A recent article published in the New Scientist by Rebecca Summers has once again set the controversial topic of red meats and their suggested links to heart disease alight. Her recent article looked at the link between the nutrient carnitine and the occurrence of atherosclerosis (the thickening of the artery walls) in organisms with high levels of carnitine which occurs in large quantities in red meat and also in energy drinks. An experiment was carried out by Stanley Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute in Ohio on mice and found that there was indeed a link between the amount of carnitine in the body and the occurrence of atherosclerosis, the higher the levels of carnitine the more likely atherosclerosis was to occur. However it was also discovered that this link did not take place when the mice had suppressed gut flora, suggesting that the carnitine was interacting with bacteria in the gut to produce this increase in the chance of atherosclerosis. Review of an article from the 'New Scientist' https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23352-red-meat-boosts-gut-bugs-that-raise-heart-disease-risk/ AtherosclerosisWhat is atherosclerosis:
Atherosclerosis is a condition where the arteries become blocked by fatty substances known as plaques or atheroma. It is potentially serious condition which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. What causes atherosclerosis: A variety of things can cause atherosclerosis such as;
What atherosclerosis does specifically: During atherosclerosis arteries harden and narrow which can be dangerous as restricted blood flow can damage organs such as the brain (causing strokes), or the heart (causing a heart attack). If the plaque in the arteries rupture it can cause blood clots which can again block blood to the organs causing serious damage.
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Aim: Investigation into the effect of temperature on membrane permeability Apparatus:
Method:
Health and Safety:
The below three photos are credited to Henry Gould Analysis of results:
My class and I found that our graphs showed a negative correlation. This means that as the temperature increased, the transmission or percentage of light allowed through the solution decreased (visually this means the solution got darker). This is because more pigment has been leaked from the beetroot into the surrounding solution. This is because the higher temperatures have caused the plasma membrane and tonoplast of the beetroot cells to move around more from the increase in kinetic energy and for some vital membrane proteins to denature allowing more pigment out of the vacuole and then out of the cell. Questions:
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Jack BojanArdingly College Archives
March 2017
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