2015(e)ko azaroaren 30(a), astelehena

7 scientific secrets to live longer



 

I found this interensting news about how can we live longer in the Health section of the TIME webpage. You just have to follow 9 steps to live loonger!
There are just a few of them here, but if you are interested in the subject, you can always go to the official page:http://time.com/81573/how-to-live-longer/


Of course, genetics are a factor:
    If your parents had long lives, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will too, but there are likely some biological factors at play. Just last week, researchers studying the body of that 115-year-old woman found that stem cell exhaustion may be one of the causes of death for healthy people who live into their hundreds. That means cells get exhausted and literally expire. Similarly, other research suggests that some people may be prone to fewer diseases, or may have varying levels of chemicals in the brain, like serotonin or dopamine, that may be giving them an edge by regulating body functions.
 
Staying in school will add a few years:
    Education is correlated with a longer life. A 2012 report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found that people with a bachelor’s degree or higher live about nine years longer than people who don’t graduate high school. James Smith, a health economist at the RAND Corporation, is also an proponent of the argument for staying in school for better life expectancy. His findings show education may be an even bigger factor than race and income. Educated people are more likely to land better jobs, plan for their future, and make healthier lifestyle choices.



Sitting a lot is probably the worst thing you can do:
    Research shows that sitting for long bouts of time put people at risk for shorter lifespans and other health risks. A 2011 study found that each hour people spent sitting down and watching TV after age 25 was linked to a deduction of 22 minutes from their overall life expectancy.

 Being social is critical:
    Having a strong social group is associated with a longer life. Women tend to have stronger social networks, and that may be part of the reason women tend to live longer than men. We often turn to friends and family for support, and taking care of the people that matter to us may help us take better care of ourselves, some evidence shows. Some research even suggests that immune function is improved when we are around our friends, and that they help with stress regulation.

Your personality affects how long you’ll live:
    In The Longevity Project, one of the largest studies if its kind that spanned eight decades, Stanford researchers Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin found that conscientiousness beat out all other personality type when it comes to life expectancy. “The qualities of a prudent, persistant, well-organized person, like a scientist-professor — somewhat obsessive and not at all carefree” are the qualities that help lead to a long life. “Many of us assume that more relaxed people live longer, but it’s not necessarily the case.” Why? Conscientious behavior influences other behaviors. Conscientious people tend to make healthier choices, including who they marry, where they work, and the likelihood they’ll smoke, drive too fast, or follow doctors’ orders.
 
Your diet matters:
    Many studies looking at the lives of centenarians look at what they eat, and considering many people who live into their hundreds reside in the Mediterranean, that diet — which is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthy fats like olive oil — gets a lot of attention. The diet has been linked to a healthier older age, lower risk for heart disease, and even protection against memory loss. Friedman and Martin also found that lifestyle factors like diet play a role.
 


2015(e)ko azaroaren 23(a), astelehena

2nd TERM: BIOMEDICINE

This second term is going to be about biomedicine and our relationship with it. I think it is going to be really really really interesting because biomedicine is the future and very necessary in our life. 
I hope I gain a lot of knowledge and learn different and new type of medicine and also, different ways of curing people. I hope you like it as much as me! 

 

2015(e)ko azaroaren 15(a), igandea

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE: DARWIN

"shhh..."
THE ORIGIN DARWI
  This naturalist and geologist is named by his theory of evolution. People says that this theory might be the most helpful one for the 20th century science.
   He was born in 1809 in England. He was born in well known wealthy family of doctors and his father wanted him to be a doctor too. As his father said, he started going to a college to study medicine, but he was a really bad student so he left it.


  Almost by accident, his friends invited him to a voyage all around the world in one of the Queen's ship. While he was traveling, he realized that in different places of the world, there were very similar animals. Like the monkeys, tortoises or the African ostriches and South American Rhea.

   When he arrived to the Galapagos Islands he observed the finches, a type of bird, and he realized that every finch had an specific pick to eat what they had in their islands. So when the first finches came from the continent they spread into the different islands and through the time their picks had accommodated to what they eat, becoming different species.                                                                                                                                                                    When he finished the voyage, after 5 years, and with all the evidences he developed his theory. He named it "the selection of species by natural selection" and he explained it using four steps: 1.Variation: first there are different type of of the same specie. Like long necked and short necked giraffes  2.Environmental change: there is a change in the environment like a drought, tsunami, earthquake...  3.Adaptation: Only the ones who adapted to the change survive and the others die. The giraffes with the long neck will reach the leafs of the high trees and the ones with the short neck won't and they will die.  4.Selection: The ones who survived will be the ones creating the new generation and the new descendants will have the same characteristics as the ones the survived. This little changes thought the time will change the species gradually. So the new giraffes will only long necked.                                                                           The one in the bottom is Darwin's theory.He did not published his theory in 20 years because he was too afraid of the repercussion his revolutionary theory would have in the society, but he finally did it and not everybody liked what his theory said. In the newspapers they laughed at him and at his theory and they made fun of him caricaturing him.               

EUROPEAN NEWS: Belgium ice festival complains of warm November


   Is global warming something we should be aware of?
Ask this same question to the organizers of an ice sculpture festival in Bruges, Belgium. 
This year they are having more problems that ever because of the warm temperatures.  


   Because of this problem, the festival is using 12 cooling compressors to chill the hall where the sculptors work to prevent the ice from melting. The director Francis Vandendorpe said that the cooling bill will be really high this year and that it is going to be more than expected. Around €10,000 just in the compressors.

   Europe has experienced an unusually warm November. The temperature in Bruges will hit 16c on Sunday and this temperature is not what the festival organizers and sculptors want.
"People are expecting winter, but they don't get winter", said Mr Vandendorpe.

   This is also a problem for the artist because they have complaint about the situation too. "Outside it is too warm, working inside it's too cold." sculptor Kim Arents told AP.


2015(e)ko irailaren 28(a), astelehena

EUROPEAN SCIENTIST: MARIE CURIE


Warsaw (Polan)






Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who was born in Polan, then part of the Russian empire, in 1867 and who died in 1934 in  France.
This physicist and chemist conducted pioneering research on radioactivity and because of her work we know how to use radioactivity, to make a radiography for example. But unfortunetly she died because she was exposed to too much radiation.
Resultado de imagen de marie curieShe was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, the only person to win twice in multiple sciences (chemistry and physics), so she is one of the best scientist in the history.

INTRODUCION: Scientific Culture

Hi there!
I am Manex San Sebastian Imaz from  and this is the blog I will be using this year for the subject, Scientific Culture.
It is going to be in English and it will be about Europe and science.
I hope you like it!