Chewing gum could trigger migraine..

Migraine is a neurological disorder where the person suffering from it may encounter severe headaches. Typical migraines affects only one side of the head, lasting for 2 to 72 hours. It is said to be due to environment and genetic factor.

There are a few things that is said as 'trigger' to migraine. They are

            a) Stress
            b) Fluctuating level of hormones
            c) Bright and flickering lights
            d) Sleep disturbance, or lack of sleep
            e) Fasting
            f) Cigarette smoke
            g) Monosodium glutamate ( MSG )
            h) Caffeine 
            i)  Odour 
            j) Alcohol ,and
            k) Aspartame.

Aspartame is an artificial sugar that is used widely in food industries. It is also added in production of chewing gums. Previously, it is said that aspartame in chewing gum could be the factor. But, only then its revealed that, when a person chews gum may overload the work of temporomandibular joint ( TMJ ), which is the where the jaws join the skull. Teens who suffers from headaches say that they feel better after cutting down gum chewing activity.

Researchers develops eye cells by printing..!!

Blindness will be end? Eye cells has been printed!
 
What can you print using Ink-Jet printers..?? Britain's University of Cambridge researchers added eye cells into the list. Researchers develops adult rat's retinal cells with two type of printing methods.

It is claimed that it is a remedy to eye blindness. Cambridge University professionals use Ink-Jet printing technology to look at the variety of cells using artificial tissue microscope to produce it.
According to the report published in science magazines, the researchers use 3D printer to print two adult rat's retinal, and was successful.

So, is it an end to eye blindness..?? 

Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai won MCA presidency post..

Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai is the party's new president after a tight three-man race that saw him winning with a narrow 186-majority. Liow obtained 1,186 votes, beating his closest contender, vice-president Gan Ping Sieu, who got 1,000 votes.The third candidate, former president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat only managed 160 votes.

Liow's running mate Datuk Dr. Wee Ka Siong clinched the deputy presidency with 1,408 votes, beating MCA Selangor chief Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai who got 927 votes.


 The 2,352 delegates who cast their votes today also elected four new vice-presidents: Datuk Lee Chee Leong, Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun and Datuk Chua Tee Yong, the son of Dr Chua.

As for the 25 central committee (CC) posts, 11 leaders aligned with Chua made it through, while 10 are from Liow's camp. The remaining four might be from either Chua’s or Liow’s camps, although their names were not listed in the peace deal.The peace deal was hatched between Chua and Liow a few weeks ago to ensure a smooth leadership transition after the 64-year-old party was rocked by bickering between the two leaders a few months ago.
 
Liow, who held the deputy presidency prior to the party polls, also said the results vindicated him of previous criticism that he was weak and lacked the gumption to take the party forward. “I have been elected by the delegates. Whatever the criticism, the delegates have made their choice,” he said.“I ask that all (members) come back to work together to strengthen MCA. We do not choose factions. The delegates gave us a clear signal that they want unity... the time has come for us to move towards party unity,” he added.

Turnout for the election was high today, with a total of 2,352 out of 2,384 or 98.66% of delegates voting.

Women died from new bird flu infection..

A woman in Beijing, China is reported death after being infected with a bird flu strain that had sickened a human for the first time, a development that the World Health Organization called "worrisome."

China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the woman in the city of Nanchang had been infected by the H10N8 bird flu virus, a strain that had not previously been found in people. This is the second new bird flu strain to emerge in humans this year in China. In late March, the H7N9 bird flu virus broke out, infecting 140 people and killing 45, almost all of them on the mainland. The outbreak was controlled after the country closed many of its live animal markets. Scientists had assumed the virus was infecting people through exposure to live birds.

Timothy O'Leary, spokesman for the World Health Organization's regional office in Manila, said WHO officials were working closely with Chinese authorities to better understand the new virus. He said though its source remains unknown, birds are known to carry it and it would not be surprising if another human case was detected."It's worrisome any time a disease jumps the species barrier from animals to humans. That said, the case is under investigation (by Chinese authorities) and there's no evidence of human-to-human transmission yet," O'Leary said.

