Other Classmate's blogs

(Mrs. V, I know my blog is posted late- I've been sick for the last week, sorry!)

First, I read Julia's blog about "going green". Taking AP Environmental Science this year, I have paid more attention to the movement towards becoming more environmentally friendly. I'm really glad to know that many companies and industries are making that switch to making less wastes that are harmful to our environment (especially Hercules because I live 3.5 seconds away from there!). I hope to keep reading Julia's blog and learn more about the scientific part of that switch, because I don't know much about that. Plus, as I said in the comment I left her, I want to use the information I learn from her research to back up my argument with some of the *cough* less liberal classmates of mine in APES.

Next I read Amanda's post about lactic acid and the horrible soreness after a good workout in the weight room. She went into really good detail about all the chemicals involved. I found that I cannot blame the hydrogen atoms for the soreness the next day, darn. I will have to keep reading Amanda's blog as well so that I can figure out what I can blame the soreness for.

And finally I read Sarah's post about artificial sweeteners. It is kind of scary that we see "low fat/calorie" and don't think about the chemicals that are put into those products. I am definitely doing to pay more attention to what I eat and drink now. She put in a lot of details about the side effects of these certain sweeteners, which look similar to my side effects...coincidence? I don't think so, but it is still interesting. Maybe Sarah can be the person to find a non-health threatening sugar substitute. Its all you Sarah :)

Does College cause chemical imbalances?

College is a stressful time for everyone. Trying to do all the extracurricular activities and keep your grades up just to get into the best college you can get takes its toll. Many surveys have been given in colleges around the country to support the theory of rising disorders in college students. These disorders involve depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders. With the fear of gaining the "freshman 15", many college students grow an obsession with food and weight. Depression also developes when the student is thrown into the new life with no family, none of their old friends (usually); no familiar face to turn to and talk to. These disorders do not show themselves right away. Eating disorders can be seen after it takes effect on the physical appearance of the student. If the fear of the freshman 15 does not start the disorders, the stress of college does. With all the new classes and responisibilities, students can sometimes break down.
I'm not saying that every student that goes to college will develope a disorder, but studies have shown that the disorders are most common in college aged students. Scientists beleive the disorders are a chemical imbalance in the brain. These imbalances affect people differently, so the symptoms are not always the same.
Although the true chemical imbalances are not fully known, once they are we can use this knowlage to help the affected students. Medicines can be perscribed to balance out these chemicals and help them get over the disorder. Chemistry will be the answer to not only decreasing the number of students affected with depression, schizofrenia, and eating disorders in college but at any person who is going through those things.

Works Cited

1. Hill, Jennifer. "Attitudes Towards Mental Disorders Among College Students." 2005. 23 Jan. 2008 .

2. Rockler-Gladen, Naomi. "College Students and Depression." Suit101. 14 Apr. 2007. 23 Jan. 2008 .

3. Woods, Jennifer. "Deadly Thin Rising Among College Students." The Cypress Chronicle. 29 Apr. 2006. 23 Jan. 2008 .

Additional

After researching the UD Library Resources, I found that there are still many different views on Chemical Imbalances. Some beleive that they are not true, and others that they are. I found an interesting site about College Students, and how chemical imbalances affect them. It says that they lead to depression and other illnesses such as annorexia. I'd like to look at those illnesses in particular to see how chemical imbalances in the brain lead to them.

Mrs V. - I commented on Sarah, Zach, and Sandra's blogs

Can you trust websites??

Don't you wish that you could believe everything you read on the Internet? That everyone who makes and Internet site truly want to education you with facts. Well unfortunately this is not the case. I did some research to help me find out which sites seem reliable.

http://www.ala.org/ala/als/greatwebsites/
greatwebsitesforkids/greatwebsites.htm

• When visiting a website, sometimes in the web address, one can find out what kind of site it is. For Example: sites ending in .gov are from the federal government, .com are from commercial businesses, .edu are from colleges and universities, etc.
• Look for the name of the Creator of the site
• There should be sources for information where necessary
• The Purpose of the site should be clearly stated
• There should be limited Advertising
• It should be easy to navigate the site

Another helpful website i found is

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/pdf/weval.pdf

My topic...

After some research online, I found that some sites say that forms of mental illness or emotional problems are not caused by Chemical Imbalances. They say that the "Chemical Imbalance" is a myth spread around the medical world. Other sites however say that chemical imbalances are not a myth and are actually the reason for certain illnesses. I would like to find out if chemical imbalances are in fact a myth or not. Instead of reaserching all moods, I plan on focusing just on specific mood illnesses such as anxiety or depression. I am interested in seeing if chemical imbalances are a myth or if they actually affect people's emotions.

OK...Topic...

Because we are being told to pick something to write about...I guess I will have to come up with something...

1. Food and Chemistry
How food is mass produced, and what kinds of chemicals are used in the packaged food as opposed to organic and natural food.
2. Animals and Chemistry
How Chemistry is used to breed specific animals to better fill human's needs.
3. Chemical balances in the brain depending on the mood of the person.
Love, Hatred, Fear, etc.

Chem

I'm not exactly sure what I will be researching this year, but I'm sure that on the Thanksgiving break I will be thinking about an interesting topic to look into
xoxo