سایت تحصيلات عالی فهرست برترین دانشگاه‌های جهان در سال 2009 را ارائه كرد

دانشگاه هاروارد كماكان در صدر قرار دارد و دانشگاه تهران يك صعود چشمگیر  117 پله‌ای داشته و در رده 368 قرار گرفته است.

لیست 200 دانشگاه برتر جهان توسط سایت معتبر Times Higher Education یا THE منتشر شد و دانشگاه هاروارد به عنوان ‌برترین دانشگاه جهان در سال 2009، نشان داد به این زودی‌ها قصد واگذار کردن مقام خود را به عنوان برترین جهان به دانشگاهی دیگر ندارد.

از نکات جالب توجه دیگر در این جدول صعود 117 پله‌ای دانشگاه تهران نسبت به سال گذشته و قرار گرفتن در رتبه 368 جدول در کنار دانشگاه جورجیا و شووای ژاپن است.

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با دقت به شکل نگاه کن.

مي توني جواب بدي؟

(جواب هاي ممکن چپ يا راست هست)
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هنوز نمي دوني؟




باشه، من بهت ميگم.




بچه هاي پيش دبستاني همگي جواب دادند : «چپ»




وقتي ازشون پرسيدن : «چرا فکر مي کنيد اتوبوس داره به طرف چپ ميره؟»



اونا جواب دادن :

«چون تو نمي توني در رو ببيني.»



الآن چه احساسي داري؟؟؟
مي دونم، منم همينطور.

پژوهشگران می گویند کسانی که بیماری های جدی قلبی و عروقی ندارند، نباید برای جلوگیری از حمله قلبی و سکته مغزی آسپرین مصرف کنند.

از مطالعه ای که در این باره صورت گرفته، چنین نتیجه گیری می شود که مصرف آسپرین می تواند موجب خونریزی جدی داخلی شود و همچنین مانع مرگ های ناشی از بیماری های قلبی و عروقی نیز نمی شود.

پژوهشگرانی که در این بررسی شرکت داشته اند توصیه می کنند که پزشکان باید وضع تمام بیمارانی را که در حال حاضر برای جلوگیری از ناراحتی های قلبی آسپرین مصرف می کنند، بررسی کنند.

کالج سلطنتی پزشکان خانواده، در بریتانیا این توصیه را تایید کرده است.

استفاده از آسپرین با دوز پایین در کسانی که دارای بیماری های قلبی و عروقی هستند و دچار سکته قلبی یا مغزی شده اند برای جلوگیری از تشدید این بیماری ها توصیه می شود.

ولی در بریتانیا هزاران نفر معتقدند که مصرف آسپرین برای جلوگیری از دچار شدن به این بیماری ها موثر است.

در فاصله سال های 2005 و 2008 استفاده از آسپرین به منظور جلوگیری از بیماری های قلبی در چند گروه از بیمارانی که سابقه بیماری های قلبی نداشتند توصیه شده بود.

اشخاص 50 سال به بالایی که دچار دیابت نوع 2 بودند و نیز کسانی که فشار خونشان بالا بود، از افرادی بودند که استفاده از آسپرین به آنان توصیه می شد.

ولی نتیجه مطالعاتی که بر روی 95 هزار بیمار صورت گرفته و اکنون در نشریه پزشکی لانست، چاپ شده از این توصیه به دلیل عارضه جدی خونریزی معده برای این گروه از مصرف کنندگان آسپرین، حمایت نمی کند.

به خصوص که تاثیر مصرف آن در جلوگیری از مرگ بیماران چندان قابل توجه نیست.

پرفسور استیو فیلد، رئیس کالج سلطنتی پزشکان خانواده در بریتانیا این یافته ها را تایید کرده و درخواست کرده دستورالعمل موجود در باره مصرف آسپرین اصلاح شود.

بنیاد قلب بریتانیا می گوید: "ما به مردم توصیه می کنیم که قبل از مشورت با پزشک خود، آسپرین را به طور روزانه مصرف نکنند. بهترین راه برای کاهش خطر بیماری قلبی سیگار نکشیدن، مصرف غذاهایی که چربی اشباع شده اش کم است، خوردن میوه و سبزیجات و نیز فعالیت های منظم بدنی است.

