Mind Soup

This is a repost guest post by a good friend Hala Hassan which was originally posted at A Seperate State of Mind , a recommended blog by another great friend Elie Fares . Hear it from those who were there. A neighboring country at war, you sympathize. Innocent civilians torn into pieces under the wreckage of their houses, you shed a couple of tears. Frightened children and sick elderly begging for international intervention, you pray deaf ears listen somehow. But what if you were that citizen in that country, held up in your house, scared like you’ve never been, reciting every single prayer that ever crossed your mind for those bombshells to stop and those warplanes hovering in the sky to go away… Yes, it’s been 5 years since “July war”, “the 33 days war”, “the 6th Lebanese/Israeli war” or whatever they want to call it. But for that traumatized girl, it still feels like yesterday… To survive a war is one supposedly satisfying ending. Not to have lost a family member is considered a bl...

A Concert featuring Algerino and Faudel in Memory of TALAL KASSEM, 17 year old young man hwas killed while crossing the road going to school by a raging driver… Talal Kassem (Photo from facebook) Proceeds of the concert and other contributions will go to "The ROADS FOR LIFE, Talal Kassem Fund for Post Accident Care" for training of Emergency physicians. Trauma surgeons and Emergency physicians from hospitals ALL ACROSS Lebanon will be offered the Advanced Trauma Life Support course (ATLS). This course will improve the chance of survival for injured victims on the roads in the first 60mn of the accident known as the GOLDEN HOUR. "The ROADS FOR LIFE, Talal Kassem Fund for Post Accident Care" will cover the fees for as many physicians as possible in as many sessions as needed. Upon completion of the course, they will receive Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Certification from “The American College of Surgeons” , committee on Trauma, Chicago, Illinois....

The Standing Committee On Reproductive health including HIV/AIDS (SCORA) in the Lebanese Medical Students International Committee (LeMSIC) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) was holding a campaign to raise awareness for International Women's day which is usually on the 8th of March of every year. That's me :) Their campaign consisted of a photo-shoot of people holding a green board that they can write whatever they want on. Of course it had to be relevant to the topic, though some did go a little out of subject, but that is okay. They also had a very creative idea where they created a bathroom cabin (with no toilet) that people can actually go in and write on the bathroom wall too. There were also purple-green-white handmade bracelets handed out for free to participants. They will be collecting these photos to create an exhibition in AUB to display the statements and people in these photos. Below are just a random selection of photos that I took from the event...

3D Model of an HIV Virus HEALTH JOCKEY : A previous investigation on rhesus monkeys claimed that TRIM5a safeguards these animals from HIV. It was affirmed that after the protein latches on to a HIV virus, other TRIM5a proteins accumulate and destroy the virus. This protein is also present in humans but was assumed to work in the opposite way. Instead of protecting against HIV, it seemed to guard against some other viruses . TRIM5a which may contain almost 500 amino acid subunits is predicted to be an effective therapeutic agent by the researchers. The investigation was triggered for figuring out the components in TRIM5a which allow the protein to destroy viruses. Edward M. Campbell, PhD, of Loyola University Health System senior researcher alleged, “Scientists have been trying to develop antiviral therapies for only about 75 years. Evolution has been playing this game for millions of years, and it has identified a point of intervention that we still know very little about.” Duri...

Population Forecast up to 2050 1- The world currently has 6.9 billion people. It is projected to hit 10 billion people in the year 2050! (right) 2- Parents in Denmark must choose from a list of 7,000 pre-approved names for their babies! 3- The FDA allows an average of 30 insect fragments and one or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of peanut butter. 4- Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy  and that comics of him were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear trousers. 5- In Moscow, weathermen can be fined for inaccurate weather forecasting. 6- You can cure a stomach ache if you lie on your left side for 5 minutes. The stomach is on the left side, the oesophagus enters it on the right and therefore gas bubbles can rise and allow you to burp. 7- A sharon fruit  (Kharma in Arabic) is a persimmon that has been artificially ripened. No, I had no idea what a persimmon was either.

