Disclaimer: Some articles in this section are to primarily serve entertainment purposes implied through scientific evidence, and may contain points that represent a speculative opinion of the author based on related scholarly publications on in vitro animal and human studies.
When it comes to health, race typically has an impact. Evidence compiled over several decades points out marked differences in morbidity and mortality rates across varying racial and ethnic minority groups. And while these disparities can arise from any number of environmental or social exposures, exactly how they detrimentally affect the human body and why they continue to impact certain minority groups is not entirely understood. Most findings attribute minority health disparities to inequalities in education, socioeconomic status, access to [more…]
Over the past few years, ketogenic diets have become one of the most popular weight loss tools out there. Numerous studies show ketogenic diets are effective for weight loss in obese and overweight individuals and if you do a quick social media search for “Ketogenic diet” or “Keto” you will find countless anecdotes that support these scientific studies (1). The therapeutic benefit of ketogenic diets goes beyond weight loss. These diets have been used for nearly a century for the [more…]
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world, and many countries have been devastated by the fallout. As this virus swept the world, it has not only changed many aspects of the global economy but also has transformed the way we live our everyday lives. The skin is one of the major body parts that have been impacted by the coronavirus. It’s apparent that frequent usage of personal protective equipment and excessive personal hygiene could trigger different skin conditions. These skin conditions [more…]
A scientific look at how certain compounds in foods might epigenetically impact target sites to hinder viral infection by SARS-CoV-2, based on published literature.
Emerging viral infections pose a major threat to global public health. In the last two decades, the world has dealt with several fatal outbreaks from the Swine Flu to Ebola to Zika infections and more. The latest to appear is COVID-19, which emerged in December in Wuhan, China and spread quickly around the globe. Although this disease is new, the virus itself is not entirely unknown. It’s actually a type of coronavirus (CoV) –one that is similar to SARS-CoV and [more…]
Do you know your zodiac sign and what it means? If you do, perhaps you have the qualities that are typically predicted for people under that sign. According to astrologers, your zodiac sign, which refers to the position of the stars on the date you were born, can strongly influence your personality and life. But how can something so far away, like the stars or any other celestial object, control one’s behavior or predict occurrences? Well, there’s no scientific evidence [more…]
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off, to be put as a simplified definition. What does that mean? Well, if you are new to this whole thing, we first need a quick crash course in biochemistry and genetics before learning exactly what is epigenetics: Cells are fundamental working units of every human being. All the instructions required to direct their activities are contained within the chemical deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA. DNA [more…]
Sleep deprivation is quite common among students and working adults. Unfortunately, it causes changes in mood, attention, metabolism, immune system, hormones and much more. If sleep deprivation continues for years, it is very likely to cause mental illness or a body disease. These long-term sleep loss problems are usually linked to changes in gene activity and expression. Does your behavior influence your genes? It does, but it is not only your behavior – development (in children and adolescents), aging, diet, [more…]
It is widely known that a mother has substantial influence over her offspring during prenatal development. Her eating, exercising, and overall lifestyle can have lifelong effects for her children. But what about the father? It turns out that fathers are not off the hook when it comes to prenatal development, and his physical activity may have lasting effects on the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in an area of the brain important for learning and memory: the hippocampus. First, a [more…]
Epigenetics has many connections to our cellular processes. It regulates the expression of our genes, so it wouldn’t surprise us that epigenetics is involved in the regulation of our circadian rhythms as well. But what exactly are these circadian rhythms and how can they be involved in certain processes of health and disease? What are circadian rhythms? Circadian rhythms are biological processes which govern not only our sleep-wake cycle, but also a wide variety of physiological functions, such as hormone release, feeding habits [more…]
