H.E.A.L’s Limb 4
Love for Mankind
With H.E.A.L, the human factor is important. Man and all other living things share this world, this environment. We consider ourselves as the supreme masterpiece of creation, the perfection of biological achievement, the ‘chosen’ being that was created separately and not as a descendant of animals.
Evolutionists have used molecular biology techniques to show the degree of similarity between animals and humans. They want to prove that humans and monkeys have a common descent. Creationists, on the other hand believe in the account of Creation given in the Book of Genesis; generally speaking, they are anti-evolutionists. They do not want to believe that humans and animals have anything in common, evolutionary or otherwise. Indeed, we are the one species among all animals that is offended when called ‘animal’. Yet we share so many features- selfishness, violence and communal protection among others- with it.
H.E.A.L will not participate in the evolution debate because it is not considered important for its mission. Furthermore, when evolutionists claim that there is 94 or 98% similarity between the human and the monkey’s genetic make-up, creationists can always say that since the designer (God) is the same for both, he could use the same materials or design for two different species. They could also argue that God is the master Bio-logician and actually ‘used’ evolution to do his ‘Job’. Biologists now are simply unlocking the ‘Biologic’ from his work and wisdom. Biology is simply the study (logos) of the ‘Bio’. Bio is the word I like; this is truth. The ‘study’ or ‘logy’ part could be erroneous but not the ‘Bio’ part. I will stick to the Bio-truth.
Mankind and Bio-truth
In his book, ‘Life as It Is: Biology for the Public Sphere’ William F. Loomis says, ‘each of us was once a fertilized egg’. This is plain Bio-truth. No one can contest that. This is how your life, my life and everybody else’s started. This fertilized egg is a complete cell with 46 chromosomes- the full set needed for human life- 23 from mother’s egg and 23 from father’s spermatozoon.
Chromosomes, like the cell, are structures one can see under a microscope. They are real. Chromosomes are made up principally of DNA material- the thing medical biologists use for genetic finger printing and for checking genetic defects. The DNA molecule-the molecule of life- for all the living things on the planet consists of the same building blocks (bases). These are organised into small units called genes. All the genes ‘attached’ in series makes the DNA molecule.
Genes make proteins (using the proteins you consume in your food). Some of these proteins are used to make the structures needed for growth. The fertilized egg cell then divides into two cells, then four, then eight until there are millions of cells. A human body consists of millions of cells. How does that first cell divide into these millions of cells? Is it a simple multiplication? How comes there are different types of cells? Cells in the stomach, in the nerves or in the brain are different from each other. That is the magic!
Appreciation of mankind
H.E.A.L intends to show the details of pregnancy to show the magic, the wonder behind the development of a baby and what the mother endures during all this. The aim is to nurture respect for children and women.
We also want to show that there is only one species of mankind, Homo sapiens. Yet, man has found way to divide this species into races. These so-called races are based only on some external features like skin color, cranial or facial shape and hair texture. These features are in fact adaptations to prevailing climate that are actually quite recent. Biologically, however, races do not exist. Our DNA is the same. Consider this extract from Nature Genetics, a leading scientific journal, ‘Consider an apportionment of Old World populations into three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe), a grouping that corresponds to a common view of three of the 'major races'. Approximately 85−90% of genetic variation is found within these continental groups, and only an additional 10−15% of variation is found between them.’ In simple terms, this means that there can be much more genetic difference between two European individuals than between a European and an African.
As we have seen, it is our genes that direct the formation of our physical body. If there is a defect in the gene, then there is the possibility of a defect in the physical body. Our genes therefore are a reflection of what we are. The genes of mankind are in a generalized way quite similar irrespective of the so-called ’race’. So with this new knowledge, it would be primitive and mean to keep on dividing the human race according to minor physical characteristics. In his famous book, ‘Genes, Peoples and Languages’ L.L. Cavalli-Sforza, a prominent population geneticist writes, ‘it is because they are external that these racial differences strike us so forcibly, and we automatically assume that differences of similar magnitude exist below the surface, in the rest of our genetic makeup. This is simply not so: the remainder of our genetic makeup hardly differ at all.’ This is now Bio-truth, whatever the superficial visible differences are, the inside of the body is the same, the physiology, body chemistry and everything else is the same. That is why there is only one ‘Biology’, one ‘Medicine’ for everybody.