The risk of cancer can be dramatically reduced through everyday choices about diet, exercise and tobacco use, according to a Special Report on Cancer Prevention in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.
Evidence suggests that one-third of the more than 560,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States annually are related to diet, exercise and weight. Another one-third of annual cancer deaths are related to tobacco exposure. The eight-page Special Report examines the science and latest findings on 10 approaches that can make a real difference in preventing cancer. Here are some highlights from the list:
1. Don't smoke: The risk of smoking-related cancers increases with the length of time a person has smoked and the number of cigarettes smoked. The most common cancer associated with smoking is lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death among American women and men. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung and other cancers -- regardless of the number of years of smoking.
2. Eat fruits and vegetables: The American Cancer Society recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily because they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other substances that lower the risk of cancer. In recent years, some studies have indicated that the association between eating fruits and vegetables and lower cancer risk isn't as strong as once thought. Most experts still believe that a plant-based diet is one of the best ways to protect overall health.
3. Limit fat in the diet: Studies suggest that high-fat diets or high intakes of certain types of fat may be linked to several types of cancer, including colon, lung and postmenopausal breast cancer. The reason may be that high-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and increase the risk of obesity. More study is needed to better understand which types of fat should be avoided and how much of each alters cancer risk.
Current guidelines recommend keeping fat intake between 20 and 30 percent of total daily calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.
4. Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese can increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer as well as cancers of the colon, endometrium, esophagus and kidney. There's evidence that obesity increases the risk of cancers of the prostate, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, stomach, ovary and cervix. Some studies estimate that excess weight is a factor in 14 to 20 percent of all cancer-related deaths in American adults.
5. Be physically active: Evidence increasingly suggests that people who are physically active have lower risk of some cancers than those who are more sedentary. From 45 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day, on most days of the week, is considered optimal to reduce the risk of breast and colorectal cancers.
6. Curb alcohol consumption: Alcohol consumption increases the risks of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum. Women should limit themselves to no more than one alcoholic beverage a day. Men should have no more than two.
7. Limit exposure to radiation: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which comes from the sun, sunlamps or commercial tanning beds, is the primary cause of skin cancer, the most common of all cancers.
8. Protect against infection: Infections caused by viruses are recognized as risk factors for several types of cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease, is the most common cause of cervical cancer. Chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C increase the risk of liver cancer. They are most often spread through contact with contaminated blood, from contaminated needles or by having unprotected sex. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, also increases the risk of several types of cancer. It's most commonly transmitted by unprotected sex or sharing of needles.
9. Consider chemoprevention: Chemoprevention is the use of natural or synthetic compounds to reduce the risk of cancer or its recurrence. Tamoxifen, prescribed to prevent breast cancer in high-risk women, is the best known chemoprevention agent. A caution: chemoprevention drugs can have serious side effects.
10. Get recommended screening exams: Pap tests, mammograms, colonoscopies and other routine screenings can't prevent cancer. But screenings can help find cancers early, when treatment is most likely to be successful.

source: Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource

وزیران بهداشت کشورهای سراسر جهان در آدیس آبابا پایتخت اتیوپی، گرد آمده اند تا معضل شمار فزاینده مرگ زنان در دوره بارداری و در حین زایمان را بررسی کنند.

In a remarkable study in Sweden, dentists have led the way in a study designed to spot the early-warning signs of cardiovascular disease - which can lead to heart attacks.
The study published in this month's Journal of the American Dental Association enrolled 200 patients who were selected to make sure that the results were truly independent and reliable; patients had to be forty five years or older with no previous record of taking medication for hypertension and no visits to a health care professional during the preceding 12 months during which glucose levels, total cholesterol levels or blood pressure had been assessed.
The purpose of the study was to produce a HeartScore for each patient using a computerised system that calculates a percentage risk of that patient dying from cardiovascular disease in the next ten years. Patients with a HeartScore of ten per cent or higher were recommended to seek medical advice.
The patients were interviewed some six to twelve months after the study to discover how many of them had undergone a medical referral. Over fifty per cent who had a HeartScore of ten per cent or higher were found to have sought medical advice and received prescriptions for anti hypertensive medications.
The authors of the study conclude 'Dentists are health care professionals who are used to performing risk assessment to ascertain patients' oral health. Oral health care professionals can identify patients who are unaware of their risk of developing serious complications as a result of CVD and who are in need of medical intervention.'
With emerging data suggesting an association between oral and non-oral diseases and with the possibility of performing chairside screening tests for diseases such as CVD and diabetes mellitus, oral health care professionals may find themselves in an opportune position to enhance the overall health and well-being of their patients.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of British Dental Health Foundation, the largest independent dental charity in the UK commented:
"Over the last few years there have been many studies published on the links between good oral health and general health with people with gum disease experiencing higher levels of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and low birth weight babies. This new study could put the dentist at the forefront of the fight against cardiovascular disease one of the biggest killers in the UK.
The majority of the population attend the dentist much more frequently than they do their doctor so placing the dentist at the centre of a preventive approach to help prevent heart disease would make a lot of sense.
Screening in dental practice for risk factors for cardiovascular disease could both help to reduce the huge burden heart disease represents to the health service and would link in with a preventive approach to reduce gum disease and improve overall health and wellbeing.
It is important across all areas of health to take a preventive approach rather than just to treat symptoms when they arise, a message that applies equally to dental health."

محققان آمریکایی می گویند مواد شیمیایی موجود در پلاستیک، بر مغز پسر بچه ها تاثیر گذاشته و رفتار آنها را "زنانه" می کند.

