Toilets in India: The new health initiative

A new social care initiative by the India government has set aside around $20bn (£15bn) for a new health drive. This is to build new public toilets. The BBC has called this ‘a toilet – building frenzy’ which is aimed at stopping people defecating in public.

Currently over half a billion people who live in rural India do not use toilets.

Students wanting to study sociology should think about the cultural implication of why this happens. And how difficult it will be to change social norms and cultural patterns of people to use these toilets even after they are built?

Students wanting to study Medicine or Biology should think about the heath complications that are associated with defecation in public. There are a variety of illnesses which are linked to this behaviour which might be avoided if it were tackled with this new toilet building scheme. Students should look into how these diseases can be carried and spread through this activity.

Furthermore, not only health problems are relevant but also as the BBC comments a variety of social problems ‘including children not going to school and women being assaulted or fearing assault when they go to secluded areas to relieve themselves.’ People living in rural India often have to walk very long distances to reach the right area to defecate which can be dangerous.

Looking into the future, once the initiative has been implemented students wanting to study Law or Politics should think about hypothetically how the use of these toilets could be entrenched into the law more formally through policy making.

A list of the world’s most impressive animals would likely consist of those famed for their strength, like the gorilla or the grizzly bear; those with the ability to live in extreme temperatures, such as the camel or the penguin; and maybe even – given the current global political situation – those that could withstand nuclear radiation, like the cockroach or the Braconidae wasp. Imagine then a creature that fits into all of the above categories, and can survive being boiled, frozen, and dehydrated, as well as radiation and even the vacuum of space. Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are one of nature’s most remarkable creatures, and finally the secrets to their unrivaled survival abilities are being revealed.

A recent study published in the journal PLOS Biology establishes that genetics is the key to the tardigrade’s survival. The tiny creature – fully grown at 0.5mm – has genes which allow it to change its body to survive difficult conditions. For example, in extremely dry conditions, tardigrades will produce proteins to replace the missing water in their cells. This allows them to last without water for years. The scientists also discovered a different set of proteins which can protect tardigrade DNA, possibly explaining how the creatures can survive radiation.

Biomedical Sciences and Medicine applicants should consider how the incredible survival ability of tardigrades could have benefits for humans, such as allowing live vaccines to be transported around the world and stored without refrigeration. Biology students might wish to look further into the genetic make-up of the tardigrade, including its similarities to insects, arachnids, and worms; which of these is it most closely related to? Earth Sciences and Geography applicants could undertake research into the wide range of habitats in which tardigrades live, from mountain peaks to the depths of the ocean, humid rainforests to the icy tundra.

Increasingly in today’s Western society, people want complete control of how they live their lives, yet relatively little is discussed in terms of how people choose to end their lives, and the options they have available to them.

Charities such as Dignitas try to keep this at the forefront of debate, especially with so many “developed” countries, including the UK, still considering assisted suicide and euthanasia to be a criminal offence.  In March of this year, they went one step further than ever before- releasing a virtual reality whereby a person can “experience” what being at a clinic would involve, and, ultimately, have control of their virtual self, either opting for death, or choosing to live.  This was developed as a result of debate as to whether patients admitting themselves to an assisted suicide clinic understood what irreversible steps they would be undertaking.  Whilst this may seem extremely provocative and unsettling, it could ultimately be an essential resource for those with life-limiting and terminal conditions who decide that this is the path they wish to follow.

There are, however, other factions of society to consider.  With the recent death of Ian Brady in the UK, and J.W. Ledford Jr. in Georgia, the debates around not just the death penalty, but assisted suicide have been reopened.  There are obvious social, moral, and cultural implications surrounding these issues.  One interesting point recently with the Ledford Jr. case is the fact that his legal team were seeking for him to be executed by firing squad, as opposed to lethal injection.  This follows a series of studies suggesting that the lethal injection could constitute an inhumane method due to the drug concoction causing the prisoner extreme pain, whilst paralysing them and preventing them from communicating this.  This issue is particularly interesting given the vast discrepancies between US states.