Skin color
Let us consider just ‘skin color’. The actual number of genes that control skin color is not know but scientists believe it is somewhere between 4 and 500. Now humans have around 30,000 genes. So skin color genes expressed as a fraction of the total is between 0.00013 and 0.0016. Now, let us forget genes for a while and consider more tangible measurements like weight. For a man weighing about 50 kg, the whole skin alone could weigh 2.5 kg. So skin weight expressed as a fraction of whole body weight is 0.05. What about the thickness of the skin- about 2mm. The difference indeed is skin deep and people who believe it is substantial are also skin-deep. Do you really consider these figures substantial enough to talk about a different race, when differences in other features like blood group or sex, within a particular ‘race’ are bigger?
Now, that is not all. What causes the differences in skin color? To really understand this we have to study the structure of the skin (to be explained in my presentation). In very simple terms, it is a pigment in the skin called melanin (eumelanin) that determines its color. The more you have of it, the darker is the skin. Eumelanin filters uv light and therefore DNA inside the cells below the eumelanin layer is protected. DNA is susceptible to uv light and UV-caused damage in DNA results in skin cancer. Black people simply do not get skin cancers. White people who are constantly exposed to excessive sunlight or who live in regions where the ozone layer has thinned (New Zealand, for example) have a higher liability towards skin cancer. On the other hand, white skin can make more Vitamin D in sunlight than can black people because their skin receives more UV light. It is clear therefore that skin color really is an adaptation to climate according to the location- adaptation for better survival. It is about survival...of Mankind!
Origin of Mankind
Whatever you believe in, Evolution or Creation, does not really matter. The book of Genesis talks about Adam (man) and Eve (woman); Rig-Veda talks about Svayambhuva Manu (man) and Satarupa (woman); evolution hypothesis talks about mutated male and female apes. They are all saying that a man and a woman populated the whole planet.
Now the truth I want to mention is that we are somehow all brothers and sisters. We have changed slightly (I stress slightly) over time due to biological adaptation to our environment to increase our survival. But why is there this fuss about the differences?
Biodiversity and the food chain
Differences, Diversity, Discrimination are interchangeable words. The word difference, however, is pejorative; diversity is more appealing. Diversity is an important aspect of life. Diversity forms the basis of food chains. Animals eat each other in the wild. But it is one species eating another. A lion does not eat another lion but will eat an antelope. Now the lion does not eat only antelopes. Could you eat the same food every day? Each of the animals or plant we eat contains nutrients in different quantities. So we need a variety in order to have all we need.
Natural cycles and recycling
When we die, we can become the food for soil organisms and plants. And the nutrients are recycled. All living things on the planet are composed basically of the same biological components that become nutrients when broken down. Thus we can all be recycled as we are biogenic and biodegradable. An atom that is now in a rat could end up in the DNA or protein of a person who does not eat rats. Recycling is the inexorable law of natural dynamics.
Recycling is also proof that there is no real chemical difference. There is some biochemical difference and slightly more genetic difference. For example there is 50% genetic difference between a banana and a human (and we could also say there is 50% similarity) but there is no great difference chemically, that is in terms of atoms or elements. So difference depends on what we are comparing. In a generalized way, therefore there should not be much difference across the spectrum of living things so that recycling is possible. Yet there must be differences biochemically (for different taste and smell of what we eat) and structurally (different shapes of what we eat).
