Lycopene Is a Rising Star of Health BenefitsLycopene Protects Skin, Heart, and More
f you plan to spend much time outdoors this summer, you might want to make sure that tomatoes figure prominently in your diet. So look forward to eating plenty of tomatoes and dishes made with tomato sauce, drinking some tomato juice, having a bowl of steaming hot tomato soup (better for you than the delicious cold tomato soup gazpacho), and topping it all off with a big wedge of watermelon. Why should you eat these specific foods? Well, for starters, they are loaded with lycopene. You already knew that lycopene is good for prostate health, but now there's a new and unexpected angle: according to a recent report by European researchers, lycopene protects your skin from damage caused by solar ultraviolet radiation.
LYCOPENE IS A POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT
Lycopene is a natural carotenoid that has received much attention lately because of its potent antioxidant activity. Carotenoids are common in the plant world and are responsible for giving many vegetables and fruits, such as carrots and tomatoes, their characteristic colors. (You knew that a carrot is a vegetable, but did you know that a tomato is technically a fruit?) These plant compounds are important for much more than just pretty colors, however. Antioxidants such as lycopene (as well as vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A) help to neutralize rogue molecules called free radicals.
Free radicals can greatly damage our bodies' tissues and have been implicated in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, and others. They also figure prominently in the aging process. These pesky little molecules are hard to escape, as they are all around us and are especially prominent in cigarette smoke and air pollution. To make matters worse, we produce them in our own bodies as natural metabolic byproducts. In addition, the UV rays in sunlight can induce the formation of free radicals in the cells of our skin to generate further oxidative stress.
For many years now, we have understood the dangers of excessive sun exposure. And while it looks nice to have a good tan, exposure to solar UV that results in sunburn dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer. Fortunately, many people now routinely use sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays. Over your lifetime, however, much of the UV exposure you experience is likely to occur when your skin is not protected on the outside.1 For this reason, you should take proactive measures to ensure that your skin is protected from the inside. A good way to do that, it seems, is with lycopene.
TOMATOES PROTECT SKIN FROM UV DAMAGE
German and Dutch researchers have found that diets rich in tomato paste dramatically reduce UV-induced skin damage.1 In a study recently published in the Journal of Nutrition, nine volunteers consumed a diet supplemented with 40 grams (about 1.4 oz, or 3 tablespoons) of tomato paste mixed with olive oil, while ten control subjects received just olive oil (in addition to their normal diet) for ten weeks. The amount of lycopene in the tomato paste was about 16 mg. At the beginning of the study, and again four weeks and ten weeks later, all the subjects were exposed to UV radiation to induce mild erythema (or sunburn, if you prefer a less clinical term) on their shoulders. The participants, aged 26-67 years, were homogeneous in their coloring. They all had lightly pigmented skin, light-colored hair, and blue eyes, and had experienced minimal tanning.
The degree of skin damage (called the a-value) caused by the repeated UV exposures was measured in both groups at the three stages of the study. After the first exposure, both groups had similar a-values (6.0 for controls and 5.6 for those consuming tomato paste), as would be expected for a random sample of individuals. Four weeks later, the a-values caused by UV exposure were slightly lower (5.4 for controls, 5.1 for the test group) but were still not significantly different. At the tenth week, however, UV exposure caused a much lower a-value (3.8) in the tomato-paste eaters than in the controls (6.3). To put this another way, those who ate 3 tablespoons of tomato paste daily for ten weeks had 40% less UV-induced skin damage than those who did not.
LYCOPENE IS THE PROTECTIVE AGENT
One way to explain the results of the erythema study is to look at the level of lycopene in the two groups. By the tenth week, the control group showed an 8% decrease in lycopene levels in their blood, and a whopping 51% decrease in total carotenoids in their skin. Conversely, those who consumed the tomato paste increased their blood lycopene levels by 95% and their skin carotenoid content by 15%. It is likely that the increased levels of lycopene and other carotenoids in their skin cells offered a protective benefit against the UV radiation to minimize skin damage.
Additional experiments support this idea. A separate study at Tufts University revealed that lycopene levels are depleted much more than those of other carotenoids (beta-carotene, for example) in UV-damaged skin when compared to adjacent undamaged skin.2 The researchers concluded from this that lycopene is preferentially sacrificed to protect the skin when UV radiation creates free radicals in the skin cells.
DO I HAVE TO EAT MY TOMATOES?
Just about everyone loves tomatoes, but they were regarded with great suspicion in Europe when Spanish explorers first brought them back from their native South America. They were thought to be poisonous, in fact, because they were recognized as belonging to the Nightshade family of plants, many of which are deadly. But fear soon gave way to enthusiasm for the delectable red fruit, which came to be known as the "love apple" because of its supposed aphrodisiac properties. It was the Italians, God bless 'em, who took the tomato to its greatest culinary heights, without even knowing about the benefits of lycopene. Mangia!
Lycopene intake is most strongly
associated with reducing the
risk of prostate, stomach,
breast, and lung cancer.
Based on a 1999 Canadian study of dietary habits, the average daily intake of lycopene is 25 mg, an amount that falls well short of the recommended intake of 35 mg/day.3 Individuals with a tomato-poor diet are especially susceptible to lycopene deficiency, as 80-85% of dietary lycopene is typically supplied by tomatoes. We could all eat a lot more tomatoes, but not everyone wants to do that, especially not every day. An easier and more reliable way to make up the deficit is through supplementation.
But we'll still eat some tomatoes, of course, and Table 1 demonstrates that cooked, processed tomatoes are the best source of lycopene, because they have significantly higher levels than raw tomatoes. In addition, oils or fatty foods, such as cheese, eaten together with tomato products increase the amount of lycopene released into your bloodstream, making that much more of it available to the cells that need it most. Pizza, it turns out,is especially good in this regard - but don't use that as an excuse to become a pizza pig, or you'll probably die young.
LYCOPENE MAY ALSO PROTECT AGAINST CANCER AND HEART DISEASE
We've already seen that lycopene is a potent antioxidant. Thus it is surprising to find that the amount of lycopene in a particular food does not directly correlate to the antioxidizing power of that food. When the foods listed in Table 1 were analyzed for total antioxidant capacity, it was found, e.g., that tomato soup has at least twice as much antioxidant capacity as any of the other foods.4 This can be explained by considering that tomatoes contain multiple antioxidants in addition to lycopene, such as vitamin C, lutein, beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene (and possibly many more).7 These antioxidants likely tolerate the processing procedures differently, and consequently the foods in Table 1 have different antioxidant capacities than would be predicted based solely on lycopene content.
While it is true that lycopene is an important antioxidant, it may have a host of other beneficial effects on the body as well. For example, it has been proposed that lycopene may participate in improving hormonal, immune, and metabolic processes in our bodies to improve our health and reduce the risk of certain diseases.8
Several studies indicate that tomato-enriched diets promote improved health by reducing the risk of various cancers and heart disease. For example, when the dietary habits of 1271 elderly individuals in Massachusetts were examined, it was found that a tomato-rich diet reduced the cancer death rate by 50%, whereas a diet rich in carrots or beta-carotene had no protective effect.9 Additional studies support these results and indicate that lycopene intake is most strongly associated with reducing the risk of prostate, stomach, breast, and lung cancer.10
Men with the highest
concentrations of lycopene had a
48% lower risk for heart attack
than those with the lowest
There are also numerous studies indicating that a high intake of tomatoes reduces the risk of certain types of cardiovascular disease.11 But is it tomatoes in general, or lycopene in particular, that reduces the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease?
STUDIES LARGE AND SMALL POINT TO LYCOPENE
A number of studies have recently been initiated in an effort to ascertain whether lycopene, and not some other compound in tomatoes, is responsible for improved health benefits in people who consume a tomato-rich diet. Many of these studies have not yet been completed, because it takes a long time, especially with diseases such as cancer and heart disease, to establish a link between a specific compound and a reduced risk of disease. However, the results of a few studies indicate that lycopene is the specific ingredient in tomatoes that provides improved health benefits.
One study showed that high lycopene intake reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 21%, whereas other antioxidants found in tomatoes, including beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin, had no beneficial effect with respect to this cancer.12 Importantly, this study involved 47,894 male health professionals and is the largest study of its kind completed to date.
Separate studies have been conducted to investigate the role of lycopene in cardiovascular diseases. One important study examined a group of men under the age of 70, recruited from ten European countries, who had experienced an acute myocardial infarction (death of heart cells due to lack of oxygen in the heart tissue) and compared them to an appropriate control group.13 The results indicated that men with the highest concentrations of lycopene in their adipose (fat) tissue had a 48% lower risk for myocardial infarction than those with the lowest lycopene concentrations.
A small pilot study (employing only 19 healthy adults) showed that dietary supplementation with lycopene (40-75 mg/day) at least doubled the amount of lycopene in the blood and decreased the amount of lipid peroxidation, a damaging oxidative degradation of fatty molecules or molecular complexes, such as LDL.14 Reducing lipid peroxidation is important because oxidized LDL leads to the formation of artery-clogging plaque and increases the risk of heart disease. It turns out that lycopene is carried in the blood by LDL and may help to protect it from oxidation. Thus, lycopene may help reduce the risk of heart disease. It sounds like lycopene is a good deal all around.
Whatever route you take, make sure you arm yourself with the natural substances that will ensure your general good health during your active, sun-drenched summer.
- Stahl W, Heinrich U, Wiseman, et al. Dietary tomato past protects against ultraviolet light-induced erythema in humans. J Nutr 2001;131:1449-51.
- Ribaya-Mercado JD, Garmyn M, Gilchrest BA, Russell RM. Skin lycopene is destroyed preferentially over beta-carotene during ultraviolet irradiation in humans. J Nutr 1995;125:1854-9.
- Rao AV, Waseem Z, Agarwal S. Lycopene contents of tomatoes and tomato products and their contribution to dietary lycopene. Food Res Intl 1999;31:737-41.
- Djuric Z, Powell LC. Antioxidant capacity of lycopene-containing foods. Intl J Food Sci Nutr 2001;52:143-9.
- Agricultural Research Service. USDA-NCC Carotenoid Database for US Foods - 1998. Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD, 1998.
- Clinton SK. Lycopene: chemistry, biology and implications for human health and disease. Nutr Rev 1998;56:35-51.
- Duke JA. Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1992, pp 345-9.
- Rao AV, Agarwal S. Role of antioxidant lycopene in cancer and heart disease. J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19:563-9.
- Colditz GA, Branch LG, Lipnic RJ. Increased green and yellow vegetable intake and lowered cancer death in an elderly population. Am J Clin Nutr 1985;41:32-6.
- Giovannucci E. Tomatoes, tomato-based products, lycopene, and cancer: review of the epidemiologic literature. J Natl Can Inst 1999;91:317-31.
- Arab L, Steck S. Lycopene and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71(Suppl):1691-5S.
- Giovanucci EL, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Stampfer MG, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Intake of carotenoids and retinol in relationship to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1995;87:1767-76.
- Kohlmeier L, Kark JD, Gomez-Garcia E, et al. Lycopene and myocardial infarction risk in the EURAMIC study. Am J Epidemiol 1997;146:618-26.
- Agarwal S, Rao V. Tomato lycopene and low-density lipoprotein oxidation: a human dietary intervention study. Lipids 1998;33:981-4.


