"Helix Affinity" Podcast - HGH Hormone (Sochi Olympics Special) (Audio + Transcript)

3 types of chemical pathways

  Hey guys, here's the link to my podcast on HGH growth hormone if you want to listen. Below is the transcript, thanks for the support!

"Hey guys, welcome to another episode of 'Helix Affinity' podcast, and I’m your host Andy. And today, to celebrate the Sochi Winter Olympics, and continue our topic of the endocrine system, we will be talking about a hormone that can improve the performance of athletes, which is HGH, the Human Growth Hormone.

 This is a peptide water-soluble hormone that is responsible for cell regeneration, reproduction and growth of bones, muscles and other tissues. It is produced on the anterior pituitary gland in endocrine system.

 To understand how this hormone works, it is important to understand what “chemical pathway” means.

 The chemical pathway is a bio-chemical reaction that occurs in a cell. Photosynthesis, cell respiration, these reactions are both chemical pathways. So the pathway begins with a receptor that detects the stimulus and send the information to a control center, and the control center would send out a signal that directs at the target cell.     

 In the endocrine and neuroendocrine, two major types of chemical pathways, that signal would be the hormone. So, how exactly does the HGH work?

 The Growth Hormone has two types of effects. The first effect would be direct effect that the hormone binds the receptor on the target cells. An example would be adipocytes, the fat cells. With growth hormone receptors on the cells, HGH would stimulate the receptors to suppress the cell’s ability to accumulate lipids by breaking down triglycerides.

 Another effect of Growth Hormone would be indirect effect, that the hormone travels to the liver and induces the production of IGF-1, the insulin-like growth factor that creates a negative loop to stimulate amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in muscles and other tissues.

 The IGF-1 also takes part in the regulatory system of HGH, that high amount of IGF-1 stimulates the secretion of somatostatin, the inhibitor of HGH. Another regulator would be GHRH, the information of hormone that stimulates the production of HGH.

 So at this point you may wonder, what’s the difference between growth hormone and steroids? First of all, HGH is not for medical use, since it’s already in your body, while steroid is. Also, HGH is easier to absorb than steroids. It is not addictive, and has no side effects.

 With these characters, HGH is often revered as “fountain of youth”, but it is still restricted in the Olympics. Growth hormone injections have been used by athletes since 1982, and they are still banned by IOC and NCAA.

 Since the traditional urine test could not detect HGH, the law wasn’t enacted until early 2000s, when a new blood test found the difference between natural and artificial HGH. Finally, the blood test was first used in 2004 Olympics Games in Athens, Greece.

 Thank you for listening to the Olympic special episode of 'Helix Affinity', and we’ll see you next week, stay healthy. "

Feedback Loop of HGH hormone

Works Cited:

Bowen, R. "Growth Hormone." Growth Hormone. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Retrieved from URL: http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/hypopit/gh.html

"Steroids Forum: HGH & Peptides/rHGH/A Basic Guide to Human Growth Hormone."Steroids Forum: HGH & Peptides/rHGH/A Basic Guide to Human Growth Hormone. N.p., 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Retrieved from URL: http://www.eroids.com/forum/hgh-peptides/rhgh/a-basic-guide-to-human-growth-hormone

"HGH (Human Growth Hormone): Uses and Side Effects." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Retrieved from URL: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/human-growth-hormone-hgh

Background Music: Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk

- Andy Liu '15

Unit 7 Lab Report #1: The Reactions of Gelatin With Pineapple Enzymes in Different Heat Conditions

  Andy Liu
  Honors Biology - A
  Mr. Quick

  ABSTRACT
   For the lab, we tested the combination of strawberry-flavored jell-O with canned and fresh vegetables to see how will the change in enzymes affect their reactions with the protein. Since the canned pineapples have been heated, it will affect the enzyme activities by turning off its active sites. Because of the closed active sites, the substrates will not be able to enter enzymes for reaction. Therefore, the Jell-O would not react with inactive enzymes in canned pineapples, and eventually becomes solid. 

 INTRODUCTION
  The role of enzymes in the digestive system is to accelerate the reactions of substrates and lower the active energy barrier. To achieve that, the enzymes allow the substrate into its active sites. The active sites of the enzymes will act as a template for substrate orientation, stabilize the transition state of the substrates, provide a favorable micro-environment, and directly participate in the catalytic reaction. In the specific situation between pineapples and Jell-Os, the proteases in bromelain, which is a chemical in the pineapple, will break the collagen bonds in Jell-O, and stop the Jell-O from forming a solid state. (Source) However, do different conditions of pineapples affect the resulting form of the Jell-O?

 HYPOTHESIS
  We hypothesized that the Jell-O with canned pineapples and the Jell-O without pineapples will change their states to solid, while the Jell-O with fresh pineapples remains liquid. 

The box cover of Jell-O with instructions

 MATERIALS
1. 3 empty petri dishes
2. A water beaker
3. Strawberry-flavored Jell-O powder (6.6 grams)
4. Canned and fresh pineapples, and each type has 6 pieces in the same size (26 grams for each type)
5. A boiling plate
6. 78.8 ml of water
7. Tapes and markers
8. A stirring stick

 PROCEDURE
 We began the lab by making strawberry-flavored Jell-O:
   At first, we heated 39.4 ml water by using the boiling plate, and we put 6.6 grams Jell-O powder in the beaker. Then we poured the boiling water into the beaker, and we stirred the water with the powder until the powder is completely dissolved. Later, we added another 39.4 ml cold water to the jello, and stirred the jello mix again until the water is fully mixed. 
  After we finished making the Jell-O mix, we put the mix in 3 petri dishes, and each dish should have the same amount of Jell-O. To finish the process, we put 26 grams of fresh pineapples, the independent variable, in one dish, and 26 grams of canned pineapples in another one. We put our names on the petri dishes with tapes and markers, and we kept them in the room for two days until we return to check the result. 

Results of our lab

RESULT
  As a result, the Jell-O dish without pineapples and the Jell-O with canned pineapples have both changed to a solid state. However, the Jell-O dish with fresh pineapples is still in liquid state.

CONCLUSION
  The result of our lab proved our hypothesis correct. The Jell-O with fresh pineapples didn't become solid because the collagen bond in Jell-O or other gelatins will be broken by going the reaction process with digestive enzymes in pineapples. Since the room temperature is comfortable for the pineapple enzymes, the collagen can easily enter the active site and react with them. However, we could have achieved more in this lab by using different fruits or different temperature, and a possible error in the lab would be the limited time to wait for the jell-O to form before we check the result. 

WORKS CITED
  Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Pineapple and Jell-O." About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb.   2014.