Announcement: Let’s learn the basic of Medical Diagnostic Tests every week

Disease, Doctor, Drug and Diagnostic tests are some fearsome words in my life. And this is because I am not a physician. However, how huge the fear is, we all, at least once in our life time see a physician with our quires on our health. Physicians help us to cure from diseases by providing medication and valuable advice. Since Medical is a technical subject, the language of our physicians sounds quite hard for many of us. For example, your physician advised you to do endoscopy to diagnose your disease related to stomach. Since you don’t know anything about the endoscopy test, you will be stressed imagining how painful and strange the test procedure could be until the test is done. But how about if you know a little in advance, if not all, about the diagnostic test you are going to face in the next morning? That indeed, would be very good, since your knowledge will prevent your mind to create horrible dreams on the diagnostic test that you were recommended to do. For many of us learning Medical is very difficult and perhaps totally impossible. But knowing the basic information is indeed simple, especially, by reading an article that has used minimum Medical Terms and also provided explanation of the terms. By keeping this problem in mind, the blog is going to introduce one medical diagnostic weekly. Please keep your eyes on the blog and minimize your fear toward medical procedures, especially diagnostic tests. We will also try our best to provide you information on new and emerging diagnostic tests.

Thanks for your attention.

Announcement: Let’s learn “Scientific Terms” and “Scientific Acronyms”

You all know that the language of a scientific article is a bit different from a non-technical article and this is “scientific terms” that mainly brings the difference between a technical and a non-technical article. This is not always true that the knowledge of scientific terminology is mandatory for the reader of a scientific article but knowledge of scientific terminology certainly improve your assimilation and definitely ease your understanding of any scientific article. You will be happy to know that the blog is, therefore, going to publish one Scientific Term and its explanation weekly, from any field of science. We would also like to announce that every week the blog is also going to publish 2-3 Scientific and Technical Acronyms and their expanded form. So, please keep your eyes open and take the opportunity to learn more.

Thanks for your kind attention.

Research News: Role of a Microbe inside a Marine Host

The symbiotic relationship between two different organisms is indeed a fascinating event in nature. Very recently, scientists from USA published their research outcome (PNAS August 12, 2008 vol. 105 no. 32 11323-11328) on symbiotic relationship between a microbe (Vibrio fischeri) and a squid (scientific name: Euprymna scolopes). In the article, Chun et al described the effects of colonization, luminescence, and autoinducer on host transcription during squid-vibrio symbiosis, by using glass-slide microarray. The article provided significant insight in to the role of bioluminescence in preparing the host for bacteria-induced development. Based on the comparative analysis, authors in the article also revealed a set of genes possibly associated with host response towards its symbiotic partner. This article will certainly rich the understanding of the host-microbe interaction and genetic machinery involved in the development of such relationship.

Glossary

Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence refers to the ability of a living organism to emit lightis. Bioluminescence is produced by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. It should not be confused with fluorescence, phosphorescence or refraction of light, which describes other forms of light emission. Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as microorganisms and terrestrial animals. Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce.

Squid
Squid are one kind of marine animal. Many species of squid are consumed by human as sea-food.

Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms which could be mutalistic (both organisms are benefited by the relationship), parasitic (one member of the association benefits while the other is harmed), or commensal (one organism benefits and the other is not significantly harmed or helped) in nature.

WiTricity: Wireless Transfer of Electrical Energy

We all know that the data transfer from one PC (Personal Computer) to another is now possible without any wire between two PCs. How about if you do not need to carry any more the bunch of heavy weight adaptors and power cords to switch on and/or recharge your laptop, cell phone, mp3 player and other portable electronics? How about if your cell phone charges itself without ever being plugged in? How about if you no need to carry the bulky batteries for your laptop any more? Obviously that will be fantastic!

WiTricity (originated from words “Wireless” and “Electricity”) describes such an ability that transfers electrical power without wires to remote objects. The WiTricity protocol still is in its infancy and it was Nikola Tesla, who first demonstrated a "transmission of electrical energy without wires" in 1891 and since then a little development has been made in this field. In the last few years exponential growth of portable electronic devices, especially mobile devices led the scientists to rethink about wireless transmission of electricity. Although the mobile phone in your hand can wirelessly connect you another mobile phone, but the power cord is the last wire that you can’t avoid. Here the WiTricity will play its role and the mobile phone will never run out of charge, you will never be in a hurry while working in your laptop, seeing the alarming battery bar and you will never be frustrated again realizing that you forgot to carry the power cord of your notebook with you. This will happen as electrical power will continuously be transferred to your portable electrical gadgets wirelessly in the name of WiTricity.

