Biophysics- class one- 7/24/19

I know I'm a living system because...

my body is its own biosphere. My lungs are the forests, exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen. My blood forms a network of rivers great and small transporting oxygen and nutrients. My kidneys filter the rivers, removing impurities and conserving electrolytes.  My mitochondria are the power stations that convert molecules into energy. I am host to many living species. The creatures on my skin act like fungi on the forest floor eating dead skin cells. Bacteria in my gut help me digest food and make vital nutrients. My immune system protects the whole thing, while my DNA keep replicating cells until they can't make any more copies, and I expire.

Biophysics and TCM: there are lots of connections, but its the subject of our final paper, and I don't quite know what I'm going to write about yet.

Not sure if this assignment was for chem or biochem but it was on the website so...

 People should still eat healthy food" - do we rely too heavily on supplements to provide antioxidants?

People should absolutely eat healthy food. Food is the building blocks of us, our bodies are literally made out of the food we eat. Out cell membranes are made of phospholipids. Our muscles are protein. Our bones are calcium. We need slow burning carbohydrates to fuel our giant brains. Ideally we would all eat what what was grown locally in accordance with the seasons, so our food would be fresh, containing the greatest amount of nutrients, and be free from pesticides.

"Aspirin a day could dramatically cut cancer risk"  What are your thoughts on this?

Aspirin is a pretty amazing drug, and has been recommended for years to help prevent heart disease and strokes. Its a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. If it decreases the risk of several common cancers I don't see the problem with taking aspirin on a daily basis, unless someone has an allergy, or is at increased risk of GI bleeds. People who can't tolerate aspirin may be able to take an alternative, like turmeric.

In an excerpt from a study I found on pubmed:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12676044

RESULTS:

A large number of studies on curcumin were identified. These included studies on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties of curcuminoids. Studies on the toxicity and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin have included in vitro, animal, and human studies. A phase 1 human trial with 25 subjects using up to 8000 mg of curcumin per day for 3 months found no toxicity from curcumin. Five other human trials using 1125-2500 mg of curcumin per day have also found it to be safe. These human studies have found some evidence of anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin. The laboratory studies have identified a number of different molecules involved in inflammation that are inhibited by curcumin including phospholipase, lipooxygenase, cyclooxygenase 2, leukotrienes, thromboxane, prostaglandins, nitric oxide, collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interferon-inducible protein, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-12 (IL-12).