We have reached a fulcrum point in the history of health care in our country. The announcement on Tuesday of the final rule establishing Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) creates a framework for change that will have reverberations throughout the health care industry. An important companion rule (pdf) was also released that establishes standards, specifications and certification criteria for EHRs.

David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology at Health and Human Services (HHS), and Marilyn Tavenner, principal deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), published an overview of the meaningful use rule in the the New England Journal of Medicine. John D. Halamka, of both Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, wrote an excellent analysis of the final standards rule on his blog. I expect in the coming months there will be a great deal of parsing of the language of these two rules, which total 1,092 pages.

The rule defining meaningful use will now allow health care providers to adopt health information technology that aligns with the goals of the incentive program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The criteria for achieving meaningful use has been substantially scaled back from the proposed rule, which came out at the beginning of the year. After receiving more than 2,000 comments, the rule has some significant changes that could make reaching stage one of meaningful use easier.

A major shift is the move away from an all-or-nothing approach, where providers had to meet every single measure to be eligible for payments. Instead, there's now a set of must-have core requirements and an a la carte menu of discretionary options. There are 15 core requirements for physicians and 14 for hospitals. Health care providers can then choose five of 10 menu options to meet phase one of meaningful use. This strategy will enable a great many hospitals and small practices in rural and underserved areas to have a shot at cashing in on incentive payments.

Meaningful use in action

It's important to note there will still be second and third phases of meaningful use. Ultimately, the final stage must be met. After 2015, when the incentive payments end, penalties will kick in. By lowering expectations for the first phase the slope to reach succeeding phases only gets steeper.

Let's take Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE): more than 30 percent of unique patients being seen by an eligible provider or admitted to a hospital, must have at least one medication order entered using CPOE. But the final rule actually states that phase two will require a 60 percent threshold:

For stage 1, we are finalizing a threshold for CPOE of 30 percent for EPs, eligible hospitals, and CAHS. We believe this relatively low threshold, in combination with the limitation to only medication orders, will allow hospitals and EPs to gain experience with CPOE. However, as providers gain greater experience with CPOE, we believe it is reasonable to expect greater use of the function."

As difficult as small physician practices and critical access hospitals might find initial adoption and implementation, it will take a sustained effort to attain the results we need to see so that costs can actually be lowered and the quality of care will improve.

The Emergency Department (ED) is now included in the mix for hospital CPOE. "Nearly every commenter who commented on CPOE objected to our proposal to limit this measure to the inpatient department," the rule says. "Commenters stated that this limitation was inappropriate given the manner in which hospitals use EHR technology. To account for current practice, the commenters recommended the measures be expanded to include the emergency department." The rule then goes on to say: "We agree with the commenters, and therefore are expanding this objective and its associated measure to the emergency room."

This is significant because many hospitals are depending on CPOE orders coming from the ED to meet their 30 percent adoption requirement for meaningful use. Since orders coming from the ED, which is actually an outpatient department, are not included in ambulatory care, it wouldn't make sense to exclude them from hospital orders.

Another important relaxation is in the area of e-prescribing. This is the ability to electronically send an accurate and understandable prescription directly to a pharmacy. The e-prescribing requirement was lowered from the 75 percent under the proposed rule, to only 40 percent in the final rule for phase one. The requirements for phases two and three are not yet spelled out clearly. Eventually we need to reach 100 percent, and a lower initial bar only makes it a steeper climb to get to the goal line in the succeeding stages.

One huge barrier to physician adoption of e-prescribing has been the restriction on electronically sending prescriptions for narcotics. The Drug Enforcement Agency proposed a rule on June 27, 2010 that will allow e-prescribing controlled substances. This move has been cheered by providers and pharmacies alike. However, the rule will require two-factor authentication, which is going to require vendors to set up systems to enable this technology. So the final rule on meaningful use for phase one is not going to include requiring e-prescribing for the newly allowed controlled substances prescriptions.

The final rule also decreased the number of clinical quality measures that must be met to demonstrate meaningful use. The proposed rule listed 90 measures, of which eligible providers had to select and comply with three general measures and three specialty-specific measures. The final rule lists 44 measures for physicians with a requirement to comply with six, with no requirement to meet specialty-specific measures. Hospital clinical quality measures have been reduced from 35 to 15. For 2011, reporting will be through attestation; for 2012, electronic submissions will be required. HHS stated that they cut the clinical quality measures to reduce the burden on EHR vendors to meet the criteria. But since quality is such an important aspect of the overall goals of the program, these measures will certainly need to be ramped up in succeeding phases.

The final rule on meaningful use defers until phase two the requirement to submit claims and eligibility transactions electronically. With the forthcoming HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 adoption, and creation of operating rules to make HIPAA standards more uniform, additional transaction processing criteria will be coming in 2013. The rule states, "In order to meet these and other administrative simplification provisions, most providers will have to upgrade their practice management systems or implement new ones."

Electronic copy of medical records required

The rule has added the recording of advanced directives and a provision for providing patients with educational materials, which were not included in the proposed rule. However, the proposed rule's requirement to provide an electronic copy of a patient's medical record is maintained in the final rule. This record must contain diagnostic test results, problem list, medication list, medication allergies, and for hospitals, discharge summary and procedures for at least 50 percent of patients within three business days. This requirement may prove to be one of the most difficult to achieve, but as Regina Holliday's poignant testimony during the press conference proves (video below), it is vital to include consumers in the process.

Regina Holliday is a 37-year old mother of two and an art teacher. Last summer, her husband, Fred, died from kidney cancer at the age of 39. She writes at the Medical Advocacy Blog and tweets at @ReginaHolliday.