The lady had suffered high blood pressure, heart disease and other underlying health problems that lowered her immunity, the health department said. Her medical history showed that she had been in contact with live poultry. Jiangxi health department said the woman had severe pneumonia before dying Dec. 6 in a hospital in Nanchang.

Experts are cautious when it comes to bird flu viruses infecting humans. They have been closely watching the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed 384 people worldwide since 2003. The virus remains hard to catch with most human infections linked to contact with infected poultry, but scientists fear it could mutate and spread rapidly among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.

20 Facts about Humans..

1. The human body consists of nine systems: the skeletal system  the muscular system, the nervous system, the hormonal system, the circulatory system, the digestive system, the respiratory system, the immune system and the reproductive system.

2. The amount of pigment melanin in a person’s skin determines what color their skin will be. People with very little melanin have light colored skin, while people with large amounts of melanin have skin that is dark in color. Complete or partial absence of this pigment causes albinism.

3. There are 45 miles ( 72 km ) of nerves in the human body. And 100 billions of nerve cells in our body.

4. Human hair is almost indestructible. It cannot be destroyed by cold, climactic changes, water or other natural forces (except fire, as it would burn). It also can survive exposure to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals.

5. Human hair and fingernails are made up of same material. It is made of protein called keratin.

6. Average speed when a person sneeze is 100 mph ( 160km/h ). This is why people is required to cover their nose or mouth while sneeze, as to avoid spreading of germs and bacteria.

7. Average speed human cough is 60 mph ( 97 km/h ).

8. It is impossible for a person to keep their eyes open while sneezing.

9.  The human heart has to pump blood back and forth through the 70,000 miles ( 112,654 km ) of blood vessels in the body once every minute.

10. Of the 206 bones in the human body, 1/4 are located in the feet.

11. Human intestinal could reach up to 200 meters.

12. The stomach has 35 million digestive glands.

13. Human eyes are capable of seeing more than 1 million simultaneous visual impressions and can distinguish between almost 8 million gradations of color.

14. Human eyes is 576 megapixel.

15. Cornea is the only living cell in body that do not require blood .

16. The human body has 10 trillion cells living within it.

17. Human have almost 60 % of the same DNA as a banana have. 

18. 72 muscles are required to produce human speech, in other way, 72 muscles are needed in order for someone to talk.

19. Human thigh bone is the strongest in body, stronger as concrete, but it is actually hollow.

20. Sound that we hear when a seashell is placed ear our ear isn't the sound of ocean, but it is the sound of blood flow in veins around the ear.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (October 24, 1632 – August 26, 1723) is the first microbiologist who was born in Delft, Dutch Republic ( Holland ). He was commonly known as the Father of Microbiology. He became interested in the making of lens for microscope. He was the first to observe single-cell organisms. He used the microscopes almost for all his studies until his death in 1723.

 

The Microscope..

Leeuwenhoek's microscope were not like the one in present laboratories. The microscope had only one small lens, almost spherical, and mounted between metal plates. The method he used to make the lens is by placing the middle of a small rod of soda lime glass in a hot flame. Leeuwenhoek could pull the hot section apart to create two long whiskers of glass. Then, by reinserting the end of one whisker into the flame, he could create a very small, high-quality glass sphere. These spheres became the lenses of the microscope. Despite its difficulty to produce the lenses,  but it gave better magnification than any other microscope at that time.

 

Leeuwenhoek did not  invent the body of the microscope, as Galileo is often credited to have one around fifty years previously. Leeuwenhoek's contribution is the skill of making the lens much accurate than before. He had made more than 500 lenses and later created around 25 microscope, with silver or copper metal frames. His microscope is said to have magnification of 275 times. Some suspected that he might have microscope with 500 times of magnification power.The microscope is relatively small, with the longest is about 5cm.  

 

Leeuwenhoek's Observation and Studies..

One of the well known studies of Leeuwenhoek is about the circulation of blood in body. William Harvey made discovery of circulation of blood in 1616, but there is a problem of how blood from arteries transferred to the veins, to be returned to heart. Leeuwenhoek's work , together with Marcello Malpighi, showed that blood passed through tiny tubes ( which now we know as capillaries ). Leeuwenhoek also studied about the structure of skin, hair, muscle fibres ( banded muscles ) and bacteria. 