Food diversity and racial discrimination
What we choose to eat depends mostly on three of our five senses; sight, smell and taste. We discriminate our food according to these senses but we do not use these to claim which food is superior to which. Now when we come to racial discrimination, we certainly do not use taste or smell because we are not choosing our food. We depend more on what we see. We do observe some difference but the observable differences are negligible genetically and we can hardly talk about diversity here. We have bio-diversity among the living things in the food chains but very in Homo sapiens. People talk about unity in diversity. That is wonderful but the differences are too minor to be referred to as diversity, at least genetically speaking. So it is inappropriate to even talk about unity; all we need to do is to focus on the many similarities rather than the few differences. We can learn to appreciate and care about mankind and indeed all living things because we all have meaning and need each other as food or otherwise.
Molecular Biology, genetics and Genomics
These three fields of study are related. They all have something to do with the DNA molecule. Remember that this is the molecule that regulates how the fertilized egg develops into the baby, controls the formation of proteins in your body, determines how different you are from another individual and unfortunately is responsible for the predisposition for a particular disease.
While Molecular Biology and Genetics investigates the role and functions of single genes, Genomics is the study of composition of the total DNA content of a species (the Genome). Reading the genome (DNA sequencing) is a bit like breaking a code. It is now possible to read the genome of an individual using a machine as small as a computer printer. Life Technologies Corp can now sequence a patient's whole DNA code. It only takes a few weeks and costs around Rs150, 000. 00.
Genome sequencing or mapping can, besides comparing different people’s DNA, spot genetic diseases. Cancer, for example is the result of a change in the DNA sequence. After cancer surgery, the cancer can grow back. The doctor will monitor this using an imaging machine. However the machine can only detect the cancer if it is big enough. You may have to wait a while for this to happen and with possible complications. In the near future, it will be possible to spot in the patient’s blood, small sequences of DNA from the tumor to check if the doctor had successfully removed the whole cancer almost immediately after surgery.
This is just one way that genomics will help mankind medically. I will enumerate many more of these in future articles. Many tests are already using molecular biology techniques; DNA finger printing, some pregnancy tests, test for AIDS or swine flu. The tests are reliable but above all credible.
Knowledgeable but slow to change
The point I wish to make is that people tend to choose what they want to believe in. They believe biologists when it comes to health, environment and even genomics. Concerning genomics, the proof is there- around 450,000 British have already registered to get their DNA mapped through the National Health Service as a medical check up. So why are people reluctant to believe the Bio-truth that there is really no race difference among Homo sapiens.
It is also possible that they believe but cannot change because it has become a habit that is hard to break. That is acceptable as it implies that they have understood but are slow to change. Or is it that protection of our kind is an instinct in humans as much as it is among animals?
Difference, Ignorance and violence
Animals, in the wild, fight for their food, sex or shelter. Normally in these fierce fights, the strongest will get the food, sexual partner or territory. This behavior is certainly selfish but is driven by instinct, the instinct to protect and perpetuate its kind. An instinct is not learned but is fixed and inherited. No intelligence is involved. Psychologist Abraham Maslow argues that humans do not have instincts. Other psychologists consider sleeping, altruism, disgust, face perception. Language acquisition, fight or flight’ as human instincts. However, Maslow says that what we take as instinct in humans are actually strong drives. An instinct according to him is behavior that cannot be overridden. So if we can learn to override an ‘instinctive’ behavior, then we do not have an instinct. Education can override strong drives. If education does not remove the drive, then it is an instinct. Humans experience the need to be violent. In his history, this violence may have served a purpose; that was to manage to get his share of food or to protect his kind in a wild and violent surrounding. Is violence or discrimination in mankind an instinct? It could have been in the past when we were living among animals. Behaving like them instinctively or calculatedly was about survival. How ‘animalistic’ are we today? This is difficult to answer but is food for thought. But one thing is for sure; in the wild jungle where violence reigns, the fittest always survives.