Related:

• Health and Human Services finalizes meaningful use for electronic health records
• Aneesh Chopra on electronic medical records and meaningful use
• Giving patient data meaningful use
• From Apache to Health and Human Services

Sperm gene same as it was 600 million years ago, miraculously still in fashion originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

As John Amato wrote back in March, Liberty Central is the right wing "civic organization" headed up by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Clarence Thomas. And, as John wrote back then, the idea of the wife of a Supreme Court Justice heading up a Tea Party site is a little on the edge of the ethical line, don't you think? Even in March, it smelled hinky:

I'm sorry, this looks bad for a lot for reasons and to say that they rarely discuss court matters seems absurd to anyone that has had a long term relationship or have been married. And the fact that she's going to take cash from corporations is a big deal. Her marriage to a Supreme Court judge would be very appealing to donors.

Yes, it does look bad and the Federal disclosure reports (form 990) don't make it look much better. 2009: Two donors only. One for $50,000 and one for $500,000.00.

I'm very, very curious as to which individual would believe so utterly and completely in the Tea Party movement that they'd write a check for $500,000.00. That's a pretty big non-tax-deductible contribution for a "person" to make (assuming that a person is really a person and not a corporation parading its personhood, of course).

AlterNet has a theory that goes like this:

Here's how it works: Tea Party Inc. is vying for control of the Republican Party. One of the biggest players in Tea Party Inc. is the AstroTurfing group, FreedomWorks, which is chaired by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, for whom Ginni Thomas worked while the former Texas congressman occupied his leadership post in the Republican Party. Thomas also worked at the Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business organization with Matt Kibbe, who is now the president of FreedomWorks. Keeping it all in the family

It more or less goes without saying that whoever the specific players are, they represent the mainstream heart and soul of the Republican party. My question: Is there a way to link up or develop a relationship between specific power players in the Republican party and Liberty Central?

Sometimes hints hide in the Board of Directors. Here's some verifiable details on some of the members of LibertyCentral.org's board:

• Leonard Leo - One of the so-called "Gang of Four":

  The daily conference call, in many ways, is indistinguishable from thousands of others occurring inside Washington's beltway, but with one big difference: This one is shaping the Republicans' nomination strategy for the Supreme Court and, in consultation with the White House, scripting party-line talking points. The daily call is also the glue for a fragile conservative coalition, from the religious right to the business lobby, that's smoothing the way for President Bush's nominee to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

  The men, who have been dialing in since 2003, have come to be known as the "Four Horsemen": C. Boyden Gray, Edwin Meese III, Jay Sekulow, and Leonard Leo. Hand-picked by the White House for their ties to disparate conservative groups, they have been instrumental in helping the president name strict constitutionalists to the federal bench--and now they hope to do the same on the nation's highest court. "We've been waiting for this for four years," says Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice. And so the Four Horsemen are galloping into this confirmation fight.

  "This" was Chief Justice John Roberts, of course. Isn't it strange that a close associate of the religious right, the business lobby, and a Supreme Court justice can sit on the board of that very same Supreme Court Justice's wife's Tea Party organization and there's no potential conflict of interest?

  Leo Leopold is also head of the Federalist Society. He likes to claim they're just a good old debating group but of course, they're much, much more than that. Citizens United and the current reactionary court majority can be laid right at their doorstep, courtesy of Leopold with the assistance of Meese, Gray, Sekulow and Bozell contingent.

• Matt Schlapp - Well, now, what a fascinating bio overall. Matt Schlapp is George W. Bush's former political director, one of the Miami "Riot Squad" members, and a lobbyist at Cove Strategies, a Washington DC lobbying firm. Cove Strategies' clients include Koch Industries and Medicines Co

  But wait, there's more. From the bio:

  Matt Schlapp has nearly twenty years of government and corporate experience. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Federal Affairs at Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC where he directed the major federal strategies for it and its subsidiaries with a focus on environmental and energy policies, financial markets, legal reform, and international and domestic tax issues.

  Every principal of Cove Industries is either a former Bush administration official, Koch Industries executive, or both.

• Tracy Price - There is a Tracy K Price, CEO of The Linc Group, a company that miraculously rose from the ashes of Enron. The treasurer of Liberty Central is listed as Tracy Price, but there is no clear link between the two, so I don't think any inference or relationship can be drawn at this time.
• Bob Russell - I couldn't find any specific information tying a specific person/organization with this person. A common name, and there are many different people in many different walks of life with his name.
• Diann Huber, PhD - Diann Huber is founder of iTeach Texas, Inc, a educator certification company that specializes in online courses. Her link to Virginia Thomas appears to come via Hillsdale College in Michigan. Dr. Huber's son graduated from Hillsdale in 2009, and Virginia Thomas was the Washington liason for Hillsdale until she left to begin Liberty Central in November 2009. Hillsdale College receives funding from the Coors family, the Olin Foundation, the Prince family and the other usual large Republican donors.

The strongest ties on the board lead straight to Koch Industries, FreedomWorks, and Americans for Prosperity, which makes some sense given their ties to the Tea Party movement. What I find most disturbing about it all is the second degree of association to Citizens United via the right wing Koch/Coors/Olin organizations. Citizens United is the granddaddy of conservative smear organizations, and Floyd Brown, its original President (before David Bossie, Lee Atwater acolyte took the helm) wants to impeach this President because he doesn't like him very much.

And of course, it was Citizens United's case before the Supreme Court that opened the floodgates for corporate contributions to influence elections.

In review:

• Virginia Thomas is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' spouse.
• Virginia Thomas is on record as calling our current President a "tyrant" (see video at the top)
• Virginia Thomas is the President and Founder of Liberty Central, a conservative organization which lists FreedomWorks as a "friend of Liberty Central" and "Coalition Partner".
• At least two directors of Liberty Central have strong direct ties to Koch Industries.
• One director had direct input to the Bush administration with regard to the selection of John Roberts and his elevation to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Liberty Central will directly benefit from the Citizens United ruling as a recipient (past, present or future) of undisclosed corporate donations.
• Justice Thomas supported the Citizens United decision.

