CSB #8: The Effects of Exercise on Heart Rate

CSB #8: The Effect of Different Exercise on Heart Rate

BY: ZABIN BASHAR, VIKRAM CHARI, and ERIC HOLT

How Standing, Walking, and Jogging Affects Heart Rate

Background Info: Our project tested heart beat rate after doing physical exercise. Heart beat rate was measured after standing in place for a minute, walking in place for a minute, and running in place for a minute. 

Why we chose this topic: We were curious to figure out how various daily activities affected our heart rate. In addition, after watching the video on heart attacks we were concerned about how each activity plays a role in our heart rate, and how we can take care of our hearts in the long-run. 

QUESTION: Does physical exercise increase a person's heart beat rate? Does the physical intensity of the exercise have a positive correlation with heart beat rate.

HYPOTHESIS: We think that physical exercise increases heart beat rate. The more intense the activity, the higher the heart beat rate will go.

METHODS: We first measured a person's heart rate for 1 minute using Vernier's Hand-Grip Heart Rate Monitor. During this one minute, we would either stand, walk, or run in place. Make sure to rest for a few minutes before doing another run of the experiment. After Logger Pro finished collecting data on our laptops, we examined it.

HOW TO HOLD THE HEART GRIP MONITOR

VARIABLES: The intensity of the exercise was the independent variable and the dependent variable was the heart rate.

DATA AND GRAPHS

Leo's heart rate while running

 

 Matthew's heart rate while walking

Zabin's heart rate while standing (Went from 84-94 beats per minute)

 Eric's heart rate while standing

 Vikram's heart rate while running

 Vikram's heart rate while standing

Vikram's heart rate while walking in place

 Zabin's heart rate while running

  Zabin's heart rate while walking

 Eric's heart rate while running 

  

Eric's heart rate while walking in place

Although the values on the tables are not readable, the points on the graphs show that their is an increase in heart rate when exercising. In addition, the faster we moved, the steeper the slope of the graph was. Therefore, we can conclude that the physical intensity had a positive effect on heart rate.  
    
PHYSIOLOGY ASPECT: Cells transport oxygen and energy using blood. The more intense an exercise becomes, the more oxygen and energy is necessary for your body. So, blood needs to be shipped out much faster. In order to ship blood faster, the heart must pump blood out faster. Therefore, heart rate goes up. Since running in place required the most energy, the heart rate went up the most.


FUTURE ADDITIONS: 
When planning this experiment, we also thought about testing the CO2 emissions during exercise. However, we did not have time and ended up doing only heart rate. So, if we repeat this experiment again, we will add that variable.


Thanks to Leo Yu and Matthew Huang for also contributing data sets.

CSB #7: Scientists find a novel gene associated with major depression

Scientists Identify Genetic Risk for Major Depression

Major depression is a psychiatric disorder responsible for decreased work productivity and can even lead to suicide. Dr. Martin A. Kohli from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany says that "Current treatments for major depression are indispensible but their clinical efficacy is still unsatisfactory, as reflected by high rates of treatment resistance and side effects. Identification of mechanisms causing depression is pertinent for discovery of better antidepressants." Dr. Kohli and colleagues performed a study of patients diagnosed with major depression and matched control subjects with no history of psychiatric illness. They identified SLC6A15, a gene that codes for a neuronal amino acid transporter protein, as a novel susceptibility gene for major depression. Already nondepressed subjects carrying the risk-conferring genetic variants showed lower expression of SLC6A15 in the hippocampus, a brain region implicated in major depression. Finally, using human brain imaging, risk variant carriers with a positive life history of major depression showed smaller hippocampi. Lower hippocampal SLC6A15 expression was linked to the effects of chronic social stress, a proven risk factor for depression.


I believe that this a significant discovery in the field of brain science. This discovery will most likely lead to new findings in unstudied parts of the brain. The finding will also probably lead to a new anti depressant drug that is more effective that current drugs on the market. More and more teens and adults die every year from depression provoked suicide. Hopefully, a new anti depressant will help cure these severely depressed people and further reduce the amount of unnecessary deaths. Overall, this subject should be researched in more detail in order to find effective cures for serious mental conditions.


Citations:
ScienceDaily. "Scientists Identify Genetic Risk for Major Depression."
     Science Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2011.
     <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110427131816.htm>.

CSB #6: Overflow of the Arctic Ocean will Cause Climate Change

Arctic Ocean freshwater will cause 'unpredictable changes on climate'

Scientists have analyzed that the expansion of the Arctic Ocean will cause dramatic changes in North American and European climates. Right now, the water is twice the volume of Lake Victoria in Africa, is continuing to grow. Soon, the water could overflow and cause some of it to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. According to Benjamin Rabe of the Alfred Wengener Institute, "this could have an influence on ocean circulation." Right now, the freshwater is basically a lid that prevents the warm, salty water from melting the ice. As the atmospheric circulation patterns shift, more ice will melt and the water will pour into the Atlantic. If the ice is thinner, then it can exit the Arctic easier. Possibly, these overflows could change the densities of the surface waters in the North Atlantic. The influx of cold freshwater could slow the deep ocean and wind driven currents which carry heat from the tropics. Europe could cool down as a result of the circulations. 

