Month: July 2009

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Featured

Being Gay is Natural

Homosexuality is widespread in several species, ranging from worms to insects, birds to dolphins, sheep to reptiles. What is more, it serves a purpose:-
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Biologist Nathan Bailey’s recent scientific conclusions may be a shocker for the religious leaders or self-professed moral guardians who are indignant at the recent Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising sexual intimacy between same sex individuals in India.

While some argue that homosexual behaviour is “deviant” or “unnatural”, Bailey, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of California, Riverside, has amassed scientific evidence that it might be as ubiquitous as life itself.

Bailey and colleague Marlene Zuk, who co-authored the study, collected several past research studies that reveal same sex behaviour — males having sex with males, females with females — in diverse species, from worms to insects, birds to dolphins, sheep to reptiles. While some of them are mere flings, others lead to lifelong relationships. Their study shows that it serves a purpose.

The study, which recently appeared in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, has listed as many as 14 animal species that exhibit homosexual tendencies. “It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it provides a starting point for those interested in obtaining further information and examples,” they say.

The variety and ubiquity of same sex sexual behaviour in animals is impressive. They found thousands of instances of same sex courtship, pair bonding and copulation in a wide range of species.

Domestic sheep exhibit it. Birds like the laysan albatross and zebra finch indulge in it. So do bonobo monkeys, chinstrap penguins, bottlenose dolphins and garter snakes. Behavioural biologists have recorded male-male pairing among insects like the flour beetle and African bat bug too.

In the past, researchers, investigating whether gay sex is genetically encoded, found that tweaking certain genes can turn fruit flies and roundworms into homosexuals.

The attempts to find a genetic link to homosexuality have a strong Indian connection. The first-ever such gene manipulation study was conducted by an Indian scientist Kulbir Singh Gill who was a visiting researcher at Yale University in the 1960s. Gill, while studying the genetic causes of female sterility, almost serendipitously found in 1963 that male flies lacking a gene — later named fruitless gene — court other males. Gill’s pioneering work opened the floodgates and many other scientists subsequently discovered several other genes whose manipulation yields varying types and degrees of male-male courtship in fruit flies.

“Same sex sexual behaviour has long been viewed as a fascinating puzzle from the evolutionary perspective. The most obvious mystery is why animals would engage in sexual behaviour that does not directly result in reproduction,” says Bailey who, along with Zuk, seeks to understand the significance of such acts in the evolution of species.

Interestingly, a closer examination by them led to several significant conclusions. Some species use same sex pairings as a social glue for bonding (bottlenose dolphins), while for others (the bonobos, dung flies) it is a tool to resolve intra-sexual conflicts. In certain other species like fruit flies, immature individuals use them as an opportunity for practice, but for flour beetles it is a ploy for indirect insemination. More often than not, male members among the beetles use same sex copulation to deposit sperm in other males, which then transfer it to females during subsequent opposite sex mating.

“The secret of the peaceful bonobo society appears to rest with their sexual behaviour; in their society sex is used to solve conflicts,” writes Morten Kringelbach, psychiatrist at the University of Oxford, in his recent book The Pleasure Center.

The authors of the new study think that there may be many more animal species indulging in homosexual behaviour. It is difficult to know their sexual orientation, as there are no means of knowing what their ‘desire’ is. “We can only observe what they do,” they say.

Qazi Rahman of Queen Mary, University of London, who has been studying homosexuality in humans, says genes responsible for such behaviour have a significant role in evolution. One reason nature keeps these genes intact — although they have no role in reproduction — is that they confer certain other traits. A certain dosage of gay genes is found to be beneficial even in heterosexual people because they might express traits that are more attractive to the opposite sex — like kindness, parental skills and co-operative traits. But a higher dosage of these genes leads to homosexuality, he adds.

“Evolution keeps genes for homosexuality intact because they benefit heterosexual carriers of those same genes,” Rahman, a scientist of Pakistani descent, told KnowHow. For instance, a study by Rahman and others, which appeared in the Journal of Sexual Archives last year, showed that gay men may tend to come from larger families with more fertile females. In other words, the females in gay men’s families “outreproduce” those in heterosexual men’s families.

Kringelbach says homosexual behaviour is a natural phenomenon in all human societies. Quoting American sex researcher Alfred C Kinsey, who studied in the 1940s and 1950s sexual habits, he says 37 per cent of all men have homosexual experiences, 10 per cent have homosexual relationships lasting longer than three years, and 4 per cent are exclusively homosexual throughout life. “The exact numbers have been disputed but it remains a fact that all serious sex studies have found that homosexuality is naturally occurring among both men and women,” Kringelbach told KnowHow.

