US Bans Common Chemicals in Antibacterial Soaps - Chyeena Zandamela

I have recently read an article, which was posted on Scientific American’s website, entitled “US Bans Common Chemicals in Antibacterial Soaps.” This publication details why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has, as of September 2nd, banned 19 active ingredients in antibacterial soaps. I was interested to read about this, because, like many people, I use antibacterial soaps occasionally. Up until know, I thought having and carrying them around was a safe and practical thing to do. Unfortunately, it appears that, with the intentions of being hygienic and healthy, I have been using a product with the main antibacterial agent being a chemical so harmful, the FDA decided it needed to be listed its recent nationwide chemical ban.

This decision that the FDA has made is significant, because one of the prohibited chemicals is considered a key ingredient in antibacterial soaps; Triclosan. According to Janet Woodcock, the Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the FDA has found no scientific evidence that antibacterial soaps are better than regular soap and water. In fact, she even goes even further to say that “some data suggests that [triclosan] may do more harm than good over the long-term.”

Triclosan was originally used in hospitals before being introduced to the general public in the 1960’s. Because of growing fears infections among people, it became very popular, and could be found anywhere from toothpaste to clothing. However, this was not growing concerns from the FDA. The battle leading up to the decision to ban this controversial chemical has been a long and and heated one. Finally, health and environmental organizations won the case by providing four decades of research proving the existence of the unnecessary, ineffective, and more importantly, potentially harmful nature of triclosan.

One major potential danger of triclosan is that it may be making bacterium resistant to antibiotics. Unlike soap, which removes germs from the skin, triclosan targets a bacteria’s specific molecular pathway in order to kill them. Scientists fear that if a bacterium mutates and develops a resistance to triclosan, (which would keep triclosan from destroying the molecular pathway it’s targeting in the bacterium) it could also become resistant to antibiotics that kill the bacteria by destroying the same molecular pathway that triclosan targeted. For example, this could happen if triclosan were to target an “enzyme that plays a key role in bacterial metabolism—the same pathway that the tuberculosis-fighting antibiotic isoniazid targets.” This already could be the case, as one study found that 7 strains of Listeria were resistant to the chemicals in antibacterial soaps. Another reason the FDA decided to prohibit triclosan was due to the multiple research studies suggesting that it may inhibit the human body from functioning normally. While these studies have inconsistent results concerning triclosan’s immediate danger to human health, some animal studies have shown that it likely disrupts hormones in the body, which can lead to certain cancers. Studies such of these raise major concerns, because antibacterial soaps, often containing triclosan, are easily absorbed into the body. In fact, according to one study in 2004, 75% of Americans have triclosan in their urine. Unfortunately, it takes decades to perish; Not only bad news for humans, but making triclosan a very harmful threat to the environment as well; The final reason the article as cause for the ban. Triclosan often ends up in wastewater plants, where it converts into harmful dioxins. Triclosan related dioxins have been found in several bodies of water, including the Mississippi River and several lakes in Minnesota. As a result, Minnesota decided to declare a state-wide restriction on triclosan, prior to the FDA’s nationwide chemical ban.

Even though there is years of research warning of tricosan’s potential danger, according to some scientists, none of these studies provide logical grounds to prohibit the chemical nationwide. Although he believes the public should be denied access to triclosan, Bruce Hammock, a toxicologist at the University of California, Davis, believes animal tests are unreliable for collecting data regarding humans. He, along with many others, also believes there could be positive aspects of  triclosan, going on to say “No drug is all good or all bad, everything is a benefit/risk equation.”

Despite having one of their main chemicals banned, antibacterial soap companies plan on keeping their products available. Benzalkonium chloride, chloroxylenol and benzethonium chloride will be soon replacing triclosan on the ingredients list. Although all of these chemicals are not approved by the FDA, antibacterial soap companies will be given a year to provide research, ensuring they are not harmful. However, health officials fear these chemicals will be just as dangerous as triclosan.