I find it interesting how the ocean flow can altar the climate in different places. This discovery is important for the scientific community to know about. More scientists should go to research the Arctic Ocean as well as the climate change in Europe in order to draw the connection between the two. Currently, climate studies is a popular field because of global warming, and this issue should be fully studied. Unfortunately, scientists still cannot predict when the major influxes will hit, or how devastating the climate changes are. If the climate drastically changes, then the native organisms living in Europe could fail to adapt and eventually become extinct. Scientists should keep researching to find a solution for this pending situation.

Citations:

Harvey, Fiona. "Arctic Ocean freshwater will cause 'unpredictable changes on
     climate.'" Environmental Research Web. N.p., 6 Apr. 2011. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
     <http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/45625>.

Gosselin, Laura. The Arctic Ocean is Awakening. N.d. The Sustainability Ninja.
     N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sustainabilityninja.com/
     eco-news/the-arctic-ocean-is-awakening-82028/>.

CSB #5: Lab Fungus Fights Malaria

Lab-Engineered Organsim Fights Malaria

"Malaria's new worst enemy may be a fungus." Scientists, part of US-British team, have created a fungus that not only attacks mosquitoes, but also the parasites inside them. It can eliminate more than 90 percent of malaria parasites deep within the mosquitoes. Malaria is caused by several species of single-celled organisms known as protozoans. Mosquitoes are the main shuttle for pathogens from person to person, so this mean if you control mosquitoes then you control malaria. So far, mosquitoes carrying malaria in Africa and Asia have adapted to the pesticides being used to kill them. 

The small fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, is a viable solution to this problem. It naturally infects the mosquitoes. Unlike pesticides, the fungus takes days to kill them. This may not sound good because the mosquitoes will have time to mate, but the more they mate, the less reason they have to evolve resistance since they are already able to pass along their genes. On the other hand, Raymond St. Leger and his team didn't want to just kill the mosquitoes. They added a few new genes to the fungus and turned it into a drug producing factory. First, the modified fungus bores a hole into the mosquito. Then, the added genes turn on inside and generate a host of malaria killing chemicals. These chemicals range anywhere from scorpion toxins to proteins from the human immune system. The chemicals are bad for parasites but don't do any extra harm to the mosquitoes. 

I think that this discovery was well done and exciting. Although this is the case, it will probably take at least a couple more years before the fungus is effectively used in the world. After this innovation, this fungus can be commercially used in house paint or mosquito nests. Currently, malaria is a deadly disease worldwide. In Africa, 1 out of 5 childhood deaths are caused by malaria, and it costs Africa $12 billion a year. Worldwide, a child dies every 30 seconds from malaria. Clearly, finding a cure for malaria has been a critical part of the world's to-do list. In addition, this discovery could lead to many other future cures like one for Lyme disease.

Citations

Strain, Daniel. "Lab-engineered organism fights malaria." Science News. N.p., 

 n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/70311/ 
title/Lab-engineered_organism_fights_malaria>.

CSB #4: Diseased Mice Population Increases in West

Aspens Bust, Diseased Mice Boom

Definitions

• pathogen: a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease
• sin nombre virus: a virus that infects the walls of the capillaries (tiny blood vessels in the lungs), making them leak and flooding the lungs with fluid

Summary

An aspen tree killing syndrome called sudden aspen decline that has wiped out swaths of trees across the West. This had an effect throughout the ecosystem, and the creatures living around the trees. Deer mice are now three times likely to carry the sin nombre virus, which is fatal to humans. Normally, the deer mouse looks cute in person, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks it as the main rodent reservoir for the sin nombre virus. The infected mice do not show many apparent symptoms, but people that come in contact with the mouse urine or saliva can succumb to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This fatal syndrome starts with muscle aches, chills, fever and stomach upset. Later on, fluid fills the lungs, causing more than a third of the victims to die. Scientist Erin Lehmer of Fort Lewis College speculated that infection might have risen among the deer mice due to their growing dominance in the now barren landscape. More deer mice were able to encounter each other and spread the sin nombre virus through bites.

Discussion

I think that this article is interesting and important for everyone in the west. Unfortunately, I live in the west so this could happen to me any day. Although the deer mice look harmless, people need to be aware of the fatality of the virus they carry. Some people can have their lives severely impacted due to direct contact with these rodents. Scientists have done a great job discovering the reason for the sin nombre virus spread, but it is still unknown why the aspen trees are contracting the syndrome that wipes them out. Also, I think the scientific and health community should do whatever possible to increase awareness of this problem to the west. Another thing that makes these mice deadly is the fact that they can adapt to a variety of habitats. If needed, I think scientists should place more predators that eat the deer mice so that they do not get to humans. Families should do whatever they can to close all possible entrances for mice in their homes. 

Questions

Eventually, will it be necessary to provoke the extinction of all deer mice in order to protect humans?

How long will it be until there is a developed vaccine for this virus?

Citations

Milius, Susan. "Aspens bust, diseased mice boom." www.sciencenews.org. N.p.,
     n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/68478/
     description/Aspens_bust,_diseased_mice_boom>.