Bailey hopes that scientific contributions from animal studies will shed more light than heat on the topic of same sex sexual behaviour.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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News on Health & Science

The Pill that Reduces Body Fat by Half in a Week

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Tests on mice have shown that the drug could decrease body weight by a quarter and their fat content by 42 per cent after seven days.
After a month, the weight of the mice had been reduced by 28 per cent and their fat mass by 63 per cent.
But experts warned that it could take a decade for the potential wonder drug to be developed for use by patients.
The researchers, whose findings are published online in Nature Chemical Biology, say further research is needed before the drug is tested on humans.
But they say the results point to a new approach for the treatment of obesity and adult-onset diabetes.
The drug is an artificial hormone that regulates glucose metabolism.
Previous studies have found this substance can suppress appetite or lead to weight loss by increasing the body’s calorie usage.
Dr Richard DiMarchi and colleagues at Indiana University in the U.S. created the synthetic hormone and carried out the trials on mice.
He said: ‘Obesity and its associated consequences, including adult-onset diabetes, remain a primary health and economic threat for modern societies.’
At the moment surgical interventions such as gastric bypass remain the only therapeutic options with the potential for a cure.
Dr DiMarchi said acute glucagon administration reduces food intake in animals and in humans, and may also promote weight loss.
He added: ‘Pharmacological treatment of obesity using single agents has limited efficacy or presents risk for serious adverse effects.
‘No single agent has proven to be capable of reducing body weight more than 5 to 10 per cent in the obese population.
‘Combination therapies using multiple drugs simultaneously may represent the preferred pharmaceutical approach to treat obesity, and there is ample precedent for combination therapy in treatment of chronic diseases.

‘Here we present results that prove the principle that single molecules can be designed that are capable of simultaneously activating more than one mechanism to safely normalise body weight.’

Last night, he said it would be ten years before the drug is available and tests needed to be completed on humans.
Cambridge University professor of clinical biochemistry Stephen O’Rahilly said: ‘It is important that these are demonstrated to be effective and safe in animal models before going forward with trials in humans.’
He added: ‘Many promising drugs fall down when tried in humans either because they don’t work sufficiently well or because of side effects.
‘It is far too early to tell whether this molecule will be one of the exceptions and become a safe and effective treatment for obesity in humans.’
But he concluded: ‘I hold out considerable hope for the discovery of safe and effective anti-obesity therapies.’
Professor O’Rahilly said that patients being treated with the drug could take one pill a day, or an injection.

Source: Mail Online. July 14th. 2009

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News on Health & Science

Low Vitamin D Level is Bad for Heart

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Recent studies have identified low vitamin D levels as a common problem with many adverse health effects, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease.

People with vitamin D deficiency are at increased risk of high blood pressure (BP), heart failure and heart disease, according to Suzanne Judd, University of Alabama, Birmingham (UA-B) and Vin Tangpricha of Emory University.

In heart disease patients, low vitamin D may increase the risk of high blood pressure or sudden death. Vitamin D deficiency may also help explain the apparent links between osteoporosis-related fractures and heart failure.

Osteoporosis and heart failure are both common conditions in older adults and share several risk factors including low vitamin D. Pending further research to clarify this relationship, patients with heart failure need attention to their risks of osteoporosis and fractures.

Source: These findings were published in the July issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS).

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Health Alert

Fit Enough to Fly

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Families are scattered all over  the globe and they travel to stay in touch. Airplanes are safe, despite the high flying altitude, relatively lower partial pressure of oxygen, variable air circulation, low humidity, sustained periods of noise, vibration and turbulence.
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The rapid changes that occur during a flight (typically during descent) can give rise to ear pain, a blocked feeling, ringing in the ears, giddiness, hearing loss or even rupture of the eardrum. These complications are more likely if the Eustachian tube (connecting the ear and throat) is blocked by allergy, colds, sinusitis or middle ear infections. Chewing gum and frequent swallowing during descent can help ease the discomfort.

Decongestant nose drops will clear a blocked nose. Air travel should be avoided for 10 days if there has been a recent ear surgery or tonsillectomy.

Women often need to travel during pregnancy — as part of their jobs, because of transfers or simply to head home to have the baby. Air travel during pregnancy is safe and poses no special risks. Mid pregnancy, from the 14th to 28th week, is the safest time. In the case of multiple pregnancy (twins), a history of premature delivery, cervical incompetence, bleeding or increased uterine activity (irritable uterus), flying is inadvisable. If you need to be elsewhere for the delivery, it is better to leave before the 36th week or use an alternative mode of transport.

Most airlines refuse to allow pregnant passengers after the 36th week because of the fear that labour may set in during the flight. It is better to carry certified medical documentation about the expected date of delivery.

During pregnancy,

• the seat belt should be fastened under the abdomen, not across it;

• an aisle seat is preferable to facilitate visits to the toilet;

• try to get out of the seat every 30 minutes and walk a short distance;

• if this is not possible, flex and extend the ankles.

