Examining Religion: Can it help the Environmental Crises?

By Veronica Pineda

When the Pilgrims escaped England for the sake of religious freedom, they looked to the Bible for direction on how to survive in their new homeland.

Their bible had two options of how to interact with the land. The first was to leave the land as it is and live with it in balance as with the rest of the ecosystem, or to subdue it (Genesis 1:28, New International Version 2011).

“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in  number; fill the Earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’"- Genesis 1:28, New International Version 2011. Clearly this was their choice, a choice that continued to fuel the Judeo-Christian values that have influenced our nation up to now. According to UCLA historian Lynn White, a tradition that fuels the  “root” cause of “our ecological crisis.”  On April 13, 2013, the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law hosted the 18th Annual Stegnar Symposium: Religion, Faith and the Environment. The objective of the symposium was to examine and inquire how religion is intertwined with the environmental issues that threaten our earth at this present moment. Inviting religious and secular leaders, as well as scholars of law, policy science, economics and humanities, the leaders of the symposium hoped to shed light on how new approaches to ethics and religion could mend conflicts that center around the future prosperity of the human race and the Earth. Right now, especially living in Salt Lake City, the repercussions of humans thinking that they are the masters of nature instead of in unity with nature are directly affecting citizen’s health. Just looking over the valley during the winter months makes it clear why many people are beginning to have respiratory problems. How is it that we came to this point? How is it that we forgot that we are a product of nature and are subject to its changes? For the last 100 years, our country has been implementing laws to balance the industrial growth and wilderness for the sake of health and happiness, though the law has not been concerned with the spiritual emphasis that is an essential part of environmental support. John Naegle, professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, was one of the keynote speakers at the symposium. An enthusiast in environmental law, he mentioned how after reading the accounts supporting the Wilderness Act of 1964, many people reported their spiritual connection to nature and how they found God in the wilderness. Living in Utah, we are lucky to be surrounded by beautiful mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes that remind us why this place is considered a Zion. Here a church can be on the mountaintop, it can be in the canyons; and possibly over the blue waters of our lakes. But how is it that we still sacrifice this beauty and allow new policies that would harm the environment for the sake of monetary gain? I think of the joke of “ If you really think the environment is less important than your money, try holding your breath while you count your money,” best answers this question. Even if you are atheist or agnostic, you have a set belief system that influences decisions about how you came to be and how to manage the world you were born into. We are products of nature and by examining ourselves, our values, our beliefs, and ultimately choosing a life sustainable for us, we can make a difference for our world. Many people don’t care until the issues start affecting their everyday comfort and health. Today, issues ranging from our air quality, our oceans, our forests, and our food, are shaking people’s belief.

The Elimination of Limitation

By Veronica Pineda

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 was the annual Mechanical Engineering Department's Design Day at the University of Utah where the entire department displays some of the projects that the students have completed throughout the year.

The senior design class built various innovative machines that will be capable of improving society in a variety of ways.

A total of 23 groups designed projects applicable anywhere from the moon to a surgeon's table. I was particularly interested in projects aimed at increasing recreational opportunities for people who are physically disabled. Not only is there a large economic market for such inventions, but also there is a large humanitarian benefit to expanding the capabilities of those who would otherwise be limited in recreational activities.

The first of two projects that I was particularly interested in was the Site Project 2013. The goal was to design soccer equipment which would enable blind players to also enjoy the sport. The second project was the E-Tetra, a kayak that could be controlled by paraplegics.

The design team in charge of the SITE Project 2013, Adaptive Soccer, consisted of Nader Badizadegan, Brady Warner, Yanson Cheah, and Elton Jasaraj. The project involves a soccer ball and goal system, which will produce sound to aid visually impaired players in locating the ball and goal. This project was funded by a grant through the National Science Foundation.

“I wanted to make sure that if I am going to put a lot of time into a senior design project, that the end product would be able to help others,“ said Badizadegan.

