In times of stress, students are accustomed to the familiar feelings of anxiety and mood changes. However, although people encounter stress from exams, work, and life’s challenges, this natural response to the demands placed on the body should not be classified as severe anxiety or depression.

One of the most important references for mental health treatment, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), provides a universal standard for identifying mental health disorders, ensuring that a patient in Texas who is diagnosed with anxiety, for example, will receive the same diagnosis across America.

However, the new edition of the manual to be released this May, the DSM-5, is arguably permitting the over-diagnosis of mental disorders by changing the symptoms and descriptions of common occurences. The DSM-5 is also introducing new, classifications of mental illnesses, such as Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder—mood swings in children—and Mild Neurocognitive Disorder—the decline in one’s cognitive ability.

Though the new DSM does not provide suggestions for treatment of these disorders, many health practitioners fear that further over-diagnosis of mental illnesses will exacerbate the already excessive distribution of potentially harmful prescription medications. These new changes to the manual have sparked an incredible amount of protest amongst professionals in the psychiatric fields.

For example, the International DSM-5 Response Committee, “comprised of leaders in the mental health field within the United States, the United Kingdom, and across the globe,” as stated on their website, has posted a petition called “Stop the Insanity” which strongly opposes the DSM-5.

The Stop the Insanity campaign raises many issues with the new DSM, including direct claims that the manual has “many diagnostic categories with questionable reliability,” inadequate scientific justification, and “may compromise patient safety through the implementation of lowered diagnostic thresholds.” They go on to describe the risks of prescribing medications to patients who could likely recover without pills.

“The danger is that people with milder symptoms who are [considered] normal [by previous standards] will be prescribed drugs they don’t need.” Dr. Joel Paris, professor of psychiatry at McGill, said.

As an example, the International DSM-5 Response Committee is raising eyebrows at the Mild Neurocognitive Disorder outlined in the DSM-5, as mild cognitive decline is to be expected in the elderly. Considering the numerous health problems many elderly face, this extra diagnosis, and the medications prescribed for it, is unnecessary.

On a larger scale, the Response Committee argues that “over-diagnosis of psychiatric treatment in the elderly is already a nationwide problem in the U.S. and other countries.”

In response to these protests, the APA has already begun to revise the DSM before its release this May.

The Organization stresses that “news reports and commentators alike are filling the discourse with inaccurate, biased or misinformed criticism of DSM-5… which undermines the important changes that are being made to the manual.” However, with the manual under close examination by professionals worldwide, it is likely that it will align closer to the ideas of the protesters.

In the midst of these vaguely defined psychiatric disorders, it is important to stay open-minded about the classification of milder mental disorders, like anxiety and depression.

“The problem is that we have no biological markers—scans, blood tests—for mental disorders, as other medical specialties have,” said Paris.

Though the diagnostic categorization fluctuates, the most reliable sources, such as the Mayo Clinic and Health Canada, continually emphasize that a positive lifestyle, regular sleep schedule, and healthy diet can make a significant impact on stress and anxiety.

Recent developments have shown that eating meals with your family could be correlated to overall happiness in teenagers.

According to U.S.A. Today, teens who eat meals with their family are less likely to be mentally unstable, and will exhibit fewer behavioural problems. Research shows that teens experience less angst, fewer identity problems, and greater emotional well-being as a result of healthy family relationships.

While the exact connection between mental health and family dinners is unclear, there is a definite correlation. It’s difficult for researchers to pinpoint the aspect of those meals that results in a psychologically healthier teen. Some suggest that they simply provide a way to spend more time with family, and this extra time may formulate a feeling of trust and belonging within an adolescent.

What happens at the dinner table could become a potential area for researchers to explore. Family behaviour at dinner varies widely across cultures, and this may also impact a teen’s emotional health. While conversation at the dinner table is encouraged in some cultures, in others, it may not be appropriate while eating. Researchers are now looking to study the intercultural differences across the general population to identify potential differences in children’s emotional health and its correlation with family eating behaviors.

The age of the child may also play a role within this finding. Adolescents, in general, are not likely to eat meals with their family. In U.S.A. Today, Daniel Miller, assistant professor of social work at Boston University mentioned that his studies have been more focused on the eating habits of younger children, seeing how a wider variety of data can be acquired for this age group. This is due to the fact that a greater percentage of younger children eat with their families, compared to teens.

For young children, family meals are a part of their daily routine. The repetitiveness of this behaviour may form the stability that lies behind increased emotional health for teens who dine with their families.

A study conducted at McGill surveyed eating habits and their correlation with emotional health from anational sample of 26, 069 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years who participated in the 2010 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study.

From this study, researchers found that the average adolescent ate dinner with parents almost five times a week. Additionally, the study showed that the more meals the child ate with the family, the less lonely that child felt and the more likely he or she was to be productive in school.

The results of this study are not confined to children, or teenagers in high school. While most students at McGill are studying away from home, it goes to show that we should all make the effort, when we can, to sit down with our families for dinner.

Architects are often taught in specific styles that are reflected in their work. But with most of our structures influenced by pre-existing designs, engineers are now asking what would happen if we could create designs completely independent of any references and preconceptions.

Algorithm-based architecture, the use of computer programs to create structures, does just that. It designs buildings without borrowing elements from existing structures in order to represent truly unseen forms.

Nature is arguably the greatest architect of form. Its creations span from tiny hummingbirds in Chile to colossal sequoia trees along the coast of California. All these ‘designs’ are based on a very simple algorithm: cell division. There are two ways that this cell division can occur: either the cells are exact copies of each other, or they divide through asymmetric cell division to form slightly different shapes. This very simple idea allows for an enormous variety of cell forms.