 

Microscopic section through one-year-old ash tree (Fraxinus) wood, drawing made by Leeuwenhoek.

He observed bacteria at first when he examined the tartar from his own teeth ( large Selenomonads ). His greatest discovery came from there, where  he observed number of 'little beasties' moving in highly amusing way. He noted that the largest among the them showed the liveliest and most action motion. This is the first observation of tiny creature which now we call as bacteria, which are so important in our lives as agents of decay and disease.   

More facts about the Heart..

As we see in the previous post, human (mammal) heart has septum, The function of septum is to separate the chambers at left and right. Septum of the heart is not complete until birth. Hence, during foetal development, oxygenated blood comes from the placenta and goes directly to the aorta of the foetal's heart, through a small vessel called ductus arteriosus. It usually closes after the infant's birth. However, in some cases, the vessel do not close completely, and the infant will suffer from 'hole in the heart'.

The whole heart, or an isolated cardiac muscle cell is provided with enough nutrient, mineral salts and oxygen of course, it will contract and relax simultaneously without and nerve impulse or hormonal stimulation.

Heart valves will harden sometimes as we get old, The closing and opening of the valve can be heard  like the sound of a slammed door, instead of gentle 'lup-dup' sound. Moreover, in certain cases, valves do not close properly, resulting the sound of breezing or gushing of wind. These sounds can be heard through stethoscope.

Cardiac output varies with volume of blood returning to the heart through main veins. When return is high, wall of right atrium are stretched and heart rate increases. Such a condition is known as Bainbridge Reflex. The Frank Starling Effect is another condition where stroke volume of heart is increased when walls of left ventricle is stretched, causing ventricles to to contract even stronger due to high venous return of blood to heart. This effect enables the heart to automatically adjust its output to match the flow.

Cardiac output is determined by heart rate. It is the total amount of blood that flows out of the heart per minute. Cardiac output can be obtained through ,
                              Cardiac Output = Heart rate  x  Stroke volume.

Some people suffers from heart block,a condition where the conduction of the electrical impulses from SA node is impaired. In this case, normal heart rhythm can be maintained by battery powered artificial pacemaker, which is implanted under the muscles in upper thorax. The device delivers regular electrical impulses to the heart, to control the cardiac cycle.

Some people encounters high heart rate, restlessness, and irritability. This could be because of hyperthyrodism, a disorder where thyroid hormones are excessively secreted, more than the needed amount.

Not only ruptures of blood capillary in brain causes cerebrovascular accident ( CVA ), but also a clot in artery that supplies blood to the blood. Blood supply to the brain will be interrupted, and this may cause death of brain cells in a few seconds of time. Dead brain cells cause impairments of certain body functions that is controlled by the affected area. 100% recovery is impossible as dead brain cells cannot be replaced. Degree of impairment and the level of recovery depends to the extensiveness of the damage occurred. 

Heart..

Heart is a part of transport system in mammals. Talking about transport system, mammals have two type of transport system, the blood circulatory system and lymphatic circulatory system. I will focus on blood circulatory system and diseases related to it first as heart belongs to that section. Blood circulatory system has a pump which is the heart, transporting vessels ( arteries, veins and capillaries ), and also transporting fluids which is the blood. Heart is made up of cardiac muscles, which is referred as myogenic. Myogenic means that the muscle tissue do not need the impulse from brain in order to react, as they are provided with own pacemakers ( SA node and AV node ). Heart is tightly contained in a fluid-filled, double membranous pericardium sac.It is to reduce the friction of the heart with the surrounding tissues while pumping. 

 All arteries carries oxygenated blood ( blood which contains oxygen ) except pulmonary artery ( carries deoxygenated blood ), whereas, all veins carries deoxgenated blood except pulmonary vein ( carries oxygenated blood ). Heart is divided with 4 chambers, the top chambers consist of right and left atria and is separated with interatrial septum. Right and left ventricles are denoted as the bottom chambers. Interventricular septum separates them.There are numerous valves in vessels and chambers, their existence is to prevent the backflow of blood once it enters a chamber or vessel.

