Qs people asked me on science and my replies to them - Part 126

Q: How do doctors test whether an unborn baby has any diseases?

Krishna: The fetus is surrounded by amniotic fluid, a liquid much like water, in the mother's womb. Amniotic fluid contains live fetal cells and other substances, such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). These substances provide important information about a baby's health before birth.

Amniocentesis is a prenatal test in which a small amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the sac surrounding the fetus for testing. The sample of amniotic fluid (less than one ounce) is removed through a fine needle inserted into the uterus through the abdomen, under ultrasound guidance. The fluid is then sent to a laboratory for analysis. Different tests can be performed on a sample of amniotic fluid, depending on the genetic risk and indication for the test.

A complete anatomical ultrasound will be done prior to amniocentesis. But amniocentesis is performed to look for certain types of birth defects, such as Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality. Because amniocentesis presents a small risk for both the mother and her baby, the prenatal test is generally offered to women who have a significant risk for genetic diseases, including those who have an abnormal ultrasound or abnormal lab screens, have a family history of certain birth defects, have previously had a child or pregnancy with a birth defect. Amniocentesis does not detect all birth defects, but it can be used to detect the some conditions if the parents have a significant genetic risk like down syndrome, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, tay-Sachs and similar diseases. Amniocentesis can detect certain neural tube defects (diseases where the brain and spinal column don't develop properly), such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
Because ultrasound is performed at the time of amniocentesis, it may detect birth defects that are not detected by amniocentesis (such as cleft palate, cleft lip, club foot, or heart defects). There are some birth defects, however, that will not be detected by either amniocentesis or ultrasound.
If you are having an amniocentesis, you may ask to find out the baby's sex; amniocentesis is the most accurate way to determine the baby's gender before birth.
An amniocentesis can also be done during the third trimester of the pregnancy to determine if the baby's lungs are mature enough for delivery, or to evaluate the amniotic fluid for infection.

Also two maternal serum (blood) tests are conducted in the first three months. The blood tests measure two substances found in the blood of all pregnant women: 

• Pregnancy-associated plasma protein screening (PAPP-A)--a protein produced by the placenta in early pregnancy. Abnormal levels are associated with an increased risk for chromosome abnormality.

• Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)--a hormone produced by the placenta in early pregnancy. Abnormal levels are associated with an increased risk for chromosome abnormality.

Second trimester (3-6 moths) prenatal screening may include several blood tests, called multiple markers.  These markers provide information about a woman's risk of having a baby with certain genetic conditions or birth defects. Screening is usually performed by taking a sample of the mother's blood between the 15th and 20th weeks of pregnancy (16th to 18th is ideal).

 The multiple markers include:

• Alpha-fetoprotein screening (AFP). This blood test measures the level of alpha-fetoprotein in the mothers' blood during pregnancy. AFP is a protein normally produced by the fetal liver and is present in the fluid surrounding the fetus (amniotic fluid), and crosses the placenta into the mother's blood. The AFP blood test is also called MSAFP (maternal serum AFP).
  
  Abnormal levels of AFP may signal the following: 

  Open neural tube defects (ONTD), such as spina bifida, down syndrome, other chromosomal abnormalities, defects in the abdominal wall of the fetus, twins--more than one fetus is making the protein, a miscalculated due date, as the levels vary throughout pregnancy

• hCG. This is human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (a hormone produced by the placenta)

• Estriol. This is a  hormone produced by the placenta

• Inhibin. This is a hormone produced by the placenta

Abnormal test results of AFP and other markers may indicate the need for additional testing. Usually an ultrasound is performed to confirm the dates of the pregnancy and to look at the fetal spine and other body parts for defects. An amniocentesis like described above  will be done for accurate diagnosis.

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is a prenatal test that involves taking a sample of some of the placental tissue. This tissue contains the same genetic material as the fetus and can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities and some other genetic problems. Testing is available for other genetic defects and disorders depending on the family history and availability of laboratory testing at the time of the procedure. CVS is usually performed between the 10th and 12th weeks of pregnancy.

During late pregnancy and during labor, your doctor may want to monitor the fetal heart rate and other functions. Fetal heart rate monitoring is a method of checking the rate and rhythm of the fetal heartbeat. The average fetal heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute. The fetal heart rate may change as the fetus responds to conditions in the uterus. An abnormal fetal heart rate or pattern may mean that the fetus is not getting enough oxygen or there are other problems. An abnormal pattern also may mean that an emergency or cesarean delivery is needed.

Using a fetoscope (a type of stethoscope) to listen to the fetal heart beat is the most basic type of fetal heart rate monitoring. Another type of monitoring is with a hand held Doppler device. This is often used during prenatal visits to count the fetal heart rate. During labor, continuous electronic fetal monitoring is often used.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are bacteria found in the lower genital tract of about 25 percent of all women. GBS infection usually causes no problems in women before pregnancy, but can cause serious illness in the mother during pregnancy. GBS may cause chorioamnionitis (a severe infection of the placental tissues) and postpartum infection. Urinary tract infections caused by GBS can lead to preterm labor and birth, or pyelonephritis and sepsis.

