I spent four hours trying to get Knights of the Old Republic II to run on my laptop just to find out it doesn't support Vista...
Monday, May 4, 2009
Damn Computer
I spent four hours trying to get Knights of the Old Republic II to run on my laptop just to find out it doesn't support Vista...
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Med Question #(I have no idea)
Question: What does smoking do that makes ones voice lower and more raspy?
Answer: The bronchioles, bronchi, and trachea are lined by a multi-layered epithelium (a pseudosratified columnar epithelium). This provides the airways with a given amount of compliance, or ability to adapt to changes in volume. Inhaling smoke causes a process called metaplasia, in which the pseudostratified columnar epithelium flattens out into a simple (one layered) squamous (flat) epithelium. This increases elasticity (decreases compliance)and reduces the airways ability to adapt to incoming air. Because of this, we are less able to pass air through the larynx, and thus reduces out ability to modulate our voices. Combine this effect with blisters directly on the vocal chords (another direct result of smoking) and you get a deep, raspy voice.
Seems like this should be more complicated, but its really not...
Answer: The bronchioles, bronchi, and trachea are lined by a multi-layered epithelium (a pseudosratified columnar epithelium). This provides the airways with a given amount of compliance, or ability to adapt to changes in volume. Inhaling smoke causes a process called metaplasia, in which the pseudostratified columnar epithelium flattens out into a simple (one layered) squamous (flat) epithelium. This increases elasticity (decreases compliance)and reduces the airways ability to adapt to incoming air. Because of this, we are less able to pass air through the larynx, and thus reduces out ability to modulate our voices. Combine this effect with blisters directly on the vocal chords (another direct result of smoking) and you get a deep, raspy voice.
Seems like this should be more complicated, but its really not...
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Pig Bite Fever! (Ba Da Ba Da!!!!)
We are not all going to die. However, I would be willing to bet that half of the people who read that sentence read it as "we are all going to die". It's OK, I'll wait, go back and re-read it. It does in fact say we are NOT going to die.
Let me preface this with a small introduction to immunology. There are two major components to the immune system, innate and adaptive immunity. The innate immune system consists of this like our natural barriers to disease (our skin, the high acidity of our stomachs, etc) and phagocytic cells in our body capable of killing any bad thing that may come along. The adaptive portion of our immune system is comprised mostly of B and T lymphocytes. The adaptive immune system takes about 2 weeks to become fully effective after the 1st contact with an antigen, but this system reacts immediately on every subsequent exposure.
Swine Flu (or H1N1 Influenza Type A Virus)is a FLU VIRUS. It is not the plague (caused by Yersinia pestis) or anthrax (caused by Bacillus anthracis) or any other horrifically terrifying disease. No, it is in fact the flu. The only thing that makes it slightly more worrisome than the regular flu is that humans have no natural ADAPTIVE immunity to this particular strain. This doesn't means we have no immunity at all, it just means that a specific attribute of our immune system will be a little slower getting to the party than it would were this a different flu strain.
New flu strains show up every year! Ever wonder why you need to get a flu shot every year but only need your other immunizations every 10 years or so? It because the flu virus mutates so often that it is a new strain making us sick every year!
So if this thing gets out of hand, starts killing more people than the regular flu (which kills about 16,000 people a year by the way), then we should worry. But for now, Imma go have a pork chop.
Let me preface this with a small introduction to immunology. There are two major components to the immune system, innate and adaptive immunity. The innate immune system consists of this like our natural barriers to disease (our skin, the high acidity of our stomachs, etc) and phagocytic cells in our body capable of killing any bad thing that may come along. The adaptive portion of our immune system is comprised mostly of B and T lymphocytes. The adaptive immune system takes about 2 weeks to become fully effective after the 1st contact with an antigen, but this system reacts immediately on every subsequent exposure.
Swine Flu (or H1N1 Influenza Type A Virus)is a FLU VIRUS. It is not the plague (caused by Yersinia pestis) or anthrax (caused by Bacillus anthracis) or any other horrifically terrifying disease. No, it is in fact the flu. The only thing that makes it slightly more worrisome than the regular flu is that humans have no natural ADAPTIVE immunity to this particular strain. This doesn't means we have no immunity at all, it just means that a specific attribute of our immune system will be a little slower getting to the party than it would were this a different flu strain.
New flu strains show up every year! Ever wonder why you need to get a flu shot every year but only need your other immunizations every 10 years or so? It because the flu virus mutates so often that it is a new strain making us sick every year!
So if this thing gets out of hand, starts killing more people than the regular flu (which kills about 16,000 people a year by the way), then we should worry. But for now, Imma go have a pork chop.
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