Based only on these facts, shouldn't Clarence Thomas recuse himself from all proceedings concerning Citizens United or affiliated organizations, and shouldn't his refusal to do so be grounds to call for his resignation, retirement or impeachment?

Who would like to bet on where the seed money for Liberty Central came from? In the long run, whether it was Koch money, or the DeVos family, or someone else really doesn't matter. The names change, but they're all highly partisan, highly conservative, and willing to spend whatever they must to defeat the middle class in this country.

By Steve Christ

Try, if you can, to imagine a world where replacement body parts can be grown in lab. What's more, think about the possibilities that this type of technology could offer. To call such a thing "revolutionary" just wouldn't do it justice. Evolutionary would be more like it as in completely changing the way we think about disease, aging, and ultimately medicine itself. Fortunately, such a day is much closer than you think ...

Original link
LOS ANGELES Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with benefits lasting up to a decade so far. One man whose eyes were severely damaged more than 60 years ago now has near-normal vision.

"This is a roaring success," said ophthalmologist Dr. Ivan Schwab of the University of California, Davis, who had no role in the study the longest and largest of its kind.

Stem cell transplants offer hope to the thousands of people worldwide every year who suffer chemical burns on their corneas from heavy-duty cleansers or other substances at work or at home.

The approach would not help people with damage to the optic nerve or macular degeneration, which involves the retina. Nor would it work in people who are completely blind in both eyes, because doctors need at least some healthy tissue that they can transplant.

In the study, published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers took a small number of stem cells from a patient's healthy eye, multiplied them in the lab and placed them into the burned eye, where they were able to grow new corneal tissue to replace what had been damaged. Since the stem cells are from their own bodies, the patients do not need to take anti-rejection drugs.
... Continue reading

Upto 15% of the entire disease in mankind is related to mental illness, according to the WHO. The brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) (the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter) level of the brain is the major contributor to the mental disorders. Disorders like Depression and anxiety disorders are linked to lower GABA levels. As per a recent study at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital, practising Yoga elevates the GABA levels. When two groups were studied, one doing Yoga for one hour and other reading a book, it was learnt that the former had 27% increase in the GABA levels compared to the other group. This study shows promise of use of Yoga in handling diseases like depression, anxiety and epilepsy.

Yoga is not just a one dimension wonder. It affects the whole body in a comprehensive way that promotes complete well-being. Even if the "spiritual results" may not be one's aim, the physical benefits are immeasurable and are being discovered daily. In fact recently the National Cancer Institute has provided University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center a grant worth more than $4.5 million "to study the efficacy of incorporating yoga into the treatment program of women with breast cancer". Here is a compilation of some benefits of Yoga:

Quality of life for Cancer Survivors: (May 2010) Cancer survivors who perform gentle yoga report they sleep better, feel less fatigued and enjoy better quality of life, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, which is presenting the largest study of this kind at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June.

Yoga effective for Chronic Back Pain: (Nov. 2009) Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center found that yoga may be more effective than standard treatment for reducing chronic low back pain in minority populations. This study appears in the November issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

Yoga reduces cytokine levels, which promote inflammation: (January 2010) Regularly practicing yoga exercises may lower a number of compounds in the blood and reduce the level of inflammation that normally rises because of both normal aging and stress, a new study, done by Ohio State University researchers and just reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine has shown. that women who routinely practiced yoga had lower amounts of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in their blood. The women also showed smaller increases in IL-6 after stressful experiences than did women who were the same age and weight but who were not yoga practitioners.

Yoga poses prevent falls among elderly women: (April 2008) Dr. Jinsup Song and researchers at the School of Podiatric Medicine and the College of Health Professions examined the gait and postural stability of 24 elderly females who were enrolled in an Iyengar yoga program specifically designed for those over 65. They found that at the end of the nine-week program, participants had a faster stride, an increased flexibility in the lower extremities, an improved single-leg stance and increased confidence in walking and balance.

Yoga reduces Bullying in School: Boulder students' self reported a decrease by 60% in their own bulling behavior and a 42% decrease in regard to being bullied by others at school A comprehensive yoga program can greatly reduce violence and bullying, but, the long term lasting effects are still unclear. The results of this intervention acknowledge yoga as an effective method for increasing anger management skills and decreasing physical outbursts of violence for upper elementary school age children during the time of implementation. The study was conducted by Dee Marie, M.A., CYT1, Grace Wyshak, PhD2, George H Wyshak, DMD, PhD3.; American Medical Association Alliance, Boulder, CO.; Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.; and AHIMSA Non-profit Organization, Boulder, CO.

Yoga's origin lies in Hindu scriptures. The main branches of yoga are Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. These are expounded and explained in different scriptures.

Raja Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and known simply as yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is part of the Samkhya tradition.[10] Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.

Yoga has a historical legacy that can be traced to Indus Valley Civilization.

The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, while ascetic practices (tapas) are referenced in the Bra-hman.as (900 to 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas.[18] Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1700 B.C.E.) sites in Pakistan depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing "a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga", according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl.[19] Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many scholars, though there is no conclusive evidence.

What is Yoga? According to Yogasutra of Patanjali, Yoga is defined as:

( yogas' citta-vr.tti-nirodhah. )
- Yoga Sutras 1.2

Which as per Swami Vivekananda means: "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis).".

I personally disagree with this definition. Citta (pronounced as Chit) comes from the same root in sanskrit as Chetna and, therefore, is not mind. It is not even the "intelligence" of a sentient being or IQ as in how a being can articulate through his body and mind. It is, on the other hand, the intelligence of the consciousness. The primordial consciousness state is the state of Chit. When the primordial state takes on a "form" or creational states, then the consciousness has manifest as Creation as we know it. Sat-Chit-Anand has most often has been referred to that state. Sat (Truth), Chit (Pure and Primordial Intelligence) and Anand (or bliss from cessation of dualities) are the adjectives or characteristics of the primordial consciousness.

