Freshers Week 2010 announced

The Students’ Union has announced a fun packed week for 2010 Freshers including Seafront Festivals, Welcome Weekend Parties, Live Music, Parties on the Pier, Club Nights, Headline Acts, Barn Dances and much much more… making sure there is something for everyone to get involved in this Freshers.

The Students’ Union has also launched the Freshers Week gold ticket – a wristband that will get you into all the main Freshers events for only Read more

Overriding your desire for fat

England, for all its independence catches a cold when the US sneezes. From economy to culture, England absorbs elements of its ally over the pond. Obesity in the US has increased yearly for the last 15 years to the point where 64% of the adult population is overweight, and just over a quarter are clinically obese. In comparison, in England 46% of men, and 32% of women are overweight with a further 17% of men and 21% of women being obese. These numbers are a damning insight into the lifestyle and diet of the nation in the modern world. What is happening to our bodies? Maybe the biochemistry of obesity might shine a light on the situation.

One pound of human fat is the equivalent to 3500 calories, or 7 large milkshakes at McDonalds. In mathematical terms, one could assume that if I were to increase my milkshake intake by 2 a week, in less than a month I’d gain a lb of fat. However, this isn’t biologically correct. The body has the capacity to match our energy output, such as exercise and our basal metabolic rate, to our energy input, our diet.  In a normal situation your body will work hard to keep your body fat within a certain healthy range. A Cambridge study from 1992 shows exactly that; two groups of volunteers were split into “overweight” and “lean”, and both groups made to eat 50% more calories than their daily needs for 6 weeks in controlled conditions. Unsurprisingly, both groups underwent excessive weight gain, predominately fat. After these 6 weeks, both groups were then asked to return to normal eating habits. Lo and behold, both groups lost a significant amount (61%) of the fat mass they had accumulated, telling evidence that the body has no desire to keep body fat high. So how has it gone so wrong?

A biochemical malfunction may give an interesting insight into how we can override our body’s natural desire for limited fat. Adipose tissue (tissue composed of fat cells) is part of the endocrine (hormone producing) system, not just a bit of blubber. One of the hormones it produces, leptin, is essential for fat regulation. Leptin has a number of fat burning physiological effects, from decreasing appetite to triggering fat breakdown. This is the body’s fat feedback system, so the more adipose cells, the more leptin you have in the body and hopefully the more fat burning, keeping the body in a nice equilibrium. Consider mice with the leptin gene knocked-out become vastly overweight due to uncontrolled eating as good evidence.

Leptin’s main site of action is in the hypothalamus, located in the brain just above the brain stem. Upon leptin binding, it controls energy expenditure, appetite and insulin sensitivity (the more insulin sensitive you are, the less insulin required to lower blood sugar and therefore less fat gain). Furthermore, it has been shown in rats and mice that leptin resistance in the hypothalamus causes obesity; it is very likely that this is true of humans as well. So what causes leptin resistance? There are a number of probable causes, two of which look interesting. Firstly, hypothalamus inflammation appears to stop leptin from working and secondly, not enough leptin passing into the brain. These are not mutually exclusive, but what is causing this? A genetic cause is very unlikely for the vast majority of cases because of the sheer numbers of overweight and obese people, so there must be another cause. This cause must be relatively new to humans since such widespread obesity is a very new human phenomenon.

The standout candidate for this would be the shift of our diet. Recent diet changes such as an increased intake of processed carbohydrates (like refined sugar and fructose syrup); decreases in our fibre intake and not enough vitamins in our diet – which can cause abnormal “friendly” bacteria growth and an increase in gut permeability. Both of which appear to increase the number of inflammatory agents in the body, which in turn may lead to hypothalamus inflammation.

The quality of our food has taken a turn for the worse as well; along with the terrible refined sugars which litter our food, we have terrible quality fats. Less omega-3 fatty acids and more processed omega-6s have lead to an imbalance in the ratio. There are a number of studies which show that omega-3 deficiencies lead to leptin resistance, and diets with high omega-3, even with plenty of other fat, show decreases in leptin resistance. There is a link between the two; humans on the whole have moved away from what is arguably our natural diet. Lots of fruit, vegetables, protein and natural food sources. We have started to treat our bodies as rubbish bins rather than organic beings.

What of the future? Obesity is still rising in England, despite the best efforts of the healthcare system and TV chefs. Education is the only way to stop this. Gastric bypasses, pharmaceutical drugs like Alli, and fad diets will have no significant beneficial effect. People need to learn to eat again, head back towards the natural diet of our species and care for themselves. Fruit and vegetables aren’t expensive, so next Tuesday pick-up a few more apples and carrots at the market.

The Monty Hall Paradox

Predictable is the look on people’s faces when I tell them I am reading mathematics. You see, to them mathematics only ever represented an irrepressible demon, something akin to a chore rather than a passion. Mathematics is a labyrinth of challenges and puzzles, dedicated towards achieving the utmost in perfection.