طبق این مقاله جنین هایی که از طریق رحم مادر در معرض میزان بیشتری از این گونه مواد قرار می گیرند، تمایل کمتری به بازی با اسباب بازی هایی مانند ماشین، قطار، تفنگ و به طور کلی بازی های "خشن تر" مانند جنگیدن، نشان می دهند.

در این مقاله که در مجله بین المللی آندرولوژی به چاپ رسیده است، نسبت به مضرات فتالیت های موجود در کفپوش های وینیل و پلیمرهای پلاستیکی (پی وی سی) استفاده شده در پرده های حمام، ابراز نگرانی شده است.

از آنجایی که این فتالیت ها می توانند اختلالات هورمونی ایجاد کنند، چندین سال است که استفاده از آنها در اسباب بازی هایی که در اتحادیه اروپا به فروش می رسد، ممنوع شده است. هر چند که هنوز در بسیاری از لوازم خانگی از جمله لوازم پلاستیکی و ظروف بسته بندی به وفور استفاده می شود.

فتالیت ها که انواع مختلف دارند می توانند ویژگی های هورمون استروژن زنان را تقلید کنند.

این گروه محققان که از دانشگاه روچستر هستند، اثبات کرده اند جنین هایی که از طریق مادر در معرض این مواد قرار می گیرند، در هنگام تولد ناهنجاری هایی در اعضای تناسلی شان دیده می شود. آنها همچنین گفته اند که برخی از فتالیت ها با مختل کردن عملکرد هورمون تستسترون، بر مغز هم تاثیر می گذارند.

دکتر شانا سوان و گروه تحقیقاتی او، از طریق آزمایش ادرار مادران در اواسط دوره بارداری، میزان فتالیت موجود در بدن آنها را اندازه گیری کرده اند.

در این آزمایش، 145 مادر، به همراه کودکانشان مورد آزمایش قرار گرفتند که از این تعداد 74 کودک پسر و 71 کودک دختر بودند. این کودکان پس از تولد، در سن 4 تا 7 سالگی در مورد انتخاب اسباب بازی و همچنین بازی های مورد علاقه شان مورد مطالعه قرار گرفتند.

شانا سوان اذعان کرد که پسر بچه های مورد مطالعه خردسال بوده اند، اما گفت علاقه کمتر آنها به بازی های پسرانه ممکن است بر رشد و نمو آنها در سنین بالاتر اثر بگذارد و آنها در آینده رفتاری "زنانه" از خود نشان دهند.

source: BBC

Denmark is a big shame The sea is stained in red and in the mean while it’s not because of the climate effects of nature.

It’s because of the cruelty that the human beings (civilized human) kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins.

This happens every year in Faeroe island in Denmark . In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.
WHY?
To show that they are adults and mature…. Bullish

In this big celebration, nothing is missing for the fun. Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator”

Is it necessary to mention that the dolphin Calderon, like all the other species of dolphins, it’s near extinction and they get near men to play and interact. In a way of PURE friendship

They don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hocks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child.

But he suffers and there’s no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood

Its enough!
We will send this mail until this email arrives in any association defending the animals, we won’t only read. That would make us accomplices, viewers.

Take care of the world, it is your home!

While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.
For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 patients who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. The participants had their blood Vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. The patients were divided into three groups based on their Vitamin D levels - normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml), or very low (less than 15 ng/ml). The patients were then followed to see if they developed some form of heart disease.
Researchers found that patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 78 percent were more likely to have a stroke than patients with normal levels. Patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure than those with normal Vitamin D levels.
Findings from the study were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Conference on Monday, Nov. 16 in Orlando, Florida.
"This was a unique study because the association between Vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease has not been well-established," says Brent Muhlestein, MD, director of cardiovascular research of the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center and one of the authors of the new study. "Its conclusions about how we can prevent disease and provide treatment may ultimately help us save more lives."
A wealth of research has already shown that Vitamin D is involved in the body's regulation of calcium, which strengthens bones - and as a result, its deficiency is associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Recently, studies have also linked Vitamin D to the regulation of many other bodily functions including blood pressure, glucose control, and inflammation, all of which are important risk factors related to heart disease. From these results, scientists have postulated that Vitamin D deficiency may also be linked to heart disease itself.
"Utah's population gave us a unique pool of patients whose health histories are different than patients in previous studies," Dr. Muhlestein says. "For example, because of Utah's low use of tobacco and alcohol, we were able to narrow the focus of the study to the effects of Vitamin D on the cardiovascular system."
The results were quite surprising and very important, says Heidi May, PhD, MS, an epidemiologist with the Intermountain Medical Center research team and one of the study authors.
"We concluded that among patients 50 years of age or older, even a moderate deficiency of Vitamin D levels was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and death," she says. "This is important because Vitamin D deficiency is easily treated. If increasing levels of Vitamin D can decrease some risk associated with these cardiovascular diseases, it could have a significant public health impact. When you consider that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America, you understand how this research can help improve the length and quality of people's lives."
Because the study was only observational, definitive links between Vitamin D deficiency and heart disease could not be assigned - but the findings create an impetus for further study, says Dr. Muhlestein.
"We believe the findings are important enough to now justify randomized treatment trials of supplementation in patients with Vitamin D deficiency to determine for sure whether it can reduce the risk of heart disease," he says.

