Delaney+B.

=__Pneumonia__ - Post #1, March 2016=

==== Pneumonia is something that I am well acquainted with, having had it five times already, between the ages of 1 years old and 9 years old. Oddly enough, I only ever got it when I lived in Ontario, and never when I lived in Nova Scotia. Believe me when I say that it wasn't a fun time. Thankfully, I haven't had it since I moved here, but I digress.====

** __What is Pneumonia?__ **
====Pneumonia is an infection that you can get in either one or both of your lungs. When you have pneumonia, your lungs' air sacs, called alveoli, become inflamed and fill up with fluid. That is what causes the fevers, chills, trouble breathing, and coughs that come with pneumonia. With pneumonia, it might be a bit harder for oxygen to reach your blood. Your cells need oxygen to function properly, and if they can't get it from your blood, then they won't be able to do their job. Along with the risk of infection spreading, that is how pneumonia can cause death.====




 * __Different Causes of Pneumonia:__**

There are over 30 different causes of pneumonia, but the five most common ones are:
 * Bacteria
 * Viruses
 * Mycoplasma
 * Other infectious things, such as fungi
 * Various chemicals




 * __Pneumonia and DNA:__**

Some strands of the most common form of pneumonia (//Streptococcus pneumoniae//) have actually been found to damage the DNA in lung cells. What happens is that sometimes when hydrogen peroxide is secreted by that strand of pneumonia, DNA in lung cells suffer double-strand breaks, which severs the DNA and ends up creating broken ends. These are highly toxic to cells, and can even lead to some of them committing cell suicide, also known as apoptosis.



//__**Streptococcus pneumoniae**__// __**E**____**volving:**__

Scientists all over the world are trying to work together to devise new vaccines and antibiotics for pneumonia. During this process, they looked at more than 240 samples and found that since 1984, pneumonia has changed 3/4 of its genome. It has mutated and become more resistant to antibiotics and vaccines, going through recombination (where the DNA is shuffled around), and base substitutions (individual nucleic acids in a DNA sequence change).



__**Video:**__

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

__**Further Reading:**__

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160331154245.htm __**-** **New** **Pneumonia Epidemic in Beijing**__ http://www.livemint.com/Companies/P5HsUWOCt3zgQCcLCuBOZN/Pneumonia-vaccine-the-new-battleground-for-Indian-drug-make.html __**- New Pneumonia Vaccine Hopefully Entering Clinical Stages**__ http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860723 __**- Efficacy of Corticosteroids as Pneumonia Treatment**__ http://asianjournal.com/news/nextdaybetter-doctors-without-borders-join-forces-to-reduce-price-of-pneumonia-vaccine-in-ph/ **__- Doctors Without Borders Aim to Reduce Vaccine Costs__** http://www.thesil.ca/meducator-new-developments-in-pneumonia-research **__- New Developments in Research on Elders with Pneumonia__**

__**Sources:**__

http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/learn-about-pneumonia.html?referrer=https://www.google.ca/ http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/what-causes-pneumonia.html http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pneumonia/Pages/Causes.aspx https://www.thoracic.org/copd-guidelines/for-patients/how-do-i-know-i-have-a-pneumonia.php http://news.mit.edu/2015/pneumonia-harm-dna-lung-cells-0615 https://health.gsk.ph/therapy-areas/classic-brands---antibiotics-resource-center/news/pneumonia-found-to-harm-DNA-in-lung-cells.html https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/pneumonia-bacteria-attacks-lungs-toxic-weaponry http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/science/01obpneumonia.html?_r=0

=__The Extinction of //Hom////o// //floresienis//__ //-// Post #2, May 2016=

Because I am a nerd, I asked for a subscription to National Geographic magazine for Christmas or my birthday a couple of years ago. I am still subscribed to it today. A few issues ago, I read a story about how early modern humans (//Homo sapiens//), were most likely responsible for the extinction of //Homo floresienis//. They don't really delve into specifics because it's mostly just a theory which requires more research but for now, it's still pretty interesting.

__**What is //Homo floresienis//?**__

//Homo floresienis// (Flores Man), also nicknamed "the Hobbit", is an extinct species that is thought to belong to the genus //Homo//. The first remains found in 2003 were of an individual who was about 3.5 feet, or 1.1m, tall. This is what earned them their nickname of "the Hobbit". They also have a smaller cranial capacity than early modern humans. They also had large brow ridges, and large teeth compared to the rest of the size of their skulls.