Also, the word "Nirodhah" is not restraining, but curing or keeping blemish-free. Yoga is the effort to take a consciousness entangled in Creational forms to its basic primordial state - of Chit. It is a way to "cure" the primordial chit from all the vrittis (forms) it has taken up.

This leads us to the discussion of Chakras - the core of Yoga. Accupuncture and Yoga are two of the health disciplines which do not use the regular physiological basis to work on body. Yet, the claimed benefits have been recorded, studied in detail and confirmed to be true.

While accupuncture works on channels and points where qi and Blood flow, Yoga works on energy channels similar to "Qi" called nadis. The intersections of nadis are known as Chakras. While modern biologists and scientists can see the benefits from Yoga exactly as explained by the Masters, they interestingly pooh-pooh the foundational explanation of why it works according to its orginators as mythical and mystical.

The reaction from the medical fraternity about Yoga's claims in terms of benefits and its underlying reasoning has been one of superstitious disbelief. For, if someone created something that works exactly as it promises, then the reasoning behind why it works as articulated by the creator of "technology", despite having no equivalence to anything that modern science has unveiled in the last 400 years, may be true as well.

Just that modern science has not been able to figure out the way to study that mechanism nor its significance in the very working of the body. Though Subjective, the experiences of Yogis, are "reproducible experiences that can be achieved by anyone performing certain introspective practices".

This superstitious disbelief of the medical fraternity is further exacerbated by the fact this fraternity itself, despite its incredible advancements has not created anything close to the potency, simplicity, and profundity of Yoga despite a crying need for health care for normal people to prevent illnesses.

Reluctantly, yet surely, as evidenced by the $4.5 million grant to MD Anderson, they would rather assimilate Yoga - created on "mythical and mystical science" - into their own health care structure as opposed to create something better based on "concrete Scientific knowledge".

And this brings one to the most fundamental question - that was best articulated by Hardy when he read Ramanujam's papers, while others rejected them outright thinking the content to be fantastic and without rigor:

"[theorems] defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least like them before."... and the theorems therefore "must be true, because, if they were not true, no one would have the imagination to invent them." (emphasis added)

If you think you are the most advanced generation with knowledge in a certain field, yet. And you still cannot create anything remotely close to the significance and benefits of something done, reportedly 4000 years back. And, you are not willing to take the reasoning of the creators of that knowledge seriously, while harping on the primacy of your knowledge. Then surely there is something inherently blinding about your view of exploration of knowledge itself. Such men and women cannot, by any imagination, be the pall-bearers of Scientific method and exploration.

If ideology leads you, if ego dictates your experimentation, if prejudice stops you from even the obvious, then pray, how are you any different from a ideologically blind individual?

The truth is that world of science is infested with such egotist, megalomaniacal men and women masquerading as people of science.

Not all the scientists are in such denial. Some see the obvious flaw of running down esoteric explanations of those who have done remarkable work before them.

Richard W. Maxwell is a private practice clinical neuropsychologist. He became intrigued with the concept of Chakras and looked at it more deeply. His observations and conclusions, though very preliminary do seem to point into a direction where modern science can learn something by deeper exploration of the Hindu Scriptural evidence of Yoga.

He explains the roots of confusion in modern science as it approaches the root of Yoga - the Chakras - as they are defined by different Yogic proponents:

......three aspects of chakras (components in the CNS, components in the ANS, and components in the endocrine system) that are variously intermingled by these authors. When abstract concepts such as "vortices of etheric matter" are also included, the potential for a scientific analysis appears hopeless.

[Central nervous system (CNS) ,Autonomic nervous system (ANS)]

Then Maxwell asks the obvious question:

....if chakras were truly independent of physical structures, why would there be any correspondence with physical locations? This dilemma can be resolved only if there are physical systems at least closely related to chakras through which the physical effects of chakras are manifest.

He argues that the little known "Gap Junctions" are the answers. These Gap junctions play supplementary and complementary role in the body to the physiological channels like blood vessels and neurons.

Gap junctions are hydrophilic passages between the cytoplasm of two adjacent cells created by a hexagonal array of connexin proteins, and probably a newly discovered family of pannexin proteins (Shl, Maxeiner, and Willecke 2005) (see Figure 1). Approximately twenty different connexin related genes have been identified on the human and mouse genomes (Evans and Martin 2002). Gap junctions composed of different connexins have different conductance and gating properties associated with exchange of small molecules and ions capable of creating electrical conductance (Bukauskas and Verselis 2004). Gap junctions play an important role in synchronizing endocrine secretion (Berthoud et al. 2000; Rttingen and Iversen 2000; Funabashi et al. 2001; Meda 2003), in the function of the heart (Verheule et al. 1997; Dhein 1998), in the synchronized firing of neurons (Colwell 2000; Bou-Flores and Berger 2001; Solomon, Chon, and Rodriguez 2003; Hewitt et al. 2004), in interactions between neurons and glial cells (Cotrina and Nedegaard 2000; Kirchhoff, Dringen, and Giaume 2001), and in coordinating activity in many embryological processes.

The Gap junctions are most dense during the embryological development and play a significant role. The process of gap junctions have been found to affect the entire development process of the body and also playing a significant role in many situations and disorders in physiology. Such as:

• left-right patterning (Levin and Mercola 1998)
• development of limb buds (Makarenkova et al. 1997; Law et al. 2002)
• migration and survival of neural crest cells (Huang et al. 1998; Bannerman et al. 2000; Cai et al. 2004)
• heart development (Ewart et al. 1997)
• development of the nervous system (Dermietzel et al. 1989; Menichella et al. 2003; Montoro and Yuste 2004; Tang et al. 2006)
• control of tumor growth (Naus 2002)

Embryological development is deeply affected by the gap junctions role in cell management - proliferation, boundary creation etc. Also, significantly, electrical coupling of neurons through gap junctions precedes the chemical synaptic activity in early development. The gap junctions are highly concentrated in the neural folds along the spinal cord and in the brain - areas where the Chakras are supposed to be.