Babies should, preferably, not fly till they are at least seven days old.

There is a 10-day ban on air travel (not prohibited but inadvisable) after a stroke, brain surgery, an epileptic seizure, eye surgery or ear, nose or throat procedures.

Even in normal people abdominal gas increases by 25 per cent during air travel. A three to four week gap is advisable after abdominal surgery even if it is a “keyhole” or laparoscopic surgery as gas is introduced into the abdomen during the procedure. This extra gas can expand and cause the sutures to give way.

A person with congestive cardiac failure (when the heart does not function properly) should be stable for at least 10 days prior to travel.

In the case of a heart attack the person should have been stable for three to four weeks.

After pneumonia or chest surgery, a person should wait for three weeks. Even after this time they should be able to walk unassisted for at least 50 metres without becoming breathless.

Anaemia, with haemoglobin count less than 7.5 grams per decilitre, reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. This can get critical during flights.

People with fractures can travel two days after the cast has been applied. In traditional casts air can be trapped between the cast and the leg. As this air expands during the flight, it can compress the limb and cut off blood supply. If a person needs to fly immediately, the doctor needs to be informed beforehand. A bivalved or split cast, which does not trap air, can be applied.

People with mental illness should be well controlled, on medication and preferably have a companion.

Diseases are spread from one country to another by infected travellers. In the recent swine flu epidemic, the spread of the disease could be plotted by tracking the flights out of Mexico (where the epidemic started).

People with open tuberculosis or measles should also defer travel. If a person has an infectious disease, travelling should be postponed until recovery. Infected air keeps circulating in a plane and this will result in the disease spreading.

The economy class has little legroom. The edge of the seat can compress the veins at the bent knee. Together with the forced immobility, blood pools in the legs and the feet swell. This can result in deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Sudden unexpected death can occur hours or days after travel.

Generally, try to drink plenty of fluids and balance any alcohol consumed with an equal amount of water. Walk around the airport while waiting. Remember, the most dangerous thing to do is to sit still with your legs crossed.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Herbs & Plants

Apothecary Rose

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Botanical Name:Rosa gallica officinalis
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Genus: Rosa
Species: R. gallica

Common Names: Gallic Rose, French Rose,  Rose of Provins,Apothecary’s Rose.

Habitat: Native to southern and central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus.

Description:
It is a deciduous shrub forming large patches of shrubbery, the stems with prickles and glandular bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with three to seven bluish-green leaflets. The flowers are clustered one to four together, single with five petals, fragrant, deep pink. The hips are globose to ovoid, 10-13 mm diameter, orange to brownish.

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Cultivation
The species is easily cultivated on well drained soil in full sun to semishade; it can survive temperatures down to ?25 °C. It is one of the earliest cultivated species of roses, being cultivated by the Greek and Romans and it was commonly used in Mediaeval gardens. In the 19th century it was the most important species of rose to be cultivated, and most modern European rose cultivars have at least a small contribution from R. gallica in their ancestry.

Cultivars of the species R. gallica and hybrids close in appearance are best referred to a Cultivar Group as the Gallica Group roses. The ancestry is usually unknown and the influence of other species can not be ruled out.

The Gallica Group roses share the vegetative characters of the species, forming low suckering shrubs. The flowers can be single, but most commonly double or semidouble. The colours range from white (rare) to pink and deep purple. All Gallica Group roses are once flowering. They are easily cultivated.

The semidouble cultivar ‘Officinalis’, the “Red Rose of Lancaster“, is the county flower of Lancashire.

In 2004, a cultivar of the Gallica Group named ‘Cardinal de Richelieu‘ was genetically engineered to produce the first blue rose.


Uses:
In Persia (Iran) Apothecary Rose was described by the Ancient Greek poet Sappho as “ the queen of flowers”, this rose has had many uses over time. The Ancient Romans consumed the petals as food and marinated them in wine to use them as a cure for hangovers. Avicenna, a famous eleventh century Arab physician and philosopher living in Moslem Spain, prepared rose water from the petals that he used in treating his patients for a variety of ailments. Knights returning from the Crusades brought the plant to Europe. It was grown chiefly in monastic gardens for medicinal purposes. In the Middle Ages, the blossoms were used in aroma therapy for the treatment of depression. In the nineteenth century beginning in the time of Napoleon, French pharmacists grew them in pots at the entrances of their shops, hence the origin of the common name Apothecary Rose. The Apothecary Rose became the professional symbol of the pharmaceutical profession much as the balanced scales became the professional symbol of the legal profession. French druggists dispensed preparations made from this rose to treat indigestion, sore throats and skin rashes.

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Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_gallica
http://www.piam.com/mms_garden/plants.html

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