The North River in New Netherland
Joan Vinckeboons (1617–70) was a Dutch cartographer and engraver born into a family of artists of Flemish origin. He was employed by the Dutch West India Company and for more than 30 years produced maps for use by Dutch mercantile and military shipping. He was a business partner of Joan Blaeu, one of the most important map and atlas publishers of the day. Vinckeboons drew a series of 200 manuscript maps that were used in the production of atlases, including Blaeu’s Atlas Maior. This pen-and-ink and watercolor map ...


Biology exquisitely creates hierarchical structures, where initiated at nano scales, are exhibited in macro or physiological multifunctional materials to provide structural support, force generation, catalytic properties or energy conversion1 (see Figure 1). This is exemplified in a wide range of biological materials such as hair, skin, bone, spider silk or cells, which play important roles in providing key functions to biological systems2.
Our research focuses on studying the mechanisms of deformation and failure of biological materials by utilizing a computational materials science approach. Our goal is to elucidate nature's design principles that facilitates the formation of materials with exceptional material properties1,3, despite typically inferior building blocks4,5.
|Figure 1. Three example biological protein materials (A, intermediate filaments, B, collagenous tissues, C, amyloid proteins), revealing their hierarchical makeup. Our research focuses on the development of multiscale material models, specifically focused on their mechanical behavior at deformation and failure (figure taken from Ref. #3).
These efforts are part of a broader field of investigation referred to as materiomics. Materiomics is defined as the study of the material properties of natural and synthetic materials by examining fundamental links between processes, structures and properties at multiple scales, from nano to macro, by using systematic experimental, theoretical or computational methods6,7.
In order to provide a bottom-up description of materials behavior, our interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs applies an experimentally validated atomistic based multi-scale simulation approach that considers the structure-process-property paradigm of materials science and the architecture of proteins from the atomistic level up to the overall structure. This novel viewpoint links chemistry and genetics to resulting functional material properties, and provides us with a powerful foundation to ask fundamental questions about the behavior of biological materials.
Moreover, the development of multi-scale, hierarchical models to explain the deformation and failure mechanisms of biological materials provides critical insight into how biological materials are made and how they derive their unique properties. This learning-from-failure-approach has already proven to be useful for engineered materials, and its application to biological materials holds the promise to transform our understanding of key material design principles that have evolved in nature8.
In the following sections we review two case studies that demonstrate the application of materiomics.
Hierarchical Structures are Crucial to Provide Multiple, Disparate Properties in a Single Material
Our work has contributed to explain some of the most remarkable properties of biological materials, specifically their ability to provide multiple functions despite severe limitations in the quality of available building blocks, and the ability to adapt to different environmental conditions (for a review, see Ref. #3).
For example, strength, robustness and adaptability are properties of fundamental importance to biological materials and structures, and are crucial to providing functional properties to living systems. Strength is defined as the maximum force (or pressure) a material can withstand before breaking. Robustness is defined as the ability of a material to tolerate flaws and defects in its structural makeup while maintaining its ability to provide functionality.
Adaptability refers to the ability of a material to cope with changing environmental conditions. These properties are crucial for materials in biology (such as skin, bone, spider silk, or cells), which either provide structural support themselves (such as the skeleton formed by bone), or need to withstand mechanical deformation under normal physiologic conditions (such as cells and tissue associated with blood vessels that are exposed to the pressure of the blood).
In engineering, strength and robustness are disparate properties (see Figure 2), and it remains challenging to create materials that combine these two features. Glass or ceramics, for example, are typically very strong materials. However, they are not very robust: Even a small crack in a glass, or an attempt to deform glass considerably will lead to catastrophic failure.
|Figure 2. Schematic of the robustness-strength domain, comparing engineered materials and biological materials. The squares represent different hierarchical structures, designed based on more than 16,000 alpha-helical protein filaments. The analysis shows that most random arrangements (98.13%) fall on the so-called banana curve, while fewer, specifically designed structures (1.98%) fall on the inverse banana curve (figure taken from Ref. #3).
In contrast, metals such as copper are very robust; however, they do typically not resist large forces. Yet, these materials allow for large deformation, and even the existence of cracks in the material does not lead to a sudden breakdown. Yet, many biological materials (such as cellular protein filaments, blood vessels, collagenous tissues such as tendon, spider silk, bone, tendon, skin) are capable of providing both properties - strength and robustness, very effectively, and are also combined with the ability to adapt to changes in the environment1,3.
The key to understand these remarkable properties is the particular structural makeup of biological materials, consisting of few distinct elements (such as alpha-helices or beta-sheet protein domains), but a great diversity in structural arrangement of these elements at multiple material levels, from nano to macro1,3. Most fibers, tissues, organs and organisms found in nature show a highly hierarchical and organized structure, where features are found at all scales, ranging from protein molecules (≈50 Å), protein assemblies (≈1 to 10 nm), fibrils and fibers (≈10 to 100 µm), to cells (≈50 µm), and to tissues and organs (≈1000s and more µm).
Most early studies have focused on investigations at single scales, or treated tissues or the cellular microenvironment as a continuum medium without heterogeneous structures (e.g. studies that examine isolated effects of material stiffness or the role of chemical cues alone on cell behavior). However, the cause and effect of biological material mechanics is more complex than a singular input at a specific scale, and thus, the examination of how a range of material scales and hierarchies contribute to certain biological function and dysfunction has emerged as a critical aspect in advancing our understanding of the role of materials in biology in both a physiological and pathological context. Specifically, the origin of how naturally occurring biological protein materials are capable of unifying disparate mechanical properties such as strength, robustness and adaptability is of significant interest for both biological and engineering science, and has attracted significant attention.
Through the development of multiscale computational models that provide a representation of multiple material hierarchy levels in a single model, we have elucidated the key role that multiscale mechanics plays in defining a material's ultimate response at failure, and how nature's structural design principles define the hierarchical makeup of biological materials9,10. This process, likely evolutionarily driven, enables biological materials to combine disparate properties such as strength, robustness and adaptability, and may explain the existence of universal structural features observed in a variety of biological materials, across species (Figure 2)11.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Brittle Bone Disease
Materiomics can also be applied to study the catastrophic breakdown of biological materials under disease conditions. Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic disorder in collagen characterized by mechanically weakened tendon, fragile bones, skeletal deformities and in severe cases prenatal death12. Our work has shown that osteogenesis imperfecta mutations severely compromise the mechanical properties of collagenous tissues at multiple scales, from single molecules to collagen fibrils13,14.
Mutations that lead to the most severe osteogenesis imperfecta phenotype correlate with the strongest effects, leading to weakened intermolecular adhesion, increased intermolecular spacing, reduced stiffness, as well as a reduced failure strength of collagen fibrils that compromises the ability of collagen to provide strength and toughness to connective tissue. Our work has shown that the reason for this is a change in the stress distribution inside collagen fibrils, and is due to the formation of nano-cracks where stress concentrations at the corners develop (Figure 3).
|Figure 3. Effect of osteogenesis imperfecta on the stress distribution inside collagen fibrils (left), and resulting change in the stress-strain response (right)14. The formation of nanocracks at the location of mutations result in local stress concentrations (marked with red color), which reduces the overall strength of the fibril as it induces intermolecular shear at moderate applied loads.
Our findings provide insight into the multi-scale mechanisms of this disease, and lead to explanations of characteristic osteogenesis imperfecta tissue features such as reduced mechanical strength, lower cross-link density and changes in the way mineral platelets are distributed. Our results for the first time explain how single point mutations at the nanoscale can lead to catastrophic tissue failure at much larger length-scales.
The key to understand this dramatic change in material behavior is that failure must be understood as a multi-scale phenomenon, where the interplay of mechanisms at multiple scales defines the ultimate material response. Conventional models of failure and disease that consider only one level of the material's structure, do not capture the full range of relevant structures and mechanisms and as such remain limited in their ability to describe their behavior of intervene in material breakdown processes associated with disease. The understanding of failure in the context of defects and mutations could fundamentally change the way diseases are modeled and potentially treated.
Outlook to Future Research
Materiomics is a powerful tool to enhance the understanding of materials in biology, at multiple scales and in a variety of functional contexts. The long-term goal of our research is to develop a new engineering paradigm that encompasses the analysis and design of structures and materials, starting from the molecular level, in order to create new materials that mimic and exceed the properties of biological ones by utilizing material concepts discovered in biological materials.
We envision that our work can lead to the development of a new set of tools that can be applied, together with synthetic biological and self-assembly methods, to select, design, and produce a new class of materials, similar to the approaches used today in computer aided design of buildings, cars and machines. The availability of multifunctional and changeable materials reduces the necessity for the use of different materials to achieve different properties, and as such, may provide significant savings in weight and cost. The utilization of abundant natural building blocks such as organic (e.g. peptides or proteins) or inorganic (e.g. minerals) constituents, combined with novel synthesis techniques based on self-assembly, could lead to new lightweight materials for structural applications in cars, airplanes, and buildings that could reduce the overall energy consumption and ecological footprint of materials.
1. Buehler, M.J. and Y.C. Yung, Deformation and failure of protein materials in physiologically extreme conditions and disease. Nature Materials, 2009. 8(3): p. 175-188.
2. Fratzl, P. and R. Weinkamer, Nature's hierarchical materials. Progress in Materials Science, 2007. 52: p. 1263-1334.
3. Buehler, M.J. and Y.C. Yung, How protein materials balance strength, robustness and adaptability. HFSP Journal, 2010: p. doi:10.2976/1.3267779.
4. Keten, S. and M.J. Buehler, Geometric Confinement Governs the Rupture Strength of H-bond Assemblies at a Critical Length Scale. Nano Letters, 2008. 8(2): p. 743 - 748.
5. Keten, S., Z. Xu, B. Ihle, and M.J. Buehler, Nanoconfinement controls stiffness, strength and mechanical toughness of beta-sheet crystals in silk. 2010.
6. Espinosa, H.D., J.E. Rim, F. Barthelat, and M.J. Buehler, Merger of structure and material in nacre and bone - Perspectives on de novo biomimetic materials. Progress in Materials Science, 2009. 54(8): p. 1059-1100
7. Buehler, M.J., S. Keten, and T. Ackbarow, Theoretical and computational hierarchical nanomechanics of protein materials: Deformation and fracture. Progress in Materials Science, 2008 53: p. 1101-1241.
8. Buchanan, M., Learning from failure. Nature Physics, 2009. 5(10): p. 705.
9. Qin, Z., L. Kreplak, and M.J. Buehler, Hierarchical structure controls nanomechanical properties of vimentin intermediate filaments. PLoS ONE, 2009. 4(10): p. e7294.
10. Ackbarow, T., D. Sen, C. Thaulow, and M.J. Buehler, Alpha-Helical Protein Networks are Self Protective and Flaw Tolerant. PLoS ONE, 2009. 4(6): p. e6015.
11. Buehler, M.J. and S. Keten, Failure of molecules, bones, and the earth itself. Rev. Mod. Phys., 2010. in press.
12. Rauch, F. and F.H. Glorieux, Osteogenesis imperfecta. Lancet, 2004. 363(9418): p. 1377-1385.
13. Gautieri, A., S. Vesentini, A. Redaelli, and M.J. Buehler, Single molecule effects of osteogenesis imperfecta mutations in tropocollagen protein domains. Protein Sci, 2009. 18(1): p. 161-8.
14. Gautieri, A., S. Uzel, S. Vesentini, A. Redaelli, and M.J. Buehler, Molecular and mesoscale mechanisms of osteogenesis imperfecta disease in collagen fibrils. Biophys J, 2009. 97(3): p. 857-65.
Copyright AZoM.com, Professor Markus J. Buehler (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)


