Thursday, October 22, 2009

Developmental Biology:


Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis," whicEmbryology is a subfield, the study of organisms between the one-cell stage (generally, the zygote) and the end of the embryonic stage, which is not necessarily the beginning of a free living organism. Embryology was originally a more descriptive science until the 20th century. Embryology and developmental biology today deal with the various steps necessary for the correct and complete formation of the body of a living organism.h is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.

The Genetics:


Genetics, a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits in a discrete manner—these basic units of inheritance are now called genes.
DNA, the molecular basis for inheritance. Each strand of DNA is a chain of nucleotides, matching each other in the center to form what look like rungs on a twisted ladder.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for creating a new partner strand—this is the physical method for making copies of genes that can be inherited.
The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins—the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene. This is known as the genetic code. The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live. A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein's amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole.

What is Physiology?


Physiology studies the mechanical, physical, and biochemical processes of living organisms by attempting to understand how all of the structures function as a whole. The theme of "structure to function" is central to biology. Physiological studies have traditionally been divided into plant physiology and animal physiology, but the principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism is being studied. For example, what is learned about the physiology of yeast cells can also apply to human cells. The field of animal physiology extends the tools and methods of human physiology to non-human species. Plant physiology also borrows techniques from both fields.
Anatomy is an important branch of physiology and considers how organ systems in animals, such as the nervous, immune, endocrine, respiratory, and circulatory systems, function and interact. The study of these systems is shared with medically oriented disciplines such as neurology and immunology.

What is Homeostasis?


Homeostasis is the ability of an open system to regulate its internal environment to maintain a stable condition by means of multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustments controlled by interrelated regulation mechanisms. All living organisms, whether unicellular or multicellular, exhibit homeostasis. Homeostasis exists at the cellular level, for example cells maintain a stable internal acidity (pH); and at the level of the organism, for example warm-blooded animals maintain a constant internal body temperature. Homeostasis is a term that is also used in association with ecosystems, for example, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide on Earth has been regulated by the concentration of plant life on Earth because plants remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the daylight hours than they emit to the atmosphere at night. Tissues and organs can also maintain homeostasis.
Punnent Square made by Reginald Punnet in 1905 which is the shorthand way to show the expressed trait.

An Enzyme:

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalyze (i.e. increase the rates of) chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products. Almost all processes in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at significant rates. Since enzymes are extremely selective for their substrates and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell.
Like all catalysts, enzymes work by lowering the activation energy (Ea or ΔG‡) for a reaction, thus dramatically increasing the rate of the reaction. Most enzyme reaction rates are millions of times faster than those of comparable uncatalyzed reactions. As with all catalysts, enzymes are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze, nor do they alter the equilibrium of these reactions. However, enzymes do differ from most other catalysts by being much more specific. Enzymes are known to catalyze about 4,000 biochemical reactions. A few RNA molecules called ribozymes catalyze reactions, with an important example being some parts of the ribosome. Synthetic molecules called artificial enzymes also display enzyme-like catalysis.

Bacteriophage Genomics.


Bacteriophages have played and continue to play a key role in bacterial genetics and molecular biology. Historically, they were used to define gene structure and gene regulation. Also the first genome to be sequenced was a bacteriophage. However, bacteriophage research did not lead the genomics revolution, which is clearly dominated by bacterial genomics. Only very recently has the study of bacteriophage genomes become prominent, thereby enabling researchers to understand the mechanisms underlying phage evolution. Bacteriophage genome sequences can be obtained through direct sequencing of isolated bacteriophages, but can also be derived as part of microbial genomes. Analysis of bacterial genomes has shown that a substantial amount of microbial DNA consists of prophage sequences and prophage-like elements. A detailed database mining of these sequences offers insights into the role of prophages in shaping the bacterial genome.

Bacteria:


Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods to spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, seawater, and deep in the Earth's crust. There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water; in all, there are approximately five nonillion (5×1030) bacteria on Earth, forming much of the world's biomass. Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, and many important steps in nutrient cycles depend on bacteria, such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. However, most of these bacteria have not been characterized, and only about half of the phyla of bacteria have species that can be cultured in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology.
There are approximately ten times as many bacterial cells as human cells in the human body, with large numbers of bacteria on the skin and in the digestive tract. Although the vast majority of these bacteria are rendered harmless by the protective effects of the immune system, and a few are beneficial, some are pathogenic bacteria and cause infectious diseases, including cholera, syphilis, anthrax, leprosy and bubonic plague. The most common fatal bacterial diseases are respiratory infections, with tuberculosis alone killing about 2 million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In developed countries, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and in various agricultural processes, so antibiotic resistance is becoming common. In industry, bacteria are important in processes such as sewage treatment, the production of cheese and yoghurt, and the manufacture of antibiotics and other chemicals.

Cell Membrane:


The cell membrane (also called the plasma membrane, plasmalemma or "phospholipid bilayer") is a selectively permeable lipid bilayer found in all cells. It contains a wide variety of biological molecules, primarily proteins and lipids, which are involved in a vast array of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion channel conductance and cell signaling. The plasma membrane also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the cell wall.

Phenotypic Variations:


Phenotypic variation (due to underlying heritable genetic variation) is a fundamental prerequisite for evolution by natural selection. It is the living organism as a whole that contributes (or not) to the next generation, so natural selection affects the genetic structure of a population indirectly via the contribution of phenotypes. Without phenotypic variation, there would be no evolution by natural selection.
The interaction between genotype and phenotype has often been conceptualized by the following relationship:
genotype + environment → phenotype
A slightly more nuanced version of the relationships is:
genotype + environment + random-variation → phenotype
An example of random variation in Drosophila flies is the number of ommatidia, which may vary (randomly) between left and right eyes in a single individual as much as they do between different genotypes overall, or between clones raised in different environments.
A phenotype is any detectable characteristic of an organism (i.e., structural, biochemical, physiological, and behavioral) determined by an interaction between its genotype and environment (of this distinction).

Heredity:

The ancients had a variety of ideas about heredity: Theophrastus proposed that male flowers caused female flowers to ripen; Hippocrates speculated that "seeds" were produced by various body parts and transmitted to offspring at the time of conception, and Aristotle thought that male and female semen mixed at conception. Aeschylus, in 458 BC, proposed the male as the parent, with the female as a "nurse for the young life sown within her".
Various hereditary mechanisms were envisaged without being properly tested or quantified. These included blending inheritance and the inheritance of acquired traits. Nevertheless, people were able to develop domestic breeds of animals as well as crops through artificial selection. The inheritance of acquired traits also formed a part of early Lamarckian ideas on evolution.
During the 1700s, Dutch microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) discovered "animalcules" in the sperm of humans and other animals. Some scientists speculated they saw a "little man" (homunculus) inside each sperm. These scientists formed a school of thought known as the "spermists". They contended the only contributions of the female to the next generation were the womb in which the homunculus grew, and prenatal influences of the womb. An opposing school of thought, the ovists, believed that the future human was in the egg, and that sperm merely stimulated the growth of the egg. Ovists thought women carried eggs containing boy and girl children, and that the gender of the offspring was determined well before conception.

Anatomy.


Anatomy (from the Greek ἀνατομία anatomia, from ἀνατέμνειν ana: separate, apart from, and temnein, to cut up, cut open) is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytotomy). In some of its facets anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in evolution.
Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy (or macroscopic anatomy) and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy (also called topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by unaided vision. Microscopic anatomy is the study of minute anatomical structures assisted with microscopes, which includes histology (the study of the organisation of tissues),and cytology (the study of cells).
The history of anatomy has been characterized, over time, by a continually developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the body. Methods have also advanced dramatically, advancing from examination of animals through dissection of cadavers (dead human bodies) to technologically complex techniques developed in the 20th century.

The Changing Role of Vitamin Supplementation.

