Science in Antarctica

Aeronomy
The polar regions have been called Earth's window to outer space. With the discovery of polar stratospheric ozone depletions, a window previously thought "closed" (the ultraviolet window) is now known to "open" in certain seasons. Current research focuses on stratospheric chemistry, aerosols, and the vital role played by ozone.

Astrophysics
Antarctica is an astronomer's dream come true. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is arguably one of the best places on earth to study the stars. Observers there take advantage of the unique characteristics of the South Pole to study the evolution and structure of the Universe.

Biology
Conditions on the frozen Antarctic surface are so harsh that few life forms survive year-round above the ice. Of particular interest to biologists, the McMurdo Dry Valleys represent a region where life approaches its environmental limits. While below the surface and along the coast, ocean ecosystems teem with life that is rich, complex, and abundant.

Geology
Much of the story of Antarctica is written beneath the ice, in the rocks that make up about 9 percent of Earth's continental crust. Geologic evidence indicates that at one time the continent had a temperate climate and was part of an ancient, considerably larger land mass, known as Gondwanaland.

 Glaciology
An ice sheet covers all but 2.4 per cent of Antarctica's 14 million square kilometers. This ice contains 70 percent of all the world's fresh water. In order to predict the ice sheet's future behavior and its effect on global climate, glaciologists must have a thorough understanding of its history, current state, internal dynamics.

 Meteorology                                                                                                                The weather systems that constantly circle Antarctica drive storms across the Southern Ocean and beyond, while the seasonal formation and melting of sea ice has an important effect on the world's weather. Antarctic stations collect daily meteorological observations and broadcast them to surrounding countries to help in weather forecasting.

Oceanography
The Antarctic Convergence divides the cold southern water masses from the warmer northern waters, creating the world's largest current flowing at an average speed of half a knot eastward around the continent. In addition, sea ice forms outward up to 1500 kilometers from the continent every winter. Oceanographic studies focus on these two interrelated phenomena and their effects on both marine ecosystems and Earth's climate patterns.

Exert taken from http://antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/science/index.shtml

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Michael Phelp's Training and Diet

By Matthew Thorn

       If it quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. If it swims like a dolphin, it’s probably Michael Phelps. With his long body and flexible joints he was made for swimming. His amazing body and incredible perseverance combined with his diet, training, and physical therapy have made him the greatest swimmer in the world. 

      To fuel the swimming phenomenon we call Michael Phelps, he consumes approximately 8,000 calories a day.  For breakfast he eats three sandwiches of fried eggs with cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, and mayonnaise.  He also eats an omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, and three chocolate chip pancakes.  His breakfast contains about 3,000 calories.  After his morning exercises, he eats lunch.  His lunch consists of 1 pound of pasta, two ham and cheese sandwiches, and approximately 1,000 calories of energy drinks.  For dinner, he consumes another pound of pasta, some pizza, and more energy drinks.  Daily, he eats four times the amount of calories a normal person requires.

     “Why does he need all this?” you ask.  He needs it because he burns roughly 1,000 calories an hour training. Michael Phelps trains for six hours a day, six days a week.  He swims approximately 50 miles each week. His coach, Bob Bowman, has set a rigorous training program for Phelps, which he does in his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.   For a warm up, he swims 4.05 km using many different types of strokes. Then he does several timed strokes, improving his speed. Finally he does some crunches to improve his abdominal muscles.  This rigorous training program is one of the reasons Phelps is the champion swimmer he is.

     After racing or training, Michael Phelps gets two massages and an ice bath.  The massages help him increase his range of motion and give him more fluidity. They also elongate his muscles and increase post competition recovery.   The ice bath has the capability to increase athletic performance by 2-3%.  It also acts as a natural anti inflammatory, dropping his core body temperature allowing him to recover faster.  These play an important role in his training by allowing him to swim more often and reducing the damage to his muscles.

     All of his training was worth it when you see how well he performed in the Beijing Olympics.  Winning eight gold medals, he swam in 20 different races, including qualifying and medal races. He broke seven world records and one Olympic record, sometimes with only an hour between races. He captivated the international audience with his fingertip win by 1/100^th second in the 100-meter butterfly. All of America cheered as Phelps led the USA relay team to victory against the favored French Team. Phelps now has the records for most career medals, and the most medals earned at a single Olympics.

