Update: August 8, 2007

SOME LIKE IT SWEET AND SOME LIKE IT HOT

By Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

Welcome to The Deep science and technology column where we cover topics from the deep sea to deep space and beyond.

Unfortunately for the people of Guam, diabetes is a fact of life.  We have one of the US’s highest rates of diabetes and everyone knows someone who has it.  And it isn’t just here.  Diabetes affects more than 230 million people, almost 6% of the world's adult population, according to the World Diabetes Foundation.  There are several interesting news items this week concerning this dread disease.

Cinderella’s coach rides to the rescue?
The first involves Thanksgiving.  No, I’m not referring to our habit of ingesting way too much food on this ultimate ‘food holiday’; I’m talking about one of the foods.  Some recent research by Chinese scientists has shown that compounds found in the lowly pumpkin promote regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells in diabetic rats (Rats get diabetes?  Who knew?).

The lead researcher Tao Xia said “Pumpkin extract is potentially a very good product for pre-diabetic persons, as well as those who have already developed diabetes”.  He added that people who have already developed diabetes will probably always have to take supplemental insulin, but the pumpkin extract could drastically reduce the amount of insulin they need. 

And the added benefit of the pumpkin extract is that it can be taken by mouth.  Hmmm, I love pumpkin pie, but I’ve never viewed it as medicine!

And if you have diabetes AND high cholesterol; there’s a new drug coming on the market that may be just the ticket.  Colesevelam HCL (where DO they get these names?) has proven in controlled drug trials at Tulane University to reduce both glucose levels and cholesterol levels. And, of course, “An application for the commercial production and sale of the drug is currently being assessed by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.”

And one final word about diabetes.  If you are diabetic or have the genetic disposition to become diabetic (one or more close relatives with the disease) you should definitely stop eating all that tangentangen.  Hmmmmm you say, that woman has definitely slipped a few gears this time; nobody eats tangentangen.  Well, that’s not strictly true.  Apparently there are a few people who eat tangentangen tips.  After all, here on Guam, it’s the ultimate in readily available free food.

There’s another new study out on diabetes that warns people against taking selenium supplements if you are predisposed to diabetes.  Selenium is a naturally occurring trace mineral present in soil and foods.  Your body needs small amounts of selenium to metabolize certain compounds.  But as is becoming increasingly common for many substances of all kinds, selenium supplements are widely promoted on the Internet for conditions ranging from cold sores and shingles to arthritis and multiple sclerosis.  They are sold to prevent aging, enhance fertility, prevent cancer and get rid of toxic minerals such as mercury, lead and cadmium.  (Obviously a wonderful example of Caveat emptor!)

Unfortunately, a recent study has provided some evidence that people who took a 200-microgram selenium supplement each day for several years had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  One of the researchers involved in the study said “Selenium levels in soil in United States are higher than the minimum needed to optimize metabolism, so people in the United States should not need to take selenium supplements greater than those in multivitamin supplements.”

So . . .. you may ask, what does THIS have to do with tangentangen?  Well, tangentangen is one of the few plants we know of that concentrates selenium.  And a well-known side effect of ingesting large amounts of selenium (that wasn’t mentioned in the diabetes study) is hair loss.  I had a neighbor once who kept rabbits and fed them mostly tangentangen.  He said it was free but he was well aware that the bald spots on their coats were from their diet.  I wonder if they developed diabetes, too?

t’s everywhere!  It’s everywhere!

SOME LIKE IT HOT
There’s another topic that’s always hot here on Guam.  Boonie peppers.  Chamorus like their food hot hot HOT and there is endless debate over which island in the Marianas chain has the hottest peppers.  (As near as I can tell, the most often mentioned winner is Tinian).

We inhabitants of Paradise aren’t the only ones who are interested in this subject.  Thais could give both Chamorus and Mexicans ulcers with the ‘hottness’ of their cuisine; but recent news from Mexico says that the ancient peoples of Central America many have been at this ‘hot’ business much longer than the rest of us. Plant remains from two caves in southern Mexico analyzed by Smithsonian researchers indicate that as early as 1,500 years ago, Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region enjoyed a spicy fare similar to Mexican cuisine today. The two caves yielded 10 different cultivated varieties of chili peppers. "This analysis demonstrates that chilies in Mexican food have been numerous and complex for a long period of time," said Linda Perry, of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.  "It reveals a great antiquity for the Mexican cuisine that we're familiar with today." It is unknown whether the cultivars found in the cave correspond to modern varieties, or if they were types that died out after the arrival of Europeans in Mexico.  Perry said one looks like a Tabasco pepper and another like a cayenne pepper, but it is difficult to know how closely related they are to modern varieties without a genetic analysis.

A 1,500-year-old chili pepper

"In the cave deposits, we can see excellent documentation for the sophistication of the agriculture and the cuisine at this point in time," Perry said. "You don't grow seven different kinds of chilies unless you're cooking some pretty interesting food."

Well, that’s the pepper news from the old school.  And here’s some news about a brand new ball of fire.  Researchers in Charleston SC, have developed a new bright orange habanero pepper called the TigerPaw NR.  The pepper gets its name from its tiger-paw-like appearance.  Its "NR" initials stand for "nematode resistant," a prized trait.  The pepper is the first commercial habanero pepper resistant to attack by microscopic, soil-dwelling worms known as root-knot nematodes, according to the scientists that developed it.

The TigerPaw NR pepper   (Credit: Photo by Stephen Ausmus)

Of course, that’s not the hottest news in the world of peppers.  A recent article that appeared in several papers brings the bhut jolokia to our attention.  Bhut jolokia means ‘ghost pepper’ in northeastern India where it grows and it’s called that because the people who live there say if you eat one; you become a ghost.

As a way of comparison: Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units.  Your basic jalapeno pepper measures anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.  The newly developed TigerPaw NR mentioned above, scores an impressive 348,634 Scovilles.  The previous record holder, the Red Savina habanero, was tested at up to 580,000 Scovilles. The bhut jolokia crushed those contenders, testing at 1,001,304 Scoville units.  Ghost pepper indeed!  And I don’t think it will be making its appearance on my table anytime soon!

So how hot is the bhut jolokia?

HEADS UP!
	And in our last little tidbit; I reported several weeks ago that the Bigelow people had successfully launched a new inflatable spacecraft with more experiments and more ‘Fly Your Stuff’.  Well they’ve now turned on the digital projector that’s mounted on the end of one of the solar panels and they can project any image onto the shiny skin of the spacecraft.  The spacecraft is too small and the images too dim to be seen from Earth; and they can only be seen from the cameras on the spacecraft when it’s on Earth’s night side; but as the picture shows; the images are definitely recognizable.  (This picture is of a Bigelow Aerospace employee.)  Want to say “Happy Birthday Grandpa?”  Just contact the folks at www.bigelowaerospace.com and they’ll set you right up.
Your picture in space?