Matthew+P.

March 24th 2013
=Nazi Genetic Experiments=

During the Second World War, many unfortunate prisoners of war (some being civilians, others being soldiers) were subjects of horrible experiments. These experiments were done in order to further the knowledge of the Aryan Race, and even how to genetically better their "master race". There was one man, appointed by Hitler himself, that was in charge of these experiments. His name was Dr. Josef Mengele. Many experiments were authorized by this "Doctor" in Auschwitz Concentration camp (the largest concentration camp of the entire war), mainly those on twins and Russian Soldiers. There has been many debate on wether these experiments have any scientific merit, and there has been no true conclusion to these discussions.

Above: Josef Mengele
 * Experiments On Twins**

Experiments on twins in these camps were done to show the similarities and differences in the genetics of twins. These experiments were done as well as to see if the human body can be unnaturally manipulated.



Above: Laboratory, creating many of the labs that "Protected the health of the people" where many drugs were tested, in Hamburg, Germany The head doctor of the experiments was Josef Mengele, who performed experiments on over 1,500 sets of imprisoned twins, of which fewer than 200 individuals survived. The twins were arranged by age and sex and kept in barracks between experiments, which ranged from injection of different chemicals into the eyes of twins to see whether it would change their colours to literally sewing twins together to try creating conjoined twins. Mengele's experiments were often involved extensive, invasive examinations, and following these the twins would be dissected to see wether the previous experiments had any adverse effects when compared to other prisoners.

Above: The stages of monozygotic twins (identical twins) which were the subjects of experiments by the Nazi's. **Experimental Transplantation**

From about September 1942 to about December 1943 experiments were conducted at the Ravensbruck concentration camp for the benefit of the German Armed Forces, to study bone, muscle and nerve regeneration and bone transplantation from one person to another. Sections of bones, muscles, and nerves were removed from the subjects without use of anesthesia. As a result of these operations, many victims suffered intense agony, mutilation, and permanent disability.

**Cold Weather Experiments**

In 1941, the Luftwaffe conducted experiments to learn how to treat hypothermia. One study forced subjects to endure a tank of ice water for up to three hours. Another study placed prisoners naked in the open for several hours with temperatures below freezing. The experimenters assessed different ways of rewarming survivors.

The freezing/hypothermia experiments were conducted for the Nazi high command. The experiments were conducted on men to simulate the conditions the armies suffered on the Eastern Front, as the German forces were ill prepared for the bitter cold.

The freezing experiments were in two parts. First, to establish how long it would take to lower the body temperature to death, and second how to best resuscitate the frozen victim.

The icy vat method proved to be the fastest way to drop the body temperature. The selections were made of young healthy Russians. They were usually stripped naked and prepared for the experiment. An insulated probe which measured the drop in the body temperature was inserted into the rectum. The probe was held in place by an expandable metal ring which was adjusted to open inside the rectum to hold the probe firmly in place. The victim was put into an air force uniform, then placed in the vat of cold water and started to freeze.

Above: A subject going through cold water experiments in Air Force flight gear, to find the effects of cold weather on pilots when they bail out in open ocean. Death table compiled by Dr. Sigmund Ratcher
 * ~ //Attempt no.// ||~ //Water temperature// ||~ //Body temperature when removed from the water// ||~ //Body temperature at death// ||~ //Time in water// ||~ //Time of death// ||
 * 5 || 5.2 °C || 27.7 °C || 27.7 °C || 66' || 66' ||
 * 13 || 6° || 29.2° || 29.2° || 80' || 87' ||
 * 14 || 4° || 27.8° || 27.5° || 95' ||  ||
 * 16 || 4° || 28.7° || 26° || 60' || 74' ||
 * 23 || 4.5° || 27.8° || 25.7° || 57' || 65' ||
 * 25 || 4.5° || 27.8° || 26.6° || 51' || 65' ||
 * || 4.2° || 26.7° || 25.9° || 53' || 53' ||

Above is a chart showing the results of these experiments, the different attempts would be subjects of different races (German, Russian etc.) and they would be compared to see if some races could withstand the cold weather better than others, because of genes passed down from their ancestors, for example Russians who have been living in cold climates for hundreds of generations.

**Videos - Monarch Experiments**  I decided to show this video, because even though all these experiments were horrible and we think that North American democracies would never do anything similar, this video shows otherwise.

media type="file" key="Project Monarch - Secret Medical Experiments.mp4" width="363" height="363"

**Further Reading**

__http://io9.com/5721855/25-of-the-scariest-science-experiments-ever-conducted__ - This site is on the 25 scariest science experiments ever conducted.

__http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206153357.htm__ -This is an article on a survivor of the twin experiments the Nazi's conducted.

__http://conspiracy.wikia.com/wiki/Monarch_Mind_Control__ -This is a website that explains another type of experiment the Nazi's did called "Monarch Mind Control", and the aim of these experiments was to create sleeper agents they could use at any time. This is considered a conspiracy theory by many (including myself to be honest) but regardless, some do believe it.

