Valleyz

Valley of Flowers 2

2011-01-06T15:17:00.000-08:00

Continuing from the previous post Valley of Flowers,

Original Source Wikipedia.org

Details about the photograph and ownership, find it here

Wishing all the readers a happy and propserous 2011. I would like to share a picture from the place. I hope you like it. Thank you all.

Valley of Flowers

2010-12-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

Valley of flowers, a beautiful, stunning, picturesque valley with 300 different alpine flowers is a discovery by a botanist and trekker Frank Smith in 1931 by accident. Naturally the serene valley left a mark on his thoughts that he even penned a book titled 'Valley of Flowers'.If you want to further explore about this beautiful and heavenly valley follow this link and see for yourself.
Discovery of Valley of Flowers

More stunning pictures of flora and fauna at this wiki link.
Wikilink- Valley of Flowers

More information about when to visit and lots of other information on hotels etc., at this link.
More Information on Valley of Flowers

Now there's a movie too titled Valley of Flowers, I don't think you knew it before.
Movie titled Valley of Flowers

There's one more link that I wanted to share.
Another beautiful picture of Valley of Flowers
What a co-incidence as I provide you with so many links and this blog Valleyz is themed after Valleys and there's many flowers here too, haha :)

I hope you have enjoyed this sudden online discovery of mine. I wanted to share something special for all of my readers who visit this blog and take their time to leave comments. I thank you for all your visits and the follow. I hope year 2011 brings peace and joy in the lives of all people on the planet. Wishing you the best and signing off my last blog post of the year 2010. So here's a beautiful valley for you to explore. Don't forget to leave your comments on What do you think about Valley of Flowers. See you in 2011. Cheers!!!

Can You Create Your Own Happiness?

2010-12-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

During a recent discussion on a question behind the philosophy of happiness, I made a comment which I would like to make available to you and please feel free to leave your thoughts on the subject.

The link to the discussion post can be found here.

The questions under discussion are as follows, And below you can find my reply to these questions.

1. Do you think people can create their own happiness?
2. Do you think opportunities for happiness come along, and then you have to seize them?
3. Do you think it's even reasonable for people to expect much happiness, considering that life is so full of hazards and unexpected developments which constantly upset and overturn our dreams and our plans?

Before answering your questions I will again like to stress what does happiness means to us? like by putting this question ,

What is happiness?

Being in a happy state of mind is what I think.

I think it's an emotion. It is an illusion. Like all the emotions in this world. The real question is why are we so dependent on such emotions?

1.Yes, of course. But we all have different standards. Is there any need for a single standard?

2. Yes, as well as no. Yes in a sense you need to grab some opportunities like say in a relationship by showing how much you care for the other person.

And no because for some things you just can't do anything and are helpless, like a farmer waiting for the rains for his standing crops, he could do nothing but is at the mercy of the skies. If there's no rainfall in whole of a nation, it's a troublesome situation for the country. A farmer as such expects rainfall and when it rains, he is happy. That's his happiness to reap a full harvest.

3.Life is as such a hazard in itself so to speak. If we think how much time have we spent on this planet, it feels like very little. Though we may have some memories of old, but still the moment we live in is the one we grasp at hand. As such a life is so short that sometimes we miss the mark to measure it up precisely, is what I think personally.

And regarding your question, is it reasonable? Yes, of course. What do we think the purpose of life is?

And the latter part of your question is nothing but the reality of life, there's no way to escape it. Death is part of life, hazards as such, humanity has learned the bitter hard way how to survive.

If we are to think that nothings gonna struck ahead in the future as we see now and feel that human species have evolved. I think we are a bit over confident about what we have achieved altogether.

Dreams and plans are meant to be upset on this planet, because we haven't found the root cause of an ultimate plan called Universe and hence. If we still are happy and are creating our happiness then there's nothing wrong in it but the thing that we are overtly generous.

Does that mean one does not need to create his own happiness?

No.

But whatever happiness oneself creates must be reflecting the reality and truth is what I think.

What views do you have regarding happiness?

Why do you think, that this world exists?

2010-11-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

The world keeps moving on and we keep searching for answers, the many secrets behind the existence of this Universe. For some people, it just does. Some believe in theories like the Big Bang theory. But ultimately no one on this planet have complete answers depicting why and How this Universe exists?
There are several laws indicating that the Universe is expanding at regular intervals and research community predicts it will continue to do so in future and may be indefinitely.

