What Causes Our Weather Here in the UK?

Every day we experience the weather and the effects that come with it, whether it’s the grey clouds and drizzle we so often see, or the rare occurrence of hot sun with clear blue skies. But as you become drenched in the April showers, or get thrown about in gale force winds; just take a moment to think; what is actually causing these natural phenomena’s to take place?

What Causes Our Rainfall?

Rainfall is one of the most common weather types in England, and one that I’m sure has ruined many hours of carefully perfected hair-dos, but why do we seem to get rain so much more than any other country? Well, it’s all to do with things called jet streams which criss-cross the earth at around 20,000ft above its surface and are basically narrow bands of very strong westerly winds. The UK is at just the right latitude that the polar jet stream passes right over it, and because of this, areas of low and high air pressure are formed, which in turn create similar patterns in sea pressure.

These changes in sea pressure affect the movement of winds and cause a common weather feature called depressions to form. Depressions are regions of low pressure which produces rainy and windy weather, and is the main cause of the miserable and changeable weather we so often see in the UK. Quite simply, a depression forms when a large mass of cold air meets a large mass of warm air, with the cold air usually coming from Polar Regions and the warm air from the Tropics. Heavy rain and strong winds form where these two air masses meet because the warm air rises over the cold air and condenses to form rain clouds.

How about our Snowfall?

We have explained the cause of the wet and wind that we are so used to in the UK, but how about snowfall? It may not be such a common occurrence, but still... why do we get it?

As we have already found out, the majority of the UK’s weather is determined by the polar jet stream, which brings us wet and damp weather in the form of depressions. However during winter, the oceans are normally much warmer than the land because they take longer for them to change temperature, and because of this, an area of high pressure forms above them and this interferes with our usual jet stream position.

When this newly created area of high pressure forms over the Atlantic, our usual jet-stream becomes blocked, and instead of flowing right over the UK as normal, it is actually deflected southwards slightly – allowing chilled air from the north to flood into its place – and where our usual Atlantic weather system meets the cold front from the north, snow falls. The UK was stuck like this for several weeks in 2010, which was the cause of widespread snowfall.

How About our Warm Weather?

So now all the cold, wet and windy weather is other with, how about the hot weather? This may seem like an even rarer occurrence in this country, but nevertheless it does happen.

The cause of these blissfully hot days and clear blue skies are from a weather phenomenon called anti-cyclones. These anti-cyclones are the opposite of depressions and are instead areas of high pressure where the air is constantly sinking, as opposed to rising in a depression, but why does this cause nice weather, and not bad?

Well, because this air is sinking instead of rising in an anti-cyclone, clouds aren’t formed which means that no rain can be produced, and the fact that there are no weather fronts also means that no wind can form. If an anti-cyclone was to form during the summer then would most likely bring warm weather with clear skies; while if in winter, then it would bring clear but cold days, with frosty nights. The weather will always be consistent and unchanging as long as an anti-cyclone is present.

So, there’s a quick introduction into the causes behind our country’s weather for you, and hopefully the next time you look out of your window, deciding what clothes to wear for the day and see the all-too familiar grey clouds forming above, you’ll know a little more about why it’s all happening. 

What Does the Large Hadron Collider Actually Do?

What Does The Large Hadron Collider Actually Do?

      Over the last year or so you’ve probably heard of the large hadron collider at some point, whether it’s because you have a particular interest in particle physics or even just if you just watch the news; but what actually is it, and what does it actually do…?

‘The Large Hadron Collider’ - bit of a strange name, what does it really mean? Well, a hadron is a composite particle made of quarks (extremely small sub-atomic matter) that are all held together by something called the strong force which is just one of the 4 fundamental interactions between matter. The best known types of hadrons are protons and neutrons. A collider is simply a piece of equipment that is used to accelerate elementary particles at each other.  

                 You may have some basic knowledge of what this Large Hadron Collider achieves such as “it fires small things at other small things to see what happens” and in its very basic form – Yes, you’re correct. But you may be lost in the details of what it is trying to achieve, and with the whole construction costing well over £4bn, you would expect it to be doing something useful, right?

