6:34 AM , , , 0 Comments


Start the day with a cup of green tea!





It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory.
Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of green tea affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. 

 The study shows that, EGCG an organic chemical which is present in green tea increases the production of neural progenitor cells. 
This could be potentially useful in combating degenerative diseases and memory loss.

 You can read more about this research by clicking the link below

 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201200035/abstract

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Angelman Syndrome

2:42 AM , , , 0 Comments




How laughing can be linked to a genetic disorder





These three children look happy and smiling but what you may not know is that, this is actually due to a disease condition called the "ANGEL MAN Syndrome".

Angel Man syndrome is a genetic condition which affects the nervous system. The disease is  rare occurring for about 1:12000 people throughout the world.
Children affected by Angel Man syndrome  typically have the following features.

1. They have a happy, excitable demeanor with frequent smiling, laughter, and hand-flapping movements.

2..Hyperactivity, a short attention span, and a fascination with water are common

3. Most affected children also have difficulty sleeping and need less sleep than usual.

Adults with Angelman syndrome have distinctive facial features that may be described as "coarse." Other common features include unusually fair skin with light-colored hair and an abnormal side-to-side curvature of the spine (scoliosis). The life expectancy of people with this condition appears to be nearly normal.

There is no specific therapy for Angelman syndrome. Medical therapy for seizures is usually necessary. Physical and occupational therapies, communication therapy, and behavioral therapies are important in allowing individuals with Angelman syndrome to reach their maximum developmental potential.


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Why don't birds need to wear a jacket during the winter?

12:23 PM , , , , 1 Comments



Why don't birds need to wear a jacket during winter?





Birds are unmatched in their command of the skies. Albatrosses glide through the open airs for long distances, while the minute humming bird dances and hovers motionless in front of flowers. The great Eagles missile down from the vast high skies with pinpoint accuracy to scoop its prey, while the penguins and kiwis who lost their ability to fly learned to adapt to the land and exploit its conditions.

Birds are feathery, egg laying, vertebrate, endothermic species. They have been able to survive and thrive successively throughout most of the ecological niches, throughout most of the climatic and weather conditions.

Birds  have a remarkable ability to survive in extremely cold conditions despite being endothermic, relatively small, and fragile. This ability is due to its various physical and behavioral adaptations.

For instance birds have a higher rate of metabolism and produce a relatively higher internal temperature. While their possession of feathers and their ability to fluff up may also aid in the process of insulation. Some birds are able to grow extra feathers which understandably act as a covering and protect them from the cold.
Some birds develop scales in their feet and legs which minimize heat loss.

An interesting feature of birds is the ability to lower there body temperatures, heart rate and general bodily functions. Birds can also control the temperature of their legs and feet separately from their bodies by constricting blood flow to their extremities, thereby reducing heat loss even further.

Birds, just like humans will shiver to raise their metabolic rate and generate body heat as a short term solution to extreme cold.

Many small birds, will gather in large flocks at night and crowd together in a small, tight space to share body heat. They can roost in shrubbery or trees, and empty birdhouses and bird roost boxes are also popular locations to conserve heat. Even individual birds choose roost spots that may have residual heat from the day’s sunlight, such as close to the trunk of a tree or near any dark surface.

Birds are remarkable in their ability to survive the coldest and chilliest conditions thanks to the number of effective adaptations they posses, and birds will continue to triumph the great skies and challenging climatic changes.









1 comments:

13 brains

10:43 AM , , 0 Comments


13 amazing brains


The diversity and mysteriousness of the amazing brain in these creatures range from,brains of spiders which split and spill into legs, to brains that are  tiny,complex and beyond our comprehension.

These animals may probably have the most strange and interesting brains in the world.

