November 2013 - Volume 4 Issue 4

The SSC’s Official Science Newspaper

e rrent November 2013

thecurrent@westernssc.ca

Volume 4 Issue 4

NEUROSCIENCE

Unraveling the mysteries of human echolocation

IN THIS ISSUE...

Research shows remarkable differences in the brains of blind echolocators Mathura Thiyagarajah Graphics & Images Editor

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Bats and dolphins are often associated with their remarkable ability of echolocation, but seldom do people realize that humans can share this skill. Human echolocation has garnered more attention in the media in the last few years, due largely in part to the research of Dr. Lore Thaler, Dr. Stephen R. Arnott, and Western’s own Dr. Melvyn A. Goodale.

They demonstrated that when people who are blind emit sounds – namely clicking noises – and listen to the echoes to sense their environments, they stimulate parts of the brain that would normally be involved in the visual system, in addition to the regular activation of the auditory areas. Dr. Goodale, Director of the Brain and Mind Institute and Canada Research Chair in Visual Neuroscience, explained that these areas get “co-opted for echolocation.” While human echolocation is not a new discovery, this development raises many questions for future research and our current understanding of the brain.

The research was conducted by playing pre-recorded echoes for the echolocation experts (one early-blind and one late-blind) and two sighted participants in an MRI machine. The blind participants showed activation in the primary visual cortex and were able to perceive the objects from the echoes, while the sighted participants only showed activation in the auditory areas and failed to perceive the objects.

Echolocation not only involves sensing distances from objects, but also plays a role in identification and motion detection. Daniel Kish, an echolocator with staggering precision, started making clicking noises before the age of two after his eyes were removed due to retinal cancer. He has perfected this skill

and shares his ability through his non-profit organization, World Access for the Blind, by training others in echolocation.

While the precision that Daniel Kish displays is extraordinary, Dr. Goodale clearly specified, “These individuals are not of superhearing. Rather, they have learned to attend to very faint echoes that we have learned to ignore. We hear these echoes all the time when moving from room to room but we do not discern them because we are

supposed stigma that clicking noises could perpetuate. However, he countered, “As one of my blind colleagues told me, ‘As if using a cane or having a guide dog does not already mark you as different.’”

There is still much to explore in the area of human echolocation and its link to the visual neural areas. Human echolocation in the blind is a testament to the adaptive capabilities of the brain and the untapped potential that it possesses. Dr. Goodale

Image Courtesy of static.environmental graffiti.com

concentrating on other sounds and the use of our visual system.”

In fact, he divulged that Dr. Thaler herself had started to learn how to echolocate, though it is still unknown how much a person with sight can master echolocation. The effect of whether one loses sight early or later in life on echolocation ability is something Dr. Thaler is interested in exploring. “Echolocation in people who are blind provides us with the opportunity to study the effects of age on neuroplasticity,” Dr. Goodale explains.

When asked how human echolocation could have escaped the public’s awareness, he speculated that it had stemmed from the aversion towards echolocation training in the blind community because of the

shared his view, “Understanding the brain is one of the most important questions in the 21st century. Captain Kirk always used to say that space was the final frontier. I actually think that the brain is the final frontier. I believe that understanding the brain might be more difficult than understanding the universe.”

To read the published paper, check out: Thaler, L. Arnott, S.R. & Goodale, M.A. (2011). Neural correlates of natural human echolocation in early and late blind echolocation experts. PloS ONE, 6(5): e20162.

For more of Dr. Goodale’s interview, visit our blog at: thecurrentssc.wordpress.com

ASK DR. GOODALE Q: Which advancement in the field of neuroscience are you most grateful for?

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A: NEUROIMAGING. It has allowed us to combine neuroimaging with traditional studies on behavourial abilities and cognitive abilities.

Q: Have you ever been a participant in a study?

A: Yes, I have done my bit and been in an fMRI machine.

Q: How have you found that Western has changed from when you were a graduate student?

A: It is a much bigger university now. There are more buildings where there used to be parking lots and football fields. There were no bars on campus so the closest place to buy a drink was at The Ceeps.

8.

Q: Any advice for the readers of The Current?

Image Courtesy of psychology.uwo.ca

A: Follow your passion and make sure that you explore as many opportunities as you can.