Students who are interested in applying for Medicine might be interested in the moral implications of the death penalty and assisted suicide.  For those interested in Philosophy and Theology, it may be prudent to consider what is meant by “taking a life” and who would be in a position to make that judgment.  Budding lawyers may be interested to consider the role of human rights in these different scenarios, for both criminals and members of society who are knowingly choosing to end their lives prematurely.

A new trend has arisen within health and fitness that focuses around taking a DNA test. This is meant to allow people to find out more about how their individual bodies respond to different types of food and exercise. This niche in the market has been filled by start-ups who can supply mail order genetic tests. Speculation has now arisen to question how accurate and how effective these kits really are.

Of course, like many new areas of research, there are pros and cons to this development that are useful for students to think about. Students that want to study Medicine may want to think about the health implication of this kind of research. On the one hand, it could have positive results if it enables people to find out how to live healthier lives on a more individual basis.

However, on the other hand some scientists have argued that whilst there is still fairly limited information into this area of genetics it is wrong to give people misleading information in the pursuit of making money. Students that study Sociology may want to question the implications that these kind of new areas of research have within society. Are they useful to illuminate class structures and are merely modern day bourgeoisie fads? Or are they being used to manipulate the vulnerable to rinse them of their cash? Basic universal health information (eating more vegetables and drinking more water) is freely available on the internet so why do we need expensive testing kits to qualify this information? PPE  and Economics students might want to look at the way that science and medicine are used by profit-driven organisations. 

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and University of Surrey have now been able to identify early biomarkers of Huntington’s disease, which will help with future scientific developments in this area of research.

Huntington’s disease affects more than 6,700 people in the UK. It is an incurable neurodegenerative disease, with a majority of patients typically dying 10-25 years after diagnosis. Early warning signs of Huntington’s disease have been uncovered in a sheep carrying the human disease-causing genetic variant, providing new insights into this devastating illness.

The findings reveal that Huntington’s disease affects important metabolic processes in the body prior to the appearance of physical symptoms. The identification of these biomarkers may help to track disease in pre-symptomatic patients, and could help researchers develop strategies to remedy the biochemical abnormalities by running more effective clinical trials for therapy.

Applicants to Biological Sciences, Human Sciences, Medicine and Natural Sciences (Biological) could further explore the key role that animals have played in developing cures to human diseases and how biomarkers help to tackle incurable diseases.

Until now, communication has remained impossible for people suffering from complete motor paralysis but intact cognitive and emotional processing, a state called complete locked-in state (CLIS). That could be about to change due to a study conducted by scientists in Germany.

The patients all had advanced forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in which the brain loses the ability to control muscles. Sufferers of this condition are able to think, but incapable of moving or talking. The study, published in PLOS Biology has shown that patients have been able to answer basic yes-or-no questions using a brain-computer interface. One respondent was even able to repeatedly refuse permission for his daughter to get married.

Medicine applicants should consider the ways in which the use of brain-computer interfaces may improve the quality of care and quality of life for completely locked-in patients. Applicants to Computer Science may want to think of how brain-computer interfaces could be developed to detect more complicated answers beyond the yes-no binary.

A group of Physics students from the University of Leicester have conducted a study to determine the survival rate of humankind in the event of a viral outbreak akin to a ‘zombie apocalypse’. The students found that, with a 90 percent chance of infection, by the 100^th day of the outbreak there would only be 273 uninfected humans left, outnumbered ‘a million to one by zombies’.

In this hypothetical study, the Physics students used an SIR model to categorise the population into three segments: the infected (Z), those susceptible to infection (S) and those who have either recovered or died (D). The model, used to plot and describe the transmission of disease throughout a given population, enabled the students to calculate the average lifespan of a zombie as being S to Z to D.

