SCIENCE-NEWS for Commoner.

[gaddeswarup]

It seems that new treatments are being developed for depression. From the report:
http://exploringdata.cqu.edu.au/sim_...501763,00.html

"In the paper, Dr Helen Mayberg and colleagues from Toronto University reported the discovery that a small area in the frontal cortex is implicated in depression. Application of electrical stimulation to the area had "striking and sustained remission" in four out of six patients suffering treatment-resistant depression."
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

There have been various reports of the benefits of sunlight for lealth. Here is a recent one about its affects on prostrate cancer:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20050615...tatecancerrisk
The skin cancer risks mentioned may be more for light skinned people.
Swarup
P.S. I may not have good internet access for the next two weeks. I hope that some others will post on this topic.

[gaddeswarup]

I just got back to Melbourne and found the following article sent by my daughter Shanti:
Darwinian Gastronomy:

Any world traveler can attest to the pungent truth: Spicy meals tend to be found in warmer climates, while blander foods correlate to colder places. For years, people believed spices were used in the countries where they were grown to mask the taste of spoiled meat or solely for the flavor they add to food.

Alas, nothing in nature turns out to be that simple. Researchers now suggest that a taste for spices served a vital evolutionary purpose: keeping our ancestors alive. Spices, it turns out, can kill poisonous bacteria and fungi that may contaminate our food. In other words, developing a taste for these spices could be good for our health. And since food spoils more quickly in hotter weather, it's only natural that warmer climates have more bacteria-killing spices.

Indeed, the very plants that produce spices use them in this way. Spices that come from shrubs, vines, trees, and the roots, flowers, and seeds of plants protect the vegetation against the same bacteria and fungi that attack our food when we've left it overnight on the kitchen counter. Before refrigeration, food spoilage was an even more pressing problem, which is why some researchers say spices played such a huge role in history -- one Gothic leader in A.D. 408 demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper as ransom. And adventurers from Marco Polo to Christopher Columbus sailed the world mapping routes to spice-growing countries.

More recently, a team of biologists at Cornell University in New York debunked most popular beliefs about spices, including the idea that they're used to make people sweat in order to cool them down. But one popular belief still stood: Spices seem to help with food digestion, and, for some unknown reason, people in warmer climates might need more help.

The Cornell scientists tested the bacteria-killer hypothesis with hundreds of cookbooks and thousands of recipes from around the world. They discovered that spices with the greatest ability to kill bacteria, such as garlic and onions, appear most often -- and in greater concentrations -- in recipes from hot climates. Eighty percent of Indian recipes called for onions, while in Norway, the pungent bulb only appeared in 20 percent of the recipes. They even found these differences within the United States. For example, we have spicy Cajun meals down south and more bland meat staples in northern Maine.

Although not everyone is convinced yet that the evidence is conclusive, the idea that our ancestors' taste for spice might be something that natural selection favored in certain environments is an intriguing one.

[gaddeswarup]

Again an URL sent by my daughter Shanti: she says that this may explain why I and she are not good drivers:
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiol..._pressure.html
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

I am not able to devote as much time as I would like for this topic. Originally, I hoped to write on simple topics of interest in every day life but wo'nt have enough time for a few months to do the spade work. If there is no interest from others, the moderatorsmay kindly close this topic.
I end with some URLs on sustainable agriculture. The following URL contains the story of farmers' suiides in Australia with a comment and links to sites about soil improvement and water preservation:
http://www.rense.com/general66/dro.htm
Some siimilar efforts in A.P. are in:
http://www.ddsindia.com/activities.htm
http://www.ddsindia.com/publications.htm
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a...n%22&submit=Go
There are similar efforts by various organizations in India, e.g. Sunita Narayanan of CSE in New Delhi.
Regards,
Swarup

[arihantarihant007]

nice. topic. !!

[gaddeswarup]

From: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7952

"Children as young as 2 years old may be influenced by their parents’ tobacco habits, many years before they even consider using cigarettes themselves, a novel study has shown."
Swarup

[Shakthiprabha.]

The latest messege I got was about cancer prone
to ladies of any age.

Its a new type(I forgot its name) which starts as just itching near and around nipples. If left unattended is quite fatal.

So, the advise is, in case u find obnormal itching
on ur breasts... GO VISIT A DOC

[Shakthiprabha.]

I dont remember which issue of outlook (may be aug)

It talks about ill effects of self medication.

ITS SOMETHING EVERYBODY should go thro.

It talks about how we all gobble painkillers and
paracetamol to get over temporary illness. IT stresses
ON VISITING DOC, even if u have mild fever(Now, not
sure if it was written by some practising doc, who
rarely have patients )

But one thing which struck me is, WHEN U ARE FEVERISH,
**AND** if u are a BP patient, then avoid
**IBUBRUFEN**.

[Anoushka]

After being in the sun for sometime, why do we experience dim vision on entering a room?

The human eye contains two types of receptors for light namely cones and rods. Cones are responsible for colour vision and seeing in bright light. Rods are meant for seeing in dim light.

Cones cannot be stimulated in dim light because of their high threshold for light.

Pigments present in these photoreceptors are made of Vitamin A and a protein called opsin.

On exposure to light, these pigments (called rhodopsin in case of rods) breakdown and this degradation leads to excitation of nerve cells leading to appreciation of light (that is, seeing).

Regeneration of the pigment occurs continuously and simultaneously so that the pigment will be available for degradation leading to uninterrupted seeing.

Regeneration of the pigment occurs faster than degradation in cones. But in rods the regeneration is a slow process and degradation outweighs regeneration in day light in rods.

Rods get exhausted of their pigment when in bright light while cones continue to act.

When a person who stayed for sometime in bright light, enters into dim light, the cones can't be stimulated because of their high threshold for light.

All the pigment in the rods gets degraded. So immediately rods can't be of help to see.

This is the reason why a person after spending some time in sunlight, experiences dim vision in a room.

A more common and striking experience of this phenomenon by everyone of us is when we cannot see properly soon after entering a cinema hall.

Subsequently, as time passes on in dim light, regenerations of pigment is taking place in rods and when it is formed in sufficient quantity, then rods begin to be stimulated by dim light leading to proper vision.

In dim light, regeneration is at a higher level than degradation of pigment in rods and hence we continue to see uninterruptedly in dim vision. This phenomenon is called `dark adaptation' in the medical field.