the ancient creatures such as dinosaurs and mammoths.

Researchers estimate that it would take approximately 20 years to barcode most species. It sounds like a relatively straightforward process, doesn’t it? However, as anticipated, there are many problems that arise with this methodology of barcoding.

The initial hurdle is that most living things are expected to have a CO1 sequence, in reality, some do not. Many insects are known to not have this sequence. Even if the CO1 sequence exists, it may still be ineffective as a genetic barcode sequence. Plants are known to have CO1 sequences that evolve too slowly for barcoding purposes. To solve this problem, other sequences will have to be used for other Kingdoms or Phyla. Many different sequences are already being suggested and debated upon. Kress et al (2005) suggested using the nuclear transcribed spacer region and plastid trnH-psbA intergenic spacer as DNA barcode. An example of one that also works well for plant barcoding is the essential matK gene that codes for a protein (an intron splicer) required in DNA transcript processing.

Even with successful barcoding sequences found for various species, another issue rises up with questions how reliable this method of barcoding may be. Some suggest that DNA does not provide reliable data above the species level, while others argue that it’s the flip side of things in that the obtained data is inapplicable at the species area and should be used at the higher levels of the taxonomic hierarchy!

As such, some researchers are worried that this barcoding method, rather than in collaboration with traditional cladistic methods (which refers to evolutionary trees), may end up being the method used to determine species, not describe them. Two terms are at play: delimiting and describing. Delimiting means to highlight genetically distinct levels of divergence, including morphological and behavioral differences, to suggest species status. Describing is exactly as it sounds: it does not endeavor to judge whether or not the specimen tested is a worthy to be given a species status based on the barcoding sequence.

To make things even more complicated, there are some species that may share the same sequence for that gene (just by sheer luck), and there may be more than one sequence of mitochondrial DNA for individual species. For example, plants are known to hybridize, which means that they will cross-breed between species and the resulting offspring will contain both parent’s DNA. Such species hybrids will undoubtedly make the barcoding endeavor much more difficult as then one would have to identify which plant species are the parents. Animals will cross-breed as well.

If barcoding is so problematic and taxing (even if everything worked out smoothly, there are still a plethora of species to deal with and barcoding all of them would require a lot of time and elbow grease), why should we even try to do it in the first place?

Aside from facilitating researchers in identification of species, there are also other (unexpected) perks from making such a barcode library. 350 DNA barcoding scientists met recently in Taipei (Sept. 2007) in the Barcoding of Life Conference held by the Consortium of Barcoding of Life (CBOL) to discuss the methodologies of barcoding process and also uses for the barcoding project.

Many individual geographic-bound or group-specific barcoding endeavors have already been established for conservation of biodiversity and environmental monitoring. Several to note are the Polar Barcoding of Life Initiative (PolarBol) that focuses on species living in the arctic/tundra region, and the Mosquito Barcoding Initiative (MBI), which works with mosquito populations to find out which species are the infection-carrying strains, especially of those carrying malaria and West Nile viruses.

Barcoding is beneficial for the general masses as well! Consumer protection was a big issue that popped up in the Barcode of Life Conference. Many stores sell plant-based medicines and herbal remedies, but how would one tell that it’s actually made from the actual (expensive) plant or from one that merely looks like that plant? To put this in perspective, some Asian herbal stores may sell average grade American ginseng that should cost about $60 USD/lb, but it is just as easy to sell fakes (cost: $40/lb) that look and smell almost the same! Better quality of American ginsengs are priced at over $335/lb, which is why consumers need to know if they are actually buying the right species and not just a look-alike.

Along the same line, DNA barcoding can protect consumers from buying products made with endangered plants or animals. Some illegal products can easily be masqueraded as those that are legitimately transportable. Living species such as star tortoises, ornamental fish and plants, even rare birds are sometimes smuggled out of their native countries. Dried medicinal herbs and plants, as well as animal parts treasured for their medicinal properties, such as leopard and tiger penises, are often hidden with other legitimate animal products as well. One of the Barcoding of Life Conference discussions highlighted the use of DNA barcoding as part of the procedures used when checking parcels or luggage crossing Sri Lankan borders. Similarly, it can also be used to provide quick and reliable identification of fish that are caught on commercial vessels and at the docks.

As we can see, DNA barcoding affects not just the scientific community; it has a huge impact on the economic world. Being able to identify pests and invasive species in all their life stages makes it much easier (and less costly) to prevent damages in crops worldwide. In Canada alone, the presence of invasive species causes damages in the ranges of $13.3 to $34.5 billion CDN annually! Canadians are sorely lacking the manpower and financial resources to deal with this problem, but if more is known about these pests, it would facilitate in ways to mitigate the problem. For example, specific life stages that are more susceptible to pesticides could be selectively targeted.

One use of DNA barcoding that had been proposed was one that would decrease the number of bird and airplane collisions that happen each year. Carla Dove of the Smithsonian Institute notes, “”Knowing which birds are most often struck, and the timing, altitude and routes of their migrations, could avert some of the thousands of annual collisions between birds and aircraft, military and civilian.” These collisions could result in injury for the plane and the passengers as well, especially if the birds become mangled up in the plane’s machinery or turbines. Aside from being dangerous, it’s also costly: the U.S. Aviation Industry loses approximately $400 million per year. Ironically enough, the culprit is often the Canadian goose.

Of course, a great use of the DNA barcoding would be to produce a Pokedex-like instrument. Insert a small sample of DNA into the machine, and away we go! (Of course, the machine would have to be a compilation of today’s PCR machine, sequence programs, and nucleotide sequence alignment programs.) Of course, it would then be called something like “LiveCyclopedia” or something similar to that. Think of all the business propositions in research and education! The person who could produce such a gadget would be the Bill Gates of the next millennium!