An example of this inexplicable passion concerns the problem known as the Monty Hall Paradox. The problem goes something like this; suppose that you’re on a game show given a choice of three doors. Behind one door is a car, behind the other two, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1; the host, who knows whats behind every door),opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then offers you the option to switch your choice to door No. 2. Is it in your advantage to switch your choice?

Now, whilst this problem is very interesting mathematically, the response when it was published in Parade magazine in 1990 is equally as interesting. No less than 10000 readers, including nearly 1000 with PhD’s, wrote to the magazine claiming the solution was wrong.

This question often catches people out, as most people assume each remaining door has equal probability, since the player cannot be certain which is the winning door. In actual fact, the player should switch, as doing so doubles the chance of winning from 1/3 to 2/3.  Consider each of the situations when the door you choose contains the car, or the first goat or the second goat respectively (the number you choose is immaterial, since the probabilities remain the same regardless).  If you choose the car (with probability 1/3), the host will reveal the remaining goat, and switching will make you lose. However, if you choose a goat (with probability 2/3), the host MUST reveal the other goat, hence, switching will always get you the car. Switching doors wins the car with a probability of 2/3, and so the player should always switch.

Those writing to Parade were not some students with half an understanding of statistics, they were highly esteemed experts in their field, misunderstanding what is, in effect basic variable change. But so passionate were they about their subject, and what they deemed to be an egregious slight to their profession, that they were willing to risk their reputations on what is only a very simple problem. Such passion for a subject is what to me makes mathematics so interesting. Even in the simplest of situations, people will do whatever it takes to put forward their case. And why would we want it any other way.

Imagination in the subconscious dusk

(Photo: Geff H)

If only we could hypnotize ourselves into studying for exams instead of surfing through random websites. The strange thing is – we do. Hypnosis is a strange phenomenon that scientists still can’t explain, which may be a good thing considering the power one would wield with such knowledge. Psychiatrists have however, broken down pieces of the puzzle to explain what may be happening. Hypnosis is a combination of heightened imagination, suggestibility, and relaxation; much like day dreaming. So when you are pouring over existential philosophy, and you’re able to forget about the test in 12 hours, that is actually a form of hypnosis. The common theory of how hypnosis works has to do with the power struggles of the conscious and subconscious mind. When you read, the process of identifying letters, putting them into words, and going from one sentence to the next is subconscious. Thoughts on reasons to not kill yourself, brought on by Sartre’s essays, are conscious. If they aren’t you aren’t doing a very good job of reading. Psychiatrists theorize that the deep relaxation and focusing exercises of hypnotism work to calm and subdue the conscious mind so that it takes a less active role in your thinking process. In this state, you’re still aware of what’s going on, but your conscious mind takes a back seat to your subconscious mind. Effectively, this allows you and the hypnotist to work directly with the subconscious. Your subconscious mind does not filter through things as logically as the conscious. It is a lot like a kid, open to bizarre interpretations and easier to subdue with imaginative media.

Think back to when you were four, and you actually thought that when you grew up you would be a mermaid, or a dragon slayer. When one gets lost in thought, this is similar to someone in a hypnotic trance. Your subconscious mind reacts instantly to commands, because one is not thinking through every aspect; such as how exactly you plan on turning your legs into a tail, or the possibility of getting hurt fighting a 30 foot beast. However, due to your survival instinct, there are certain things like hurting someone else, or performing weird deeds in hypnosex, that cannot be forced. This fact isn’t usually made clear, creating a stigma for those into hypnosis. However, since the subconscious directs your sensory apparatus and your emotions; causing someone to feel cold or feel as though they are in love is possible. This is also where all your memories are stored. Psychiatrists sometime use this method to trigger repressed feelings. However, it can also be possible, to create false memories. There are many physiological signs that prove that hypnosis isn’t a large joke, like the Ouiji Board (see the ideomotor effect). Studies of the cerebral cortex have shown that there is a decrease in left hemisphere activity, while activity in the right hemisphere often increased during hypnosis. Neurologists believe that the left hemisphere of the cortex is the logical control center of the brain; it operates on deduction, reasoning and convention. The right hemisphere, in contrast, controls imagination and creativity. An examination of the electrical rhythms produced through frequency waves also show signs similar to intense relaxation, but not of sleep.