__http://www.livescience.com/13002-7-absolutely-evil-medical-experiments-tuskegee-syphilis.html__ -This link is on the 7 most evil experiments

**Sources**

http://reducetheburden.org/nazi-human-experimentation/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_human_experimentation

http://listverse.com/2008/03/14/top-10-evil-human-experiments/

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/aumed.html

April 10th, 2013
=Extreme Animal Cannibalism=

Fallout 3 Cannibal Perk. Nobody likes a Cannibal.

In recent years scientists have been looking at animal cannibalism in a new light, and they have found something quite interesting. That eating your own kind is actually really good evolutionary sense. This is quite surprising because before, we always thought that these animals were doing this from over crowding, stress and other factors but in reality, it is all on purpose.

media type="youtube" key="4ELREyQF7Ko" height="282" width="504" align="center"

There are three basic types of Cannibalism that we see in animals. Intrauterine Cannibalism, Sexual Cannibalism, and finally: filial cannibalism.

Yes.

__Intrauterine Cannibalism__
This is where that larges and strongest embryo actually consumes the other lesser "womb mates" that occupy the mothers womb. In female sharks however, there are two wombs so in reality, when a shark gives birth, she gives birth to the two strongest possible offspring she can. This is just one of the many ways that sharks have adapted to living in the hostile oceans; now only the fittest of the fit are born and will pass on their dominance to their own F2 generation.

__Sexual Cannibalism__
Black widows are known for their extremely poisonous bites. But the main reason that they are called "black widows" is because they consume their mate either before or after sex. This is a part of the actual sex act and the males know this is going to happen. But they also have a primal instinct to lay eggs in females because they would rather risk death, than let another "inferior" male do the same. The benefits of this are that the Female is now able to benefit from consuming her mate, and the male now has no purpose because he has done the one thing he was created to do: make more offspring.

Jumping Spider consuming it's mate/prey Black Widow..

**__Filial Cannibalism__**
Filial Cannibalism is when a mother eats her young after they have been born and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> animals from fish to birds are known to do it. Scientists have been unsure why such a behaviour would have evolved, until recently. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">They found that there are several reasons that contributed to parents consuming their own offspring. In some cases, cannibalizing their own young put the same evolutionary pressure on the eggs that a predator would: the faster the eggs develop, the greater their chances of survival. This cannibalism was also found to increase the parents reproductive rate by apparently increasing mate attractiveness. Scientists are still not sure why this is.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"You can't explain filial cannibalism in all these animals with just one benefit," - Klung

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This quote pretty much sums up the fact that we really do not know all that much about this type of cannibalism because there are just so many possibilities of why these organisms so this.

Scorpion with it's young


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Further Reading **

__http://listverse.com/2008/12/19/top-10-cases-of-human-cannibalism/__ -tells 10 different stories of instances where humans killed each other for food

__http://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-you-always-wondered-about-cannibalism-2012-5?op=1__ -this link is about 10 different facts that most people do not know about cannibalism

__http://listverse.com/2010/09/04/top-10-fratricidal-baby-animals/__ -this is a page on all the different species of animals that eat their young

__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuhXKvxz4-U__ -video on chimpanzee cannibalism

__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv3VCLMSOg0__ -video on a human tribe famed for being cannibals

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Sources**

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/29/science/in-some-species-eating-your-own-is-good-sense.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/science/animal-cannibalism-may-make-good-evolutionary-sense.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ELREyQF7Ko

http://www.livescience.com/2053-animals-eat-offspring.html

May 21st, 2013
=Why Are Things Cute?=

So why do we see things as "cute"? Also, why do we like cute things so much in the first place?

Well the first thing we need to do is define what "cuteness" looks like.

In order for something (anything in fact, i can prove it) to be considered cute, it must have certain physical qualities. These are:

1. Small Body Size, with a disproportionately sized head

2. Large Eyes

3. Round and soft (body) features

Ok, so now that we understand what cute looks like (generally), why do these features seem so cute and attractive to us?

The reason for this is actually very close to home... maybe... if your like a mother or you have a small brother sister... or something like that.



This actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. If our first instinct when we see our offspring is to want to protect them and cuddle them, then they will be better protected and live a longer, more successful life and one day grow to have their own offspring.

This is where it gets interesting though. Our instinct to perceive babies as cute, has made us feel the exact same way for inanimate objects and other organisms.

For example, all the following pictures of living organisms that would be safe to call "cute":











Now, the awesome part, is that we can make inanimate objects that are not even relatively cute, very cute indeed.