Environmental impacts of divorce. (pdf) (2007) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 104:p20629

In which we learn that being divorce can lead to higher carbon dioxide emissions when compared to married couples.

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ABSTRACT:
Divorce is increasingly common around the world. Its causes, dynamics, and socioeconomic impacts have been widely studied, but little research has addressed its environmental impacts. We found that average household size (number of people in a household) in divorced households (households with divorced heads) was 27– 41% smaller than married households (households with married heads) in 12 countries across the world around the year 2000 (between 1998 and 2002). If divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7.4 million fewer households in these countries. Meanwhile, the number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33–95% greater than in married households. In the United States (U.S.) in 2005, divorced households spent 46% and 56% more on electricity and water per person than married households. Divorced households in the U.S. could have saved more than 38 million rooms, 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, and 627 billion gallons of water in 2005 alone if their resource-use efficiency had been comparable to married households. Furthermore, U.S. households that experienced divorce used 42– 61% more resources per person than before their dissolution. Remarriage of divorced household heads increased household size and reduced resource use to levels similar to those of married households. The results suggest that mitigating the impacts of resource inefficient lifestyles such as divorce helps to achieve global environmental sustainability and saves money for households.

Humans have a natural fear of dark places, and perhaps justifiably so. Light only penetrates the uppermost levels of the ocean. The ocean’s depths are reservoirs of darkness, containing within them wonders at the edge of imagination, and horrors beyond that boundary of creativity. For this is the realm of the beast, the majestic ruler of the ocean who periodically spreads his domain over this light forsaken realm.

Awakening

The beast felt a growing need inside him. It was not a conscious thought, or want, but an instinct long suppressed, until it could no longer be held, and bubbled its way to the surface. It was a hunger, but not just a hunger for food. The meal would be just sustenance, and a preparation for satisfying this deeper hunger, a natural desire deeper than the depths of the ocean that surrounded him. The beast awoke from his long slumber and knew it was that time once again. He was old, this beast, and an ancient one in terms of his species’ lifestyle. Few of his kind would live to a hundred, but this one made them seem youthful in comparison.

A vast amount of water was displaced in an instant as he propelled himself away from his resting place. The beast had slumbered for a long time, perhaps thirty earthly cycles. Time had little meaning to the beast, whose life cycled around his periodic savage needs. He sped toward the surface, his eight arms and two vast tentacles trailing behind him. He opened his enormous eyes, eyes that had seen metal ironclads, and even wooden sailing ships, before they became obsolete footnotes in naval history. His giant maw opened as he closed in some schools of fish, devouring vast quantities of them with little effort. He was a prince of the deep, he was the king of cephalopods, he was the sovereign of the ocean, and he would claim his spoils.

The feasting was nearly over before he started projecting his location. Dolphins have a method of echolating, as do whales. His kind could do so, with a method that was older than both. He coiled himself into a tight, dense ball and waited, initiating the first step of his courtship.

Old Feuds

The sperm whale picked up on the signal quite a distance away. It was perplexed, its massive mammalian brain bombarded with signals that seemed to be from another whale, and yet didn’t. He was a young whale, in the prime of his life. He began to swim towards it at a rapid speed. The sperm whale was not afraid, merely curious. He had never met anything that could challenge his ocean supremacy. In this sense he was lucky, as most others of his kind had been killed by humans, and his species brought to the brink of extinction. This whale had grown up in the relatively safe times of recent modernity, as most human nations banned the hunting of his kind. He had never truly been afraid, even when it came to challenging other males over territory.

It was with this swaggering pride of youth that he approached the beast. He had seen far smaller like this beast before; he had no word it, just a mental association. Men had called the beast Kraken, and other fantastic names. In this scientific age those that were myth ridden called it the giant squid, although they could never dream of a beast this large, a beast that was partly a consequence of their own actions. The sperm whale felt an instinct within himself, and sped toward the beast, preparing to attack.

This would be like no other prey before; this was a challenge, a call to arms, and one truly worth his ultimate weapon. The whale released a sonic barrage from his amplifier organ, surrounded by spermatic oil and tissue of special acoustical properties. The barrage reaches the beast, which seemingly reeled backwards from the pressure. It appeared stunned as the whale rushed in and prepared to engulf its prey.

Just as he neared the beast, however, the beast expanded, flinging itself outward from its previously compact echolocating form. Giant arms and tentacles extended rapidly, with each carpus lined with arrays of suction cup like suckers. They attached onto the surprised whale, as the beast continued to expand, and increase its grip over the whale’s massive head. The whale responded with several more blasts, which had always been effective before, but were failing now. The two leviathans were locked in mortal combat, the whale struggling for his life, the squid for something far more important.

Their two kinds had battled long before humans sailed the world’s oceans. In the past, the sperm whale had usually held the advantage, with its greater size, and sonic warfare. However humans, in their limited wisdom, unwittingly interfered in this eternal combat. During the Age of Exploration, and afterwards, they hunted most whale species to near extinction. The giant squid, whose existence humans had for a long time both imagined and denied, was given an advantage it had never had before. For the squid had a potential lifetime unknown to both humans and its own kind. It had always been kept in check by the whales, but some, like the beast, reached an age and size never seen before.