The practice of meditation and yoga may be affecting and accentuating the electrical circuits along the neural pathways, which in certain circumstances play a more important role than Chemical Synaptic Systems. Maxwell argues:

As a yoga practitioner becomes more adept, subtler systems using gap junctions could be activated, changing energetic states in groups of cells, including opening connections between different compartments within the glial syncytium. Yogic practices could also stimulate increases in the number of gap junction connections.

If Chakras are the "Gap Junctions", then what is Sushumna Nadi?

The subtlest component of the sushumna (brahma-nadi) (Feuerstein 1997, 63) is expressed through a column of cells remaining in the region where the edges of the neural plate joined to form the neural tube.

Maxwell might be taking the first steps into the "How" of the Yoga. These steps, nevertheless, are not going to answer the question of "Why", something that Yogis had ably grappled with to come up with their creation.

As "mythical and mystical" as the ancient Hindu Sciences and their approaches are made to be, it is worth exploring if indeed, those men and women had no sense of logical exploration? From the admissions of inspiration the pioneers of QM to the success and profundity of Yoga and Yogic experiences, one has seen the conclusions of the highest wisdom, without being able to "trace the steps". But was the creation of Yoga done on a mere hunch? Did the conclusions of Vedantic rishis just mere story telling which happens to inspire the leading lights of Quantum and Unified Field Physicists even today?

If one could see a level of sophistication in enquiry of more mundane sciences, then one could with a reasonable sense conjecture that there was after all a "Method to the Madness".

Mathematics and Astronomy

Daivajna Vara-hamihira, who served in Gupta king Vikramaditya's court, compiled Pancasiddhantika - which comprised: Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhanta. One of these, Surya Siddhanta had the following calculations:

• sidereal year = 365.2563795 days only 1.4 seconds longer than the modern value of 365.2563627 days.
• tropical year = 365.2421756 days only 2 seconds shorter than the modern value of 365.2421988 days.

Surya Siddhanta not only had the above calculations but also the trigonometric functions. It not only introduced Sine (Jya), Cosine (Kojya) and Inverse sine (Otkram jya); but also had used Tangent and Secant functions in their early times.

The antiquity and the authorship of Surya Siddanta is not known. The concepts had been passed through many generations and come from Vedic scriptures.

Arithmetic operations (Ganit) such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, squares, cubes and roots are enumerated in the Narad Vishnu Purana attributed to Ved Vyas (pre-1000 BC). Examples of geometric knowledge (rekha-ganit) are to be found in the Sulva-Sutras of Baudhayana (800 BC) and Apasthmaba (600 BC) which describe techniques for the construction of ritual altars in use during the Vedic era. It is likely that these texts tapped geometric knowledge that may have been acquired much earlier, possibly in the Harappan period. Baudhayana's Sutra displays an understanding of basic geometric shapes and techniques of converting one geometric shape (such as a rectangle) to another of equivalent (or multiple, or fractional) area (such as a square). While some of the formulations are approximations, others are accurate and reveal a certain degree of practical ingenuity as well as some theoretical understanding of basic geometric principles. Modern methods of multiplication and addition probably emerged from the techniques described in the Sulva-Sutras.

Linguistics and Sanskrit

Panini was not just a mathematician, but one who set the rules of Sanskrit grammar called Ashtadhyayi:

He is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules[2] of Sanskrit morphology in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (As.t.a-dhya-yi-, meaning "eight chapters"), the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.

Panini-Backus form, which forms the foundation of Functional programming (FP), is basically a morphed form of Panini's rules of describing the Sanaskrit language grammar.

Ferdinand de Saussure, professor of Sanskrit, also known as father of modern structural linguistics was greatly influenced by Panini's Sanskrit rules for grammar as he mentioned in his works including De l'emploi du genitif absolu en sanscrit (1881), a monograph on the genitive absolute. Even on American structuralists, Leonard Bloomfield and Naom Chomsky, his influence has been obvious and profound.

It is remarkable that someone from 4th BCE has had such a profound effect on the world of grammar and computing 2500 years after his seminal work of Ashtadhyayi.

Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology

It is often argued that study of Astrology lies in the realm of superstition. When an ex-minister of Indian Government suggested Ancient Indian Astrology to be one of the courses of study for higher college education, many critics emerged. They depended more on rhetoric - borne out of simplistic, dogmatic and prejudicial impression of how the history of any discipline ought to be studied rather than a scholastic understanding. I wanted to look at this topic in a more detailed manner.

I argue that there is a very strong link between how the need for astrology created the market for advancement in the knowledge of mathematics and geometry on one hand as also astronomy on the other. It is imperative to understand how the greatest inventions - often credited to European scholars due to the colonial orientation of history writers - from India indeed influenced the world of mathematics and astronomy as we know it today.

While the direction that the science and mathematics of today may have taken may be different than what Hindu Scientific mind took, but the roots and influence on today's works is unmistakable.

The one treatise which strongly links the three - Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology is Vedanga Jyotisa. It dates back to at least 1200 BC.

Vedanga Jyotisa actually is a recension of Rig Vedic and Yajurvedic verses. That dates the original knowledge to around 2000 BC, as per established modern dates, although vedic traditions depended more on oral traditions.

The astronomical treatise contains details astronomical calculations, calendrical studies, and establishes rules for empirical observation. Its antiquity and relation to the most fundamental Vedic scriptures, makes this treatise as the foundational one for the understanding of Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrological progress in Ancient India.

