Regeneration

It always fascinates me when scientists try to play God, I always wonder if they can imagine all of the unintended consequences to their actions. Remember the scene in the movie Jurassic Park when the actor says something to the effect of - just because you can do it, it doesn't mean you should.

Two new studies published recently deal with regeneration, the ability to regrow body parts, an ability animals like newts and fish have but people don't.

Stanford has been able to turn off two genes that suppress tumors and they got mouse muscle cells to revert to a younger state to help repair tissue. Down the street at the University of California at San Francisco they're working with mice to reprogram the ordinary heart tissue cells into heart muscle cells, the type that are lost in a heart attack.

Many think humans gave up the evolutionary ability to regrow parts as a trade-off for fewer cancers. Tinkering with cells may have amazing healing properties, but it may also come with a trade-off.

Western Science and Acupuncture

According to an article in today's US NEWS & WORLD REPORT, Western science is beginning to understand (at least in terms they can understand) how acupuncture works. The story is actually about a study coming out in the September issue of NeuroImage where positron emission tomography scans of the brain showed changes caused by acupuncture.

This latest study showed that acupuncture increases the binding availability of mu-opioid receptors in regions of the brain that process and weaken pain signal, in other words it reduces pain. Western medicine continues to try and squeeze that square peg of acupuncture into their round hole of science to try and understand how it works. The fact that it's been used by billions of people for 5,000 years doesn't carry any weight with Western medicine.

They're slowing coming along and accepting that acupuncture does work. Better late than never.

Modern Medicine Changes Its Mind ... Again

You've heard the same old story over and over again. One day Modern Medicine says you should eat X or Y and the next day the medical advice is the exact opposite. This time the medical merry-go-round concerns your appendix. About 1 in 20 people have their appendix removed and doctors have said for decades that it was a useless organ, a leftover from our earliest ancestors.

"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks" according to researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center. Along with his colleges they recently suggested that the appendix serves as a warehouse for good bacteria, waiting to repopulate our digestive tract after diarrhea and other illnesses. Sounds like a pretty useful purpose to me.

The research was published in this month's issue of Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Loneliness is Cold, Really

Research published in the journal Psychologlical Science shows that feeling loneliness literally feels cold. "Unpopular" participants in studies were more likely to want hot soup or coffee and to report a lower room temperature than other participants involved in the research at the University of Toronto.

Raising the temperature may help someone who is feeling loneliness much like light therapy helps those suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Question is: Why is science continually surprised by the correlation between mind and body?

Science Fiction Becoming Science Fact

In the 17th century Rene Descartes said the mind and body are separate and Science has believed it ever since but new research is beginning to change that perception. People think with their bodies as well as their brains according to recent studies in the field of "embodied cognition" which suggest that pacing the floor or gesturing with your hands may clarify thoughts.

One study found that arm movements can affect language comprehension. In another study children were found more likely to solve math problems if they were told to gesture with their hands as they think through the problem.

Another area of research has found that unconscious eye movements help people solve certain kinds of brainteasers. It's only another step or two down this path to understand why therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), TIR (Traumatic Incident Reduction) and even some uses of EFT are so effective right now. These therapies, and other types of complementary and alternative therapies, use a "movie screen" format so eye movement can be used to resolve emotional problems.

Science fiction often becomes science fact. Today we've been to the moon and back and can see inside the body in ways Descartes never even dreamed possible. Slowly we're learning the "why" and "how" behind so many complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) and that makes it easier for many people to accept.