And now, the beast was thick and large enough to withstand the blasts, and wily enough to avoid them in most cases. Now that it was this close, its massive suckers buried deep into the skin, releasing blood and spermatic fluid, disrupting the sensitive acoustics that made the whale’s sonic weapon possible. The whale could feel true fear now, a fear that felt like a paralyzing poison, although perhaps that was a result of another one of the beast’s potent weapons. It thought it had been the sovereign, but now it knew its proper place, second to the beast in the great ocean chain. It could feel the life draining out of it as the squid continued its penetration of his body. His giant mammalian brain gave him the full range of pain, and he felt it now to the extreme. It was only a matter a time before it would be over, mercifully over. The sovereign would claim his spoils of war.

War and Love

The beast waited, triumphant in his victory, although it was a battle he had won many times before. It was less of a challenge each time, and would one day possibly become trivial. He dragged the whale down into the depths, into a secure pressure point where the carcass would not rise to the surface with its natural buoyancy. He continued the second step of his courtship, projecting his location until the one would come to satisfy his desires. For the beast had fed, but his deeper desire remained, a carnal need that when surfaced made hibernation nearly impossible.

Finally, he heard a response to his calls, and another of his kind approached. She was an old one, nearly as old as the beast, and nearly as large. She felt the beast’s needs in his calls, and echoed it with her own desire, just as strong, and seemingly insatiable. She eyed the sperm whale carcass, and was impressed by her potential mate’s offering. Signaling her agreement, she lowered her suckers, which could be a deadly deterrent if she wished them to be. Like the female porcupine, this was one female that could never be unduly pressured. Now it was time for her to claim her sovereign rights. The beast had waited for this, before exposing his tender and vulnerable underbelly. They embraced, as delicate as old lovers, and as passionate as new ones. They began to propel through the water as they nourished their desires. They felt pleasure beyond our imagining, these beasts endowed with massive axons and nerve cells. In a mating that put mammalian ones to shame, they completed nature’s demand, and felt their desire rapidly vanish.

Dénouement

In an afterwards that felt like years and perhaps it was, they lay there, before preparing to part ways. The male beast was content, having finally sated his insatiable desire. She was content as well, and they knew the offspring would be safe and have a source of food in the form in the recently conquered sperm whale. He bade a final sonic farewell as he headed away, moving with his jet like propulsion.

He may be the king of cephalopods, the sovereign of the seven seas, but he was subject to his own cycle of desires, and needs. And now that his primal needs were met, he felt the calling to slumber. He descended, ever descended, into the deep, his brain and body systems following a parallel descent into hibernation. He was the sovereign of the ocean, but even a sovereign needs his sleep, before he can awaken once more, to once again claim his spoils.

Aortic Arch
Corpus Callosum
Islets of Langerhans
Bowman’s Capsule
Cranial Vault
Semicircular Canals
Medullary Pyramids
Brodmann Areas
Crypts of Lieberkühn
Prussack’s Space
Fissure of Rolando
McBurney’s Point
Anterior Horn
Alcock’s Canal
Hesselbach’s Triangle
Loop of Henle
Renal Columns of Bertin

(Originally from Yankee Pot Roast)

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The Super Friends epsiode: “Wonder vs. Wonder”
When it becomes clear that a mission is botched because Wonder Woman is clearly visible in her invisible jet, unhappy murmurs begin to surface within the Super Friends’ organization. In particular, Zan, of the Wonder Twins, is merciless in his teasing of Wonder Woman. It also doesn’t help that Wonder Woman, herself, is generally not impressed with his otherwise useless superpower (“Form of a bucket of water? What in Amazon is that about?”) In any event, Batman decides to put his scientific mind to work by fixing the jet and soon discovers a small error in the optics of one of the twenty cameras that are responsible for the illusion. Unfortunately, this only seems to encourage Zan further, who torments Wonder Woman on the seemingly mundane manner that invisibility is conferred. (“It’s literally all done with cameras! What a loser plane!”) In the end, fed up with Zan’s abuse, Wonder Woman soundly beats the crap out of him.

Peanuts episode: “That’s Biotechnology, Charlie Brown!”
Charlie Brown loses yet another kite within the branches of his nemesis, the kite-eating tree. However, Linus cleverly observes that this action is not unlike the concept of phytoremediation—whereby green plants are capable of removing pollutants from the environment. Linus, along with Sally as his doting lab assistant, immediately sets upon cloning this particular tree, and goes on to secure a patent for “the use of the kite-eating tree to remove kites and other airborne contaminants from the air.” As a result, Charlie Brown and Linus embark on a biotechnology business venture that quickly makes them extremely wealthy. Empowered with his new affluence, Charlie Brown finally tells Lucy to “fuck off.”

The Simpsons episode: “My Fat Bonehead”
Guest starring as herself, Jessica Simpson visits Springfield to teach Homer the ropes of becoming a southern gentleman (à la My Fair Lady). This goes as well as expected, and Bart in particular becomes completely smitten by the young lady. However, it is then revealed that Lisa is recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and furthermore is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Miraculously, Jessica Simpson is the perfect match, which culminates in the use of genetic testing techniques to show that she is, indeed, Homer and Marge’s long-lost lovechild. Bart then has to deal with conflicting feelings of lust and the heebie-jeebies from this apparently incestuous crush.

Dora the Explorer episode: “¡Hola! I Have a Brain Tumor!”
In this episode, Dora visits her doctor to complain about her dry, red, and itchy eyes. The doctor quickly solves the problem by advising Dora to try blinking for a change. However, at this visit, the doctor quickly suspects Dora is plagued with a more serious psychosomatic condition, since she continually refers to a talking backpack, a talking map, and a talking monkey with a perceived preference for sturdy yet red colored footwear. When Dora continues to stare off into the distance and ask bizarre and loud questions towards no one in particular (“What was YOUR favorite part of the day?”), the doctor decides to take matters into his own hand and schedules her for a CAT scan.

