What can Saliva do?

In science class, we have to do termly magazine reviews. You have to find a magazine article based on anything in science, and write an essay about it. Today when I was typing my report, the article I found was quite interesting to me. It describes how saliva can effect wounds. My essay below is based off the actual article by Karen Wright. It is in order in paragraphs: introduction, summary, opinion, supporting opinion, and conclusion. I hope you enjoy!

Why Wound-Licking Works
Article written by: Karen Wright
Summary below written by: Mieko

You accidentally slide your finger on a sharp corner. Before you know it, your thumb has blood spilling out the side and a pierce of pain shoots through your finger. You squeeze your finger in agony and you desperately run it under some hot water as you look for a band-aid to wrap it in. Would the thought ever run through your mind to lick the wound better? Why would you want to?

According to scientists, your human saliva has healing ability. In the past, it has always been suspected that saliva may be able to heal wounds because any cuts or sores in the mouth heal the quickest and rarely leave scars. Your saliva has simple proteins called histatins that can get rid of and heal infections. Biochemist Menno Oudhoff discovered that histatins have an element in them that closes the skin wound preventing it from any more exposure from infecting bacteria as well. They tested the theory on a needle scratch with the histatins, and the wound healed twice as quicker as it normally would.

I am fascinated by the discovery of the Dutch scientists. I think that this discovery can help greatly for people all over the world. This piece of information is very valuable. The only problem I find is, If you were to actually lick your open wound, wouldn’t you be opening your tongue to the bacterial that infected the wound itself? Are you not supposed to actually lick your skin but just get some of your saliva and apply it to the wound?

Lets say, that you cut your finger across a sharp corner such as in my introduction example. This break through could help in my opinion because you are killing the infection. If you use your saliva, you are closing the wound up so no more bacteria can affect it and you are also making it heal twice as fast as normal. I also have some doubts about this idea. If you literally lick your wound, won’t you be infecting your tongue itself by putting the bacteria from the wound, on your tongue?

So as you can see, saliva is more useful than most people would expect. It can heal wounds at great speed and can help people all over the world. I think I will personally try this scientific break though out myself. How can you put this plan in action? Next time you get a paper cut, lick it better.

TRY THIS OUT, IF YOU DARE! :P

Living Things

I'm sorry this post is sort of late. I just started working and I have been sort of busy. This is not really a forgivable excuse, but I will try to get all the rest of my blogs in on time. Thanks. :)

Have you ever wandered off deep into your mind, and wondered if there are other living things out there? Have you ever thought life may exist beyond earth? I know I have. Myself being Christian, (I'm not saying you have to to believe along these lines) I think that God wouldn't just create one, single planet. Why would there just be one single planet capable of life?

We might never be able to discover other planets that can contain life forms, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they cannot exist. We only know of eight planets that revolve around one single star. When you look up at the stars at night in the cool breeze, and you see how many are spread across the sky, don't you think that in even maybe one of those solar systems, there might be at least one other planet similar to earth, that organisms evolved into creatures that are as intelligent or even more than we are?

I am not saying, however, that a planet that contains life has to be like earth. When organisms first formed on our planet, they adapted did they not? Why couldn't organisms adapt to another planet with different resources?

There might even be a chance that organisms or living things out there have thought the same thing about the existence of us. They might even of been able to of created a break in technology that we will not discover for decades. The might be able to have successful space travel and be able to leave their galaxy. If such things exist, they might of been able to explore our galaxy, they maybe even have soared above our planet and explored it for a while.

Just thinking... ;)

What Happened in Vegas :)

You are drowning in heat in the steaming car with nothing to do for six, long, painful hours. The water is warm, the air conditioner broke, the cookies you have been snacking on for the last two hours are starting to get bland. You try looking at the scenery, but all around you is a few mountains and a straight road for the next 100 miles or so. Why would you do this? There is an excitement waiting for you up ahead. It is filled of so much excitement and relaxation from your normal life so you crave the fun. You are willing to waste six hours get there. What is waiting for you? A large, large city is waiting for you. A place so careless, you have no worries. To sum it all up into one word, I call this place: Vegas! :) :) :)

This is just a picture I took the night we got there. I'm sorry that some of the pictures are blurry. I was trying to keep up with my sister and my parents in the crowd while trying to take pictures at the same time.

