Slow Aging with Tea

White tea is good at slowing down the aging process of the body. It has ingredients that are effective at boosting the immune function of skin cells and protecting them against the damaging effects of the sun. It also has an extract that protects the skin from oxidative stress. Oxidative stress of the skin causes a breakdown in cellular strength and function. The extract has antioxidant properties that make it very effective. Antioxidants rid the body of free radicals that speed up the aging process. White tea has a high amount of the antioxidant called catechin, which is believed to help prevent stroke, diabetes, cancer, and heart failure.

In a study done on 21 different plant extracts, scientists have found that white tea was better than all of the other botanicals at stalling the activity of the enzymes that wear down elastin and collagen, which are two proteins that help to prevent wrinkles. Elastin helps maintain the elasticity of the skin, lungs, and arteries. Collagen is commonly found in the connective tissue and it is important for the strength and elasticity of the skin.

White tea also has anti-viral and antibacterial properties. It has a considerable amount of both caffeine and the amino acid theorine, both have mood enhancing qualities.

Cotton Candy Used to Grow Tissue

It is found that the sweet treat cotton candy can be used to help scientists grow replacement tissues for people who need it. It can also be used in creating networks of blood vessels in laboratory-grown bone, skin, muscles, or fat for breast reconstruction.

The process would work by first putting a thick liquid chemical over a wad of cotton candy. The liquid would then solidify into a chunk. The chunk would be placed into warm water to dissolve the candy. Tiny channels will then be left where the strands of candy used to be. These channels would be lined with cells to make artificial blood vessels. The solid chunk would be seeded with immature cells of whatever tissue that is meant to be made. The block would be biodegradable and would eventually be replaced by growing tissue as it disappears. In the end you would get a piece of tissue permeated with tiny blood vessels.

Researchers are testing this method and have used rat blood to run through the channels to test it. Eventually, they plan to use something other than cotton candy as the research progresses.

Global Warming Increases Allergy Problems

It is found that climate change due to global warming can affect allergies. Global warming and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from burning fossil fuels can increase the levels of pollen that cause allergies. The effect of global warming and increased carbon dioxide levels on allergies are currently being studied by government agencies, scientists, and doctors. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Environmental Protection Agency have both cited increased allergic reactions due to climate change as a growing concern for the public in 2007 reports.

The Affects of Menopause on Heart Disease

There are Dutch scientists that have found that women who have severe menopausal symptoms have more heart disease risks, such as high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and a higher body mass index (BMI), than women who have more mild symptoms. It is assumed that the decline in estrogen could affect the walls of blood vessels to cause these risks.

It is recommended for a woman experiencing menopause to get her blood pressure and cholesterol checked. It is also a good idea to try natural remedies, such as daily exercise, yoga, and a diet that is rich in flaxseed or isoflavones from soy.

Scientist Find Possible Alzheimer’s Gene

There are scientists that have found a gene that might raise the chances of getting the most common kind of Alzheimer’s disease by 45 percent in people who inherit a certain form of the disease. The gene affects a brain cell’s ability to take in calcium. Hopefully, drugs can be made to fight this effect. Most people are over the age of 65 that are affected by the disease.

Only one gene, called CALHM1, has been found to affect the risks associated with people over the age of 65. There are many other genes that are being studied as having the possibility to affect the disease.

How Hormones Affect Food Cravings

It is found that how tempting food may seem could depend on a person’s level of the hormone leptin. Weight is not only controlled by calorie intake and exercise, but also by complex brain complexes. Someday, scientists might be able to develop weight-loss drugs that modify the brain’s reaction to food.

Scientists Make First Genetically Modified Embryo

For the first time, scientists have been able to genetically alter a human embryo. Researchers used an abnormal embryo that could never have developed into a baby to do the project.

The project raises the possibilities that people could be able to create designer babies in the future and scientists could insert certain genes into an embryo to produce babies with certain characteristics, such as higher intelligence and better athletic abilities. Some people think that this is wrong and turns children into designed objects and would create an unequal society where some people would be considered genetically superior while other people who are born without genetic injections would be inferior.

Scientists say that the main point of the project was to find out if a gene injected into an abnormal embryo could be traced in stem cells that are harvested from the embryo. The work could also explain why abnormal embryos don’t develop. Scientists found that abnormal embryos don’t develop well enough to produce stem cells.

Scientists Find Genetic Link to Smoking Addiction

Scientists have found genetic variations that make people more likely to get hooked on cigarettes and more likely to develop lung cancer. This new finding could lead to screening tests and customized treatments being developed for smokers that want to quit smoking. It also gives more insight on how genetics and lifestyle habits work together to cause cancer.

A person that smokes that inherits the genetic variations from both parents has an 80 percent greater chance of lung cancer than a smoker without the variations. The same smoker would light two extra cigarettes a day on average and have a harder time quitting than smokers that don’t have the variations.

New Vaccine for Cocaine Addicts

Scientists are currently working on a vaccine that could prevent cocaine addicts from getting a high from the drug. The vaccine contains inactivated cocaine molecules that are attached to pieces of the inactivated cholera virus. When the vaccine is injected into the body, it trains the body’s immune system to see the drug as an invader. If the vaccinated cocaine addict takes cocaine, antibodies surround and attack themselves to the cocaine molecules and prevent them from reaching the brain to create that sense of feeling high. For people that want to stop using cocaine and kick the habit, the vaccine could be very useful.

Vitamin C Helps Prevent Arthritis

Scientists have recently found that the antioxidant found in produce, such as bell peppers, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, and oranges, can help your knees against arthritis. People eating a lot of Vitamin C are less likely to have bone degeneration that would cause knee osteoarthritis.

Scientist Explain Reasons for Chocolate Cravings

A study has found there is a type of bacteria in the digestive system that craves chocolate. Everyone has microbes in their stomach but people who have chocolate cravings have different colonies of bacteria.

The study was done by finding 11 men who never ate chocolate and 11 men who ate chocolate everyday. All of the men wee healthy, not obese, and were fed the same foods for five days. The researchers examined the byproducts of their metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were different between the two groups. The amino acid glycine levels were higher in the men that ate chocolate. People who ate chocolate also had lower levels of bad cholesterol.

It is known that bacteria interact with what you eat and studies have shown that intestinal bacteria changes when people lose weight. Someday, some types of obesity will be able to be treated by changing the bacteria in the intestines and stomach.