A. Drug Withdrawal: Not As Bad
As You Think
Narrator: This is Science Today.
Psychiatrist Marc Schuckit of the University of
California, San Diego has written a book called
Educating Yourself About Alcohol and Drugs. It's
directed at people who think they or someone close
to them might have a drug or alcohol problem. Schuckit
says many people are scared of drug treatment programs
because they're scared of withdrawal -- but those
fears are exaggerated.
Schuckit: The vast majority of
drugs do not cause a serious withdrawal syndrome
or an abstinence syndrome when you stop.
Narrator: Only three classes of
drugs cause withdrawal: stimulants like amphetamines
and cocaine, opiates like codeine and heroin, and
depressants like sleeping pills and alcohol. Schuckit
says withdrawing from any of those drugs is not
the nightmare portrayed in fiction.
Schuckit: So one of the things
the book can teach you is don't be so fearful that
if you go into treatment you're going to go into
terrible withdrawal. Most people, A, are not taking
drugs that cause withdrawal and B, if they are taking
one of those three categories of drugs, the withdrawal
is fairly mild and usually fairly easy to treat.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm
Steve Tokar.
B. Type 2 Diabetes: Treatable
and Preventable
Narrator: This is Science Today.
Diabetes consumes one out of seven health care dollars
in the United States. The vast majority of diabetics
are Type 2. Unlike Type 1's, their bodies make insulin,
which is essential for life, but a muscle defect
prevents them from using it efficiently. Dr. Robert
Henry of the University of California, San Diego
says Type 2 diabetes is often preventable.
Henry: We clearly know that Type
2 diabetes can be markedly improved and perhaps
prevented by a proper diet and an exercise regimen.
Those are the two most important features of this
disease, in contrast to many other diseases that
are not amenable to changes in lifestyle.
Narrator: Henry says the most
important thing for a Type 2 diabetic is not to
become obese. He points out that losing even five
or ten pounds will make a dramatic difference and
may delay the progression of the disease.
Henry: Exercise helps in two ways.
One, it consumes calories and improves the sensitivity
of the muscle. But in addition it allows and it
increases the likelihood that one will be able to
keep weight off.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm
Steve Tokar
C. A Cure for Remembering Too
Well
Narrator: This is Science Today.
Researcher Larry Cahill of the University of California,
Irvine was on the team that discovered one reason
that you remember some things better than others:
during emotional or important events, your body
releases adrenaline, which somehow boosts memory.
Cahill: There's two immediate
clear practical applications of this work. The first
is for people who aren't remembering well enough.
The second is for people who are remembering too
well.
Narrator: Cahill says it might
be quite possible to boost the adrenal systems of
people with impaired memories.
Cahill: A second implication which
I think is more immediate and which we're working
on right now is for people who have suffered through
traumatic events, which has created memories that
are too good, memories that are too strong, memories
that incapacitate them and won't go away.
Narrator: In other words, people
with post-traumatic stress disorder. Cahill and
his fellow researchers are working on ways to prevent
the formation of traumatic memories by blocking
the adrenal system as soon as possible after a traumatic
event. For Science Today, I'm Steve Tokar.
D. A Big Bag of Scientific
Tricks
Narrator: This is Science Today.
To look at the details of a molecule or a planet,
scientists use visual models. 3-D computer models
are quite popular, but these days you can make a
solid model you can hold in your hand, which is
especially useful for figuring out how things like
enzymes and viruses hook up with each other. Mike
Bailey is a scientific visualization expert at the
University of California, San Diego.
Bailey: The solid model is not
better than computer graphics in all cases. Scientific
visualization really is a big bag of tricks, and
when you've got data to gain insight to you start
reaching into your bag, and sometimes a 2-D x/y
plot is the best thing and sometimes a solid model
is and sometimes 3-D graphics is, or some combination.
Narrator: The advantage of 3-D
is that you can change it quickly to reflect new
information. You can also add color and texture.
Nonetheless, handling a physical model somehow gives
scientists new insights that other methods don't.
Bailey: And if we can figure that
out, then we'd like to try and somehow get that
back into the graphics displays to improve the quality
of the graphics displays.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm
Steve Tokar
E. When Is DNA Testing Valid?
Narrator: When is DNA testing
valid? This is Science Today. More and more criminal
cases hinge on whether a suspect's DNA matches a
sample found at the scene of the crime. Criminologist
William Thompson of the University of California,
Irvine says DNA testing can be a powerful tool,
but it can also be misused by the prosecution.
Thompson: What troubles me is
the misleading way that DNA evidence is sometimes
presented to juries. Juries hear numbers like one
in a billion or one in a trillion, they're led to
believe that that is the number they should consider
when deciding how much weight to give to the evidence,
and I think there's every indication that they give
it a great deal of weight unless the defense does
a good job attacking it.
Narrator: Thompson says defense
attorneys should be more aware of when to question
DNA test results. Sometimes a match might not be
a match. Sometimes a sample might have been contaminated.
Thompson: None of these things
prove that the test is wrong, but they're red flags,
if you will, that to my way of thinking aren't heeded
sufficiently.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm
Steve Tokar.
