Science : The journey's ongoing

Weird?

2012-12-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

21st Dec 2012. Today I was reading up on Parkinson's disease which led me to reading up on James Parkinson, the English doctor who first mentioned Parkinson's disease in an essay (An Essay on the Shaking Palsy) he wrote in 1817. My eyes wandered to his DoB and DoD and I saw that he died today - 188 years back on 21st dec 1824. Maybe not a very interesting thing- but it felt kind of weird.

Mistakes make us unique

2012-11-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

A man's mistakes are his portals of discovery. - James Joyce

According to the United States Census Bureau, the world population is currently 7.057 billion. A huge number of people this is and what is interesting is that each of us, is unique, not just literally but also biologically. Each of us, except identical twins have a unique genome.

How are we so unique? What makes our genome so unique?

As in life, so in the molecules of life. It is our mistakes which make us unique. Our genome which refers to the DNA molecules present in each of our cell's nucleus keeps undergoing mutations. Sometimes these mutations could be really harmful- like in the case of cancer. Other times they could be useful too- like in the case of evolution where accumulated mutations made our Homo sapiens species.

Now what are these mutations? Mutations are like 'mistakes' in the DNA sequence which changes its sequence. Your parents genes undergo recombination to give a unique 'you'. Then your DNA makes further mistakes to make even more of a unique 'you'. Every new person has about 100 new mutations- a 100 mistakes guaranteed to make you unique. How cool!

And what do our mistakes give us?

A new perspective? A new function? A new way to approach the same problem?

Mistakes could be fun sometimes- and give a lesson later. They shouldn't be feared though but embraced and accepted for what they end up teaching us.

If I had my life to live over...I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
Nadine Stair.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

-Albert Einstein

The science of iodized salt

2012-11-20T11:02:00.004-08:00

Due to severe dissemination of the information that Iodine is good for us- the sale of Iodized salt is on fire in India. In fact, the salt being iodized is now being taken for granted in an average Indian household.

In fact, the government has prohibited marketing of non-iodized salt. Though one could see that the manufacturers of non-iodized salt are facing loss, one also observes that iodized salt is costlier.

But are we really taking iodized salt in our diet?

The manufacturers of iodized salt do not mix iodine in salt but they use a derivative of iodine , an iodate which lasts only for three months. Sounds okay? Well it isn't. The whole process of making the salt iodized followed by its packing, distribution and reaching the consumer may itself take three months or more which in many cases destroys the iodine content of the salt. Did you notice the rampant existence of hypothyroidism in Indians, specially in Indian women? Though other lifestyle and health factors definitely play a role but am iodine deficiency cannot be ruled out.

Further steps which do so are:

1. Salt is added to the vegetables or pulses during cooking instead of being used as table salt.

2. The storage of the unpacked salt in open containers.

Finally the iodine content is destroyed, leaving only the ordinary iodine less salt to be consumed which is still passed off as 'iodized salt.'

The need of science journalism in the modern times

2012-11-20T10:29:00.004-08:00

In the past hundred years, science has grown explosively to make human life much healthier and comfortable. Many dreadful diseases like polio and plague have been brought under control, better machines to accelerate the accurate diagnosis of diseases have been made and many lifestyle products like deodorants,cosmetics,soaps etc have come into being as a basic part and parcel of modern life. All these have been the gifts of science to us.

It is the ongoing journey of science which continues to give us hope over diseases like AIDS and Cancer as well as many other global problems like environmental pollution, food shortage,global warming, species extinction,climate change etc. Unfortunately, for all that science has given us and for all that science is capable of giving us, our society is still oblivious to the power of science. The understanding for science in our society has lagged behind tremendously and has not been able to keep up with the voluminous discoveries and inventions the scientific world has been bubbling with. Carl Sagan succinctly expresses this phenomenon when he states,'We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology'.