Image Courtesy of uwo.ca

The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. Its contents do not reflect the opinion of the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario (“USC”).

The USC assumes no responsibility or liability for any error, inaccuracy, omission or comment contained in this publication or for any use that may be made of such information by the reader.

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The Current — November 2013

LIFE NOT AS WE KNOW IT Our planet is home to many awe-inspiring organisms. If you’re fascinated with life on Earth, but don’t want to get out of your chair to explore the world, here is a glimpse of a few bizarre, exotic, or unconventional creatures your lazy eyes might have otherwise never seen.

PISTOL SHRIMP The Pistol shrimp or Alpheid shrimp is a marine crustacean that captures its prey in one the most unique ways. At just 3-5cm long, it has compensated a way to make up for its small size. It snaps its asymmetrical claws together sending out bubbles at speeds of nearly 100km/ hour which can reach sounds of 218 dB. Furthermore, upon the collapse of the bubble, the cavitation bubble reaches temperatures 4,700°C. To put that in perspective, the surface of the sun is estimated at around 5,500°C. If the larger claw breaks, the Pistol shrimp also has a unique ability to grow its smaller claw into a larger claw and the missing limb to regenerate into a smaller

claw creating a new snapping claw.

This has been induced in laboratory by severing the nerve of the snapping claw.

After killing its prey, the Pistol shrimp likely drags it back to a burrow in its coral reef that it shares with a goby fish in a symbiotic relationship. It communicates with the goby fish through its antennae and trades building and tending of the burrow for protection from other fish.

In some rare cases Pistol shrimp have also been shown to display social behavior and live in a colonies with a large female queen, workers to care for young and large male soldiers for protection.

— Rajiv Lakhani

TARDIGRADE When we ignore the microscope, we tend to miss out on truly phenomenal creatures, even when they’re right under our noses.

The tardigrade, often referred to as a “water bear,” is one of those resilient animals that have been discovered. Although they are classified on the phylogenetic tree as invertebrates, these little organisms act as Archaea in the sense that they are like extremophiles – they are able to live in severe conditions.

They can live in temperatures ranging from just above absolute zero to the boiling point of water, live for years without oxygen or water, and perhaps most remarkably, are the first organism to survive in the confides

of space on the FOTON-M3 mission in 2007.

Tardigrades are able to do this by practicing a process known as Cryptobiosis: a state in which organisms are able to halt and reverse their metabolic activities, into a “death-like” state. While they act like extremophiles, they are not considered as such because they are not adapted for these conditions – they simply can.

— Bethia To

Image Courtesy of flickriver.com

Image Courtesy of comicsago.com

Image Courtesy of biogeodb.stri.si.edu

thecurrent Caitlin Martin Newnham Editor-In-Chief website – westernssc.ca/current twitter – twitter.com/thecurrent_ssc facebook – facebook.com/thecurrentssc youtube – youtube.com/user/thecurrentful blog – thecurrentssc.wordpress.com

theeditors

copy editors Ashima Jain, Eugene Leung & Igor Angelovski compilation editors Bethia To, Jameera Mohamed & Rajiv Lakhani creative editors Sophia Wen & Tianyi Yan features editors Rigya Arya & Maryam Golafshani images editors David DeSantis & Mathura Thiyagarajah

column editor dz marketing manager Adam Raffoul outreach editor Matt Renaud soph liaison Carly Jackson blog manager Maham Bushra youtube manager Dan Younus media editor Maddie Storvold

thestaffwriters

Lucy Zhao — Advice Column Shreyesh Dalmia — Sport Science Column Andrew Poon — Book Review Column Margaret Ho — Theme Column

If you just can’t wait for the next issue of The Current, check out the Blog for writing from these and other talented writers.

thecontributors

Filipe De Souza

The Current — November 2013

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NUTRITION

Exam diet

The science behind stress eating Dan Younus

YouTube Manager So it’s that dreadful time of year again: exam time. It is during this period that our stress hormones go through the roof and many a student begins to indulge in unhealthy foods, resulting in something that most dread and fear; the gain of body fat. But wait, what’s that? You say you want to change? In order to change your habits of stress eating, it’s important to understand the process of how and why it occurs.

