What type of gut do you have?

Researchers have discovered that different people have different gut types.  Yes, just like people have blood types.  So far, 3 different gut types have been identified.  The difference comes from the levels of certain bacteria. The 3 types of bacteria are: bacteroides, prevotella, and ruminococcus.  Also, it was stated that guts change based on what type of diet the person is on.

This was an odd discovery.  I just wonder who thought to research this and why.  I guess it is cool to have another factor to be included with human classification.  It is also odd to think that everybody's gut type is determinant on what bacteria they have in their bodies.  I learned something new for sure; I always thought your gut was either fat or flat.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/digestive-disorders/articles/2011/04/21/gut-bacteria-falls-into-three-major-types

Link between TV and Heart Disease

A recent study conducted in Australia revealed that the more time children spend in front of a computer or television screen can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.  In the study, researchers looked at over 1,000 six-year-old children and surveyed their parents on their amount of play-time.  When looking at the children, they investigated their eyes.  The results showed that children who spent less time playing and more time in front of a screen had smaller retinal arteries, which can link to heart disease.  Smaller arteries can mean less blood flow, and less blood flow means risk of cardiovascular disease.

This news was very enlightening.  More and more kids are becoming less active.  They sit and watch TV or play XBOX for hours upon hours.  I believe this should alert parents to make their children get x-amount of hours of active play-time.  Inactivity also leads to the childhood obesity problem that faces America.  There are many talks around the country about eliminating P.E. and recess.  This study should enlighten those who are trying to get rid of these.

http://www.thirdage.com/news/screen-time-linked-to-heart-risk-in-children_04-21-2011

GM mosquitoes offer malaria hope

Scientist are coming close to being able to manipulate the DNA of mosquitoes in order to stop the spread of malaria.  "Malaria-resistant" mosquitoes have already been created.  However, the challenge is to get the modified mosquitoes to spread the DNA to other mosquitoes around the world.  The scientists give the gene that can prevent malaria to the male mosquitoes so all of their offspring will be malaria-resistant.

This is a great idea, if it works.  I don't think anybody wants malaria and with rising average global temperatures, malaria is becoming more widespread.  I don't believe this will work entirely.  I believe it will be near impossible to get every mosquito to be malaria resistant.  However, I'm all for manipulating their DNA.  Any help is good help.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13128327

Apparently, Beer is Bad for you...

A recent study revealed that consuming 3 beers a day can increase the risk of stomach cancer by 75%.  However, wine and liquor did not show the same effect.  The explanation could be that beer contains nitrosamines a chemical that can potentially cause cancer.  Stomach cancer is the 2nd most common worldwide, but very uncommon in America.

After seeing this I will definately not drink beer as much.  I also wonder what Norm Peterson, off the sitcom "Cheers", thought when he saw this.  I don't think it would slow down his bar tab anyways.  One assumption you could make is that either alcohol consumption is higher worldwide than in America or beer consumption is higher worldwide.  Maybe the US has a preference for liquor or wine.  Stomach cancer, I would guess, would be one of the worst and most painful forms of cancer to have.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=8073461

NASCAR Pit Stops

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQbEfr9irE

Sport Science investigated the anatomy of a NASCAR pit stop.  Unfortunately, they chose Kyle Busch's team, but that's beside the point. (GO DALE!!!)  They discovered the perfect pit stop is about 12.12 seconds long.  Most of the best pit crews in the sport accomplish a 4-tire pit stop in less than 13 seconds on a consistent basis.  A pit stop can make or break a race for a team at most tracks.  On the "over-the-wall" pit crew, there is a gas man, jack man, 2 tire carriers, and 2 tire changers (the catch-can man was eliminated prior to this season).  These are just any regular Joe's; they are usually college athletes.  I consider them professional athletes, because they perform at such a high level.  The jack man is the "quarterback" and must know his whole team's movements.  Tire changers have the toughest job.  These guys are able to get in their position in less than 2 seconds and change 6 lugnuts in about 1 second.

I am a huge NASCAR fan.  I've always had the dream of driving or being on a pit crew someday.  The common misconception with pit crews is that they're just beer-drinking, tobacco-chewing rednecks.  The truth is they are superior athletes.  Each person much have a great focus and competitive drive as well as being quick and strong.  A friend of mine played football at Wake Forest as a starter on the offensive line for their ACC Championship team.  He was invited to Hendrick Motorsports for a try-out and didn't make the cut; that tells you how good these athletes are.  I believe that I could be a jack man, but I know I couldn't be the tire changer.  When I rotate my tires, I use an air-gun and try to see how fast i can get the lugs in and out...it isn't pretty.  Next time you watch a NASCAR race, don't say it isn't a physically demanding sport.

Rajon Rondo

Sport Science investigated Rajon Rondo's "measureables."  Rondo is 6'1" and according to da Vinci, so should his wingspan.  However, Rajon has a wingspan of 6'9".  Also, his hand size is 9" long and 10" wide.  By da Vinci's calculations, he has hands the size of a man taller than 7'6" Yao Ming.  So, is da Vinci's calculations of human proportion wrong or is Rondo a "freak of nature"?  Possibly, da Vinci was right in his day and human size proportions have changed in the last few hundred years.  Here is a list of da Vinci's proportions:

• a palm is the width of four fingers
• a foot is the width of four palms
• a cubit is the width of six palms
• a pace is four cubits
• a man's height is four cubits (and thus 24 palms)
• "erit eaque mensura ad manas pansas" (Literally: "It will be the same in measure to the spread out hands.")
• the length of a man's outspread arms (arm span) is equal to his height
• the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's height
• the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a man's height
• the distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one-sixth of a man's height
• the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height (one cubit)
• the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a man's height (one cubit)
• the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of a man's height (one cubit)
• the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height (half a cubit)
• the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
• the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of the head
• the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
• the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face
• the length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height

I picked this topic mainly because Rondo plays on the best team in the NBA and my favorite, the Boston Celtics.  I had never heard of human proportions, although I have seen da Vinci's drawing, before this.  The general notion is that longer wingspan leads to better defensive ability and larger hand size leads to better dribbling.  Rajon Rondo proves this notion with his performance.  Da Vinci was probably right in his notion; maybe the average man is proportional.  However, an NBA player or any other professional athlete is not an average human, which could explain Rondo being "disproportionate."  Maybe in da Vinci's time everybody was proportional and now everybody is disproportional.  Either way its an interesting way to look at the human dimensions and athletic ability.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5271456&categoryid=5707464

Distracting Fans

On Sport Science, they researched what distracts free-throw shooters in basketball games.  Random movements in crowds are easily blocked out by tunnel vision.  However, when studying a few Dallas Maverick games, it was noted that FT percentage dropped 8 percentage points when crowed movements were coordinated.  Sport Science also tested out the theory that noise may be more distracting.  They stated that light travels 900,000 times faster than sound, but the human brain processes sound 50 times faster than vision.  Studies show that consistent noise of over 85 db can cause fatigue, which can lead to loss of focus.  Many college basketball arenas have measured at around 110 db, the equivalent of standing beneath a jet engine.

I found this very interesting, because I have never seen anything scientific about distraction before.  I also never realized that loud noise can cause fatigue; I thought it would just make your ears hurt.  I've always been intrigued by the mental approach to sports as well.  Toward the end of a game, you're usually already tired and your mental focus is probably weakend as well.  If you are on the road in a hostile, deafening environment, then making a game-winning free throw will be even tougher.  I thought it was cool when they talked about when a crowd coordinates a side-to-side movement, the shooter will sometimes go with the direction and miss.  This was a unique perspective on free throw shooting.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6180740