 
Diseases related to Heart..
Cardiovascular diseases are diseases related to all sort of people regardless age. It is said to be inherited due to the sedentary lifestyle of modern people. Root cause of most cardiovascular disease is atheroma. Atheroma is deposits of cholestrol, fibrous tissues, dead muscle cells and blood platelets within inside the artery lining.It may cause thickening inner layer of arterial walls with a condition of atherosclerosis.
Cardiovascular diseases caused by atheroma is 
              a) Hypertension -- higher blood pressure as the lumen [ space inside artery ] narrows
              b) Angina -- acute chest pain, which sometimes extend down to left arm.
              c) Myocardium Infarctions (heart attack its common name)  
              d) Heart Failure
              e) Cerebrovascular Accidents[ CVA ] --  stroke, caused when capillaries rupture due to high blood pressure.
              f) Transient Ischemic Attack -- temporary disturbance of blood supply to a restricted area      resulting a brief neurologic dysfunction, usually presist in 24 hours.
              g) Arteriosclerosis

* Hypertension is said as a complication when a person's blood pressure increases to 140/90 mmHg or above continuously ( normal is 120/80 mmHg )

Since everyone has risk of developing atheroma, some have vulnerability factors that increases the risk. Such of that factors are,
              a) Lifestyles -- smoking, alcohols, ack of physical activities, unhealthy diet.
              b) High blood cholestrol level
              c) Strong family risk -- that any male family members in past has the complications like heart attack or stroke.

Preventing the Cardiovascular Diseases.. 
 In general, by preventing atheroma's development, it can lessen the cardiovascular diseases.
There are many thins can be done, this is by ~
             a) Exercise regularly
             b) Avoid unhealthy lifestyle
             c) Keep blood pressure under control 
             d) Keep cholestrol level in blood in control.
             e) Do regular check-ups in hospitals, for diabetes mellitus especially. 

 

Facts about The Human Brain..

Ever wonder how we can react too fast for things like finger cut or burns and so on..?? Its because the nerve impulse to and from brain travels at the speed of 170 mph (273.6 km/h). It brings a very fast reactions to the affected body parts at super speed.

The brain is made up of only 2% of your entire body mass, but it consumes 20% of oxygen supply to our body, more than any other organ in the body. Hence, when a person suffers from oxygen deprivations, they may damage their brain.

When you became passive (sleep), your brain will be active. The brain is much more active at night during the day. It means that lying on the bed takes up more brain power than undergoing complicated task, calculations, movement around and so on. Scientists yet knows why is this so, but this might be a factor why we could dream while we sleep.    

Our brain cell is capable of keeping 5 times as much information as Encyclopedia Britannica have.The storage capacity is said to be 1,000 terabytes in electronis terms. It means that our brain's memory power is pretty impressive.

Our brain generates energy that could light up a light bulb even while sleeping. Brain operates on the same amount of power as much as 10W light bulb. It means, the cartoon image of light bulb over the head when thought occurs isn't a joke.

Not all neurons are the same, Well, information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. There are impulse from a neuron which travels as slow as 1/2 metres per seconds or also as fast as 130 metres per seconds.

When we are in situations of making a decision or in examination hall, we are told to drink water. This is because 80% of brain is made up of water. It isn't firm but soft, squishy and jelly-like organ. It is because of higher blood and water content of tissues. So, next time, drink water to make your brain  active and productive.

The brain cannot feel the pain although it is the center of pain. It doesn't mean one cannot have headache, they can because the brain is surrounded by plenty of nerves, tissues, and blood vessels where they have loads of pain receptors can cause headache.

Higher the I.Q. that a person have, the more they dream. But don't feel that you mentally lacking if you can't recall your dreams. The average length of a dream is around 2-4 seconds and its pretty impossible to register them. Talking about I.Q. , scientists found that its better for someone to talk to themselves. It seems that the more you talk to yourself, the more I.Q. you will have.