The main reason for this could be the excessive use of scientific and technical jargon used by the scientists which makes it difficult for the masses to understand it. Most scientists write their research paper for the scientific world so for a lay person to understand the implications of a new scientific discovery, is a totally uphill task. It is here that science journalism plays a tremendous role. The main goal of science journalism is to present scientific facts and research in a simple and entertaining manner that even a child might understand. Science on its own is an extremely interesting subject and the purpose of science journalism is to reveal this beauty of science without getting bogged down by the details.

The need for science journalism in the modern times is tremendous : unless the society understands science, it might have an antagonistic view towards it. Even today, in some under-privileged parts of the world, vaccines are looked at as 'evil' and are rumored to induce male sterility. Such misconceptions about science are a serious barrier towards achieving a healthier world. Science Journalism here, plays a very important role by dispelling myths associated with science and presenting crisp and clear science facts in an interesting manner.

Also, world over science funding is facing severe cuts. The governments today have come to view science experiments as a waste of funds - tending to actively fund a narrow range of research areas. Scientists need to constantly fight for funding since the grants are available for very specific areas and by provoking the curiosity of the general people, science journalism could do a world of good to science funding.

Science journalism is not limited to just writing about science. It also encompasses Radio, Television and Film making, holding science as the main subject. Programs like How the Universe works on Science TV channel and Dinosaur Planet on Discovery TV channel help in making science fun, entertaining and understandable by the masses.

People wish to know about science : Children are curious by nature and wish to know - Why the sky is blue? Why does it rain? Why do rainbows form? It is just the tedious coursework that they come across in school that in most of the cases changes our love for knowledge to love for grades. According to a survey by The New York Times, their Tuesday Science supplement is the most popular of all the weekly supplements. Science is not boring- Science invokes our curiosity even today yet this is not acknowledged.

We need more science journalists to bring about this change. Specially in a country like India, where myths and mythologies co-exist with all the science and technology development that we have achieved, we need science journalists in regional languages, science programs on televisions, science movies, science shows and science TV channels to make our people be more aware and be in sync with the times.

2012-11-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

According to the latest studies, the incidence of cancer is expected to rise to 75% in the developed nations and over 90% in the developing nations by 2030. Every day, world over, cancer claims about 17,000 lives apart from the new cases which emerge. The traditional medical science treatment of cancer has been associated with some debilitating side effects and hence research into the newer and safer methods to treat cancer is actively being pursued. More recently, it has come to light that many traditional oriental herbal medicines may have a possible cancer alleviating effect.

For example, Withaferin A, isolated from Withania somnifera (ashwagandha), a prominent plant in Ayurveda, has been found to stop the growth of some kinds of cancer cells, particularly breast cancer cells.

Similarly Honokiol, isolated from Magnolia grandiflora, used in the traditional Japanese medicine has been found to have very strong anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorogenic properties, with potential against brain cancer (GBM), gastric cancer and colon cancer.

Since cancer is a disease of diversity that is still in the process of being fully understood, there needs to be a collective pooling in of the knowledge resources of the world to get an insight into treating this deadly disease.

Hugs keep us alive!

2012-11-16T23:37:00.000-08:00

Scientists from University of Arkansas have found that hugging increases hemoglobin levels in the blood as well as the levels of oxytocin (love hormone/feel good hormone). Not only do hugs feel good but they also keep us good.

Here are some other benefits of hugging :

Biological benefits:

1. Curb appetite
2. Could relieve physical pain
3. Could help people with insomnia

Social benefits

1. Removes loneliness
2. Builds self esteem
3. Removes fear
4. Emotional healing

Makes me wonder, is this the reason behind Mata Amritanandamayi's healing hugs?

Here's a big one for you > :D <

Check out Beatrice the biologist!

2012-10-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

In the words of the owner," Beatrice the Biologist is part science blog, part comic, and part incoherent rambling: science edutainment at its finest."

Have fun :)

Check out more of her, here:

http://www.beatricebiologist.com/

Albert Einstein on clarity and understanding

2012-10-31T07:41:00.003-07:00

One cannot help but quote the witty Albert Einstein.