Introduction

It doesn’t take a scientist to tell you that Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has a drug problem. Junkies can be seen shooting up in alleys, high on street corners, and selling dope to fellow junkies. In addition the obvious threat of death by drug overdose, drug users face issues of HIV and Hepatitis virus infection along with bacterial infection. These problems were addressed by the opening of Insite—North America’s first supervised safe injection site.

Based on a model of harm reduction implemented successfully in several European nations, Insite provides a safe and clean environment for intravenous drug users to inject their own drugs under clinical supervision. At its time of opening, Insite was given a three-year operating exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as a pilot research project, but has recently been given an extension until June of 2008. Despite its successes in clinical research studies, continued operation of Insite beyond 2008 lies in jeopardy

Risks as an Intravenous Drug User in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

Life is an intravenous drug user (IVDU) in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is full of medical and health risks, as many users resort to using puddle water, and even sewer water for injections. Also, an estimated 1 in 3 IVDU’s are HIV positive and another 90% are estimated to have Hepatitis C—sharing needles represents another major health risk. Due to these risky behaviours, it is no surprise that IVDU’s incur a major cost on our healthcare system. Many users require doctor visits, emergency services, and also visits to the hospital. In many cases, IVDU’s require medical attention for septicemia (blood poisoning) from using contaminated water, and in extreme cases, some may require plastic surgery and even amputation. By implementing a model of harm reduction, many of these costs can be reduced, and even eliminated.

Harm Reduction—A New Philosophy of Public Health

Harm reduction operates under the premise that certain risky behaviours—like intravenous drug use, unsafe sex, and prostitution—are engaged in, and will always be engaged in. However, the dangers to individuals engaging in these risky behaviours can be mitigated by interventions and programs designed to reduce the harm of these behaviours. As you can tell, harm reduction contrasts with the dominant American drug strategy of abstinence, in which interventions are designed to prohibit and stop these risky behaviours from developing to begin with. Some common harm reduction programs include designated driver campaigns, and more controversial topics include provision of condoms in schools, needle exchange programs, and safe injection sites; much like Vancouver’s Insite. Under the harm reduction philosophy, Insite provides a safe injection environment—thus reducing harm to IVDU’s—until they can be helped off drugs.

Vancouver’s Strategy on Drug Use: The Four Pillars

Vancouver has adopted a Four Pillars Drug Strategy to reduce drug related harm in the Downtown Eastside. Harm reduction is featured as one of these four pillars, with the other three including prevention, treatment, and enforcement.

Initiatives under the prevention pillar include promotion of healthy families and communities, and also prevention of or delaying onset of substance use. Successful prevention programs aim to improve the health of the general population.

Under the treatment pillar, individuals are given access to programs that help them come to terms with drug use, and help them lead healthier lives. Programs under this pillar include methadone programs, peer-based counseling, housing support, and daytime residential treatment.

Initiatives under the harm reduction pillar are designed to reduce the spread of communicable diseases, and also help prevent drug overdose deaths. There are also programs designed to increase contact between health care services and IVDU’s and programs to reduce consumption of drugs on the street.

Lastly, the enforcement pillar involves recognizing the need for “peace and quiet”, and preserves public order and safety in the Downtown Eastside. Initiatives target organized crime, drug dealing, and businesses involved in the drug trade.

Separating Fact and Fiction—What is Insite? What Impacts has it Made?

As mentioned earlier, Insite is North America’s first supervised safe injection site, and is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Clients using Insite are first greeted at the reception area, and then enter a 12 seated injection room, where they are given a disposable injection kit which includes clean needles and water. Clients are then assigned a stall, where they are able to inject their own self-obtained drugs under medical supervision. Drugs are not provided by the safe injection site, but are obtained by the users themselves. Following injection, they enter a post-injection “chill out room”, where users are able to receive counseling and can also be referred to treatment services. Not only does Insite reduce the risk for IVDU’s, it also refers those seeking addiction help to various treatment programs as well.

Currently, Insite has reached an estimated 7,500 IVDU’s. As a research pilot project, Insite has been the subject of several medical studies, and many findings have been made. Published research in world-class medical journals (including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Canadian Medical Association journal) suggest that Insite has:

- Been leading to increased admissions to detoxification programs and addiction treatment

- Not lead to increased drug-related crime

- Reduced the number of people injecting in public and also reduced injection-related litter

- Attracted highest at-risk individuals for HIV and Hepatitis infection

- Reduced overall rates of needle sharing in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside community

- Not increased rates of relapse among former drug users

- Not negatively influenced those seeking to stop drug use

- Reduced drug overdose mortality rate

Normally, such strong, positive evidence from a pilot research project would result in an extension and implementation of similar initiatives. However, in Insite’s case, these new initiatives have yet to be drafted, yet alone launched; moreover, the future of Insite itself lies in jeopardy.

Arguments Made Against Insite: The Other Side of the Fence

Despite having several positive benefits recognized by the Vancouver Police Department, the International AIDS society, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS, and the Canadian Union of Public and General Employees, arguments have been made against Insite. In particular, the RCMP have released a report (in late 2006) voicing their stance against Insite and the harm reduction model:

“[T]here is considerable evidence to show that when the perceived risks associated to drug use decreases, there is a corresponding increase in the number of people using drugs.”

The report also claims that harm reduction efforts “”by themselves lead to a never-ending cycle of drug use.”