The hard part in all of this is actually getting one into this state. Three criteria need to be met, in order to make this possible. The subject must want to be hypnotized, the subject must believe he or she can be hypnotized and the subject must eventually feel comfortable and relaxed (this is also the trick to studying well). Once these prerequisites are in place there are three common methods of inducing a hypnotic state. The first is eye fixation, in which one is so focused on a moving object (not on whether they will be hypnotized or not) to the point that one actually goes into deep relaxation. This however, does not work on most people. The second method is harsh commands. When the pressure from these commands is actually induced to a point that the person gives in, one surrenders conscious control. Other forms are similar to one going to sleep, but with a second party giving you commands that you follow. Finally, a method causing one to rock back and forth creates a loss of balance. This form of being induced into strong relaxation can be felt on some twirling rides, and is similar to how adults put their babies to sleep. Due to the many physical and conscious obstacles with hypnosis, reprogramming one to stop smoking usually fails. Although hypnosis seems too good to be true, the fact is that it is simply a trance, of the same type that one falls into during intense studying, and is fragile as such.

Questions, comments and corrections can be sent to sabeen.sidiqui@yahoo.com

Campus creperie fights closure by university

The Coffee Workshop creperie in Richmond building is fighting to remain open after being threatened with closure by the University of Sussex as part of the restructuring and centralisation of catering facilities on campus.

The café’s managers, Judy Bow and Arnold Rose, are challenging the non-renewal of their lease under section 26 of the Landlords and Tenants Act, which gives commercial tenants the right to renew their lease, providing they have not breached the terms of their contract. They are confident that they have a legal claim to stay on the premises, although they have not yet heard back from the university regarding their challenge.

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Vice-chancellor Michael Farthing suggests tuition fees increase to £7,500

The Vice Chancellor at the University of Sussex, Michael Farthing, warned last week that students will have to pay up to £7,500 annually to keep up standards in higher education. This was announced as lecturers carried out a one-day strike on Wednesday 5 May in response to the university’s decision to scrap 112 staff jobs in a bid to reduce spending by £5million.

The independent review of national student fees, known as the Browne Review, was launched on 15 March this year to investigate how student fees might change in the future. It includes consulting students on their priorities for changes to the higher education funding system and student finance.

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University of Sussex accused of “discriminating against disabled students” after breaching equality law

The University of Sussex has allegedly breached legal requirements after failing to consult disabled students before their “proposal for change” to student support services, sparking new conflict between the university and the University of Sussex Students’ Union (USSU).

The new policies include the closure of Unisex, which according to their spokesman, has “nearly 600 students coming through our doors each year”. The USSU claims this “breaching” of requirements is likely to impact negatively on the reported 20 percent of Sussex students who seek student support for disabilities.

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UK launches new sixty-second HIV test in Brighton

Superdrug has become one of the first in the country to offer HIV testing in one of their Brighton stores.
InstiTest, designed to provide a 99.69 percent accurate HIV reading within just 60 seconds, costs £79 and requires only a small  drop of an
individual’s blood to provide a result.
Over a quarter of people living with HIV in the UK don’t realise they have it and almost a third of people are diagnosed late, potentially putting their health at risk.
Increased testing for HIV is essential to improve these statistics and the Brighton and Hove area which has the second highest prevalence of HIV infection after London is a key area for HIV awareness and treatment initiatives.
A volunteer at the campus-based sexual, drug and alcohol advice service UNISEX said that the introduction of  instant HIV tests on the high street could act to “de-stigmatize testing by making it more widely available.”
Concerns have however been raised over the high price of the InstiTest which requires that a registered nurse be present in store to administer the test and to provide sexual health advice and possible referral to an NHS clinic where required.
Though stocking the InstiTest in Superdrug will act to make means of testing more widely available, existing services such as those offered by the Terrance Higgins Trust (THT) and the Claude Nicol Centre are already in place to offer HIV tests for free and in a confidential environment.
Despite this Jason Warriner, Clinical Director of THT said that “it’s vital that everyone who’s been at risk of HIV is diagnosed, so we welcome the move to offer HIV testing on the high street”.
He continued to say that “increasing testing options has an important role to play in managing and eventually reducing the HIV epidemic in the UK.”

University approves scrapping over 100 jobs and cutting £5m next year

Hundreds of students and staff at Sussex are furious at the final decision by university management, made at the council meeting on Friday 26 March, to cut £5 million in the next academic year and to scrap over 100 jobs.

The announcement comes as most students are away from campus for the Easter holidays. According to one student who has recently been protesting against the cuts, this was potentially done in order to “control the opposition from students who have previously protested against management’s finance proposals”.

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University of Sussex Deputy VC Paul Layzell announces resignation

On Friday 19 March it was announced that Deputy Vice-Chancellor Paul Layzell is to leave his position at the University of Sussex after accepting his new role of principal at Royal Holloway, which he will begin mid-August. 

According to Vice-Chancellor Michael Farthing, Layzell was the “driving force” behind the creation of the strategic plan ‘Making the Future’. This led to the highly-contentious proposed cuts to spending, and staff redundancies, which angered many Sussex students and staff alike. Reaction to Layzell’s plans included the student occupation of Bramber House and Sussex House, both of which attracted attention from across the country. 

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