But for many of the people on the planet it exists for a clearly defined purpose. A purpose indicating a scheme. A journey leading towards an ultimate destination.

Though the scientists can explain laws of physics around which a Universe exists. But they cannot deny the claim that a God exists. Renowned Scientist and the Author of best selling book A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking made a mention that he doesn't claim that a God doesn't exist, Hawking noted, probably people presume to hold the view of God to laws of physics, an impersonal God, he quipped.

We see there are several laws explaining Physics and everything inside the Universe, as for the existence of emotions like joy, happiness, sorrow and other intimate moments in life, there is no tangible explanation to these questions, as to Why do these emotions exist? What are the laws governing them?
Why does a man has such a short time here on the planet, as if for sightseeing? He seldom is satisfied with what he has got. Why do these feelings crop inside a human brain? Any reflections?

And then during a recent discussion on the same question I felt may be, so that we can see for ourselves. That blind cannot see, dumb cannot speak, deaf cannot hear, lame cannot walk. How beautiful and lucky to have all those abilities and above all the mindset to think. Think that which is right and then make a choice. Those who have made a choice are successful in this world, I felt.

May be this is the reason why a Universe exists for us to make a choice based on hard facts and actual Truth that could fit the bill. Please feel free to leave your comments on the subject. Thank you.

Concepts of Good and Bad, Right and Wrong, Truth and False

2010-11-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

There has been deliberations and discussions on Good, Bad and Evil. That, the man has been leading his life on these concepts since ages. What are these words, where and how they might have originated? What might have forced a man to think about these concepts in the first place?

To discover these very basic concepts, we will look into some common and basic natural laws of Universe upon which a human being exists.

I think for that we need to first consider the fundamental importance of good and bad. Evil, we can discuss about it later. Because evil is closely related with good and bad.

So now we will get down to discuss good and bad.
But before discussing further about good and bad, let's first consider which organ holds this ideas in the first place. It is naturally brain. So what is a brain?

In my words brain is an important organ in a human body that controls a human being physically as well as psychologically.

What does the web say about brain?

that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
mental ability; "he's got plenty of brains but no common sense"
mind: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head"

Source:Wordnetweb.com/princeton.edu

So next comes mind, What is mind?
So again lets answer this,

In my words it is also a faculty of brain, which are synonymous with each other. Where brain controls the central nervous system of the human body physically, mind(thought processes) does that job psychologically.

Then again brain stimulates the thought processes called mind. It is not ideas which stimulate these thought processes but brain. Why?
Let us further discuss this. If we look closely thought processes(mind) as such are not completely dependent on ideas as much as it is dependent on brain.

Brain stimulates, holds and alters thought processes originating in brain time to time we call these thought processes as mind to overcome the various physical needs of the body such as nutrition and various other needs of the body including physiological and sexual and to judge danger. And hence as such they are never constant depending up on the type and nature of the needs including time dependent needs like a nature's call.

So I think as a principle there is no such fundamental need of ideas for the brain to function. Here, by fundamental I mean to suggest that it is not compulsory. A brain can accept or discard any idea based on its faculty of reason or thought processes or mind in other words. So I think it clearly proves ideas does not hold mind( thought processes) but brain.

And moreover what is an Idea?

Idea:Any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. Source:Dictionary.com

The thought process is naturally linked with the human brain to accumulate ideas on its own. Whereas an idea is a pre-existing notion as a result of previous mental understanding, awareness or activity. When there's no such ideas existing in case of primitives, so it was the mind (natural thought processes) of brain which led him to ideas. And not vice versa.

Test case could be the first of the human species on the planet. What ideas they must have had to think further, if we consider them to be the very first primitives. Possibly absolutely nil.

Belief of course could be necessarily wrong but if proven could become basis for good. Hence as such there is strong clamor for beliefs even in this age. Then what is belief ?

Belief: any cognitive content held as true.

Source: Wordnetweb.princeton.edu

Cognitive:

1. of or pertaining to cognition.

2. of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.

Belief: something believed; an opinion or conviction: a belief that the earth is flat.

Source:Dictionary.com

Belief hence as such is in the sphere of man's ability to think and act. If you do not hold the belief that you will survive next day, then you might not think to protect it. It is the belief and thinking ability which helps man further his aims in this world and he has in fact traveled so far. If there's no belief then there's no world.