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|Types of creationism|
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The Omphalos hypothesis states that God created the universe to appear old, but that He created the universe around 6000 years ago. The idea was first proposed in the 1800s in response to the growing popularity of modern Geology and the Theory of Evolution. The idea was poorly received, as theologians felt it made God seem deceitful.
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F. A. Hayek, “Planning, Science and Freedom”, Nature, Nov. 15, 1941, Vol. 148, pp. 580-584.
The reasons why the adoption of a system of central planning necessarily produces a totalitarian system are fairly simple. Whoever controls the means must decide which ends they are to serve. As under modern conditions control of economic activity means control of the material means for practically all our ends, it means control over nearly all our activities. The nature of the detailed scale of values which must guide the planning makes it impossible that it should be determined by anything like democratic means. The director of the planned system would have to impose his scale of values, his hierarchy of ends, which, if it is to be sufficient to determine the plan, must include a definite order of rank in which the status of each person is laid down. If the plan is to succeed or the planner to appear successful, the people must be made to believe that the objectives chosen are the right ones. Every criticism of the plan or the ideology underlying it must be treated as sabotage. There can be no freedom of thought, no freedom of the Press, where it is necessary that everything should be governed by a single system of thought. In theory Socialism may wish to enhance freedom, but in practice every kind of collectivism consistently carried through must produce the characteristic features which Fascism, Nazism and Communism have in common. Totalitarianism is nothing but consistent collectivism, the ruthless execution of the principle that ‘the whole comes before the individual’ and the direction of .all members of society by a single will supposed to represent the ‘whole’.


