Santhosh's ramblings

Apoptosis or “Programmed Cell Death” is a phenomenon which excites Basic Research Scientists much.  Apoptosis ( æ p ə ˈ t oʊ s ɪ s / ) is the process of  programmed cell death  (PCD) that may occur in  multicellular organisms .     Biochemical   events lead to characteristic cell changes ( morphology ) and death. They believe that, if we identify the mechanism of “Apoptosis” this might contribute to understanding “aging” and then could lead to discover ways to prevent aging and death! Apoptosis – of Programmed Cell Death are of many types. One – what I would want to call as “Death before Life”. The tadpole, which becomes a frog, loses its tail by “Programmed cell death” or Apoptosis so that it becomes the “frog” it is meant to be. Even Humans, in our development inside the mother’s womb go through Apoptosis, so that we are born as are expected to be – a full formed Neonate. This is a onetime event, in each location of t...

What do you do when the protector of the system becomes the destroyer of the system? In Health, the Immunological disorders like Lupus or others are examples of such a situation. The immune system that is expected to be protector of the body system creates havoc in most of the immunological disorders by turning against the normal body cells. We find this in Nations too. Groups created to support and protect parts of a nation turn against nation itself. Punjab Afghanistan etc. are examples in our generation itself. You become your own enemy, unable to keep your own system under control, and then chaos and havoc breaks out. In Medicine, what we do is, we suppress the immune system with strong immunosuppressant’s, thus controlling the chaos, but leaving the body vulnerable to destruction from external attacks of infections. Countries destroy the groups, which have broken away from their control, but with the risk of leaving the nation divided, vulnerable and broken. ...

It was an “eerie” experience – the EHA server was being migrated and so there were changes, which needed to be made in my E-mail account. Over phone, our IT team gave instructions but I could not sort the issue out. So they decided to use a program “Team Viewer” and take over the control of my computer from a distance…I at home and the team at office…. And I saw the files being opened, they trying to close folders which I had left open and change around some settings…. with no one handling the computer directly… The feeling was a bit discomforting – how can some one take over what is mine, and run it the way they want it…. I can do better – I am sitting near the machine, I can easily do all this….Any way I own this machine! But wisdom prevailed…the realization that I am not as “tech savvy” as they are and at least at times it is better to hand over the control to some one who knows what needs to be done…. I waited for a few minutes – saw the difficulty they were facing –...

Waiting in the passport office for more than 6 hours for some information on my son's passport, after almost a year after sending in the application, was an excellent lesson on community. I was sitting at the beginning of a long line (we had seats to sit down!) and I was asked to sit there till the file would come down from another office else where. So from 10.00 AM to 2.00 PM, (after 2 hours of waiting outside)  many came behind me, got into the office room, met the officer and went off. I kept waiting till finally the file came up. Over these 4 hours, communities were created and broken. Some lasted for a few minutes some for a few hours, but none lasted beyond the time we were there. As people waited for the Officer to come in, started sharing on how long they have been waiting for the passport, some for 3 months, some 4 and others 6 months (I had the privilege of waiting t...

Moth eaten appearance is classically defined for Bone Tumors in X-rays and is described as “Areas of destruction with ragged borders”. This sign in X-ray implies more rapid growth of probably a malignancy. The common bone tumors which have such appearance are Myelomas, Metastases, Lymphoma and Ewing’s sarcoma. In Medicine, this is dangerous – the signs denote a rapidly advancing Malignant Lesion, which could potentially reduce your life span. The literal meaning is - Eaten away by moth larvae or Old and timeworn: or Shabby; decrepit. In 1965 in a lab a mutation of mice occurred,. The   affected   mice   could   be   recognized   at   3   or   4   days of   age   by   patchy   absence   of   pigment   in   the   skin, and   later   by   patchy   absence   or   thinness   of   hair   that gave   the   mice   a   moth-eaten ...

Tears are of three types – the “Basal tears’ is the normal lubrication of the cornea and conjunctiva by ongoing secretion of tears, which keeps the eye moist, smooth and clean… The Reflex tears are those which are produced in excess than normal basal tears, when foreign bodies or dust particles come into contact with eyes, again a normal reflux mechanism to wash out the dirt. There are also the tears due to Infection or inflammation, which again, is way of washing out the bacteria and the infection by increased fluid production. But the one which is most well known is the “psychic tears” or emotional tears – this is called crying…if you do not know…! And this could be due to any emotion – the “Fright, flight and fight reaction (like when a dog jumps at you!) or sorrow and pain or even joy and happiness and excitement…And the cause is not the local irritation, but internal changes of Hormones which act on the tear glands and increase the fluid production…for what? To let others know ...

The heart which pumps blood and keeps the “systems running “the metabolism happening, the cerebral perfusion maintained, and thus consciousness and reasoning alive….And heart continues to beat…one is alive… But if the “reasoning” and “consciousness” is not perceptible to the Medical professional either by “tests of brain stem function” or an EEG which is “flat” one labels the person to be “brain dead” or in “persistent vegetative state”…and more dead than alive…or rather dead but alive because the heart keeps the perfusion going on….Current definitions define death as brain death… Or if heart stops and if one is able to sustain the function through an extra-corporeal pump, and this keep systems perfused and running – is the person alive…Heart dead but function alive by mechanical support…” The fact that Science is a man made method of unraveling the creations mysteries, and as more mysteries are raveled, our understanding of “Death and Life” will also continue to emerge….! But if ...