Edward A. Doisy, an American biochemist, was born on this date in 1839. He is known for working with Henrik Dam to discover and study Vitamin K. 10 facts about vitamin K:
It was first discovered when Henrik Dam and his team were studying cholesterol deficiency in Chickens in 192. They noticed that the chickens fed a cholesterol free diet started bleeding from their tag sites and even developed haemorrhages. Adding pure cholesterol to the feed didn’t help, so the team guessed there must be another associated compound.
They managed to extract this compound from cholesterol and called it the coagulation vitamin. As they were German speakers, the word they used was Koagulationsvitamin, which is why the compound ended up with the name vitamin K.
Edward A. Doisy’s contribution was to discover the structure and chemical make up of the vitamin. Dam and Doisy shared the 1943 Nobel Prize for medicine for their work on vitamin K1 and K2 published in 1939.
The precise function of vitamin K was not discovered until 1974, when prothrombin, a blood coagulation protein, was found to be dependent on vitamin K.
So we need it because it helps blood coagulate, or clot, properly. It is also important for bone health as it helps the body use Calcium.
People who have higher levels of vitamin K have greater bone density, while low levels of vitamin K have been found in those with osteoporosis.
Our gut bacteria can make vitamin K, so it’s relatively unusual to have a deficiency in it. Sometimes taking antibiotics can kill these bacteria and lead to a mild deficiency, mostly in people with low levels to start with.
Also a balanced diet helps. Foods vitamin K is found in include beef liver, vegetable oils, cereal grains, Broccoli, kale, Spinach, Cabbage, Asparagus, and dark green Lettuce.
Adults need approximately 1 microgram a day of vitamin K for each kilogram of their body weight. Any excess vitamin K is stored in the liver for future use.
Freezing foods can destroy vitamin K, but heating does not affect it.
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Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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