It is this natural thinking ability of man to distinguish between what is right and wrong as well as what is good and bad that sets him apart from the rest of the world, based on whatever standards and measures of the prevailing times or faculty of thought, that those early primitives might have subscribed to.

This makes man the single most powerful species on earth on the basis of this ability to distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong and truth and false.

So for this mind to sustain itself I think, it doesn't necessarily need any ideas from an outside source. And ideas, like belief could be good and bad, right and wrong, true and false until proven as such. But when it is proven beyond point, you can't help but accept it. Because it then transforms into truth.

Further discussing good and bad, and to move any further I think we need to look at some other words like True and False. Because I think good and bad are very much based on these words in essence.

What do you mean by True and False?

True is a thing which is consistent with reality according to wordnetweb.princeton.edu
False is a thing not in accordance with fact or reality or actuality according to wordnetweb.princeton.edu

So I think, societies, religions or people based on their standards of calculations made rules for themselves for both the physical as well as ideological aspects of life before any tangible proof of any religion existed. And since time immemorial these standards have been revised and updated. So now discussing further, it is rational to consider that a thing which is physical or ideological in nature to be considered good has to follow the natural principles of truth and false.

So now, good in essence is based on fundamental natural principles which are required to be consistent with reality.Natural principles because man is directly dependent on them, it cannot go underground or under water to live. He has to follow those principles in essence. Without which he may loose his faculties of thought leading to his ultimate demise.

And false in essence is based on fundamental natural principles which are not consistent with reality or fact or actuality and has to be discarded whenever such a case arises. And hence as such can be considered bad.

Societies, Religions and Governments are following a systematic continuous process of measurements and standards to evolve. They devise rules and laws about What is right and What is wrong for a society? Then there are further divisions involving religions, as religions are based on ideology, beliefs and faiths. A secular state does not subscribe to religion, where as a religious state subscribes to such a notion. So I think it is up to people to decide What is good? What is bad? , What is Right? What is Wrong? and What is Truth and What is False? for their respective societies and that in turn again has to confirm with international standards of human existence, failing which a scenario of conflict arises.

Evil, by this time you can easily figure out, I think that which is wrong, bad and false can be considered evil.

Problems and issues arise when it comes to ideological differences, because nothing is physical in nature and everything is illusion.

That's where indications of existence of a quintessential power behind all these natural systems come in to consideration and hence as such there is a claim for this Universe put up by various religions. And indicates about a scheme around which these complex life systems both physical and ideological in nature exist. That is the reason why we see expressions like joy, sorrow, happiness and sadness in human beings.

If the world exists as it is claimed it just exists, What has it got to do with these expressions? Can societies exist without these very basic human expressions of Joy and sorrow? It is for you and me to decide on a personal level.

Thank you for reading. What do you think about these concepts? Please feel free to leave your comments.

Is faith necessary to experience miracles?

2010-11-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

To a question at an online discussion forum, my reply I make available to you.

Do you have to believe in God or be religious to experience miracles?

"We do not know where we were, before coming into this world. Nor any man has ever disclosed where he went after closing his eyes. Why? Have we learned a single lesson about this phenomenon.

If you could understand the human reproductive process, you'll be baffled to know, how and why a sperm originating from between your loins has an exact size and shape. Exact information to swim through the dark passage inside of woman's womb. Of all the millions, one or two or three sometimes more than these have the ability to copulate with the female egg. Forming the very first embryonic cell.

At that particular instance of time, there is no tangible outlook about How this embryonic cell will turn out. Whether it will be a male or female, dark or light in colour and many other important physical features, like green or blue eyes, black or blond hair and so on.

This embryonic cell multiplies and forms the very basis of each and every inch of a human body. No matter you extract a cell from skin of under your feet or from any region of your body. All of these features are same. And then again it is only our tongue which can taste things, its only our nose which can smell, its only our eyes which can see, and not any other part of our body even though the construction of the basic cell is same. It's only the information carried through brain to the rest of the organs dictates an order to be obeyed. Without which the human body may not function as it was designed to be. The organs stimulate every other order dictated from the brain. And then the ultimate authority brain itself again comprises these same basic cells. It is an engineering marvel, a master piece at work, like no other in this world.

As we can see it is a miracle in itself, a single sperm giving rise into a behemoth of billions of cells by the time a human baby is born.

So, if we take this into account that indeed this is a miracle. Then this miracle happened even before the advent of religions in this world.