PhD Vs Marriage

2012-10-20T02:12:00.001-07:00

Lol, Jorge Cham and his wittiness ^_^ Enjoy :)

Marriage and Ph.D. well they seem so analogous. I guess that's why some PhD students say that they are married to their theses or they are in a relationship with their theses and its complicated ;)

I guess, married PhD people must be having either a lot of patience or quite depleted stores of patience. Anyway let's just hope most of us get lucky and aren't too lazy ;)

Why do we shed tears when we cry?

2012-10-15T09:08:00.002-07:00

One trait of us humans is that we cry, an emotional cry, along with shedding tears. Crying helps us to deal with the emotional and mental pain we feel. Feeling sad is understandable as sadness is an emotion that we all might feel from time to time but why do we shed this watery liquid along when we are sad?

No other animal or mammal specifically show this behavior to convey their sadness and yet we do it very instinctively. In the 1998 science fiction movie, Soldier, Sgt Todd is a soldier trained from infancy to not show any emotions. All he knows is aggression and fighting on command. During the course of the movie, he finds real human company and kindness but due to his non-social skills as well as an unfortunate misunderstanding, he is asked to leave from their establishment. There is a scene after this when Todd is sitting alone, staring into space and then suddenly tears start flowing from his eyes. He touches them and is surprised.

Sometimes tears surprise me just like that. Okay I am sad but I guess not at the level where I would cry and yet when tears start flowing, I actually become sad. It is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then after a good cry, the world seems like a better place. I wonder what is the neuro-scientific basis for that ? why we cry? and why crying makes us feel better? why we shed tears which makes our pain apparent? and tears are like water, good that they aren't colored otherwise they would have streaked our faces. Tears are colorless but they are somehow plainly visible.

Some theory says that crying is a response towards sadness which makes others aware of our pain - consequently it helps an individual to get help and further leads to bonding. This behavior could be easily seen in the case of babies - though their crying is mostly more sound, less tears. But yes, unless babies cry- their care takers might not know that they are hungry or they need a change of diaper.

Crying can't be bad, it just makes other people around uncomfortable and my personal opinion is that is why it is discouraged. But it makes the individual feel so much better. It reminds me of a poem by Alfred Tennyson, Home they brought her warrior dead.

HOME they brought her warrior dead:

She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:

All her maidens, watching, said,

‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,

Called him worthy to be loved,

Truest friend and noblest foe;

Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,

Lightly to the warrior stepped,

Took the face-cloth from the face;

Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,

Set his child upon her knee—

Like summer tempest came her tears—

‘Sweet my child, I live for thee.’

The line to be noticed here is, 'She must weep or she will die'. The importance of weeping has been well characterized since the olden times. Life begins by crying - how can crying be bad then?

So cry, cry like a baby. Reminded me of Kasey Chamber's song of the same title. Just for the fun of it, here are the lyrics :)

Cry like a baby

Well I never lived through the great depression
somethimes I feel as though I did
And I don't have answers for every single question
But that's OK 'cos I'm just a kid

Well I've seen pictures of my mother
When she looked exactly like me
And I've seen all my friends running for cover
Running from something they can't see

And it's not easy to get handle on my life
but I have tried it time and time again

But I still cry just like a baby
And I answer back to feel a little free
And I still fly even though I'm gonna fall
But I'm too far to let it get to me

Well I'm not much like my generation
Their music only hurts my ears
And I don't hide my pain to save my reputation
It's too hard to keep up with these years

And it's not easy to a habit disappear
But I have tried it time and time again

Brain stem cell transplant

2012-10-12T05:21:00.002-07:00

Consider this : If the kidneys stop functioning, we can go in for a kidney transplant, if the liver degenerates, there's liver tissue transplant. Corneal transplant, Pancreatic transplant, Lung transplant, Thymus transplant and so on the list goes. Now the question that one might ask is: Can we go in for brain transplant? Can we treat or control the neurodegenerative diseases by simply injecting in new brain cells?

The answer to this question is neither “yes” nor “no”, but “could be”. Yes it could be possible and presently the scientists are trying hard to change the “could be” to “yes”. The brain stem cell transplant is the newest possible strategy to treat neurodegenerative disorders wherein stem cells are transplanted into the brain that prevent the existing nerve cells from dying.

