All will be revealed...

My Dear Sexy Readers,

My sincere apologies for not posting much this year. As you can expect, life has been absolutely hectic: I changed jobs, twice!, I went on holiday, twice!, my son got chicken pox, once! - but at the same time as his best friend so I guess I can say twice as we kept them together for company.

As it seems I do everything in double this year, I have to confess to something else.. I've been secretly preparing for the launch of a second Science blog...

Fear not, it will still be a nice easy to read Science blog, but the content will focus on only one subject: our microbiota!

If you remember, I already talked about our gut microbes a while back, and it's really that research I had done at the time that sparked my interest for our microbiota.

During the months that followed, I read more and more articles on the role of our gut microbes on our health and sanity. If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed the fact that I mentioned quite a few time how excited I was about this new field of research.

Recently, I read a truly inspiring book called 10% human:



From the first page, I knew that I was holding something special in my hand - or rather my kindle was containing an amazing file! I devoured page after page - not sure what the kindle equivalent is - and decided that everyone should know about the amazing therapeutic potential that represents the modulation of our gut microbes, and I should do something about it! As a writer, a blog seemed the obvious solution.

I hope you are as excited as I am, I can't wait to share it with you.

Launch will be on Monday 4th January 2016

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

What's a gluten-free diet?

My Dear Sexy Readers,

First of all, I would like to wish you a fantastic New Year!!!!

A lot of people may feel that January is a good month to work on their New Year resolutions.

One of these may be to go gluten-free to help their body cope with the excess food they have accumulated during the holiday season.

Many of you will hopefully detect that the above sentence contains 3 non evidence-based facts*, but as I typed it, I felt strangely liberated like I could do something that would cancel out my overindulgence and Christmas sins!

I'm a greater believer though in knowing the truth and understanding our body (HERE), how it works (HERE and HERE) and how things we ingest (HERE, HERE or HERE) or slather on it do to us (HERE and HERE).

So if you'd like to know the scientific truth about gluten and gluten-free diets that supermarkets, unscrupulous nutritionists and restaurant owners purposefully don't share with you, please keep on reading... (Well, yes of course it's a new and very lucrative business...)

Trick or Treat - A UNICEF Halloween initiative

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that today is Halloween!!!

If you are in the US, this is a great alternative to the unhealthy trick or treat tradition:

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF began in 1950 as a way to help kids who need more than candy. Since then, children all over America have gone door-to-door on Halloween with UNICEF collection boxes, calling out, "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!" They have raised more than $170 million for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF since 1950.

Trick or Treat for UNICEF

Now, this is not the usual science topic I treat you to ;) But as you can see on the image above, one the thing you can help raise money for is Vaccination kits for children.

This gives me a fantastic opportunity to let you know or remind you if you've seen it before that Seran's infographic on children immunisation programme is up.

This is another thing you can do this Halloween, you can share it, you can tweet it, you can +'s it - Help dismiss some of the claims anti-vaxxers make to rally hesitant parents.

It's becoming a cruel fact that we cannot rely on our herd immunity anymore so our children need our help to build it back up so all of them, vaccinated or not (for medical reasons or others) are protected!

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Why should I vaccinate my baby?

Hi sexy science readers! :)

Did you know that smallpox was the first, and the only infectious disease of humans that has been completely eradicated through our medical advancements? The eradication of this disease was kick-started by Edward Jenner, who led the vaccine revolution…

“Should I vaccinate my baby?”

…But even then, there was resistance to the concept of vaccination, and this resistance still continues today. Indeed, there are lots of myths and misunderstandings about whether it’s safe or not to vaccinate your baby. So to help sort out fact from myth, I’ve created a quick infogram that addresses some of these misconceptions.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this. At the end of the day, it’s info that shows vaccines can save lives!