So this can be held as an ample testimony that religiousness or belief in God or God are the next stages to evolution theory. It shows that we don't need any more miracles because we ourselves already are a miracle. May be now the only job left in this world is to uncover these miracles and praise them."

What views do you have regarding this question? Please feel free to share your thoughts on the subject. I wish all readers the best in life.

You can follow the discussion thread here.

Does faith or otherwise make any difference in daily life?

2010-10-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Are you religious?

Predictably the responses were varying to this question.
Among them I will mention one of the response to this discussion.
The reason I am discussing these issues is, can we throw any light on matters such as these through discussions. And in that spirit please do note that, the User reply or my response does not hold any significance. These discussions are certainly not about taking sides. But in general, reflection of our own ideas and thoughts.

Are you religious ?
Not that one to know who is one and who is not.
But does it make any difference in your life if you are in everyday life.?

There were some people who had belief part of their daily life and some people didn't. One of the anonymous user expressed "religion overdose" of mass and congregations as the reason for his exit from the religion, where he felt a lot of pressure. I replied to him, I make you available that comment. The reason for only this comment, I felt for a moment whether or not the User made the right call. I am not interested in anyone's choice. Nor can we sit here and make any clear opinion unless we know a person personally. Moving ahead to my reply to the User.

"I agree with your situation, and I truly empathize with you, certainly I do feel sometimes that religious congregations and preachings overdo the acts, where we feel somebody is making an ass of our situation.
We feel like we're grounded, crave more and more to be liberated, to be free and wild, with no strings attached.
Thank you for sharing this again!
But online debates itself influencing your decision creates doubts in my mind, that assumptions you have made about religion hold to be true.
Can online debates only could solve a problem? No. But we can have some information guiding in that direction, and subsequent action on our part, digging into the root of problem, may help uncover the mysteries of life.
May be you have reached the point, and then thought something differently. But if I were you, I certainly would have dig deeper before reaching any conclusion.
Like go in for a search, What exactly is the crux of the matter ? Why these particular set of beliefs hold out to be true ? How can they be so right that I need to believe in them or otherwise ? But then life is such a funny thing, it plays so differently to every moment in time. Sometimes I wonder if we could capture time.But some principles in life hold out to be true with or without religious sanctity, the principles of nature.
Like for example buoyancy, had there been no buoyancy we could not have explored the world, we still could not have been, where we are today, and where we are moving ahead into the future.
But I am here to respect everyone's views and I am just curious to know, how people lead their daily lives, does faith or something else takes root in their daily life matters and I am not going to be outbalanced by the direction of this thread ."

What makes part of your daily life? Is it belief in a God or Spirituality, Meditation or other techniques or Atheism ? How does it help you in taking daily life decisions? Are you sure it is anything to do with belief or faith? Are you sure you are making the right call ?

But the bottom line I think is, whether we believe it or not, it matters what is inside of us, what we think about. Because there's not all that we like in this world. Whether or not we like it, life's gonna end one day.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

You can take a look at the thread here.

Do we need to solve the mysteries of life ?

2010-10-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Continuing from where I left in my previous post.............

The discussion continued, strong positions were taken by both the protagonists and the antagonists on the Creation theory...... And then some thoughts crossed my mind and I replied in the spirit of the discussion atmosphere.....

Further If we look at the history, man never knew about laws to co exist, it was these people like Adam, Abraham, Ram, Buddha, Nanak, Jesus, Moses, David, Aaron, Noah and Muhammad that religions of today are thriving and based on those commonality of ideas originating from religions of old, that today's system of governance is based on. Whether you look east or west. We derive the same light from a star called Sun. I wonder what would have happened, if there were two stars, then it wouldn't have been all darkness. Darkness too has a very important role to play. And continuing Moon would have no role to play.

Though, after the world wars, extremist ideologies of any form were put to nil. Equality, freedom and human rights were brought into picture. These are the same things above said people preached. They achieved tremendous success and that is the reason why today we have so many religions co existing.

That doesn't mean extremist ideologies have evaporated from earth, they are there still since time immemorial. Only the battle grounds are being different.

I don't think religion's of old had any thing to do with these extremist ideologies of today. And also delving further about difference of opinion on religions, all the above mentioned people were mere mortals, though some were humans and some are believed to be God's Avatar, but the idea was one and the same, to save humanity from pitfalls.