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2012/02/06/amazing-animal-brains-13-fascinating-neurological-facts/

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It is not Global warming nor is it an environmental issue

5:29 AM , , , 0 Comments


It's not Global warming nor is it an environmental issue 




 The authenticity of global warming is still a debated issue. Though the fact is that global warming occurs due to two processes. That is naturally by the green house effect and the recent dramatic change in warming that had resulted by our own activities which enhances the green house effect to increase the temperature globally.  There are some other theories which are frequently encountered, which claim that earth has always been having these cycles of warm and cold periods and that this is nothing to panic about. while some others claim that global warming is a phenomenon created and fabricated by governments to tax the public. 



It is understood that global warming is a direct consequence of the green house effect which can be explained quite simply as follows.
Green house gases produced due to human activities block the sunlight from returning back after reflecting from the earths surface to space, and it is reflected  back to earth causing the phenomenon which we know as Green house effect. The consequence of green house effect causes what is known as global warming. Which increases the temperature of earth.  

The problem with today's world is that the term "Global warming" has been incorrectly referred  to everything ranging from the warming of the earth, the changes in wind and tidal patterns , the change in the patterns of rain and all the climate related effects. The result of this has created a very false picture of the whole issue prompting people to question the authenticity of "Global warming". In fact global warming is just a part of the whole issue, or it could be accurately defined as the main consequence of the accumulation of green house gases. Therefore it is important to inform and educate people to see the complete picture of climate change and make it a point to refer to these events as "CLIMATE CHANGE".

The second misconception associated with  the issue of Climate change is the category of concern it has been labelled to. Many affiliate and define climate change as an "Environmental crisis".

"I have my self experienced this situation  while conducting awareness programs in schools. Most of the time the administrators, teachers students would introduce me as a speaker of an" Environmental crisis".

This has a significant impact in the loss of interest in general public. That is because we have been conditioned to give importance to economic, social, political and humanitarian issues primarily and then consider the environmental crisis. But the inconvenient  truth behind climate change is that it has an undeniable potential to be categorized as  Social, Economic and a Humanitarian crisis. In other words its a Socioeconomic Humanitarian crisis.  This has to be emphasized and voiced out to the public. The paradigm shift from environmental to humanitarian crisis has an effect on the increase in the interest and enthusiasm of the general public. It sends ripples of subliminal subconscious messages to the public to take precaution and to work towards stopping climate change.

These two misconceptions have to be clearly identified and addressed in order to generate a higher interest of climate change activism and interest in the general public which should ultimately help us as responsible humans to save earth and humanity.


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The disease that erases your memory

11:51 PM , , , , , , 0 Comments



The disease that erases your memory

Did you know that many people above the age of 60 have a high risk of getting the disease and that there is no known cure for it yet?

How does a person actually become affected by this Alzheimer's? The disease is of genetic origin and sometimes environmental factors play a role in the progress of the disease. There are namely four genes which are responsible in the onset of AD. These are,

1. Beta amyloid precursor protein
2. PSEN 1 ( Presenilin 1)
3. PSEN 2 (Presenilnin 2)
4. APOE

Which when altered form proteins called plaques and tangles which spread through the brain causing disruption of the neurons.This slow but gradual spreading of these proteins cause patients to

1. Tend to forget things easily
2. Have difficultly in language skills
3. Lose the ability of logical thinking
4. Start having extreme mood swings
5. Loss of complete memory
6. Finally die due to the damage done to the breathing centers of the brain(Medulla)

What do we do when we encounter a person who has Alzheimer disease?

PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH THEM AND CARE FOR THEM and GIVE ALL YOUR LOVE TOWARDS THEM.






0 comments:

Don't get wet!! you'll catch a cold!

3:02 PM , , , , 0 Comments



Don't get wet!! you'll catch a cold!


This is something that every one of us have heard and also maybe used on are children, siblings etc. But does it actually happen? do you actually catch a cold by getting wet? by sleeping with wet hair? walking in the cold?

Being cold and wet does not cause colds. Cold is caused by a virus. There are many viruses which cause the cold, but the biggest culprit is the "rhinovirus". You need to be exposed to this micro organism to get a cold!