"Food should be our medicine and medicine should be our food," said Hippocrates many centuries ago. He was right, and the concept of eating right for optimum health has not changed since then; the only thing that has changed since is everything else.
The world population has since increased sixfold, and in this time the industrialisation of farming has had a major effect on the type of food we eat. Whilst technology and mass transport have made the world smaller, they have also enabled obscene changes to the natural path of food from field to mouth. When was the last time you bought locally-grown fruit from a market stall?
These accelerated changes are not without consequence. Pesticide use, prevalent in the last half-century, has seen a massive degradation of the soil in which we grow crops; this means a lower nutrient content in every type of grain we eat. Selenium, one of the most important minerals to combat oxidant damage, is deficient in most people in the UK. Oranges from the supermarket are often more than a year old by the time you eat them - chemicals injected into them slow the ripening process but leave them bereft of vitamins. It is not unusual for an orange on a supermarket shelf to have zero Vitamin C.
Add to this the busy parents who, with no time to cook and fooled by the derisory 'healthy balance' labels on the front of the package, serve up microwave meals to their children on a daily basis and the problem becomes very evident - top trainer Cain Leathem summed it up best when he coined the phrase Overfed and Undernourished. If you ever want to see the evidence of this, take one look at a class of 10-year-olds; you may well be shocked. This problem has two solutions - one would be to move to a less advanced part of the world and live of the fat of the land. Most people, finding the first option impossible, overcome the problem with the more realistic second option; vitamin supplementation.
Correct vitamin supplementation is a very predictable, extremely cost-effective way of restoring optimum health. Overcoming vitamin deficiency gives rise to many beneficial changes within the body, including increased energy levels, incomparable levels of immune system resistance and a tangible boost to the health of the skin and hair. Specific conditions can be improved or completely eliminated with targeted supplementation.
Of course, I said correct vitamin supplementation. Simply going down to the vitamin aisle of your local supermarket and choosing a multivit will not make an impact on your health; although some is better than none. At the time of writing, no UK supermarket stocks good quality vitamin supplements; conscious individuals must take a trip to health shops or order from the internet.
So what is the difference between 'good quality' and 'poor quality' multivits? There are two main issues to be aware of: 1.Supermarket multivits are generally created with the one remit of providing all the RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances) at the minimum of cost. So it is therefore no surprise that they then do this. This is a problem because the RDAs are a joke; they were created in the 1930s by the government as a minimum requirement for sedentary people to avoid basic ailments like skirvy and rickets. They bear no relation to the optimal requirements of active people today. Consuming only the RDAs will leave you quite deficient. Intelligent companies that produce good quality vitamins will always try to match up the amounts to the requirement of the customer - this ensures you get far more than the pitiful RDAs; enough to make a real difference. 2.These already-inadequate amounts will not be utilised in the body properly when contained in a supermarket vitamin. This is because they do not contain all the ingredients for effective use by the body. In nature, most vitamins are found together with other substances called co-enzymes - these are required for proper absorption and utilization within the body and if these are not present your supplementation will be inefficient at best. The better companies spend time and money researching the importance of these co-enzymes and so ensure that their products contain them. An example of the difference in quality of products can be found in the Vitamin B complex - whereas a supermarket multivitamin will contain small amounts of B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and one co-enzyme, Folic Acid, a good quality equivalent will have the same substances but in much more appropriate quantities, adding a full range of co-enzymes like PABA (para-amino-benzoic acid), choline, biotin and inositol. 3.The extra research by the better brands ensures you multivit includes other substances yet to be recognised by the RDA list but have been shown to be vital for optimum health. These means substances like Molybdenum, an important anti-oxidant, and others like Lutein and Xeaxanthin, which help to maintain the state of your eyes.
It is worth mentioning that single-substance supplementation is quite inept. Although a magazine may have singled out a particular substance as their fad of the week, on its own it will be a waste of time and money. All vitamins depend on other vitamins, minerals or co-enzymes for proper absorption. Who would have thought a Thiamin deficiency could cause deficiencies in Zinc, responsible for over 100 different biological reactions in the body? Zinc requires copper to be absorbed, but copper is influenced by the amount of iron, the absorption of which is regulated by vitamin C, which needs pyridoxine and cobalamin, themselves dependent on other substances such as Thiamin and B complex co-enzymes. A good multivitamin will give you a full range of substances.
Of course, regardless of how good your supplement is, there is no reason to cut back on good food. Whilst the 'healthy eating pyramid' has been repeatedly exposed as a sham, a varied diet in accordance with nature's intentions is still vital. This means a good balance between the macronutrients (proteins, carbs and fats) and as many micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) as possible from a variety of sources like fruits and veg, but also other sources, including grains and meats. Whilst relying on food sources alone leads to a shortfall for optimum health, the closer your daily activity and dietary intake is to that experienced by our healthy caveman ancestors, the more immune you will be to 21st century disorders like back pain, obesity, diabetes, etc. To summarise, vitamins supplements should be used as just that, not to replace sensible dietary choices.
This is the flagship argument of those that oppose vitamins supplementation in the diet; this group can be split into two camps. One is the worried politicians, who are keen not to upset the applecart and mulishly stand squarely behind the three-meals-a-day five-portions-of-fruit-n-veg, (but will still take vitamins themselves in case they are wrong!). These fools worry that, if they were to publicly back supplementation, the public would feel aggrieved that their leaders had allowed their soil to be destroyed and the mainstream media would accuse them of blaspheming against the hollowed 'balanced diet'. They should not worry themselves - correct supplementation goes hand in hand with eating right (hence the term supplementation rather than replacement) and members of the Reagan administration actually admitted many years ago that the nutrient content of soil has diminished 40% due to overfertilisation.
The other type is the fanciful idealists, who basically do not like change and, without a shred of scientific evidence to hide behind, stubbornly cling to their gut feeling that a 'balanced diet' is all we need to fortify us. To date, not one single person in the anti-supplementation camp has ever been able to create a diet available to Western society that contains enough nutrients to meet even the paltry RDAs.
I admit I see the appeal of getting all my necessary nutrients from a good diet because it feels more wholesome (nicer, even). Unfortunately, science does not back up this viewpoint; whilst it may have been possible for our grandparents, we do not have the luxury of this choice. Science shows that active individuals who do not supplement have deficiencies in abundance, yet these are the people that need it most. Overcoming these shortfalls leads to a more balanced body. Chromium enables better insulin response and therefore more stable blood sugar levels; Calcium overcomes bone and muscle wastage; Choline produces a lipotropic effect on the liver, causing an increase in the usage of fat for fuel; the list goes on, and we have not even covered the Cs! Moreover, we start to work as nature intended us to.
Do not be put off supplementing with vitamins for the sake of 'keeping it natural'; the irony is that, together with a sensible diet dictated by your body's requirements, correct vitamin supplementation shifts the nutritional climate closer to that intended by nature than the Western diet alone ever could. Food should still be our medicine and medicine should still be our food, only now we would be wise to take little steps to neutralize the damage done by commercial farming.

Environment - The Problem!!

