The Earth Story

This is a false coloured image of pollen from different plant species taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

Pollen is a minute mass of microspores that are produced in seed plants. These tiny grains are formed in the anther of a male plant and are subsequently transported via wind, water or insects etc to the pistil of a female plant, where fertilisation occurs.

Pollen grains may be small, but they are mighty. The outer layer, known as the exine is highly resistant to degeneration and can even withhold intense heat as well as concentrated acids and bases.

Pollen, for all its beauty and functionality, is the bane of many peoples Spring and Summer. It is produced in such quantities that pollen is actually a significant component of the Earth’s atmosphere and the proteinaceous substance in many pollen grains induces an allergic reaction commonly known as hay fever.

Hay fever occurs when the immune system mistakes this harmless airborne substance as a threat. As your body thinks the substance is harmful it produces an antibody called immunoglobulin E to attack it. It then releases the chemical histamine which causes cold like symptoms in the individual.

It is estimated that about 20% of people in Western Europe and North America suffer from some degree of hay fever; all thanks to these little guys.

But, of course, a few runny noses and teary eyes is worth the vital job that pollen grains do.

Aaaachoo!

-Jean

Image courtesy of Alex Hyde.

The Sands of the Moon

"The moon is like a 4-billion-year-old desert," says Don Petit, one of the International Space Station Astronauts. Its surface is covered by dust and sand created by the impacts of meteorites. Surprisingly, just as sands and dusts from deserts here on Earth, when moistened in a terrestrial atmosphere such as that held within the Lunar Modules that visited the moon, moon dust smells. It is said, by many of the Apollo astronauts who came in contact with it, to smell like burnt gunpowder. In fact, Jack Schmitt, Apollo 17’s Geo-Astronaut, came down with the first recorded case of something we could call “moon fever,” an allergic hay fever sort of reaction to lunar dust.

Why moon dust would smell and cause allergic reactions is unclear: it certainly doesn't contain the organic molecules that create the odor in burnt gunpowder. Moon sands and dust are broken bits of moon rocks, or rounded particles of fused moon rocks melted by meteorite impacts, or an agglomeration of the two, that is, rock and mineral fragments held together by a glassy matrix. The rocky fragments are most often common moon minerals such as olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase, none of which smell on Earth. The fused glass dusts are the glassy equivalent of these minerals, that is, including the elements of silica, Fe, Mg and Al but lacking a crystalline mineral framework. Again, these have no inherent odors.

Gary Logfren, NASA’s lunar specimen curator, speculates that moon dust might even hold elements from the solar wind such as hydrogen, helium and other ions that evaporate in the lunar module or earth-like atmosphere giving off this unworldly odor. Jack Schmitt’s thinking, based in part on his nose’s itchy reaction, is that moon dust is chemically reactive.

I, too, once had an opportunity to examine moon dust and sands: to impress us beginning geology students, our prof (also working at NASA following the initial moon landing and working on lunar soils), brought some to our lab and let us look at it in a binocular microscope. I recall its appearance to this day: grey as grey can be, dry, ultra-dry, non-sticking particles that flowed more like a liquid than any sticky-dust or dirt that comes from Earth.

Possibly, it was this early exposure to “cutting edge” geology that lead me to become a geoscientist. I do not recall any odor or allergic reaction to the moon dust. Although, sadly, I am allergic to earth dust.

Annie R

Photo by Gary Greenberg. More sands from the Moon under study by Gary and Dr Carol Kiely can be seen at: http://www.sandgrains.com/ Also recommend for the Lunar-tics among us: http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/30jan_smellofmoondust/ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/LofgrenGE/LofgrenGE_6-10-09.htm http://www.universetoday.com/103274/moon-dust-could-engulf-lunar-rovers-especially-during-sunrise-and-sunset/

Achoo!

The sky is blue, the grass is green, and everywhere, there are wildflowers in bloom. It’s springtime in the northern hemisphere and everywhere, people’s fancies turn to thoughts of—pollen.

Hey! What?

Yep. In the picture, that tree is not on fire. That is a cloud of pollen being released. Here in Austin, Texas, the period of time from mid-December to early March is known as “cedar fever season”. I’m one of the fortunate few who don’t suffer from cedar allergies, but I try not to be too smug about it. People have been known to live in the area for 15-20 years without symptoms before suddenly succumbing.

No. Winter holds few allergy problems for me thus far.

Having said that, in this part of the world, we’ve started referring to this as “the year without a winter,” (here in Austin, Texas, we only had two days where it got as low as 32-33° F). Because of the exceptionally warm winter, plants began to bloom early and profusely. Thick yellow oak pollen coats pretty much every outdoor surface, leaving my red car a dull orange. The main culprits guilty of causing seasonal allergies are tree pollens, weed pollens, and grass pollens, most of which spread their sperm far and wide via the wind. Combine the early bloom with the temperature swinging up and down with many dry, windy days this spring and people’s immune systems are on high alert, making them more sensitive to the invasion of the pollens triggering seasonal allergies. The result: watery, itchy eyes, running noses, sneezing, wheezing, and congestion. For some of us it means not wanting to move your head in any direction because of sinus headaches.

