Floor Tile Fashion

                               

I've never had a good eye for fashion. When I was little, I distinctly remember having 3 of the exact same pairs of shorts and I would wear them everyday. They were navy blue and had a
Woodstock applique on the side. I would couple my shorts with a white polo shirt, and boom, I was out the door! You know in the cartoons, where the characters wear the same outfit every day? I guess that was what I was going for. There is also the rare moment when you get to peek inside said cartoon's closet. Usually you end up seeing what looks like a clone experiment from a fashion lab. Sometimes, I wish I could live like that now and not have people think I'm crazy. Wouldn't it be so much easier? Don't get me wrong, I like to dress up when I have the time for it, or when I get the sudden urge to try to replicate an outfit I saw in a magazine (although it never looks as cool as it did on the model). But for the everyday routine of waking up and getting ready for work, sometimes I wish I could just pick my outfit from a sea of sameness like they do in the cartoons and be done with it.

This is the outfit I wore every day of my life as a
seven year old. I was seven so I could get away with it. Right?

I am writing this post because I thought about this topic after what someone told me at work today. I picked out an outfit like I do every morning. I felt pretty good about it. I have a very simple, casual sense of style and I like to imagine that people see me and think, "She is so casually cool." Then something happens where I'm reminded that people are not thinking that at all. As I am walking through the parking lot early in the morning, our summer lab intern passes me and says, "You are Hardy'd out today!" To which I reply, "Huh?" (By the way the company I work for is called Hardy Diagnostics). She tells me that I match the pattern on the floor in the breakroom. I laughed because I genuinely did think it was funny, and then had a moment of realization that the intern saw my outfit and the first thing she could compare it to was the ground in a room we weren't even in. This didn't upset me, and it still doesn't, but it did remind me that people are probably never actually paying attention to what I'm wearing. When they do notice, it's doubtful that it's for a good reason. 

The outfit I was wearing when I was compared to a floor pattern.
I had to take the picture with Coraline because I hate pictures
with only me in them. I feel awkward and never know what to
do with my hands. This picture was tricky and it took me a
couple tries to convince Coraline not to scratch my eyes out.

And here is the floor I bore an uncanny resemblance to.

The comment made by our lovely intern is certainly not the most horrible comment I have received about an outfit. In fact, I don't consider it horrible in the slightest bit. I just gave it as an example and I have received more offensive comments about some poor fashion choices in my past. But most of those probably deserved to be ridiculed. The point is, I like the way I dress and I think it properly represents who I am as a person. So even though I may dream of the day when I have to wear a uniform to work (more for the ease of it all, not so much to avoid getting made fun of), I will continue to make questionable outfit choices, and I won't be ashamed to laugh about it. Maybe tomorrow I'll manage to accidentally match the wall pattern in the bathroom. 

Furry Friends and Beneficial Bugs

This is my nephew Ethan with my dog nieces, Mika (left) and Chloe (right). 

They say that dogs are man's best friend. What's not to love about a dog? They offer companionship, protection, and let's be honest, we love having them there to clean up any food spills we make on the kitchen floor. In case anyone isn't convinced that dogs are super awesome, it has also been demonstrated that dogs can improve gut health and alleviate the symptoms of allergies. Too good to be true? Let's hear some of the facts.

Researchers found that dogs contribute to an increased diversity of bacteria in house dust and exposure to this house dust actually dampens the allergic response to several allergens. It's like magical pixie dust, except it probably can't make you fly. The way researchers tested this was by feeding different types of dust to mice. Makes you wonder where dust falls on the food pyramid. They fed one group of mice house dust from a house with dogs and to another group of mice they fed house dust from a home with no dogs. The mice that were fed the dog house dust showed a decrease in airway immune cells and other components that are important players in the allergy response. So basically, the dog house dust told the mice's immune system to chill out a bit, there was no reason to overreact. Development of childhood allergic diseases are known to be associated with overactive airway immune responses. This means that exposure to dogs during infancy might reduce the risk of developing diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. Neat!