According to a recent report co-authored by several international research groups and led by Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (2010), the mechanism by which these injected brain cells prevent the existing brain from dying is by quickly establishing direct channels called gap junctions to the diseased or threatened nerve cells. These gap junctions allow molecular signals to pass back and forth between the transplanted brain cell and the host brain cell and thus prevent the latter from dying out.

So far, 400 Multiple Sclerosis patients worldwide have shown signs of recovery by this method. A landmark in this area was on Oct 20^th, 2005 when the FDA approved the first brain stem cell transplant on six Children suffering from Batten Disease, a rare genetic neurodegenerative disorder. Right now, intensive research is on to make Brain stem Cell Transplant, a safe and acceptable mode of treatment.

So far so good.

Now looking at the other side, a report published in Nature claims that unregulated brain stem cell transplant can cause brain tumours. Also a research team of MIT, recently claimed that Brain Stem Cell Transplants are more complicated than previously thought because the adult stem cells found in the brain are pre-programmed to make only certain kinds of connections making it impossible for a brain neural cell to be transplanted to the other parts of the brain or spinal cord.

Well, the case for brain stem cell transplant may not be very strong but certainly progress is going on. We hope that one day brain stem cell transplant does become a reality and help to treat millions worldwide suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, brain damage or stroke.

Brain & Behaviour : from molecules to the mind

2012-10-12T05:15:00.001-07:00

The human brain is an immensely fascinating yet a complex riddle. We may be further led to wonder at the ingenuity of the fact that to decipher this riddle, the only tool which can be used is itself. Only a brain can solve the puzzle of the brain. The solution to this conundrum would therefore, also give an insight into the many other unanswered questions concerning neurobiology, the most fascinating of which is the development and sustenance of behavior.

Behavior can simply be defined as the way an organism behaves or conducts itself. Among the most important ideas of the twentieth century, was the increasing acceptance that all aspects of human behaviour are functions of the brain.

Now that we are in twenty-first century, the notion that Brain is equivalent to behaviour is still far from being accepted, let alone being understood in terms of its implications. This would bring us to two questions: Does our different brains determine our behaviour and hence learning about the brain, tell us about the behaviour? The second question would be, do changing our behaviour mean a change in our brain? or vice versa? Intriguing questions, are they not?

A major part of our behaviour comes from our learning. This learning takes place by the net accumulation of our experiences and is stored in our memory. We learn to avoid behaviours which harm us and adapt more to the behaviours which benefit us. Also, there are People who show varying degrees of self-destructive behaviour, which is interesting as there is learning here, that the so-and so behavior is bad, but still there is no change in the behavior. This can be seen clearly in the case of substance abuse patients.This is something which the science is trying to explain at the cellular and molecular level.

Synaptic Plasticity plays a very important role in this learning and memory. Synaptic plasticity refers to the change in strength of the synapse in response to either use or disuse of transmission over synaptic pathways. It takes place at the molecular level, so this means that ultimately our behaviour could be explained on the basis of the behaviour of the molecules. Also it is known that the synaptic transmission could be increased or decreased by activity and hence we come to a very interesting phenomenon: behavioural changes which take place by changes taking place at the synapses.

Although relatively little is known about the functional roles of these phenomena, such changes in synaptic function and structure remain the leading candidates for some of the fundamental mechanisms by which experiences of any type cause the reorganization of neural circuitry and thereby modify thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Thus, it is not totally untrue to say that our behaviour is being governed by the behaviour of the molecules in our brain. Hopefully, by understanding the behaviour of these molecules we can understand the link between the brain and behaviour better.

Dogs left behind in Fukushima : stressed

2012-10-11T04:31:00.003-07:00

The multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 caused one of the biggest nuclear disasters in the history of Japan and was second only to the Chernobyl incident of 1986: More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from within a 20-kilometer ring around the site and the possible debilitating impact on the environment is still not known. But it was also a calamity for thousands of pets left behind. The animals were, of course distressed . Now researchers claim that evidence that the Fukushima event was particularly devastating, at least for the estimated 5800 dogs registered in the area.