GBS is the most common cause of life-threatening infections in newborns, including pneumonia and meningitis. Newborn babies contract the infection during pregnancy or from the mother's genital tract during labor and delivery.

There are several other specific tests, but this is a brief summery of the important ones to find out the health of a fetus and how the tests are done. For more details consult your doctor.

Q: What are some common things that we do or don't do can cause cancer? 

Krishna: Getting cancer depends on several things. You cannot generalize like that but still there are some risk factors you should consider ... like ...

 Long-term exposure of white skin to UVA rays in sunlight ( which might lead to skin cancer), drinking very hot beverages can cause esophageal cancer ( over 149 degrees Fahrenheit or 65 degrees Celcius  is considered very hot), eating pepperoni on Pizza ( eating processed or red meats is bad says WHO), moving in a closed car in traffic (the WHO has uncovered that exposure to the fumes produced by burning diesel fuel can lung cause cancer in humans, but then breathing polluted air in heavy traffic is not good too! So you are doomed in both ways!), wearing dry-cleaned clothes ( WHO says the chemicals of dry-cleaning can cause certain cancers like bladder, liver, and cervical), not using condoms during sex with several partners ( besides the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection, not using a barrier method such as a condom could leave you vulnerable to certain types of cancer. HPV is a cancer-causing virus that is transmitted during unprotected sex and can result in a range of conditions like cancer of the cervix, anus, penis, throat,vulva and vagina), using some plastic products that contain harmful chemicals, alcohol consumption, if you vape or smoke cigarettes (there is no safe level of smoking, aerosols used in vapes contain carcinogenic chemicals), not eating enough vegetables and fruits that contain fiber. 

I can go on like this but I think I have covered the most important ones. 

Q:Does a real life NZT pill actually exist?

Krishna : There is no pill that can make you a miracle person. Period.
It just is a fantasy based on wild imagination.

Higher levels of thought like critical thinking, neutral reasoning, planning, directing attention to information that is relevant, creatively connecting things can be obtained only through thorough training. You need lots of knowledge too to do higher levels of brain activities.

Okay, you take a pill. It improves the neural connections. To what? Blankness? When there is no proper stored knowledge, how can you retract and use information? How can you creatively connect your present problem to ‘nothingness’ in your brain and solve a problem efficiently? When there’s no information coming in from the environment to stimulate the circuits, how can they become complete?

With smart drugs, all you’re doing is taking the brain that you have and putting it in its optimal chemical state. Then how can it act in a vacuum?

These drugs won’t be enhancing cognition directly, but simply improve the user’s state of mind – making work more pleasurable and enhancing focus. But to enhance one dimension of cognition, you need to divert resources from others, which make them weak. So while improving something, you are impairing other things! According to experts, there are costs to narrowing your attention. Not only all the stuff in the periphery that might be very significant that you might be missing, but internally – if you narrow your attentional field, it also narrows the range and scope of associations you could bring into your thought process which make it very unbalanced.

Then is it really improving your brain’s capacity? No! It just is juggling the resources!

You can do that without drugs too and more efficiently with the right training process!

Q: Does microwaving of food cause cancer?

Krishna: Microwave ovens cook food using waves of energy that are similar to radio waves but shorter. These waves are remarkably selective, primarily affecting water and other molecules that are electrically asymmetrical—one end positively charged and the other negatively charged. Microwaves cause these molecules to vibrate and quickly build up thermal (heat) energy.

Radiation exposure exists on a spectrum; microwaves are on the low end, and things like x-rays, gamma rays, and UV radiation are on the high end of the scale. Microwaves don't make food radioactive. When microwave ovens are used according to instructions, there is no evidence that they pose a health risk to people. But  broken microwaves can leak a higher amount of radiation. 

WHO makes these suggestions:

• You can reduce your exposure to microwaves by ensuring your machine works properly.
• Neither the door nor the sealants should show signs of damage, and the sealants should be kept free of dirt and grime. 
• The door should open and close correctly and fit securely.
• If your microwave or any of its parts are on the fritz, you should refrain from using it until the parts are fixed, or purchase a new one.

But what is more important while using a microwave is - don't use plastic utensils in the microwave. Although many plastic containers are now labeled “microwave safe,” or “BPA free,” researchers discovered most of these plastic products leach chemicals with estrogenic activity ( in human beings). These are more dangerous than radiation of microwaves. Therefore, when you microwave plastic, it may hasten the breakdown of the container and allow the harmful chemicals to be released into your food at a faster rate. But there’s a solution to this issue—take the food out of the plastic container and use glass or ceramic dishes when microwaving instead.

Q: How can I critically evaluate the accuracy of a popular science article when I am not a scientist?

Now say that again, the person with the wrong attitude!

Q: Why does it always happen to me that whenever I write any theory, it is already published by some other scientist or philosopher?