Color

5 Things To Know About In-Home Genetic Testing

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Recently,  in-home genetic testing kits, such as 23andMe and Color, were granted FDA authorization to provide direct to consumer, no prescription needed, in-home genetic testing. On the surface, this seems very attractive. Genetic mutations are thought to account for 5-10% of all cancer diagnoses (cancer.gov). As we learn more about how genetics influence our cancer risk, more individuals may want to learn about their own genetic make-up and how to reduce their risk for developing cancer. These tests offer the convenience of performing the test at home. Here are five things you should think about BEFORE undergoing ANY kind of genetic testing.

1. Genetic testing should NOT be taken lightly.

It isn’t just a simple “spit into a vial” process. Assessing genetic risk also includes taking a complete family and personal health history, as well as counseling and education about the test results, after the test is completed. Genetic counseling and genetic testing go hand in hand. It is essential that you receive education associated with your results, as well as counseling about talking to your family about your results. 23andMe only offers referrals to genetic counselors in your geographic area, not actual counseling services. Color offers “professional genetic counseling.”

2. Genetic testing is complex.

There are over 50 hereditary cancers, each with multiple potential gene mutations. For example, BRCA is associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. These in home kits only test for only three genetic variants associated with BRCA mutations – yet many more exist. The mutations that are included in this test tend to be associated with individuals with Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. While these tests may be helpful for people from this population, others who undergo the test may receive a false sense of security with a negative test result. It doesn’t necessarily mean the test is negative and you don’t have the mutation—it just means you don’t have one of these three mutations. These tests do not test for any other cancer related gene mutations.

3. Genetic testing IS typically covered by insurance, if you have a strong family history that suggests higher cancer risk. 

23andMe and Color are not covered by insurance. The current cost for 23andMe is $199 (this includes more than just cancer targeted genetic testing for BRCA mutations), for Color it is $99 (this is only for BRCA mutations).

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), genetic testing for BRCA 1 and 2 must be covered by insurance plans when there is a strong family history of BRCA associated cancers.

4. Privacy and confidentiality guidelines for health protected information may be questionable with in-home testing kits.

The test results generated by 23andMe and Color are maintained by these companies. They are not part of your medical record and thus MAY NOT be covered under HIPPA guidelines. While this company does not share your genetic test results, they can sell your personal information to third parties who may want to include you in research or market other products to you.

5. Genetic testing results are protected under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

GINA protects family health history, the results of genetic tests, the use of genetic counseling/genetic services and individuals participating in genetic research from being discriminated against by health insurers or employers. This includes results from in-home testing kits. However, genetic testing information is not protected by GINA if you are attempting to purchase life insurance. Genetic information CAN be used during the medical investigation/under-writing process for a life insurance policy..

Talk to your healthcare provider before undergoing ANY genetic testing. Ask questions about your risk, your family history, and your own personal behaviors that may influence your cancer risk. While 23andMe and Color may offer a “jumping off point” or introduction to testing for genetic mutations, they are hardly foolproof and may produce false negatives and/or misinformation. Ultimately, it is buyer beware with in home genetic testing and an educated consumer “is the best customer.”

For more information about genetic risk and cancer, visit Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE).

The Science of Color: How the Rainbow Can Heal

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There is an old adage that claims we should ‘eat the rainbow’ to gain optimal health. It turns out that while we should definitely eat the colors of the rainbow, just being exposed to its light can help as well. 

Every day, we are surrounded by the full spectrum of colors: the bright red of the stop sign on our way to work; the glowing orange-yellow sunlight shining through our window; the sea of swaying green grass in the local park; the dark indigo skin of succulent blueberries and blackberries.

While we might stop and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of these colors, we often don’t think about the powerful effects that seeing and eating different colors have on our physical health and emotional well-being.

Color therapy has been long used in the healing arts, but it’s only been recently that studies are emerging indicating the effects that the colors have on our mood, energy, and health. The conclusions from these studies allow you to harness the power of color in your own life. Here are some color-full findings to encourage you to experiment with colors both on and off your plate:

Red

If you find yourself in a mid-day slump, try switching to a red light or a room with red walls. A 2014 article published in the Conference Proceedings of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society found that when participants were put in a room with red light, they had a higher level of brain activity associated with “alertness, agitation, mental activity, and general activation of mind and body functions.” They also were more likely to feel “vigor.” 1

