HEALTH AND WELLNESS

           Dolly the sheep was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. Scientists implanted the nucleus of a cell from the mammary gland of an adult sheep into an enucleated egg cell.              According to a report prepared by the National Institutes of Health in the United States, stem cells may hold the key to replacing cells lost in many devastating diseases. These include, Parkinson’s disease, end-stage kidney disease, liver failure, and cancer, to name just a few. Stem cells can also give rise to blood, and they may even make blood banks obsolete, it is claimed. In fact, doctors have been using stem cells for many years to treat certain blood disorders. These treatments have usually involved transplantation of bone marrow, which is rich in blood-forming stem cells, but now doctors prefers to harvest stem cells taken from circulating blood. Because stem-cell therapies hold promise of regenerating healthy new tissues, they come under the general designation “regene

                                                              DÉJÀ VU gives us the feeling we have experienced an event before, even though this may seem to be an impossibility. Thus, the feeling of familiarity accompanying déjà vu is often unexpected and inexplicable, leading many people to wonder if their déjà vu experiences are psychic, physiological, or both.          A number of mechanisms have been advanced to account for the déjà vu experience. Because psychic experiences of many kinds have been associated with déjà vu, it has often been suggested that déjà vu itself is a psychic experience. In this regard, déjà vu has been reported to be the result of reincarnation memories, subconscious memories of dream projections or out-of-body –experiences, subconscious memories of precognitive dreams, and clairvoyance. A higher frequency of déjà vu experiences have been reported for those who meditate frequently.        Another proposed mechanism for déjà vu is that of bioche

                                             Studies indicate that 15 to 20 percent of all diagnosed pregnancies end in miscarriage, says The World Book Encyclopedia. But the risk of marriage is highest during the first two weeks following conception [fertilization], a time at which most women do not know they are pregnant. Another reference states that over 80 percent of miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, of which at least half are thought to be caused by defects in the chromosomes of the fetus. These defects are not the result of similar defects in the chromosomes of the mother or father.            Other causes of miscarriage may stem from the mother’s health. Medical authorities point to hormonal and immune system disorders, infections, and abnormalities in the cervix or uterus of the mother. Chronic diseases such as diabetes [if poorly controlled] and high blood pressure may also be factors.     According to experts, miscarriage is not necessarily c

                                                [1] CHAGAS’ DISEASE SPREADING               CHAGAS’ disease comes from a parasitic transmitted through the feces of a blood sucking insect commonly called the kissing bug. The disease is endemic in rural areas from Mexico to Argentina. An estimated one and a half two million Mexicans are affected with parasite. However, Chagas’ disease is spreading to other part of the world. One way is through blood transfusions. Mexicans biologist Bert Kohlmann explains: we have already got reports from Australia, Europe, the United States of America and Canada of infections through blood transfusions. Migrants from the Americas who are usually healthy give blood and nobody in those other places even thinks about screening for chagas. The world health organization estimates that in the western hemisphere, 16 to 18 million people are infected with the disease and 100 million more are at risk. At present, there is no cure for the disease [chagas],

        Have you ever heard of the Greek mathematician and astronomer Eratosthenes? His name is probably best known among astronomers. Why do they think so highly of him?           Eratosthenes was born about 276 B.C.E. and received some of his education in Athens, Greece. He spent a good part of his life, however, in Alexandria, Egypt, which at that time was under Greek rule. In about 200 B.C.E., Eratosthenes set out to determine the dimensions of the earth by using a simple stick. ‘Impossible!’ you may say. How did he do it?         In the city of Syene [now called Aswan], Eratosthenes observed that at noon on the first day of summer, the sun was directly overhead. He knew this because there was no shadow cast when the sunlight reached the bottom of deep wells. However, at noon on the same day in the city of Alexandria, which was located 5,000 stadia to the north of Syene, a shadow could be observed. That gave Eratosthenes an idea.       Eratosthenes set up a gnomon, a simp

      “My father was an alcoholic, and I followed in his footsteps. At 12 years of age, I was already drinking. By the time I married, I was getting drunk every day. I became violent; often the police came to my family aid, my health deteriorated. Alcohol caused a gastric hemorrhage, which I barely survived. I then developed cirrhosis and anemia. I joined self-help groups in an attempt to quit, but to no avail. Felt as if I were caught in a spiderweb and could not break free”.-Victor     Again and again stories such as this one are told by people ensnared by alcohol. Like Victor, they feel trapped with no way out. Can alcohol-induced problems be overcome or even avoided? If so, how? 1.        RECOGNIZING THE PROBLEM; the best way to reduce the total of alcohol-related problems in a society is to focus on curtailing the drinking of moderate rather than heavy drinkers. Does your drinking exceed the limits recommended by health authorities? Do you drink in situations requiring