The researchers compared behavior patterns and levels of the stress hormone cortisol excreted in the urine of dogs rescued from the Fukushima exclusion zone with dogs abandoned in another region of Japan. It was found that the Fukushima dogs had much lower levels of agression towrads unfamiliar people, were harder to train as well as exhinited less attachment to caregivers as compared to dogs from other region according to the team reports in Scientific Reports. Stress hormone levels were also five to 10 times higher for the Fukushima dogs and persisted for much longer after their rescue.

Team member and animal behavior specialist Miho Nagasawa, of Azabu University in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, says it is unclear whether the greater stress resulted from experiencing the earthquake, a longer time before rescue, or the sudden and complete disappearance of humans.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/scienceshot-fukushima-dogs-were-.html

Targeting the sense of smell of mosquitoes to combat malaria

2012-10-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

A research conducted by scientists from Vanderbilt, Northwestern & Stanford University have found a possible anti-malarial target in the sense of olfaction of the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes (Anopheles genus) use its sense of smell to detect the host to take its blood meal from. By comparing the homology shared between the fruit fly and the mosquito for the genes responsible for olfaction sensory pathway, scientists have found them to be similar in the case of Arr1, an arrestin protein. This protein could possibly be targeted to make anti-malarial drugs.

Research paper:
William B. Walker, Elaine M. Smith Taha Jan, L.J. Zwiebel. A functional role for Anopheles gambiae Arrestin1 in olfactory signal transduction. (2008) Journal of Insect Physiology 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031.

Being a nice person : the plus and the minus

2012-10-02T03:55:00.002-07:00

Nice guys finish last, an oft repeated statement which has been attributed to the baseball manager Leo Durocher who used it first in 1939. Though his remark was regarding the 'nice' baseball players who didn't have the killer instinct to make their team win, this statement has been applied to many different social scenarios and most commonly to the gender attraction.

It is stated that nice guys are not preferred by women. That women might crib and cry that 'All men are bastards' but actually it is they who 'prefer' the deviant ones. Is it because bad guys tend to get ahead in life often as compared to the nice guys who make way for others? Or is it the sheer thrill of being with a rebel and wanting to tame him?

And of course it isn't hard to understand why 'success' is attractive. Since the time of Neanderthals and probably before that as well, females chose strong partners who would provide the best for their children. This behavior is also seen in many other animals species. And in the world of humans, it is more or less the same even today- the rich and successful males who might be inconsiderate and bratty are somehow more attractive to the females than the nice, sensitive kinds. Success is an aphrodisiac and somehow the female brain has equated it with brashness. Hence the attraction.

Anyway, but what is interesting is thinking about the advantages of being a nice girl. In terms of male and female relationships, nicer females might not have specific advantages as compared to the good looking bratty females, but let us talk about the advantages nice girls have in their relationship with other females. A group of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, and Arizona State University set about to seek precisely these answers in the wild baboons at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. After their research of almost 20 years, they came up with a whole trove of biological and genetic information.

They worked out a complex behavioral analysis of the females and found that females who scored high on the 'nice meter' were approached most often by other females, were most sociable in general, and had stable relationships. "Aloof" females, though less sociable, also had stable relationships. Not surprisingly, "loner" animals were most often left alone and their partner relationships were also less stable. These 'loners' also had strikingly higher glucocorticoid levels than did the other two groups, suggesting that stress takes a greater toll on the less socially adept.

"This is a highly innovative study," says anthropologist Sarah Hrdy of the University of California, Davis. "It uses behavioral measures that are meaningful to the baboons themselves to probe the relationship between fitness and personality style." Hrdy says the paper clarifies previous work by these and other authors showing that close social bonds—"friendships, if you want to call them that," she says—help ensure the survival of a female's offspring as well as her own longevity.

So being a good, non competitive female is good for a female to bond with other females. This is turn increases her longevity and lowers her stress level.

Take home message?