Facing a crisis is widespread civilization.
The search for a new paradigm of coexistence of a relationship with the Earth as pact of society to respect and preserve everything that exists has life. We must again have hope of solution, and only from this change makes sense to start thinking of alternatives. The symptoms of this crisis are reflected in all directions:
- Children are used as production workers for the world market; flagellates by many countries suffer the misery, with disease and hunger;
- The industry puts the fate of excluding the elderly pensioners and unemployed and the disregard of the culture of solidarity is powered by neoliberals praised the privatization of property, lack of hope for the establishment of societies culturally alienated and uprooted, living in hopes of miracle cures, the loss of a culture of sensitivity,
- Kindness, excess exposure to violence shown by the media without shame or scruple,
- The lack of morality policy, the acceptance of corruption, the illicit enrichment of politicians, - the lack of outrage and action of revolt, the carelessness with biodiversity, billions of years in knowledge accumulated by the development may disappear between our fingers, the disaffection of our Earth,
- The neglect in safeguarding their wealth and natural beauty, contaminated soil, water poisoned, dense air of pollution, destruction of native forests with all the home of the beings that inhabit.
A principle of self grows and tends to dominate the human mind as it seemed a normal way of thinking, capable of undermining the balance physical-chemical and ecological devastation to the planet's biosphere, risking all sorts of living of the world.
Life is dated some millions or billions of years of evolutionary development, threatened by the more modern and ultimate creation. This lack of which it does not identify its sources or more are recognized with the elements that formed. (Lomborg, 2002)
According to Sachs (1993), the world population tends to double their number by the end of the twentieth century, therefore, is essential equitable development of human society to reduce social differences. Because those who benefit from the unequal sharing of resources on a global scale have to cede a portion of the green space they occupy those who need.
Over years of destruction, environmental degradation and extraction of finite resources in an economic and developmental progress in accumulating wealth and unequal speed, causing climate change, threatening the habitability of the planet and the survival of the species with companies of double speed, e.g. uneven, creating real companies of apartheid. Sachs notes that the vision is:
a) The transition to a socially equitable development and respectful of nature depends on the answers brought to the crisis of institutions which in varying degrees, affects the three groups of countries: the Eastern, the South and the North and the international system;
b) The future of developing countries depend on their ability to find effective settings of public and private sectors in order to regulate relations between the social and economic, on the one hand, and on the other, between the economic sphere and nature;
c) The prosperity, the North appears as a model, but not feasible to extend the entire planet, the amount of resources that society demands of consumption and the amount of waste it produces and disposal in nature, so your question is required for strategies transition to a more sustainable development on a planetary scale;
d) Economic growth is necessary but in no way sufficient to ensure the development, growth can support the development or real problem of poor development, which refers to the qualitative criteria. You can think about the technique of extensive growth for the intensive growth, e.g., we must oppose the idea of a civilization is the fair share of the take;
e) the needs are tangible and intangible, is ethical, political, social, cultural and economic, ensuring income, improving purchasing power, access to a parcel of arable land, or a social program of distribution;
f) the industrial civilization in the north and their replicas in the south are characterized by the enormous waste of land resources, which entails the destruction of capital nature. This waste, in a way, is a reserve of development, these resources saved through a more rational administration, could finance the social spending or investment, alongside highlighting renewable resources. The needs are to refocus the science and techniques to the priorities of development, within the rules of prudence ecological, recent biotechnological progress to develop a modern industrial civilization in the production of an increasingly wide range of industrial products interacting with the many losses environment;
g) from examples of successful eco development, we generalize this approach and establish, through an experiment on a larger scale, production systems designed along the lines of natural ecosystems and that meet the three fundamental principles: social equity, ecological prudence and economic efficiency. Also for Sachs (1993), the primary task is to define global responsibilities of different groups of countries in establishing and driving the strategies of transition to the eco development. The greater effort must be made by the North, with a commitment to search for a sustainable development on a global scale, measured by three parameters: reduction of consumption of fossil fuels, changes in lifestyle wasted, wish to establish a mechanism that ensures a positive net flow of financial and technical resources from North to South, not the commercial viability of access to science and technology to developing countries.
Deep Ecology
The Deep Ecology proposed by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in 1973 serves as a response to the dominant view on the use of natural resources.
Arne Naess falls in the tradition of ecological-philosophical thought of Henry Thoreau, in Walden proposed, and Aldo Leopold, in his Ethics of the Earth.
Called Deep Ecology by showing a clear distinction against the dominant paradigm. And that all issues arising from the destruction are directly related to human development.
First, the desire to assume a more comfortable life pointed the obsolescence of cream man said "modern" in its ambitions to unravel the science that the drunk to the point of obscuring the various natural sacrifices dedicated to their discoveries and hide behind of their technologies (BOFF, 2004, p. 22).
Paraphrasing Boff (2004), we can say that it consumes much of nature to create the fastest processor ever seen, or to manufacture a machine that replaces the agricultural work of a thousand men.
The greed of human beings have for that is not content to live with it and sells enough to think that it is the right to do so by hiding the excuses of progress and development, and has more than , meets his state of possession of material goods in exchange for the destruction of the natural, which is beautiful, simple, but diverse.
The rapidly expanding population sum in this framework of greedy humans, who have no control over their proliferation on the area of the planet where you can achieve the natural factors of population control, for it is an act of survival, e.g. man overshadows their longevity, they are able to avoid most of the factors leading to fatalities, although many others before suffering fatal situations. Is therefore an exception to the natural biological control, the human being escapes the rules of nature to balance the number of living persons.
For Boff (2004), is known as its participation in the web of life, as you would ask how independent the puzzle of life here on Earth.
Life on Earth can exist without human beings, but man cannot live without other lives to feed and exchange matter and energy. The relationship between humans and other living beings land denouncing his great folly, to satisfy your obsolescence ultimately lead to extinction several species living or indirectly affect the path to achieve its objectives superfluous.
The contempt in which human beings have considered other forms of life on the planet shows a lack of understanding of thin line that maintains the natural balance, which also suggests that ignores the need for maintaining this balance to perpetuate the living conditions on Earth.

Environment Behavioral Paradigms.