Survival of the fittest and Civilization
I think that the more animal instinct we have or opt to have, the closer we are to animals. We may enjoy our instincts and act like an animal. But if we believe we are not animals, then we have to behave differently. Even if we believe that we share a common animal ancestor, it is not a good reason to act like animals and bully the weak. Survival of the fittest is the law of the jungle. An educated and civilized being should override or suppress strong drives- this strong urge to repress the weak. Thus it is important that everyone learns how to take care of the weak. The weak is the child, the physically and mentally handicapped, the elderly, the diseased, the oppressed, the less educated, the less intelligent, the minority and the poor. In fact the test of a civilized nation is in the way it treats its weaker members. Fairness should be the game.
According to some experiments, ‘fairness’ seems to be an instinct in humans and in some of the monkey families. Apes can harm their own interests and protest against unfair treatment of others. This is an instinct and it may have been so in humans in the past. Today, in humans fairness seems to be a ‘strong drive’. Let’s not override it using the wrong education, communal or sectarian thinking and cultural agglutination. All species are selfish and this selfishness is natural for self-preservation and perhaps for the preservation of the species.
Man too has this selfish tendency. We see it everywhere. It is natural to fight for self-preservation. Then so be it. Let us be selfish and preserve our species. Let us not base ourselves on this pseudo-diversity, which is only visual and superficial. Let us perceive every human being as a member of this species- the Homo sapiens.
We all started as a fertilized egg and became a baby. During that entire period we were pure ‘Bio’. We got our religion, nationality and culture after birth. So, first we are mankind, then anything else. There is no big genetic difference; there are only religious and cultural differences. But even here we could focus on the many similarities rather than the few differences. I do not deny the existence of the apparent diversity and its alleged importance but it has not been proved useful to live on this planet. Anyway, no one can be blamed for adopting a particular religion or culture as this is related to the country of origin where there really was not a choice.
The age-old wisdom here that many thinkers and philosophers have moaned is ‘Tolerance’ and ‘Respect’. Tolerate and respect his and he will tolerate and respect yours. You simply do not have to criticize his in an attempt to show that yours is better. If he turns out to be wrong, that is his problem-not yours. I know; the instinct of self-protection, the belief that ours is better is widespread in the animal kingdom. But correct me if I am wrong; you do not want to form part of the animal kingdom. Even if you believe we are descendants of animals, you should agree that humans have not only more intelligence but more conscience than other animals. In his book, ‘What is man?’ Mark Twain says, ’Man is the only animal that blushes...or ought to.’ The answer to a peaceful world, a universal brotherhood lies in understanding and practicing ‘Respect’ and ‘Tolerance’.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
H.E.A.L's Appreciation of Bios
H.E.A.L’s Limb 3
Appreciation
Definition
What is appreciation? Here are some relevant definitions from the net:
• Gratitude; thankful recognition, the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value, clear perception or recognition, esp. of aesthetic quality, favorable critical notice; evaluation; opinion, as of a situation, person, etc.
• An increase or rise in the value of property, goods, etc.
I would like to define ‘Appreciation’ using both of the above. It is a feeling of gratitude and well-being as a result of perceiving increased value and resulting benefit of a commodity.
Origin of care
The definition implies that something that has laid there unnoticed could suddenly have meaning. Suddenly the girl (Henna) who has always been there looks prettier. Love is in the air! And you start caring about the person. Maybe you marry her (she becomes yours) and take good care of her (Henna becomes ‘Honey’) now that you need her. But how did it start? It is by taking a second look. But what made you take a second look? Or if it is a new person, what makes you take a look? Well, it’s probably because something attracted your attention; her physique, her outfit, her personality or her make-up?
Something in a dress attracts a girl (Shanti). She observes it. She appreciates it. She loves it. She buys it (makes it hers) and cares about it and needs it.
Let us recapitulate; Attention (Attraction), observation, appreciation, love and then care.
So, if we want people to care, it has to start with some form of attraction or attention. Attention implies turning the neck and eye-balls in order to observe. If you do not observe by yourself, somebody else could help you see. Your friend, Salim asked you to take a second look at Henna. Kim asked Shanti to look at the dress.