Bad things about religion is people take it at face value and all of a sudden become God's people and start preaching, that indeed is also the flip side of the religion, because it naturally contradicts the rights of other people who do not believe in God or Who believe in a different God.

So, to bring about a semblance of equality to all the concerned groups of people, there should be more discussions on subjects like

Whether God exists ?

If yes Where is He ?

What does God want from its people ?

What people want from God ?

Which religion is true ? ( Based on facts, evidence and critical thinking and not on beliefs ) . This is the toughest question I think, and only collective will of the people can solve it, but not difference of opinion, of course provided people believe in religions.

What violence Religions proscribe ? Are they justified in today's world ? As I think, to ostracize, persecute verbally is also violence.

This is an important question in today's context as many think they have the mandate from God for their actions. And all those people thinking are humans and they are not a supernatural force like Angels etc.,

Are atheist's right in their Observations ?

Where do Atheists stand in today's society ?

Are the rights of Atheist's looked after ? ( because naturally Religions of today are in strong positions )

If God doesn't exist, Which way should the world move ahead ?

What is the price for peace ?

So and so, but the questions and thought process certainly doesn't end here, nor it is the only suggestion coming out of that particular discussion.Discussions and more discussions are needed based on critical thinking and hard facts..............Please feel free to express your point of view in the spirit of the post...

Thank you for reading.

Belief in the Creation or Otherwise harmful ?

2010-10-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

Recently there was a healthy discussion to a question on the BC discussion board

Is belief in a creator fundamentally harmful ?

My earlier posts on Life and Creation were somewhere coincidentally touching on the subject, so my reply was reflecting my earlier posts, I make you available those replies. And would like to know your thoughts on the subject.

Many views were put forward by both the protagonists and the antagonists about the Creation theory, nevertheless subject concerns all of us. And I think I will discuss it further in my next post

My comment to that question, I am sharing it with you...

I think it's nothing wrong in expressing views at all. And also believing in whatever state one he/she believes in.

But I think the problem is, when we does not believe in ourselves, i.e., not being truthful to the state of mind that we feel that we're in. And that could be anything like belief in the Creation or otherwise I think.

As far as understanding religions and God is concerned, I don't think God has ever sought ill about it's creation.

We could look for many examples in the animal life too. Like mammals in animal life bringing up their young with same affection as the humans do. That doesn't give an outright explanation that God does exist.

Because it instills such a fear in the hearts of humans, that here we're to fight and kill and extinct the human race in the name of religion. That's where the pre conceptions of humans about God is wrong.

Again I would like to stress, that I am not trying to prove that God does exist. And many religions proscribe violence.

So where ever there life exists, there's a struggle for life and existence. Be it human race or animal kingdom. Why so ?

I think misinterpreting and changing religious texts might be partly responsible. But still one day every life is going to end, considering the latest medical research, man is still mortal.

But before this short life of ours ends, we have some time to sit, think and ponder. It's not about being Religious or being an Atheist. It's about making the right call I think. Whether or not you like it. Because I think in this world there's not all that we like.

Here's a world and it has got its problems with everything and there's very few solutions....... Why ?

That's where it ends, whether we're atheists or religious, life's gonna end. It doesn't matter whether we're religious or atheists, but it matters what is inside of us, what we think about...

What views you have regarding this question ? What are your views regarding Life, Creation, Atheism and Faith ?

My blogging journey

2010-09-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Life is a wonderful journey, where you learn it from the scratch. It was in 2004 actually, I came across blogs while surfing from my University labs, I even started one, but quickly forgot it in the hectic pace of life.

And later on, when I had some leisure in 2008 I re-looked at the people's networking world. I came to believe that it has in fact grown by leaps and bounds.

I mostly blogged some science, technology and miscellaneous informative posts all during this time. The experience gave me an understanding of the world of social networking. I am basically a leisure blogger.

But I have learned that it's a wonderful way to connect with people wide across the world belonging to different religions, cultures, race and creed.

I have also noticed in these two to three years time, that blogging for money is only for those who are really into it and totally dedicate after its success and develop a niche in delivering outstanding posts time to time.

I have come to believe that blogging is an effective social networking tool to connect with friends and strangers alike.

Life's a puzzle

2010-09-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm always curious about life and its existing forms. There's so much in this world to be explored, that a life time is too short a period to see everything and believe in it.