The sounds emitted by the ball were based on on the classic theme song from Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers.

“In many cases these children who are visually impaired don't know anything about soccer, what the ball looks like, what the goal looks like, what the objective of the game is, etc. So we wanted to create a system that will help them learn about the game, and at the same time motivate them to be more physically active,” said Badizadegan

The Site Project 2013 has opened a bridge between the world of sound and the visually impaired to the world of sight, allowing the players to gain new experiences.

The E–Tetra kayak had a similar objective of expanding the opportunities for the physically disabled. The team consisted of Caleb Perkins, Michael Myers, Zak Evans, Orlando Cintron, Raleigh Cornwell, and Chris Cosman. Their goal was to expand the availability of recreational activities for paraplegics.

In this project, the design team reverses engineered signals from a wheelchair, which would feed into a motor to drive the kayak forward and a rudder to steer. The same signals that are used in classical wheelchairs were adapted in a way that allowed control of a kayak instead. The person controlling the kayak would use breathing patterns and head positions to steer the kayak.

The breath system works using a sip and puff system. When the user puffs their cheeks outward into the control tube, the breath drove the motor of the kayak forward; sipping on the control tube drove the kayak backward. The pressure difference between breaths controlled the speed of the kayak. The kayak had a maximum speed of 9.5 knots.

The team made sure that the kayak was adjustable at the head, torso and arms, so that people with a wide variety of body sizes could also make full use of the design, according to Cornwell.

“It was a lot of work but it makes it worth it when you see that the people who are actually going to use it, enjoy it,” said Cornwell.

The electronics, which facilitate the kayak’s functions possible for tetraplegics, is watertight.

“It’s not submersible, but it can withstand rain,” said Cornwell.

Overall the objectives of comfort, security, and functionality were met. The kayaks are designed to have a fully trained kayak rider assistant riding in front, so incase the kayak does submerge, the assistant can take control and correct any issues.

Many of the parts used could be found in stores and were not custom made. The kayak was also 20 feet long, spanned approximately the width of four people laying shoulder to shoulder, and housed a sail that extends 18 feet high - approximately the height of a two story building. 

The Physics Behind Tai Chi

By Veronica Pineda

Many people forget how much they are a product of mathematical and physical laws.  When we focus and study each breath, movement, and action we make, we can understand that every action a human takes conforms to nature's laws.

Instead of struggling against the inevitable, Tai Chi suggests that we study how the Universe behaves and use it to our own advantage. Tai Chi is a mixture of art forms such as dance, martial arts, and meditation.

Tai Chi requires more than simple throws and absorbing or dealing hits to attain victory. Tai Chi art requires more than strength flexibility, or any combination of simple physical characteristics. It requires an understanding of geometry, space, and the physical laws that govern their physical interactions.

On April 27, 2013, The University of Utah participated in World Tai Chi Day, the global celebration of Tai Chai. Millions of people in more than 70 nations searched for their centers using the techniques of Tai Chi in unison. Every hour beginning at 10:00 GMT (5:00PM Mountain Standard Time) participants began moving their “chi,” or internal flow of energy, in unison with participants worldwide.

Healthy and conscious flow of a person's chi is a concept of Eastern culture health that is the key to living a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling life.

Tai Chi, similar to yoga and other martial arts, requires self-awareness to fully harness its potential. This requires that the practitioner block out all external stimuli, focusing solely on their mind and chi. This is the main principle of Eastern medicine – the unity and communication between external stimuli and internal reactions.

Western sciences began to understand the same concept, many years later, through Newton's Third Law of Classical Mechanics, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Everything that someone does or is done to them has an equal internalized reaction.

Newer developments in physics, specifically in the field of quantum mechanics, demonstrate that objects exert influences even without directed physical contact. Through a phenomenon called Quantum Entanglement, one can measure a particle and instantaneously affect another particle in an equal and opposite manner no matter how far away they are, even faster than the speed of light.