Similarly, if we want people to take care of their health, their environment and of other people, we have to nurture their appreciation of those things. But first we need to get their attention. We should create ways to attract people’s attention, help them observe and let the appreciation come naturally. Love and care will follow.
Drawing attention
When we say, ‘Look,’ we are drawing someone’s attention to something. Now, if when the person looks he does not find something interesting, he might stop looking. But if he does, he might appreciate it. It is sometimes up to us to make it look interesting so that the person learns to appreciate it.
‘Look at that flower! It’s lovely, isn’t it? Look at the shape of the petals, aren’t they unusual? Look at the colour- amazing!’
‘Yea, you’re right, it’s really pretty. Funny, this is a common flower around and I never noticed how beautiful it is. Thanks for showing me this.’
The first observer was attracted ‘instinctively’ and drew the attention of the second observer to the flower. Thanks to the former, the latter is experiencing pleasure he had not felt before. This is a cause and effect situation where the feeling and words of the first observer had a positive effect on the second observer.
This is what poets do. They see the same things that we see, but they see them differently. They would describe a rose in a way we have not thought before and we learn to appreciate the rose more than before. As a result, we probably would love roses and possibly buy a rose plant and take care of it. Love and care comes naturally once we have appreciated. And of course love and care breed responsibility and respect. We respect the plant and feel responsible about it. Next, we might even want to learn more about it so that we can take better care of it. We may even feel that we need our rose plant because we enjoy it: we obtain pleasure looking at it.
Indeed, we only take care of the things we love and need because we derive pleasure from them. That is how mankind is. In fact that is how all living things are. We protect what we love and need because we are genetically selfish. This is a biological fact. So it is clear that once we get the attention of people, it is our duty to make sure that they find what we are showing them, interesting. They should derive pleasure from it. These facts should be considered when formulating pedagogy for mass education.
H.E.A.L’s Appreciation proposal
What the UN is doing when it nominates a day for something, say the Environment Day, it is in fact drawing our attention to that thing. I would like to see an ‘Appreciation Day’ for a number of Bio-related things- Trees; Animals; Birds; Fish; Microbes; Reefs; Food chains; Natural and Home Gardens; Balance Diet; Exercise; Sleep, to name but a few. On each of those days, employers and schools would run a special day. At school, for instance, each teacher, whatever the subject is, could teach an aspect of their subject which is related to Bio-concepts. H.E.A.L could help here. On ‘Animals Appreciation Day’ for example, a passage on ‘Animals’ could be done in the English Language lesson.
We would like to introduce the poets, singers, artists and actors to biology. They would find inspiration, beauty, and ingenuity as they have never seen. An optical microscope, let alone an electron microscope show structural details of unimaginable beauty.
What one sees is only the tip of the iceberg. Only the biologist can appreciate the grandeur and the infinite detail in the structural and functional beauty of living things. If poets, singers and performers could get access to this beauty, they would be amazed and would use their talent to raise awareness. A poem, a song, a painting or even a comedy can instantly invoke strong emotions in us. Think of the love song that can instantly make you melancholic. Think of a comedy on a subject that you want, which may suddenly refine your nerves.
Furthermore, we intend to devise an appropriate pedagogy, based on the above, which would stir the right emotions in children and adults. We would like to nurture the following characteristics: Ability to Observe, Appreciation, Love, Care, Pleasure, Respect and Responsibility in matters relating to health, environment and mankind. (See next section).
All teachers (and parents) probably know that for a child to understand something, his attention must first be drawn. Shouting does not work. There are more subtle ways which neither frustrates nor diminishes the child. We also intend to show to parents how to nurture the appreciation of nature in children. Passive lectures or instructions will not be enough. These apply to adults as well.
Emotion
We are touched by songs, poems, films because they play with our emotions. Emotion is a feeling that is ‘wired’ to other feelings in our brain. It is physiological but profound. It is some kind of chemical energy that can be transformed into various forms; happiness, sadness, anger. Too much of it brings stress which causes disease. None at all means we are already dead. Just enough of it can make miracles. Emotion influences people’s behaviour as Vincent Van Gogh puts it, ‘Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.’ Emotion can cause change- good or bad.