Note: If mathematics of Aryabhat and the various mathematicians have to be celebrated, you have to understand the applied knowledge that made all that possible. The reason why the ancient Indians delved into Astronomy, geometry and mathematics was to help them understand the constellations so predictions could be made. Any time is good for anything, they knew as much, but they had the pragmatism to realize that it helps to do something at a time when the nature is aiding you as well. Whether astrology is spiritually, morally, or even statistically correct or workable is not the question. The question is does it help? To the Ancient Indians, it was important enough to fuel their need to discover the heights of mathematics and geometry that served the world rather well. You cannot understand the origins of Indian mathematics without having any respect or understanding of the foundations and basics of Indian astrology.

How important was India's contribution to world of mathematics? Let's listen to someone who has made seminal contribution to the modern mathematics. After all, its better to listen to a qualified and celebrated doctor than a quack who makes his/her living writing critiques full of rhetoric sans any hard evidence. Therefore, if I need to understand the centrality of India's contribution in Modern mathematics, it would serve me best to listen to the best in history.

It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by the means of ten symbols, each symbol receiving a value of position, as well as an absolute value; a profound and important idea which appears so simple to us now that we ignore its true merit, but its very simplicity, the great ease which it has lent to all computations, puts our arithmetic in the first rank of useful inventions, and we shall appreciate the grandeur of this achievement when we remember that it escaped the genius of Archimedes and Apollonius, two of the greatest minds produced by antiquity. - French mathematician Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827) on significance of the development of the positional number system

We begin our story with the journey of one of greatest Sages of Europe, often totally sidelined (and of whom some consider to be so similar in life to Jesus Christ, that they allege Vatican authorities have burned and wiped out books of and on him in an attempt to save a non-existent Jesus Christ).

Apollonius' Tryst with India

Apollonius of Tyana lived in Turkey in the 1st CE. He was a physician. He was the follower of Pythagoras. Apollonius was born in 4 BCE to wealthy parents. In his teens, he had seeked company of great philosophers of the temple of Asklepios. At age 16, under the influence of the teachings of Pythagoras, he became a vegetarian (regarding only productions of earth as pure), stopped drinking wine, walked barefoot and let his hair long while wearing only linen. Pythagoran teachings included reincarnation, vegetarianism, and keeping silent for number of years as part of a spiritual practice. These found strong echoes with the fundamental components of Hinduism.. There is a strong belief amongst many that Pythagoras himself was infuenced by Indian religious and spiritual tradition:

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras (c. 580-c. 500 bce) may have obtained his doctrine of metempsychosis (transmigration, or passage of the soul from one body to another; see reincarnation) from India, mediated by Achaemenian (6th-4th century bce) Persia, but similar ideas were known in Egypt and were certainly present in Greece before the time of Pythagoras. The Pythagorean doctrine of a cyclic universe may also be derived from India (Encyclopedia Brittanica

His spirituality was clearly influenced by the Vedic spirituality.

" It is more likely that Pythagoras was influenced by India than by Egypt. Almost all the theories, religions, philosophical and mathematical taught by the Pythagoreans, were known in India in the sixth century B.C., and the Pythagoreans, like the Jains and the Buddhists, refrained from the destruction of life and eating meat and regarded certain vegetables such as beans as taboo" The Legacy of India By G. T. Garratt - [Note from Desh: the only issue with this past of the book is that while Pythagoras lived from 580 BC to 500 BC, Gautama Buddha lived from 563 BCE to 483 BCE, so at best they were contemporaries. It is doubtful that one would have been influenced by the other in real time. Buddha attained Enlightenment at the age of 35.]

Apollonius went to East in India and came in touch with the Sage named Iarchas. Iarchas was known to do miracles - like touch a cripple and heal him, or give sight to the blind or cure a paralytic. The popular story of their meeting suggests that Iarchas knew his name, to which Apollonius asked "How can you know all these things?". To which Iarchas replied, "We begin by knowing ourselves". Apollonius then learned under Iarchas the secrets of Hindu spiritual practices including pujas, yantras, mantras. Yantras consecrated by Apollonius were popular in Europe many years after his death.

Apollonius said of the Sages of India:

"I saw Indian Brahmans living upon the Earth and yet not on it, and fortified without fortifications, and possessing nothing, yet having the riches of all men." . . . [Damis] said he saw them levitating themselves two cubits high from the ground, not for the sake of miraculous display, for they disdain any such ambition; but they regard any rites they perform, in thus quitting earth and walking with the Sun, as acts of homage acceptable to the God. Moreover, they neither burn upon an altar nor keep in stoves the fire which they extract from the sun's rays, although it is a material fire; but like the rays of sunlight when they are refracted in water, so this fire is seen raised aloft in the air and dancing in the ether. -- Philostratus, bk 3, pp. 257, 259 (Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius, trans. F. C. Conybeare, bk 1, p. 51)

Also, the concept of high numbers to the level of a trillion is very amply articulated in the Vedas:

By the time of the last Veda, the Yajurvedasam.hita- (1200-900 BCE), numbers as high as 1012 were being included in the texts.[20] For example, the mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the as'vamedha ("horse sacrifice"), and uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion.[20] The Satapatha Brahmana (9th century BCE) contains rules for ritual geometric constructions that are similar to the Sulba Sutras.

The availability of Pythagorean theorems much before his birth, and the fact that learned man himself was influenced heavily by the scriptures and philosophy of India, it is not without basis, that one would wonder if the Pythagorus theorem in geometry was indeed his own? There is a strong impact that Hindu Spiritual and Material Sciences - including mathematics and astronomy had on contemporary discoverers.

Let us now move to some other evidence of scientific methodical thinking that surrounded the everyday living and works.

Cartography and Architectural History

The history of cartography or town planning - in very detailed manner - reminiscent of current science and method.

Based on archaeological and textual evidence, Joseph E. Schwartzberg (2008)a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of geographytraces the origins of Indian cartography to the Indus Valley Civilization (ca. 25001900 BCE).[12] The use of large scale constructional plans, cosmological drawings, and cartographic material was known in India with some regularity since the Vedic period (1 millennium BCE).[12] Climatic conditions were responsible for the destruction of most of the evidence, however, a number of excavated surveying instruments and measuring rods have yielded convincing evidence of early cartographic activity.[13] Schwartzberg (2008)on the subject of surviving mapsfurther holds that: 'Though not numerous, a number of map-like graffiti appear among the thousands of Stone Age Indian cave paintings; and at least one complex Mesolithic diagram is believed to be a representation of the cosmos.'