Despite such bold claims made by the RCMP report, no direct evidence was presented, nor were statements made to refute the medical evidence presented earlier. This report was highly criticized as providing mere anecdotal evidence to counter the peer-reviewed, scientific evidence published in world-class medical journals. On one hand you have the RCMP without any evidence arguing that Insite promotes drug use, and on the other hand you have scientists and physicians with scientific evidence published in reputable peer-reviewed journals arguing that Insite reduces drug use. Which do you trust?

Science vs. Politics: Who Will Win in the End?

Despite Insite’s overwhelming success being recognized in the scientific community, the harm reduction initiative is on a crash course with current North American political ideology. When Insite opened in 2003 under the Liberal government, it drew criticism from the Bush administration, and was labeled as “sate-sponsored suicide” by John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Such statements show the lack of insight from our American neighbors—Canada’s safe injection site has in fact lead to a decrease in drug-related overdose death.

Prior to Stephen Harper becoming Prime Minister, federal drug policy was similar to the “Four Pillars” approach described earlier—a holistic model including prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement. However, the new drug policy put forth by Stephen Harper closely resembles that of our American neighbors’ “War on Drugs”. This “War on Drugs” policy, initially put into action by the Nixon administration in 1971, continues to this day; it views drug use as a crime and calls for harsh penalties and programs promoting prohibition of drug use. Despite its long period of action in the USA, the “War on Drugs” is widely accepted as providing limited success at best.

It has become apparent that our federal government has been delaying its decision on whether to expand Insite’s harm reduction strategy or to continue with the “War on Drugs” approach. At its time of opening, Insite was given a 3 year exemption to operate, and was later given another extension by the federal government to operate until Dec. 31, 2007. In September 2007, Insite was given another extension, this time only 6 months, to continue operating until late June 2008. When our federal government finally decides to make a decision, which direction will it take? Will they choose to follow our current national drug policy where only limited success has been obtained? Or will it choose to revolutionize Canadian drug policy by following one of harm reduction, which has been shown by scientific research to have several profound benefits? I for one believe that it’s time for a change.

References

Drucker, E.. Insite: Canada’s landmark safe injecting program at risk. Harm Reduction Journal 2006, 3:24.

Kerr, T.; Tyndall, M.W.; Li, K.; Montaner, J.S.; Wood, E.. Safer Injecting Facility Use and Syringe Sharing Among Injection Drug Users. Lancet 2005, 366:316-318.

Wood, E; Tyndall, M.W.; Zhang, R.; Stoltz ,J.; Lai, C; Montaner, J.S.G.; and Kerr, T.. Attendance at Supervised Injecting Facilities and Use of Detoxification Services. New England Journal of Medicine 2006, 354:2512-2514.

Wood, E; Tyndall M.W.; Lai, C.; Montaner, J.S.G.; and Kerr, T.. Impact of a Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility on Drug Dealing and Other Drug-Related Crime. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy 2006, 1:1-4.

Wood, E.; Kerr, T.; Small, W.; Li, K.; Marsh, D.; Montaner, J.S.; and Tyndall, M.W. Changes In Public Order After The Opening of a Medically Supervised Safer Injection Facility for Injection Drug Users. Canadian Medical Association Journal 2004, 171:731-734.

Wood, E.; Tyndall M.W.; Li, K.; Lloyd-Smith, E.; Small, W.; Montaner, J.S.G.; and Kerr, T.. Do Supervised Injecting Facilities Attract Higher-Risk Injection Drug Users? American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2005, 29:126-130.

“Judge Insite on science, not police anecdotes.” The Vancouver Sun. Dec. 12, 2006. Accessed Nov. 16, 2007. link

My eyes open to the world, to meet its vivid, awe-striking, vibrant imagery. I remain motionless, not wishing to disturb the steady balance of my eyes, frozen in space and time, lost in sheer curiosity and the silent delight of visualizing the world. My gaze drinks from this novel experience with light and flirts with my surroundings. At that moment, within my soft skull, I can sense a billion of tiny, sparkling nerve impulses, dancing with the excitement of feeling the touch of “Time”. Joy courses through my little body – in anticipation of the events that will invariably occur and stake their influence on my brain and, indeed, my being.

I feel as if I’d just watched a deeply moving movie spanning the evolutionary and spiritual past of organisms… and now, I am here to direct a sequel, with all the experience and lessons yearning to take shape. From the time I was conceived, my body had “evolved” in my mother’s womb from amoeboid-shaped to fish-like, to an amphibian, a reptile and finally after still more evolutionary phases, in the form as it is today.

Wait, what is it that I hear…?

“You are just a newborn baby! How could you possibly know of this?”

The most tenable and satisfactory answer to your question is my innocent, resonating laughter. But adults do not remember a lot…they do not “see” what is so crystal clear, beautiful and precious right there, before them. They gaze at the other side of the fence… I will do my best to translate the thrill of my laughter in your language.

Listen closely…

Everyone, including me, is born with an innate, incredible plasticity, and immense capacity for prodigious thinking.

“Just like that?”

Let me put forth another perspective. Everyday, every hour and every minute, I am forming new synapses through specific patterns of neuronal activity. If I find a pure and intense desire, passion or love for a goal, then the connections and associations in my brain will align in the precise form and pattern to make my dreams a reality. A process of selection will stimulate that dream and inhibit the patterns that go against it. My power derives from my purity. The swift developments in my brain arise from the inherited capacity to perceive and control.

Right now, I am capable of “downloading” a certain kind of software that may be understood as a blueprint or a pattern, a set of mental rules or algorithm that form the basis of the challenge that I am eager to pursue. My love for it will grow in harmony as my “hard work” results in establishing the energies that correspond to my target. In this way, I can “tune in” to that pattern.

