Breakthroughs Today

IT WAS not very long ago—in 1967—that Hungarian scientist Endre Mester invented the first working laser. And its use in medical therapy was born of an accidental observation with mice subjects: The back of shaven mice unexpectedly grew hair after laser was directed on it. And such invigoration of hair (growth) proved much faster than when no laser had been applied.  Today, the use of low-intensity laser treatment (Lilt) found application in the short treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, tendinopathy and chronic joint disorders. Dentist T. Ebrahimi of the Dental Research Center and his colleagues at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran) wanted to find out how far Lilt can effect healing in the human bones on the basis that it can supply direct stimulative light energy to body cells, stimulating their molecules and atoms.  One advantage is that it cannot cause rapid and significant increase in tissue temperature, making burning less like

WE USED to think that high uric acid levels in the bloodstream pinpointed only towards inflammatory conditions particularly of the joints (gout). Recent development in clinical research uncovered a very clear effect of hyperuricemia in developing Type-2 diabetes mellitus. A team of 12 Chinese researchers, mostly from the Department of Nephrology at the Union Hospital in Wuhan, China, conducted a meta-analysis of existing literature in the association between blood uric acid and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is an adult-onset diabetes resulting primarily from the development of insulin resistance or relative insulin-deficiency which results to persistently increased level of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. The body can still manufacture insulin but resistance to it has developed so that the body still cannot breakdown free glucose. Overall all, it makes up around 90 percent of cases of diabetes. Long-term complications include... [ READ MORE ] This article appears in

One thing to be surprised with passion fruit is how supportive it is towards the heart.  MARK DANIELEWSKI wrote in House of Leaves: “Passion has little to do with euphoria and everything to do with patience. It is not about feeling good. It is about endurance… It does not mean to flow with exuberance. It means to suffer.”  June is a favorite month for weddings. It must be a carryover of the ancient belief about Juno, the goddess of marriage and household, from which the name of the month was taken. Thus marrying during the month has been considered good luck. It is a month of passion, so to say.  To Christians, however, passion connotes more endurance than euphoria, much like what Danielewski wrote. Those who have lived long enough can say without uncertainty that issues of the heart is no walk at the park. It can be as serious as medical conditions like hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Recent years, however, uncovered how passion fruit can be good for the heart. 

Sometimes even in nature danger has strange bedfellows. Who will ever suspect that licorice, a useful sugar replacement can be as dangerous as two sticks of cigarettes just because of one or two common active ingredients. THE Greeks called it sweet (glukus) root (rhiza). Taxonomists named it Glycyrrhiza glabra (“sweet root” that is “smooth”). Yet we know it as “liquorice,” or simply “licorice.” Its active principle, glycyrrhizin, is 30 to 50 times sweeter than table sugar.  Thus it is a popular sweetener in candies. In fact, in Great Britain and the United States, licorice candies do exist. Chinese cuisine uses licorice as a culinary spice, often employed to flavor broths and foods simmered in soy sauce. Licorice also flavors soft drinks.  But don’t think of it as some kind of low-calorie sweetener, or sugar replacement because it contains around 100 calories per ounce.  What many of us may not have known is that tobacco products contain 90 percent licorice. Licor