We can use logic to change people but this may be temporary. Emotion has the power to change permanently. ‘When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion,’ says Dale Carnegie. Lecturing involves using logic alone. Good teaching practice involves using both logic and emotion. If we believe in and appreciate what we teach, there is a higher chance that the right emotion will be there. The message may go through. The change might occur. This is the magic, the mystery of emotion.
Life is full of mystery. It is often said that Education demystifies things. But often when the mystery is gone, off goes the emotion. ‘The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion,’ affirms Albert Einstein. The mystic emotion is the strongest of all emotions. So we will try to accentuate this mystery in our method of stirring appreciation.
We would like people to exercise more appreciation in many of the attributes of life and existence. It is not a question of ‘To be or not to be’. It is more ‘Let it be.’ Let us keep nature and its mystery as it is as much as we can. The Earth changes with time; everything does. All living things on Earth adapt to Earth changes, except Mankind. He effects change and shapes Mother Earth the way he wants. Man wants to change things not only because of his inability to adapt but also because of his inability to appreciate. But alas, change we need. The least we can do is appreciate, love and preserve what we have left unchanged. We can learn to appreciate ourselves too; we can learn to appreciate, love and preserve ‘Mankind’.
Appreciation
Definition
What is appreciation? Here are some relevant definitions from the net:
• Gratitude; thankful recognition, the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value, clear perception or recognition, esp. of aesthetic quality, favorable critical notice; evaluation; opinion, as of a situation, person, etc.
• An increase or rise in the value of property, goods, etc.
I would like to define ‘Appreciation’ using both of the above. It is a feeling of gratitude and well-being as a result of perceiving increased value and resulting benefit of a commodity.
Origin of care
The definition implies that something that has laid there unnoticed could suddenly have meaning. Suddenly the girl (Henna) who has always been there looks prettier. Love is in the air! And you start caring about the person. Maybe you marry her (she becomes yours) and take good care of her (Henna becomes ‘Honey’) now that you need her. But how did it start? It is by taking a second look. But what made you take a second look? Or if it is a new person, what makes you take a look? Well, it’s probably because something attracted your attention; her physique, her outfit, her personality or her make-up?
Something in a dress attracts a girl (Shanti). She observes it. She appreciates it. She loves it. She buys it (makes it hers) and cares about it and needs it.
Let us recapitulate; Attention (Attraction), observation, appreciation, love and then care.
So, if we want people to care, it has to start with some form of attraction or attention. Attention implies turning the neck and eye-balls in order to observe. If you do not observe by yourself, somebody else could help you see. Your friend, Salim asked you to take a second look at Henna. Kim asked Shanti to look at the dress.
Similarly, if we want people to take care of their health, their environment and of other people, we have to nurture their appreciation of those things. But first we need to get their attention. We should create ways to attract people’s attention, help them observe and let the appreciation come naturally. Love and care will follow.
Drawing attention
When we say, ‘Look,’ we are drawing someone’s attention to something. Now, if when the person looks he does not find something interesting, he might stop looking. But if he does, he might appreciate it. It is sometimes up to us to make it look interesting so that the person learns to appreciate it.
‘Look at that flower! It’s lovely, isn’t it? Look at the shape of the petals, aren’t they unusual? Look at the colour- amazing!’
‘Yea, you’re right, it’s really pretty. Funny, this is a common flower around and I never noticed how beautiful it is. Thanks for showing me this.’
The first observer was attracted ‘instinctively’ and drew the attention of the second observer to the flower. Thanks to the former, the latter is experiencing pleasure he had not felt before. This is a cause and effect situation where the feeling and words of the first observer had a positive effect on the second observer.