Being a good girl might be increasingly being viewed as something which is more of society-pleasing but maybe a few qualities of this good girl image like 'kindness', 'friendliness' 'caring' etc could possibly lower the stress levels of females. So it might be good to be a good girl :)

HIV treatment : Gene Therapy shows promise

2012-09-29T03:46:00.001-07:00

Timothy Brown, became world famous as the first—and so far the only—person to apparently have been cured of his HIV infection. In an interview, he said,“My case is the proof in concept that HIV can be cured,”.

Certainly. His unique case did give hope to the science community as well as possible hints into treating HIV. Gene therapy is one such strategy that is being actively being worked on to emulate Timothy's case : he received blood transfusions from a patient having a specific mutation which makes a person resistant to HIV.

In one particular case study, a patient in Chicago who received gene therapy and then stopped taking antiretroviral drugs saw his HIV return within a month, as normally happens when people interrupt their treatment. But a few weeks later, it was seen that the virus began to decline, and it dropped to undetectable levels in accordance with the evidence that the gene therapy had altered his T cells.

"Those kinetics are very different from what I've seen in treatment interruption studies, and we've done many," says Pablo Tebas, an infectious disease clinician at the University of Pennsylvania who heads the East Coast study of six participants. "This patient goes down, way down."

Tebas recognizes that his study is uncontrolled and that they've seen this response in only one patient. What's more, the patient already had a natural advantage because he has a crippled CCR5 gene in one of the two copies he inherited. Tebas suspects that the gene therapy coupled with his natural CCR5 mutation combined to lead to the dramatic result. "This is a very small experiment, and I don't think it's a cure by any means, but the Berlin patient is only one patient, and it changed research priorities," Tebas says. "This shows that there's a correlation between antiviral activity and the proportion of modified cells. It shows a path forward."

Although researchers do not expect the gene therapy to entirely clear HIV from the body, they hope it will create a "functional cure"—in other words, contain the virus to such a powerful extent that people no longer need antiretrovirals.

Virologist David Margolis, who is conducting his own HIV cure studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says many questions remain about the impact of this gene therapy, however. "These data are interesting, and encouraging, but still incomplete," he says. Yet Margolis is "impressed" by the percentage of cells that have the artificially modified CCR5 gene.
Even if this gene therapy proves itself, the cost and technical challenge of the intervention means it likely will have little chance of being used outside of wealthy countries. But Tebas notes that the cost of antiretrovirals also is high and that any calculation would have to balance one against the other.

Acknowedgement:

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/gene-therapy-may-thwart-hiv.html?ref=hp

Panax ginseng : The miracle of a plant

2012-09-28T11:03:00.002-07:00

Panax ginseng is a plant which belongs to the Araliaceae family and is a slow growing perennial plant with fleshy roots. The genus Panax means "all-heal" in Greek, sharing its origin with "panacea" and was named so becuase of its well known and wide use as in Chinsese medicine as a muscle relaxant. Panax ginseng should not be confused with American ginseng, Siberian ginseng, or Panax pseudoginseng. Strangely, ginseng grows only in the northern hemisphere- in the cooler climates.

The name ginseng is derived from the chinese term rénshēn where rén means "man" and shēn means a kind of herb; this refers to the root's characteristic forked shape, which resembles the legs of a man.

Fresh or dried root of ginseng is used for various therapeutic reasons. Some of these uses are as follows :

Internal use
- To improve mood, physical & intellectual performance.
- In case of lack of appetite, stress, insomnia, chronic illness.
- Helps men with impotence and sexual problems, and is a good general tonic.
- Promotes vasodilatation, and also act as an anxiolytic as well as antidepressant.
- Effective in stimulating learning, memory, and physical capabilities
- Supporting radioprotection, providing resistance to infection and having excellent antioxidant and anti-fatigue effects.
- It is also used to enhance energy metabolism and reducing cholesterol and triglycerides while elevating HDL levels.
External use
- Used in cosmetics for its rejuvenating properties.
- Beneficial effect on circulation and the plant regulates the tone of the smooth muscles of the blood vessels.
- This vast amount of properties give Ginseng an almost unlimited use in cosmetics. Its activity makes it useful in nourishing creams, in treating wrinkled and aged skin and in all cosmetic products used to retard the onset of age.
- In body milks and bath products, Ginseng acts by optimizing the cutaneous metabolism of the whole body and in capillary products, Ginseng may be used in treatment products for weak hair and lotions for preventing hair loss as it stimulates growth and gives strength.