Early in the 14th century the Turkish tribal chieftain Othman (Osman) founded an empire in western Anatolia (Asia Minor) that was to endure for almost six centuries. As this empire grew by conquering lands of the Byzantine Empire and beyond, it came to include at the height of its power all of Asia Minor; the countries of the Balkan Peninsula; the islands of the eastern Mediterranean; parts of Hungary and Russia; Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus, Palestine, and Egypt; part of Arabia; and all of North Africa through Algeria.
The Early Empire, 1300-1481
The dynasty that Othman (1258-1326) founded was called Osmanli, meaning "sons of Osman." The name evolved in English into Ottoman. The Ottoman Empire was Islamic in religion. During the 11th century bands of nomadic Turks emerged from their home in Central Asia to raid lands to the west. The strongest of the Turkish tribes was the Seljuks. In time they established themselves in Asia Minor along with other groups of Turks.
Following the defeat of the Seljuks by the Mongols in 1293, Othman emerged as the leader of local Turks in the fight against the tottering Byzantine Empire. The final conquest of the Byzantines was not achieved until 1453 with the fall of Constantinople (now Istanbul), but by that date all the surrounding territory was in Ottoman hands.
The initial areas of expansion under Othman I and his successors Orkhan (ruled 1326-59) and Murad I (ruled 1359-89) were western Asia Minor and southeastern Europe, primarily the Balkan Peninsula. During Orkhan's reign the practice began of exacting a tribute in children from Christian subjects. The boys were trained to become soldiers and administrators. As soldiers they filled the ranks of the infantry, called the Janizaries (also spelled Janissaries), the most fearsome military force in Europe for centuries.
Murad I conquered Thrace, to the northwest of Constantinople, in 1361. He moved his capital to Adrionople (now Edirne), Thrace's capital and the second city of the Byzantine Empire. This conquest effectively cut off Constantinople from the outside world, and allowed Murad to control the principal invasion route through the Balkan Mountains, giving the Ottomans access to further expansion to the north.
During Murad I last victorious battle against Balkan allies, he was killed. His successor, Beyazid I (ruled 1389-1402), was unable to make further European conquests. He was forced to devote his attention to eastern Asia Minor to deal with a growing Turkish principality, Karaman. He attacked and defeated Karaman in 1391, put down a revolt of his Balkan subjects, and returned to consolidate his gains in Asia Minor. His successes attracted the attention of Timur Lenk (Tamerlane). Encouraged by Turkish princes who had fled to his court from Beyazid I's incursions, attacked and overwhelmed him in 1402. Taken captive by Timur Lenk, Beyazid died within a year.
Timur Lenk soon retired from Asia Minor, leaving Beyazid's sons to take up where their father had failed. The four sons fought for control until one of them, Mohammed I, killed the other three and took control. He reigned from 1413 to 1421 and his successor Murad II, from 1421 to 1451. Murad II suppressed Balkan resistance and eliminated all but two of the Turkish principalities in Asia Minor. The task of finishing the Balkan conquests and seizing all of Asia Minor fell to Murad II's successor, Mohammed II (ruled 1451-81). It was he who completed the siege of Constantinople in 1453 and made it the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The whole Balkan Peninsula south of Hungary was incorporated as well as the Crimea on the north coast of the Black Sea. Asia Minor was completely subdued.
In addition to conquering a large empire, Mohammed II worked strenuously for consolidation and an adequate administrative and tax system. He was assisted by the fact that the whole Byzantine bureaucratic structure fell into his hands. Although Islamic, Ottoman sultans were not averse to using whatever talent they could attract or sometimes, capture.
The Golden Age, 1481-1566
Three sultans ruled the empire at its height: Beyazid II (1481-1512), Selim I (1512-20), and Suleyman I the Magnificent (1520-66). Beyazid extended the empire in Europe, added outposts along the Black Sea, and put down revolts in Asia Minor. He also turned the Ottoman fleet into a major Mediterranean naval power. Late in life he became a religious mystic and was displaced on the throne by his more militant son, Selim I.
Selim I's first task was to eliminate all competition for his position. He had his brothers, their sons, and all but one of his own sons killed. He thereby established control over the army, which had wanted to raise its own candidate to power. During his short reign the Ottomans moved south-and eastward into Syria, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Arabia, and Egypt. At Mecca, the chief shrine of Islam, he took the title of caliph, ruler of all Muslims. The Ottoman sultans were thereafter the spiritual heads of Islam thereby displacing the centuries-old caliphate of Baghdad.
By acquiring the holy places of Islam, Selim I's cemented his position as the religion's most powerful ruler. This gave the Ottomans direct access to the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world. Leading Muslim intellectuals, artists, artisans, and administrators came to Constantinople from all parts of the Arab world. They made the empire much more of a traditional Islamic state than it had been.
An added benefit of Selim I's efforts was control of all Middle Eastern trade routes between Europe and the Far East. The growth of the empire had for some time been an impediment to European trade. In time this led European states to seek routes around Africa to China and India. It also impelled them to face westward and led directly to the discovery of the Americas.
Selim I's's surviving son, Suleyman, came to the throne in an enviable situation. New revenues from the expanded empire left him with wealth and power unparalleled in Ottoman history. In his early campaigns he captured Belgrade (1521) and Rhodes (1522) and broke the military power of Hungary. In 1529 he laid siege to Vienna, Austria, but was forced to withdraw for lack of supplies. He also waged three campaigns against Persia. Algiers in North Africa fell to his navy in 1529 and Tripoli (now Libya) in 1551. In more peaceful pursuits he adorned the chief cities of Islam with mosques, aqueducts, bridges, and other public works. In Constantinople he had several mosques built, among them the magnificent Suleymaniye Cami named for him.
Imperial Decline, 1566-1807
During Suleyman's long reign the Ottoman Empire was at the height of its political power and close to its maximum geographical extent. The seeds of decline, however, were already planted. As Suleyman grew tired of campaigns and retired to his harem, his viziers, or prime ministers, took more authority. After his death the army gained control of the sultanate and was able to use it for its own benefit. Few sultans after Suleyman had the ability to exercise real power when the need arose. This weakness at home was countered by a growing power in the west. The nation-states of Europe were emerging from the Middle Ages under strong monarchies. They were building armies and navies that were powerful enough to attack a decaying Ottoman military might.
In 1571 the combined fleets of Venice, Spain, and the Papal States of Italy defeated the Turks in the great naval Battle Lepanto, off the coast of Greece. This defeat, which dispelled the myth of the invincible Turk, took place during the reign of Selim II (ruled 1566-74). But the empire rebuilt its navy and continued to control the eastern Mediterranean for another century.
As the central government became weaker, large parts of the empire began to act independently, retaining only nominal loyalty to the sultan. The army was still strong enough, however, to prevent provincial rebels from asserting complete control. Under Murad III (ruled 1574-95) new campaigns were undertaken. The Caucasus was conquered, and Azerbaijan was seized. This brought the empire to the peak of its territorial extent.
Reform efforts undertaken by 17th-century sultans did little to deter the onset of decay. The Ottomans were driven out of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan in 1603 and out of Iraq in 1604. Iraq was retaken by Murad IV (ruled 1623-40) in 1638, but Iran remained a persistent military threat in the east. A war with Venice (1645-69) exposed Constantinople to an attack by the Venetian navy. In 1683 the last attempt to conquer Vienna failed. Russia and Austria fought the empire by direct military attack and by fomenting revolt by non-Muslim subjects of the sultan.
Beginning in 1683, with the attack on Vienna, the Ottomans were at war with European enemies for 41 years. As a result, the empire lost much of its Balkan territory and all the possessions on the shores of the Black Sea. In addition, the Austrians and Russians were allowed to intervene in the empire's affairs on behalf of the sultan's Christian subjects.
The weakness of the central government, as manifested by its military decline, also showed itself in a gradual loss of control over most of the provinces. Local rulers, called notables, carved for themselves permanent regions in which they ruled directly, regardless of the wishes of the sultan in Constantinople. The notables were able to build their power bases because they knew of the sultan's military weakness and because local populations preferred their rule to the corrupt administration of the faraway capital. The notables formed their own armies and collected their own taxes, sending only nominal contributions to the imperial treasury.
Selim III (ruled 1789-1807) attempted to reform the empire and its army. He failed and was overthrown. When Mahmud II (ruled 1808-39) came to the throne, the empire was in desperate straits. Control of North Africa had passed to local notables. In Egypt Muhammad Ali was laying the foundation of an independent kingdom. Had the European nations cooperated, they could have destroyed the Ottoman Empire.
In 1826, five years after Greece began its fight for independence, the Janizaries revolted to stop reforms. Warfare between the Turks and Greeks was fierce, and eventually a new military system in the style of European armies. He also reformed the administration and gained control over some of the provincial notables, with the exception of Egypt. By the time of Mahmud's death the empire was more consolidated and powerful, but it was still subject to European interference.
Mahmud's sons, Abdulmecid I (ruled 1839-61) and Abdulaziz (ruled 1861-76) carried out further reforms, especially in education and law. Nevertheless, by mid-century it was evident that the Ottoman cause was hopeless. Czar Nicholas I of Russia commented on the Ottoman Empire in 1853: "We have on our hands a sick man, a very sick man."
The "Sick Man of Europe" 1850-1922
The conflicting interests of European states propped up the Ottoman Empire until after World War I. Great Britain especially was determined to keep Russia from gaining direct access to the Mediterranean from the Black Sea. Britain, France, and Sardinia helped the Ottomans during the Crimean War (1854-56) to block the Russians.
The Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 brought Russia almost to Constantinople. The Ottomans were forced to sign the Treaty of San Stefano, which would have ended their rule in Europe except that the European states called the Congress of Berlin. It succeeded in propping up the old empire for a few decades more.
Abdulhamid II (ruled 1876-1909) developed strong ties with Germany, and the Ottomans fought on Germany's side in World War I. Russia hoped to use the war as an excuse to gain access to the Mediterranean and perhaps capture Constantinople. This aim was frustrated by the Russian Revolution of 1917 and withdrawal from the war. Ottoman defeat in war inspired an already fervent Turkish nationalism. The postwar settlement outraged the nationalists. A new government under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk (father of the Turks), emerged at Ankara. The last sultan, Mohammed VI, fled in 1922 after the sultanate had been abolished. All members of the Ottoman Dynasty were expelled from the country two years later. Turkey was proclaimed a republic, with Ataturk as its first president.


Prehistoric mammal hair discovered in Cretaceous amberJune 16th, 2010 - 1:53 pm ICT by ANI
London, June 16 (ANI): Palaeontologists have discovered two mammal hairs encased in amber that is a 100 million years old.
The oldest 3D specimens, found alongside a fly pupa in amber uncovered in southwest France, are remarkably similar to hair found on modern mammals, implying that the shape and structure of mammal hair has remained unchanged over the years. They have a very similar cuticular structure to those in modern mammals.
“We have 2D hair imprints as early as the Middle Jurassic,” the BBC quoted Dr Romain Vullo of the University of Rennes, France, who discovered the hair, as saying.
“However, carbonised hair provides much less information about the structure than a 3D hair preserved in amber,” Vullo added.
The piece of amber, which is fossilised tree resin, was found in the Font-de-Benon quarry at Archingeay-Les Nouillers in Charente-Maritime, southwest France. Above it, the team found four teeth of a primitive marsupial called Arcantiodelphys, to which the hair seems to belong, according to the team.
The researchers have cited three possibilities as to why the hair was encased in amber - Either amber swamped part of an animal’s corpse, or a living animal that brushed past the resin lost the hair, or the hair was lost in a similar manner by a mammal that came to feed on insects trapped in the resin, which later fossilised into amber.
The details of the discovery are published in the journal Naturwissenschaften. (ANI)
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Tags: 100 million years, amber, bbc, charente maritime, corpse, cretaceous, discovery, hairs, insects, mammal, mammals, naturwissenschaften, possibilities, pupa, quarry, rennes france, southwest france, specimens, tree resin, university of rennes


Residual Data is data that is unintentionally left behind on computer media. In forensic usage, remnant data is typically left behind after attempts have been made to delete the data, after the data has been forgotten, or after the media on which the data resides has been decomissioned.
Residual data appears at all levels of modern computer systems:
- Computer systems that are discarded.
- Partitions in hard drives that are deleted.
- Files on hard drives that are deleted but not overwritten.
- Snippets of text in Microsoft Word files.
- Heap variables that are freed with free()
- Automatic variables left on the stack of languages like C or garbage collected in languages like Java.
Byers, Simon. Scalable Exploitation of, and Responses to Information Leakage Through Hidden Data in Published Documents, AT&T Research, April 2003
Chow, J., B. Pfaff, T. Garfinkel, K. Christopher, M. Rosenblum, Understanding Data Lifetime via Whole System Simulation, Proceedings of the 13th USENIX Security Symposium, 2004.
Garfinkel, S. and Shelat, A., "Remembrance of Data Passed: A Study of Disk Sanitization Practices," IEEE Security and Privacy, January/February 2003.


Henry Gray (18251861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
and liver, and the falciform and coronary ligaments between the liver and the abdominal wall and diaphragm (Fig. 989).
FIG. 987 Diagrams to illustrate two stages in the development of the digestive tube and its mesentery. The arrow indicates the entrance to the bursa omentalis. (See enlarged image)
FIG. 988 Final disposition of the intestines and their vascular relations. (Jonnesco.) A. Aorta. H. Hepatic artery. M, Col. Branches of superior mesenteric artery. m, m. Branches of inferior mesenteric artery. S. Splenic artery. (See enlarged image)
FIG. 989 Schematic figure of the bursa omentalis, etc. Human embryo of eight weeks. (Kollmann.) (See enlarged image)
The Rectum and Anal Canal.The hind-gut is at first prolonged backward into the body-stalk as the tube of the allantois; but, with the growth and flexure of the tail-end of the embryo, the body-stalk, with its contained allantoic tube, is carried forward to the ventral aspect of the body, and consequently a bend is formed at the


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The flaws in this chapter go deeper than merely deepening confusion over basic concepts and omitting references to work which address questions they raise. At critical points, EE quotes biologists in ways which misrepresent their views and distort the state of scientific and philosophical discourse about homology and related concepts. To present the discredited 19th century quibbles of Louis Agassiz as if they had never been addressed is ahistorical and absurd. Claiming that Brian Goodwin rejects evolution as a force which explains homology is plainly wrong. David Wake's concerns over the philosophical definition of homology does not reflect any objection to the use of biological similarity and difference to develop and test hypotheses about evolution. This merely reflects EE's needless focus on a single word, rather than the way that evolutionary biology is actually practiced in the 21st century.