This is what poets do. They see the same things that we see, but they see them differently. They would describe a rose in a way we have not thought before and we learn to appreciate the rose more than before. As a result, we probably would love roses and possibly buy a rose plant and take care of it. Love and care comes naturally once we have appreciated. And of course love and care breed responsibility and respect. We respect the plant and feel responsible about it. Next, we might even want to learn more about it so that we can take better care of it. We may even feel that we need our rose plant because we enjoy it: we obtain pleasure looking at it.
Indeed, we only take care of the things we love and need because we derive pleasure from them. That is how mankind is. In fact that is how all living things are. We protect what we love and need because we are genetically selfish. This is a biological fact. So it is clear that once we get the attention of people, it is our duty to make sure that they find what we are showing them, interesting. They should derive pleasure from it. These facts should be considered when formulating pedagogy for mass education.
H.E.A.L’s Appreciation proposal
What the UN is doing when it nominates a day for something, say the Environment Day, it is in fact drawing our attention to that thing. I would like to see an ‘Appreciation Day’ for a number of Bio-related things- Trees; Animals; Birds; Fish; Microbes; Reefs; Food chains; Natural and Home Gardens; Balance Diet; Exercise; Sleep, to name but a few. On each of those days, employers and schools would run a special day. At school, for instance, each teacher, whatever the subject is, could teach an aspect of their subject which is related to Bio-concepts. H.E.A.L could help here. On ‘Animals Appreciation Day’ for example, a passage on ‘Animals’ could be done in the English Language lesson.
We would like to introduce the poets, singers, artists and actors to biology. They would find inspiration, beauty, and ingenuity as they have never seen. An optical microscope, let alone an electron microscope show structural details of unimaginable beauty.
What one sees is only the tip of the iceberg. Only the biologist can appreciate the grandeur and the infinite detail in the structural and functional beauty of living things. If poets, singers and performers could get access to this beauty, they would be amazed and would use their talent to raise awareness. A poem, a song, a painting or even a comedy can instantly invoke strong emotions in us. Think of the love song that can instantly make you melancholic. Think of a comedy on a subject that you want, which may suddenly refine your nerves.
Furthermore, we intend to devise an appropriate pedagogy, based on the above, which would stir the right emotions in children and adults. We would like to nurture the following characteristics: Ability to Observe, Appreciation, Love, Care, Pleasure, Respect and Responsibility in matters relating to health, environment and mankind. (See next section).
All teachers (and parents) probably know that for a child to understand something, his attention must first be drawn. Shouting does not work. There are more subtle ways which neither frustrates nor diminishes the child. We also intend to show to parents how to nurture the appreciation of nature in children. Passive lectures or instructions will not be enough. These apply to adults as well.
Emotion
We are touched by songs, poems, films because they play with our emotions. Emotion is a feeling that is ‘wired’ to other feelings in our brain. It is physiological but profound. It is some kind of chemical energy that can be transformed into various forms; happiness, sadness, anger. Too much of it brings stress which causes disease. None at all means we are already dead. Just enough of it can make miracles. Emotion influences people’s behaviour as Vincent Van Gogh puts it, ‘Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.’ Emotion can cause change- good or bad.
We can use logic to change people but this may be temporary. Emotion has the power to change permanently. ‘When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion,’ says Dale Carnegie. Lecturing involves using logic alone. Good teaching practice involves using both logic and emotion. If we believe in and appreciate what we teach, there is a higher chance that the right emotion will be there. The message may go through. The change might occur. This is the magic, the mystery of emotion.
Life is full of mystery. It is often said that Education demystifies things. But often when the mystery is gone, off goes the emotion. ‘The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion,’ affirms Albert Einstein. The mystic emotion is the strongest of all emotions. So we will try to accentuate this mystery in our method of stirring appreciation.
We would like people to exercise more appreciation in many of the attributes of life and existence. It is not a question of ‘To be or not to be’. It is more ‘Let it be.’ Let us keep nature and its mystery as it is as much as we can. The Earth changes with time; everything does. All living things on Earth adapt to Earth changes, except Mankind. He effects change and shapes Mother Earth the way he wants. Man wants to change things not only because of his inability to adapt but also because of his inability to appreciate. But alas, change we need. The least we can do is appreciate, love and preserve what we have left unchanged. We can learn to appreciate ourselves too; we can learn to appreciate, love and preserve ‘Mankind’.