The retina is a thin layer of nerve cells lining the inside back wall of the eye. The retina is essential to see properly. It turns the light that enters the eye into an image by sending a message along the optic nerve to the brain.
When this layer becomes separated from the inner wall of the eye, it is called retinal detachment. The retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. If this is not treated, it usually leads to blindness in the affected eye. Retinal detachment is a medical emergency requiring prompt surgical treatment to preserve vision.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, retinal detachment is "loss of apposition between the sensory retina and the retinal pigment epithelium."
Fortunately, retinal detachment often has clear warning signs. Seeing an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) as soon as warning signs appear, early diagnosis and treatment of retinal detachment can save vision.
Retinal detachment normally occurs in only one eye.
Retinal detachment is rare and can affect anyone but is more common in people who:

• are short-sighted
• have had complicated cataract surgery in the past
• have suffered an important blow or injury to the eye in the past
• have diabetes

Usually, the retina becomes detached if there are one or more holes in it. Retinal detachment can be treated with surgery to seal the holes and reattach the retina.

What are the signs and symptoms of a detached retina?

A symptom is something the patient feels and reports, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. For example, pain may be a symptom while a rash may be a sign.
Retinal detachment is painless. Almost always visual symptoms appear before it occurs. Warning signs include:

• Shadow, veil or black curtain over a portion of the visual field
• Sudden appearance of floaters, small bits of debris in the field of vision (dark spots or strings that seem to float before the eyes)
• Sudden blur in vision
• Sudden flashes of light in one or both eyes
• Vision may become cloudy as small blood vessels bleed

Seek immediate medical attention if suddenly there is an increase in floaters or flashes of light in the visual field.
Often, people do not realize the urgency of the warning signs of retinal detachment and hope that symptoms will disappear. In some cases, symptoms temporarily weaken only to be followed by a loss of vision over the next few days or weeks. At the stage of advanced retinal detachment, surgery is not always successful and vision loss may be permanent.
It is normal to see the occasional floater, but floaters and flashes may be a sign of retinal detachment.  These signs do not always mean the retina has detached. Prompt treatment for retinal detachment minimizes damage to the eye.

What are the causes of retinal detachment?

There are several common causes of retinal detachment.
1)Holes or tears in the retina.
This often occurs when the retina becomes thin, particularly among people who are short-sighted. When the retina has holes in it, fluid in the eye can leak underneath the retina and separate it from the lining of the eye.
2)Conditions and injuries, such as:

• Advanced diabetes
• Complications of surgery for cataract
• Trauma
• An inflammatory disorder, such as sarcoidosis or cytomegalovirus retinitis
• Sagging or shrinkage of the jelly-like vitreous that fills the inside of the eye

Retinal detachment cannot be caused by heavy lifting or by straining your eyes. 

3)Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD)

This common condition is also called vitreous collapse. With age, vitreous may change in consistency and shrink or become more liquid. PVD usually does not cause serious problems, but it can cause visual symptoms (flashes of sparkling lights when eyes are closed, floaters).
Most retinal tears caused by PVD lead to retinal detachment if left untreated. Detachments that go undetected and untreated can progress and eventually involve the entire retina, causing complete loss of vision in the affected eye.

What are the risk factors of retinal detachment?

A risk factor is something which raises the likelihood of developing a disease or condition. For example, obesity increases the risk of developing diabetes type 2; therefore, obesity is a risk factor for diabetes.
The following factors increase the risk of retinal detachment:

• A family history of retinal detachment
• Aging (retinal detachment is more common in people older than age 40)
• Extreme nearsightedness (myopia)
• Previous eye surgery (such as cataract removal)
• Previous retinal detachment in one eye
• Previous severe eye injury or trauma
• Weak areas on the sides of the retina

How is retinal detachment diagnosed?

By looking at the retina with an ophthalmoscope, an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) may be able to see a retinal hole, tear or detachment.
If blood in the vitreous cavity blocks the view of the retina, an ultrasound examination may provide useful information.

What is the treatment for retinal detachment?

If retinal detachment has occurred, the only way of reattaching the retina is with surgery. Without it, a complete loss of vision is almost certain.
Surgery for retinal tears

When a retinal tear or hole has not yet progressed to detachment, the following procedures may be recommended:

• Laser surgery (photocoagulation). A laser beam is directed through a contact lens or ophthalmoscope designed for this procedure. The laser makes burns around the retinal tear, and results in scarring tissue. This procedure requires no surgical incision and causes little irritation to the eye. 