CONTRIBUTION OF MUSLIMS SCIENTIST IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY
In the Modern Muslim world is seen as many things , but rarely is it viewed as a source of inspiration and enlightenment . Though it is a force of enlightenment and it is not only verses of the Quran that testy to that fact, but also the great body scholarship produced during the Middle Ages. While Europe was in the midst of darkness, it was the Muslims spurred on the light of their news who picked up the torch of scholarship and science .It was the Muslims who preserved the knowledge of old days , elaborate upon it and passed it to Europe .
Islamic scientist in Medicine and Pharmacy was not known for many age due to many factors including a) Colonialism and lack of knowledge among Muslims generation in this modern world, other factors is b) lack of institution based facts how and when Islamic Scientists what contribution was . Although every people earn what they do pass on it generation after generation. So we the Islam of today learners should make important to look back over and make research topic selected on this issue and gain knowledge of, respected and Prized the contribution Islamic Civilization by early Muslim scholars
The first Muslim physician is believed to have been Muhammad himself, as a significant number of hadiths concerning medicine are attributed to him. Several Sahaba are said to have been successfully treated of certain diseases by following the medical advice of Muhammad. The three methods of healing known to have been mentioned by him were Honey, Cupping, and Cauterization, though he was generally opposed to the use of cauterization unless it “suits the ailment.” According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Muhammad disliked this method due to it causing “pain and menace to a patient” since there was no anesthesia in his time. Muhammad also appears to have been the first to suggest the contagious nature of leprosy, mange and sexually transmitted disease; and that there is always a cause and a cure for every disease, according to several hadiths in the Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abi Dawood and Al-Muwatta attributed to Muhammad, such as:
“There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment.
“Make use of medical treatment, for Allah has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it, with the exception of one disease, namely old age.
“Allah has sent down both the disease and the cure, and He has appointed a cure for every disease, so treat you medically.
“The one who sent down the disease sent down the remedy.
The belief that there is a cure for every disease encouraged early Muslims to engage in biomedical research and seek out a cure for every disease known to them. Many early authors of Islamic medicine, however, were usually clerics rather than physicians, and were known to have advocated the traditional medical practices of prophet Muhammad’s time, such as those mentioned in the Qur’a n and Hadith. For instance, therapy did not require a patient to undergo any surgical procedures at the time.
From the 9th century, Hunayn ibn Ishaq translated a number of Galen‘s works into the Arabic language, followed by translations of the Sushruta Samhita, Charaka Samhita and Middle Persian works from Gundishapur. Muslim physicians soon began making many of their own significant advances and contributions to medicine, including the fields of
ALLERGOLOGY, ANATOMY, BACTERIOLOGY, BOTANY, DENTISTRY, EMBRYOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTALISM, ETIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, OBSTETRICS, OPHTHALMOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, PEDIATRICS, PERINATOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, PULSOLOGY AND SPHYGMOLOGY, SURGERY, THERAPY, UROLOGY, ZOOLOGY, AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SUCH AS PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY, AMONG OTHERS.
Medicine was a central part of medieval Islamic culture. Responding to circumstances of time and place, Islamic physicians and scholars developed a large and complex medical literature exploring and synthesizing the theory and practice of medicine Islamic medicine was initially built on tradition, chiefly the theoretical and practical knowledge developed in Arabia, Persia, Greece, Rome, and India. Galen and Hippocrates were pre-eminent authorities, as well as the Indian physicians Sushruta and Charaka, and the Hellenistic scholars in Alexandria. Islamic scholars translated their voluminous writings from Greek and Sanskrit into Arabic and then produced new medical knowledge based on those texts. In order to make the Greek and Indian traditions more accessible, understandable, and teachable, Islamic scholars ordered and made more systematic the vast and sometimes inconsistent Greco-Roman and Indian medical knowledge by writing encyclopedias and summaries. It was through Arabic translations that the West learned of Hellenic medicine, including the works of Galen and Hippocrates. Of equal if not of greater influence in Western Europe were systematic and comprehensive works such as Avicenna‘s The Canon of Medicine, which were translated into Latin and then disseminated in manuscript and printed form throughout Europe. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries alone, The Canon of Medicine was published more than thirty-five times.
Muslim physicians set up the earliest dedicated hospitals in the modern sense, known as Bimaristans, which were establishments where the ill were welcomed and cared for by qualified staff, and which were clearly distinguished from the ancient healing temples, sleep temples, hospices, assylums, lazarets and leper-houses which were more concerned with isolating the sick and the mad from society “rather than to offer them any way to a true cure. The Bimaristan hospitals later functioned as the first public hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and diploma-granting medical universities.
In the medieval Islamic world, hospitals were built in all major cities; in Cairo for example, the Qalawun Hospital could care for 8,000 patients, and a staff that included physicians, pharmacists, and nurses. One could also access a dispensary, and research facility that led to advances, which included the discovery of the contagious nature of diseases, and research into optics and the mechanisms of the eye. Muslim doctors were removing cataracts with hollow needles over 1000 years before Western physicians dared attempt such a task. Hospitals were built not only for the physically sick, but for the mentally sick also. One of the first ever psychiatric hospitals that cared for the mentally ill was built in Cairo. Hospitals later spread to Europe during the Crusades, inspired by the hospitals in the Middle East. The first hospital in Paris, Les Quinze-vingts, was founded by Louis IX after his return from the Crusade between 1254-1260.
Hospitals in the Islamic world featured competency tests for doctors, drug purity regulations, nurses and interns, and advanced surgical procedures. Hospitals were also created with separate wards for specific illnesses, so that people with contagious diseases could be kept away from other patients.
One of the features in medieval Muslim hospitals that distinguished them from their contemporaries and predecessors was their significantly higher standards of medical ethics. Hospitals in the Islamic world treated patients of all religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds, while the hospitals themselves often employed staff from Christian, Jewish and other minority backgrounds. Muslim doctors and physicians were expected to have obligations towards their patients, regardless of their wealth or backgrounds. The ethical standards of Muslim physicians was first laid down in the 9th century by Ishaq bin Ali Rahawi, who wrote the Adab al-Tabib (Conduct of a Physician), the first treatise dedicated to medical ethics. He regarded physicians as “guardians of souls and bodies”, and wrote twenty chapters on various topics related to medical ethics.
Another unique feature of medieval Muslim hospitals was the role of female staff, who were rarely employed in ancient and medieval healing temples elsewhere in the world. Medieval Muslim hospitals commonly employed female nurses, including nurses from as far as Sudan, a sign of great breakthrough. Muslim hospitals were also the first to employ female physicians, the most famous being two female physicians from the Banu Zuhr family who served the Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Mansur in the 12th century. Later in the 15th century, female surgeons were illustrated for the first time in Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu‘s Cerrahiyyetu’l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery)
The first encyclopedia of medicine in Arabic was Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari‘s Firdous al-Hikmah (“Paradise of Wisdom”), written in seven parts, c. 860. It was the first to deal with pediatrics and child development, as well as psychology and psychotherapy. In the fields of medicine and psychotherapy, the work was primarily influenced by Islamic thought and ancient Indian physicians such as Sushruta and Charaka. Unlike earlier physicians, however, al-Tabari emphasized strong ties between psychology and medicine, and the need of psychotherapy and counseling in the therapeutic treatment of patients
Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) wrote the Comprehensive Book of Medicine in the 9th century. The Large Comprehensive was the most sought after of all his compositions, in which Rhazes recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various diseases. The Comprehensive Book of Medicine, with its introduction of measles and smallpox, was very influential in Europe.
(HALY ABBAS)’S KITAB KAMIL AS-SINA’A AT-TIBBIYYA (“Complete Book of the Medical Art“), c. 980, became better known as the Kitab al-Maliki (“Royal Book“, Latin: Liber regalis) in honour of its royal patron ‘Adud al-Dawla. In twenty sections, ten of theory and ten of practice, it was more systematic and concise than Razi’s Hawi, but more practical than Avicenna’s Canon, by which it was superseded. With many interpolations and substitutions, it served as the basis for the Pantegni (c. 1087) of Constantinus Africanus, the founding text of the Schola Medica Salernitana in Salerno
(Abulcasis), regarded as the father of modern surgery contributed greatly to the discipline of medical surgery with his Kitab al-Tasrif (“Book of Concessions“), a 30-volume medical encyclopedia published in 1000, which was later translated to Latin and used in European medical schools for centuries. He invented numerous surgical instruments and described them in his al-Tasrif.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina), a Hanbali and Mu’tazili philosopher and doctor in the early 11th century, was another influential figure. He is regarded as the father of modern medicine, and one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history. His medical encyclopedia, The Canon of Medicine (c. 1020), remained a standard textbook in Europe for centuries, up until the renewal of the Muslim tradition of scientific medicine. He also wrote The Book of Healing (actually a more general encyclopedia of science and philosophy), which became another popular textbook in Europe. Among other things, Avicenna’s contributions to medicine include the introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology,the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials,randomized controlled trialsefficacy tests, clinical pharmacology, risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases,the first descriptions on bacterial and viral organisms, the distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy, the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, the distribution of diseases by water and soil, and the first careful descriptions of skin troubles, sexually transmitted diseases, perversions, and nervous ailments, as well the use of ice to treat fevers, and the separation of medicine from pharmacology, which was important to the development of the pharmaceutical sciences.
Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288) wrote Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine), a voluminous medical encyclopedia that was originally planned to comprise 300 volumes, but he was only able to complete 80 volumes as a result of his death in 1288. However, even in its incomplete state, the book is one of the largest known medical encyclopedias in history, though only a small portion of The Comprehensive Book on Medicine has survived. During his lifetime, The Comprehensive Book on Medicine had eventually replaced Ibn Sina’s The Canon of Medicine as a medical authority in the medieval Islamic world. Arabic biographers from the 13th onwards considered Ibn al-Nafis the greatest physician in history, some referring to him as “the second Ibn Sina”, and others considering him even greater than Ibn Sina
In the 9th century
AL-KINDI (ALKINDUS), IN DE GRADIBUS Demonstrated the application of mathematics and quantification to medicine, particularly in the field of pharmacology. This includes the development of a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of drugs, and a system that would allow a doctor to determine in advance the most critical days of a patient’s illness, based on the phases of the Moon.
In the 10th century, RAZI (RHAZES) Introduced controlled experiment and clinical observation into the field of medicine, and rejected several Galenic medical theories unverified by experimentation.The earliest known medical experiment was carried out by Razi in order to find the most hygienic place to build a hospital. He hung pieces of meat in places throughout 10th century Baghdad and observed where the meat decomposed least quickly, and that was where he built the hospital. In his Comprehensive Book of Medicine, Razi recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various diseases. In his Doubts about Galen, Razi was also the first to prove both Galen‘s theory of humorism and Aristotle‘s theory of classical elements false using experimentation He also introduced urinalysis and stool tests
AVICENNA (IBN SINA)
Is considered the father of modern medicine,for his introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology, the introduction of experimental medicine, clinical trials, risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases, in his medical encyclopedia, The Canon of Medicine (c. 1020), which was also the first book dealing with evidence-based medicine, randomized controlled trials,and efficacy tests.
According to Toby Huff and A. C. Crombie, the Canon contained “a set of rules that laid down the conditions for the experimental use and testing of drugs” which were “a precise guide for practical experimentation” in the process of “discovering and proving the effectiveness of medical substances. The Canon laid out the following rules and principles for testing the effectiveness of new drugs and medications, which still form the basis of clinical pharmacologyand modern clinical trials:
- “The drug must be free from any extraneous accidental quality.”
- “It must be used on a simple, not a composite, disease.”
- “The drug must be tested with two contrary types of diseases, because sometimes a drug cures one disease by Its essential qualities and another by its accidental ones.”
- “The quality of the drug must correspond to the strength of the disease. For example, there are some drugs whose heat is less than the coldness of certain diseases, so that they would have no effect on them.”
- “The time of action must be observed, so that essence and accident are not confused.”
- “The effect of the drug must be seen to occur constantly or in many cases, for if this did not happen, it was an accidental effect.”
- “The experimentation must be done with the human body, for testing a drug on a lion or a horse might not prove anything about its effect on man.”
IBN ZUHR (AVENZOAR)
Who introduced the experimental method into surgery, for which he is considered the father of experimental surgery.Other early supporters of human dissection and autopsy include Ibn Tufail,Saladin‘s physician Ibn Jumay, Abd-el-latif,and Ibn al-Nafis
The experimental method was introduced into botany, materia medica and the agricultural sciences in the 13th century by the Andalusian-Arab botanist Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, the teacher of Ibn al-Baitar. Al-Nabati introduced empirical techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous material medica, and he separated unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and observations.
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY: In anatomy and physiology, the first physician to refute Galen‘s theory of humorism was
MUHAMMAD IBN ZAKARĪYA RĀZI (RHAZES) In his Doubts about Galen in the 10th century. He criticized Galen’s theory that the body possessed four separate “humors” (liquid substances), whose balance are the key to health and a natural body-temperature. Razi was the first to prove this theory wrong using an experiment. He carried out an experiment which would upset this system by inserting a liquid with a different temperature into the body resulting in an increase or decrease of bodily heat, which resembled the temperature of that particular fluid. Razi noted particularly that a warm drink would heat up the body to a degree much higher than its own natural temperature, thus the drink would trigger a response from the body, rather than transferring only its own warmth or coldness to it. This line of criticism was the first comprehensive experimental refutation of Galen’s theory of humours and Aristotle‘s theory of the four classical elements on which it was grounded. Razi’s own chemical experiments suggested other qualities of matter, such as “oiliness” and “sulfurousness“, or inflammability and salinity, which were not readily explained by the traditional fire, water, earth and air division of elements.
EXPERIMENTAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
The contributions of Avicenna to physiology include the introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology in The Canon of Medicine (c. 1020). The contributions of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) to anatomy and physiology include his correct explanation of the process of sight and visual perception for the first time in his Book of Optics, Other innovations introduced by Muslim physicians to the field of physiology by this time include the use of animal testing.
Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) (1091-1161) was the first physician known to have carried out human dissections and postmortem autopsy. He proved that the skin disease scabies was caused by a parasite, a discovery which upset the theory of humorism supported by Hippocrates and Galen. The removal of the parasite from the patient’s body did not involve purging, bleeding, or any other traditional treatments associated with the four humours.
In the 12th century, Saladin‘s physician Ibn Jumay was also one the first to undertake human dissections, and he made an explicit appeal for other physicians to do so as well. During a famine in Egypt in 1200, Abd-el-latif observed and examined a large number of skeletons, and he discovered that Galen was incorrect regarding the formation of the bones of the lower jaw and sacrum.
Circulatory anatomy and physiology:
IBN AL-NAFIS The father of circulatory physiology was another early proponent of human dissection In 1242, he was the first to describe the pulmonary circulation, coronary circulation and capillary circulation, which form the basis of the circulatory system, for which he is considered the one of the greatest physiologists in history The first European descriptions of the pulmonary circulation came several centuries later, by Michael Servetus in 1553 and William Harvey in 1628. Ibn al-Nafis also described the earliest concept of metabolism, and developed new Nafisian systems of anatomy, physiology and psychology to replace the Avicennian and Galenic doctrines, while discrediting many of their erroneous theories on the four humours, pulsation, bones, muscles, intestines, sensory organs, bilious canals, esophagus, stomach, and the anatomy of almost every other part of the human body.
The Arab physician Ibn al-Lubudi (1210-1267), also from Damascus, wrote the Collection of discussions relative to fifty psychological and medical questions, in which he rejects the theory of four humours supported by Galen and Hippocrates, discovers that the body and its preservation depend exclusively upon blood, rejects Galen’s idea that women can produce sperm, and discovers that the movement of arteries are not dependant upon the movement of the heart, that the heart is the first organ to form in a fetus‘ body (rather than the brain as claimed by Hippocrates), and that the bones forming the skull can grow into tumors. He also advises that in cases of extreme fever, a patient should not be released from hospital.
PULSOLOGY AND SPHYGMOLOGY: Muslim physicians were pioneers in pulsology and sphygmology. In ancient times, Galen as well as Chinese physicians erroneously believed that there was a unique type of pulse for every organ of the body and for every disease. Galen also erroneously believed that “every part of an artery pulsates simultaneously” and that the motion of the pulse was due to natural motions (the arteries expanding and contracting naturally) as opposed to foced motions (the heart causing the arteries to either expand or contract). The first correct explanations of pulsation were given by Muslim physicians.
“Every beat of the pulse comprises two movements and two pauses. Thus, expansion: pause: contraction: pause. The pulse is a movement in the heart and arteries … which takes the form of alternate expansion and contraction.”
Avicenna also pioneered the modern approach of examining the pulse through the examination of the wrist, which is still practiced in modern times. His reasons for choosing the wrist as the ideal location is due to it being easily available and the patient not needing to be distressed at the exposure of his/her body. The Latin translation of his Canon also laid the foundations for the later invention of the sphygmograph.
Ibn al-Nafis, in his Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna’s Canon, completely rejected the Galenic theory of pulsation after his discovery of the pulmonary circulation. He developed his own Nafisian theory of pulsation after discovering that pulsation is a result of both natural and forced motions, and that the “forced motion must be the contraction of the arteries caused by the expansion of the heart, and the natural motion must be the expansion of the arteries.” He notes that the “arteries and the heart do not expand and contract at the same time, but rather the one contracts while the other expands” and vice versa. He also recognized that the purpose of the pulse is to help disperse the blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Ibn al-Nafis briefly summarizes his new theory of pulsation:
“The primary purpose of the expansion and contraction of the heart is to absorb the cool air and expel the wastes of the spirit and the warm air; however, the ventricle of the heart is wide. Moreover, when it expands it is not possible for it to absorb air until it is full, for that would then ruin the temperament of the spirit, its substance and texture, as well as the temperament of the heart. Thus, the heart is necessarily forced to complete its fill by absorbing the spirit.”
EPIDEMIOLOGY, ETIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY: In etiology and epidemiology, Muslim physicians were responsible for the discovery of infectious disease and the immune system, advances in pathology, and early hypotheses related to bacteriology and microbiology. Their discovery of contagious disease in particular is considered revolutionary and is one of the most important discoveries in medicine. The earliest ideas on contagion can be traced back to several hadiths attributed to Muhammad in the 7th century, who is said to have understood the contagious nature of leprosy, mange, and sexually transmitted disease. These early ideas on contagion arose from the generally sympathetic attitude of Muslim physicians towards lepers (who were often seen in a negative light in other ancient and medieval societies) which can be traced back through hadiths attributed to Muhammad and to the following advice given in the Qur’an
“There is no fault in the blind, and there is no fault in the lame, and there is no fault in the sick.”
This eventually led to the theory of contagious disease, which was fully understood by Avicenna in the 11th century. By then, the pathology of contagion had been fully understood, and as a result, hospitals were created with separate wards for specific illnesses, so that people with contagious diseases could be kept away from other patients who do not have any contagious diseases. In The Canon of Medicine (1020), Avicenna discovered the contagious nature of infectious diseases such as phthisis and tuberculosis, the distribution of diseases by water and soil, and fully understood the contagious nature of sexually transmitted diseases. In epidemiology, he introduced the method of quarantine as a means of limiting the spread of contagious diseases, and introduced the method of risk factor analysis and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases.
In order to find the most hygienic place to build a hospital, Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) carried out an experiment where he hung pieces of meat in places throughout 10th century Baghdad and observed where the meat decomposed least quickly. Razi also wrote the Comprehensive Book of Medicine in the 9th century. The Large Comprehensive was the most sought after of all his compositions, in which Razi recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various diseases, as well as the discovery of measles and smallpox. The Large Comprehensive also criticized the views of Galen, after Razi had observed many clinical cases which did not follow Galen’s descriptions of fevers. For example, he stated that Galen’s descriptions of urinary ailments were inaccurate as he had only seen three cases, while Razi had studied hundreds of such cases in hospitals of Baghdad and Rayy.The Comprehensive Book of Medicine, especially with its introduction of measles and smallpox, was very influential in Europe.
IBN ZUHR (AVENZOAR Was the first physician to provide a real scientific etiology for the inflammatory diseases of the ear, and the first to clearly discuss the causes of stridor. Through his dissections, he was also able to prove that the skin disease scabies was caused by a parasite, a discovery which upset the theory of humorism supported by Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna. He also gave the first accurate descriptions on neurological diseases, including meningitis, intracranial thrombophlebitis, and mediastinal germ cell tumors. Averroes suggested the existence of Parkinson’s disease and attributed photoreceptor properties to the retina. Maimonides wrote about neuropsychiatric disorders and described rabies and belladonna intoxication.
ALLERGOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY: The study of allergology and immunology originate from the Islamic world.
MUHAMMAD IBN ZAKARĪYA RĀZI (RHAZES) Was responsible for discovering “allergic asthma“, and was the first physician known to have written articles on allergy and the immune system. In the Sense of Smelling, he explains the occurrence of rhinitis after smelling a rose during the Spring. In the Article on the Reason Why Abou Zayd Balkhi Suffers from Rhinitis When Smelling Roses in Spring, he dicusses seasonal rhinitis, which is the same as allergic asthma or hay fever. Al-Razi was the first to realize that fever is a natural defense mechanism, the body’s way of fighting disease.
The distinction between smallpox and measles also dates back to al-Razi. The medical procedure of inoculation was practiced in the medieval Islamic world in order to treat smallpox. This was later followed by the first smallpox vaccine in the form of cowpox, invented in Turkey in the early 18th century.
DR. ABDIRIZAK HAJI MOHAMED
Pharm-D University of Karachi-Pakistan
Contribution of Muslim scientist is far-reaching topic
So part two will be publish soon, please your comments and any suggestions send to firstname.lastname@example.org