Stress occurs in response to your body feeling threatened in some way; with it then releasing a fight-or-flight response to protect you. However, when stress persists, your body’s adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol, which causes physical and emotional responses. One of these responses is the movement of energy, or in other terms, calories. While the cortisol release may be

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shut off, your body is still in a mode of vigilance due to the constant stress. The body, under constant stressful conditions, requires high energy output to survive. In order to achieve this, your body seeks calories... AKA comfort food! Once consumed, they are stored as fat in the abdomen and then are quickly metabolized for energy. These fat stores also will send a metabolic signal to the brain to shut off cortisol and the stress response. Without these fat stores that are deposited through the activation of cortisol, you would simply not survive very long.

But why does my body prefer to consume sugary foods that are high in fat? It is proven that these types of foods, when consumed, cause a positive effect in the areas of your brain that are responsible for processing stress and related emotions. So will eating sugar-laden foods reduce your stress? Yes, it will. But it will also result in the unwanted addition of body fat in the process. To avoid this continuous cycle, there are numerous methods that can help you lower your cortisol levels and prevent stress

The Current’s

BLOG:

Mind over matter

How research into neurgeneration changes everything

Igor Angelovski Copy Editor

It was once thought by scientists that certain cells in the human body were produced and later multiplied only during the development of life in the mother’s womb. Neurons in particular fell into this category and were believed to never regenerate at any point during adulthood.

In light of this, in the last decade we find countless scientific studies that challenge this accepted dogma and provide interesting alternatives for therapies and treatment of diseases.

The discovery that certain areas of the brain and spinal cord retain pluripotent neuron precursors called neural stem/ progenitor cells (NSCs) was key in how neurogeneration works for human beings. In fact, the research of Drs. Alvarez-Buylla and Anthony (from the University of California, San Francisco and Rockefeller University respectively) demonstrate that astrocytes and radial glia cells are actually forms of NSCs within the central nervous system. We also now understand that specific regions of the hippocampus show the highest activity of these NSCs, as observed in rodents and later primates. What is even more captivating is how these NSCs can be transplanted into the hippocampus from anywhere in the central nervous system and still be able to retain the characteristics of their location of origin! This lends credibility to the idea that NSCs in an area where neurogeneration seldom occurs can be forced to divide given the right environment.

It still remains unclear what the function of neurogeneration is in adult human beings. However, its emphasis in the hippocampus may suggest that it is related with memory and learning. Researchers from Stanford University, School of Medicine have found that there is plasticity involved in neurogeneration and that engaging in certain

1) Exercise: Many students tend to fall off their workout regime (provided they have one) during exam time, and instead study in a room where potato chips and chocolate bars are within reach. This is another factor is the weight gain seen during this period. However, it is seen that not only does exercising regularly prevent weight gain, but also helps remove some of the negative emotions associated with stress! So Image Courtesy of futurepredictions.com the next time you go for a study break, hit the gym instead of the local fast food joint.

activities can contribute to the increased proliferation of neurons. Dr. Van Praag from the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences and other researchers suggest that learning and exposure to environmental enrichment work to stimulate production of new neurons and boost survival for current neurons.

Image Courtesy of hubel.med.harvard.edu

As wonderful as adult neurogeneration sounds, research shows that the aging process diminishes this effect, perhaps due to NSCs responding less to their environment. The more likely cause being, the absence of a favourable environment. Things such as stress and depression actually damage the hippocampus, the main center for neurogenerative processes.

It has also been proposed that the decrease in neurogeneration with age contributes to memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

In general, the work done in the field of neurogeneration teaches us that an enormous responsibility rests on our shoulders to engage in pursuits of learning and physical exercise, and to nurture the enjoyment of every moment in our daily lives.

4) Be Optimistic: Learning to perceive challenges in life as controllable and manageable allows you to deal with them appropriately. It is important to comprehend that challenges and stress happen to everyone, and that you are not the only person going through this. Learning to utilize optimistic thinking has been scientifically proven to to decrease the level of stress people accumulate, as they are much more likely to approach problems more effectively.

2) Sleep: I know; it’s hard to come by these days, but sleep has been proven to decrease cortisol levels and put you in a better mood. Add the fact that it helps brain functionality and suddenly taking the occasional power nap sounds like a good idea.

Image Courtesy of columbian.com

So the next time you’re feeling stressed: a nap, talk or workout may just be your ticket to feeling better!