When the man awakens to the new paradigm it is "the mechanistic conception of Newton and Descartes to a holistic and ecological vision" (Capra, 1996, p.13), let the values anthropocentric and egocentric values in pursuit of the vision of interdependence and makes It is part of everyday life, a fundamental change in our thoughts, perceptions and values.
Studies clarify what is a paradigm. Thomas Kuhn in the Structure of Scientific Revolutions gives two meanings to the word paradigm. The first, wider, has to do with "a whole constellation of opinions, values and methods etc... attended by members of a society, "founded a discipline by which the company is directed to itself and holds the set of their relations. The second, narrower, and is derived from the first means of reference examples, the solutions of problems, taken and held as copies and replacing the explicit rules in solving other problems of moral science (Kuhn, 1970, apud BOFF , 2004).
By comparison between the concepts can be taken as the first concept that is most similar to the studies discussed in this work. The refusal by "demean the Earth to a series of natural resources or a reservoir of physical and chemical raw materials" as Boff (2004, p. 27), is that the base in pursuit of the new paradigm, to feel the need to use new science and technology to nature, justifying the choice of the concept of paradigm given by Kuhn.
Created by the mechanistic view of scientific revolution represented by Copernicus, Descartes, Bacon, Newton, Galileo describes the world as a machine driven by mathematical laws. The evolution of human thought, the disclosure of chemical processes unmasking the functioning of living organisms has not been able to overthrow the Cartesian paradigm.
The art, literature and philosophy were the initial trigger of the real opposition to this dominant paradigm, with Lavoisier, William Blake, Goethe, Kant and Hutlon begin to differentiate between living organisms as self-reproduction and self-organization and see the integration between the parties and the Planet (Capra, 1982).
In the most remote times, the references to Greek and Roman on Earth were emotional, as Boff describes: Everything was full of respect and veneration, because they saw things as simple inert beings, but full of meaning and irradiation. The Earth, in the various expressions of Great Mother, of cultivated land and home, was seen as a living organism. It cannot be violated or predators. Otherwise if revenge by storms, lightning, droughts, fires, earthquakes and volcanoes [...] The man had a relationship of reverence and awe in the face of Mother Earth. (1999, p. 64)
According to the author, this feeling was never completely lost in humanity. Spirits were always sensitive to magic and the enchantment of nature, even in modern times that the world massacred and reduced to a container of resources to be exploited by technology. In today this feeling resurfaces from the so-called science of the Earth. They also tend to see more and more the Earth as "Gaia", a live, super organism highly organized and balanced with subtle, always fragile and always on repeat, as the theory says the scientist of NASA, Lovelock (1991).
The systemic thinking may have been launched from the biological view of the problem observed by biologists of the early XX century.
For Capra (1996), with the systemic view the properties of an organism or living system, are properties of a whole that no party has. Arise from interactions between the parties; if it is dissected in isolated elements, these properties are destroyed.
The systemic thinking has revolutionized the scientific thought, awakened by the impact that comes from the perception that the systems cannot be understood by analysis of its parts, but in a broad, contextual, analytical thinking is the opposite, that to understand anything we must isolate it.
The paradigm shift from mechanistic thinking to systemic thinking leads to reflect on the materialist philosophy in which human beings came to believe the matter as one consistent reality, all phenomena are secondary derivations thereof.
For systemic thinking the matter can be seen in another form, such as energy, "the matter is not simply material but stabilized energy, full of complex interactions," citing Boff (1999, p.24). Even states that matter, the philology of the word suggests, is the mother of all things, even the life that is self-organization of matter.
The foundations for the creation of dominant paradigms emerged today of the main philosophical currents initiated from the modern era (XVII century) and the development of science.
These generated models of development incompatible with the ecological balance in the process of civilization of the West, which finally broken this environmental crisis. Turn led to the contemporary society of the century. XX, the environmental thinking.
The historical background of the main philosophical and scientific currents that influenced the formation of environmental thinking mean to say that these have led to concepts, models and forms of reasoning peculiar, or different paradigms. Highlight the most relevant paradigms of Modern Age to the present day.
Cartesian philosophy was in the focus of intervention in nature is now observed, as to "meet her for her use, control and dominate," drawing from the power of human reason over nature (CHAUÍ, 1997). Emphasizes that as to understand the intelligence of the things from principles, are the means to dominate them. Descartes said that science must become the masters of human nature and the world. So they have the power to dominate nature through scientific knowledge, being the "master's owners" of nature, not its slaves (JAPIASSU, 1992).
It is also called the mechanistic philosophy, which includes the world as a machine, ie, the phenomena can be explained by mechanical devices. Argues that the universe is transparent look of the right and that everything can be explained by the particles of matter divisible. Nature is regarded as the world non-human, stripped of all the dynamism, creativity of the whole, all the sensitivity of any conscience, any sympathy or antipathy, all heat or cold, all color, taste and smell , in short, a world completely mechanical, no mystery, no life and no fertility (JAPIASSU, 1992). The Cartesian rationalism influenced the thinking because environmental introduced a purely mechanistic conception of nature in which it has no purpose, and completely at the mercy of human exploitation. Stimulated the development of an instrumental rationality, which means without using any criteria to achieve the purposes, leading to a disrespect and abuse and predatory natural resources and ecosystems, as well as the development of polluting technologies.
Hence the disciplinary division of science classic, there is no connection between the disciplines and independence that are treated. Thus there was also the idea that mind and spirit are separated from the field, or the body, enhancing the mental work on the manual labor, recovery of the body of the mind alone, ignoring the psychological dimension of diseases, among others.
Therefore, the output of man's nature as he did most of it, the disappearance of the divine vision of the scientific world has created a spiritual vacuum that has become characteristic of our Western culture (Capra, 1982) The paradigm - "EMPÍRICAL" The Empirical is a major philosophical currents of the XVII to XIX. In the explanation of empirical knowledge and any phenomena can be obtained only by observation and experimentation.
They argue that the reason, the truth and rational ideas are acquired by us through the experience, in opposition to the rationalists. In this approach, a scientific theory is a result of experimentation, so that the experiment aims to verify concepts, confirm them and produce them. Using the inductive method, the presentation of assumptions about the object reaches the definition of fact (CHAUÍ, 1997). Contrary to rationalism, empiricism claims that the knowledge begins with the experience of the senses, or the sensations that form perception (vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell). The association produces the sensation of repeated ideas.
The experiences are perceived by sensory perception and the habits and form ideas in the memory because the gathering to form the thoughts (CHAUÍ, 1997). The Englishman Francis Bacon (1561-1626), was an empiricist classic, the first to develop the inductive method of scientific research, data from individuals to reach a universal truth with deep passion for scientific experimentation, defending the value of experimental research. His motto was to be able, in their view that scientific knowledge is a practical tool to control the reality (COTRIM, 1991).
The empiricist doctrine was focused on practical science based on experimental inductive method, which is made the laws, generalized from the observation of repetition of events with constant characteristics. For this proposition that the scientific knowledge used to control the reality, paved the way for that science can also be used as an instrument of domination and control of nature.
Whereas knowledge postulated as dependent on personal experiences, perceived by each person, individually, induce people to develop individualistic conceptions. Thus, the individual was more important than society. Groups with specific interests and economic exploitation that cause specific adverse effects of human actions on nature were seen only by the side of the benefit, and will lead to greater economic gains for those specific groups.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727), using a methodology that combined the rationality, the empiricism, determinism and the mechanism to develop their concepts. Drafted the law of gravity, greatly influenced the biology, physics, chemistry, psychology and social sciences since it was formulated, used as a basis for science in general, which occurred by the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century when entered into decline. The limitations of the Newtonian model are only made from the theory of relativity and quantum theory that created new ways of thinking. The paradigm of Kantian - "CRITICAL" With the industrial revolution in the seventeenth and XVIII century, the advent of the steam machine was established the connection between science and technology, causing profound changes in the environment. The optimism in the power of reason to rearrange the world, the Enlightenment, the Enlightenment or Enlightenment, was the critical emergency, proposed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) through his "Critique of Pure Reason" (ARANHA; MARTINS, 1993).
The criticism refers to the Kantian criticism, attitude prevailing at the time. A person is one that is critical positions defined and independent think for itself and only accepts as true what is established, after its consideration of the fact (ARANHA; MARTINS, 1993).
It is considered that from the Enlightenment that people began to think for themselves, not let dominate and be manipulated.
The criticism has influenced the thinking of introducing the environmental critical posture, contrasting it with an attitude of submissive acceptance of facts. What has caused scientists and thinkers, especially of the XX century, opened the questioning of the dominant scientific theories and models, establishing a connection between them and the current environmental crisis. This attitude has enabled new paradigms are created in order to solve the environmental disaster has already occurred and prevent others will occur.
The paradigm - "POSITIVISM" Augusto Comte (1798-1857) was its main representative, based on positivism, emerged as a post-Kantian philosophy in the nineteenth century, in the midst of the changes to the industrial revolution.
This doctrine created the "myth of scientism" extolling the science and the scientific method of which went all knowledge possible and perfect (ARANHA; MARTINS, 1993).
It is believed in the benefits that science and technology would provide for the industrial revolution capitalist progress. The positivism denied the painful social consequences resulting from industrialization, defended the legitimacy of the industry, agreeing with the existence of capitalist entrepreneurs and operators directly (the proletariat) (COTRIM, 1991).
The positivism postulated that knowledge must be guided by a "systematic observation", a necessary condition to make a sound scientific research, and the human spirit must recognize the impossibility of obtaining absolute terms, about their origin, the fate of the universe and unravel the problem. What matters is to know the phenomena through their laws, which makes the science exists.
Comte said that progress is always associated with the idea of order and should be subordinate to it. Arose, then the positivist applied to the company motto: "Order and progress". This slogan would later be part of the Brazilian flag (CHAUÍ, 1997).
The positivism deeply affected the thinking because environmental introduced the philosophy of progress, understood as technical-scientific progress and accumulation of material goods, which was won with a style of sustainable development, produced by a degraded area of the nature. The technology and science were tools of domination of nature by man, which could provide details about the natural phenomena.

Harnessing the Power of Your Subconscious Mind:

"Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality." - Earl Nightingale

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are." -Thomas Dreier

The whole point of the First Pillar of Rapid Body Transformation is to develop the proper mindset (from the beginning) that will lead to success quickly and naturally. That way you can learn from other people's mistakes and realize your goals that much faster.

Now, like many people (even myself in the past,) you may be tempted to skip over all of this mindset nonsense and get straight to the heavy lifting. "It's all bull$#!! I tell you, hogwash, blah, blah, blah!"