Medicine and Surgery

Perhaps the earliest surgeries in India were done on teeth for the earliest drilling of teeth have been found as far back as 7000 BC. People of the Indus Valley Civilization from the early Harappan times had knowledge of medicine and dentistry.

The earliest name of a surgeon is of Dhanavantri. Although modern historical accounts place him as a student in the Sushruta school, Dhanavantri in Hindu scriptures happens to be a Divine character.

In any case, Sushruta taught and practiced surgery near Benares in 600 BC. Details of his work are given in Sushruta Samhita.
It is remarkable in that it provides details on the "examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of numerous ailments, as well as procedures on performing various forms of plastic surgery, such as cosmetic surgery and rhinoplasty."

Egypt and India

Now let us move to the other civilization that is often considered to be the only contemporary of the Indian Vedic Civilization. Some often say that Egypt was as advanced as India was at that time. However, there are indications that India may have had profound impact on Egypt as well at that time.

Discovery of Nile by John Hanning Speke

John Hanning discovered the source of Nile and wrote about it in an essay in 1859. Intriguingly, he didn't get the hint of its source from Egyptians, who had little idea of it. Instead, he claims to have found his clues from the Hindu Puranas:

Colonel Rigby now gave me a most interesting paper, with a map attached to it, about the Nile and the Mountains of the Moon. It was written by Lieutenant Wilford, from the "Purans" of the Ancient Hindus. As it exemplifies, to a certain extent, the supposition I formerly arrived at concerning the Mountains of the Moon being associated with the country of the Moon, I would fain draw the attention of the reader of my travels to the volume of the "Asiatic Researches" in which it was published. (5) It is remarkable that the Hindus have christened the source of the Nile Amara, which is the name of a country at the north-east corner of the Victoria N'yanza. This, I think, shows clearly, that the ancient Hindus must have had some kind of communication with both the northern and southern ends of the Victoria N'yanza.

The main essay he was referring to was the On Egypt from the Ancient Book of the Hindus (Asiatic Researchers Vol. III, 1792), which was written by Lt. Colonel Wilford where he provided rich evidence showing that ancient Indians had come to and settled in Egypt. Given that Speke also found Puranic evidence shows that there was a "back and forth" communication.

Indologist and Sanskritist Sir William Jones also wrote in Asiatic Researches, Volume I: "Of the cursory observations on the Hindus, which it would require volumes to expand and illustrate, this is the result, that they had an immemorial affinity with the old Persians, Ethiopians and Egyptians, the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Tuscans, the Scythians, or Goths, and Celts, the Chinese, Japanese, and Peruvians."

Reference Links:

Yoga and elevated brain GABA levels
Study: Yoga Improves Sleep, Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors
Researchers find yoga may be effective for chronic low back pain
Yoga reduces cytokine levels known to promote inflammation
4.5 million grant for study of yoga and cancer
Poses can prevent falls
Yoga Prevents Bullying in School
Yoga
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 2, Part 2 By James Hastings
Apollonius of Tyana -- An Adept to Remember
A study of the similarities between Hinduism and Ancient Egyptian Religion
The Discover of the Source of the Nile
History of Indian science and technology
History of Surgery
Susruta of India, an unrecognized contributor to the history of exercise physiology

Very few designers have ventured forth to re-deign the First Aid Kit. Even the mandatory school projects that my children did was a square, white box with a red cross plastered in the centre. The N. Nursing Kit designed by two talented students from the National Cheng Kung University adds a breath of fresh air to the mundane. If I were to mention the two most innovative items, it'd have to be the curvy scissors and the integrated flashlight.

The N. Nursing Kit includes the Curvy Scissors, Tape Dispenser, Tweezers Clip and Medicines Cap.

Additional Features:

• When the device lifted for use, the emergency sign lights up.
• To open the device, push down and then turn: The container separates into three sections for sterilization, medication and dressing.
• The upper part is a light source for the nursing kit therefore it can be taken apart to be used as a flashlight. (Material of lamp cover sponsored by Industrial Technology Research Institute).

The Curvy Scissors

The scissors are designed with a curved handle about six degrees from a flat surface. No matter which side of the scissors, the curvature makes it much easier for us to lift and fit our hands better.

Designers: Sheng-Hong Li & You-Lin Chen

European researchers have identified a series of physical and psychological symptoms that could be used along with a decreased testosterone level to hel diagnose male menopause, researchers reported in the June 17 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

-"The life-saving effects of her medication are not a good enough incentive? If she can remember that if she takes her medication, she might win some money, she should be able to remember that if she takes her medication she might continue to be around to watch her little boy grow up. Maybe it's just the computerized pill box that helps keep track. What if patients were FINED each month for not taking their medication? Certainly the incentive would still be in place."

-"Why don't we pay people not to be criminals requiring incarceration? Why don't we pay people to not do drugs? Why don't we pay people not to have more than one child? Why don't we pay people to stay in their own country instead of coming here illegally? Why don't we pay people to work instead of not to work? The list goes on. The real questions to ask are: Why don't we expect some personal responsibility for a change? Why don't we stop taking from those who are responsible to reward those who are not?"

-"I understand the rationale of paying people to comply with their pharmaceutical treatments; I really do. But, I know that if I don't take my meds, I will suffer considerable pain and, ultimately, death. So, I take my meds -- at a considerable cost to me. I often have to forgo eating three meals a day in order to afford those meds, despite the promises made when Medicare Part D was passed to relieve seniors from having to choose between food and medicine (and, not incidentally, to pad the pockets of pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies). I go without the little extras that make life more pleasant in order to have life -- period. And I'm not complaining, because I choose to live rather than to die.