Chondroitin sulfate consists of repeating chains of molecules called glycosaminoglycans
(GAGs). Chondroitin sulfate is a major constituent of cartilage, providing structure, holding water and
nutrients, and allowing other molecules to move through cartilage—an important property,
as there is no blood supply to cartilage.
Where is it found?
The only significant food source of chondroitin sulfate is animal cartilage.
Chondroitin sulfate has
been used in connection with the following conditions (refer to the
individual health concern for complete information):
Who is likely to be deficient?
Because the body makes chondroitin, the possibility of a dietary deficiency remains
uncertain. Nevertheless, chondroitin sulfate may be reduced in joint cartilage affected by osteoarthritis and possibly other forms of
How much is usually taken?
For atherosclerosis, researchers have
sometimes started therapy using very high amounts, such as 5 grams twice per day with meals,
lowering the amount to 500 mg three times per day after a few months. Before taking such high
amounts, people should consult a doctor. For
osteoarthritis, a typical level is 400 mg three times per day. Oral chondroitin sulfate is
rapidly absorbed in humans when it is dissolved in water prior to ingestion. Approximately 12%
of chondroitin sulfate taken by mouth becomes available to the joint tissues from the
Are there any side effects or interactions?
Nausea may occur at intakes greater than 10 grams per day. No other adverse effects have
One doctor has raised a concern that chondroitin sulfate should not be used by men with prostate cancer. This concern is based upon two
studies. In one, the concentration of chondroitin sulfate was found to be higher in cancerous
prostate tissue as compared to normal prostate tissue.2 In the other study, it was
shown that higher concentrations of chondroitin sulfate in the tissue surrounding a cancerous
prostate tumor predict a higher rate of recurrence of the cancer after surgery.3 However, no studies
to date have addressed the question of whether taking chondroitin sulfate supplements could
promote the development of prostate cancer. Simply because a substance is present in or around
cancerous tissue does not by itself suggest that that substance is causing the cancer. For
example, calcium is a component of
atherosclerotic plaques that harden the arteries; however, there is no evidence that taking
calcium supplements causes atherosclerosis. To provide meaningful information, further studies
would need to track the incidence of prostate cancer in men taking chondroitin supplements.
Until then, most nutritionally-oriented doctors remain unconcerned about this issue.
It is not known whether taking glucosamine
sulfate and chondroitin sulfate in combination is a more effective treatment for osteoarthritis than taking either one by itself.
At the time of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions
with chondroitin sulfate.
1. Ronca F, Palmieri L, Panicucci P, Ronca G. Anti-inflammatory activity
of chondroitin sulfate. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 1998;6(Supplement
2. De Klerk DP, Lee DV, Human HJ. Glycosaminoglycans of human prostatic
cancer. J Urol 1984;131:1008–12.
3. Ricciardelli C, Quinn DI, Raymond WA, et al. Elevated levels of
peritumoral chondroitin sulfate are predictive of poor prognosis in patients treated by
radical prostatectomy for early-stage prostate cancer. Cancer Res