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Excessive Pronation    

     Pronation is the normal movement the foot makes to absorb the impact from walking or running. It occurs once the heel strikes the ground and the foot disperses the impact, stretching and flattening the arch as the foot rolls inward. Supination is the opposite motion of pronation. The foot supinates, or rolls on its outer edge, to help with stability as we walk or run.

     A reasonable amount of pronation is necessary for the foot to function properly. However, when the foot arch remains flat and the foot rolls inward too much one may have excessive pronation or over pronation. This medical condition can result from continually straining the feet and wearing footwear that lacks sufficient foot arch support.

     Excessive pronation causes the foot's arch to collapse which in turn causes the foot to twist outwards. A person with excessive pronation generally walks abnormally, on the inner edge of the foot. This stresses and misaligns the ligaments, muscles and tendons in the foot, leg and even the back. Eventually, this misalignment brings about muscular inefficiency, reducing speed and endurance while walking or running.

     Undiagnosed and untreated, excessive pronation may lead to serious foot and lower body injuries. Among the most common injuries are flat feet, weak arches, bunions, corns, calluses, heel pain, Achilles Tendonitis, frequent ankle sprains, shin splints and knee, hip and back pains.

     There are several methods of treating excessive pronation, but the most common is to use a specially made medical insole that is placed in the shoe. This is how I am being treated for my excessive pronation. To have excessive pronation diagnosed you need to see a doctor who will examine your foot then he will take some x-rays.The process for making an insole is a quick inspection by a physical therapist who will take a cast of your foot, followed by about two weeks of waiting for the insole to be made.

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Edward Jenner

ByMatthewThorn                                       January 10, 2008

     Jenner lived from1749 to 1823, and is accredited with creating the first vaccine, and finding a vaccine for small pox. He apprenticed under Dr. Ludlow for several years. When the doctor taught him all he could, Jenner went to London to begin his formal studies under John Hunter. Dr. Hunter was the leading surgeon of his day, and one of the greatest medical investigators of all time. Dr. Hunter recognized Jenner's talent, and once his training was over offered him a position as his assistant. Jenner also received an offer to be to come aboard a ship and be the ship's naturalist. Jenner refused both offers to return home to the village he grew up in.

     Once home he settled down, got married and started his practice. One day he remembered something he had heard while under Dr. Ludlow. He remembered something he had heard a milkmaid say while being treated for a cut on her hand. She had said that she could not contract smallpox because she had already had cowpox. After some consideration, he presented it to some of his friends, only to be met with ridicule from the doctors among them. This did not deter him, though. When it was a full formed medical opinion, he decided not to present it to doctors, but a poet he knew. After this he found confidence in his idea and set out to prove it.

     His friends found many flaws in his idea; they would point out cases where people had contracted cowpox, and then smallpox. It took Jenner five years of studying cow diseases to figure this out. He decided that there was more than one kind of smallpox, and that these people had had a different kind. He made a list of symptoms for the real cowpox, the kind that would prevent smallpox. Then his friends pointed out that in Newport there had been an epidemic of the true cowpox, and then a smallpox epidemic. Confronted with this new information, he started over, starting with the cows in Newport.

Then he progressed to hundreds of milkmaids and cows. Nine more years passed, before he figured out that real cowpox had several distinct phases.

     On May 14, 1796, a milk maid came into Jenner's office needing her hand to be bandaged because of cowpox. Jenner decided it was finally time to try his idea, so he called his caretaker's son into his office. He scrapped some of the cowpox puss into the boy's skin, giving him cowpox. Later on July 1^st, Jenner scraped smallpox into the boy's skin. This was not that unusual, you can only get smallpox once, and being infected with smallpox in this manner was believed to be milder than "catching" it. The boy didn't get smallpox! Jenner repeated the experiment twenty-three times before publishing it. He called his historic paper An Inquiry into the Cause and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae.