      Short History:

            So, the Large Hadron Collider is situated in the town of Geneva, Switzerland and it is the most powerful particle accelerator ever to be made. The LHC was built by an organisation named CERN and this whole process of construction took around 10 years – with the grand opening being in 2008. The LHC lies in a tunnel which is 27km long, and as deep as 175 metres in most parts. The first successful attempt to fire beams of particles was completed on the 10^th September 2008, and on the 30^th March 2010, the team at CERN broke the world record for the ‘highest energy man-made particle collision ever’.

      What happens in the Large Hadron Collider:

      So, let’s work on our basic understanding from before: “It fires small things at other small things to see what happens”. In this basic understanding, the ‘small thing’ is something called a particle – a particle is simply a sub atomic mass which is one of the building blocks of everything around us.  These particles can take a few different forms such as an electrons, neutrinos and photons just to name a few.

The process of firing these particles together is the job of the team at CERN and it is what they have they been doing since its opening in 2008. They use something called a synchrotron (a fancy word for the equipment used to accelerate the particles) to collide opposing particle beams, this was built by a team of 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries around the world.

So once the beams have been fired, they travel around the course of the LHC and are constantly accelerating towards until they reach the speed of light – a universal speed limit for any object at 300,000,000 metres per second. If your thinking, ‘Why the value of 300,000,000’ then that’s a whole different topic (‘general relativity’ to be precise) and you don’t need to worry about to understand this at the moment.

                 There are 4 main, multi-purpose particle detectors at the LHC, these are called; ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LCHb. You may be thinking; ‘What is the purpose of these particle detectors?’ Well… When the particles hit each other, their energy is converted into many different particles, and these particle detectors keep track of the pieces that are created. By looking carefully at the data from these detectors, scientists can study what certain particles are made of and how the particles interact with each other.

     Purpose of the Large Hadron Collider:

     The main aim for the team at CERN who came up with the idea and built the Large Hadron Collider is to answer some of the fundamental questions that scientists have about the basic laws of the universe.

In a world where we are immersed in technological innovation and where scientists have the answer for so many problems, it may seem strange that they are still trying to understand basic laws – but, while the advancements in gadgets such as phones, computers and televisions seems almost unstoppable, the basic laws of physics are part of a much wider picture, and one that unifies everything around us – from the particles being fired at CERN, to the smartphone in your pocket.  

The accelerator’s experiments are designed to collide the particle beams together to try and recreate the conditions of the early universe, just after the ‘Big Bang’ – which is the fundamental event responsible for the creation of our whole universe. Where the LHC becomes incredibly useful is in answering these basic laws of physics , scientist want to learn more about particular topics that will have the greatest impact on our understanding of the universe, a few of these include:

-         

      -- The forces among particles

-       -- The structure of space and time

-       -- Where, and if the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics overlap – as there is very little understanding of this so far.

-       -- Physicists also want to find out more about the famous ‘God Particle’ or better known as the Higgs Boson Particle – the piece of matter which is responsible for all giving objects mass.

So, while it may be easy for sceptics to be negative about the Large Hadron Collider from both a price and purpose stance, the work that it conducts cannot not be denied to be any less than remarkable; not only because it applies to and affects every aspect of our life and the universe we live in, but because without it – how can we expect to explore and endeavour into the vast universe that surrounds us? Without the knowledge that the LHC provides, we would be restricted simply to planet Earth in our scientific evolutions, and with such a vast universe surrounding us… where’s the fun in that?

The Neutrino Particle - The Big Debate

What We Already Know About the Neutrino Particle: 

The Neutrino particle was discovered in 1930 by Wolfgang Pauli, it is a particle which is electrically neutral, has almost no mass, and is weakly interacting which means that it does not interfere with the ordinary matter it passes through, and ordinary matter has no affect on it.

Neutrino particles are created from types of radioactive decay or nuclear reactions that mainly happen in the Sun. There are 3 types of Neutrinos: Electron, Muon and Tau, and for each of these, there is an antineutrino. Most of the neutrinos that pass through the earth, come from the Sun, and just to get an idea of how omnipresent they are; approximately 400,000 billion neutrino particles pass through the earth every second.

