I seem to have my thoughts in two worlds: healthcare and writing. In reviewing my paperwork I uncovered an outline compiled for a presentation. It’s relevant to both composition and our current battle with COVID-19. I’m naive, But I Can Learn Writing About it is The Easy Part Block Out The ‘White Noise’ Organize Advertise Every Day – Write Something Learn From People Who Are Successful Accept Objective Feedback With an Open Mind We may be NAIVE about not only…..
Scott Kelly floated around space in the International Space Station for a year and was obviously different from Mark Kelly, his identical twin – he was taller. (Science Oct 28, 2017) The brothers pioneered a NASA Twins Study which compared Mark’s grounded lifestyle with Scott’s spaceflight journey. The scientists discovered an increase in Scott’s methylation rate – a process that turns gene activity on and off. “There are over 50,000 genes in the human genome, and when floating in zero…..
You have about 300% as much liver as you need according to Dr. Neha Pathak the Medical Editor at WebMD.com. Currently, only about 4% of liver transplants are done with living donors who give about 40% of their liver to someone in need. This means that you can safely donate up to two-thirds of your liver to another person. The part of your liver that is removed will grow back in about 8 weeks. Dr. Sylvester Black, a liver transplant…..
Watching someone communicate using a hand-held telephone is like viewing a magicians’ sleight-of-hand skeletal manipulation – the fingers cradle the phone while the thumbs frantically hop across a neon-lit screen resembling adrenalin-infused high jumpers. My definition of Thumbdriving is the skillful art of using your thumbs repeatedly to tap visual buttons on the smooth surface of a functioning electronic device with the goal of producing a retrievable text message. Young children do it, teenagers do it, adults do it and…..
A Generational Saga My recent book of fiction ‘Ripples in the Generations’ is a generational saga that explores the delicate process of blending the heart-lifting joy of a life-long high school friendship with a soul-searching genetic relationship. Two factions of the Henry family share a common interest; Williams’ indiscretions, yet each is unaware of just how much they have in common. The next generation of William’s family share his DNA, but William has divided his legacy. Even though this novel…..
Why don’t people report abuse? Three basic reasons SOCIAL PROOF – Victims decide about reporting or revealing abuse when they feel safe about the reporting. They do this after they watch to see how others are treated when they report. They then ask themselves. Will I be treated like that when I disclose my abuse? PERPETRATORS – This defines someone who initiates, continues, fulfills or enacts a crime and continues the code of silence. A perpetrator usually has a set…..
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the hereditary material in humans and most other organisms. According to an article published by the National Institute of Health’s U.S. National Library of Medicine, most DNA is located in the cell nucleus where it is called nuclear DNA, but a small amount of DNA is also found in the mitochondria that convert food into energy. DNA bases ‘pair-up’ with each other – A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. …..
Epigenetics piggybacks with CRISPR. The addition of methyl groups (methylation) to our (deoxyribonucleic acid) DNA can change rapidly during the life span of a cell or organism, or it can be essentially permanent once set early in the development of the embryo (Epigenetics). (Encyclopeaedia Britannica Inc., 2018. Web. 29 Jul. 2018) So, what does this mean? It means what you do in your everyday life or what your ancestors were exposed to can ‘tweak’ your DNA (chemical modification). Essentially, the…..
‘Take 2 and call me in the morning.’ Dr. John Whyte Chief Medical Officer at WebMD states that for more than a century aspirin has been considered a wonder drug; treating conditions from heart disease to easing pain. However, medical providers and scientists are gaining a greater understanding of this ‘wonder drug.’ Even though you can purchase this item over the counter (OTC) without a prescription it may not always be safe. Aspirin works by inhibiting the blood from clotting…..
You’re in the spotlight every day. A bright light may not be blinding your eyes or beads of sweat forming on your forehead but a glaring spotlight may be shining right in your direction just the same. That heat is the glare of potential illness. Cancer, diabetes, eczema, multiple sclerosis, depression, asthma, psoriasis, deep vein thrombosis, leukemia, lymphoma, allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, meningitis, myocardial infarction are just a few of the potential illnesses that are interrogated under the extreme glow…..
Dirty cellphones. That seems to be a popular subject these days. Initial I think about germs that live on the exterior of cellphones that cause disease. We use our cellphones in every facet of our lives including in health care settings both as family members and health medical providers which increase the incidence of the alarming trend of cellphone contamination – according to a recent editorial in American Nurse Today (Vol. 14, No.3) it may be up to 74.4.%. Are…..
Each likes to design their personal space – a comfy chair, pretty flowers, favorite foods. Often we customize our exercise routine too much and end up with ‘tunnel vision’ when it comes to an expanded viewpoint on alternatives. Some swear by free weights. Others use aerobics. Still, others profess that it’s only truly pure if yoga tops the list. Possibly, the answer lies in a combination of all. The key is to get up and move! Your body has multiple…..