      Great commotion followed the announcement. Along came rumors like children who were vaccinated began to moo. The attitude began to change because of the need, though, and soon Jenner was the most talked about man in the world. Soon there was no part of the world that had not begun vaccinating against smallpox. The new country of the United States was unsure of the vaccination at first, but when President Thomas Jefferson had himself vaccinated, the country followed. Jenner began receiving gifts from all around the world. He received a diamond ring from the Empress of Russia, an American Indian chief sent him a wampum belt, Napoleon released two prisoners because they were friends of Jenner's, and in Germany the day of the boy's vaccination was celebrated as a national holiday.

     That was the end of smallpox; Jenner's vaccine was in use every where around the world. Jenner had killed a disease.

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First Aid Kit for Mississippi

• Bandages
• CPR barrier shield
• Insect repellant
• Gauze
• Ace bandage
• Disinfectant
• Sunscreen
• Aloe Vera
• Neosporin
• Lotion for poison ivy/oak
• Latex gloves
• Water
• Salt
• Snake bite kit
• Ibuprofen
• Aspirin
• Benadryl
• Splint
• Light
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Large cloth for slings
• Tarp
• Alcohol wipes
• Safety pins
• Athlete's foot powder

First Aid Kit for Antarctica

• First aid book
• Scissors
• CPR barrier shield
• Splinter picker forceps
• Antibiotic ointment
• Antiseptic towelettes
• Tincture of Benzoin
• Butterfly closure strips
• Moleskin (blisters)
• Latex gloves
• Infectious control bag
• Antimicrobial hand wipes
• Sterile dressings
• Adhesive tape
• Bandages
• Cotton tip applicators
• Extra-Strength Tylenol
• Antihistamine
• Motrin
• Anti-diarrhea medicine
• Safety Pins
• Splint
• Aloe Vera
• Sunscreen
• Duct Tape
• Salt / hydration fluids
• Powder for rashes
• Athlete's foot powder
• Waterproof matches
• Thermometer
• Scalpel
• Dental filling kit

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Glaciers

By Matthew Thorn

     A glacier is a large river of ice moving at a slow rate. Glaciers occur in areas where snow falls all year with little melt off. Glaciers move simply by gravity leaving a barren area behind them. Glaciers are the largest source of fresh water, second only to the oceans as the largest source of any water.

     Glacial ice is formed in a three step process. The first step is to form granular ice. Granular ice or nv is formed when snow falls, then is melted, and frozen many times. The second step is to create firn. Firn is formed when the weight of the snow above it compacts granular ice into firn. The final step is to form glacial ice. Glacial ice is simply even further compacted firn. To do this takes several years of compacting, under great pressure.

     Glaciers move because of gravity and a thin layer of water under the ice. The layer of water is formed by pressure. Most substance's melting temperature rises when under pressure, but for water it is exactly the opposite. The pressure on the ice is so great that it melts and slides on itself.

     Glaciers erode sediment through mainly three processes; abrasion, plucking, and bulldozing. Abrasion is when the sediment being pushed by the glacier rakes across the bedrock and is pulverized into what is called rock flour. The size of a particle must be from 0.002 to 0.00625 mm across. Plucking is when rocks are lifted or "plucked" from the soil. This occurs when water penetrates the space around the rock and freezes, lifting the rock into the glacier. Bulldozing is simply when the glacier pushes sediment in front of it.

     Glaciers deposit the sediment they carry in four ways. One way is till. Till is formed when a glacier stops moving and begins to melt. In the case of till, all the sediment in the glacier is simply left to rest where it falls. A second way is drumlins. Drumlins occur as hills of piled up sediment pushed out of the way as glaciers move. Another way is glacier erratics. They are rocks left behind by glaciers in erratic patterns (hence, the name), left behind by either being snagged, melting out, or for other reasons. The last way is stratified drift, which is the sediment carried out of the glacier by meltwater. It can be carried miles by braided streams (streams formed by meltwater).

     When glaciers reach the ocean, they float (look at an ice cube). They become icebergs and slowly deposit their remaining sediment over the ocean floor as they melt.

     There are many ways to find more information on glaciers and the geology of Antarctica, all available to anyone who has a library or the internet. One website I recommend is The British Antarctic Survey.

Did You Know?

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  Above is a video containing our interview with Doug.

William Thomas Morton and Anesthesia

     William was born in Charlton City, Massachusetts on August 8, 1819. His father said that from any early age he wanted to be a doctor, making pills for his friends from bread and leaves. His family didn't have the money to send him to medical school. He may have attended Baltimore College of Dentistry, for some time.  Later, when his family moved to Boston, he attended Harvard Medical School.