Seran

National Eczema week 13-21 September 2014

My Dear Sexy Readers,

If you suffer from eczema, you will know how frustrating it can be and how hard it is to avoid scratching!  But you are not alone - it is estimated that 5 million people in the UK suffer from some form of this inflammation of the skin.
While some may have a few patches of eczema around the body, there are many different kinds of this dermatitis, some of which can really affect your day to day living.

We already addressed this subject in an earlier post with the amazing participation of Sugarpuffish.

But I thought I would draw your attention to it this week as this is National Eczema week, so maybe we can share some stories to raise awareness between us Sexy blog readers :)

I'll start.
When my son was born, I met a lot of new friends, I call them my Mummy besties. One of them, her son was badly affected by eczema. She tried everything, every cream. She was breastfeeding her child so she also took notice of what she was ingesting. Slowly, one scab at a time, his eczema cleared and at 2 years of age, he is the most beautiful little blondie blue-eyed boy you could meet. Now and again, his eczema flairs up like for example, when they went on holiday, he was constantly scratching the small of his back because of nappy heat rash. It is difficult to pin point the reason for his eczema and to know if it will flair up again later on in life, but help is out there, and awareness days or weeks like this one are important for everyone!


What about you, do you suffer from Eczema, or do you know anyone who is?

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

What are Probiotics? #Pint2014

My Dear Sexy Readers,

We are all so conscious about what we ingest, what we put on and in our body, but still... Liver diseases, Obesity and Type II diabetes are on the increase!

Last week I went to a pub talk on Probiotics. That's right, I went down to the pub, and I listened to a scientist talk about her research using Probiotics to relieve liver disease. 

If you have followed my recent posts (HERE and HERE), you know that #Pint2014 was in full swing 19th-21st May all over the world! An international Science festival happening over 3 nights in the UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Australia and in the US! 

I already covered the first pub talk I went to, which was on the liver. 
That same evening, Dr Jane Macnaughtan was sharing with us the latest results on her research sponsored by Yakult (Oh yes, but before you say anything, Yakult didn't commission the research, the research lab contacted Yakult for advice and funding). 

Why is this important? Because more and more, I see scientific articles claiming that this or that disease is controlled by the bugs residing in our gut linings, that they are the real brain in our body. 

So I'll start with some basic info, and I will include Dr Jane talk in "quotes".

Our gut bacteria

Humans are now thought as super-organisms on the basis of the genetic potential encoded within our resident microbial populations in addition to our own genome. 

"If our body is composed of about 10 trillion cells, we also contain 100 trillion bacteria!"

There are varying levels of bacteria living all over and in our bodies - mostly in our intestines.
They are known as commensal bacteria, which under normal circumstances cause no harm. 

It has been noted that although there is a great inter-individual variation in the composition of the gut microbiota, there are conserved set of encoded functions shared between individuals referred to as the core gut microbiome.  

Functions of this microbiome are thought to confer the greatest benefit to the host and are probably essential for the correct functioning of the gut.

Benefits:

• Modulation of the host immune system  from early life
• Protection against potential pathogens by depriving polluting and dangerous bacteria of food and inhibiting their growth.
• Production of essential vitamins and hormones
• Digestion of sugars and regulation of fat storage

Other functions include:
They facilitate the process by which food and wastes move through the system to avoid constipation, they look after the mucus membranes by stimulating the production of proteins that lubricate and protect our 'inside' skin, they secrete nutrients that are used for tissue repair, they improve the balance of friendly flora to reduce the risk of bladder or vaginal infections. 

However, our natural prebiotic levels are easily damaged by factors such as poor diet, stress, alcohol, hormonal fluctuations, cigarettes, surgery and drugs. 

"'All Diseases begin at the gut' - Hippocrates"

Many diseases have been associated with a dysfunctional microbiota: Obesity; Type II Diabetes; Cardio Vascular Diseases; infection with Clostrodium difficile; Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (bowel diseases), Asthma, Eczema, Liver disease, Colorectal Cancer.