Now, I can alter my synaptic development to cater to my desires. This information pertaining to my penchants, functions as a reference level for a perceptual control process in my brain. This process can compare the current state of affairs with the reference level and generate feedback. This would then trigger actions that can bring me closer to my goal. Thus, the wiring of the brain models a control theory that imparts a sense of purpose to the brain’s structure and functioning.

“What is so special about this process and children?”

I am in my natural state of growth. My preferred synaptic pattern is woven into the fabric of my developing synaptic structure.

Imagine a potter’s wheel. A finger held against the wet clay rotating on the wheel, will leave a symmetric depression in the clay… In the same way, these initial inclinations are permanently “saved” in the brain. The legacy of my ancestors, i.e. capacity to perceive and control is like that clay pot on the rotating wheel and it may be sculpted with love. Children have never known hatred. They only understand the language of love. How beautiful and empowering it is to have countless choices to choose from, with each configuration giving a unique output…and then to be able to select the precise ones that ring true with one’s conceived design.

“I wish I could be a child again.”

In about two years’ time, I will have reached the point where I have the maximum number of synapses I will ever have. Then, as I grow up and get the opportunity to live my dream, my synaptic pattern will become nourished, developed and strengthened for the entire world to behold and admire.

“You are awe-inspiring, stunning! I am simply overwhelmed by your knowledge…”

If only you could understand my resonating laughter, you wouldn’t have to exert the effort to understand…

“Someday, I hope I can…”

And then my body decides that it wants to return to the warmth, nourishment and love of my mother’s womb… or at least announce its intentions. I am overpowered by the physical discomfort of leaving the heavenly cocoon and tears flow copiously through my eyes, as I break into a glass-shattering cry, only to be subdued by my mother’s comforting hug.

(From the Periphery)

Pending the results of an Environmental Review Board (ERB) hearing scheduled for next Tuesday, Dr. Susan Millar is scheduled to commence work on the long anticipated Glacier Restoration Project early this winter. “We’ve been working at this for a long time,” Millar said at a press conference in the James Library. “It feels like its coming to an end, but “It feels like its coming to an end, but we expect that it is just the beginning of a new epoch in glacial research, if not a new glacial epoch.”

Dr. Millar and her team was awarded the International Cold Environments (ICE) Grant for Groundbreaking research in order to begin restoration of the ice sheet that covered much of North America nearly two million years ago. “It’s important, in a project of this magnitude, to start small. Fortunately we’ve had wonderful support so far from the City of Syracuse and from the University.”

In exchange for naming rights of the glacier, Carrier Corporation has agreed to expand their Syracuse plant in order to produce the air conditioners necessary for the initial cooling. The City Council expects that the glacier will become a major tourist attraction, adding an outdoor component to the DestiNY USA project. City Councilman Ben Doggle has hopes for a major resort development . “In the face of global warming, we expect vacationers to seek out opportunities to escape the heat. We want to position Syracuse on the leading edge of cryo-tourism.”

Not everyone is as enthusiastic as Councilman Doggle. Dr. Millar and her team have frequently encountered resistance, on the one hand from restoration skeptics, who have argued that we can’t yet to be sure of the science and that more study is needed before such drastic measures are taken. On the other hand, a more vocal group has argued that the newly restored Carrier Glacier will threaten the habitat of the Syracuse black Squirrel (Spirmophilus Orangeus) . Additionally, Jim Boeheim, coach of the men’s basketball team, has expressed concern that a glacier outside of the dome will cause the team’s free-throw shooters to go cold.

A ground covering ceremony is planned for next Wednesday (weather permitting) at the North Entrance to the Carrier Dome. Please feel free to bring your own snow and ice to contribute to the cause and participate in the festivities.

Energy expenditure in adolescents playing new generation computer games. (pdf) (2007) British Medical Journal 355:p1282

In which we learn that you use more energy “jumping around” playing video games, than say “not jumping around” playing video games.

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ABSTRACT:
Objective: To compare the energy expenditure of adolescents when playing sedentary and new generation active computer games.

Design: Cross sectional comparison of four computer games.

Setting: Research laboratories.

Participants: Six boys and five girls aged 13-15 years. Procedure Participants were fitted with a monitoring device validated to predict energy expenditure. They played four computer games for 15 minutes each. One of the games was sedentary (XBOX 360) and the other three were active (Wii Sports).

Main outcome measure: Predicted energy expenditure, compared using repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Mean (standard deviation) predicted energy expenditure when playing Wii Sports bowling (190.6 (22.2) kJ/kg/min), tennis (202.5 (31.5) kJ/kg/min), and boxing (198.1 (33.9) kJ/kg/min) was significantly greater than when playing sedentary games (125.5 (13.7) kJ/kg/min) (P<0.001). Predicted energy expenditure was at least 65.1 (95% confidence interval 47.3 to 82.9) kJ/kg/min greater when playing active rather than sedentary games.

Conclusions: Playing new generation active computer games uses significantly more energy than playing sedentary computer games but not as much energy as playing the sport itself. The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise in children.

Here we go again. In order to finish my term paper on time, I must pull an “all-nighter”. It is a tactic I employ increasingly often despite knowing the consequences: I will be a zombie the next day, with my eyes drooping and my head embarrassingly bobbing as I ride the bus or ‘attend’ Powerpoint presentations. The complaint of “not enough hours in the day” is heard from
many people, not only last-minute students such as myself [1,2]. This frustration begs the question, what is the evolutionary reason I need to sleep for 8 of the 24 hours in a day?