• Freezing (cryopexy). Cryopexy uses intense cold to freeze the retina around the retinal tear. After a local anesthetic a freezing probe is applied to the outer surface of the eye directly over the retinal defect. This freezes the area around the hole, leaving a delicate scar that helps secure the retina to the eye wall. This procedure is used for hard-to-reach tears, generally along the retinal edge. It may result in redness and inflammation of the eye for some time.

Surgery for retinal detachment

There are three different surgical procedures used to repair a retinal detachment. They may be done in conjunction with photocoagulation or cryopexy. The type, size and location of any retinal detachment will determine which surgical approach is recommended. Generally, these surgeries successfully treat more than 90 percent of cases of retinal detachment. Sometimes a second treatment is necessary. It may be done under a general or a local anesthetic and may require a hospital stay of one or two days.
Pneumatic retinopexy: This outpatient procedure is recommended for a relatively uncomplicated detachment with the tear located in the upper half of the retina. It is usually done under local anesthesia. The procedure often starts with cryopexy to treat the retinal tear. A bubble of expandable gas is injected into the vitreous cavity. Over the next several days, the gas bubble expands, sealing the retinal tear by pushing against it and the detached area that surrounds the tear. The retina is able to reattach itself to the back wall of the eye. The gas eventually disappears after several weeks.
Scleral buckling: Fine bands of silicone rubber or sponge are stitched onto the outside white of the eye (the sclera) in the area where the retina has detached. Laser or freezing treatment is used to scar the tissue around the retina. The bands can be left on the eye and should not be noticeable after the operation.
Vitrectomy: The vitreous (jelly-like substance) from the inside of the eye is removed and replaced with either a gas or silicone bubble. This holds the retina in position from the inside. Tiny dissolving stitches are used to close the wound.
Tears and holes can be treated before detachment develops. Retinal holes or tears can be sealed using either lasers or cryotherapy (freezing treatment). These procedures can be used after scleral buckling, to seal a detached retina to the wall of the eye, or as a treatment on its own (using local anesthetic) to seal a small hole or tear and prevent retinal detachment from happening. Both lasers and cryotherapy work by making the eye create scar tissue that seals the hole or the gap between the detached retina and lining of the eye.
After the procedure, the patient will be asked to keep their head in a certain position and to avoid travel by air for a while.
Possible complications
There is a small chance of developing complications during or after surgery. There are not common and can usually be treated. They include:

• a cataract (cloudy lens)
• allergy to the medicine used
• bleeding inside the eye
• bruising around the eye
• double vision
• high pressure or swelling inside the eye (glaucoma)
• immune system reaction that affects the other eye (this is extremely rare)
• infection in the eye (although, this is very rare)
• more holes in the retina

Sometimes, more than one operation may be needed to fix the retina. Surgery is not always successful in reattaching the retina. Vision after surgery depends in part on whether the central part of the retina (macula) was affected by the detachment before surgery, and for how long.
Vision may take many months to improve after repair of a complicated retinal detachment. Some people do not recover any lost vision.

Recovering from retinal detachment 
After the operation, eyelids may feel itchy and sticky. There may be some bruising around the eye. Any discomfort should go away after a couple of days. Simple painkillers can be recommended to relieve the discomfort.
A day after the operation, eye drops will be given to reduce the swelling and prevent infection. It is important not to rub the eye while it heals, which will usually take two to six weeks.  Vision will be very blurry for a while. This is only temporary.
Eyesight cannot always be completely restored. This depends largely on how much of the retina was detached and for how long.
Any of the following symptoms after the operation should be cause for alarm:

• A very painful eye.
• Loss of vision.
• Increasing redness in the eye.

How is retinal detachment prevented?

There is no way to prevent retinal detachment. However, being aware of the warning signs of a detached retina is essential: an increased number of floaters, bright flashes of light, or a shadow or curtain falling across visual field. Contact your ophthalmologist immediately if you notice any of the warning signs of retinal detachment, particularly if you are over the age of 40, if there is family history of detached retina, or you are extremely nearsighted.