However, until now, most of WiTricity remains theoretical and then in 2007, a truly ground-breaking success has been made in the field of WiTricity by a group of scientists from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) of USA. Researchers form MIT successfully light up a 60-watt light bulb using a power source that was 2 meters (7 feet) away and there were no physical connection between the bulb and the power source. Notably, the energy transfer efficiency was around 40% which means 60% of energy could not be transferred and thereby wasted. The bulb was even made to glow when obstructions such as wood, metal and electronic devices were placed between the bulb and power source. Is it not revolutionary?

This achievement in the field of WiTricity is indeed an apparent indication that we are on our way to make a wireless world, shortly, where I may need to write an article on the wire as an antique element for future generation.

Motion Sickness or Kinetosis: How to manage?

What is “Motion sickness”? As the name itself indicates, the sickness chiefly associated with “Motion” that someone experiences, especially when travels by car, ship or airplane. The condition is also referred to as “carsickness”, “seasickness”, “airsickness”, or “space sickness”. The symptoms of motion sickness are nausea (the feeling of being about to vomit), vomiting, dizziness (a whirling sensation and a tendency to fall), mood changes, mental depression, fatigue, sweating, and a sense of feeling sick. Motion sickness may also trigger migraines (a severe recurring headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, that is characterized by sharp, throbbing pain and is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and visual disturbances.), even in people who do not ordinarily have them. About a third of the population is susceptible to motion sickness, with varying degrees of severity. While it may occur at any age and sex, this is fairly believed that women than men are more susceptible to the motion sickness.

How does “Motion sickness” occur? Although the exact cause of motion sickness is still unclear, but it is fairly believed that disagreement among messages (biochemical) that are relayed by human sensory organs (eyes, inner ear, skin receptors etc.) in response to the surrounding environments. For example, you are reading a book in the back seat of a moving car. Your inner ears sense the motion of the moving car and relay a message to the central nervous system (CNS) that you are moving. In contrast, the eyes record your movement as static as the book you are reading is static and thus the eyes relay an opposite message to the CNS that you are not moving. Due to this conflicting information, the CNS fails to detect the body’s correct state of movement and thereby motion sickness symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dizziness etc develop. Notably, the symptoms of motion sickness usually, but not always, stop when the motion that causes it ceases.

Treatments: There are both prescription and nonprescription medications for the motion sickness. Over-the-counter medications include dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), meclizine (Bonine), and cyclizin (Marezine). These drugs are antihistamines and relieve motion sickness symptoms by reducing input form the inner ear to the CNS. Side effects of these drugs range from mostly drowsiness to dry mouth. Alternative medicines are also known to be very effective in treating motion sickness. Consumption of ½ or 1 teaspoon of the fresh ground Ginger (Zingiber officinale) root per day, four hours prior to car or boat ride found to be very effective in treating motion sickness. Peppermint is another well known alternative medicine for motion sickness. Traveling related precautions listed bellow also helps managing motion sickness efficiently:

• Avoid alcohol and rich food with high fat content, both before and during a trip.
  
• If you are traveling by boat or ship, stay in the middle and on the upper deck.
  
• In a car or a Bus, don’t sit in a seat that faces backwards, avoid reading or activities that cause you put your head down.
  
• Look forward, not sideways from car or bus.
  
• Don’t move your head round to converse.
  
• Wear headphones and listen to soothing music.
  
• In airplane choose your sit at middle row.
  
• Calm your mind before you take a ride.
  
• Keep yourself busy thinking something funny.

Birds of Paradise: A title that bonds a bird and a flower

We all know that the Birds of Paradise are a group of birds that mostly found in Asia and Australia. But there is plant (belongs to the family Strelitziacea) that blooms with a flower, also named as Bird of Paradise. The name Bird of Paradise comes from the flower shape which resembles a birds beak and head plumage. Is it just a co-incidence or the mimicry-loving nature's play?


There were no Bird of Paradise plant in Bangladesh since 2006 and then a nature-loving Bangladeshi guy (I apologize as I forgot the name) bought this plant (most probably from Canada) and planted in the garden in front of Bangla Academy. I read this news in a local Daily News paper couple of years back. If any one have any updates regarding Bird of Paradise in Bangladesh, please let us also know.