largeintestein – BioQuakes

The Most Superior Drink Sweetener?

On January 21, 2020

When you order your iced tea at a restaurant, you might be familiar with the packets of Sweet’N Low, Equal, or Splenda. But have you heard of Stevia? Stevia, or Stevia rebaudiana, is native to both Brazil and Paraguay, and is a member of the sunflower family. Despite being discovered by the Europeans in the early 1800s, local populations in South America have always used stevia as a sweetener. It took a long time for Western nations to access Stevia, because the main ingredient, Rebaudioside, is extremely expensive. This condensed extract is vital because it is considered safe by every governing body, whereas the entire stevia leaf was not put on the FDA’s Safe List due to low blood pressure concerns.

Stevia is extremely powerful. It is 200x sweeter than sugar! In the $14 billion market industry of sweeteners, Stevia’s global net worth is a whopping $336 million! Moreover, besides contributing greatly to the global sweetener economy, Stevia contributes greatly to pro-environmental efforts. In 2008, the FDA placed Stevia on the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) List. Stevia is sustainable, and is grown by farmers on small farms in tropical landscapes. The ingredients that are harvested, both Rebaudioside A and Rebaudioside M, are much sweeter and less bitter than the traditional products used in other sweeteners, like Truvia. However, Stevia produces very small quantities of Rebaudioside A and Rebaudioside M, which makes its value skyrocket even higher. Stevia has no calories, which makes it a great alternative to the many calories in sugar. If you were to replace sugar with Stevia in your daily eating routine (without eating more food), you would consume less calories, and Stevia would ultimately yield weight loss! Before you start flooding your kitchen with Stevia and throw out all of your sugar, it’s important to note that the FDA says Stevia can be harmful at “poison dose levels.” Just don’t eat Stevia at poison dose levels and you can go enjoy this incredible, sustainable sweetener!

Dry Stevia Leaves

Yes, Some of Us Have Different Human Ecosystems.

By largeintestein

On November 12, 2019

In Student Post

Our human ecosystems inside of us are composed of countless quantities of cells. However, only 10% of those cells are human cells. Jeroen Raes , a Biologist based in Belgium, made a vital and fascinating discovery about the other 90%. He discovered that there are three different possible ecosystems inside individual humans. Each person has one of these three ecosystems: bacteriode, prevotella or ruminococcus. These ecosystems are composed of hundreds of trillions of harmless bacteria. One could explain our relationship with these bacteria as symbiotic, as we give them a share of food and they return the favor by helping us digest food and convert it to energy. Furthermore, these bacteria help us fight disease, and can even make us happier by triggering our neurons to release more serotonin. Raes’ experiment tested people from the US, Japan, and Denmark. Despite each regions unique diets, Raes claims to have found no correlation between diets and their individual ecosystems. Furthermore, Raes found no correlation between their age/genetic makeup and individual ecosystems.

People who have the bacteriode system “have a bias” toward bacteria that get most of their energy from proteins and carbohydrates. Bacteriode ecosystems also have more bacteria that make greater quantities of vitamins C, B2, B5, and H. On the contrary, both prevotella and ruminococcus ecosystems mostly digest proteins that are sugar coated. Both of these ecosystems also have more bacteria that create vitamin B1 and folic acid.

Raes’ findings have yielded very confusing results. Even Raes has conceded that he is unsure as to why only three total human ecosystems exist. Moreover, Raes admits his sample size of only a few hundred people will increase with more time and funding. Raes hopes to further his research on these unique human ecosystems, and potentially find links to obesity, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, and autism.

Proteus Vulgaris, an example of a type of human bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract.

Zombie Apocalypse? Yes, it’s happening right now.

By largeintestein

On October 26, 2019

In Student Post

Most of us would think that a zombie apocalypse is simply a fantasy seen in scary movies. However, in Brazil, this freaky fantasy has rapidly turned into reality for some unfortunate carpenter ants. In the Brazilian rainforests, one could find carpenter ants whose jaws are forever locked onto a leaf, with a fungus growing right through the dead ant’s face. This is a result of the deadly zombie-like fungi that is brutally murdering ants, otherwise known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis initially infects its victims through spores that are launched from other zombie-ant fungi. The fungus initially penetrates the ant’s exoskeleton as singular cells, but eventually begins multiplying rapidly to form an inviolable fungal network. This network engulfs the ant’s nervous system and muscles, and eventually the ant capitulates to the parasitic fungi. The ant slowly begins to deteriorate, beginning with simple actions like leaving its colony, to eventually losing full control of its body and dying. However, before the horrible death that the ant suffers, lots of actions take place within the ant’s body. After leaving its colony, the fungi commands the ant to move to a height of approximately 10 inches above the ground. This is done because it is the ideal height for the humidity that the fungi needs to proliferate and flourish inside the ant’s body. Next, the fungi commands the ant use its jaws to permanently form a death grip into a twig or leaf, so it will never move its body ever again. After inevitably killing the ant, the fungi proceeds to grow right through the face of the ant, where it will consequently release more spores to be spread to other ants. Over time, the fungi will spread quickly, and zombify entire colonies of ants.

It’s seriously wild to think that fungi in Brazilian jungles are brutally murdering and zombifying ants by taking over their entire bodies! Moreover, it is crazy that something as simple as a single celled fungi that enters an ant’s blood flow is powerful enough to expeditiously wipe away an ant’s entire life. With over 400 different species of this fungi in the wild, we can expect the ant zombie apocalypse to continue in the jungles of Brazil.

Carpenter ants that have fallen victim to Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: largeintestein

The Most Superior Drink Sweetener?

Yes, Some of Us Have Different Human Ecosystems.

Zombie Apocalypse? Yes, it’s happening right now.

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