Like any good scientist, the researchers had lots of questions after they made their findings. In the world of science, one answer only leads to many more questions, the most important being, how does this work? So they examined the mice, specifically what was in their gut. I'm sure you all know that your gut is the home of a community of bacteria that are incredibly important for digestion, protection from bacteria that can make you sick, and just overall body health and function. It's like I always say, bacteria are my friends! They found that in mice that were fed dog house dust, there was an abundance of one specific species of bacteria called Lactobacillus johnosonii. This species can also be found in the human intestine and is part of a group of bacteria that are associated with probiotic activities.

This is an image of stained Lactobacillus acidophilus cells.
There are many Lactobacillus species and they live happily in our urinary,
 digestive, and genital systems. They are also found in fermented foods
like yogurt and in probiotic supplements. Aren't they cute?

Once the next piece of the puzzle was solved, the study was taken a step further and a third group of mice were supplemented with our friend Lactobacillus johnsonii. Lo and behold, these mice also exhibited diminished airway responses to allergens. It still is not known if the dust itself was the source of this beneficial bacteria or if components in the dust somehow altered the gut bacterial community to shift towards a population high in this particular species.

Although much more research is needed to prove that humans can benefit in the same way the mice did in these studies, these findings may one day lead to the development of probiotics for infants that could reduce the risk of developing allergic conditions. In the meantime, if you own a dog, you might just have a good enough reason to dust your house a little less often.  

Humble Beginnings

Hello world! I guess that's a bold statement considering the likelihood that not many are actually going to read this. Let's try again. Hello friends! I have been wanting to start a blog for quite some time now but was held back because I couldn't think of a clever title for it. Last night, I started reading through an old journal of mine. It's got a fabric book cover with hand sewn buttons, loose and askew, reminding me of the fact that I never lose the ambition to be crafty and creative, I just never execute my ideas the way I originally see them in my head. Anyways, as I was reading through it and came upon the last entry made two years ago, I became inspired to write a new entry and thought, hey, I kind of like this writing deal. This influx of inspiration, I think, gave me an idea for the title to this blog. So thanks, journal, I will continue to neglect writing in you and write for this blog instead! I like to believe that these moments of sudden clarity result in a forthcoming change, as if they cause you to suddenly start to see the world differently and it gives me hope that maybe one day I won't worry so much about the little things and be okay with the fact that I lose the remote every time I use it, and I lock my keys in the car at least twice a month.

This is the journal that kickstarted this blog.
If it were a person it would have the
"face only a mother could love". 

So you may still be wondering about this strange title since I somehow haven't managed to talk about it yet. This blog will chronicle the unfortunate, yet hilarious events that I encounter much too frequently. From awkward social situations, to making a complete fool of myself in front of lots of strangers, I've got stories that will (hopefully) make you laugh. You may also come to find that it's completely okay if you're a clutz (also, you never grow out of that, so stop thinking you'll wake up one day and realize you were actually this graceful ballerina all along who simply hadn't grown into your feet yet). Just to get things started, I already had a doh! moment today. This is my second time writing this post, I deleted the first one on accident after I had already completed it, edited it at least five times, and even had my editor look over it (I'm calling her that even though she's my sister because it feels so sophisticated).

Being a microbiologist that likes to write articles for my company's newsletter, I may also throw in some science tidbits here and there since I feel an obligation to keep my readers educated on very important matters in the world of microbiology (doesn't that sound super fun?). I promise that when I write about these types of topics, I will not write them with the mind of a scientist but rather, with the mind of a silly human who just happens to be a scientist. Do you get the title now? 

I titled this post humble beginnings because I'm alright with the fact that my sister is probably going to be the only one that reads this post and that it may be awhile before I gain any followers. I also want to write solely for the sake of writing because it brings me a sense of comfort and now I can have an excuse for spending far too long in bed on a Saturday morning. So stick with me, it's bound to be a goofy ride and if all goes well, you may just learn some stuff too.