The FDA ban on triclosan and other dangerous common chemicals will hopefully have an impact on the health of those who frequently use antibacterial soaps. If 75% of Americans had triclosan in their urine in 2004, I cannot even imagine how many people’s bodies are carrying alarmingly high amounts of the chemical, given the popularity of antibacterial sanitizers on the market today. The fact that there has been numerous tests showing that triclosan could affect certain hormones and lead to cancers, makes me wonder why it was allowed to flourish in the industry for so long. One would think that antibacterial soaps would be banned altogether after these numerous discoveries. Instead, these companies are replacing triclosan with chemicals that are likely just as harmful. The fact that health officials are worried about the safety of these chemicals new to the antibacterial soap industry, leads me to believe there will be cases against them presented to the FDA down the road, turning the fight against these the multi-billion dollar industry into a never ending legal battle. But perhaps there will be some good coming out of this mess. All the talk surrounding the ban of triclosan and other dangerous chemicals could lead to another green or health “revolution.” At the very least, maybe the all this media attention the decision is receiving will make consumers more aware of the dangerous chemicals and toxins lurking within everyday products, Hopefully we’ll all think twice the next we are confronted with the decision of purchasing an antibacterial soap at the store; I know I will.

For more information, the article can be found at:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-bans-common-chemicals-in-antibacterial-soaps/

Sleep Patterns- McKenna Ellsworth

Recently, I read the article, “Brain Circuit that drives sleep-wake states, sleep preparation is identified,” on the Biology News Net website.  In this article, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists studied the patterns of a brain-circuit that has great effects on the sleep-wake cycle.  This circuit that was studied is the same one having to do with the “reward system” part of our brain. This reward system helps promote behavior in both humans and animals that have to do with surviving and reproducing.

Have you ever had a really exciting day planned, and found it was more difficult for you to sleep the night before? Well, this correlates to the reward system and our sleep cycle. If we have anything that drives or motivates us, it can disrupt our sleep-wake cycle in this way. With the discovery of this brain circuit, much is now opened up for scientists to further study concerning these topics. Before this study and new findings, scientists did not know the precise location of this brain circuit. This means, when trying to treat insomnia, medicines were created to shut down the entire brain. Though this may be working to a certain extent, with this new discovery medicines and therapies could be created to treat those with Insomnia and induce a much better and sound sleep for those who are treated. 

According to the article, Dopamine has a great affect in this as well.  Many medicines have the effect of causing the body to produce more dopamine, which usually assists in keeping people awake.  Since adding more dopamine can do this, scientists think that there must be a correlation between dopamine and the sleep-wake cycle, and they might be able to use it to help others fall asleep and stay asleep.  Scientists studied this fact by doing an experiment on mice while watching their behaviors and their dopamine-secreting nerve cells.  The researchers found that the dopamine-secreting nerve cells from the mice’s VTA were high functioning when the mice were awake, and slowed down when asleep.  Usually when mice are moved to a new area, they are very energetic and explore.  When the VTA was suppressed in the mice, the mice still were energetic, but used their time awake to build nests, and once built, the mice went straight asleep.  This is a big part of sleep preparation for the mice, and when it was disrupted by increasing the VTA or in any other way, the mice had a much harder time sleeping.  This is the same for humans, when we disrupt our routine, for example by using technology before bed, we can disrupt our sleep patterns. 

In the end, the conclusion the scientists came up with is that if they can create a dopamine-suppressing drug, then they can help patients with narcolepsy and maybe even more.  This article was interesting to me because it is something that can apply to everyone.  Everyone has to sleep, and when we do, we all want to sleep well.  Previous to this article, I had heard how artificial lights (such as from our phones) could harm our patterns of sleep, but I didn’t know why.  Now I know it can disrupt our sleep preparation, and therefore cause more dopamine being produced and keeping us awake.  I believe this to be true, as I have seen it evident in my own life if I use my phone or computer right before trying to go to sleep.  I think the light does stimulate our brain, and more specifically, the brain circuit that controls our sleep-wake cycle.  This is why discoveries like this are so important, so that society can continually progress to a more peaceful, and restful life. 

               

Microbiome - Important Health Consequences Later in Life

Babies Have a Microbial Window of Opportunity

Rhonda W.