Well I've got to tell you that it's sad that many "average", everyday people disregard or discredit the true power of the mind and the creative role it plays in the development of one's life and reality.

I find it disappointing that so many people are closed-minded to the new discoveries that science is yielding in regards to the mind and brain. With the help of new advancements in technology and equipment, neuroscientists have been able to study and research the human brain like never before.

In fact, most of what scientists know about the brain and its potential is the result of new research studies conducted over the past fifteen years. We've only just begun to unlock the potential of the human mind.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, like many other successful people, realized the true power and potential of the mind years ago and no one can argue with what he's achieved in his lifetime. Arnold said:

"The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent."

So if you want to continue to be "average", then by all means pay no attention to this mind-stuff. This information is not for the average person. Not that there is anything wrong with being average, if that's your thing... or should I say mindset.

Yet, for those of us who want to live "above the mean", who want to experience the best that life has to offer... well then... understanding the subconscious mind and how it works is of the utmost importance... especially if you desire to transform your physique.

Why be average and live a mediocre life when you can simply shift your mindset and achieve something great? I mean why settle for something that you DON'T really want, when you could have exactly what you DO want?

Here's a better question; Do you even know what you really want? Have you ever created an image in your mind of the ideal you... with your ideal body... living your ideal life experience?

Did you know that if you were only to hold on to that image or visualization in your mind, then you could dramatically increase the likelihood of it becoming your reality? It's true!

If you simply ran through that scenario in your mind twice each day you would be programming your subconscious mind to achieve that vision in reality.

Honestly, I don't see why some people find this so hard to believe. Do you think Arnold sat around complaining that life isn't fair. "Aaaahhhh, lifting da veights is just too haaarrrddd! I giv up!"

Or is it more likely that he imagined himself becoming the top bodybuilder and winning the Mr. Olympia contest long before he stepped onto that stage and won it for the first time in 1970?

He was programming his subconscious mind to win because he knew all along that "the mind is the limit." He knew that if he believed in himself strongly enough then nothing could stop him from achieving his goals. You can do this too! If... you understand how to harness the power of your subconscious mind.

So, by now I'm sure you've guessed it... In this three part series of articles we are going to explore the subconscious mind. What is it? How does it work? And most importantly how can we tap into it and harness its power to effectively transform our bodies and our lives?



Dawn of the Subconscious Mind

When we're born into this world our mind is empty. It has no experiences, no knowledge, no beliefs, no values, and no understanding of the physical reality in which it has manifested.

It is a clear slate and like a dry sponge it immediately begins to absorb all of the liquid in which it is submerged. As babies we can't even think... we don't yet have a conscious mind. That develops later. All we can do is experience the world around us.

Think of the subconscious mind (or unconscious mind as it is also referred) as a video recorder or computer that records everything that your senses perceive. The sights, sounds, touch, smells, and tastes of the world. Everything is recorded, even the stuff your conscious mind doesn't pick up on.

All of this is recorded within the database of the subconscious mind and used as a reference or interface for living and surviving in the world. In other words, the subconscious mind is the storehouse for everything that you've experienced in life and what's stored in there influences your personality, beliefs, and behavior.

Think of your brain as the hardware that allows your subconscious mind to operate. Your subconscious mind acts as the software or program that your brain is using as an operating system.

As you continue to develop and gain more worldy experience, your subconscious mind is forming a program that ultimately becomes you. This program becomes your unique personality, beliefs, and perception of reality. Which is also known as your ego.

By the way, be careful... there's lots of people running around out there with a faulty operating system. Just try to be nice to them and give them a break here and there.

It's important to note that this is a self-evolving program. It changes over time... as you learn, grow, and gather more life experiences.

From this gathering of information and experience your brain is able to put together more complex patterns, develop more neural connections and form a deeper understanding of life and reality.

On the other hand if you fail to keep providing your mind with new stimuli and learning experiences your mind will stay at the same level of operation or even begin to decline.

In other words once you stop growing... you're dying!



Biology of the Subconscious Mind

From a biological perspective, you also have to understand that trillions of things are happing within your body's cells and organs each and every day... from your breathing, to your heart beat, to your cell replication, to hormone secretion, to the hypertrophy of new muscle cells, to the digestion of food, and on and on and on.

Biologists have understood for some time that trillions of chemical reactions are happening within your cells every day... just so you can be alive on this planet and do whatever it is you love to do.

Now you aren't consciously controlling these things... they happen automatically and unconsciously. Some thing or some consciousness is making them happen and it isn't you... thank God, or you'd probably be dead by now!

Could it be that the subconscious mind is controlling these processes? The answer is YES!

Now you smart guys and gals out there may argue that these things are controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and you'd be correct. However, the subconscious mind is believed to be the part of the brain that directly influences the ANS.

According to neuroscientists (aka brain scientists):

*The Subconscious Mind is the most powerful part of your brain and controls over 80% of your brains functions. So in other words, our conscious mind is only using 1/6th of our brains power.

*Your Subconscious Mind is responsible for controlling all of the autonomic processes that take place within your body such as breathing, the beating of your heart, hormone secretion, and all other cellular activity.

*Your subconscious mind is also responsible for your automatic behaviors, impulses, and thought processes. It is these conditioned behaviors that impact your natural reaction to people, situations, your environment and how you interact within it.


If that doesn't have you intrigued to learn more about it... nothing will. Except if you just happen to realize that maybe this could be the key to your success or failure in anything you choose to do in life! Your mind is either working for you or against you! Ultimately you decide which it will be. Choose wisely.




Using the Conscious to Program the Unconscious

At this point you may be thinking: "Yeah, that's great and all, but how do you get your mind working for you? So, what if I do have some negative or limiting beliefs, can I get rid of them? Is there a way to directly influence our subconscious minds so that we can develop the proper mindset that leads to success?"

To that I would say, man you sure ask a lot of questions! On the other hand though... asking questions is a very intelligent thing to do. The subconscious mind loves questions because one of its characteristics is of being an innate problem solver. When you ask a question with your conscious mind, the subconscious will reach deep within its reservoir of memories and experiences and even beyond to find the answer. Then typically when you least expect it the answer will pop into your consciousness.

Many scientists and successful inventors have reported this phenomenon when pondering on the answer to some important problem or question that would lead to a major breakthrough. The answers to these questions spontaneously came to them in a flash of sudden insight or sometimes even in a dream.

You may even have experienced it before yourself. Have you ever forgotten the name of a movie, or song and had trouble remembering the answer. Usually later after you've given up, the name will just come to you.

So, yes there are ways to access and influence the subconscious mind. Asking questions is one of those ways and yet there are several others which we will discuss as this series unfolds. The key to getting your mind on your side and working for you instead of against you lies in your beliefs.

My research has led me to believe that this is possible, but what I believe is of little importance to effectively alter your subconscious mind. What truly matters IS what you believe and IF you believe it is possible. Now I'm not asking you to believe on mere faith. If you want to, well that's fine, but I would never ask such a thing.

I've found that it is wise to keep an open mind about your beliefs. Yet I would strongly advise that before you believe anything anyone ever tells you that you always check it against your own internal understanding. If you feel your understanding may be incomplete then put in the time to do the necessary research to help you make more intelligent decisions.

You see, in order to change your reality (ie. transform your body and life), it is important to have an accurate and precise understanding of how your consciousness works. It is your beliefs and worldview that form your perception of reality and it is your subconscious mind that directly influences your perception. What you perceive directly influences your thoughts and feelings, which impacts the actions you take. Are you grasping this?

The ultimate question is whether your perception of reality is empowering or disempowering. In other words, is your worldview allowing you to create the life you want to live or is it keeping you from doing so? I would say that if you are completely content and happy with your life at the deepest core of your being... then you're probably on the right track. If not your perception may be holding you back in some way.

The amazing thing to become conscious of here is this:

There is not just one reality in the world. There is only our perception of reality.

