UC San Diego – Page 19

Yoga as Therapy

A promising response to opioid addiction is presented here as clinical psychologist Erik Groessl of UC San Diego describes how yoga has helped military veterans lower their chronic back pain and reduce their dependence on painkillers. Groessl explains how this research is changing the healthcare culture at the Veterans Administration as more of his colleagues recognize the potential of yoga as an alternative to prescription drugs. Groessl’s work is the latest in a series of conversations with Paul J. Mills of UC San Diego highlighting successful treatments using the modalities of integrative medicine.

Watch: Yoga as Therapy with Erik Groessl and Paul J. Mills

find more program from the UC Wellbeing Channel here.

Baja’s Wild Side

Many people envision Baja California as a land of glittering bars, cruise ship crowds, and esplanades full of souvenirs of Ensenada or Cabo San Lucas. In reality, Baja California is a vast, mostly uninhabited expanse of remote undeveloped lands with unique flora, untouched wildlife, and prehistoric cultural treasures.

Within just a long day’s drive of the southern California megalopolis and it’s uber-developed coast and crowded beaches one can find hundreds of miles of remote, pristine coastlines and desert landscapes.

Research biologist Daniel Cartamil has traveled the Pacific coast of Baja California investigating the health of shark populations for over a decade. In the course of his travels, he has created a photographic chronicle of this paradise of remote landscapes and shares this visual journey on Baja’s Wild Side.

Click here to watch more programs from this series.

Twins in Space: The Effects of Space Travel on Humans

Researchers love identical twins. Because they have the same genetic code, they provide a unique opportunity to determine how environment may lead to developmental differences – i.e. nature vs. nurture.

In this new program from the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, Brinda K. Rana, PhD, shares the results of NASA’s remarkable Twins Study. In March 2015, U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly embarked on a one year mission onboard the international space station. Meanwhile, his identical twin brother, Mark, remained on Earth giving scientists an opportunity to study the long-term effects of space travel on the human body versus normal development.

Ultimately, NASA wants to know what will happen to astronauts as they inch closer to their Mission to Mars. Space is a harsh environment, both physiologically and psychologically. Astronauts must contend with microgravity, disruptions in sleep cycles, radiation, and dietary limitations, as well as confined spaces and isolation from friends and family. What will happen to astronauts after 3 years – the time it will take to get them to Mars and back again?

But these studies not only have implications for the lives of astronauts. Physiologically, space travel mimics the effects of aging on the human body, changes such as cardiovascular decline, vision problems, muscle and bone atrophy, and cognitive impairment. Any discovery that improves the lives of astronauts in space could also be used to help us right here on Earth.

Learn more about what it took to plan and execute the Twins Study, as well as some of what they’re just beginning to discover. Watch Twins in Space: The Effects of Space Travel on Humans.

Browse more programs from the Stein Institute for Research on Aging.

Mangroves: The Skin of Our Coasts

Mangroves, trees that form forests in the transition between land and sea, provide a habitat for a great diversity of plants and animals worldwide. These coastal ecosystems are invaluable to humans, supplying a number of services essential for our survival. We still do not know how much these ecosystems are worth from an economic perspective – but they are essential from an ecological perspective. Scripps Oceanography’s Octavio Aburto examines mangrove ecosystems and explains why it is vital to put enormous efforts into understanding their value.

Watch Mangroves: The Skin of Our Coasts

Check out the Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series archives

Honoring Sally: Tam O’Shaughnessy Aboard the R/V Sally Ride

Want a break from the onslaught of bad news? A chance to feel good about the world? Then spend 20 minutes with Tam O’Shaughnessy, the life partner of the late astronaut Sally Ride, as she describes a remarkable friendship that began long before Sally’s historic flights on the Space Shuttle Challenger and later blossomed into a romance that ended with Sally’s death from cancer in 2012. As Executive Director of Sally Ride Science@UC San Diego, Tam continues their mission of encouraging girls to embrace STEM.

Sitting in the pilothouse of the newly commissioned R/V Sally Ride, Tam shares her profound pride in being named the sponsor of the first naval academic research vessel ever named for a woman. Crew on the R/V Sally Ride, operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, will conduct research on the environmental issues she and Sally cared most about – understanding the universe and protecting planet Earth.

Watch Honoring Sally: Tam O’Shaughnessy Aboard the R/V Sally Ride