Storing critical information in your brain takes a three-prong strategy: saying the words, reading the words and most importantly writing the words. There’s power in the simple act of writing words. Writing locks into your memory the information that you need to remember and it’s more likely to stick in your long-term memory (WebMD June 2019). You will remember the items on your shopping list. Technology provides modern-day options such as cell phone apps and pictures sent to us on…..
The doctor’s office is a logical place to be barraged with health questions. “Have you signed in? Do you have your insurance card? Has your health changed?” We freely give out personal information in a public setting to a stranger who may or may not be a trusted confidant assuming that our health will be improved by their interventions. Imagine how effective it is to ask those same intimate questions of someone who really cares about you, someone who you…..
A variety of talents and abilities are needed to maintain a healthy body. Systems working together maintain homeostasis ensuring a disease-free body. Your lungs breathe, your blood flows, your heart pumps, your veins and arteries integrate fluid throughout your muscles which in turn deliver movement energy to all parts of your body. You move, you think, you breathe, you digest, you interact – you’re an integral part of the world. Integrating these individual talents into a cohesive team is also…..
Doctors and medical providers are talking to all of their patients about autoimmune diseases. According to a recent September 2018 Redbook article, the immune system is like the body’s army – it spends the earliest years of your life distinguishing friends from enemies so it can protect you from invaders. An autoimmune attack can come seemingly out of nowhere, possibly due to a combination of genetics and the environment according to Anca Askanase, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Columbia…..
We’ve all been there, albeit for just a brief moment, as we unexpectedly catch the fleeting eye glance of a truly beautiful woman. It occurs as we’re bustling through a busy airport terminal or while hurriedly buying that last-minute item in a congested shopping mall. Whatever the situation, we are intrigued by eye contact. Eye contact increases our pulse rate, decreases our dishonesty factor (we lie less often), increases our adherence to rules and norms and helps us to attend…..
This web site focuses on maintaining health and wellness. That’s why I’m writing about an invisible lifelong family legacy that you can pass on to future generations by simply making an educational decision. Epigenetics is the chemical modification of genes and how the information in our genes is expressed and used by our cells – how cells read our genes. The scientific journal Nature Neuroscience (June 2004) proved and reinforced this evidence. A mother’s behavior can cause epigenetic changes in…..
So what makes us feel good, what makes us sizzle? According to an article by Salynn Boyles from the archives of WebMD, athletes who encounter unavoidable injuries in playing sports can play through the pain because they have a higher tolerance than a “couch potato.” The report expands the theory that physical activity boosts levels of chemicals that mimic the effects of “feel good” and pain-relieving opioids, known as endorphins. Seems as though we can get a feel-good high from…..
A simple definition of this exciting scientific arena is the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes “on” and “off.” A recent web-based explanation of this emerging medical field takes a walk through the complicated steps to simplify the complicated knowledge. Cells are our basic working units and these energetic cacoons contain the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which are the chemical directors of activities. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is composed of nucleotide bases which we all know as the recognizable “double…..
GHRELIN is an interesting hormone. According to a recent article in WebMD (July/Aug 2018), this hormone is released from your stomach in large quantities when you lose weight. So, while you’re trying to reduce your weight, you’re releasing a hormone to encourage yourself to eat more so that you’ll gain weight! Not only that, the hormone ghrelin doesn’t level off after this roller-coaster ride. After you have been successful in losing weight, your body does what ever it can to…..
The issue of violence is a glaring item in news articles today. As I research the topic I am often lead back to the item of “parent-child” bonding. Someone said to me, “All incarcerations include a story of the interruption of parent-child bonding early in the child’s life.” Even though this statement seems intense, there is a hidden kernel of truth traveling throughout the words. A parenting enhancement program called The Family Thriving Program (FTP) uses a re-framing approach to…..
The best way to leave a lasting impression is to make eye contact. “Secrets to Making Non-Awkward Eye Contact” The Muse – Tools & Skills – 2018 Lily Zhang – Career Development Specialist at MIT. Obviously, this is something we all understand but it’s satisfying to know that the professionals who work in the field also verify our hunches. The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus (2007) defines the EYE as an organ of sight, a faculty of discrimination; something having an…..
Fingerprints are generally described as: impressions forming a pattern made by pressing the tip of a finger on a surface taken for the purpose of identification, (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus). We are familiar with the physical prints used to determine identification. Such information is gathered when public agencies determine someone’s true persona or we need to prove our own identity. Forensic marks, small pieces of nature that we interact with in our daily lives, also leave a trail for others’…..