3) Social Support: Sometimes just talking about the things that you are worried about, can help you actually help reduce your stress

thecurrentssc.wordpress.com

NEUROSCIENCE

surrounding them. Studies have shown that talking to a close friends, family, and peers can help an individual cope with the problems they are facing. When you surround yourself with people who you can trust and confide in, you are more psychologically prepared to handle any stressors and challenges you later encounter.

eating.

FOR ALL OF YOUR PROCRASTINATION NEEDS

MATHEMATICS

Chaos Theory

Using Dragon-King events

Matthew Renaud Outreach Editor

Image Courtesy of www.clubraf.deviantart.com

How great would it be if you could know the exact moment it was going to rain, timing it so you always had an umbrella nearby and never got soaked? Or maybe if you knew when your computer was going to crash so you could back it up instead of losing everything before that midterm? Let’s scale up. What about knowing when a tornado was going to touch down or the stock market was going to crash? Predicting these seemingly un-predictable events is exactly what physicists and mathematicians are trying to do through the subject of chaos theory.

DISCLAIMER: I am not even going to pretend to completely understand everything involved with chaos theory and the math associated with it. That being said, I do not recommend in any way you using this article as an instruction booklet on how to play the stock market. You have been forewarned.

Chaos theory, aside from sounding insanely cool, is the study of chaotic or random events and trying to impart some level of organization to them. Physicists at Duke University have made recent breakthroughs in successfully achieving this predictive ability: “A chaotic system may be in flux, and look like random behaviour,” says physicist Daniel Gauthier, “but maybe there’s some internal structure we can identify that leads to destabilizing events.”

These destabilizing events are referred to by physicists in the field as “Dragon-King” events (I swear I am not making this up – I guess even physicists obviously love Game of Thrones). These extreme events are catastrophic occurrences that fall far outside expectations of normal probability and can be considered anything from glitches occurring in city power grids to stock market fiascos that are becoming all too common. Investigators examine Dragon-King occurrences by graphing them as functions of probability, but there’s no “y=mx+b” to be found here, as most times the graphs end up looking more like abstract art pieces instead of

the usual ones you find in Calc 1000.

When you consider the horrific consequences of Dragon-King events such as earthquakes or hurricanes, it easy to understand the predictive value of such phenomena. By using pathways of simple circuits as an experimental chaotic system with random fluctuations in voltage considered a Dragon-King event, Gauthier and his team have been able to identify key signs that signal the approach of such an event. More importantly, they’ve been able to stop them from happening altogether. With this success, the researchers hope to apply the same principles to larger complex systems.

However, the road ahead won’t be easy. “That is where we’re really taking a leap,” says Gauthier. While the simple circuits were defined by a few parameters, things like climate events or financial systems contain significantly more variables, making modeling equations to these systems much more difficult. In addition, each of those variables are different in terms of how relevant they are, further confounding the problem.

Nonetheless, fellow researcher Cristina Masoller of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain says there’s no arguing that being able to study Dragon-King events in experimental systems could be invaluable. “Most of these events are in nature: precipitation, oceanic, or economic systems,” she said. “The fact that they can be built in the lab allows us to explore the origin of these events, and learn how to generate and suppress them.” While there are limitations to the experimental model, not to mention that fact that entirely new mathematical tools would have to be developed to handle such complex equations, Gauthier and colleagues set out to at least “plant the thought in people’s minds” that it could be possible to predict Dragon-King events. With that goal attained, it leaves room to show that with chaos theory, the possibilities are endless.

remember , remember , the month of

Movember As the seasons change and the arctic air blows through London on these frigid November days, we come to notice the emergence of facial hair on the men throughout campus. Yes, it does serve as a clever way to shield their faces from the cold, but for many men, it also servces as a statement to bring about awareness for men’s health. Beginning with 30 men growing mustaches in Australia in November of 2003, Movember has now become a widespread movement to grow facial hair throughout November in support of prostate cancer, testicle cancer, and men’s mental health.

Mental Cancer Cancer health Prostate Testicular Each year in Canada, more men die from prostate cancer than women do from breast cancer. Yet, the support and awareness for it remains significantly less. The Movember foundation, however, strives to change this by drawing attention to the fact that it is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian men and results in a death every 22 minutes.