So, please forgive my for being livid that people who care so little about their own personal health are being paid to do what they should be doing because they forget to take theirs meds. Every action has a consequence, and the consequence for their action is suffering and death. If they don't know that, they will learn very quickly.

And please forgive me for not really giving a damn if they do suffer and die. That, ultimately, is their choice."

• First 3D structure from a key influenza protein sheds light on transmission of flu between birds and humans
• New flu vaccine could provide immunity against all strains of influenza virus
• Lab-on-a-chip device offers early detection of avian flu
• Experimental treatment protects monkeys from Ebola virus
• Starve yourself and live longer
• Scientist infects himself with a computer virus

Earlier this week, the American College of Sports Medicine released its new version of the American Fitness Index, which tracks the health and fitness level of America's 50-largest metropolitan regions. The index is defined as a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, and community resources and policies that support physical activity. The table below shows the fitness levels for these 50 metros.

Source: American Fitness Index

Greater Washington, D.C. tops the list (for the third consecutive year) followed by Boston, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Sacramento, San Francisco, Hartford, and Austin. At the opposite side of the spectrum, the least-fit metros were Oklahoma City, Birmingham, Memphis, Detroit, Louisville, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Houston, and New Orleans. Warm metros like L.A. and Miami do worse than might be expected, while cold metros like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cincinnati do better.

With the help of my Martin Prosperity Institute colleague Charlotta Mellander, we decided to take a look at the relationships between the American Fitness Index and a variety of regional characteristics from temperature levels to income and output, educated people and knowledge-driven economies. As usual, I point out in advance that our analysis points to association between variables only: It does not imply causation, and other factors may complicate the picture.

Climate and Temperature: Most people would think fitness levels are higher in warm, sunnier places, and lower in cold places. But that's not what we find, at all, when we examine the association between metro fitness and various measures of climate and temperature.

First and foremost, we find no correlation between fitness and cold locations, measured as mean January temperature. We also find no correlation between fitness and the January to July temperature difference. We do, however, find a significant correlation between fitness and the hottest places, measured as mean July temperature: But it is negative (-.52), meaning places that get really hot in July have lower levels of fitness on average.

Income, Wages, and Output: Now, let's look at the relationship between fitness levels and economic development. It stands to reason that more affluent regions where residents have more resources to devote to health and fitness would score better. And, not surprisingly, that is what we find. We find a significant but moderate relationship between metro-level fitness and economic output per capita (.35), and between it and income (.41), and a somewhat higher association between fitness and metropolitan wages (.54).

The scatter-graph below charts the relationship between fitness and wages. The relationships are reasonably linear, and the line slopes steeply upward. Greater Washington, D.C. performs even better than its wage level would predict. The same is true for Minneapolis and Seattle, Portland and Denver, and Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I personally found Pittsburgh a fantastic place for road-cycling during my time there. On the other hand, San Francisco, San Jose, and L.A., as well as Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Memphis, are significantly below it, performing worse than their wage levels might predict.

Source: American Fitness Index; Wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006; Income and Economic Output (measured as gross regional product) from the U.S. Census Bureau

Post-Industrial Economic Structures: Our ongoing research suggests that post-industrial economic structures play an additional role in health and well-being, over and above the effects of economic resources. This entails the shift from physically oriented work to knowledge, professional, and creative occupations and industries and from lower-skilled to more highly skilled and educated workforces.

Source: American Fitness Index; Human Capital from the U.S. Census Bureau

Human Capital: Metros with more highly educated populations have higher levels of fitness, again not surprisingly. The correlation between fitness and human capital (measured as the percentage of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, .66) is the strongest of any of the variables we looked at.

The scatter-graph above shows a fairly linear relationship, with a steep upward slope. Greater Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Cincinnati are significantly above the line, with higher levels of fitness relative to their human capital levels, while San Jose, Raleigh, Charlotte, L.A., Indianapolis, and Oklahoma City are considerably below it with fitness levels that are worse than what their human capital levels would predict.

Source: American Fitness Index; Creative Class figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Creative Class: Metro-level fitness is also associated with the creative class that is the percentage of residents in science and technology; arts, design, media, and entertainment; and management and professional occupations. The correlation between the two is .59 the second-strongest among the variables in our analysis.

The scatter-graph above shows a fairly linear relationship. Washington, D.C. rests close to the fitted line its fitness levels are more or less in line with the proportion of its workforce in the creative class. San Francisco is now above the line, along with Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and, once again, Cincinnati. On the other hand, L.A. again is well below the line, along with Charlotte, Indianapolis, Houston, Detroit, and Oklahoma City, with fitness levels that are worse than their creative class levels would predict.

Source: American Fitness Index; Working Class data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Working Class: The correlation between metro fitness and the percentage of the workforce in blue-collar, working-class occupations is also relatively strong. But it is negative (-.58). The fitted line slopes steeply downward. Metros with large blue-collar workforces have significantly lower levels of fitness.

America's metropolitan areas vary considerably in their fitness levels. That variation, like many other characteristics of cities and metropolitan areas, is anything but random: Instead, it follows systematic and predictable patterns. Fitter metros are relatively more affluent, more highly skilled, and have significantly greater concentrations of the creative class. Generally speaking then, fitness appears to go hand in hand with the transition to more highly skilled, knowledge-intensive, and idea-driven post-industrial economic structures. It's not just skill or human capital levels that are increasingly spiky and uneven across the United States but fitness levels as well.

If we're really serious about improving the health and fitness levels of people in many of our populous cities and metros, we'll have to do more than invoke them to smoke less, eat better, and exercise more. We'll also have to facilitate a deeper and more thorough ongoing economic transformation - developing greater skills, improving human capital levels, and enhancing the transition from blue-collar to more knowledge-driven economic structures.