The tiniest muscle, Stapedius, protects hearing!

In one of my earlier blog posts I had intimated about the smallest bone in our body. Now we shall see here which one is the smallest skeletal muscle. There are two of it, one in each of our two middle ears. It is the Stapedius muscle. Its length is 1.27 mm only!

Stapes, the smallest wonder bone of us!

We, the human beings, are the medium-sized member in the Mammal group of this world. We bear in our body the smallest bone that measures only 3mm in length and 3mg in weight! It is the Stapes bone (Stirrup bone). It is one of the three auditory ossicles (bones) found in the Middle ear of us, one on each side. It is the innermost bone. The other bones are the Incus present in the middle and the Malleus in the outer side.

Rabbits take yucky for health!

In Nature everything is happening with an inner meaning or intention. It may look absurd and dirty. But in animals it is done for goodness - the health. I refer here to Coprophagy, the act of taking one's own faeces. For example, Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus, 'Muyal' in Tamil) does this!

Be active, limit intake - for losing weight!

World wide personal problem is our body weight! I see many blogs that are entirely dedicated to posting on 'Weight losing.' Books and magazines quite often carry articles on this weight losing. These indicate that there is a global problem: Obesity. Once I found myself gaining weight due to insufficient activities and high intake of excessively nutritious diet.

Microbes hosted by generations of Termites and Man!

Usually we think that microbes are harmful and that they impair our health. But here is an example for their good beneficial work without which our Termite (Mastotermes darwinensis) cannot live at all! Protozoan (Trichonympha) and other Microbes live in the guts of these termites and aid in the digestion of Cellulose of plant materials by secreting out the enzyme, Cellulase - to release energy from it! (Note here the fact that humans are also weak to digest cellulose!).

Wasps paint walls with antibiotics!

In the past, man grew fungus and found out that it produced a substance that killed other disease - producing germs. It is the science about the production of Penicillin from the fungus, Penicillium notatum. But in the remote past millions of years ago wasps had found this fact and used this technique in protecting their developing offspring, the larvae! Yes, the Beewolf wasps (Philanthus crabroniformis) produce a cocktail of antibacterial substances from Streptomyces since ages.

Needle Threader eases your eyes!

In our human life, at each phase of our age we have our own best performing activities. Equally, at the same time we have also the impairment of our other activities that we did well in our earlier phase! Such an activity is the impairment of close print reading (viewing) ability of the eye, called as Presbyopia. When I was a school student my mother had given me often thread and a stitching (sewing) needle to thread through the needle's eye for her.

Curing Diabetes with EndoBarrier!

Diabetes, as you know, has now become a global disease affecting human lives in many countries. It is related to Obesity: obese people are more prone to develop Diabetes. So far, the reduction of obesity has been tried with risky surgical operations. Now, a non-surgical treatment for it has been devised. It aids also in reversing Diabetes (Type 2) that has its onset in a person just now!

Chemical wonder in Pharaoh's Serpent!

In 1960s during festivals an exciting firework was lit to the amazement of children. It is a small black tablet that gave out a snake-like thing amidst smoke, when it was lit. This black snake (Pharaoh's Snake, 'Paamboo maathirai' in Tamil) entertained children as it 'grew' out

Sleeping Rhythm set by Biological Clock!

Every day we maintain our body and mind to stay fresh, alert and healthy by subjecting or submitting ourselves to this activity (of inactivity)! I mean here our Sleeping! We sleep in about one third of our lifetime – to do our best and clever activities, when we are awake. This wonderful sleeping mechanism is essential to all animals including birds, reptiles and fish. Sleep deprivation makes both the body and mind activities dull and makes all susceptible to accidents, and also to illnesses.

This sleeping time is set by the Biological Clock present inside the brain (Hypothalamus). It is maintained by the Circadian Rhythm that is governed by the light and darkness cycles found in the Earth. But the subtle mechanism of this clock is altered by our activities, desires, excitement and drugs! But even after these alterations this clock reminds (warns) us always about sleeping, and succeeds in making us fall asleep in the next possible instant. If we ignore it repeatedly and put this clock in ‘Snooze,’ we will surely land up in problems such as memory loss, irritability, tremors, headache, mental illnesses, Diabetes and Heart diseases.

There are two types of stages in a sleeping time: Non-Rapid Eye Movement and Rapid Eye Movement stages (NREM & REM). These two stages follow one another and are repeated in about five cycles. The NREM sleep lasts for about 90 minutes and the REM for 20 minutes. NREM sleep is the deeper sleep in which all the systems slow down, and bed-wetting and sleep talking also occur! But in REM, there are rapid movements of eyeballs from side to side and dreams that we remember at morning!
Mechanical engines perform well when given maintenance such as dust removing, giving rest and oiling. Similarly, our body and mind are also maintained daily by the sleep by itself: we need not take any effort in it ourselves!
This wonderful sleeping must be desired and undergone by each one of us, and should not be ignored by each one of us for the health of all of us! 
 

The inspiring Joey of Kangaroo!

Usually we see a big baby delivered from a huge animal. But in 1980s I read about an animal of six feet height, that delivers its bean like baby having only two inches as length! ...