Tai Chi uses six fundamental directions of movement according to Jerry Gardner, co-owner, director and master instructor of Red Lotus School of Movement where he teaches advanced courses in Wing Chun, Kung Fu and Tai Chi.

Tai Chi also uses the concept of the center, the sphere, and the cube. The cube represents the six directions relative to the practitioner. The sphere is inscribed within the cube with the practitioner in the center and all directions equally distant from the foci (i.e. the practitioner). The practitioner adjusts their internally inscribed circle in response to changes in their external environment. 

“There is no law of classical physics which does not require the concepts of space and time for its formulation,” the Tao of Physics.

According to Gardner, the practitioner's goal is to find alignment and balance within these internal and external dimensions.  If the practitioner loses their internal balance, they will also lose their external point of reference and become disoriented internally and externally.

A way that Tai Chi practitioners remain in balance is by shifting their weight back and forth. According to Bill Parkinson, associate professor of Tai Chi at the University of Utah, “If you can keep your balance and get your opponent off balance, they can not throw effective kicks and punches, and you can.“

It takes only a small amount of force to disrupt a person's balance. According to the Physics of Tai ChiChuan, “You need only four ounces of force to move a thousand pound force.”

“A little baby can push a 300 lb. person over if you push them off at the center. You want to push them high so that they tip over,” said Parkinson

According to this principal, a Tai Chi practitioner can use a difference in balance between them and their opponent to reduce a forceful attack. By continually shifting the practitioner's center of gravity, the blow may be avoided entirely – not only avoiding the force of the blow, but also forcing their opponent off-balance, allowing for a counter attack.

A key aspect to the art of Tai Chi is maintaining a dynamically shifting center of weight.

According to Parkinson, “In Tai Chi we are always moving. We are always fluid with our movements, so we don’t have to overcome inertia.“ In other words, Tai Chi practitioners maintain continual motions, so that they never have to exert energy to restart their movement, energy that would otherwise be advantageous rebalancing and repositioning.

According to Newton's First Law, “A body at rest will stay at rest or if in motion will continue in uniform linear motion, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

By completing actions and maintaining momentum of movements within the cube mentioned earlier while simultaneously maintaining reactivity within of their defined sphere, the practitioner is able to disrupt the opponent’s balance.

This technique of using two geometric shapes, a sphere and square, allows the practitioner to protect themselves through 10 different directions of attack: up, down, front, back, left, right, and the four front facing diagonals (relative to the practitioner. The practitioner must choose one direction to exert their momentum, any change requires energy. This energy wastes time and opens vulnerability.

In accordance with Newton’s Second law, an opponent will need time to change the direction of their momentum. This provides an opportunity for the Tai Chi defendant to either block the attack or preferably avid the attack entirely and perform a counter-attack. 

U researcher develops new way to test pharmaceutical drugs

U researcher develops new way to test pharmaceutical drugs

By Veronica Pineda

Approving a new drug takes a minimum of 500 million dollars and years of clinical research. Despite this large investment, about 73 percent of pharmaceuticals drugs fail clinical trials, and 10 percent are recalled after FDA approval due to unforeseen harmful side effects.

What’s the flaw? One possible reason could be that pharmaceutical testing overlooks the harmful side effects that show up on unexpected organ systems.

University of Utah scientist, Shannon Gaukler, believes her lab has developed a drug testing methodology called the Organismal Performance Assay (OPA) that may be capable of revealing drug toxicities that are often missed by other pharmaceutical tests.

The OPA utilizes semi-natural enclosures to test the performance of wild mice. Measures of performance include reproductive success, survivorship, and male dominance.

“I come from an ecology background, and this is what animals in the environment do. They compete for mates and resources that are essential for survival,” said Gaukler.

           

Pharmaceutical safety and efficacy are assessed in both in vivo and in vitro studies. In vivo studies are conducted in animals, typically inbred strains, to determine if the drug causes cancer, birth defects, or genetic mutation. In vitro studies are usually conducted in tissue culture, cells from an organism grown in a flask that are used as the experimental model instead of an animal.