 

Nissan GT-R

Nissan GT-R is one of my favourite cars. It is a sports car and successor to the Nissan Skyline GT-R, although it is no longer part of the Skyline range. 90% of the production model is based and looks like the second GT-R concept car which is unveiled in 2005.

The GT-R is powered with a V6 engine, with 3,799cc. Two parallel turbochargers gives forced induction. Its curb weight is around 1,730kg. Models between 2007-2010 has engine output of 362kW. Later on 2010, its engine power were increased to 390kW.

The V6 engine of GT-R

 
It has a top speed of 311km/h and capable of reaching 0km/h to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds. The GT-R also better among Porsche 911 Carrera, Audi R8 and BMW M3 in a comparison test held by automotive press.

Black Edition of GT-R

Nissan GT-R received many awards and recognitions ( around 22 awards and recognitions ) so far.

2007	Top Gear Awards – Supercar of the Year
2008	Autocar – Drivers Car of the Year.
2008	Evo Magazine – Car of the Year
2008	Japan's Most Advanced Technology Award
2008	Popular Mechanics – Automotive Excellence Awards 2008 (Design)
2009	Automobile Magazine– Automobile of the Year
2009	Edmunds.com – Edmunds' Inside Line Editors' Most Wanted Awards: Instant Classic
2009	Motor Trend– Motor Trend Car of the Year
2009	Popular Science – Auto Tech Grand Award Winner
2009	International Car of the Year
2009	World Performance Car
2009	Targa Tasmania Modern Champion
2009	Targa West Challenge Modern Champion
2009	Targa West Competition Modern Champion
2010	Redline Time Attack Modified AWD Champion
2010	Targa West Challenge Modern Champion
2010	Targa West Competition Modern Champion
2010	Yahoo – Listed as having one of the best resale values of any sports car.
2011	Targa Tasmania Modern Champion
2011	Targa West Competition Modern Champion
2011	Motor Magazine Performance Car Cup Winner
2011	Guinness World Records – Fastest 0–60 mph acceleration by a four seater production car.

The Nissan GT-R can also be spotted in Fast and Furious movies, 2 Fast 2 Furious ( it is Nissan Skyline GT-R), Fast 5 ( the ending part ) and Furious 6 ( the begining part ). It is driven by late Paul Walker whose character is Brian O'Connor in the film.

Nissan Skyline GT-R (as in 2 Fast 2 Furious )

In Malaysia, I have only spotted this car for twice, a White and a Black. The estimated price of Nissan GT-R is around RM 600k ( In Malaysian currency ) , according to a automobile website. Well, i hope that I can own one of them in future.. :)  

11/12/13

Wow. What a special day..!! By the way, Good Morning everyone.. And for those who celebrate their birthday today, Happy Birthday..!! The reason i say today is a special day is because of the consecutive numbers of the date.. 11/12/13 .. And, after 10 years, the sequence will end today (will be continued on 2103) ..
Starting from 01/02/03 in 2003, it continues to 02/03/04 , 03/04/05 , 04/05/06 and it goes on up to 10/11/12 and 11/12/13 which is today..
Not only these dates are special, there are dates like
                  01/01/01,
                  02/02/02
                  03/03/03
                  04/04/04
                  05/05/05
                  06/06/06
                  07/07/07 (wow, superb number.!![triple 7] )
                  08/08/08
                  09/09/09
                  10/10/10
                  11/11/11
                      and
                  12/12/12
these dates will appear every 100 years (again).. those who experienced it is considered lucky..

PALINDROMIC..?? '

There is a date which caught my attention. It is 20/11/2011 (20th November 2011)..
Well, its because it is a palindromic date.. Palindrome is a term used when something which is 'cut' into half will give a result of two (2) same things.. In this case, when we 'cut' 20/11/2011 into half, it will result in 20/11 and 2011 (can u see there is 2011 and both sides. 
Palindromes do exist for words also, such as  CIVIC, MADAM and so on..
 
 

The Begining..

After so long of dreaming, now I really did open a blog. Okay, without further ado, let me welcome you all to my new blog. I hope that I will have time to post more in this blog later on. Until then, bye bye from me..!!