The Big Debate:

According to the famous theory of relativity written by Albert Einstein, if the neutrino particle has no mass, then it must travel at the speed of light. However, if it does have mass, then it must travel below the speed of light. And up until 2011, that's exactly what has always been believed. 

In late September experiments carried out by CERN at the large hadron collider in Geneva were originally designed to find the mass of a neutrino particle, however, when the results came back, an incredible discovery was made; the neutrino particles were detected travelling 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of  light. 

CERN published these finding immediately to invite scrutiny from other scientists, all in an attempt to find out whether these findings could possibly be right. Unfortunately, within 2 weeks, over 30 scientists had published papers reporting on the faults of the experiment and how the findings could not be trusted. These results are yet to be assessed by a peer group, which would massively improve the reliability of them but physicians are keen to repeat these experiments to determine whether it could be possible. 

Scientists are obviously very sceptical to believe these results because if they are correct, then the whole base of particle physics, cosmology, astrophysics, and Einstein's famous law of relativity could be proven to be wrong - something which would change physics forever. Also, if this turns out to be the case, incredible ideas only previously feasible in films such as worm holes and time travel could be possible. 

However, the only way such bold claims will ever be believed is when more controlled experiments are carried out on neutrino particles to find the same result, which may not be too far away, the detectors on the large hadron collider are currently being upgraded, and once they are, new tests will be done to determine the velocities of these peculiar particles.

So watch this space and listen close ladies and gents... because if the scientists at CERN discover neutrino particles to travel faster than the speed of light; well, it might just be the one of biggest and most controversial discoveries made by man. 

'The Specific Carbohydrate Diet' - A Cure for IBD?

For thousands of people all around the world, inflammatory bowel diseases cause fatigue, pain and a lifelong struggle to manage crippling symptoms with hospital stays when flare-ups occur. While the future can look painfully bleak when the disease is first diagnosed, famous icons such as Sir Steve Redgrave, John F. Kennedy and Anastasia are all examples that an extremely successful and normal life can be achieved.

Possible Causes:
            Specialists in Colitis still do not know the exact cause of the disease, however there are 3 favourable factors: Gentic; Environmental and Autoimmune Disease. Genetically, the most convincing theory is that there are HLA's (Human Leukocyte Antigens), a large gene family found in chromosome 6 which is key to the function of the immune system, that may not be functioning properly. Environmental factors include diet and, surprisingly, breastfeeding. Diet is the key topic of this blog that i will come back to shortly. Breastfeeding is a peculiar one, there has been conflicting reports to show that breastfeeding may cause the development of IBD, and some studies have been carried out, but solid evidence is yet to be found. Finally, some sources refer to Colitis as an autoimmune disease, which is when the immune system malfunctions and attacks parts of its own body, in this case being the bowel, often for unknown reasons.
              These are all theory's that scientists have come up with, and some are much more feasible then others, however there is one possible cause that is regularly overlooked by many; diet. Everyone knows that the gut plays a vital role in digestion and absorbtion, so surely diet is an obvious factor to consider? Sadly not as many sufferers of IBD take no notice of there food intake, eating foods high in saturated fats, complex carbohydrates and refined sugars, all of which do much more damage then they realise. Even IBD specialists are very sceptical that diet makes much of a difference, often only recommending that patients are not to eat curry's, take-away's and excessive sugary foods which may aggravate the condition further. Strong medications such as Azathioprine and Prednisolone are prescribed eagerly, and while they work for many patients, the sufferers that they don't work for are usually left with limited options, and they all know one option is surgery. A persistent thought, and very daunting to address head on.
       