So, there are over six billion human perceptions of reality amongst us humans alone. It gets too confusing to include the animals so we'll just leave their perception out of it.

Your subconscious mind is the operating system for your perception of reality. Your life experiences are responsible for its development. Once you become conscious of this fact, then you are responsible for making sure you get the necessary life experiences. In a way, you become the programmer of your own reality. Just make sure it's an empowering one. This is how you use the conscious to program the unconscious.


Birth is the dawn of the subconscious mind.
Through your eyes a world is seen anew.
Through your ears, a soft voice is heard for the first time.


Out of your thoughts, beliefs, and experiences...
a unique perception of reality is formed. Creating the brief moment in time...
that you've come to know as your life.

Music as Therapy - Making Melody to Ease the Tension.

"The power of music to integrate and cure is quite fundamental. It is the profoundest non-chemical medication..." These words from famous neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks, underline a fundamental truth often times overlooked by medical science. Music can have a soothing and calming biological effect on a nervous brain and stressed body - and today thousands benefit from the therapeutic influence of song and harmony.
If your life is a combination of rushing from one dilemma to the next, while trying to maintain a household and remembering to attend Pilates class, you will most likely understand the importance of regular relaxation, but may find it difficult or impossible to implement. On the other hand, if you've forgotten the feeling of jumping into the deep end of an oasis after a crushing day at the office, it may be time for a much needed change. Stop maintaining a lifestyle that deducts a month from your life after every year. Now recognize and employ, in your daily routine, the healing effect of music. This is true both in the context of listening to music, or making some form of it by yourself. As a musician of many years, I have observed the amazing effect that playing a few chords or notes has on an anxious person.
The organiser of a recent symposium on the understanding of the human musical experience said: "We may be sitting on one of the most widely available and cost effective therapeutic modalities that ever existed. Systematically, this could be like taking a pill ... music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication, in many circumstances."
My wife's sentiments will also be shared by many: "I have no musical talent whatsoever, I cannot keep a note let alone hear the difference, but I've learned basic guitar patterns. I cannot play without looking at them, but even with my eyes glued to the music sheet I find my mind quieting and my body relaxing as I play my simple melodies. My 56 year old mother even started playing and using guitar jargon like 'chords' and 'scales'!"
Learning a new instrument is by itself a wonderful and energizing experience, simply because of the fresh perception and stimulus that accompanies the learning process. And your newly acquired expertise can and will help aid in your quest for a more stress-free lifestyle. If this appeals, you may wonder where to start? Like many children with recognized musical ability I was somewhat forced into musical tuition for a variety of instruments as a young child - today I play guitar, bass guitar, drums and some piano. I have found the piano or guitar a good starting point for soon-to-be musicians.
Piano is more difficult to master without live lessons, but guitar can, in most cases, be learned without help. This instrument's composition means that a new player has minimum finger pattern memorization and, unlike the piano, you really don't have to do much to start sounding like you know what you're doing.

The Criminology:

When people look into criminology, they may initially be surprised by how expansive the field is. Anyone that is at all associated with the scientific study of crime, the relationship between the criminal and his or her environment, and society's reaction to crime would have some sort of placement within the scene of Criminology. In some instances, criminologists are researchers that are trying to find the common links between deviant behavior and the environment, in order to try to pinpoint what it is that causes or perpetuates crime.
There are currently a number of different theories that attempt to explain, through the process of science, what it is that causes a crime to take place. These theories began to emerge in earnest in the middle of the 1800's. Over the course of the next 200 or so years, new theories began to spring up and eventually they began to involve genetics, hormones and biological makeup. Previously, theories of criminology rested heavily on society and the environment's effect on the individual as a source to either push an individual into crime or away from crime.
There are three distinct schools of thought when it comes to criminology. One of the first schools of thought, the Classical school believes that utilitarian philosophy is the supporting notion of criminology. They argue that individuals have free will and can decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. The hedonistic, or self-indulgent, side of the body must be balanced against the rational of the individual. When the hedonistic side wins, crime may ensue. Rational is the side of the individual that would consider the penalty of the crime and, if the punishment is severe enough, is believed to be the piece of the individual that would keep them from crime by looking at the costs. Positivists are those who believe that the factors that contribute to the criminal's propensity to go against the law do not rest within their own control. Rather, elements such as society or the person's chemical makeup do.
These are things that are considered to be outside the control of the individual, but are still things that may play what Positivists claim as the biggest part of the responsibility when a criminal has committed a crime. In the Chicago school of thought, individuals believe that criminals are a result of the disorganized environments from which they come. Later, this definition was extended to include the belief that older generations taught younger generations about the role of crime. It is then fair to say that these individuals believe that crime is a social occurrence only where the social makeup of the area is broken down and unequal.
Crime is often considered to be a blemish when it comes to the society of an area. It causes people to fear when they should not have to. Criminologists are, in their own way, attempting to determine what causes a crime or instigates that type of behavior in a person in order to limit the amount of crime that takes place.

Protein Builds Muscle and Burns Fat :

Muscles are made of protein. This statement is rather obvious to all of us. So to build muscle, equally obviously, you need to take proteins. This can be found in eggs, fish meat, cottage cheese or protein concentrates like protein powder.
To appreciate the importance of proteins in your body, you have to understand that your body cells are constantly being replaced by new ones. The tissue, made of protein, is in a state of flux, constantly being changed as old cells die and new cells replace them. Rheo Blair states "It is as if you lived in a building whose bricks were systematically taken out and replaced every year. If you keep the same blueprint then it will still look like the same building. But it won't be the same in actuality. The human body is in a constant state of flux, it loks the same from day to day, but through multiple biological processes, it is always rebuilding itself."
Science has proven that 99% of the atoms in your body are replaced within one year. Every cell in your body is in a constant rebuilding process. Protein is what is used in the creation of new cells. It is the building blocks of your body. Skin, hair, bones, hormones, and antibodies are formed of protein. Save for water, protein is the most abundant substance in your body. Like other nutrients, proteins are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. But unlike other nutrients, proteins are the only nutrients that bring nitrogen into the body. Thus by measuring the amount of nitrogen in ones excreta, compared to the amount taken in, one can estimate the amount of protein used for muscle growth. If the difference is positive, then muscle is being made. But if the difference is negative, there is a negative nitrogen balance, and the body literally begins feed on its own muscle to produce energy. Proteins are broken down by digestive acids like protease to smaller units called peptides. This occurs in the stomach where there are acidic conditions necessary for the digestion of proteins. The peptides are in turn are digested by peptidase, found in the duodenum, into amino acids. These are what the body actually absorbs and utilizes to form body tissue, including muscle.

There are 20 amino acids that are required for the normal growth of the body. Eleven of these are naturally made in the body and thus are called non-essential amino acids. The other nine have to be ingested into the body as it cannot synthesize them and are thus called essential amino acids. Foods containing both types of amino acids in the exact amounts as they are needed by the body are called complete proteins. Only when all the essential amino acids are available can the body grow muscles. Otherwise it starts breaking down body tissue to suffice the amount of essential amino acids for growth and repair purposes. Thus lack of these amino acids actually leads to muscle loss.