Religions of the world fascinate me, the human civilizations through the centuries give a knowledgeable look into their existence. I don't know how people view this world through their eyes, it would have been really interesting to see how people distinguish and interpret things that they come across.

Time for some age old questions, man has been wading all through life for the answers. What is the aim of life? Where are we going to end up after we close eyes? Many questions, may be hints lie in this world.

Creation is a magnificent act. But Creation of which Human's are a constituent have a disputed outlook of who is their ultimate Creator. Some believe in one and some in many. And some in none. Unto everyone their belief, their faith.

But it is for sure that we as humans have a relationship with this world. A relationship that beckons the world and its inhabitants to seek answers about Creation.

Relationships

2010-03-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

There are many aspects of life. Relationships is just one of the important of those. And of those, friends are the most exciting ones. Some go on to become special with time. But there are sometimes turbulent times in a relationship. Holding onto sometimes becomes difficult.

Life is just a beautiful journey where you see it all. It's ups and downs, joys and sorrows. I have always believed that life is your teacher and it teaches you by the day, by the hour and the moment. You learn to make up for short comings, you learn to grow.

Relationships are hard to make but they are easy to break. How far would you go to save a relationship ? May be the answer lies in how much you need or like the person to be with you.

Nevertheless relationships are one of the most important aspects of life. Seems crazy isn't it ? : )

After a long long time

2010-03-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

I am writing this post after taking a long break as I was busy and really could not make up for writing a post.
I felt really bad but I was helpless. But while I was taking the break I initiated a new blog on technology and I hope time permitting, I think I will be able to produce some good posts on the new topic too. I thank everyone who visited, followed and added me to their friends list, dropped me shouts, it felt really nice.

Initially when I started it was a new learning experience, didn't know how to move ahead. But of late I am more composed, what I want to achieve through my blogs and how am I going to do that ? It seems a little bit easier to me now.

Even though I am back after a long long time, I am more composed to move ahead. Thanks to the break, it seems to me a blessing in disguise.

And I always remembered my blogs and never forgot to keep a watchful eye. The idea of starting a new blog was to give me more room to differentiate between topics and wanted to focus on something which I like on this particular blog. Though I want to write articles on personal aspects of life but I don't know exactly how will it shape ahead. So, without thinking too hard I just want to start moving.

Initial Results Show Pregnant Women Mount Strong Immune Response To 1 Dose Of 2009 H1N1 Vaccine

2009-11-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial.

Read details at Sciencedaily.com

When the debates are raging on the efficacy of the H1N1 vaccine, this news should bring some credibility to the vaccination program. There are claims and counter claims over the sideeffects of the vaccine. But to prove that a vaccine is clinically unfit it should be proved as such scientifically I think.

It is still too early to say that the vaccine is a complete success, as also discarding it outright is not the solution to the problem. We need to tread cautiously and follow the best advice of the Research community.

Related Posts :

1.H1N1 battle: No side effects in the flu shot
2.China approves one dose home grown H1N1 vaccine

Tech Oasis : My new Blog

2009-10-25T01:03:00.000-07:00

These days I was thinking about launching a new blog, I felt all the things are crammed in my blog and I felt I need little bit of more room so I opted for another blog. The theme of the new blog is technology. I will write posts related to science and technology here.

The name of the blog is Tech Oasis . And it can be also found if you type from the address bar http://tech-oasis.blogspot.com/. I wish my readers all the best and I suggest you to explore this new blog Tech Oasis where recently I have discussed many posts on the security aspect issue. This being so crucial now a days, we need to be adept and vigilant and learn more about this particular topic to keep our identity safe online. This will definitely not happen overnight but through regularly studying the subject and keep ourselves updated.

I hope you will stay connected on this new blog too. Thanks for reading and the visit in advance. Happy Blogging !

New Method To Help Keep Fruit, Vegetables And Flowers Fresh

2009-10-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sounds fresh isn't it ? Yes, a new method does just that, keeping the vegetables, fruit and flowers fresh for longer duration of time. The results could be very helpful in the long run keeping the stocks fresh and healthy for consumption.

According to the report millions of tons of vegetables end in trash before being consumed. When the world is getting hungrier each day, this new innovation could not have come at a more opportune time, this could go a long way.