REUTERS : Squirting insulin up the noses of patients with early forms of Alzheimer's disease showed signs of improving their memory, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Patients who got the treatment for four months showed improvements in tests of memory recall that lasted for two months. "We believe our results are very promising and they warrant future trials," said Dr. Suzanne Craft of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington in Seattle , who presented her findings at a meeting of the Alzheimer's Association in Honolulu. Alzheimer's disease is a fatal and incurable deterioration of the brain that affects 26 million people globally. It is the most common form of dementia . Several studies have suggested that people with Alzheimer's have reduced levels of insulin in the brain, even in the earliest stages. Insulin is important for communication between brain cells and is needed for brain function. ...

MIND SOUP : I am very sure that a lot of you agree with me that the most annoying thing on Lebanese television is these stupid little commercial programs where a supposedly modernized "doctor" is trying to sell the viewers a bunch of herbs that can mysteriously get rid of most diseases, weight loss or whatever disorder the audience might be interested in. What's more annoying is that you not only find them on one television channel, but on several (such as Aljadid - previously "New TV", NBN or what I like to call "Nabih Berri Network", Manar TV, and even Tele Liban, among others) Well, guess what? According to the Daily Star , the Lebanese government (more specifically the General Directorate of General Security) has declared on Monday that advertisements for such medical herbs are now prohibited by law. The directorate based its decision on Law number 90 of June 3, 2010, which prohibited media outlets from advertising for medical herbs and othe...

The  turritopsis nutricula  species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth. Why I am particularly interested about this? Well, partly because I am majoring in biology and have taken a whole course about lower invertebrates such as jellyfish and other slimy animals, but the huge part is because of the huge capability this animal presents to the scientific world! If scientists could discover the mechanism of this reversion of cells, this can advance the medical field tremendously, possibly by regenerating failing organ cells such as liver cells, heart cells or even brain cells. Here's the original post from the Mother Nature Network   (check this article about the animals with the longest life span, very interesting) , via Maurice Salem . Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span. Scient...

Scientists at Stanford University are inching closer to a cure for noise induced hearing loss. Stereocilia, or the tiny hairs inside our ears, are an integral part of the hearing system. But overexposure to noise - such as experienced in music concerts or blasting tunes from an iPod - can permanently damage them, degrading a person's hearing over time. Researchers at Stanford, however, have hit a breakthrough in growing hair-like cells that function just like those in our ears. This could mean solutions for damaged hearing. Gizmag writes,  "[W]e’re born with 30,000 [stereocilia] per ear, but once they die off or get damaged, they’re gone for good. Stefan Heller, a professor of otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) at Stanford University, wants to change that. To that end, he recently succeeded in creating mouse hair cells in a petri dish. Could an end to deafness be far behind?" How Hairs In Our Ears Help Us Hear From the National Institute of Deafness and other Comm...

PROVO, Utah — Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42. Life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT with family and friends at his side, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said. Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man. "It's unfortunate. It's a sad day," said Todd Bridges, who played the older brother Willis. "It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show." The series lives on thanks to DVDs and YouTube. But its equally enduring legacy became the troubles in adulthood of its former child stars. Dana Plato, w...

Take a bank loan to have plastic surgery! How obsessed can people get?

Below is an opinion piece that will be published in this week’s issue of Outlook, AUB’s official student newspaper. Believe me, I cannot believe I just said that either. Yet, there is a very compelling reason; I have to give credit where credit is due. Syrian President, Bashar al-Asad issued a decree early this April banning smoking inside cafes, restaurants and other public areas. This decree was implemented almost two weeks after, making Syria the first Arab country to implement such a ban in public areas. Moreover, in 1996, Syria banned tobacco advertising while in 2006, a law was passed to outlaw smoking on public transportation and some public areas. According to recent studies, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of around 4 million inhabitants. Most teenagers start the habit of smoking (cigarettes or ‘Nargileh’) due to peer pressure or family traditions. If our society wasn’t as accepting to smoking as it actua...

Smoking using a nargile is very popular in Arab culture Syria has become the first Arab state to implement a ban on smoking in public places, such as restaurants and cafes. The decree also outlaws smoking in educational institutions, health centres, sports halls, cinemas and theatres and on public transport. Workers must not smoke during meetings and businesses need to provide well-ventilated areas for smokers. The restrictions include the nargile, or hubble-bubble pipe, which is popular among locals and tourists. The decree was signed last November by President Bashar al-Assad, a qualified medical doctor. According to the official news agency SANA, fines for violating the ban range from 500 to 100,000 Syrian pounds (US$11 to $2,169). Businesses hit The BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus says the ban has upset many in a country heavily addicted to nicotine. In one of the city's traditional cafes, Cafe Rawda, on the first day of the new rules, the inside area was deserted but t...