The Many Capabilities of a Stereo Microscope:

When you talk about magnification, lenses, and small things, one thing comes to mind: the microscope. But gone are the days when the term only covers simple and compound microscopes. Today, you hear kinds such as the stereo microscope and the polarized light microscope. There are even biological microscopes and educational microscopes.
Indeed, there are so many updates on the word of microscopes today. If you've only known this laboratory instrument from school and never met one ever since, then you'd be surprised at how many different kinds there are already.
So, to update your information bank on the world of microscopes, this article will talk about an interesting type: the stereo microscope. The stereo microscope is also known as a dissecting microscope. This is because this type is mostly used for close work such as dissection, microsurgery and even watch-making.
The Uniqueness
The stereo microscope differs from the other types of microscopes in a lot of ways. First, while others only have one eyepiece (the cylinder containing the lenses and the part that you put your eyes on to see the specimen in question), the stereo microscope has two. Yes, like binocular, the dissecting microscope makes use of two separate optical paths to give you a better view of the specimen. As a result, this feature gives you a three-dimensional image of the sample being examined.
Second, the stereo microscope uses a different kind of illumination. Compound microscopes use transmitted illumination (light "transmitted through the object") while stereo microscopes use reflected illumination (light "reflected from the surface of an object"). Of course, this makes sense because of the 3D capability of stereo microscopes. Reflected light is very useful when examining objects that are either too thick or that are opaque - in such a case, transmitting light through it would be next to impossible.
The stereo microscope also has two magnification systems: fixed and zoom. Fixed magnification is achieved using a pair of objective lenses with a set magnification degree. Basically, the degree of magnification that you get solely depends on what your lenses are capable of. Zoom magnification, on the other hand, is capable of varying degrees of magnification. Have you ever heard of the terms "zoom in" and "zoom out?" Well, that's exactly how the zoom magnification in a stereo microscope works.
Stereo microscopes are also capable of digital displays, as in the case of digital microscopes. Having the image projected on a high resolution monitor is very useful especially in surgeries. If you are ever a fan of House and Grey's Anatomy, then you've surely seen one of those episodes where a monitor is used to view the specimen examined under a stereo microscope.
Microscopes have truly gone a long way. Before, only one lens is used; today, microscopes with two optical paths are already in existence. Surely, Anton van Leeuwenhoek did not dream that his "invention" would go this long, and that it would be used outside of biology.

Still, it's wonderful to know that Science continues to re-invent and to upgrade itself. It's nice to know that it continues to work better to provide us with better answers. After all, how will we understand the world more if not for Science? How would we know what an atom looks like if not for a microscope?

Long Time Mesothelioma Survivors -What Do They Have in Common?

Paul Kraus is one of the long-term survivors of malignant mesothelioma, there are many others and one thing they all have in common to all of them is the fact that they all focused most of their treatment on steps to improve or enhance their immune system. Some used alternative or complimentary therapies (with guidance from licensed clinicians) while others participated in clinical trials of immune therapy.
So does the immune system play a significant role in the control malignant mesothelioma? The experience of Paul Kraus and other long-term malignant mesothelioma survivors gives a lot of credit to the fact that the immune system is indeed very important in the management of malignant mesothelioma.
In quite a number of people with pleural mesothelioma that survived the cancer for a long time, their medical histories have shown that their immune system may have played a major role in their extremely long survival.
In 1986, an article appeared in a medical journal that discussed this very issue of malignant mesothelioma and immunity.(1) This research focused on the immune responses of 118 healthy people compared to 20 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 375 long-term asbestos workers who were cancer-free.
The researchers wanted to know if there were any measurable differences in the immune responses of the mesothelioma patients. Their findings demonstrated a relationship between the immune system and malignant mesothelioma. For example:
* The number of total T (T11+) and T-helper (T4+) cells were normal in asbestos workers with cancer, but were significantly reduced in patients with mesothelioma. T cells orchestrate, regulate and coordinate the overall immune response.
* Most patients with mesothelioma had a profound deficiency in Natural Killer cell (NK) activity which is suggestive of the role the immune system plays in the control of malignant mesothelioma. NK cells are a type of lethal lymphocyte that target tumor cells and protect against a wide variety of infectious microbes.
In the discussion section of the report, the researchers stated: "These findings led us to speculate that biological phenomena generally categorized as chronic immunosuppression associated with the presence of asbestos fibers in the exposed workers may have caused the eventual breakdown of the host's surveillance system and the onset of neoplasm [malignant mesothelioma]."
In other words, the researchers are suggesting that malignant mesothelioma may result from immune suppression. If this is true it would provide the biological basis for the role that the immune system and immune boosting approaches may play in the management of malignant mesothelioma.
Another example of a long time survivor of mesothelioma is James O'Connor.In October 2001, sixty-one year old James Rhio O'Connor ("Rhio") was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma caused by his exposure to asbestos when he was younger. His was given less than a year to live.
His tumor was not operable because the tumor was too close to his spinal cord chemo was also not an option because at the stage of his tumor chemo would not have been of any major help to him, it could not give any significant elongation to his life span. He was basically told to prepare for imminent death in a polite manner.
To soften this message, the doctor also recommended that Rhio take his wife on a cruise and then start hospice care upon his return. Rhio rejected the idea. He was determined to survive this cancer. Working with professional clinicians, he formulated a regimen of over 100 supplements a day, changed his diet, practiced mind-body medicine, most of these treatments were aimed at boosting the immune system, and he relied on his own discipline to see him through the difficult times ahead.
Rhio survived for 7 ½ more years through his determination, knowledge, inexorable spirit, belief in something greater than himself, and the ability to make tough choices -qualities that spell success in any endeavor. Rhio passed away on July 11, 2009. He was 69 years old. Rhio was often asked how he was able to manage his mesothelioma or "Mr. Meso" as he called it.

To answer these questions and help and inspire others, Rhio wrote a book called "They Said Months, I Chose Years: A Mesothelioma Survivor's Story." In this book Rhio discusses what he did to live his life with "Mr. Meso" and much of the science behind his decisions. In his book he cites nearly one hundred medical articles that support the concept of using nutrition to help manage a chronic disease like cancer. Rhio's inspirational life and book reminds us that there may be other ways to manage cancer and extend life beyond the conventional methods of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

5 Programs to Consider for an Online RN Degree.

Achieving an advanced Online RN Degree provides you with a competitive edge on an individual's nursing career. Attaining the degrees online increases the chances of promotion. All working nurses can enhance their credentials with accredited online nursing programs like BSN and RN, Masters in Nursing Programs and online Nurse Practitioner degrees and even Healthcare Administration jobs. These programs are offered by the top tier online nursing schools and universities.

One of the most advantageous aspects of the online nursing degree programs is that nurses can earn the Online RN Degree at whichever time it is possible. They can get into an advanced career transition without scarifying their job or family time. There are no need to attend classes or any nursing schools and no conflict of worrying about any schedule. The nurse can study at own time and can explore many features of the nursing degree programs; you can attain the nursing degrees which can improve your life and career.

Some of the lucrative Online RN Degree one can attain is listed here:

Nursing healthcare education certificate

This is a specially designed program for people who want to pursue nursing careers in service and educational settings. With the certificate courses the nurses can have a curriculum development, evaluation and assessment which help through revitalizing teachings and learning strategies. With the combination of professional expertise and knowledge of teaching and learning strategies, it will enhance your role of health care educator.

RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing:
This program is designed and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. This program has been specially designed for enhancing the skills and knowledge of the registered nurses. Each of the individual's curriculums is built on the foundation of the physical, biological and social science education which will greatly contribute to the science of nursing. The course also includes liberal arts subjects which will enhance the intellectual, cultural and social aspect of a professional nurse.

Master of Science in Nursing:

The Masters of Science in Nursing are designed with curriculums which will help a professional nurse to enhance her knowledge and skills. This can be considered as a 'baccalaureate-degree preparation.' The program will address functions for leadership roles in practice and in educational settings. In the coursework there are even advanced nursing process and contents and also leadership subjects.

Master of Science in Nursing/Master of Health Administration:
This master program is a dual degree program which is designed for blending the advanced nurse courses along with business skills related with the process. The nursing component of the program focuses on nursing theories and advanced practices and skills. On the other hand the administration deals with policies, economies, marketing, improvements and strategic planning.

Master of Science in Nursing for Nurse Practitioners:
After the completion of the graduate degree, this program of Master of Science in Nursing can be conducted. Accredited by Collegiate Nursing Education, this program focuses on enhancing educational qualification of an individual nurse without sacrificing their current employment or home attachments. The coursework is also includes nursing contents, finances and advanced nursing with evidence based research.

Why People Smoke?

