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

BUREAU OF PLANT Industry-approved bio-enhanced eggplant, Bt Talong . The eggplant contains genetically engineered bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis , a oil bacteria inserted into the plant to produce insecticidal properties. While largely uncertain yet on harmful effects it can bring to human consumer, the University of the Philippine-Los Banos had been field testing it already in Pangasinan, Laguna and Camarines Sur. It is one of those 62 so-called genetically modified organisms  (GMO) that the Bureau of Plant Indutry had been approving since 2002.[ READ REPORT ]

Here's something you need to be aware of to avoid getting frequent bouts of dyspepsia.  WHEN you repeat or hear repeatedly a difficult word often enough you get to know it by heart. That’s the case with the word dyspepsia. The Greek root dys means “painful” (remember, "painful menstruation" in dysmenorrhea); while pepsia or pepsis means “to digest.” Together, and literally, dyspepsia means “painful digestion.” We know its simple equivalent better: indigestion (in Cebuano, we say “wa kahilisi”).  Clinically, dyspepsia is that vague feeling of discomfort (of heat, burning or pain; or of fullness that is bothersome) in the upper belly or abdomen during or right after eating.  There are many triggers to dyspepsia. And if you often get this condition, you must avoid getting exposed to the following risks... [ READ MORE ] This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 22 May 2013, and reprinted on 28 May 2013.

I GUESS the most painful experience a person can have upon waking up is to have muscle cramps.  The condition consists of a sudden but involuntary contraction of a muscle or part of it that is painful as well as self-extinguishing (or self-limiting), with a palpable knotting of the muscle accompanying it.  But the condition is normal. There is nothing serious enough to worry about other than the excruciating pain as it progresses and the usual difficulty at walking for a day or two after the event. Healthy individuals experience it. It can occur at night (benign nocturnal cramp) or in the morning just before waking up. It can also happen during strenuous activities, usually during physical exercise Long periods of exercise or physical labor, particularly in hot weather, may cause muscle cramps.  Muscle cramps, however, can appear in disease conditions, such as... [ READ MORE ] This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 15 May 2013.