Fun.

Why do we suffer like this? Although there is disagreement (as there is with almost every scientific theory) some scientists maintain that allergies may provide something of an evolutionary advantage for mankind as a whole.

You may have heard stories of people who protected themselves from poison by ingesting small amounts every day. If you’ve ever had allergy shots, then you’ve been doing something of the same thing. Each small amount of allergen allows your body to gradually build up immunity specific to that substance so that someday, your body will not feel the need to hit you with a histamine response. Some folks take a spoonful of locally produced honey each day for the same reason. However, plants with bright flowers that attract bees do not usually trigger allergic rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal passages).

So what does that have to do with evolution? The thoughts behind this are that allergies are evolution’s way of either getting humans to avoid the substances that trigger those responses, or ramping up the body’s defenses to help people survive exposure to those substances in the future. There are exceptions, of course, among those who suffer from the severe, life-threatening allergic reactions referred to as anaphylaxis, which can cause airways to swell and close up and blood pressure to drop dramatically. It would seem that evolution is willing to sacrifice a few individuals in order to protect the whole species. CW

Image

https://pkwellness.com/fight-cedar-fever-naturally/

Sources

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dear-evolution-thanks-for/

https://weather.com/health/allergy/news/how-weather-impacts-spring-allergies

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dear-evolution-thanks-for/

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150409-why-do-we-have-allergies

A new study suggests that exposure to chemical used to chlorinate drinking water and kill crop pests may increase the probability of developing a food allergy. The class of chemicals under scrutiny are the dichlorophenols. Dichlorophenols do not directly cause food allergies, but it is thought that by altering the population of microorganisms in the human body, it is sensitising the immune system’s reaction to food triggers. Most of us will know someone with a food allergy; with food allergies affecting between 6 and 8% of children in the US- a 20% increase in the last decade. If we look at previous generations however, the number decreases; with 1-3% of adults in the US with a food allergy. If we look further back in time again, food allergies were almost unheard of. Why is this? The whole mechanism behind this increase in susceptibility is accredited to what is known as the “The Hygiene Hypothesis”. This hypothesis essentially proposes that keeping our living environments too clean can actually backfire. It is suggested that a reduced exposure to bacteria and viruses can cause the immune system to react aggressively to other everyday allergens; like food.  Dichlorophenols are antimicrobial agents, they are added to water to inhibit and kill any microorganisms that may be present. They are also used in pesticides. This means that by drinking water where dichlorophenols have been used or ingesting pesticides residues; we are taking an antimicrobial into our bodies. It is suggested that this may then reduce the population of the natural microorganisms within our bodies and sensitise our immune systems. Using data collected by the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2005 and 2006, the researchers looked at concentrations of a variety of dichlorophenols in the urine of more than 2,200 people, ages 6 and older. They also looked at blood-test results indicating allergies to peanuts, eggs, milk or shrimp. People with the highest levels of dichlorophenols were 80% more likely to have food allergies compared to people with the lowest levels. The research has been published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Of course this is the early stages of research and nothing can be written in stone quite yet. It is however a new line of research worth pursuing. A good message to take away from this is; often we can be “too clean”. We need, particularly children, to be exposed to a certain level of microbiological activity. Although there are some nasty microorganisms out there, for the most part, they are beneficial and live symbiotically with us.  (I hope no-one sees this as scaremongering, not disinfecting our water supplies is far more dangerous than the implications of disinfection, and other disinfection methods are available.)  -Jean  More information: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9717546/Water-purifier-chemical-increases-food-allergy-risk.html http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121203081621.htm Water treatment: http://www.excelwater.com/eng/b2c/about_8.php

This is a false coloured image of pollen from different plant species taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Pollen is a minute mass of microspores that are produced in seed plants. These tiny grains are formed in the anther of a male plant and are subsequently transported via wind, water or insects etc to the pistil of a female plant, where fertilisation occurs. Pollen grains may be small, but they are mighty. The outer layer, known as the exine is highly resistant to degeneration and can even withhold intense heat as well as concentrated acids and bases. Pollen, for all its beauty and functionality, is the bane of many peoples Spring and Summer. It is produced in such quantities that pollen is actually a significant component of the Earth’s atmosphere and the proteinaceous substance in many pollen grains induces an allergic reaction commonly known as hay fever. Hay fever occurs when the immune system mistakes this harmless airborne substance as a threat. As your body thinks the substance is harmful it produces an antibody called immunoglobulin E to attack it. It then releases the chemical histamine which causes cold like symptoms in the individual. It is estimated that about 20% of people in Western Europe and North America suffer from some degree of hay fever; all thanks to these little guys. But, of course, a few runny noses and teary eyes is worth the vital job that pollen grains do. Aaaachoo! -Jean Image courtesy of Alex Hyde.