Article Summary

The article is an excerpt from a book called Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World by B. Brett Finlay, PhD and Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD.  The premise of this section of the book is that microbiome in infants can have important health consequences later in life.   There have been many advances in the human environment in the last 100 years.  The advances include things like chlorinated water, antibiotics, antivirals, vaccinations, and many others that make humans healthier.  Statistics like 100 years ago 75 million people died from H1N1 influenza in a two year span to now days where dying from H1N1 is rare.  These advances focus on getting rid of microbes and helping humans live longer. 

Infectious diseases have declined because of antibiotics, vaccines, and sterilization.  Some of the surgeries that are now performed wouldn’t be possible without antibiotics and sterilization. However, according to the research conducted by the authors non-infectious diseases have increased rapidly over the years; diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and asthma. Diabetes, obesity, and asthma are only a few of the non-infectious diseases that have become increasingly common in developed countries.  Genes are a cause of these types of diseases and disorders but the increase in these can’t be explained by just genes since they haven’t changed much over the years. 

Dr. David Strachan published an article about twenty-five years ago claiming that the lack of exposure to bacteria and parasites during childhood could cause an increase in allergy cases because the lack of bacteria and parasites prevents the immune system from developing properly.  His concept was named “hygiene hypothesis”.  There is a large amount of solid evidence supporting his proposal, however, it was unclear what factors lead to the lack of microbial exposure.  Personal cleanliness could be one of those factors but the authors of the book point out that the bigger impact to the lack of microbial exposure is antibiotics.

Antibiotics are common in treating ailments and are overused.  Studies show that the use of antibiotics increase during the flu season but antibiotics aren’t designed to treat viruses, they are designed to combat bacteria.  Antibiotics are also used in feeding livestock to help fatten them up to produce more meat per animal.  There is correlation between children overusing antibiotics and their weight.   Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control conducted a study that showed that states in the US with higher antibiotic use also have higher rates of obesity. Since the study was only correlational it didn’t prove that antibiotics cause obesity.  Microbiologist were skeptical that bacteria or lack of bacteria could cause obesity.  Experiments on mice and other experiments show convincing data that bacteria early in life can help determine weight later in life. 

Asthma has been a focus of experiments to see if the presence or lack of bacteria can impact the likelihood of a child developing asthma.  The University of British Columbia conducted studies on mice. The results showed that there is a critical window of time early in life when antibiotics could have an impact on the development of asthma.  The authors of the book conducted the study in humans by taking samples from feces of babies and comparing those that were at risk and those that weren’t at risk. Their research also points to a critical window of time where the microbial changes in the intestine could have long term immune consequences.  From both studies it seems that change in the intestinal bacteria can have an impact on the lungs.

During their research Finlay and Arrieta found that the differences in bacteria weren’t limited to the type of bacteria but also included the bacterial compounds.  One of the compounds in the gut is known as acetate and many of the bacterial compounds were detected in the urine of the babies so another point of proof that bacterial metabolites go everywhere in the body.  Their lab is still trying to figure out how the four bacteria (nicknamed FLVR) impact the immune system and lead to asthma. With this information there is a possibility of having preventative therapy for human asthma. 

What I Learned and Why the Article was Interesting

There are many scientific studies to read and replicate that can impact society.  While browsing through the articles listed at Scientific American I tried to pick an article that was published in the last couple of months and was current on information and research.   The book Let Them Eat Dirt was published September 20, 2016 and is considered a best seller already.   The purpose of the book is to give parents the latest cutting-edge scientific research about the human microbiome. This information can help parents raise their children.  

Many things made the article interesting.  One was the authors made it easy for the everyday person to read and understand that article.   Both authors have PhDs but used terms in their book to make the scientific research and information understandable for parents.  Another thing that is interesting about the article is the overview of the medical advances and how they have impacted society in a positive way but also a negative way.   The authors do a great job of explaining how humans rarely die from a microbial infection but now non-infectious diseases are more prevalent.