A team of U.S., Canadian and Italian scientists led by researchers at Johns Hopkins report evidence from studies in animals and humans supporting a link between Alzheimer's disease and chronic heart failure, two of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States.
The international team of biochemists and cardiologists say they have identified three changes in the chemical make-up of a key structural protein, called desmin, in heart muscle cells in dogs. The changes led to the formation of debris-like protein clusters, or amyloid-like oligomers containing desmin, in heart muscle, similar to the amyloid plaques seen in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. The protein alterations, which were reversed by surgically repairing the heart, occurred at the onset of heart failure. Further experiments by the Hopkins scientists found the same chemical modifications to desmin in the heart muscle in four people already diagnosed with the disease.
Misshaped desmin proteins and amyloid-like debris had been previously reported in 2005 in mice genetically altered to develop chronic heart failure, providing the first biological link between the two chronic diseases. Studies since have also reported desmin changes in failing animal hearts, but none detailed what the chemical changes were or how they might affect organ function.
Researchers say their latest analysis, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, is believed to be the first to tie common underlying structural changes in desmin to malformations observed in the heart as it weakens, strains to pump blood and starts to fail. Their results are also believed to be the first to suggest that toxic, desmin-like amyloids could form in response to stress placed on the heart.
"Our study leads us to believe that desmin plays a key role in heart failure," says lead study investigator and protein biochemist Giulio Agnetti, Ph.D. "Now we have a chemical target to research further and help us investigate what could be the underlying biological cause of heart failure and if it is like Alzheimer's, an amyloid-related disease."
"Just as significantly, our study raises the prospect of testing new treatment options for heart failure by moving beyond treating symptoms of the disease and getting to the root of the matter, preventing these desmin amyloids from forming and impairing heart function from the start," says Agnetti, a postdoctoral research fellow. Symptoms of heart failure may include fatigue, shortness of breath and enlargement of the heart.
Agnetti's work has been recognized at the heart meeting, where he is a finalist for the inaugural Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council's Young Investigator Award.
The team's latest investigation began with an analysis of proteins contained in heart tissue samples collected from a group of dogs whose hearts had been surgically altered to beat irregularly, become stressed and fail. Additional tissue samples were taken from another group of healthy controls.
Researchers compared these samples, looking for structural and chemical changes in desmin, which is found in all heart muscle cells and is a key component of the intermediate filaments that make up the scaffolding, or muscle cell support structure. They say this is the same muscle structure that becomes disorganized in heart failure.
The team's analysis yielded at least three chemical differences in each desmin protein in response to heart failure. Further tests showed that phosphate molecules had attached at two spots within the protein's structure. They also found accumulating amyloid-like debris, containing desmin, in the damaged heart tissue.
When researchers performed surgery restoring the dogs' heart pumping function to normal, they found phosphorylated sites mostly reverted to normal. The amlyoid-like oligomers also began to disappear. Tissue samples from four people with heart failure showed similar desmin modifications.
Senior study investigator Jennifer Van Eyk, Ph.D., says that it is "not surprising" these changes in the so-called "scaffolding" structure of the heart can produce toxic debris. "But what is most interesting about our findings is that we have shown that these chemical changes and debris are related to impaired heart function, which, ultimately, may explain how and why the heart can fail," says Van Eyk, a Johns Hopkins professor and director of Hopkins' NHLBI Proteomics Group and the Proteomics Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where the protein analysis took place.
Researchers next plan to analyze each of the desmin modifications to determine the subsequent biological impact of each chemical change.
Agnetti points out that the team's protein analysis was only made possible in the last 15 years, and with the development of technologies for detailed chemical analysis, such mass spectrometry and gel electrophoresis. Previously, he says, scientists had mostly focused on genetic changes and their relationship to disease, as opposed to disease-causing alterations to proteins that occur after proteins are made.
Some 5.7 million American men and women suffer from chronic heart failure, which caused an estimated 290,000 deaths in 2005. A majority of sufferers have high blood pressure, the leading risk factor for the disease.
Funding support for this study was provided by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a member of the National Institutes of Health, and Compagnia San Paolo di Torino, in Italy. The Johns Hopkins NHLBI Proteomics Group is one of 10 centers funded as part of the U.S., seven-year program dedicated to the study of proteomics and understanding the functions of proteins in the development of cells, tissues and organisms, in both normal and disease processes.
Besides Agnetti and Van Eyk, other Johns Hopkins researchers who took part in this study were Victoria Halperin-Kuhns, B.Sc.; Yurong Guo; Simon Sheng, M.Sc.; Zongming Fu, Ph.D.; David Kass, M.D.; and Gordon Tomaselli, M.D. Other researchers involved in the analysis were Francesco Nicolini and Tiziano Gherli, both from the University of Parma, in Italy, and Carlo Guarnieri and Claudio Caldarera, from the University of Bologna.

There is water on the Moon, scientists stated unequivocally on Friday, 13 November.

“Indeed yes, we found water,” Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator for NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, said in a news conference. “And we didn’t find just a little bit. We found a significant amount.”

The confirmation of scientists’ suspicions is welcome news to explorers who might set up home on the lunar surface and to scientists who hope that the water, in the form of ice accumulated over billions of years, holds a record of the solar system’s history.

The satellite, known as Lcross (pronounced L-cross), crashed into a crater near the Moon’s south pole a month ago. The 5,600-miles-per-hour impact carved out a hole 60 to 100 feet wide and kicked up at least 26 gallons of water.

“We got more than just a whiff,” Peter H. Schultz, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University and a co-investigator of the mission, said in a telephone interview. “We practically tasted it with the impact.”

For more than a decade, planetary scientists have seen tantalizing hints of water ice at the bottom of these cold craters where the sun never shines. The Lcross mission, intended to look for water, was made up of two pieces — an empty rocket stage to slam into the floor of Cabeus, a crater 60 miles wide and 2 miles deep, and a small spacecraft to measure what was kicked up.