Orange

Orange foods, like carrots and sweet potatoes, get their color from carotenoids like beta-carotene, which may play an important role in reproduction. An area of animal research indicates that beta-carotene concentrates in the corpus luteum (a developing egg in the ovary), where it plays a role in ovulation by assisting with the production of progesterone. 2 Animal studies likewise suggest that beta-carotene supplementation supports ovarian activity and progesterone synthesis in goats 3 4

Polish scientists have discovered that uterine tissues contain beta-carotene 5 , while a 2014 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility suggests that when women boost their beta-carotene intake, their chances of becoming pregnant seem to improve. 6

Yellow

Yellow is a curious color. It seems to be the color that most people are drawn to, and the one that is most correlated with a normal mood, according to researchers at the University of Manchester. 7 The yellow-colored pigment, lutein, is known to collect in certain tissues of the body, specifically the macula, as well as the skin and in breast tissue. There are several studies that show that healthy yellow foods, like slow-burning carbohydrates, generate energy. A study conducted in Oxford, England, found that yellow mustard bran helped a group of young, active men have a better post-meal response to glucose after eating potato and leek soup compared to eating the soup by itself. 8 Likewise, a Canadian study found that whole yellow pea flour— a complex carbohydrate— helped overweight people improve their use of insulin. 9

Green

Researchers have discovered some fascinating links associating the color green with the heart. For example, an Austrian experiment found that exposing people to green fluorescent light seemed to have a soothing effect on their hearts, affecting heart rate variability (HRV). 10 People who endure continual worry and anxiety seem to have decreased HRV, which is also associated with a number of disorders, including congestive heart failure and depression. If exposure to green light increases HRV, we can imagine that has heart-protective effects and might help to heal grief. Moreover, if green light changes vasculature, then it stands to reason that other conditions involving the vasculature would be impacted by it. In support of this concept, a study was just published indicating that migraine severity is reduced in the presence of green light. 11

Blue

The color blue has powerful effects on the brain and memory. A 2008 British study found that exposing workers to blue-enriched white light improved self-reported alertness, performance, and sleep quality. 12 Similarly, an Australian experiment discovered that exposure to blue light made experimental subjects less sleepy as they tried to complete prolonged tasks during the night. 13 A recent study published in May 2016 showed that people performed better on a working memory task and had greater activation in the prefrontal regions of the brain after being in a blue-lit room for thirty minutes compared with being in a room with amber light. 14

White

The color white has been the focus of promising research about depression. In 2011, Dutch psychiatric researchers found that both blue-enriched white light and bright white light might possibly be effective in treating SAD. 15 Furthermore, a 2004 Danish study affirmed that bright light could perhaps be a helpful treatment even in non-seasonal depression when used in conjunction with antidepressants. 16 A University of California, San Diego study also found that bright light therapy combined with antidepressants and “wake therapy” could be effective in treating depression.

White light may also be part of the fruit and vegetables that we eat. A recent study found that extracts from pomegranate and turmeric emitted almost pure white light emission. 18 The researchers discovered that light was mostly emitting from the active ingredients in the foods – polyphenols and anthocyanins in pomegranate, and curcumin in turmeric. If white light can have a healing effect outside the body, think about the potential of eating white light-emitting foods!

As you can see, color offers so much more than visual beauty. By eating a spectrum of naturally-occurring colors, and infusing colors in our surroundings, we can truly harness the power of the rainbow to guide ourselves to full-spectrum health.

For more information regarding colorful foods, please visit the following links to theGreenMedInfo database:
Red: Pomegranate, Strawberry, Beet 
Orange: Apricot, Carrot, Orange
Yellow: Lemon, Pineapple
Green: Broccoli, Kale, Mint
Blue: Blueberry, Bilberry
White: Coconut, Banana, Cauliflower 

What color is an orgasm?

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People with a condition known as synesthesia are prone to swapping their senses. They can feel colors, see music, and smell words. This raises an important question for science: What’s it like to have sex when you’ve got synesthesia? Thanks to some inquisitive researchers, we have the answer.

People with synesthesia (aka “synesthetes”) experience the world differently than most. Their neurological pathways are jumbled in such a way that they associate seemingly unrelated senses or mental states with other senses or experiences. The most common form of the condition is grapheme-color synesthesia, wherein individual numbers and/or letters of the alphabet induce the visual perception of specific color patterns. Other, less-common forms of cross-sensory variation abound, and include lexical-gustatory synesthesia (words are associated with taste), chromesthesia (sound-color synesthesia) and auditory-tactile (sound-touch) synesthesia.