"Bacterial DNA fragments can be found in the blood of patients suffering from cirrhosis and are representative of its severity."

"The role of gut bacteria in liver disease include the metabolic breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde which damages the gut and liver, and the bacterial migration from the gut to other organs."

"Different strategies exist to modulate the Gut-Liver axis: Antibiotics but the whole resistance problem arises, or Probiotics which have shown to reduce inflammation."

It is evident that the gut microbiota plays a large role in intestinal health and disease and therefore manipulation or modulation is a clinical option. According to a review by Walsh in 2014, this modulation of the gut microbiota could be achieved by:

1. Diet: the amount, type and balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fat have a profound impact on the gut microbiota.



From Walsh et al 2014. Beneficial Modulation of the gut microbiota.

2. Antimicrobials: research is ongoing as to choose the best characteristic of antibiotics and avoid strain resistance.
3. Probiotics
4. Faecal microbiota transplantation: 'It does what it says on the tin' - most commonly used to treat recurrent C.difficile infection but could be extended to IBD, IBS, obesity,..

What are Probiotics?

They are living microscopic organisms, also called micro-organisms. Most often they are bacteria (friendly bacteria), but they may also be other organisms such as yeasts. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines probiotics as "live micro-organisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host".

Each group of bacteria has different species and each species has different strains. This is important because different strains have different benefits for different parts of your body. For a list of these, please visit this website for info (no affiliation/sponsor, your clicks from there are your responsability and the subsequent info does not necessarily represent my views.)

"Strains of probiotics work differently and could be interchanged but we don't know if it would work because not all combinations have been tested scientifically so we generally stick to what the trial results have shown."

The most common probiotic bacteria come from two groups, sometimes mixed together: Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Lactobacillus Casei Shirota is what's in Yakult.The name of the strain "Shirota" comes from Dr Shirota (Yakult's founder) who isolated this strain.

Note = Did you Know that Yakult is the universal language Esperanto translation of Yoghurt?

4 flavours of Yakult

For a probiotic to successfully exert its benefit on the host's gut microbiota it should be able to remain viable during storage and also be capable of surviving, and potentially colonizing the host's intestinal environment.

Studies on special mice have shown so far that a diet supplemented with probiotics are beneficial to treat/prevent obesity, type II Diabetes, liver damage, IBS, IBD, C. difficile infection.

"We tested a diet supplemented with 3 bottles of Yakult/day on 8 human patients who had severe liver damage with activated innate immunity response ie. abnormal levels of neutrophils (serve as a biomarker). After 4 weeks of supplemented diet, no patient experienced side effects and all showed normal blood levels of neutrophils... A new study is underway to see how long this effect lasts (on 92 patients; randomized, double blind, 6-months study)."

As a conclusion, I think it was quite extraordinary to learn about the amazing effects of these probiotics.
Now, of course, I'm not saying you should rush to the shop and buy Danone bifidus or Yakult.

What we know is that with our Western diet, our gut is highly susceptible to imbalance, and it wouldn't be stupid to take some probiotics once in a while, especially after a good night out ;).

If you are suffering from bowel disease or Diabetes, please do not take this as a medical advice, I am not "medically" trained, I'm just a scientist, so please do see your GP.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

References and further reading 
Pint Of Science - Dr Jane Macnaughtan
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Probiotics

American Gastroenterological Association
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24681100 - Kindly provided by future Dr Nirmesh Patel

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20920376 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24583612

Science Cafés: Bringing the Sciences to a pub near you

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I have a couple of exciting news for you:

First of all, the next Cosy Science meet up will happen in a pub in Holborn (central London) and will address the subject of immunology. Immunology is the study of our immune system which is how our body is fighting against microbes for example in order to protect it from diseases.

During this special event, you will get to ask ANY question about it to the scientists who will be there!! I think that is a fantastic opportunity to finally understand what those school teachers were trying to make us understand or catch up on the latest discoveries in immunology. The QA session promises to be once again a lively one.

