Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Sex and Bones
No, not that kind of bones! Perverts.
A couple weeks ago, we learned about magnesium's effects on bone density. Now, more research has found a novel mechanism which may help predict, diagnose, and someday treat osteoporosis. It turns out that the CB2 receptor seems to be involved in regulating bone density. CB2 is the mysterious sibling of CB1, the receptor where THC (that's the active ingredient in marijuana) acts. CB1 is fairly well characterized, but CB2 is still mostly a mystery. I wonder how they are related.
(insert clever segue here)
Baylor researchers are working on a new type of HIV vaccine, one which they hope will be more successful than previous attempts. The new vaccine blocks SOCS1, which normally acts as a sort of immune system 'brake,' thereby increasing immune response to the vaccine. I don't really understand how this works, and would love to learn.
Speaking of learning, that's what teens don't seem to do about STDs until it's too late. A new study indicates that kids aren't aware of much of anything about STDs, except HIV/AIDS, until they're told by their doctors that they have one. Is this a result of faith-based sex ed? Probably. It's probably also due to the way sex ed is taught, even when it is: as a scare tactic. Teenagers just zone out when adults talk down to them, so it's no shock that they miss this stuff.
A couple weeks ago, we learned about magnesium's effects on bone density. Now, more research has found a novel mechanism which may help predict, diagnose, and someday treat osteoporosis. It turns out that the CB2 receptor seems to be involved in regulating bone density. CB2 is the mysterious sibling of CB1, the receptor where THC (that's the active ingredient in marijuana) acts. CB1 is fairly well characterized, but CB2 is still mostly a mystery. I wonder how they are related.
(insert clever segue here)
Baylor researchers are working on a new type of HIV vaccine, one which they hope will be more successful than previous attempts. The new vaccine blocks SOCS1, which normally acts as a sort of immune system 'brake,' thereby increasing immune response to the vaccine. I don't really understand how this works, and would love to learn.
Speaking of learning, that's what teens don't seem to do about STDs until it's too late. A new study indicates that kids aren't aware of much of anything about STDs, except HIV/AIDS, until they're told by their doctors that they have one. Is this a result of faith-based sex ed? Probably. It's probably also due to the way sex ed is taught, even when it is: as a scare tactic. Teenagers just zone out when adults talk down to them, so it's no shock that they miss this stuff.