Sleep has been studied in over 150 animal species, including invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and 14 orders of mammals [3], however fundamental questions of what sleep is doing and why remain largely a mystery[4]. Recent studies are making discoveries that reveal what happens during sleep, and allow for exciting theories to be proposed regarding the need for sleep.

What is sleep?

Most of us would recognize someone who is sleeping. It is generally characterized by a reduction in body movement, unresponsiveness, and a lack of consciousness. In 1953, Nathan Kleitman of the University of Chicago provided some of the first evidence of brain activity during sleep by discovering that during sleep, people experience periods of rapid eye movement, now commonly known as REM sleep [5]. In fact, all terrestrial mammals examined to this date exhibit REM sleep in alternating cycle with non-REM sleep [3]. Through technological achievements in neural imaging and micro-scale wire probes, sleep is studied at the cellular (neurons in particular) level [4]. Non-REM sleep is marked by synchronous, low frequency neuron activity in the cortex. In contrast, brain activity during REM sleep resembles wakefulness [6]. It is during REM phase, that we most commonly experience dreams. Dreaming is accompanied by excitation of the brain’s motor control systems, causing muscle twitches that give REM sleep its characteristic eye movements. In order to inhibit most body movement during REM sleep, the brain stops releasing the chemicals that would activate motoneurons (brain cells that control muscle cells) [4,6]. These chemicals are known as neurotransmitters, and are responsible for carrying signals from one neuron to another. Additionally, the brain releases a different set of neurotransmitters that actively shut down motorneurons [6].

Sleep has also been shown to affect brain systems that control internal organs [7,8]. Heart rate, body temperature, hormone levels, and breathing are all regulated differently during REM and non-REM sleep (and compared to being awake) [7,8]. The precise signals that induce the onset of sleep are not completely understood, however a small group of brain cells have been discovered at the base of the forebrain appear active only during non-REM sleep [4,6]. These cells are called sleep-on neurons, and are known to be partly activated by increased body heat. In REM sleep, specialized cells called REM sleep-on neurons become especially active [4,6].

The ubiquity of sleep throughout the animal kingdom suggests that it appears early in the evolutionary tree (of mammals), and that it serves an essential function (or many) [8]. Classification schemes for sleep are challenged to deal with the impressive variety of sleep behaviours exhibited in different animals. Perhaps most curious from a human perspective are whales and dolphins, which are able to sleep while swimming. Their trick is to only shut down half of their brain (and corresponding eye). This resting half of the brain undergoes activity such as REM and non-REM sleep, while the active half (and active eye) remains attentive to predators, environment and breathing cues [9]. After approximately two hours, the animal will switch sides in order to rest both halves of the brain. Humans require (on average) approximately 8 hours of sleep per night, while the opossum needs 18, and elephants get by with only 3 [3]. A survey of sleep characteristics across taxonomy reveals that evolutionary relatedness does not determine sleep time (e.g. the range of primate sleep duration extensively overlaps the duration of sleep for rodents) [3]. Rather, it is the size of an animal that is the best indicator of the amount of sleep it needs [4]. Larger animals tend to need less sleep than smaller animals, likely a consequence of larger animals having lower body/brain temperatures and slower rates of metabolism (the chemical process of breaking down food for energy and using this energy to construct cell components such as proteins). Furthermore, all sleeping animals release (or stop releasing) neurotransmitters, which disables movement and reduces environment awareness [6]. These correlations of sleep properties to metabolism and neurotransmitters must be taken into account by any theory attempting to explain the basis for sleep.

Do we need to sleep?

Now, having reviewed the occurrence of sleep, my question remains: What is the function of sleep, and why is it needed? The obvious answer is that adequate sleep is required to be alert and awake, but this is similar to saying that eating is to prevent feelings of hunger. Just as eating evolved as a means to nourish the body’s cells (and their processes), sleeping must have a similar justification as a requirement for sustaining life.

In the past, investigations of the function of sleep have often taken the form of sleep deprivation studies. Randy Gardner holds the Guinness World Record for intentionally going the longest without sleep. In 1965, as part of a high-school science project, 18 year old Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours (11 days). During his sleep deprivation, he reportedly experienced significant deficits in concentration, motivation, perception, and problem solving, however he recovered normal cognitive function after a few nights’ sleep. Being sleepy while driving has been shown to be as dangerous driving drunk [10], and lack of sleep has been implicated in depression and obesity [1,2]. Due to the associated health risks, the Guinness Book of Records no longer sanctions sleep deprivation records. The Vietnamese news agency, Thanh Nien, has been following Tai Ngoc, who has been awake for 35 years following a fever in 1973 [11]. Ngoc is apparently mentally sound and suffers no ill effect (other than some grumpiness).

Total sleep deprivation in rats has been shown to lead to weight loss (despite increased food consumption), and ultimately death [4,6]. For reasons that are still a mystery, rats kept without sleep will die within 10 to 20 days—a faster death than if they are withheld food but sleep normally.

The drive for sleep is so strong that achieving total sleep deprivation requires repeated and intense stimulation. Such stress confounds the results of sleep function studies based on sleep deprivation, and points to the need to develop new experimental procedures that reduce stress contamination. Stress effects likely contributed to the now convincingly debunked theory that sleep deprivation leads to insanity [4].

The Function of Sleep: Current Understanding

The function and need of both REM and non-REM sleep remains unclear, and is an area of active research. Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at the Brain Research Institute of the University of California Los Angeles, is a leader in the sleep research field and a proponent of functional theories for REM and non-REM sleep. Recall the observation that small animals, with a fast metabolism, tend to sleep more than larger animals, with slower metabolisms. The processes involved in metabolism can generate free radicals, which are extremely reactive chemicals that can damage and even kill cells. High metabolic rates lead to increased free-radical damage in cells, and can impair tissue functions. Injured cells are typically replaced with fresh ones produced by cell division, however most brain regions do not continue actively dividing after birth. Siegel and his colleagues propose that during non-REM sleep the brain enters a state of slower metabolism, and lower temperature, thus providing a favourable environment for enzymes to be synthesized and repair cells [4,6].