 

Cosy Science presents:"Everything you wanted to know about our immune system but were afraid to ask"
When: Tuesday 25th March 2014
What time: 7-10pm
Where: Cittie of York pub, 22 Holborn  

What it is about: The immune system is the ultimate master of self-defence. Its actions protect us from pathogens and cancers while allowing us to peacefully co-exist with the trillions of harmless microbes that inhabit our body. How the cells and molecules of the immune system achieve this delicate balance is not fully understood but rapid progress in this area is leading to a picture that is fundamentally distinct from earlier views. This new understanding of immune function offers exciting prospects for the development of new vaccines and therapies for human disease.

Secondly, the next Pint of Science festival is almost there and will transport us all over UK, with some international destinations too!! The idea behind this Science festival is to bring the Sciences to everyone in multiple pubs, cities and countries at the same time! Last year, I introduced their audacious first event on SSS, it turned out to be extremely successful. A bit like a music festival where you need to choose the stage depending on where your favourite artists will perform. Full programme is almost complete and I will update this post in due course with the latest news, so feel free to come and check it out again.

Pint of Science Festival

When: Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st May 2014
What time: Pub time
Where: Everywhere!
What it is about: Next Pint of Science festival will take place Monday 19th - Wednesday 21st May 2014. We will present four topics: Matters of the Mind (neurosciences and psychology), Understanding our Bodies (life sciences), Physics, Engineering and Chemistry, Planet Earth (earth sciences). We plan to expand to 7 different cities and 14 universities in the UK, and internationally to France, USA, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland. 

No excuse for pretending not to know anything about Science, now is there? it's literally at your door step, welcome it!!

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

What is Eczema?

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Today, we are looking at a condition that affects millions of us. In fact, about 1 in every 9 people is suffering from Eczema!

---- Eczema Awareness Week 13-21 Sept 2014 ----

For this post, I am lucky to announce this is a double post with the amazing participation of Sugarpuffish who you can find at this address http://sugarpuffish.blogspot.com/. It is a fabulous and interesting blog about beauty products for people affected by Eczema and/or allergies.

When I stumbled upon her blog, I immediately asked her about guest posting on Science is So Sexy. She replied promptly, not like the weeks it took me to write it up... ;) Thank you Sugarpuffish!!

Sugarpuffish input is written in italics

So, What is Eczema?

Eczema is an inflammation of the outer layer of the skin, and is also called dermatitis, although, depending on the translation in different countries, some doctors would say eczema refers to a chronic condition (as in you always have it) whereas dermatitis refers to an acute condition (as in you get it once, or occasionnaly).

Eczema is an inflammation of the outer layer of the skin 

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It is a term broadly applied to a range of skin conditions including dryness, rashes with redness, swelling, itching, crusting, cracking, bleeding among others.

Types of Eczema and associated symptoms

There are different ways to classify all the different types of eczema depending on the cause, the location or the appearance. 

There are different types of Eczema, as a child I suffered from the most common form Atopic Eczema now as an adult I probably also fall into the category of Contact Eczema.  It is often said that you will grow out of Atopic eczema but I don’t feel I ever have.  However you class my eczema I have suffered from it since infancy.

Atopic Eczema is one of the most common type, and is an allergic disease with possible genetic factor that might occur more often in families who suffer from asthma

Eczema can flare up and calm down.  It can be in small patches common in body joints (backs of knees or inside elbows) or over the whole body.  Even when not suffering eczema flare up your skin is dry, itchy and sensitive.  I am fortunate that my eczema is not always visible.  Eczema is not pleasant to look at and I have read on forums that sufferers do encounter negativity from people who do not recognise their skin condition.

When asked what eczema feels like the main characteristic which drives you insane is the itch.  As a child I scratched my skin even when asleep.  9 times out of 10 you scratch so hard you break the skin and draw blood which often leads to infections.  My skin always feels too tight for my body so when you flex an arm you feel like your skin is tearing.  Eczema appears red, flaky and extremely dry.