Prostate cancer entails the formation of a tumor in the prostate gland, which is located in the male reproductive system and produces a fluid that mixes with sperm to form semen. Early detection is crucial since it places the chance of survival at 95%. Unfortunately early detection is incredibly difficult since most men exhibit no symptoms prior to being diagnosed. Many cases are treated through active surveillance, however, prostatectomy (the removal of the prostate gland), and hormone therapies (the prevention of testosterone from stimulating prostate cells) are also commonly used. More recently, brachytherpy, a new form of radiotherapy, has been used where radiation is delivered to the tumor by seeds that are permanently placed in the prostate.

Above image courtesy of www.rayzandvoort.com

Testicular cancer is currently the second most common cancer in men aged 15 to 29, and while the cause remains unknown, the survival rate is over 95% if detected early. Testicular cancer results from the formation of a tumor in one or two testicles. Over 90% of all cases involve tumors developing in the germ cells, which are responsible for sperm production, while a small percentage of cases start in the structural and hormone-producing tissues.

Movements like Movember are crucial since they strive to increase the chance of early detection by raising awareness about the symptoms associated with testicular cancer, and the importance of testicular self-examinations. Regular self-examinations are crucial so that a man can note any changes in the size, shape, and lumpiness of his testes early on, and then seek a doctor’s opinion. While some men experience no symptoms prior to detection of the cancer, others may experience several, including: a painless lump in the testicles, pains in the lower abdomen, testicle, or scrotum, enlargement and tenderness of the breast tissue, and a build-up of fluid in the scrotum. Most often, treatment involves an an orchiectomy, which is the removal of the affected testis, usually followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

A typically overlooked, yet significant aspect of the Movember campaign includes raising awareness about men’s mental health. The campaign specifically addresses depression, anxiety, psychosis, and schizophrenia. Despite the fact that 1 in 5 men will be diagnosed with a mental health issue this year, the stigma surrounding it makes a vast number of the male population hesitant to seek help. Depression is often associated with a loss of interest and lack of energy, but in males it usually encompasses sentiments of anger and hostility as well. Many individuals may have felt stressed or anxious at some time, but anxiety is when these feelings persist without a specific reason. Meanwhile psychosis advents a group of illnesses that disrupts brain function and prevents the individual from recognizing reality. Finally, schizophrenia is a medical condition with symptoms similar to psychosis, including confused thought, hallucinations, and delusions. These are all serious mental health issues that men face and the Movember movement focuses on in order to encourage men to seek help since treatments are often highly effective.

Left and above images courtesy of www.flickr.com/moogy

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improve your

movember 2facial hair

easy steps

1.

Ensure that you are following the recommended protein intake for your age group and activity-level. The majority of your hair (in fact, over 90%) is composed of protein, but many of your organs also rely on similar proteins. When your protein level are insufficient, your body will always choose to provide your organs with protein over your hair in order to ensure survival. So, if your protein levels are insufficient, your facial hair growth will suffer. More specifically, your hair is actually composed of keratinized proteins that contain the amino acid cysteine. When choosing sources of protein for your mustache-growing diet, go for options that contain cysteine, including yoghurt, poultry, red peppers and Brussel sprouts.

2.

Get enough protein.

EXCERCISE.

You’ve probably heard that your hair is composed of dead cells, so it might seem that exercise is irrelevant. However, the hair bulb (which is located at the base of the root) contains living, growing cells that require nourishment from the blood stream in order to generate new cells. These new cells are what eventually die as they undergo keratinization to form the hair strand.

Therefore, exercise is important since it promotes blood circulation in the face, and thus, stimulates growth at the facial hair bulbs. So now you have even more incentive to hit up the campus rec center since that perfect Movember mustache is waiting!

3.

Treat your face to a spa day.

Not just once a month, but everyday. Keeping your face clean, exfoliated, and massaged is key to stimulating hair growth.

Cleanliness is crucial since it prevents the hair follicles from being blocked by dirt, allowing the hair to grow more easily.

Exfoliation reduces the number of flaky and dry skin cells surrounding the follicles, which has been found to stunt facial hair growth. Finally, gently massaging your face improves blood circulation to the face, and thus, stimulates facial hair growth in the same way exercise does.