Sex, for the uninitiated, involves a fair bit of touching, tasting, hearing, seeing and yes, even counting. Needless to say, there’s a whole lot of sensory and emotional stimulation at work in your typical bout of whoopee-making, and therefore plenty of opportunities for a synesthete’s neurobiology to go positively frantic with crosstalk. But so then what is sex like for a synesthete?

As it turns out there’s not a lot of writing on the subject, and what we do know is frustratingly vague. Previous research, for example, suggests that orgasm can induce the visual perception of color in a little over 2% of synesthetes. “Kissing and sexual intercourse is a reliable trigger,” writes Richard Cytowic in his book Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses, “causing colored photisms, tactile shapes and textures and tastes.” Similarly, touching, caressing and petting (all tactile sensations) are known to induce the concurrent perception of colors, flavors, smell, sounds, and even temperatures. But what of the really nitty gritty details? What does an erection smell like (to a synesthete, weirdo)? What color is an orgasm?

Spurred by the lack of investigation into synesthetic perceptions of intercourse, researchers led by Hannover Medical School’s Markus Zedler decided to examine whether these perceptions “have an impact on the sexual experience and the extent of sexual trance compared to non-synaesthetes.” Writes Zedler, in the latest issue of Frontiers in Psychology:

In total, 19 synaesthetes with sexual forms of synaesthesia (17 female; 2 male) were included as well as corresponding control data of 36 non-synaesthetic subjects (n = 55). Two questionnaires were used to assess relevant aspects of sexual function and dysfunction (a German adaption of the Brief Index of Sexual Functioning, KFSP) as well as the occurrence and extent of sexual trance (German version of the Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire, OAVAV). Additionally qualitative interviews were conducted in some subjects to further explore the nature of sexual experiences in synaesthetes.

The upshot of the study, which you can read in full here, is that sexual synesthetes “seem to experience a deeper state of sexual trance without, however, enhanced satisfaction during sexual intercourse.” That’s all well and good, but of particular note is the table of “exemplary citations” that Zedler and his colleagues created based on their qualitative interviews with sexual synesthetes, regarding how they experience different stages of the sexual response cycle. It is, in a word, excellent:

Recently, a handful of researchers have argued that most people experience synesthesia-like sensations to some degree, but most agree that the percentage of people who experience them keenly is relatively small. Which we suppose makes sense. After all, how many times has your post-coital pillow talk played out like this:

“Was it good for you?”

“Yeah, the wall exploded and my vision went purple. You?”

“Same. Hey, why do you look all yellow?”

Source:  Frontiers in Psychology.

New laser surgery technique can turn your brown eyes blue.

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New laser surgery technique can turn your brown eyes blue

Of all the features we notice about a person upon meeting them, their eyes are often the first connection we make. But some people just aren’t satisfied with the color of their peepers, wishing their dark corneas away in favor of a pleasant shade of blue. Those unhappy with brown eyes may find just what they’re looking for: Laguna Beach doctor Gregg Homer has developed a new procedure that can actually convert brown-colored eyes to blue in just a matter of weeks.

The operation itself is fairly straight forward: Using a laser tuned to a special frequency, the doctoractually alters the cells that produce the brown coloration in the eye. After a few weeks, the darker color begins to fade, revealing the blue pigment underneath. As the doctor explains it, the procedure only works for brown-eyed individuals, as they already have a bluish coloration hiding underneath.

According to Homer, the procedure takes just 20 seconds to complete. And because of the large number of people wishing they were born with baby blues, he has already been contacted by thousands of potential clients. Homer and his company, Stroma Medical, have been working on the technology for over a decade, and say it will be available on a consumer basis within three years.

He estimates the procedures will cost about $5,000 each, and as the brown coloration doesn’t appear to regenerate, your eyes should stay blue for the rest of your days. Unfortunately, that almost means it’s completely irreversible, so if you end up regretting a hasty decision to switch, you’ll never be brown-eyed again.

Not surprisingly, the practice has come under scrutiny by some who believe the color of our eyes is somehow more sacred than other parts of the human body — like the bits that plastic surgeons alter every day. There’s also the risk that long-term damage may result from the procedure, and without longitudinal research, Homer can’t guarantee that problems won’t arise down the road. Still, with would-be patients lining up by the thousands, it’s clear that some people believe the risk is worth the reward.mw-630-flickr-look-into-my-eyes-630w

 

Staining Science: Capillary Action of Dyed Water in Plants.

