Hunger: A good thing?

The article I chose was about how a new experiment showed that being hungry is a was to stay awake without feeling groggy or mentally challenged. In the article a group of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis found that being hungry was more important than the need for sleep. The body determines that it would rather be nourished than sleep. They discovered that if we modify our lipids with drugs we can solve or reduce sleep problems without the side effects. There are a lot of problems that result from sleep deprivation and lack of food. As stated in the article, sleep deprivation can result in obesity (which was very interesting to me), and can help with the development of diabetes and coronary disease.
I chose this article because it was very interesting to me. I know I can get extremely groggy when I don't get my rest. I would be very interested to see if this could really work. I really don't think it will however, sleep is just as important as being nourished. No sleep makes you sick and no food makes you sick.

Chocolate that could save your life?

Resent research shows that chocolate is actually good for preventing heart disease and cancer. The substance flavonoinds, is found in the cocoa of the chocolate. Flavonoinds held prevent heart disease and cancer due to their high levels of antioxidants. This however doesn't mean that you can over load on chocolate, just that in moderation it is good for you. Also, this is not to be substituted for fruits and vegetables which also give you flavonoids and other essential things that your body needs to stay healthy. Another thing i found out was white chocolate doesn't have any flavonoids in it at all, yet dark chocolate has a lot more in it than milk chocolate. This mainly due to the content of the cocoa which is higher in dark chocolate. I chose this because i felt like it was an interesting topic since chocolate is usually labeled as bad for you, which is only true to a certain consent. Over use of chocolate however can cause you to gain excessive weight and cause cavities.
-Brandon Noonkester

Don't Mess with the Salamander

Getting in between a female salamander and her eggs is almost just as bad as getting between a bear and her cubs. In the article "Its Not the Size of the Salamander, Its the Size of the Fight in the Salamander" scientist have studied the behavior of the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander, a very small amphibian that lives in North America in damp and wet areas, to be very protective of its babies. Researchers say that its protective behavior increases the closer it gets for the eggs to hatch. At this stage the Red-Backed Salamander is more protective of its eggs rather than its territories or even its own food. At first the natural reaction for the Salamander after just having her babies are to curl up beside her eggs, but as the days go on the first reaction becomes more aggressive. The Salamander will snap, chase, or even bite its intruder repeatedly until there were no more signs of it being a threat. The number of eggs in her nest didn't make a difference towards the aggression level, so if the salamander had one eggs or even four eggs she still would protect them just the same. This protecting the mother gives to her eggs actually helps the population of this animal.


Biology 101
Trey Pitt
12/3/10