How Things Go Wrong:
         To fully understand how the diet works, you must first understand how the gut is harmed by the diease process: The gut of a normal person has over 400 bacterial species, some which are harmless, some which are not, these species are constantly competing for sparse food which causes them to be in constant equilibrium. Cleverly, in the large intestine, each species inhibits an over-abundance of the others which prevents one particular microbe from overwhelming the body. However, when the balance in the gut is disturbed, an overgrowth of bacteria can occur, and as a result, damage the small intestine. This overgrowth can be triggered by many things: overuse of antacids, weakened immune system (by poor diet, malnutrition or genetics) or a change in microbial environment through long term antibiotic use. 

The Link to Diet:
          However, diet may be much more significant than many think in calming, and in many cases, curing the inflamed bowel. 'Breaking The Vicious Cycle' is a book by Elaine Gottschall which focuses on dramatically altering the diet of a Colitis sufferer to improve intestinal health. The diet completely eliminates all complex carbohydrates, commonly found in bread, rice, oats, potatoes, starch and hundreds of other everyday foods and flavourings. It also prohibits the use of lactose and refined sugars.
         Quite simply, when foods such as carbohydrates are not digested, they remain in our gut and become a breeding ground for microbes, unfortunately microbes digest these carbohydrates through fermentation. The waste products of fermentation includes methane, carbon dioxide, lactic acid, acetic acid and other toxins - all of which damage the gut wall. There is evidence to show that this increased acidity mutates harmless bacteria into much more dangerous ones, and interestingly, the lactic acid produced has had proven links to abnormal brain function and behaviour often related to IBD. This overgrowth of bacteria further mutates bacteria and creates more and more gas and acid which in turn damage the gut wall even more, this damage causes protective mucus to form, which further damages the lining and causes it to become ulcerated - This is the vicious cycle. This whole process also destroys microvilli, the absorptive cells which means we take less nutrients into the body and as more carbohydrates are left in the gut, they cause water and nutrients to be pulled from the body into the colon, resulting in chronic diarrhoea. Absorption is further affected as diarrhoea increases the rate with which food travels through the gut, leaving insufficient time for nutrients to be absorbed from the food.


How the SCD Works:
           This is how the diet helps: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet bases itself around eating the foods that contain simple carbohydrates, ones that we can fully digest and leave virtually none behind in the gut, thus causing a decrease in the harmful bi-products of fermentation as microbes food supply of carbohydrates decreases. As the presence of these harmful acids and gases decrease, the gut wall stops the need to be protected, so mucus production stop, and carbohydrate digestion is improved. As the individual becomes more nourished and gains more energy from their food, they are in a better state to fight off bacteria. A key part of the diet which the book insists on is eating home made yoghurt. Commercial yoghurt is banned as it has not properly fermented and the complex sugar molecules are still present which are strictly avoided in the diet, however home made yoghurt can be made as long as it is left to ferment for at least 24 hours. In this time all of the complex sugar molecules (disaccharides) are converted into simpler ones (saccharides) which the gut can digest. This yoghurt is very important as it naturally contains healthy bacteria to help maintain an even balance in the intestines. Through this diet, harmful microbes creating harmful bi-products are slowly eliminated, causing the natural flora in the gut to return to equilibrium and with the addition of friendly bacteria from the yoghurt, a much calmer and healthier environment is created. Diarrhoea begins to stop as less water is drawn from the body to flush out the mucus produced when inflammation is high, gas is reduced as the microbes, producing gas as a bi-product of fermentation, decrease and finally, blood is eliminated ulceration on the gut lining is repaired.


Drugs are very often a miracle cure, completely restoring a Colitis sufferer back to full health. However for those who drugs have not worked for, specialists are keen to suggest the option of surgery, while completely disregarding another diet such as SCD. Thousands of sufferers have been cured by sticking to the diet, proof that it really does work for many, the science behind the diet makes perfect sense, and while it doesn't work for everyone, the information and support on the internet for IBD sufferers is fantastic. So please, if you suffer, or know of anyone who suffers from Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's, or any other IBD, recommend them to read 'Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall'. Even if from this post, one sufferer of IBD becomes aware of the positive effects of this diet, i would consider it a huge achievement.

I myself can report first-hand that, after a 3 year struggle with Colitis, this book has changed my life for the better, and i pray that it may just change yours too.