Cambrian predator had killer eyes
View to a kill A fearsome predator that swam in the Cambrian oceans was in fact a metre-long arthropod with killer vision, say researchers.
Palaeontologist Dr John Paterson, from the University of New England, and colleagues, have discovered the fossilised remains of compound eyes from a creature called anomalocaris.
"The fact that each eye in anomalocaris would have had over 16,000 lenses, means it would have very, very good resolution," says Paterson, whose work is published today in the journal Nature.
"When you consider that a modern housefly, for example, has about 3000 lenses, it's pretty impressive that an animal half a billion years old already has remarkable vision like this."
Around 500 million years ago, during the Cambrian, large alien-like creatures began to resemble modern animals, says Paterson.
"But you still had the odd freak swimming around," he says, referring to the metre-long free-swimming anomalocaris.
"It's an animal that's on its way to becoming an arthropod from an evolutionary point of view," says Paterson.
The creature would have propelled itself through the water by moving flaps down the length of its body in a wave-like pattern, he says.
It had a soft shrimp-like exoskeleton and fierce grasping claws and would have dined on soft-bodied organisms such as worms.
But anomalocaris has presented a bit of puzzle to scientists because while it looked like it might be an arthropod, it was missing certain attributes.
Arthropods include animals with jointed legs such as insects, spiders, crustaceans and millipedes.
"But when you look at anomalocaris, it doesn't actually have any jointed legs," says Paterson.
Now, the discovery of fossilised compound eyes belonging to the animal has confirmed it is indeed an arthropod.
"Compound eyes are actually a definitive arthropod characteristic or trait," says Paterson.
The fossilised eyes were discovered alongside remains of the grasping claws and the body flaps in shale at Emu Bay on the northern coast of Kangaroo Island, off South Australia.
The soft tissue of the compound eyes were slowly replaced by a mineral called pyrite in a low oxygen sediment, says Paterson.
The discovery supports the idea that compound eyes evolved very early on in arthropod evolution, before the evolution of jointed legs or hardened exoskeletons.
The surprisingly sophisticated eyes of anomalocaris are rivalled only by modern dragonflies, which can have up to about 28,000 lenses in each eye, says Patterson.
"Dragonflies are known for their exceptional vision," he says.
Lenses in a compound eye can be likened to pixels on a computer screen and the more lenses you have the better the resolution.
The small size of the lenses in the anomalocaris eyes suggests the animal would have lived in well-lit waters and had a major advantage over its prey.
"The little that we do know about the contemporaries of anomalocaris, they either had fairly poor eyesight or they were completely blind," says Paterson.
He says the presence of anomalocaris would have driven the development of protective adaptations in prey animals, and in turn, counter adaptations in predators.
Such an escalatory 'arms race' would have seen, for example, the evolution of such adaptations in prey as shells, camouflage and burrowing into sediments.
Paterson now hopes to find the remains of even more Cambrian creatures in the Emu Bay Shale.
"It would be great to find a hybrid that looked like anomalocaris but it had walking legs. That would be a beautiful missing link," he says.