I find it interesting that we have known about microbes that cause infectious diseases for two hundred years and have battled them to keep people from dying but there is strong evidence that suggests early exposure to these microbes is beneficial.  This makes the title Let Them Eat Dirt appropriate since now days many parents don’t want their kids to get dirty and don’t seem to let them do things like play in the dirt.  This information is also helpful since technology has also changed the life style of children.  I remember as a kid I played outside until it was dark, rode bikes, got dirty, ate snacks without washing my hands, and drank out of the hose when I was thirsty.  Now many kids stay inside, play on smart phones and tablets, and drink bottled or filtered water.   Of course this is observation and could be a point of study. 

Learning that a bacteria from the gut could have an impact on the immune system and impact the healthiness of the lungs and other parts of the body is interesting. Another thing I learned is that sometimes a cure or a solution can cause another problem so a breakthrough can be for better or worse.  The authors mentioned they are still trying to figure out more information in regards to the four bacteria and their impact on asthma. It will be interesting to find out what more studies provide but it would also be interesting to find out what other areas bacteria can impact besides the lungs and the development of the immune system.  

For more details about their study the article can be found at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/babies-have-a-microbial-window-of-opportunity-excerpt/

Kindall Poulson

I recently read an article called, “Human Kidney Progenitors Isolated, Offering New Clues to Cell Renewal,” published by a group of researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. I have a friend who suffers from Chronic Kidney Failure and after coming across this article, I realized I know nothing about what Kidney Failure is or what measures are being taken to help combat this disease. That is the reason I picked this article and found it so interesting.

This article explains that we as humans each have tiny, key structures in our kidneys which filter waste. From fetal gestation to about 36 weeks, we generate around 500,000 to 1,000,000 of these nephrons. If someone at any time experiences a loss of a significant amount of these little structures, it will result in immutable kidney failure, because cell regeneration is unable to develop. With this knowledge in mind, the researchers at The Saban Research Institute devised a way to isolate human nephron progenitor cells. This modern method will guide scientists to interpret how these progenitor cells transform into renal cells in a flourishing fetus.

What interests me most about this article, is not only will this improve scientists’ chances at renal regeneration, but this latest technique can also be incorporated with the lung, pancreas, as well as other organs. As far as regeneration and bioengineering purposes go, this is a major breakthrough. I learned that before now, scientists have only been able to study nephron progenitors through animal models or induced pluripotent stem cells. The fact that they can now use RNA-labeling probes to directly isolate human NP (nephron progenitors), helped me to comprehend the fact that everyday there are advancements in scientific methods and techniques being made. This new advancement is a tool that will now allow studying of how to regulate development and cell renewal, which will make a huge difference for those who are diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure or other related diseases.

Andy Beutler

"What Happens in the Brain When We Misremember" by Simon Makin is a very interesting article that I have studied.  In order to show that our memories aren't nearly as reliable as we think they are, scientists Henry Roediger and Kathleen McDermott set up an experiment in 1995 where they gave subjects a list of words that all related to the word "cold" like freezing, ice, chilly, but the word "cold" was not actually present.  When asked later to recall as many words as they could, cold was repeated very often.  This experiment shows us that our memories are really just a mixture of what we really saw or experienced and what our minds might associate with those experiences.

I think that this is a very interesting finding.  It reminds me of a podcast called The Hidden Brain where they tell us why eye-witnesses are typically quite unreliable.  They relate a story about a woman who had been assaulted.  When they presented different men before her who were suspects of committing the crime, she chose the wrong person, insisting that it was him who had done it.  They found out later that it was not in fact the man that had assaulted her, even though she was totally convinced that she recognized his face.  When traumatic things happen to us, or other events that cause our adrenaline to be released, we tend to be much less observant than we usually are.  When we are asked about these experiences afterwards, out mind will fill in the blanks with what it thinks should be there.

This is important to society because we need to be conscious of the fact that our minds can trick us.  Makin tells that to remember that even though it can be a very good thing that our minds can fill in the blanks for us (what he calls a "gist memory") to help us retrieve true memories, it can also be a very negative thing when we start getting into legal issues.  I love studying the way the mind works, because it helps me to understand why I think the way I do, or rather, why I am who I am, and I think that it's important for everybody to understand those things, in order to have a more understanding society.