For example, a hammer: Cute Hammer


 * Video**

Why Are Things Cute? - Vsauce

media type="youtube" key="Z0zConOPZ8Y" width="560" height="315"


 * Further Reading**

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/science-of-cute_n_2171987.html -This link is an article about the way we perceive things to be cute, and the science behind pedomorphism.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_cute_sexy_sweet_funny.html -This is a link to a ted talk about the reasons that we see things to be cute, cuddly and funny

http://www.gizmag.com/the-science-of-cute/23707/ -Talks about the links of cute babies, to our views on other cute things

http://www.huliq.com/10282/cute-baby-animals-and-babies-trigger-pleasure-human-brain-thats-addicting -The science behind the AWWWWWWWWE response to cute animals and babies


 * Sources**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0zConOPZ8Y

http://www.exploratorium.edu/mind/judgment/cuteify/v1/

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/science/03cute.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/under-friendly-spell/200803/cute-the-brain

**June 13th, 2013**
=**Why Sexy is Sexy**=

There are MANY biological and non-biological reasons that we want to mate with specific people. It is actually not completely up to us, who we are attracted to. Our bodies are prone to seeking out certain traits in our mates that we are not under control of.

Mating is the most important thing that ANYONE can do. Ever. (evolutionarily speaking of course...)

We often think to ourselves "Who am I going to mate with?" because, from an evolutionary standpoint whoever has sex the most, wins at life. If you can pass your genes on into other generations, then your genes will live on longer. So what dictates how often we will be able to reproduce?

Darwin says that what dictates who will get more "action" than others is through "sexual selection".



One gender from a specific species prefers certain traits to others, and for very specific reasons. These preferences date back to a time when these advantages would give a distinct survival advantage to you. For example a peacock has such large feathers in order to communicate to potential mates that he is healthy and strong, because to better looking feathers you have, the healthier you are.

Just like peacocks, we look for very specific things in our mates, that we are not even aware of. Some are:

__Bilateral Symmetry__ - Symmetrical imbalance can show that someone either has an illness, or had one during early development, which could mean BAD GENES.

__Low waist to hip ratio__ - Where fat is placed on the body is determined by sex hormones (estrogen in women and testosterone in men). People with this ideal ration are less susceptible to cardiovascular disorders, cancer, diabetes, and women in this range will be able to deliver babies much easier. This magic number is around 70%.



__Chemical signals (pheromones)__ - These are released by are body, and can give our potential mates a clue to our genetic capabilities. We are attracted to peoples pheromones that are genetically similar to ourselves, BUT prefer mates with a different kind of immune system. This is because if we mate with someone with a different kind oof immune system than our offspring will have a better chance to fight off viruses and infections.

So, sex is complicated...

media type="youtube" key="ZYUtVsA-wi4" width="560" height="315"
 * Video**

__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqTbwMmwGlw__ __http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGGN_KR-pyI__ __http://www.chemistry.com/datingadvice/RomanticChemistry__ - This article talks about the chemistry behind why we are attracted to certain people. __http://www.howstuffworks.com/love2.htm__ - This website article talks about why we fall in love with others
 * Further Reading**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYUtVsA-wi4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness http://www.2knowmyself.com/why_do_we_find_people_attractive http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/5-biological-reasons-you-may-be-attracted-to-someone/ = = =The Science of Hangovers=
 * Sources**
 * June 13th, 2013**



There are three main reasons why we experience such intense headaches, sensitivity to light, fatigue and muscle aches during a hangover:

The first is: **Dehydration**

Since alchohol is a diuretic, which means that it makes you pee... a lot. This is why bar washrooms are notoriously busy. Well... this and other reasons I suppose. But this is the main reason!

Alcohol suppreses the pituitary glands release of Vasopressin, which is the horomone which is responsible for the body's ability to reabsorb water. Without this hormone, your kidneys send water right on through to the toilet.

Headaches follow as you body desperately tries to find water sources. It does this by taking water from your brain, and in doing so your brain tissue shrinks and pulls away from your skull. The second is: **Acetaldehyde Overload**

Our body digests and takes care of alcohol in two phases:

The first is your liver digests the actual alcohol in the drink; called ethanol, which causes a TOXIC byproduct called, you guessed it, Acetaldehyde.The Acetaldehyde is then attacked by an enzyme called Glutathione, and is then reduced to harmless acetate. This works great... unless you drink too much. Then your body cannot keep up with the large amounts of ethanol, and the levels of Acetaldehyde build up.

And the final: **The Congener Connection**

Most drinks contain congeners, which in specifically are chemical impurities that arise during fermentation and aging of alcoholic drinks.

They give the drink flavour, and colour but can be dangerous due to the fact they contain Acetaldehyde, Esters, and Acetone. AKA PAINT THINNER !

Unfortunately there is no real cure for a Hangover, except for time. You can drink coffee to relieve your headache, but this will only make you more dehydrated.


 * VIDEO**

media type="youtube" key="v4IIFfguf1U" width="560" height="315"


 * Further Reading**

http://cocktails.about.com/od/healthsafety/ht/hngovr_rmdy.htm - Tips on how to get rid of a Hangover http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/ - An exaggerated story of why not to drink too much, unless your with awesome people. http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/hangover.htm - How hangovers work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq1F4It-3RM - Similar video on how hangovers work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq1F4It-3RM http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-science-of-your-hangover-2159477.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soo4f6e1zCs http://ilovebacteria.com/hangover.htm
 * Sources**