A couple of months or so ago, I began talking about SQL functions and what they're used for. This article picks up where I left off. It defines the two types of functions, and begins to explain them in great detail.
Poor Arnold; in addition to being vertically challenged, he was also beset with frequent ear infections, and never knew what his brother Willis was talking about. Fortunately for him, Mr. Drummond was looted up, and all Arnold really needed to understand was that money talks. And when Arnold wanted to count the oodles of money he would have once old man Drummond kicked the bucket, well...he could have used Aggregate functions to help with that.
An aggregate function helps summarize large volumes (or even small ones, really) of data. If you have a collection of phone numbers you've collected and want to know how many you have (let's face it, you're a programmer, so you don't) or you want to get a count on the number of days you've spent alone and eating a giant bag of Doritos, you could do just that.
(Just as a side note: the word "Doritos" is actually in the built-in spell check of Microsoft Word).
Below is a list of some aggregate functions and what they can do:
What it Does
Gives you the average value of the column
Counts the number of rows with data in a column
Counts the number of selected rows
Gives the value of the first record in a specified field
Gives the value of the last record in a specified field
Gives the maximum value in a column
Gives the minimum value in a column
Sums up the value of a column
I don't have to tell you what average means; you've been that way your entire life. I mean come on, you're no James Marsden. And if you are, please don't sue me for using your name.
The average function in SQL returns the average value of a given column. Let's say we have a table that lists a person's name, age, and salary and we want to see the average age of the employees listed in the database. Want to follow along? Okay, go ahead and create a table named Employees with the data below:
King Kong Wong
Clearly this company has an age discrimination suit waiting to happen. But never mind that for now. I think our table lists a realistic situation, don't you? Coincidentally, all names are fictitious, and any resemblance to real names is purely coincidental.
Here's the code for the average age:
Select AVG(Age) from Employees
This would result in the answer: 45.75.
Now let's say you are gearing up for that age discrimination lawsuit and need some more data to back you up. Let's say you want to see the average salary of anyone over 30 years old:
Select AVG(Salary) From Employees WHERE Age>30
Your answer would be $31,000. You might also wish to see the average salary of those under thirty. To do that, simply reverse the criteria:
Select AVG(Salary) From Employees WHERE Age<30
Which results in: $90,000. A clear case for age discrimination.


16. Granitic Intrusion, Chanaral, Chile
The light-toned circular area at the right center of the photograph is a Paleozoic granodiorite exposed near the Pacific coast of Chile at Chanaral. The Humboldt current flowing northward along the coast gives rise to cool onshore breezes. As these move overland, they warm up, and are capable of carrying more water vapor; thus they have a very drying effect and are responsible for the long thin Atacama Desert, which extends all the way along the coast of South America from Central Chile to Ecuador. The desert is one of the driest in the world, and the absence of soil or vegetation makes it ideal for investigation using satellite remote sensing techniques.
The pale tones of the intrusion contrast sharply with the darker tones of the metamorphic basement, enabling rapid mapping. A swarm of mafic dikes cuts the intrusion, and some of the larger dikes, with northeast trend, are just visible. The valley just south of the intrusion contains a stream draining from the large porphyry copper mine at El Salvador. The stream and the beach at Chanaral on which it debouches are grossly polluted with mineral residues.
STS-8, August-September 1983. Picture #8-50-1798.


It took quite a bit of convincing before Mey Som agreed to be the first Cambodian to try the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in 2000. But in the end, Som relented and, on a small plot of land, planted rice in a way that went against all his experience and instincts.
Following the advice of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, or CEDAC, Som abandoned his use of chemicals in favor of organic fertilizer. He planted fewer seeds and spaced them widely apart. He kept the soil moist—without flooding it. He transplanted the rice seedlings while they were young and took the time to weed. Halfway through that first season, Som noticed his rice plants were growing bigger and stronger.
"The same seeds used to produce plants that came up to my knees," he said. "Now they reach above my head."
Since Som's experiment, CEDAC has trained more than 60,000 Cambodian farmers to modify their farming techniques to correspond with SRI. Like farmers in Madagascar, China, and Bangladesh, they have increased their yields by 50 to 100 percent, and sometimes more.
Yang Saing Koma, the president of CEDAC, better known as "Dr. Koma," calls it the "Root Revolution," and eventually he wants the majority of Cambodia's rice farmers to have joined in.
"It's just a question of changing your attitude and thinking," he said. "Conventional agriculture just looks at the plant above ground. With SRI, you look at the roots—big, strong roots."
A new method takes off
Using grants from Oxfam America totaling about $222,000 since 2003, CEDAC has used SRI to build financial and food security in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries. More than 70 percent of the workforce depends on agriculture to make a living—most of them, rice farmers.
Dr. Koma says it's like a metaphor for human development. If you give people enough room to grow, they flourish. If you plant seedlings far enough apart, the seedlings sprout several stalks and the stalks produce hundreds of grains of rice.
He first learned about SRI after reading a magazine article chronicling the experiences of farmers in Madagascar. Jesuit priest Father Henri de Laulanié spent 20 years working with Malagasy farmers, refining a set of practices that required less land, seed, water, and money.
At first, the Cambodian farmers who are approached by CEDAC about trying SRI had trouble believing what they were hearing. Some even ridiculed the farmers who tried the new method.
When So Tith began planting through SRI three years ago, his neighbors saw him pressing fewer seeds into the soil and pitied him, thinking he couldn't afford to buy more. "They offered to give me some of their seed," he said.
Even after Tith's new stalks began to grow, his neighbors wouldn't attribute their sturdiness to SRI. They attributed it to "trickery" instead. But Tith didn't mind, for in a couple years these same doubters would end up changing their practices, and more important, their minds.
Accustomed to using oxen and carts to take water to their fields, they now fill jugs and carry them on their shoulders to small plots of land near their homes. They plant during the wet and dry seasons, doubling their production and incomes.
"Daily life is better than before," said Sorn Ton, another rice farmer who adopted SRI. "When we used to farm, there wasn't enough rice to support the family for the whole year. We had to borrow money to buy rice from others in the village. Now my family has enough to eat."
The farmers use the extra profits to invest in more rice seed, send their children to school, and participate in the simple joys of everyday life—the religious and family ceremonies, the weddings and festivals.
All this from a little bit of creative thinking informed by the people who work the land themselves.
"Throughout Cambodia, the farmers who adopted SRI—they have more self confidence. They see what they can get from what they do," Dr. Koma said.


May 16, 2002 A region in the western tropical Pacific Ocean may help scientists understand how Venus lost all of its water and became a 900-degree inferno. The study of this local phenomenon by NASA scientists also should help researchers understand what conditions on Earth might lead to a similar fate here.
The phenomenon, called the ‘runaway greenhouse’ effect, occurs when a planet absorbs more energy from the sun than it can radiate back to space. Under these circumstances, the hotter the surface temperature gets, the faster it warms up. Scientists detect the signature of a runaway greenhouse when planetary heat loss begins to drop as surface temperature rises. Only one area on Earth – the western Pacific ‘warm pool’ just northeast of Australia – exhibits this signature. Because the warm pool covers only a small fraction of the Earth’s surface, the Earth as a whole never actually ‘runs away.’ However, scientists believe Venus did experience a global runaway greenhouse effect about 3 billion to 4 billion years ago.
"Soon after the planets were formed 4.5 billion years ago, Earth, Venus and Mars probably all had water. How did Earth manage to hold onto all of its water, while Venus apparently lost all of its water?" asked Maura Rabbette, Earth and planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. "We have extensive earth science data to help address that question."
Rabbette and her co-investigators from NASA Ames, Christopher McKay, Peter Pilewskie and Richard Young, used atmospheric conditions above the Pacific Ocean, including data recorded by NASA’s Earth Observing System of satellites, to create a computer model of the runaway greenhouse effect. They determined that water vapor high in the atmosphere produced the local signature of a runaway greenhouse.
At sea surface temperatures above 80 F (27 C), evaporation loads the atmosphere with a critical amount of water vapor, one of the most efficient greenhouse gases. Water vapor allows solar radiation from the sun to pass through, but it absorbs a large portion of the infrared radiation coming from the Earth. If enough water vapor enters the troposphere, the weather layer of the atmosphere, it will trap thermal energy coming from the Earth, increasing the sea surface temperature even further.
The effect should result in a chain reaction loop where sea surface temperature increases, leading to increased atmospheric water vapor that leads to more trapped thermal energy. This would cause the temperature increase to ‘run away,’ causing more and more water loss through evaporation from the ocean. Luckily for Earth, sea surface temperatures never reach more than about 87 F (30.5 C), and so the runaway phenomenon does not occur.
"It’s very intriguing. What is limiting this effect over the warm pool of the Pacific?" asked Young, a planetary scientist. He suggests that cloud cover may affect how much energy reaches or escapes Earth, or that the ocean and atmosphere may transport trapped energy away from the local hotspot. "If we can model the outgoing energy flux, then maybe we can begin to understand what limits sea surface temperature on Earth," he said. The Ames researchers are not the first to study the phenomenon, but no consensus has been reached regarding the energy turnover or the limitation of sea surface temperature.
Rabbette analyzed clear-sky data above the tropical Pacific from March 2000 to July 2001. She determined that water vapor above 5 kilometers (3 miles) altitude in the atmosphere contributes significantly to the runaway greenhouse signature. She found that at 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) above the Pacific warm pool, the relative humidity in the atmosphere can be greater than 70 percent - more than three times the normal range. In nearby regions of the Pacific where the sea surface temperature is just a few degrees cooler, the atmospheric relative humidity is only 20 percent. These drier regions of the neighboring atmosphere may contribute to stabilizing the local runaway greenhouse effect, Rabbette said.
It is important to note that the Ames team uses real climate information such as relative humidity and temperature–not hypothetical numbers–in the Moderate Resolution Atmospheric Radiative Transfer, or MODTRAN, modeling program. The program calculates how much energy escapes back to space from the top of Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers plan to experiment with the model to test the runaway greenhouse signature’s sensitivity to climate conditions. By varying the abundance of other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and by adding clouds in the model, they will see the overall effect on the outgoing energy.
The model may help researchers uncover why Venus experienced a complete runaway greenhouse and lost its water over a period of several hundred million to a billion years. The research may also help determine which planets in the so-called ‘habitable zone’ of a solar system might lack water, an essential ingredient for life as we know it.
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