Fats determine your health!

Consuming fats in excess in any form whether it is oil, animal fat or dairy products, it surely adds the fats to the body increasing its weight. Apart from this fat deposition, the fats are also seen in blood, causing clogging in the blood vessels and hence, blocking the free blood flow to the organs of action such as heart, kidney, brain and muscles etc. This not only impairs the action of these organs but also makes them to strain at work producing all the illnesses such as Heart attack and Stroke. There are many types of fats among which some are good to the health and others are not - bad. From where do they come into the body?

Saturated fatty acids:Dairy products, Lard, Butter, Coconut oil, Palm oil, Chocolates .... Bad, when you take routinely.
Poly unsaturated fatty acids - cis (PUFA): Sunflower oil, Safflower oil, Fish oil .... Good.
Poly unsaturated fatty acids - trans (Transfats): Artificially hydrogenated oils - Margarine .... Bad.
Mono saturated fatty acids: Nuts, Olive oil, Groundnut oil, Sesame oil .... Good.
Triglycerides: Coconut oil, Palm oil, Animal fats .... Bad, if these raise this fat to 150 mg/dL and above in blood.
Low density Lipoprotein (LDL): Animal fats, Plant oils, Chocolates, Margarine .... Bad, if LDL is 100 mg/dL & above.
High density Lipoprotein (HDL): Fish oil, Sunflower oil, safflower oil ... Good, if HDL is 60 mg/dL and above.
Cholesterol: Animal fats, Cheese, Egg yolk, Chocolates, Palm oil, Coconut oil .... Bad, if it is 240 mg/dL and above.

In addition to choosing the good and the best fat diet for the prevention of Heart disease and the Stroke, we should also add the following:
1) Doing Aerobic exercises
2) Taking Anti-oxidants
3) Weight losing

Let us live a wonderful and healthy life by lowering these fats in our diet, and the body!

Fixing this Swine Flu infection!

Man’s association with animals and birds has also affected his health. Such diseases are called Zoonotic diseases. But there are also other diseases of animals that do not spread to human beings. Unusually a disease known to spread within animals only, has now spread to human beings speedily, killing many people – in Mexico. This virus disease is the Swine Flu. It is seen in swine like the Bird Flu is seen in fowls. Now, (it has changed its mind finding swine boring!) it is infecting man – due to reassortment of genes within its strains. The importance of this Swine flu is its alarming speed in spreading – it has now leaped up to other continents also, from Mexico, making itself a Pandemic from the Epidemic nature! It spreads from man to man through coughing or sneezing or even by touching the articles handled and then moving the hand either to the nose or the mouth! People suffering with this disease have the symptoms as that of Influenza – fever with chills, body pain, and headache, loss of appetite, sore throat, runny nose and cough. Usually its attacks are milder, and even if they are stronger antiviral medicines make it milder leading to recovery.

How to defend yourself against an infection with the Swine flu virus? Simply build general immunity within you by taking balanced diet, taking rest between works and having a good night’s sleep. And make it a habit to wash your hands and face (with soap and water) and gargle after your work and on entering your house. Avoid touching the nose, eyes or the mouth without washing the hands. If this flu is reported in your region, wear face masks and avoid visiting crowded places and make stringent washing the hands and face. Swine flu will be driven out of your way!

Hunger for prevention of starvation

Hunger is a feeling of urge. It is the main stimulus from a person’s body to its own organ (the stomach) to get filled up with food for meeting its energy demands. This craving of the body for food is not for the person’s satisfaction of palate but for the relief of this urge – the hunger. Hunger is a warning signal to avoid starvation and the resultant death. It is one of the Nature’s tools to keep on our living!

Continue to read about the ways to relieve the ‘persisting hunger’ that results out of lack of filling in with food here: Click On!

Electrocardiograph reports about Heart!

Heart is symbolized as the indicator of love. But this heart is more important than one’s love as it pumps and drains blood, the vital energizer of our body. It has to be kept healthy to live with ease! To measure its health easily – through its electrical activity, we have an instrument called the Electrocardiograph. This machine feels the electric current originating from the heart (in the magnitude of millivolts!) at various places of body and records it on a waxed paper, to be seen and read by a Physician. This record, Electrocardiogram (ECG ), is in the form of waves having varying amplitudes corresponding to the heart’s current. This ‘life line of waves’ has to be in normal shape for a healthy heart! Any slight change in it means one must take care of heart and get immediate treatment to sustain his/her life.

Reading one’s mind may fail; but reading this wonderful ECG shall not fail in knowing about heart’s health!

Co-trimoxazole, Medicine prolonging Life Span!