We finally reached it. It was about ten o'clock at night and my sister and I could hardly contain ourselves in the tiny Subaru. As we looked across the horizon is was just one large belt of lights set across the ground. As we drove into the city, my parents pointed out our hotel, It was huge! I couldn't help but smile and laugh. The journey was over.

Our hotel the Mirage

Our room was very nice. There was a television on the wall across from the two queen beds around 1 1/2 ft by 2ft. We had one window that viewed the whole pool and much of Vegas and its hotels and restaurants. At night, the view was even more incredible. The bathroom had granite counter tops and the showers water was very soft and comforting. The only thing I disliked about the hotel room is that it was not very large.

Every morning, my sister and I would go swimming in the pool for a while and then as a family we would go exploring Las Vegas.

This is the pool and the only picture I

didn't take out of all these.

It is pretty impressive pool huh?

http://www.amazinglasvegas.com/hotel/images/mirage_pool.jpg

At our hotel, they had a popular event going on. It is called Siegfried & Roy: The Secret Garden.

As you might know. Siegfried and Roy were two men that would raise tigers and other wild cats from babies and do illusionist acts and magic tricks at the Mirage. They don't do them anymore because on one act, one of the famous men got attacked by his own tiger he had raised as a child. He got so badly injured they had to retire. The entrance fee was fifteen dollars and in the place of the event, we didn't just get to see leopards, lamas, and tigers, but we also got to see some dolphin training.

Here is a picture of a statue of the

two men and a tiger that I took.

On the last night we were there, we went to the Belagio to go get gelato (Italian ice cream). It was just as amazing, creamy, and irresistible as it was last time we got it when we were in Vegas. We went exploring around the Belagio after we had our treat and entered this room that has very unique features. It had roses everywhere, and butterfly models and flowers hanging from the ceiling. There also was a glass room with beautiful moths and butterflies soaring around inside them.

This was one of the butterflies that was inside the sealed glass room.

Here are some of the butterflies hanging from the ceiling.

The Beligo is a beautiful hotel and I definitely recommend you visit there if you ever go on a vacation to Las Vegas.



We walked outside the Belagio and there is a large body of water of a balcony. Every night they have water shows when water shoots out of these pipes under the body of water in unique and beautiful way. It is strangely entertaining.

I tried to catch a picture of when the

water was shooting at its highest.

The picture turned out pretty neat

in my opinion.

I hoped you enjoyed my story of my trip to Vegas!

Just the little things in life that make days great......

Yesterday was the best day I have had all week. It seemed that everything was going my way.

It all started by going to school. I was really exited for the day to be through with because when it was, I would be free from school for another week! For school lunch they served shrimp poppers, potatoes, and chocolate pudding. Usually school lunch is revolting, but this is my favorite lunch! The line went by very quick and when I sat down with my friends, they gave me a strawberry frosting covered cookie! It was amazing! =P

After lunch, the rest of school went through quickly! Before I knew it, IT WAS SPRING BREAK!!
My parents were late on picking me up for some "special" reason the would not tell me about. During this time I was hanging with my friends Emma and Angela, that I haven't seen for ages! We had a blast even though we only got to be together for around twenty minutes.

My dad announced that he had arrived so I walked to the front of the school. There he sat with a shiny new Nissan! It actually was a few years old but we desperately needed a car and this one was in incredible shape! It was silver and the sun reflected off it and made it shine beautifully. The inside didn't have any stains on the part of it that had a carpet like texture. It did, however, have one hundred thousand miles on it! That didn't matter too much because it was an automatic. My sister and I needed that feature for when we drive and the two other cars we have are Subaru and both stick shifts. My sister is sixteen and will get her licence soon. She is terrible at driving stick shifts, but she can drive automatics amazingly. Anyway, we drove home and I enjoyed how smoothly the car moved.

I got home, heated up some hamburger helper, and got dressed for dance class.

I have a beginners jazz class that I go to every Friday. I usually have the most trouble on my turns. Yesterday, however, I was doing them great! I felt so accomplished and talented. It was only a small improvement but it made me feel great.

After the class got out, I went over to my friend Mindys house. After we were at her house for a while, we went over to a girl named Sierra's house. The three of us were just planning to just hang out, but it ended up with three more people. Mindy's friend Alex texted her and asked her if she wanted to hang out so he came over and brought his friend Adam. Then my friend Ethan called me and I gave him directions to Sierra's house too. We all had a blast in Sierra's room as Ethan played the gutiar and we sat and talked for the whole time.

Well that was my Friday and the best day of my week! :)