The infection is spread when you inhale the droplets containing the virus that are coughed out by a patient. That is why it is important to cover your mouth while coughing to prevent the virus from spreading the disease to others.  Viruses also can live on sinks, counters and other surfaces, which means you can catch a cold if you touch an object that was recently handled by someone with a cold, and then put your hands on your nose or mouth.

Going out in the cold can make you susceptible for the disease due to the humidity (which is less) of the cold weather. This causes the drying of the mucus lining of the nasal passages making the virus to easily get into your body.


So yeah..go ahead an have an ice cream in the rain now :)


0 comments:

Beans that can summon other predators in self defence

12:31 AM , , , 0 Comments


Beans that can summon other predators in self defense







Lima beans (Fabaceae: Phaseolus lunatus L) has a very interesting way in which it responds to various predatory attacks. The mechanisms are fascinating. For instance when the beans are under attack from spider mites, they release chemicals to attract natural predators of the mites as well as warn nearby plants. Amazingly, if the plants are damaged by an agricultural tool or, say, a wayward cow, they emit different stress signals that are ignored by their neighbors.

An extensive study done on this particular species can be found by clicking the links below.


Whiteflies interfere with indirect plant defense against spider mites in Lima bean


Source Lima beans image

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Food wastage should be considered a crime

10:44 AM 0 Comments



50% of the food produced is wasted! well that's about 1.2-2 BILLION TONNES of food









According to the "New Scientist" the reasons of food wastage may differ between the rich and poor countries. Most of the food wasted in richer countries is because they simply cannot manage the food which they buy more than their need, while food wastage in poorer countries is due to the lack of efficiency in the production of food.

An important fact to note is how food wastage is also accompanied by the wastage of water and energy. I believe that food wastage should be considered a crime while judging the amount of people living without a single proper meal a day.

The article points out various solutions and to summarize we could say that
the solution lies in implementation of scientific knowledge  with the change in attitudes of people.

I hope that this article does some change in you, I am sure it did to me and I will make sure to remember that,  there are millions of people starving out there, and I should be responsible with my choices.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23067-time-to-halt-our-massive-waste-of-food--heres-how.html

0 comments:

The fear of People

1:54 AM , , , , , 0 Comments

The fear of People


Do you recall the silent shy kid in your class room? The co worker or a group mate/ friend who would be terrified to talk on a meeting, would be completely in utter silence if he/she was asked to give an opinion of something? surely we have met them and we have our selves gone through and experienced shyness. But for some people.... shyness goes way beyond what you could ever imagine. They stay silently in fear and anguish unable to explain what they are going through. They are the people who are suffering from a type of phobia, the fear of people or in other words Social Anxiety

People who suffer from social anxiety are extremely self conscience and extremely anxious through most  day to day normal activities such as going to the grocery. writing a check front of a cashier, Walking in the streets, talking to a person, attending parties etc. They are in intense constant, persistent, chronic fear of being judged by people and becoming embarrassed. People affected with this condition often end up being depressed.

Some children who are affected by social anxiety are quiet in class, and academically sound. These children are often labelled as model students by their teachers and therefore their condition often goes unrecognized and untreated causing mayhem in the later stages of their lives. A famous person who suffered from social anxiety is T.S Elliot who is a renowned poet.

The most usual  words you would hear from a person suffering from social anxiety are " I will look like a fool", " Everyone will laugh at me"
"I don't think  I can do it", I will completely mess it up" "I will be a wreck" are some of it.

The causes of this condition are psychological and biological. There is some evidence that suggests that genetic factors also play a role in this condition.

Can this condition be treated? Yes it can, but not completely. The condition when severe can be treated by a method called cognitive behavioral therapy. The problem we have today is the lack of awareness people have on this condition. It is therefore important to spread awareness so that people will know and understand Social anxiety and help people who suffer from this condition, and be a part of making them lead a happy productive life.



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