     In 1843, he became partners with Horace Wells in a dentistry business. Together they took on the problem of making a better spring-free denture plate. There was one problem with their dentures though.  Before the plate for the false teeth could be placed all roots and stumps of the original teeth had to be removed. This was a painful, bloody procedure. Horace soon left the partnership. Morton became quite sucessful in his business, but he was all too aware of the pain of his patients.

     All the components of anesthesia had already been invented.  Sulfuric ether had been discovered in 1540, nitrous oxide had been discovered in 1772, and in 1799 Sir Humphrey Davy had described the potential for the use of nitrous oxide in surgery.  In 1846, Morton had begun experiments with ether.  In his experiments he used worms, insects, goldfish, and a dog.  On October 16, 1846,  Morton arrived as Dr. Warren prepared to remove a tumor from Gilbert Abbott.  Over the previous weeks Morton had devised an apparatus to contain the ether.  Morton administered the ether to Gilbert and then told Warren, "Your patient is ready, sir."  After the surgery, Gilbert said, "No.  It didn't hurt at all, although my neck did feel for a moment as though someone were scraping it with a hoe." 

      Morton then attempted to patent his invention but the patent office would not allow him to patent unchanged ether. Crawford Long, a doctor who had used ether in 1842 but had made no public announcement of his work, also made attempts to claim ether as his invention.  Charles Jackson, Morton's tutor at Harvard, made attempts at claiming ether because Morton had learned most of what he knew about ether from him.  Horace Wells, his partner in the dentistry business, also tried to claim it as his own.

     Although Morton was not the first to use ether to dull pain, he was the first to publically present it to other doctors.

Antarctic Research Tenents

1. Only undertake the kind of science in Antarctica that cannot be done elsewhere in the world.

2. Only undertake the highest quality science

3. If possible make sure it contributes to solving a global problem.

Seizures

     Seizures are the outward symptoms of brain disorders, medicine, head injuries and certain diseases. Seizures are not always violent convulsions and some can have very mild symptoms. Seizures are categorized into 2 broad categories partial seizures or full seizures. A seizure usually lasts 30 seconds to 2 minutes, if a seizure lasts more than 5 minutes or if there are multiple seizures and the person does not wake up in between it is considered a medical emergency.

    To help someone who is having a seizure the first thing you need do is to get everything away from the person that is having the seizure, loosen any clothing around the head and neck. Turn the person on his/her side to prevent choking on vomit. Call 911 immediately.

To avoid getting seizures yourself you should avoid circumstances where head injuries can occur, wear seatbelt while driving, and wear a helmet while riding a bike or skate board or bicycle.

     You need practicaly nothing to treat a seizure.

By Matt Thorn

DNA Testing

     After checking with health offices in 2 counties, I found there is nowhere in my area to get DNA testing, but  there are many places on the internet to get it done. I have seen prices from $99-$999 for parental testing. Doctors who want to start DNA testing are recommended to have a degree in biochemistry, biology, or genetics. DNA testing isn't done with only blood anymore. It can be done with hair, saliva, or cheek cells extracted by a cotton swab.

By Matt Thorn

Did You Know?

Jacob Henle

     Jacob Henle contributed directly to the areas of pathology (the study of disease), histology (the study of tissue), physiology (the study of the properties of man in good health), and anatomy, but indirectly to almost all areas of medicine. The books he wrote affected medical thinking all throughout Germany, Europe, and North America.

     Henle wrote many influencial books some of which are "Patologische Untersuchungen", "Allegemeine Anatomie", "Handbuch der Rationellen Pathologie", "Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomies des Menscher", and "Zeitschrift fur Rationelle Medizen"

     He contributed to anatomy by writing "Allegemeine Anatomie" (General Anatomy), a book which brought a great advance over Bichat's earlier classification of tissue. To write the book, he made extensive use of the microscope, and tried to relate structure to function. His goal in writting the book was to "understand the processes and symptoms of disease as the law-like reactions of an organic substance endowed with  peculiar and inalienable powers against abnormal external influences." The great German biologist, Walther Flemming, said Henle's book "contained the  first real, ration tissue theory of the animal body, so comprehensive  and many-sided, that it earned the admiration of the entire biological world."  