Graphic courtesy of www.movember.ca

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The Current — November 2013

PSYCHOLOGY

CHEMISTRY

Beauty is in the eye of the group

Colder water is weirder water

‘The Cheerleader Effect’

Giving rise to new form of liquid

Eugene Leung Copy Editor

In the Television series ‘How I Met Your Mother’, Barney Stinson’s theories may seem out of this world and insane to some, but it turns out that he may have a point in some respects. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have proven that Barney’s ‘the Cheerleader Effect’ may actually be real. Also called ‘the Sorority Girl Syndrome’, ‘the Bridesmaid Paradox’ (and as Barney states, ‘the Spice Girls Conspiracy,’ for a short time in the mid-90’s), the theory states that the attractiveness of an individual increases while they are in a group, and decreases when they are singled out (possibly turning into Marshall Erikson with a wig in some cases).

Our brains are trained to recognize objects within certain parameters and average them, such as the case with a pattern of dots and even the emotional expression of a group of people. The researchers believed that our brains would do the same with the attractiveness of faces. In one of

multiple experiments conducted to provide support for this hypothesis, group portraits were taken in which individuals were later singled out.

Another such experiment involved the comparison of individual faces against other faces in groups ranging from 16, 9, and 4 faces, ultimately leading to one individual. However, the researchers cautioned that there was no significant rise in attractiveness. In other words, this effect will not turn you from Harold and Kumar’s Freakshow to Ryan Gosling simply by being around other people. In fact, one of the researchers states that “Average faces are more attractive, likely due to the averaging out of unattractive idiosyncrasies”.

In conclusion, the general premise of the Cheerleader Effect was confirmed: within the confines of a group, people appear to be more attractive because their face is averaged out in the group of faces and perceived in relation to the average face of that particular group. So if you’re going out to the bar or a party, bringing along a few friends with you might not be a bad idea at all.

Filipe De Souza Contributor

Regardless of how well versed you are in the fields of science and chemistry, everyone is familiar with the fact that water exists in three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

Solid water, or ice, normally forms at below its freezing point at 273° Kelvin (0°C), while it remains a liquid above this temperature.

However, if it goes beyond 100°C, it will become a gas. This is information that is likely not new to any person, let alone to any science students.

However, when it comes to supercooling, most people are caught unaware of this process. Supercooling is a method where upon lowering the temperature of a liquid beyond its freezing temperature, it will remain a liquid. Supercooled water has been a topic of interest for some time, when it comes to comprehending basic processes during cryoprotection, in which tissues and cells are preserved using liquid nitrogen and can be thawed without damage.

Recently published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Arkansas have found that there is a “liquidliquid” phase transition that takes place at 207° Kelvin (-66° C). Lead chemist, Feng “Seymour” Wang, confirmed this transition through the use of a simulation performed in supercooled water. The specific simulation model used is termed Water Potential from Adaptive Force Matching for Ice and Liquid (WAIL).

Using WAIL, it was determined on a microsecond time scale that the water transformed into a new form of liquid as opposed to simply turning into ice. This new form of water that appeared was a low density liquid rather than the high-density of typical liquid water. The concept of a liquid-liquid transition in supercooled water is not brand new and has been used to explain many of

Image Courtesy of www.favim.com

the unique behaviours of water. Direct experimental data for this transition has not yet been found and prior to this, there had been many opposing studies on the topic.

This simulated study presented strong, supportive evidence of this transition and even helped to predict the temperature at which this transformation took place.

However, it still may be some time before it can be verified by direct experimentation.

Regardless, this opens the door for more studies and research focused on supercooled water. Especially when it comes to the field of cryoprotection, this discovery could help to understand how to properly preserve tissue for extended periods of time. Water is no longer as simple as most people think, this new form has and will continue to redefine the molecule in the future.

The research was supported by a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award and by a startup grant from the U of A. The University of Arkansas High Performance Computing Center provided the main computational resource for the study.

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The Student’s Guide to the Galaxy

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How to measure the value of life dz

Column Editor We might measure the distance from residence to UCC by how many buses it takes. We might measure a night by the magnitude of partying. We might measure the genetic potential of someone by how much swag they have. But how do we measure life?

