HEALTH AND WELLNESS

NATURE HAD IT FIRST In 1973, Dr Martin Copper was the first to demonstrate a hand-held cellular telephone. It had a battery, a radio and a micro-processor [a minicomputer]. New Yorkers gaped in amazement when they saw cooper making a phone cell on the street. But the invention was possible only because back in 1800 Alessandro Volta had invented a reliable battery. In addition, the telephone had been developed by 1876, the radio by 1895, and the computer 1946. Finally, the invention of the microprocessor in 1971 made cell phones possible. Nevertheless, we might ask, was communication with sophisticated devices really new? A communication device often taken for granted is the human voice. Over half the billion of neurons in the motor cortex of your brain are involved in controlling your speech organs, and about 100 muscles operate the complex mechanism of your tongue, lips, jaw, throat, and chest. Although some animals can hear sound frequencies beyond the range of human hearing, the

It was July, 1799, the invading army of Napoleon was digging in for a long stay, after its conquest of Egypt. One of the sites selected for fortification was the Old Mameluke ruins of Fort Rashid in the delta region of the Nile. The foundations were to be extended, and a new Fort Julian erected on them. Nearby, at Rosetta, a branch of the Nile could be used for bringing in supplies from the Meditterranean. As the French soldiers dug, they came across a black basalt stone that seemed quite unusual in that three different styles of writing were carved into the surface; the Rosetta Stone. Key to the Egyptian language. The ancient Egyptian language was Hieroglyphic [picture writing, a symbol for each word]. By 800 B.C. a simpler form of writing came into use, called “Demotic” [nearer alphabetic], and continued as the popular language till Roman times. And then both went out of use, and were forgotten. So these ancient inscriptions were unintelligible until the key to their

Alternative forms of medicine are also thriving in wealthy countries. Among the most popular types of alternative treatment are acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, and herbal medicine. Some of these practices have been scientifically studied and proved beneficial for certain a condition, the effectiveness of certain methods, however, has not been adequately established. The increased popularity of alternative types of medicine has raised some safety concerns. In many countries such healing therapies are not regulated. This provides an environment where harmful self-medication, counterfeit products, and quackery can thrive. Although being well-intentioned, friends and relatives lacking sufficient training often become self-appointed practitioners. All of this has resulted in adverse reactions and other health hazards. In several countries where regulations are in place, alternative forms of therapies are gaining acceptance in the conventional medical co

A newborn baby shrieks in a hospital in Madrid, Spain. A nurse frantically tries to pacify him but to no avail. The baby is suffering the agony of heroin withdrawal. Worse still, he is HIV positive. His mother was hooked on heroin. A Los Angeles mother inadvertently drives her car onto a street controlled by a gang of drug dealer. She is greeted by a barrage of bullets, which kill her infant daughter. Thousands of kilometers away, in Afghanistan, a peasant cultivates a field of poppies. It has been a good year; production is up 25 percent. Opium poppies pay well, and the peasant’s family is struggling to survive. But these pretty poppies will be converted into heroin, and heroin destroys lives. A shy teenage girl in Sydney, Australia, goes to a discotheque every Saturday night. She used to find it hard to mix with the crowd, but recently a pill called ECSTASY has given her new confidence. The pills she takes were smuggled into Australia from the Netherlands, although local laborator

[1] THE BLUBBER OF MARINE MAMMALS For decades, scientists could not understand how dolphins could swim at the speed of nearly 40 kilometers an hour. The animals simply did not have enough muscle, the scientists thought. But dolphins have a secret, part of which lies in their blubber, a complex substance also found under the skin of porpoises, whales, and other marine animals. Blubber is a thick, dense layer of highly organized connective tissue with a lot of fat cells. It covers practically the whole creature, and it is strongly attached to the musculature and skeleton by highly organized, fan-shaped networks of tendons and ligament. These networks, in turns, are composed of elastic fibers and collagen, a protein that is also found in skin and bones. Blubber, therefore, is much more than a layer of insulating fat. It is a highly sophisticated combination of various living tissues. How, though,

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE AND BLOOD MS is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system [CNS], which is the brain and spinal cord. Many physicians believe that MS is an autoimmune disease. This term refers to a group of diseases in which the immune system goes awry and attacks certain tissues of the body. The cause of MS is unknown, but viral infection has been considered as a possible triggering factor. The end result, it seems, is that components of the immune system target the myelin sheath covering the nerve fibers of the CNS, leaving plaques or lesions on the myelin, which is an important fatty substance. Indeed, the name multiple sclerosis refers to the multiple patches of scar tissues appearing on the nerve fibers. Myelin shields certain nerve fibers, providing a form of electrical insulation. So when myelin breaks down, electrical impulses may be completely blocked, or they may short-circuit to adjacent nerves, producing an abnormal impulse. And because damage can o

Is there a connection between our subjective nature and telepathic abilities? If so, can this principle of subjectivity be used to enhance telepathic experiences? During our previous research on color, it became evident that color could be a natural tool for studying subjectivity. Moreover, in telepathy research, we have shown that telepathy is more likely to occur when intense imagery occurs and insights are vividly experienced. If a person, therefore, is in a subjective state due to an active experience with color, will telepathy more likely occur? While doing experiments with color, it was noted that subjects had definite objective and subjective reactions to color. Few were ambivalent about colors. When looking at them, or just talking about them, subjects would enthusiastically share likes, dislikes, and vivid subjective experiences with color. If color has such an effect on people, why not use it as a tool in telepathy studies? In designing an experiment using color as a me