HP7.5!!!

It's not exactly related to science, but I am just so amazingly-crazy-over-the-top-hyper excited about watching the final and last "Harry Potter" movie last night.

Sigh.

And you know what? You CAN argue that there are science related themes in the movie. What about Healers? Latin phrases? Physics? Yep... all that is in there. And no, you can't argue with me. I am a Harry Potter Fan-atic.

HIV Cure?

I was flipping through Yahoo News this morning and found this incredible article about a man who had been cured of HIV!

The article is quick to point out that you can't really do this experimental procedure on everyone, since it transplants bone marrow stem cells from a person who is immune to HIV into a person who has HIV- and those people are few and far in between.

Quick biology review: Bone marrow is located inside of bones, and it is responsible for making white and red blood cells.... and white blood cells are immune system cells.... and HIV affects the immune system.

Pretty freaking incredible, no?

Just in case you're a fan of the original news source, here is the San Francisco CBS story.

You can find this picture and other cute little sperm
stories at The Silly Sperm Shop.

Skin, Bones and Muscle

You can keep your muscles in good shape by exercising, but there are a lot of different types of exercises to choose from. If you do something with a lot of running, walking and riding your bike, this is called aerobic (air-o-bic) exercise. This type of activity increases muscular endurance, which is what allows you to exercise for a long time. Anaerobic exercise is sprinting or lifting weights. This increases muscle strength. Bodybuilders do a lot of anaerobic exercise. Finally, flexibility exercises makes sure that your muscles stay loose, and your joints bendable. It increases your range of motion, and makes it less likely that will strain or pull something. 

Muscles are attached to other muscles by tendons During an injury, or when the tendons are used too much, they can become sore and develop tiny tears. If this happens to much, a person will develop tendonitis. This is common in athletes or people who do the same motions over and over again. Runners will get tendonitis in their knees, tennis players get tendonitis in their elbows, and people who type a lot can get tendonitis in their wrists. The only way to cure tendonitis is to let the tendon rest, do stretches recommended by a doctor, and apply ice. 

Sometimes people want to be big and strong a little too much. They are willing to take anabolic steroids (not the kind a doctor will give you for an allergy). These steroids will make your muscles bigger and stronger- but at a terrible price. People who take anabolic steroids often have heart attacks, strokes, and organ failure. 

I Scream... You Scream...

Ice Cream.

Guilty Pleasure? Forbidden Food? A Tempting Treat?

Or could it be.... a panacea for intense physical pain? I like to think so.

Today a co-worker accidently bit into a spicy hot pepper. Lucky for her another co-worked suggested she calm her nerves and mouth by eating one of the 50 ice cream sandwiches we had in the freezer. Why?

Spicy foods contain the molecule capsaicin (cap-say-sin), which is what makes spicy foods taste spicy. When this molecule hits a mucous membrane (like the inside of your mouth or nose), it makes that area start to burn. If you are like me, and a complete spicy-food-wimp, this is rather uncomfortable. To get rid of the burning, you should eat something that belongs in the dairy food group. You could go the boring route and drink a glass of milk... or use this as an excuse to indulge in an ice cream treat. A protein in milk called casein (cay-sin) will bind to the capsaicin, which keeps it from touching and binding to your tongue and gums.

Indulge and enjoy.

I found this necklace on molecularmuse's Etsy shop...
just in case you were interested.

Gel Electrophoresis Cookies

I was scanning the internet in search of all things geek-related, and I came across these gel electrophoresis cookies from Not So Humble Pie.

Biology + Cookies = One Happy Katie

I seem to have a gel electrophoresis theme going on...

Groupon for DNA Wall Art!!!

It's on sale! But for only 3 days! Hurry, hurry, HURRY!

Maybe I should take a second and actually explain what I am screaming about (as I stumble around and claw at my face). A couple of posts ago I wrote about how I wanted DNA artwork...and here it is.... on SALE! Special thanks to my friend Laura for sending me this link.

If you use this Groupon code, you get an 18"x25" canvas print of your DNA sample for $149. That is ridiculously cheap. I would love to get two: one for me and one for my husband. We can hang them in our living room, side-by-side, and announce to the world how nerdy we are.

Sex? No, X.

Me: We're going to learn about sex-linked traits today.
Student: We're learning about sex!
Me: No. Sex-linked traits. On the X chromosome.
Student: Can we learn about sex too?
Me: It's not that kind of class.

There are certain genes that are only located on the X chromosome. At this point in the school year, my students can tell you that girls have two X chromosomes and boys one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. I told them that the way I remember the difference is because I always wonder "why" boys act the way they did. I then get very dramatic and imitate girls who are asking each other why he didn't call. I usually get applause, but I digress.

The good: Because women have two X chromosomes, they have two chances to have a good allele, which is a type of gene.
The bad: Because men have only one X chromosome, they either have the disease/disorder or not. No second chances.
The ugly: Men tend to have these X-linked traits more often...things like being color blind, or having Hemophilia (which means that their blood doesn't make blood clots properly).
Even more ugly: Many women pass on X linked traits to their sons without knowing it. Like Hemophilia.