From an objective perspective, time is a common representation of how long someone has lived, but how do we measure how much someone has lived? Of course, subjective partialities may propose that life is measured by the blissful moments with a loved one, the financial and social success obtained, or how much yolo you accomplished. Life can be measured by each of us in a different way, in which we can only empathize and not experience directly between person to person, but there is one thing that life is universally comprised of: changes.

There are momentous instances in everyone’s life that within a frame of a nanosecond that the direction and trajectory of the future might drastically shift. There are some times when even small alterations accumulate so discretely that you may not even recognize the change was happening until after it happened.

Whether instantaneous or gradual, change is impact and vice versa.

Image Courtesy of http://lighterportions.com

Although there is positive change, we take it for granted and instead recognize changes that we perceive to be unfavorable. Because of this, we tend to refer change as an obstacle obstructing happiness or want. Maybe plans couldn’t be actualized, maybe the relationship you thought would last forever only

lasted a few months (or a few days if you’re a real baller), or maybe you got cut from the high school basketball team even though you thought you were MJ material. We often listen to people encouraging others to overcome ‘negative’ change, to beat it and hurdle it no matter how high it can be, but what

about embracing it? Maybe that ‘negative’ change can turn into ‘positive’ change by simply switching a perspective.

Unlike time, change is a vector that possesses its own magnitude and direction. Realize that not all change comes at 180 degrees. Even though the Story of My Life may be One Direction, the Story of Your Life is certainly not. However, in some instances where it feels like change is just ‘coming at you bro,’ instead of colliding with it head on face the other direction and let that change push you in a new direction. If you got turkey dumped, maybe you were given the opportunity to find someone more compatible at Western. If you got cut from the basketball team, well maybe you realize that you were actually pretty bad and decided you wanted to go to that ballet class that you always thought was pretty tight.

Contemporary philosophies set a marked focus on the pursuit of happiness, and cause us to sometimes blame change for our state of unhappiness. However, realize that each and every small and big change accumulates to comprise the parts of our journeys that hedonism is fundamentally contingent upon. Depending how you deal with changes in your life, you will be able to find complacence and be in a happy state of mind. Always recognize that change is necessary, whether negative or positive. If it’s positive, appreciate it. If it’s negative, embrace it.

The Current — November 2013

Page 7

COLUMNS

Advice:

Sport:

Book:

Theme:

Got the Winter Blues?

NBA & NHL

The Center Cannot Hold

Arachnophobia

Lucy Zhao

Shreyesh Dalmia

Andrew Poon

Margaret Ho

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, if you can’t feel it already, the worst has yet to come.

With the impending doom of midterms and finals, the heavy snow and seasonal flu, here are survival tips for the upcoming months:

Professional sports scenes are constantly changing: Tiger Woods has reclaimed his No. 1 position in golf, the timeless and spectacular play of Roger Federer fatiguing, and most recently, the Board of Governors approved a change to the NBA Finals format. The best-of-seven game schedule is being altered from the 2-3-2 to a 2-2-1-1 format, undoing the only contribution that retiring NBA Commissioner, David Stern, made in his 30-year term. To be fair, he did rename the trophy and ratify the dress code, which earned him a ridiculous $23 million a year. Maybe I should become the new NBA Commissioner…

“When you’re really crazy, respect is like a lifeline someone’s throwing you. Catch this and maybe you won’t drown.”

They know where you are in the room – they can see you with their numerous eyes and creaking legs, you know they’re right behind you and you can’t escape them. Eight leg fright with a nasty bite: they’re one of the most feared creatures on the face of the earth Arachnophobia, the irrational fear of spiders, is one of the top 10 phobias in the world. Maybe the phobia is that a spider might sink its sharp poisonous fangs into the bare of your epidermis, releasing its venom, statistically though, more people have died from jellyfish stings than spiders! So why is the common household spider the cause of such panic and fear? Other cultures around the world don’t report high statistics of the phobia compared to that of Western Cultures (55% of females and 18% of males are afraid of spiders). In other cultures, fried tarantulas are delicacies!

Advice Staff

A. You Are What You Eat Remember to eat healthily even during this busy time, especially since some of us make excuses to avoid going to the gym because we’re “studying”. Take your vitamins and cut up some fruits as health snack alternatives.