1.A visa is not a credit card. ... 2.You refer to your dad's friends as Um-moe .. 3.You have an endless supply of pistachios, dates, and pumpkin seeds... 4.Your parents say you're becoming Americanized anytime you get into trouble. 5.You curse at your teachers or strangers in Arabic. .... 6.You can spot an Arab a mile away and they have spotted you because they keep staring... 7.After a family meal, the women fight to death over who should wash the dishes while the men sit on their behinds and discuss politics, waiting for their tea. .. 8.Your parents want you to become a doctor or engineer. ... 9.You use your forehead and eyebrow(s) to point something out... 10.Your mother yells at the top of her lungs to call you to dinner even if you're in the next room.... 11. You have at least thirty cousins. ... 12.You arrive one or two hours late to a party and think it's normal 13.You are standing next to the largest suitcases at the Airport 14.You tal...

Neil Patrick Harris wants you to know Carrie Underwood is “awesome.” “This week’s awesome guest star,” he wrote on his Twitter page, linking to this photo of himself with the country superstar on the set of How I Met Your Mother. “HIMYM – You’ll Love The Way We Fly!” In an episode scheduled to air in March, Underwood is set to play Tiffany, an enigmatic pharmaceutical sales rep and love interest for Ted (played by Josh Radnor) on the show, which recently celebrated its 100th episode. But in this photo, the singer looks more like a flight attendant — are those overhead bins in the background? — than a drug rep. Maybe someone is having a high-flying, pill-induced fantasy?

A Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke that an emergency room doctor says was likely triggered from over-excitement while watching the 3D blockbuster Avatar, AFP reports. The 42-year-old man, who suffered from hypertension, was rushed to the hospital after he began feeling ill during the screening of the movie earlier this month in the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, AFP says. The man identified only as Kuo was unconscious when he got to Nan Men General Hospital where a scan showed that his brain was hemorrhaging, Dr. Peng Chin-Chih, an emergency room doctor, told AFP. "It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," the doctor told AFP. Kuo died 11 days later from the brain hemorrhage.

Step away from the television... TV is not your friend. In fact, according to a new study, it's your mortal enemy. Researchers have discovered that every hour per day spent watching television increases your chance of dying from heart disease by one-fifth. We all know a sedentary lifestyle can lead to disastrous health problems, but this new study shows even the most physically fit are at risk for heart disease when they spend a good amount of time watching TV. "Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats," says Professor David Dunstan, the study's lead researcher. Australian scientists, lead by Prof. Dunstan, looked at about 9,000 people over the course of six years, grouping them into categories depending on how much television they watched. The group that watched the most (four or more hours a day) were 80% more likely to develop heart disease and die from ...

Millions of people suffering from malaria now have new hope after British scientists unlocked the genetic map of the plant used to cure the disease. Scientists from the University of York have confidently predicted they will have high-yielding anti-malaria crops available for wide spread plantation in developing countries within two years. The discovery of the genetic map of the medicinal herb Artemisia annua has been hailed as a significant breakthrough that could save countless lives. Researchers said the new plants they will breed will be given to poor farmers who can use them to grow a cash crop that could help build up fragile economies. The research has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Malaria kills at least one million people every year even though it can be prevented and treated.The most effective drugs to treat the disease are Artemisinin Combination Therapies.More funding has become available to deliver these treatments which are expected to reac...

A hamburger is not inherently an exotic food. However, in the hands of the right creative (or crazy) individual, that single slab of meat and two buns can become nothing short of spectacular. Herein lies the importance of the chef. As KoldCast’s resident chefs Ivan and Sergei teach us in their experiments with raw sugar, food is not only what you make of it, but how you make it. In honor of bootstrap cooking, the possibilities of the burger, and our very own Ivan and Sergei, KoldCast presents you with the weirdest and most unique hamburgers on Earth – or at least on the Internet. Just make sure you don’t read the rest of this article on an empty stomach. Enjoy! 1. The NutBurger Hailing from Butte, Montana, this burger is nutty! Many profess that it’s like eating a sundae topping on a burger…if your Sundae topping consists of mayo and nut clusters. 2. The Fattymelt Simply put, it’s a burger crossed with grilled cheese. This heart attack-worthy burger originates from the Mossy Cre...