Water will kill you

What the body needs is water to hydrate itself, but when you exaggerate with the amount of water you drink it can be harmful. People can die because of over hydration if they drink too much. If you drink too much water the level of sodium can become life threateningly low. This is dangerous because low sodium levels can kill because of the swelling of the cells. For example, swelling brain cells lead to coma and death. People who run marathons must resist the temptation to poison themselves with too much water. If they drink at every station during the run it is possible to drink four liters which is very dangerous.

I think this is all exaggerated. People are never happy; if you don’t drink enough water you’ll die. If you drink too much you’ll die as well. I think people should stop worrying about every little thing and just enjoy their lives and if that means drink loads of water, let them drink loads of water. Statistics say that drinking too much water has caused 12 deaths around the world. That’s nothing compared to the people who die because of smoking or driving too fast. Maybe people should think about that instead of counting how much liters water they are drinking.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/why-drinking-too-much-water-can-be-risky-832890 

Playing with Genes

New research has demonstrated that genes can change. For example, identical twins with the same genes can turn out different. The impact of the environment has an influence on how that person is going to be.  The things what makes you who you are not only nature and nurture but also biological mechanism. The biological mechanism can switch genes on and off. These switches can affect the person in every way. Tim Spector who is head of the department of twin research in London questioned the influence of genes. Studies have shown that they can change a person’s life by influencing its genes.

If this is really true and people can really change a human’s life by influencing the genes it would be amazing. I am just imagining how life will be when there is for instance no obesity anymore or other genetic inheritance. The only thing I don't understand is why they choose for drastic things. In the article it also says that there are other natural ways to control for instance obesity namely,  exercising. Research has shown that when people exercise they switch the FTO gene off which is key for causing obesity. I think people should try to lose weight first by another way than playing with genes.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nature-nurture-or-neither-epigenetics-is-the-new-twist-in-an-ageold-argument-7808598.html

Ignorance

Cannabis is UK’s most popular drug and is used more than a third of people under 24. The risk of lung cancer when smoking cannabis is 20 times greater than a cigarette. Each cannabis cigarette increases the chances of developing lung cancer as much as 20 cigarettes.  The reason why cannabis is more dangerous is because of the way cannabis is smoked. When someone smokes cannabis they inhale more deeply and hold it longer than tobacco smokers. Although smoking cannabis is so dangerous, 88 per cent believes that it is not harmful. There is a lack of public awareness of how harmful drug is and this concerns The British Lung Foundation.

I just simply can’t understand how people don’t know the dangers of smoking cannabis. Another thing which I do not understand is why there are so many people using this drug! A third of all the people! Why doesn’t the government do anything about it when it is against the law to use drugs in the UK? I find this alarming and there should be more information available for people to have the chance at least to know the risks. In the article it even said that even though cannabis is dangerous, it is not addictive. I don’t think this is correct. I have a friend who is so addicted to cannabis that she can’t function properly without smoking cannabis cigarettes every day.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/young-cannabis-users-do-not-realise-the-huge-danger-to-their-health-7818050.html

A slap on the wrist! 

Thusha Kamaleswaran a five-year-old girl is now paralysed because she was shot in a shop. She was shot in the chest last March. The bullet passed through the seventh vertebra of her spine. She had to go under two emergency surgeries to keep her alive. The three men are sentenced for life because of the attempted murder of rival gang member Roshaun Bryan. Not only was this an attack on Roshuan it was an attack on society as well. These men see themselves above the law and therefore did this terrible action. Fortunately, a team will raise money for the care and equipment Thusha now requires.

I cannot believe what those three men did. Who do they think they are? Not only did they shoot her but they also took her dream away!  She is now paralyzed and she will never be able to do what she loves which is dancing. Even the fact that they had not shown any remorse just shocked me. What kind of twisted people are these that they do not even shed a tear?  Those people should not only be sentenced to prison they should have a taste of their own medicine and be shot themselves so that they experience what this poor child went through. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17766713

The Gift of Seeing.

British scientists have made a step towards new treatments for patients with eye diseases. The scientists injected cells which were immature rod-photoreceptor cells from young healthy mice into the retinas of adult mice that had night-blindness. As a result of these transplantations the mice were able to find a hidden platform and got out of the water. In contrary to mice the mice that were treated it took the untreated mice a while before they were able to get out. These transplantations provided evidence of functional recovery in the eyes. Even though, this step forward appears to be promising when it comes to eye treatments it is still not suitable for humans and it will take a while and much research until it can be applied to humans.

I am really impressed by the scientists at University College London Institute of Ophthalmology. Instead of mice maybe they could have chosen chimpanzees to make the result more successful.  96% of DNA base sequences of humans and chimpanzees are the same and therefore the transplantation would be more successful. Nevertheless, they have discovered a great thing which hopefully can change mankind in a couple of years. Although, I do not know many blind people, I can imagine that it is really hard for people not to be able to see and having to rely on others. The result of this research is perfect and is worth developing.  Maybe one day there will be no more blind people in this world and the scientists can discover more cures for other diseases.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17748165