In a follow up study, the same students introduced new parameters to substantiate their original study, which painted a more optimistic future for humankind in the event of a zombie takeover. This paper accounts for human survivors being able to kill zombies, as well as their reproduction rate.

A hypothetical study like this one may be a good opportunity for Physics applicants to familiarise themselves with the usage of epidemiological models in studying populations. Medicine and Biomedical Sciences candidates could consider the ways in which contagious diseases are spread and are able to proliferate within a population in a given amount of time.  

A popular practice at work is the sharing and consumption of sugary snacks, ranging from cakes to chocolates and biscuits. Sugar becomes a particularly prolific addition to offices during the holiday season, some may argue, where treats are plentiful and stomachs are full. Dentists and other health experts, however, have warned that snacking on sugary sweets in the office is contributing to unhealthy diets and oral health in the UK.

In addition to recent post-Christmas articles warning office workers to cut down on sugary snacks at work, studies by health experts point out that the regular consumption of sugar has a detrimental effect on productivity and energy levels. Research has also linked the consumption of high-sugar foods to a long-term imbalance in dopamine levels, pre-diabetes as well as other health issues and ailments.

Given these health implications, should it be the responsibility of employers to monitor or restrict workplace sugar consumption? How can we change the work culture surrounding the sharing of sugary snacks? Why is it important to consider the health implications of practices that take place at work?

Applicants for Medicine and Biomedicine may want to consider the ways in which social habits in the workplace effect our health and whether the medical community can have an impact on generating public medical knowledge to combat them. Candidates interested in Biological Sciences and Natural Sciences (B) may want to think about the ways in which sugar effect the body in the long and short term, as well as insulin production in the pancreas.

Despite being an increasingly common affliction, affecting 38 million Americans, the cause of migraines has never quite been solved. Doctors have understood that certain factors such as chocolate, wine and processed meat can trigger migraines, but they have never known why.

However, recently a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego have analysed oral and stool samples from roughly 2,200 individuals and discovered that those who suffered the most from migraines have a higher level of microbes which are known to alter nitrates from certain foods into migraine-inducing chemicals.

Nitrates are found in foods such as wine, chocolate, processed meat and even green vegetables. They consist of a nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Some bacteria that live in our mouths break down these nitrates for fuel, and in doing so remove one of the oxygen atoms from the nitrate, resulting in a chemical called a nitrite. On entering the bloodstream, these nitrites can be converted into nitric oxide (only one oxygen atom). Nitric oxide has been linked to migraines and other tension headaches. Thus, in theory, migraine suffers should avoid nitrate-rich food. However, the researchers have speculated that the nitrites produced by the microbes may also benefit us by improving our heart health. In fact, may patients with heart failure are prescribed nitrites to regulate conditions and will endure the side-effects of migraines.

Applicants for Biological Sciences, Biomedicine and Medicine, should look in more depth about the research into the causes of migraines and the other effects that microbes can have on our health and body. Chemistry and Biochemistry students should investigate the chemical reaction that causes the change from nitrate to nitrite to nitric acid, and other similar chemical processes that happen in the body.

After performance enhancing drugs were almost eradicated from baseball in the early 2000s, far fewer people were hitting home runs – but this trend has reversed.

Research from Penn State University looked in to the trend of baseball players skewing increasingly heavier than in previous decades. Using self-reported heights and weights, researchers found that 70% of players between 1991 and 2015 had BMIs that classified them as overweight or obese, but before this, the average was between 30 and 40%.

Biological Sciences and Medicine applicants should note the flaw with using BMI as a measure of obesity, as by itself, you cannot determine the distribution of muscle versus fat. Nevertheless, it does make logical sense that a heavier weight behind a hit will lead to the ball being propelled further.

Physics students will be familiar with the formula k=(1/2)mv²  where m is the mass of the system and v is the velocity. In theory, a heavier batter will therefore hit the ball further than a smaller man with the same strength. However, there are many variables to consider including momentum and power which Natural Sciences (P) and Mathematics applicants would do well to investigate further.