     In his book "Patologische Untersuchungen" (Pathological Investigations)he revolutionized the way disease was thought of. He siad that living microscopic agents enter the body multiply, and cause disease. He said there were 3 kinds of agents the 1st maisma enters the body from the enviroment, the 2nd contagia are transmitted by person-to-person contact, and the 3rd miasmatic-contagious agents can enter either way. He studied many diseases to prove his points some of which are rabies, smallpox, and tuberculosis.

     Through reading about Henle I learned how much he contributed to todays medicine through books, professorships, and ideas.

By Matt Thorn

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Antarctica

 By Matt Thorn

     Antarctica is the southern most continent, contains the South Pole, has the highest average elevation, and is the fifth largest continent. It has 5,400,000 sq. miles of land, 108,000 of it is free of ice (98% covered by ice). The ice is one mile thick. It has the coldest, driest, and windiest climate on earth. There are no permanent residents; it is governed by the Antarctica Treaty signed by 45 countries. Military personnel and mining are prohibited.

     There are many natural dangers in Antarctica such as crevasses, icebergs, and the constant cold. Most of the tourism is by ship, so icebergs become a threat because many ships are not reinforced for ice. The cold is a major threat if you are not sheltered. Everyone who works in Antarctica gets frostbite, some just a red marks on exposed areas such as the corners of the eyes. Altitude Sickness becomes a problem in certain areas, although it can be prevented with acclimatization.

     If you are going to Antarctica, of course, you need to layer your clothes, but did you know that you need to bring sunglasses because the glare off the ice can cause snow blindness? It is better to bring many light clothes and layer than one big jacket. It is better to be a little cold rather than sweat. You also need sunscreen for the exposed areas of your body, and lots of water for dehydration.

     There are very few illnesses in Antarctica because of the severe cold. Most illnesses are brought by newcomers. Rashes are common but preventable. Sleeplessness, hypothermia, snow blindness, dehydration, and sunstroke are other common problems and are all easily prevented.

        There are few medical facilities on Antarctica, although there is one on every cruise vessel, and in research stations, but they are nothing compared to hospitals in the United States. Doctors going to Antarctica need special training to perform the tasks other doctors would normally do such as take x-rays or fix a broken tooth. Field parties that go out for extended periods also have a member specifically trained to administer basic medical treatment. There are no search and rescue teams on the ready, and one may take a long time to reach you and be very expensive.

     Antacrtica can be a very beautiful place to visit, but it has many hazards you need to watch out for.

How the Ear Works

Florence Nightingale

     Florence Nightingale was born on May12,1820 in. She was born to a wealthy high class family. Florence was taught by her brother, who made sure she knew German, the romantic languages, and many other languages. In 1844 she had a religious experience and decided that her life should be given to helping others, and that she said," To marry would be akin to suicide." Her wanting to be a nurse was met with much opposition by her family. She attended the Sisters of Charity in Paris, the Deaconess Institute in Germany, and taught herself much about the subject of nursing by reading reports on the subject.

     After winning the support of her family she became the superintendent of the Harley Street Nursing Home, where she put many of her ideas to work, such as bells for the patients to call for help, bring food to them, and sanitation standards.

       During the Crimean War she traveled to the military hospitals with other nurses she recruited from other hospitals to reform them, but met stiff resistance from doctors. So she and her nurses helped in the kitchen, from there they were allowed to help with the bathrooms, from there they started a laundry service, and from there they were allowed to help in the wards. She eventually made many reforms on the single station level, but could not get the country to change its policy completely.

     After returning from the war she wrote many books, but not many were influential. She was described as a bedridden old woman who wrote only to get her reforms by some government official. She died August 13, 1910.

     Florence Nightingale changed the stereo-type of nursing from outcasts and former prostitutes to respectable and educated women, she introduced the use of statistics to medicine, and through reforms and books she inevitably saved the lives of thousands then and now.

By Matt Thorn

Did you know?

How the Eye Works

     Light enters and is refracted through the cornea. It then passes through the lens which fine focuses it, and projects it onto the retina. The upside down image is picked up by photoreceptors on the retina which send signals to the brain which decode them as images.