Other types of eczemas include Discoid Eczema that comes and goes, Venous usually affecting people with blood circulation problems, Xerotic where your skin is so dry it turns into eczema or Contact dermatitis which can be either allergic or irritant from direct contact with something.

In the case of Atopic Eczema, technically, if you avoid the products that make you allergic or irritant, you should be able to cure your eczema. Now of course, with some many allergens in our beauty products, it's very hard to do so, and it's for that precise reason that Sugarpuffish started her blog.

Treatments

All treatment available aim to control the symptoms by reducing inflammation and relieving itching. These can be Steroid creams, unfortunately side effects including the skin becoming thin and fragile but also by their immunosuppressing action, can lead to fungal or bacterial skin infection. These can not be used continually and need to be alternated with other treatments such as moisturizers (emollients). Sugarpuffish give us other possible treatments:

Traditional treatments for eczema are emollients and steroid creams, immunosuppressant, wet wraps and ultraviolet light treatment.  As a child I was smoothed in thick heavy creams morning and evening.  I could not use conventional soaps and shampoos so had prescribed alternatives.  I wore cotton gloves to bed to try and stop me scratching in my sleep.  When I got infections I would be bandaged up like an Egyptian Mummy.

Cause(s) of Eczema

At 10 years old my eczema was dramatically affecting my daily life.  I was in a great deal of pain, because my skin was broken and infected, I developed asthmatic symptoms and was no longer participating in sports at school.  My GP referred me for a Skin Prick Test  which I passed my test with flying colours I was officially allergic to pretty much the entire world – Cats, Dogs, Feathers, Dust Mites, Pollen, Fungus, Milk, Eggs, Citrus Fruits, Yeast, Perfumes and many more.  We left the hospital with a long list and dietary information.  By cutting out what I was allergic to I was virtually free from eczema. 

The cause of Eczema is unfortunately unknown but some research suggest that the answer could be in your genetic profile and/or your environment. Indeed, studies on populations have found that Asthma sufferers, as well as Eczema and other allergic diseases, grew up in a very clean environment such that, combined with a failing immune system, had an increased risk of developing their condition compared to other non sufferers.

Beauty products

About five years ago my eczema broke out severally and I couldn’t understand what had triggered it.  I did research via the internet and started to find articles about chemicals used in beauty products that were possible skin irritants.  It started to make sense all my life I had to avoid certain brands of washing powder, fabric conditioner, soap and shampoo.  I overhauled my beauty cabinet and changed to products made without ingredients that are believed to be skin irritants e.g. SLS, parabens, artificial fragrance, petrochemicals, PEG’s, silicones, DEA, lanolin.  Almost immediately I noticed a change in my eczema and dry skin.  I will never go back to regular beauty products and I urge people with sensitive skin to try natural products and see the difference for themselves.

* SLS = Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, is known in all research labs as SDS.A complete review on SLS and its variants has now been written on Science is So Sexy and is available HERE

* Parabens are used as preservatives for their antibacterial and antifungal actions, so we can keep our creams without them becoming infected. So far, no other component has been as efficient to replace it. Much contraversy has been raised  after extremely low concentrations have been found in breast cancer tumours however more research need to be conducted to confidently link paraben to cancer. Paraben is found naturally in some plants such as blueberries and most parabens used in products have the exact same formula. A complete review has now been written on Science is So Sexy and is now available HERE

While searching for this post, I came across this article with more information about allergies and dermatitis, it also lists terms you might wanna look for when choosing a product, but also about misleading terms listed on products. Of course, checking out Sugarpuffish blog will definitely be an immense and regular source of information for beauty products targeted at people who have a sensitive skin prone to allergies.

I hope you found this post interesting, no doubt we all learnt something, me by preparing it, you by reading it!! Thank you again Sugarpuffish for opening up to us :)

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,