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A wondrous, watery activity from Science Buddies

Have you ever heard someone say, “That plant is thirsty,” or “Give that plant a drink of water.”? We know that all plants need water to survive, even bouquets of cut flowers and plants living in deserts. But have you ever thought about how water moves within the plant? In this activity, you’ll put carnations in dyed water to figure out where the water goes. Where do you think the dyed water will travel, and what will this tell you about how the water moves in the cut flowers?

Background
Plants use water to keep their roots, stems, leaves and flowers healthy as well as prevent them from drying and wilting. The water is also used to carry dissolved nutrients throughout the plant.

Most of the time, plants get their water from the ground. This means it has to transport the water from its roots up and throughout the rest of the plant. How does it do this? Water moves through the plant by means of capillary action. Capillary action occurs when the forces binding a liquid together (cohesion and surface tension) and the forces attracting that bound liquid to another surface (adhesion) are greater than the force of gravity. Through these binding and surface forces, the plant’s stem basically sucks up water—almost like drinking through a straw!

A simple way of observing capillary action is to take a teaspoon of water and gently pour it in a pool on a countertop. You’ll notice that the water stays together in the pool, rather than flattening out across the countertop. (This happens because of cohesion and surface tension.) Now gently dip the corner of a paper towel in the pool of water. The water adheres to the paper and “climbs” up the paper towel. This is called capillary action.

Materials
•     Water
•     Measuring cup
•     Glass cup or vase
•     Blue or red food color
•     Several white carnations (at least three). Tip: Fresher flowers work better than older ones
•     Knife
•     Camera (optional)

Preparation
•     Measure a half cup of water and pour it into the glass or vase.
•     Add 20 drops of food color to the water in the glass.
•     With the help of an adult, use a knife to cut the bottom stem tips of several (at least three) white carnations at a 45-degree angle. Tip: Be sure not to use scissors, they will crush the stems, reducing their ability to absorb water. Also, shorter stems work better than longer ones.
•     Place the carnations in the dyed water. As you do this, use the stems of the carnations to stir the water until the dye has fully dissolved.

Procedure
•     Observe the flowers immediately after you put them in the water. If you have a camera, take a picture of the flowers.
•     Observe the flowers two, four, 24, 48 and 72 hours after you put them in the dyed water. Be sure to also observe their stems, especially the bumps where the leaves branch from the stem and it is lighter green (it may be easier to see the dye here). If you have a camera, take pictures of the flowers and stems at these time points.
•     How did the flowers look after two hours? What about after four, 24, 48 and 72 hours? How did their appearance change over this time period?
•     What does the flowers’ change in appearance tell you about how water moves through them?
•     Extra: In this activity, you used carnations, but do you think you’d see the same results with other flowers and plants? Try this activity with another white flower— a daisy, for instance—or a plant that is mostly stem, such as a stalk of celery.
•     Extra: Try doing this activity again but use higher or lower concentrations of food color, such as one half, twice, four times or 10 times as much; be sure to mix each dye amount with the same amount of water. What happens if you increase or decrease the concentration of food color in the water?
•     Extra: How would you make a multicolor carnation? Tip: You could try (1) leaving the flower for a day in one color of water and then putting it in another color of water for a second day or (2) splitting the end of the stem in two and immersing each half in a different color of water.

Observations and results
When you put the flowers in the dyed water, did you see some of the flowers start to show spots of dye after two hours? Did you also see some dye in the stems? After 24 hours did the flowers overall have a colored hue to them? Did this hue become more pronounced, or darker, after 48 and 72 hours?

Water moves through the plant by means of capillary action. Specifically, the water is pulled through the stem and then makes its way up to the flower. After two hours of being in the dyed water, some flowers should have clearly showed dyed spots near the edges of their petals. The water that has been pulled up undergoes a process called transpiration, which is when the water from leaves and flower petals evaporates. However, the dye it brought along doesn’t evaporate, and stays around to color the flower. The loss of water generates low water pressure in the leaves and petals, causing more colored water to be pulled through the stem. By 24 hours the flowers should have gained an overall dyed hue, which darkened a little over time. The stems should have also become slightly dyed in places, particularly where the leaves branch off.

More to explore
Plant Parts: What Do Different Plant Parts Do? from Missouri Botanical Garden
Capillary action from The U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School
The Water Cycle: Transpiration from The USGS Water Science School
Transpiration in Plants from TutorVista.com
Suck It Up: Capillary Action of Water in Plants from Science Buddies.

Source: Scientific American