For space enthusiasts who stayed up, or woke up early, to watch the impact on Oct. 9, the event was anticlimactic, even disappointing, as they failed to see the anticipated debris plume. Even some high-powered telescopes on Earth like the Palomar Observatory in California did not see anything.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration later said that Lcross did indeed photograph a plume but that the live video stream was not properly attuned to pick out the details.

The water findings came through an analysis of the slight shifts in color after the impact, showing telltale signs of water molecules that had absorbed specific wavelengths of light. “We got good fits,” Dr. Colaprete said. “It was a unique fit.”

The scientists also saw colors of ultraviolet light associated with molecules of hydroxyl, consisting of one hydrogen and one oxygen, presumably water molecules that had been broken apart by the impact and then glowed like neon signs.

In addition, there were squiggles in the data that indicated other molecules, possibly carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane or more complex carbon-based molecules. “All of those are possibilities,” Dr. Colaprete said, “but we really need to do the work to see which ones work best.”

Remaining in perpetual darkness like other craters near the lunar poles, the bottom of Cabeus is a frigid minus 365 degrees Fahrenheit, cold enough that anything at the bottom of such craters never leaves. These craters are “really like the dusty attic of the solar system,” said Michael Wargo, the chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters.

The Moon was once thought to be dry. Then came hints of ice in the polar craters. In September, scientists reported an unexpected finding that most of the surface, not just the polar regions, might be covered with a thin veneer of water.

The Lcross scientists said it was not clear how all the different readings of water related to one another, if at all.

The deposits in the lunar craters may be as informative about the Moon as ice cores from Earth’s polar regions are about the planet’s past climates. Scientists want to know the source and history of whatever water they find. It could have come from the impacts of comets, for instance, or from within the Moon.

“Now that we know that water is there, thanks to Lcross, we can begin in earnest to go to this next set of questions,” said Gregory T. Delory of the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Delory said the findings of Lcross and other spacecraft were “painting a really surprising new picture of the Moon; rather than a dead and unchanging world, it could be in fact a very dynamic and interesting one.”

Lunar ice, if bountiful, not only gives future settlers something to drink, but could also be broken apart into oxygen and hydrogen. Both are valuable as rocket fuel, and the oxygen would also give astronauts air to breathe.

NASA’s current exploration plans call for a return of astronauts to the Moon by 2020, for the first visit since 1972. But a panel appointed in May recently concluded that trimmings of the agency’s budget made that goal impossible. One option presented to the Obama administration was to bypass Moon landings for now and focus on long-duration missions in deep space.

Even though the signs of water were clear and definitive, the Moon is far from wet. The Cabeus soil could still turn out to be drier than that in deserts on Earth. But Dr. Colaprete also said that he expected that the 26 gallons were a lower limit and that it was too early to estimate the concentration of water in the soil.

سه دانشمند آمریکایی که کشف کرده اند بدن انسان چگونه از کروموزومهایی که حاوی رمز ژنتیکی مهمی است، محافظت می کند، مشترکاْ برنده جایزه نوبل پزشکی امسال شده اند.

تحقیقات الیزابت بلکبورن، کارول گرایدر و جک سوزتاک نشان داده چگونه ممکن است از کروموزوم ها نسخه برداری کرد.

نتیجه این تحقیقات همچنین کمک کرده است دانش درباره پیری، سرطان و سلول های پایه بیشتر از گذشته شود.

سه دانشمند آمریکایی کشف کرده اند که قسمت انتهایی کروموزوم ها، موسوم به تلومیرها، و آنزیمی که آنها را تشکیل می دهد (به نام تلومراز)، وظیفه نسخه برداری کروموزوم ها را بر عهده دارد.

موسسه کارولینسکا در سوئد، ضمن اعلام نام برندگان جایزه نوبل پزشکی سال 2009 گفت این سه دانشمند آمریکایی یک مسئله مهم زیست شناختی را حل کرده اند و نشان داده اند کروموزوم ها چگونه در جریان تقسیمات سلولی به طور کامل نسخه برداری و در مقابل انحطاط محافظت شود.

الیزابت بلکبورن، از دانشگاه کالیفرنیا، و جک سوزتاک از دانشکده پزشکی دانشگاه هاروارد، یک زنجیره DNA منحصر به فرد را در تلومرهایی کشف کرده اند که از کروموزوم ها در برابر انحطاط محافظت می کند.

خانم بلکبورن بعد از این کشف با کارول گرایدر، که در آن زمان دانشجوی دانشگاه بوده است، گروه تحقیق تشکیل می دهد تا در باره احتمال ارتباط تشکیل تلومر DNA با آنزیمی ناشناخته تحقیق کنند.

آنها تلومراز - آنزیمی که DNA پولیمرازها را قادر می کند کل طول کروموزوم را نسخه برداری کند - کشف می کنند.

تحقیقات سه دانشمند آمریکایی باعث شده است دیگر دانشمندان جستجوهای خود را برای کشف راه های جدیدی برای درمان سرطان آغاز کنند.