A professor has developed an innovative new way to keep produce and flowers fresh for longer periods of time. The microbiologist's method uses a naturally occurring microorganism -- no larger than the width of a human hair -- to induce enzymes that extend the ripening time of fruits and vegetables, and keeps the blooms of flowers fresh

You can read more about this new find at Science Daily

More Reading :

1 .Also you could read a related post on a Research articulating low cancer risk for Vegetarians

Swedish HIV vaccine shows encouraging results

2009-10-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

A new HIV vaccine developed by the Swedish Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm has shown encouraging results according to the news reports.

The vaccine tested on healthy people in Tanzania as test subjects showed the vaccine destroying HIV cells in the body and developing resistance to help protect the immune system from the deadly strain present in the vaccine.

" These are the best preliminary results that I am aware of for a vaccine of this type " European Union's Vaccine specialist Manuel Romaris told the DN news daily in Sweden. The findings of the vaccine results are to be presented at AIDS vaccine conference in Paris on Monday. The details of the finding haven't been published in any journal yet. You can read about the story here.

Diagnosing Heartburn -- Gastroenterologists Diagnose Chronic Heartburn More Effectively

2009-10-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

Gastroenterologists are using confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) to more effectively diagnose chronic heartburn. The technology gives doctors an image of the esophagus that is magnified 1,000 times. A tiny microscope at the end of an endoscope provides the magnification, while a blue light provides illumination--sending clear, close-up images to a computer screen. Read more at Science daily

Heartburn is a common condition that affects more than 70 million in US alone and many millions more worldwide. And also it is an early symptom to Gastroesophageal Reflux disease (GERD) .

Many times we feel heartburn after taking meals and we take antacids to suppress these sensations, but in chronic cases they get repeated quite often and are necessarily an early symptom to the GERD.

However there is a difference between the heartburn and acid reflux like GERD.

Someone having heartburn may not have the acid reflux and one who is having acid reflex ailment may not have heartburn.

Read More

1. Heartburn Symptoms

2. Special Risks with Nightime Heartburn

3. An indepth overview of Heartburn, treatment and prevention

Detecting Asthma -- Radiologists Develop Asthma Imaging Method

2009-10-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Radiologists developed a new method for viewing the lungs of asthma sufferers. The method uses a polarized helium-3 gas--making it visible during an MRI. The patient inhales the helium-3 and undergoes an MRI, where doctors can see how far the atoms in the gas can travel in the lungs. This gives an image of what airways are blocked and what parts of the lungs ventilate. The black areas of the image indicate portions of the lung where air does not reach--areas where the helium-3 atoms could not travel.

Science daily

Here comes a new technique to diagnose Asthma, a disease which affects more than 22 million in US and of them 3 million are children and affects 300 million worldwide.

Asthma, as most of us know is a chronic disease which impairs breathing by inflaming and narrowing of the airways in the lungs, sometimes causing acute breathing problems in patients with severe condition.

In many cases the conditions of asthma happen at irregular intervals and over a longer period of time, the reasons of asthma are still being researched but mostly it is suspected due to the inherent tendency to develop allergies commonly know as atopy beside other reasons.

Read more about Asthma information at U.S Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health website

More Reading:

1. I have asthma. Do I need to know anything special before I get pregnant?

2.A link to a Senior Researcher working with Children in this field.

UK financial job losses could touch 60,000: Report

2009-10-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

It is a difficult scenario for the UK financial and insurance sector, as a new report by the PwC and CBI presents a bleak forecast for the industry, adding to the fears of the IMF's earlier reports that Britain faces a tough jobless situation.

In their quarterly report on the UK's Financial, Insurance and Realty sector the PricewaterhouseCoopers and the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) have forecast a more difficult situation where up to 60,000 jobs could be shelved according to the report. Affected jobs are predicted to be in financial services, Insurance and Housing sectors.

The once booming sectors of the UK Economy have been hit the hardest for its heavy dependence on these sectors and the recovery will be much difficult as compared to other markets in the Europe the report forecasts.

The construction products association too has presented a poor outlook about the situation in the construction sector, where it predicts, it could be till 2021 for the sector to climb back again to the booming levels of 2007.

The only positive outcome of the report was that the business levels grew in the third quarter amidst job less threats, for the first time in two years.

Oh, My Aching Back! -- EMG Helps Physiatrists Find Causes of Pain

2009-10-01T02:51:00.000-07:00

-- Electromyography (EMG) detects the electrical potential generated by muscle cells, and can test nerve function. EMG can help physiatrists pin down the cause of back pain in cases such as spinal stenosis -- a narrowing of the spinal column -- in which the diagnosis can be tricky just relying on imaging techniques such as MRI. Read at Science daily.com.