Algorithm-based architecture also works with this simple idea. Architects write a formula, known as an algorithm, and input it into the computer. This formula is used to create a multitude of intricate designs, which are then made a reality through the use of a 3D printer.

Just like the small modifications made to cells through cell division, the algorithm used by architects takes a small cube and makes subtle changes to it, known as folds. These folds result in a change in appearance, just as it would if you were to fold paper. Using a computer instead of physical processes algorithm architects make folds a million times quicker, and in countless variations, resulting in many more designs than were ever possible before.

This detachment from physical processes bestows upon the designer the ability to create shapes and surfaces that were previously inconceivable with traditional methods of design—we can now create surfaces that fold on themselves, or become porous. By simply varying the underlying “rule” of how and where to fold the elemental cube, the designer can create a plethora of such designs.

Although 99.9 per cent of the designs emanating from this process are the geometric equivalent of noise (random distributions), the detailed features that this process generates are unimaginably beautiful, and elegant forms of architecture can result from a long process of trial and error. Furthermore, by analyzing existing structures with the computer, a list of attributes can be generated to aid the final design, such as length of edges, planarity of surfaces, as well as their curvature. Architects can then use these parameters with respect to the rule, allowing them to easily create extraordinary and eye-catching structures.

But we need to be able to construct these shapes in real life, otherwise the whole exercise of creating intricate algorithm-based designs would be restricted to the virtual world. This is where 3D printing steps in. Although there is a trade-off between large-scale printing and speed at the moment, such machines are becoming faster and cheaper. For example, to create a model column, the entire column is sliced up into cross-sections, and then the parameters are fed into a laser cutter. These slices are individually made, and stacked on top of one another to give the final shape. These models consist of thousands of layers each only a few millimeters thick. Almost all of the details and surface intricacies are preserved in the process of transferring the model from the computer screen to the real world.

Through algorithm-based architecture, the role of the architect has been dramatically altered from someone intimately connected to the physical process of creating structures to a master of design, capable of generating rules to portray the structures of his imagination. In the words of Polish-born mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, “Bottomless wonders spring from simple rules … which are repeated without end,” very aptly verbalise this abstract notion of synthesizing new designs.

Compiled by Caity Hui

Artificial Obesity

New evidence suggests that diet soft drinks and other artificially sweetened products may induce weight gain, as well as increasing our risk for Type 2 diabetes. According to former McGill researcher Dana Small, sugar substitutes, like aspartame and sucralose, taste more intensely sweet than regular sugar. Those who taste these substitutes on a regular basis could develop altered taste receptors so that less sweet, healthier foods are not as enjoyable.

Along with altering taste receptors, research shows that artificial sweeteners interfere with brain chemistry, and the hormones that regulate appetite and feelings of fullness. Artificial sweeteners change the way the body interprets ‘sweet.’ Since sweet taste no longer signals the arrival of calories, the body will not release insulin when it senses this taste, as ‘sweet’ is no longer a good predictor of the arrival of energy. This makes it more difficult for the body to rely on its mechanisms for regulating eating, and the sensation of hunger, often resulting in weight gain. For example, rats fed artificial sweetener experienced weight gain, and a higher than normal blood pressure.

Nicola Kettlitza, president of Coca-Cola Canada argues against this research. She told CBC News that artificial sweeteners are safe, and approved by Health Canada.

De-Extinction

Scientists hope the phenomenon known as de-extinction will reverse the expiration date of species. De-extinction, the process of bringing back extinct animal and plant species, has recently seen advances due to progress in genetic sequencing and molecular biology techniques.

Non-profit organization Revive & Restore is taking the lead on efforts to bring back the passenger pigeon—once the most common American bird—as well as contributing to the revival of other extinct species, such as the European aurochs, Pyrenean ibexes, Tasmanian tigers, and even wooly mammoths.

To restore the passenger pigeon, scientists plan to collect information on its genome through sequencing methods. They will then identify mutations unique to the passenger pigeon by comparing its genome to the genome of its cousin, the rock pigeon. Next, passenger pigeon stem cells will be created by swapping out key bits of passenger pigeon DNA for corresponding rock pigeon stem cells. These will be converted to germ cells, and inserted into rock pigeon eggs. If the passenger pigeons hatch from the eggs and are able to mate, scientists will have successfully brought the passenger pigeon back from the dead. In theory, this technique could be used on numerous extinct species.

However, this research brings up an important question. Now that we know we can bring back an extinct species, should we?

3D Printed Meat

The company Modern Meadow aims to use 3D printing technology to print artificial raw meat. Meat consumption reaches around 240 billion kilograms each year, and this number is increasing. As this overconsumption poses problems with regards to environmental degradation, animal cruelty, and the spread of dangerous diseases, 3D meat printing is a growing technological and scientific field.

The process of 3D printing involves producing solid objects from digital models, where tiny droplets are “printed” layer by layer through a carefully controlled inkjet nozzle to form the structure.

To print meat, Modern Meadow employs a method of bio-printing. First, scientists acquire stem cells from animals through a biopsy—stem cells can replicate themselves many times in order to increase in volume. Once these cells have replicated several times, they are put into a bio-cartridge. This 3D printer cartridge contains bio-ink, which, as opposed to regular ink, is made of hundreds of thousands of live cells. The meat is then printed into its desired shape, and the bio-ink particles naturally fuse to form the living tissue.

Although 3D printing has been around for years, bio-printing is more difficult, because scientists are required to print live cells. So far, the team at Modern Meadow has produced a prototype of the meat, but it is not yet available for consumption.