Sport Staff

Book Staff

Theme Staff

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B. Dress to Impress with Sweats We all know it’s harder to get out of bed when it’s minus 50 outside – you literally feel a gush of wind as you pull off your blanket.

Wrap yourself up for battle with London’s winter with snow boots and a warm jacket.

I am personally a huge fan of sweatpants for those lazy days but you still can still jazz up a casual outfit with a nice, warm scarf or hat of some sorts to help heat retention.

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C. Productivity over Procrastination Don’t we all just wish we didn’t have to cram for exams? Try to get a head start to space out your studying so it doesn’t seem like a chore.

Award yourself with regular breaks or a gummy bear for each completed paragraph, especially for those long readings that never seem to end. Also, typing your notes in Times New Roman actually helps the studying process – it’s the easiest and fastest font to read.

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The old format gave the team with the best season record an advantage, as they would play a total of four games at home court, while the other team would have a stretch of three straight games at their home court. Although this economical format cut travel expenses, it soon became infamous for giving an advantage to the home team during the three-game stretch, prompting a change to the format currently followed by the NHL. We’ll see how that plays out on the court.

Speaking of hockey, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing exceptionally well, having won 8 out of 12 games so far. But being a Torontonian and a Leafs fan myself, I am well aware of their tendency to falter later in the season.

However, the acquisitions of strong players like David Clarkson, Dave Bolland and Jonathan Bernier should certainly help the cause and the Leafs might be able to turn over a new leaf (pun intended). Colorado, under new coach and legendary goalie Patrick Roy, is also showing promise, along with the Islanders and the revamped Ducks.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in the mind of someone struggling from mental illness? Elyn Saks is a schizophrenic who was entangled between the boundary between reality and solipsism. In fact, she couldn’t bring herself to admit it until she was in her late thirties.

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The Center Cannot Hold is her telltale memoir of how mental illness untethers a person from life. It is a story of herself and her illness, two things that if unluckily converged, could shatter her life. Dealing with mental illness is not just a matter of willpower, it’s also about biology and social culture. What does it feel like to be tied head-to-foot to a hospital bed in a psychiatric ward against your will? How do you cope with yourself when half the time, you can’t be yourself?

If you want to broaden your horizons on mental illness, neuroscience, psychiatry, or the stigma surrounding mental illness, then give this book a chance!

The Nation’s Top Ten Phobias 1. Arachnophobia - spiders 2. Social phobia - social or public situations 3. Aerophobia - flying 4. Agoraphobia - open or public spaces 5. Claustrophobia - enclosed spaces 6. Ementophobia - vomiting 7. Acrophobia (vertigo) - heights 8. Cancerphobia - developing cancer 9. Brontophobia - thunderstorms 10. Necrophobia - death

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Good luck and may the exam gods be with you.

Change is everywhere. And in sports, change is everything. It demonstrates the adaptability of players, teams, and coaches to new circumstances. Last year’s underdog might even become this year’s champion, excluding the Edmonton Oilers of course.

I guess there are some things that never change.

With multiple eyes, 8 long appendages, and crawl around as if they’re about to pounce. I guess that’s enough to ring the warning bells in our brains, but why is arachnophobia so much more dominant than fear of other bugs like caterpillars or beetles?

Scientists speculate that the fear of spiders was a psycho-evolutionary development. The fear may be socially conditioned; children who are around people who are afraid of spiders also grow up developing arachnophobia. Of course, pop culture has manifested its own web of stories in spiders (no pun intended). From giant man-eating spiders in Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, to shows on the Discovery Channel, there has been a lot of spider-fear relation within the media. We fear them, we despise them, and there’s something fascinating and mysterious to be said about our eight-legged friends. They are one of a kind, and they’re probably hiding somewhere nearby right now, waiting to strike on their next victim… could it be you?

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medical imaging technique

said to affect tattoos negatively charged ion disorder that causes an inability to recognize faces the sixth planet from the sun the study of the universe monk who loved his peas determines how loud a sound is fastest land animal smallest unit of life

Last Month’s Answers Across

2 mitosis, 3 myopia, 4 optics, 7 centripetal, 10 alkane, 15 turbulence, 18 Bohr

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1 ultraviolet, 5 inertia, 6 quark, 8 eclipse, 9 genetics, 11 node, 12 Schrodinger, 13 Franklin, 14 polarity

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