Back Pain Relief -- Neurosurgeon Devises MRI-Based Technique to Diagnose Sciatica

2009-10-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

-- Up to 40 million American suffer from sciatica pains, but the condition is often not diagnosed correctly. A new imaging technique uses a specially tuned MRI scan to image nerves and highlight them deep inside tissues. Called Magnetic Resonance Neurography, the new technique promises to diagnose conditions such as sciatica -- in which a compressed nerve in the buttock causes persistent lower-back and leg pain -- in up to 95 percent of cases that were previously undiagnosed.

Read at Science daily.com.

Wi-Fi a lifeline alternative access to 3G

2009-09-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

Here’s a review of an article of NY times on Wi-Fi access, when the 3G wired network is clogged and cannot be accessed, it’s really been a rude shock to see that so many proud owners of 3G smart phones like iphone’s, Blackberry’s etc., are not able to access the networks due to congestion, I could not have imagined this in my wildest of dreams. How could that it be ? Nevertheless it is a harsh fact, and now lets move on to check the alternatives.

Coming back to the article review, it deals with number of ways a mobile customer can access the network through a Wireless-Fidelity or Wi-Fi connection while in the vicinity of a hot-spot, a location where a nomadic user can log on to an available Wi-Fi network without actually having to do anything, as most of the times the mobile device automatically detects and connects the user to an available wireless network and the technology lets the user to do so.

Network providers set up these Wi-Fi hotspots in high density areas such as airports, cafeteria and other important locations people access often, in order to support the communication needs of the people. But in case your mobile settings need you to log on to one of such a Wi Fi connection, you need to tweak settings in your phone once, so that it logs on automatically next time.

Article gives some good information for the US users caught in the midst of a 'network clog' to check on the alternatives till the 3G networks are more accessible in the future. In this aspect AT&T is providing an alternative access to its customers with a Windows Mobile Phone, can now be able to access company's roughly 20,000 hot-spots across the country. And some of the Wi-Fi apps, that work when you are a subscriber to a Wi-Fi connection of any of the service providers, let the user to sniff out the nearest Wi-Fi location.

nytimes article

In developing countries the networks are still in evolutionary stages from the existing 2G/2.5G stages. There are lessons to be learned for Asian telecom operators from this, particularly in China and India, in how they are going to deploy their 3G networks, as with the case of Western and other mature Asian markets like Japan and Korea, that could not mange to capitalize on profits with a relatively quick switch to 3G networks.

More Reading

1.What is Wi-Fi ?

2.What is 3G ?

Breakthrough computer models aiding cocaine addiction research

2009-09-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

There has always been a great deal of curiosity at the secrets of addiction. In this case scientists have developed breakthrough computer models to study the brain mechanisms taking place inside a cocaine addict's brain.

University of Missouri researchers at the Department of Electrical and Computational Engineering have done much needed research on the subject. The post doctoral students in their research have utilized computational models to study how the brains chemicals and the synaptic mechanisms or connection between neurons react with cocaine addiction. This study is an important development in the field of research involving cocaine and other related addictions and this is the first time ever that cocaine addiction has been studied using computer models.

“With cocaine addiction, addicts don’t feel an urge to revolt because there is a strong connection in the brain from the decision-making center to the pleasure center, which overwhelms other normal rewards and is why they keep seeking it,” Pendyam, one of the researcher said

Read the full article at Sciencedaily.com.

Saddam's former body guard to be deported from Sweden

2009-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

It is just one of the many Asylum stories but it seems the state has had a final say in this case. A former body guard for Saddam Hussein is set to be deported from Sweden according to news reports.

According to the security intelligence of Sweden sapo, the man is a security risk for the country. The security intelligence report which claims the man a security risk remains classified.

The government is well aware of the situation of the man and the nature of threat against the man but still is unwilling to budge from its rigid stand.

If deported the man faces a direct threat to his life from extra judicial killings in Iraq taking place after the overthrow of the former Ba'ath party of Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

His wife and children have been provided Asylum earlier.

The Human rights lawyers working in this case state that it is against law of the land to deport a man even if he is a security risk.

It is a very contentious issue as to what happens to the man if deported to Iraq, one thing is to be considered for sure, if nothing happened since 2003 in that country, what will happen to Sweden if he is given Asylum ?

You can read the full story here.