 * __Where Were They Found?__**

They were discovered in a cave named Liang Bua on an island called Flores in Indonesia in 2003. The team who found the first skeleton were originally looking for evidence of human migration from Asia to Australia. Further excavations revealed seven other skeletons,but the bones weren't completely fossilized: they had the same consistency as wet blotting paper. They had to let them dry before they could excavate them.




 * __Age of the Skeletons:__**

//Homo floresienis// was thought to have gone extinct as recently as 12,000 years ago, which would have meant that they survived longer than Neanderthals, who became extinct 39,000 to 40,000 years ago. Further tests showed that the most recent remains were from 60,000 years ago and the most recent tools 50,000 years.




 * __Extinction of //Homo floresiensis://__**

//Homo floresiensis// went extinct around the same time that modern humans began to show up on the island. While it could be entirely possible that they went extinct on their own, such as a fluctuating food supply on the island, scientists are as eager as ever to delve into more research regarding this fascinating ancestor of ours.




 * __Video:__**

media type="youtube" key="uAVIQ58vDks" width="560" height="315"


 * __Further Reading:__**

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-years-flores-hobbit-human-evolution-fossil-puzzle-180953108/?no-ist __**-**__ **__Questions and answers about //Homo floresiensis//__** http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-floresiensis __**- Information on //Homo floresiensis//**__ http://www.techtimes.com/articles/145756/20160330/hobbits-indonesia-died-out-long-ago-modern-humans-blame.htm **__- Information on modern humans influencing their extinction__** https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/30/hobbit-like-hominins-died-out-sooner-than-thought-were-humans-to-blame-homo-floresiensis **__- Information on modern humans influencing their extinction__**


 * __Sources:__**

http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-floresiensis http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160330-hobbits-humans-flores-cave-older-species/ http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/homo-floresiensis-making-sense-of-the-small-91387735 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mystery-hobbit-species-disappeared-from-flores-long-before-previously-thought-1552241

=**__New Treatment for MS Proving Effective__ - Post #3, June 2016**=

I saw news stories about this new treatment that was working on MS patients about a week or so ago, and I kid you not, I saw it and thought, "Wow, this would make a good wikipost for this unit." And what would you know, we needed another wikipost! Thankfully, no one I know suffers from MS, but sadly there are thousands of other people who do. For a long time, it didn't seem as though there would ever be any miracle cure or treatment for MS, just some that worked for a little, but now, some Canadian scientists think they may have found one.

__**What is MS?**__

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. It attacks the myelin sheath which causes inflammation and often damages it. If there's only a small amount of damage, then the nerve impulses can travel with little difficulty, but if there's a lot and the myelin sheath ends up being replace by scar tissue, the impulses can be disrupted altogether, and the nerve fibres can be damaged as well.



__**Who Gets MS?**__

MS can appear at any age, but the most common age of diagnoses is between the ages of 15-40, although it has been seen in children as young as 2 or much older people. It is also three times more likely to occur in women than men, and for some odd reason, is more likely to be found in people of northern European descent (anyone from Iceland, the British Isles, Scandinavia,and the Baltic States).

__**What Are Symptoms of MS?**__

There are many symptoms of MS, some of which are extreme fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, vision problems, bladder problems, cognitive impairment, and mood changes. There are medications to manage some symptoms. Some symptoms may be temporary or cause permanent damage.



__**Cure for MS Found?**__

Scientists in Canada discovered that their treatment for leukemia could also work for treating MS. They do this by extracting bone marrow cells, kill off the remaining immune cells, and then reinject the bone marrow cells to basically make a new immune system from scratch. Originally, they hoped it would stop the progression of the disease, but were pleasantly surprised when they saw that it was actually starting to reverse some of the effects of the disease. To put it simply, the body was healing itself. Most of their trial patients are now able to lead normal lives like they were before their MS got so severe. Hooray for science!



__**Video:**__

media type="custom" key="28600759"

__**Further Reading:**__

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ms-treatment-impressive-results-ottawa-lancet-1.3609031 __**- Interview with one of the trial patients**__ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/multiple-sclerosis-treatment-1.3628426 **__- Another interview with a trial patient__** http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ms-treatment-bone-marrow-1.3630203 **__- Information about effectiveness of today's drugs__** http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/lancet-medical-multiple-sclerosis-ms-dalhousie-university-jock-murray-1.3630436 **__- Interview with a researcher involved with the new treatment__**


 * __Sources:__**

https://mssociety.ca/about-ms/what-is-ms http://www.sciencealert.com/this-radical-new-cure-for-ms-reboots-the-immune-system http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/home/ovc-20131882 https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multiplesclerosis.html