Science & Spirituality - Two sides of the same coin

2012-09-28T10:44:00.001-07:00

Something that Carl Sagan said matches my views quite closely :

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”

Even Albert Einstein, in his later years, became a something of a believer. He insisted that "Science without religion is lame, Religion without science is blind." Being a believer does not have to even mean believing in a particular god - it could be something as simple as believing in an idea. The idea of a power more powerful than us.

Some schools of thought say that our thoughts are supposed to be like a form of a wave energy with which we create our universe. Buddha said, 'As you think, so you are.' We could explain all our spiritual laws by means of theoretical physics, by speaking about them at cellular and molecular level even- and we could 'experience' the inner depths of spirituality to be at peace with ourselves and feel the guidance leading us towards Knowledge. And 'Science' is from a latin word which means 'to know'.

I believe we need science to explain spirituality and we need spirituality to give us an inner peace and guidance to do science

India's National Microbe!

2012-09-16T12:07:00.001-07:00

Move over peacock & tiger, now India needs a national microbe.

Eight candidates have been shortlisted and they sound better than our politicians in marketing themselves for votes ;)

1. Mucor : Mighty Mucor :

Although I look like fluffy cotton, I am not a delicate darling. I can breakdown hard stuff like wood and cardboard. With waste mountains eclipsing the sun in our cities you just can't do without me. I am your source of the new fuel 'ethanol' in cars.

2. Rhizobium : Ready Rhizo

Although I live in a rented house – root nodules of leguminous plants, I pay a very substantial rent by fixing nitrogen, the building blocks of proteins for all the land and the landlord. Won't you vote for me?

3. Blue Mold : Bold Blue mold

People keep me apart because I cause food spoilage. But I ooze a substance called Penicillin which is used as an important medicine.

4. Wild yeast : Wild wild yeast

I get under urad dal's skin and secretly make the idli batter rise. People think I am pungent but I give plenty of B vitamins. I am the wild yeast. Vote for the mysterious me!!

5. Bateriophage T4 : Captain Phago

We may be 100 times smaller than a bacterium but we give the power to the Ganga. We are the magicians with a wand that inject toxins into bad bugs and make them vanish to restore rivers to pristinity. Vote for Captain Phago toli and we will take charge clearly!

6. Spirogyra : Sunny spiro

I am the cheerful green hero which floats easily on freshwater. I love to hog the sunlight to trap carbon and drive away climate change blues. I am the hero of the 21st century. Don't forget to vote for me.

7. E. Coli : King coli

I am the king of the gut. I grow so fast that I keep all the nasty bugs out. I am not all mass and no substance - I make a very important vitamin K2 without which you feel weak and tired. So you need my vote and I need yours.

8. Lactobacillus : Longy lacto

Do you know who makes yummy dahi and paneer, who keeps your gut healthy and drives away nasty bugs? It's me, it's me!! So vote for me.

So what are you waiting for! Cast your votes here :)

http://www.ceeindia.org/cee/nationalmicrobe/index.html

(Wonder who got this interesting idea?)

Mass extinction of Dinosaurs- Asteroid wasn't the only culprit it seems.

2012-09-06T05:50:00.002-07:00

A research by New University of Washington research has indicated that apparently the mass extinction of dinosaurs was already ongoing when the six-mile asteroid hit Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula 65 million years ago. Due to the volcanic eruptions on India's Deccan Plateau that heated up the planet and killed life on the ocean floor, the mass extinction was already under way.