To account for REM sleep, Siegel hypothesizes that the cessation of neurotransmitter release (which is observed during REM phase) is vital for the proper function of neurons [4,6]. Several studies support the theory that a constant release of certain neurotransmitters can desensitize neurons to that stimulus [4]. Therefore, the break in neurotransmitter release during REM sleep provides a rest period for receiving neurons to regain their sensitivity. Maintaining this sensitivity may be crucial during waking for regulating emotion (many antidepressant pharmaceuticals act on the reception of neurotransmitters).

A puzzling property of REM sleep (that may not be adequately addressed by the sensitivity theory) is that when an animal is forced to go without REM sleep, it will repay this “debt” by achieving more than the usual amount of REM sleep when it is finally allowed to reach this phase [4].

A significant amount of research is exploring the role of sleep in memory consolidation and learning[12]. An exciting result supporting this theory is reported by David Euston in this week’s edition of Science [12]. Euston records the patterns of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex of rats during a repetitive sequence task. Interestingly, these patterns of activity are also observed during sleep, but compressed in time by a factor of 6 to 7. The authors propose that when behavioural constraints are removed, the brain’s intrinsic processing speed is much faster than it is in real time, and that the observed replay may play a role in the process of memory consolidation. Furthermore, a recent study of sleep time in Drosophila showed that a rich social experience, versus an impoverished one (as in isolation), increased the duration of sleep [13].

In all animals studied, the amount of time spent in REM gradually decreases from as the subject matures [4,6]. Even more interesting, the amount of time in REM sleep for an adult in a given species is proportional to how immature the offspring are at birth [4,6]. The platypus (an early mammal, evolutionarily speaking) is born completely defenseless and blind, and achieves approximately 8 hours of REM sleep per day [3,4]. In contrast, newbord dolphins are able to swim at birth, and do almost no REM sleeping. Additionally, preventing REM sleep in cats during early development can lead to visual system abnormalities [8]. This evidence suggests that the neural activity during REM sleep plays an important role in establishing neural connections and sensory development.

Sleep and Evolution

Research on sleep has shown that it is phylogenetically ancient [3,8]. Some researchers argue that the primary function of sleep is trivial (that of rest), and that the complexity we observe is the result of evolutionary “leftovers” [14]. Characteristics such as REM sleep and thermoregulation, that are unique to mammals, may be functionally secondary. Studies looking at the sleep of reptiles (the evolutionary parent to mammals and birds) are currently underway, and may provide insight into when and whey the dual mode (REM/non-REM) of sleep evolved in mammals. What would be a phenotypic trait of sleep that could be favourably selected for through evolution? The “Preservation and Protection” theory holds that sleep serves an adaptive function by protecting the animal. Sleep forces the animal to stay quiet and hidden, helping it avoid predation. This argument has been criticized for failing to explain why the brain is required to disengage from the external environment during sleep (animals who are preyed upon typically disengage to a lesser extent) [14]. However, the “Preservation and Protection” theory does reverse the question: why are we ever awake?

Alas, the sun has risen, and my “all-nighter” must come to a close. Today I join the ranks of the tens of millions of North Americans who are affected by sleep deprivation each year [1,2]. Although I am still waiting for a complete and accurate justification for why (functionally and evolutionarily) I need to sleep for one third of my life, the findings and theories reviewed here imply that sleep likely serves multiple functions, and is essential for healthy life. I may not understand sleep, but I can’t cheat it.

References

1. Carpenter, S. Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health. Monitor on Psychology 2001; 32:9.

2. Bettelheim, A. What is keeping Americans up at night?. CQ Researcher 1998; 8:24.

3. Campbell, S.S., and Tobler, I. Animal sleep: a review of sleep duration across phylogeny. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 1984; 8:269-300.

4. Siegel, J. Why we sleep. Scientific American 2003; 289:92-97.

5. Aserinsky, E. and Kleitman, N. Regularly Occurring Periods of Eye Motility, and Concomitant Phenomena During Sleep. Science 1953; 118: 273 – 274.

6. Siegel, J. Clues to the functions of mammalian sleep. Nature 2005; 437:1264-1271.

7. Benca, R.M., and Quintas, J. Sleep and host defenses: a review. Sleep 1997; 20:1027-37.

8. Kavanau, J. L. Origin and Evolution of Sleep: Roles of Vision and Endothermy. Brain Res Bull 1997; 42:245-264.

9. Hecker, B. How do whales and dolphins sleep without drowning? Scientific American Online. link. Retrieved November 20, 2007.

10. Horne, J. and Reyner, L. Vehicle accidents related to sleep: a review. Occup. Environ. Med. 199;56:289-294.

11. Thao, V.P. Vietnam man handles three decades without sleep. Thanh Nien, 2006-02-14

12. Ganguly-Fitzgerald, I., Donlea, J., and Shaw, P.J. Waking Experience Affects Sleep Need in Drosophila. Science 2006; 313:1775-1781.

13. Euston, D.R., et al. Fast-Forward Playback of Recent Memory Sequences in Prefrontal Cortex During Sleep. Science 2007; 318:1147-1150.

14. Rial, R.V., et al. The trivial function of sleep. Sleep Med Rev 2007;11:311-325.