It is nice to see people move out of their houses for getting entertained, learning or earning. These are the people who feel themselves in a healthy state. Yet another group of people is there that feel not healthy. Doctors try to make this second group to shift out and move to the healthier group again. For that ‘repairing work’ the tools used here are the medicines! Out of these, one wonderful medicine helps people live longer, healthily, than their destined time: it is the Co-trimoxazole and these benefiting people are those living with HIV/AIDS infection (PLHA)!
This Co-trimoxazole tablet cures the disease, Pneumonia caused by the fungus, Pneumocystis carinii (or P. jiroveci), and also prevents the same disease in them! It also cures diseases caused by other bacterial infections in them, and thus protects them from death or disabilities. Prescribing this tablet is not restricted to them only; it is used in other people also for curing intestinal infections, ear and urinary infections.Co-trimoxazole in itself is a combination of two medicines in one – Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole. It belongs to the good old group of Sulpha drugs (so, it must be also avoided in people allergic to the members of this group – showing itchy skin rashes, mouth ulcers etc. after swallowing them).This Co-trimoxazole tablet that has emerged as a panacea to the special people (PLHA) is a wonder medicine creating a history in medical treatment of diseases!

Soapnut Tree - Ritha - Cleansing hair as Shampoo!

In the past century, women here in Tamilnadu of India used to tie and wear extra entwined hair tufts on their heads. This is to show off about 'their' possession of lengthy hairs and to make up for their actual shorter hairs! I have seen such hair tufts being washed and dried before wearing on. For this a washing solution was prepared by dissolving in water the powder of dried fruits obtained from a tree. We, as children used to play with this solution to blow out bubbles of air through a tube dipped in it! The fruit mentioned here is that of the Soap-nut tree or Ritha (Sapindus trifoliatus, ‘Poonthi kuoattai maram’ in Tamil). It is a berry with a nut inside. Its fleshy part contains Saponin which has surfactant action like that of soaps and detergents! Nowadays this saponin is an ingredient in shampoos.

Another species of the soap-nut tree is found in Himalayan regions grown by Nature by itself (Sapindus mukorossi). It bears larger fruits. Seeds of soap-nut trees are said to germinate easily. But now propagation of this tree by man is drastically low; the tree needs to be grown in all farms as its canopy gives cool shadow, and its fruits have also contraceptive and antimigraine chemicals in addition to its cleansing saponin content.

This Soap-nut tree that gives us many such natural products is really a wonder tree among all the other trees, as it was in the past!

Rabies, the Fatal Disease and the Vaccines that prevent it

The disease Rabies is infective. Usually a dog having this disease spreads it to man or other animals by its bites. Rarely domestic animals such as cattle, pigs, and cats and monkeys too can also spread it. When man goes for trekking or hunting in forests he may be bitten by wild animals such as fox, wolf, mongoose and bats, that may have been already infected, and get this disease.

The virus causing this disease attacks nerves and brain after entering the body through the bite wounds. As the disease cannot be cured and leads to death quickly, one has to prevent himself from acquiring it by getting himself and also his pet animals vaccinated against it before sustaining any such bite wound. Even after any unexpected bite, the Rabies can be prevented by getting vaccinated! (- but only after immediate washing the bite wounds with soap and water, and applying Povidone-Iodine ointment - for this removes and kills the virus instantly). By taking all these precautionary measures the Rabies can be avoided by all. The wonder vaccines used get all the credits as an incurable and fatal disease is prevented by them!

Veins - Playing on by Emptying!

Veins are the tubes that conduct the used blood to the heart. They are superficial unlike the arteries and they can be seen prominently bulging out from below the skin in lean persons. The greenish tubes seen on the skin of the fair colored persons are actually these veins and are not the 'nerves' as many mistake them to be. They carry the blood from the distal parts of the limbs up towards the heart. They have valves in them that permit the flow of blood towards heart only but not backwards! To see this action of veins do the following:

You can place a finger tip on a distal portion in a stretch of a vein and press it down gently to block the flow of blood in it.

Then with another finger tip pressing down on it next to the previously fixed pressing finger, move over the length of the vein pushing up the blood in it (emptying) proximally.

Next take out this second pressing down finger tip. Now you shall see the previously prominent vein as an empty, dry, flat and green streak! The emptied blood does not flow back as a valve in the vein prevents it! Now if you release the pressure by the first applied finger tip, blood from the distal part of the vein will flow forwards and fill it up making it prominent once again!
It is a wonder action of the vein valves that helps to circulate the blood inside our body properly!

Aspirin - the Tablet that avoids Deaths and Disabilities!

Tablet Aspirin was sold and used widely under many brand names in 1960s for relieving headache. Slowly it was pushed aside as newer pain relievers were discovered. Moreover its continuous use produced (and produces) various other illnesses that include Gastric ulcer and Gastric bleeding. These almost precluded its use and it almost disappeared in the prescriptions of doctors.
In this present stressful world of today, as lifestyle has become totally changed from that of 1960s, many other Non-Communicable Diseases have become high handed. These diseases are Hypertension, Diabetes, and other complicating illnesses arising out of them such as Heart attack, Brain stroke, etc. Now our tablet Aspirin has been rediscovered again to have preventive nature against the complications of these illnesses, and thus the deaths and disabilities also, which may result out of them! Here Aspirin has to be taken only in low dose that is innocuous and avoids Aspirin’s own side effects such as Gastric ulcer.
Thus this wonder tablet Aspirin is in limelight again as it safeguards human race from dwindling down!