The press report can be read here:

http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/65967-mass-extinction-underway-before-dino-killer-asteroid

Protease research in the era of systems biology

2012-09-05T10:19:00.001-07:00

Proteins as enzymes transform/digest/change other biomolecules. Proteases are proteins- which digest other proteins. And you probably guessed it, proteases are used for regulation of proteins, especially enzymes. In most cases proteases act as specific modulators of signaling molecules and their underlying pathways in addition to their degradative roles. However, proteases do not act alone, but form cascades, circuits and networks that all dynamically interconnect to form the protease web, which defines the proteolytic potential of a cell or tissue in a defined condition.

The most famous protease is the HIV-1 protease.

To describe the protease web and its net activity several novel high-throughput proteomic techniques, in the field termed degradomics, have been developed. Emerging systems biology methods to evaluate the expression, activity and substrate discovery of proteases are presented. Understanding the protease web and its perturbations in pathology will help to develop new therapeutics for the treatment of diseases, such as cancer, arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Source: http://www.clip.ubc.ca/UserFiles/File/adk_biol_chem_07.pdf

Breast cancer patients with high density mammograms do not have increased risk of death

2012-09-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

According to a study conducted in over 9,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer, high mammographic density was not associated with the risk of death from breast cancer or death from all causes combined. This results would could make one wonder why this is so considering that high mammographic breast density ups the risk for developing breast cancer but this study has clarified that its not associated with the risk of death among women diagnosed with breast cancer.

To view an interview with a radiologist about digital mammography and the challenges posed by dense breasts, please visit: http://benchmarks.cancer.gov/2012/08/zuurbier-discusses-digital-mammography-and-dense-breasts/

Source: http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2012/breastdensitymammogram

Link between Parkinson Disease and Cancer

2012-09-05T09:47:00.001-07:00

University of Utah study examines association between Parkinson disease and cancer

A University of Utah, Salt Lake City study that used a Utah genealogic database and a statewide cancer registry to examine the relationship between Parkinson disease (PD) and cancer suggests an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma in patients with PD and their relatives, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. The University of Utah is home to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

The press release can be read here:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/jaaj-sea083012.php

Source: National Cancer Insitute

Gene identified that sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs

2012-08-23T02:39:00.001-07:00

NCI scientists have found that a gene, Schlafen-11 (SLFN11), sensitizes cells to substances known to cause irreparable damage to DNA.

The researchers used 60 cell types to identify predictors of cancer cell response to classes of DNA damaging agents, widely used as chemotherapy treatments for many cancers. They found that high SLFN11 expression independently predicted overall survival for a group of ovarian cancer patients who were treated with DNA damaging agents in a NCI clinical trial. Similar results were found for chemotherapy response to colorectal tumors.

Specifically, to identify potential genes that could predict the toxicity of DNA damaging agents, the scientists correlated the expression of more than 17,000 genes from the NCI-60 (a 60 cell line panel used to screen for, and characterize, novel anticancer drugs), with the activity of four different topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibitors. As a result, they identified SLFN11 as the single gene to show a highly significant positive correlation in all of the tested Top1 inhibitors. After finding this key gene for Top1 inhibitors, the scientists expanded their analysis to 1,444 other compounds commonly tested in the NCI-60, many with known mechanisms of action and routinely used in clinical practice. The scientists consistently observed significant positive correlations of SLFN11 expression, not only with Top1 inhibitors, but with other classes of DNA damaging agents including cisplatin, doxorubicin and etoposide. As a secondary check on their clinical findings, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on cancer cells from various tumor tissue types where it was known that SLFN11 expression was silenced, and cell death or cell cycle arrest occurred in response to numerous DNA damaging agents. The results of these studies further supported SLFN11 as a gene warranting continued investigational interest.

Source: http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/nciinthenews/2012/SchlafenPNASNewsNote

An international institute for dream research!

2012-08-23T02:37:00.001-07:00

I was quite excited to know that there's one entire huge interational instituion dedicated to just dream research.

http://www.dreamresearch.ca/

Dreams, what might be their purpose really? Our old religious texts are full of how so and so had a dream in which God told them to do something or forewarned them about something or told them of something nice which was going to happen.

So some people say that dreams show future, like they are some sort of a prophecy or something. Most of us just go through life without giving much thought to the 'why' - we just accept dreams as they come.

Alright I am sleepy, good night.