Alzheimer

Know about  Alzheimer : Causes and  Symptoms

Alzheimer's disease

This is a disease with the basic symptom of Dimentia, that is loss of memory in the patients,  the patient might feel difficulty in remembering recent events , though memories of old past are intact.

Gradually the patient might show one or all of these symptoms,

               1)         Trouble focussing

               2)      Feeling Confused or frustrated

               3)      Dramatic Mood Swings

               4)      Unable to cope with Societal affairs

               5)      Feeling disoriented and getting lost very often

               6)      Trouble Communicating

               7)      Disturbed Co-ordination in physical activities like walking

The disease makes brain tissue break down, and occurs generally after the age of 65 , and females are more prone to this disease.

Causes of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists believe generally two types of nerve damages in brain are the main reasons of Alzheimer's disease.

              1)      Tangling of nerves, called neurofibrillary tangles.

              2)      Protien deposits  called  beta amyloid plaques

                               

Scientists are not sure, why are the potential reasons of this damage , but the possible reasons could be the presence of a protein in blood called  ApoE, ie; apoliprotein E, which is used by the body to move cholesterol in the blood.

But recently,  a multi institutional team led by scientists of Indiana University, including one Scientist of Indian origin, have discovered an immune system gene called 1RAP, associated with higher risks of amyloid plaque, building up in the brains of Alzheimer's  patients. And found that it had even greater effects than well-known ApoE protein.

There is some evidence that, peole with high blood pressure and high cholesterol have a greater chance of getting Alzheimer's later in life.

Scientists are still studying the causes and possible cure of this disease , and as far as now, old age and genetical history of Alzheimer's in your ancestors had been known as the two main risks of getting this disease.

Though no potential cures have been discovered for this disease till now,  but scientifical studies are going on to find the effective therapies for this disease.

Chinese Social Network

Love China?? Explore Weibo

If you are inquisitive , of what's going on in China, which way flow china's political streams, who is the most popular figure in China, its time you sign up for Weibo, China's most popular micro blogging social platform. 

Recently Indian prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi joined Weibo, amidst his China tour, also Apple's Tim Cook, is on Weibo now, with thousands of followers in just an hour. 

Weibo is a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, containing some of the characteristics of both of them. And is a strong micro blogging platform in China. In China, Weibo is not only popular for instilling political mists, also it talks on all the social and political issues of the country.

If you love China, want to know more about this country and culture, go Weibo.

Nepal Catastrophe

Nepal Catastrophe

Earthquake that  hit Nepal and Northern Parts of India on 25th April 2015, left Nepal devastated, and some states in India in great trouble. Help is being sent to Nepal by many countries , still the peace would not be replenished soon, as the disaster that has been done by the trembles is huge.

Nepal catastrophe reminds us of , how powerful the nature is, and we have nothing to defend ourselves against the calamities that nature inflict upon us.We are so developed with all nuclear weapons and missiles, yet nothing in front of mother nature.

Whatever that great power is , We just hope that it signs a peace treaty with us , and let humanity survive in peace.

RIP , all the deceased.

Cure for sure

Can Genetic disorders be cured prenatally?

In the recent research, scientists have proven that genes of Human embryo can be edited to remove the specific genes that are responsible for diseases like thalassemia, parkinson's and many more.

For the first time in history, a team of researchers from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou,  have successfully edited the genes of human embryo.

Researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 technique to knock a gene called HBB, which is responsible for fatal blood disorder β-thalassaemia, out of donor embryos.

The CRISPR/Cas9 method utilizes a complex enzyme i.e; a set of “genetic scissors” to snip out and replace faulty gene segments with functional bits of DNA.

According to the studies done by the scientists , out of 86 total embryos utilized in the study , only a small fraction actually survived the experiment, however in real life it ought to be 100% accurate and successful. Hence the researchers have recently called off the study, and hope to start it soon with more developed methods and techniques.

The researchers published their findings in recent issue of the journal Protein & Cell.

Second World War , an Insight

The Story of Second World War:Summarised

1)    It was a global war that lasted from 1939-1945.

2)     The two opposing military alliances were, The Axis and The Allies.

3)    Involvement of 30 countries and 100 million people

4)    Sectors affected were industrial, economical and scientific.

5)    Main calamities were, holocaust, strategic bombing of industrial and population centres, including use of two nuclear weapons.

6)    50 – 85 million fatalities

The story began with Japan aspiring to dominate Asia and at war with Republic of China in 1937

But the war actually began on 1 September, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by germany.

And subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and United Kingdom.

From 1939-1941, Germany formed Axis Alliance with Italy and Japan and , conquered and controlled much of the continental Europe, in a series of campaigns and treaties.

Following the Motolov- Ribbentrop pact, Germany and the Soviet Union, partitioned and annexed the territoties of the European Neighbours, including Poland , Finland and Baltic States

Now the only Allied Forces fighting against Axis were, United Kingdom and British  Commonwealth. They continued their campaigns On, in North Africa, Horn Of Africa and log running battle of Atlantic.

In June 1941, European Axis Powers launched , an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history.

In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European Territories in the Pacific Ocean, and conquered much of the Western Pacific.

Axis advance halted in 1942, when Japan lost critical battle of Midway near Hawaii, Germany was defeated in North Africa and then decisively at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union,

In 1943, with a series of German defeats on Eastern Frontier, the Allied invasion of Italy, brought about Italian surrender and Allied victories in the pacific

Axis lost initiative ad undertook strategic retreat on all frontiers. In 1944, the western Allies invaded France.

Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its Allies

During 1944-1945, Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South central China and Burma.

The war in Europe ended with invasion of Germany by Western Allies.

Following the Postdam declaration by Allies on 26 July 1945, United States dropped Atomic Bombs  on the Japanese Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6^th and 9^th August respectively.

Japan surrendered on 15^th August 1945. Thus ended the war in Asia and final destruction of Axis bloc.

World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world.

United Nations was established on 24^th October 1945 to foster the international co-operation  and prevent the future conflicts. The United States, The Soviet Union, China , The United Kingdom and France became the permanent members of United Nations Security Council.

Nutritional Facts

Nutritional Facts

"Don't eat rice it will make you fat"

You must have heard this several times in your life. Some of us even follow it religiously and exclude rice from our diets and eat wheat chapatis in place of rice.

But did you ever verified the veracity of this fact. Actually rice contains less calorie than wheat, if we compare the nutritional facts of both

Here is a nutritional facts table that will alleviate your fear of including rice in your diets.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma-Silent thief of your vision

World Glaucoma Week March 08-14,2015

Are you aware of it? If not, its time to get to know a few things about this ocular ailment before it takes off your vision permanently.Yes! Glaucoma, which is related to the optic nerve pressure in your eyes, can take your vision , which can not be restored by medication at the later stages.

Glaucoma is broadly categorized into two forms: Open angle glaucoma and closed angle glaucoma.

Symptoms:

Open angle glaucoma is painless and does not have significant symtoms, the only signs are gradually progressive vision loss.

However, closed angle glaucoma follows with acute ocular pain , seeing halos around lights, red eye and very high intraocular pressure, nausea and vomiting with suddenly decreased vision.

Causes:

Positive family history is a risk factor for glaucoma, and its main cause is ocular hypertension , i.e., increased pressure in the optic nerves.

Risk Factor:

Glaucoma can permanently damage vision in the affected eye(s), first by decreasing peripheral vision , eventually leading to blindness if left untreated.

Diagnosis:

Your ophthalmologist has a number of tools to detect whether or not you have glaucoma in your eye , even before you have any symptoms, like tonometer, pachymeter,visual field test, ophthalmology etc.

When to see a doctor:

In most of the cases glaucoma in detected in people over the age of 40, hence if you have a family history in glaucoma , it is must to see a doctor after the age of 40 , even if you don’t have the symptoms .And even if you don’t have a history, see a doctor if your vision is deteriorating.

Treatment:

Once the vision is lost , it cant be restored with any treatment in case of glaucoma, however you can stop this ocular disorder in its tracks before the vision impairment, with proper medication or surgery. Most common methods of treatment involves, eye drops, pills, surgical procedures , laser surgery .

Stay Alert, Stay Fit!

Puzzle Session

Puzzles to puzzle you

In a contest , four fruits(an apple, a banana, an orange and a pear) have been placed in four closed boxes(one fruit per box).People may guess which fruit is in which box. 431 people participate in the contest.When the boxes are opened , it turns out that 58 people have guessed none of the fruits correctly,12 people have guessed one fruit correctly, and 68 people have gussed two fruits correctly.

Now the Question Is:How many people have guessed three fruits correctly, and how many people have guessed four fruits correctly?

Check the answers in next post.

Indian Festival : Holi

"Are bhang ka rang jamaho chakachak ,fir do abeer lagay"

 Happy holi has arrived at our doorstep, the festival of colors , cuisines. And of course a healthy excuse to explore a different and veteran intoxicant. The bhang.

Bhang is being used in India since vedic times, sadhus and sufis used to consume bhang to go into trance and achieve spiritual ecstasy , to boost the intesity of their meditational transcendence

You can easily find people preparing bhang on any of the ghats in India using mortar and pestle.

In Northern part of our country , bhang has become an integral part of the culture. People relate bhang to Lord Shiva. According to some beliefs, Shiva is condered as God of Bhang . Because he was the first to discover this intoxicant , so called bhang , that leads you into transcendental states.

Bhang is a mixture of leaves and buds of cannabis plant. And if taken in moderate amounts bhang is not injurious to health.

What all bhang does to your body is:

1) It induces psycosis- Drinking too much bhang can lead to grandiosity, hostility, hallucinations,Excitement ,and disorientaion

2) Increases blood pressure- Those who are suffering from heart ailments should stay away from bhang

3) Makes you feel good- Ofcourse it can releive any pains temporarily and makes you feel good

4)Does not kill you- If you are healthy and take bhang in moderate amounts it is not gonna kill you.There are no such major incidents found yet.

Bhang is also beleived to have some meditional properties as mentioned in ancient vedas , it can cure dysentry , phlegm, fever.  sunstroke and speech imperfections if taken in proper quantity

Bhang is consumed in different forms in India. Mostly bhang leaves are grinded into a green paste , then added with milk ghee and some spices to make a drink called thandai. Thandai is very famous in Indian societies mostly during the festival of holi. 

Other bhang preparations that you can enjoy during holi are: bhang kulfi, bhang pakoda, bhang golee.

Happy holi :) 

Pic of the day

Photo of the day

    Weasel riding on the back of a woodpecker

  Credit : Martin Le-May