این امید وجود دارد که سرطان را با پاکسازی تلومراز درمان کرد. شمار زیادی تحقیق در این حوزه در جریان است.

قبلا کشف شده بود که برخی بیماری های ارثی، از جمله چند نوع آنمی (کم خونی که ناشی از ناکافی بودن تقسیمات سلولی در سلول های پایه در مغز استخوان است)، ناشی از نقص در تلومراز است.

وزیر بهداشت، درمان و آموزش پزشکی ایران گفته است هفته ای 3 تا 4 هزار نفر در کشور به آنفلوآنزای نوع "آ" (خوکی) مبتلا می شوند.

مرضیه وحید دستجردی روز سه شنبه با اظهار این مطلب در جمع خبرنگاران از وزارت آموزش و پرورش خواست مدارس آلوده به آنفلوآنزا خوکی را تعطیل کند.

خانم دستجردی گفت بر اساس دستورالعمل وزارت بهداشت در مدارسی که تعداد مبتلایان به آنفلوآنزای خوکی زیاد است کلاس ها باید تعطیل شوند.

این در حالیست که برخی گزارش ها حاکی از اختلاف نظر وزارت آموزش و پرورش با وزارت بهداشت در این زمینه است.

خانم دستجردی گفت گزارش هایی مبنی بر عدم اجرای این دستورالعمل دریافت شده که اداره مبارزه با آنفلوآنزای وزارت بهداشت موضوع را پیگیری کرده و دستورالعمل مجدد ابلاغ شده است.

وی افزود نیمی از مبتلایان آنفلوآنزای خوکی را افراد زیر 24 سال تشکیل می دهند.

در همین حال دکتر ایرج خسرونیا دبیر انجمن متخصصان داخلی ایران با اشاره به اینکه هم اکنون آمارهای برخی مقام های دولتی حاکی از ابتلای بین 1500 تا 2000 نفر به بیماری خوکی است افزود پزشکان انتظار داشتند که با باز شدن مدارس تعداد مبتلایان به این بیماری بسیار بیشتر باشد که خوشبختانه چنین نیست.

او گفت تاکنون 16 نفر مرده اند که گرچه قابل تاسف است اما آمار قبول قبولی است.

دکتر خسرونیا افزود: "هم اکنون فصل آنفلوآنزای انسانی است و افراد مسن و دبستانی و کسانیکه بصورت گروهی مثل سربازخانه ها زندگی می کنند دچار آنفلوآنزا هستند که انسانی است نه خوکی."

وی گفت: "متاسفانه بدلیل ترسی که از طریق رسانه ها ایجاد شده مردم فکر می کنند هر کس آنفلوآنزا گرفته از نوع خوکی است، اما آنفلوآنزای خوکی علائمی همچون عفونت ریه، اسهال و استفراغ دارد."

دکتر خسرونیا گفت هنوز تعداد کسانیکه به آنفلوآنزای خوکی هستند بنظر نمی رسد که بسیار بالا باشد.

دانشمندان نشان داده اند که ماده ای شیمیایی در ادویه زردچوبه وجود دارد که می تواند سلول های سرطانی را نابود کند.

از دیرباز تصور می شد که این ماده موسوم به "کرکامین" خواص شفابخش دارد و هم اکنون آزمایش هایی به روی آن به عنوان دارویی برای معالجه آرتروز و حتی فراموشی درحال انجام است.

آزمایش های تازه توسط تیمی در "مرکز تحقیقات سرطان کورک" نشان می دهد که این ماده می تواند سلول های سرطان مری را در آزمایشگاه نابود کند.

متخصصان سرطان گفتند که این یافته ها می تواند در یافتن معالجات تازه به پزشکان کمک کند.

کرکامین ظرف 48 ساعت پس از ورود به بدن شروع به کشتن سلول های سرطانی می کند.

کرکامین باعث ارسال علائم مرگبار سلولی شد و سلول ها شروع به هضم خود کردند.

دکتر لسلی واکر، مدیر اطلاعات سرطان در موسسه تحقیقات سرطان بریتانیا گفت: "این یک تحقیق جالب است که این امکان را ایجاد می کند که شاید بتوان مواد شیمیایی طبیعی موجود در زردچوبه را به دارویی جدید برای معالجه سرطان مری تبدیل کرد."

او افزود: "میزان ابتلا به سرطان مری از دهه 70 تاکنون بیش از 50 درصد بالا رفته است و تصور می شود که این وضع به افزایش میزان چاقی، مصرف الکل و بیماری ترش کردن مربوط باشد، بنابراین یافتن راه هایی برای جلوگیری از این بیماری نیز مهم است."

هر سال ابتلای حدود 7800 نفر در بریتانیا به سرطان مری تشخیص داده می شود. این سرطان ششمین عامل مرگ ناشی از سرطان است که حدود پنج درصد قربانیان سرطان در بریتانیا را در بر می گیرد.