 One major downside to in vitro testing is that this approach ignores the synergy, or interaction, between the many physiological systems in the body. The drug might be designed to affect one body system, though the drug could affect various physiological systems.

“If you determine that a particular drug is safe for the heart, (it) does not mean that it will be safe for other organs and organ systems,” said Gaukler. “A lot of drug failures are due to toxicities that emerge in unexpected organ systems.”

One way that the pharmaceutical approval process could be improved is through the use of the OPA. The OPA utilizes genetically diverse wild mice that compete for limited resource in semi-natural enclosures. Since humans are genetically diverse, it is best to test in genetically diverse animals. Typically, preclinical trials are conducted in genetically inbred strains that are housed in a stress-free caged environment.

“By housing our wild mice in semi-natural environments, we are challenging mice to be mice,” she said.

Gaukler has used the OPA to test paroxetine (Paxil), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and an antidepressant. At the moment, Paxil is available on the market and is suspected of causing birth defects in babies born to mothers who take the drug during pregnancy.

GlaxoSmithKline* now warns pregnant women against taking the drug. Studies reveal that women who took Paxil during the first three months of pregnancy were about one and a half to two times more likely to have a baby with a heart defect, such as murmurs, than women who received other antidepressant medication or women not on antidepressant medication. The FDA approved Paxil after successful preclinical and clinical trials.

Paxil was incorporated into rodent food so that each mouse would ingest approximately 30 mg/kg/day, which is about 10 times the human therapeutic dose. Breeding pairs are exposed to the drug in a caged environmental. The offspring produced by these breeders are the test individuals that go into the OPA.

Gaukler found that Paxil litters were significantly skewed towards female offspring (p=0.0021) and that the offspring weighted significantly less (p<0.0001) than litters in the control treatment. Gaukler also found that pregnancy was significantly delayed (p=0.05) in the Paxil breeders.

Once the offspring are approximately two months old, they are released into semi-natural enclosures. Each population consists of 24 individuals: eight males, four from the control treatment and four from the Paxil treatment; and 16 females, eight from the control treatment and eight from the Paxil treatment.

Each enclosure consists of six territories. Four of the territories contain dark nesting sites, in which males compete for. The remaining two territories contain open nesting areas in which the losers are then forced into.

The males constantly fight to either obtain or defend the optimal territories, while females continually gestate and nurse new young.

“Unlike caged animals used in preclinical studies, mice competing in these semi- enclosures require high performance from most of their physiological systems to establish social dominance and become successful individuals,” said Gaukler.

Paxil- exposed males were significantly less dominant (p<0.0001) and had approximately 50 percent fewer sons (p=0.0236) than control males. Paxil-exposed females had approximately 25 percent fewer offspring (p=0.1014) that control females.

However, there were no significant differences in terms of survivorship between treatments Gaukler said.

“These results tell us that Paxil is really impacting the overall fitness of these animals. We do not know the mechanisms that are responsible for these fitness declines, but they could be determined in future studies,” she said.

One possible mechanism of fitness declines could be how Paxil interferes with serotonin levels. Serotonin, known as the happy drug, impacts a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, a gland within the endocrine system.

The endocrine system is responsible for regulating hormones in the body, including testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. Alterations to these hormone levels could explain why males have reduced dominance and why females have a reduced number of offspring, said Gaukler.

In addition to Paxil, Gaukler has also used the OPA to test the safety of Baycol (cerivastatin), a drug that was prescribes to reduced cholesterol.

Gaukler has detected significant fitness declines in Baycol-exposed mice as well.

The results from these two studies suggest that the OPA is a superior approach to assessing the safety of pharmaceutical drugs according to Gaukler.

“If OPA’s were implemented as a tool in preclinical testing, there is the potential to save millions of dollars and reduce human suffering by identifying drug toxicities early in development and prior to clinical trials,” said Gaukler.