Some people are curious as to why other people smoke. Don't they know that smoking causes lung cancer? Why would they suck and blow their lives away? Don't they know they'll get addicted and die? Don't they realize that they're blowing their yucky smoke at other people and exposing them to second hand smoking?

These are common complaints that non smokers have about smokers, and why people smoke remains largely a mystery to them. Even if it's a free country and we have smoking and non smoking sections, smoking still manages to cause controversy, because it brings up so many issues like health, science, media influence, economics, and freedom of choice.

Common reasons cited for why people smoke are the high they get from nicotine, peer pressure from others around them doing it, the glamorizing of smoking on the big screen and television, desire to lose weight and the inability to quit. It's definitely true that these are factors that contribute to the choice to smoke, but this is an oversimplified viewpoint of cause and effect. People are a lot more complicated than that and everyone is different. We can only derive trends of smoking, not causes.

It might seem intuitive that smoking is bad for you, but technically research hasn't shown that smoking causes cancer. This is because it's seen as unethical to perform experiments in which people are asked to smoke and then monitored for the development of cancer. Research has suggested a strong correlation between smoking and cancer but research has often been plagued with real or perceived flaws in design, and so it remains largely inconclusive. Yet the idea that smoking is bad for you remains somewhat common sense, and it's also inconclusive why people smoke in the first place, at least in an official sense.

Critics of smoking might have you believe that just one cigarette will have you addicted for life, but everyone's biological makeup is different and while nicotine is highly addictive, you can't say for sure whether someone will become heavily addicted or not. Still, it seems that many people suffer from addiction and eventually develop cancer as well. Other criticisms are directed at tobacco companies, which are accused by some of profiting off of death and minimizing the dangers of smoking. In any case, smoking is a significant part of our economy and it won't go away anytime soon even if we want it to.


In the end, smoking is a personal choice, and as simple as it seems, that's the reason why people smoke and other people don't, and there will be some who suffer from it and some who don't. It seems the best way to get along is for smokers to keep their smoking confined and for non smokers to avoid smoking areas, which seems like a form of segregation. But segregation inevitably comes with diversity and differences of opinion, the hallmark of American society.

Advantages of Phase Contrast Microscopes.

You have seen many Biology books to know that the microscope have helped us catch a glimpse of organisms, cellular matters, and parts of our body that cannot be seen by the naked eye. The microscope, after all, can magnify objects through the use of specialized lens and light. But what about objects that are transparent? How have scientists have come up with images of organisms that do not absorb light? How about those that are naturally colorless? The answer lies in a microscope called phase contrast. Introduction to Phase Contrast Microscopy
Our eyes can only see colors of the visible spectrum and the differing intensities of light. Objects that absorb light are easy for us to observe because of these biological capability. Even if the objects are very tiny, it's still possible for us to see them if we use a microscope. However, transparent and colorless objects, such as bacteria, sperm tails, flagella, and some parts of the cell, cannot be seen clearly under typical light microscopes. This is because light travels through these objects in a way that our naked eye cannot detect. Light passes through these specimens, called phase objects, slower and they are shifted. This change in phase cannot be detected by our eyes. This is why it would be impossible to study these objects clearly.
In the 1930s, a Dutch scientist named Frits Zernike developed the phase contrast method. He observed that it is possible to increase change in phase or shift in these transparent objects by half a wavelength. This was done by the use of rings etched onto plates of glass. The method resulted in patterns of interference. These patterns, in turn, made the details of the phase objects darker than the background. The contrast is increased and they become visible to the naked eye.
Phase Contrast Microscopy Today
Zernike received a Nobel price for inventing the method. It was a well-deserved accolade because he has revolutionized the way microscopy works today. Because of his invention, we have been able to properly observe objects that would otherwise have been impossible to analyze under a normal light microscope.
If it weren't for this method, for example, we would never have known how cell division works. Without phase contrast microscopes, transparent and colorless objects are stained so that they can be observed under the microscope. This staining method makes them absorb color but it alters their components. It can kill some phase objects, too. Incidentally, killing phase objects also makes them more visible but it becomes impossible to observe their processes. Killing them often defeats the purpose of observation. With this technique, it is possible to observe living cells and how they divide.

Used with other modern devices, this kind of microscope has even made it possible to see the internal structures of these phase objects. Post-processing and other enhancement devices can now make us see what goes on inside transparent and colorless organisms. They used to be beyond the reach of technology but a genius changed that. Science and mankind has definitely benefited from this incredible invention.

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Molecular Scale/Bilogical Science:

An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses electrons to illuminate a specimen and create an enlarged image. Electron microscopes have much greater resolving power than light microscopes and can obtain much higher magnifications. Some electron microscopes can magnify specimens up to 2 million times, while the best light microscopes are limited to magnifications of 2000 times. Both electron and light microscopes have resolution limitations, imposed by their wavelength. The greater resolution and magnification of the electron microscope is due to the wavelength of an electron, its de Broglie wavelength, being much smaller than that of a light photon, electromagnetic radiation.The electron microscope uses electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses in forming the image by controlling the electron beam to focus it at a specific plane relative to the specimen in a manner similar to how a light microscope uses glass lenses to focus light on or through a specimen to form an image.

What is Electron Microscopy?

An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses electrons to illuminate a specimen and create an enlarged image. Electron microscopes have much greater resolving power than light microscopes and can obtain much higher magnifications. Some electron microscopes can magnify specimens up to 2 million times, while the best light microscopes are limited to magnifications of 2000 times. Both electron and light microscopes have resolution limitations, imposed by their wavelength. The greater resolution and magnification of the electron microscope is due to the wavelength of an electron, its de Broglie wavelength, being much smaller than that of a light photon, electromagnetic radiation.The electron microscope uses electrostatic and electromagnetic lenses in forming the image by controlling the electron beam to focus it at a specific plane relative to the specimen in a manner similar to how a light microscope uses glass lenses to focus light on or through a specimen to form an image.

Molecular Phylogeny.

Molecular phylogeny, also known as molecular systematics, is the use of the structure of molecules to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a so-called phylogenetic tree.Every living organism contains DNA, RNA, and proteins. Closely related organisms generally have a high degree of agreement in the molecular structure of these substances, while the molecules of organisms distantly related usually show a pattern of dissimilarity. Molecular phylogeny uses such data to build a "relationship tree" that shows the probable evolution of various organisms. Not until recent decades, however, has it been possible to isolate and identify these molecular structures.One application of molecular phylogeny is in DNA barcoding, where the species of an individual organism is identified using small sections of mitochondrial DNA. Another application of the techniques that make this possible can be seen in the very limited field of human genetics, such as the ever more popular use of genetic testing to determine a child's paternity, as well as the emergence of a new branch of criminal forensics focused on evidence known as genetic fingerprinting.The effect on traditional scientific classification schemes in the biological sciences has been dramatic as well. Work that was once immensely labor- and materials-intensive can now be done quickly and easily, leading to yet another source of information becoming available for systematic and taxonomic appraisal. This particular kind of data has become so popular that taxonomical schemes based solely on molecular data may be encountered.

DNA Electrophoresis.


DNA electrophoresis is an analytical technique used to separate DNA fragments by size. An electric field forces the fragments to migrate through a gel. DNA molecules normally migrate from negative to positive potential due to the net negative charge of the phosphate backbone of the DNA chain. At the scale of the length of DNA molecules, the gel looks much like a random, intricate network. Longer molecules migrate more slowly because they are more easily 'trapped' in the network.After the separation is completed, the fractions of DNA fragments of different length are often visualizing a fluorescent dye specific for DNA, such as ethidium bromide. The gel shows bands corresponding to different DNA molecules populations with different molecular weight. Fragment size is usually reported in "nucleotides", "base pairs" or "kb" (for 1000's of base pairs) depending upon whether single- or double-stranded DNA has been separated. Fragment size determination is typically done by comparison to commercially available DNA ladders containing linear DNA fragments of known length.
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