H.E.A.L's Environmental issues
H.E.A.L’s Limb 2
Environment
By environment we mean the natural environment which allows all living things to perpetuate. I stress, ‘natural’ and ‘all’. Nature has its own way of doing things and it needs all the organisms that exist to do its things. Nature has its own rules and we cannot change these. There is some room for tolerance and adaptation but if we stretch the rules beyond their limits problems will arise.
Nature’s way
The natural environment has kept changing over millions of years. Indeed change and subsequent re-adaptation is a part of life. But change is the overall observation. The small ‘details’ should not change substantially. The amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, for example, remains more or less constant. Nature uses recycling as means to prevent drastic changes in those details. Nutrients, for example, are recycled. When a living thing dies it decomposes and becomes nutrients (fertilizers or minerals) in the soil which plants can use to grow. In fact any biogenic material (anything formed in a living thing) can be degraded by bacteria. They are said to be biodegradable.
Just leave a pile of grass clippings (biodegradable material) in your garden and in a few days, dig your fingers into the pile. You will be surprised how hot it is. It is already decomposing to release the nutrients. Why is it hot then? Well, good bacteria are using the grass as food and are using oxygen to break down the food to release energy. Like us, they need energy to live. Some of the energy is released as heat.
Decomposition is a natural process and we can use the above and a few more tricks to make compost. It depends on what starting material we use. Certain materials and unsuitable condition for decomposition may favor bad bacteria and cause odor. This is called pollution. Pollution may be a source of disease.
Composting
Concerning pollution, we will try to explain how and why more effort needs to be made to segregate our rubbish nationally and how it can be done. Non-biogenic material like plastic would be recycled Note that plastic is made from fossil fuel products and more should be done to minimize its use. Biogenic material including wood waste from paper industries and other sources could be turned into compost. H.E.A.L will explain the biology of composting and also give practical clues on how to make compost.
Go Green
The five-R’s principle will be nailed into everybody’s mind: Recycle, Re-use, Reduce, Repair and Re-think. The expression ‘Go Green’ must be understood by everybody and emphasis will be laid on why it has to be done. Protocols on environmental issues are difficult to implement without winning approval from the public. But it has to be from an informed public and it is actually easier, as with many other issues, to win full support of the public if the latter is well informed. So, the ‘Education’ side of the issue will not be neglected.
Trees
In order to be alive or to sustain life, food and oxygen are vital. Trees play a role in providing these directly or indirectly. Trees (plants in general) need two raw materials from the environment:
CO2 (carbon dioxide) in air and water from the soil.
Plants literally convert CO2 into food. However, they need a source of energy. The wonder is that they can directly capture the sun’s energy. In making our food, plants release oxygen for us to breathe.
Plants therefore are the first (primary) producers of food. Herbivorous animals eat plants and indirectly obtain sun’s energy but less of it than plants. Carnivorous animals eat the herbivores and obtain sun’s energy from them but less than what herbivore get from plants. So, plants are eaten by an herbivore and the latter is eaten by a carnivore. This is called a food chain. Energy flows from the sun along this food chain. Humans also form part of the food chain. We eat vegetables and meats to get the energy (sun’s energy) from them.
Global warming
So plants use CO2 and give us food and oxygen. What if we do not have enough plants around? We would have less food and oxygen. But CO2 in air will accumulate. Living things breathe out CO2 and burning (fires, cooking) use oxygen and produce more CO2. It is the accumulation of CO2 that is causing global warming. The accumulation is caused mainly by burning fuel and cutting down trees.
Incidentally, nature made fossil fuel using mainly trees. This is because trees represent biogenic material that contains energy (sun’s energy), the so-called ‘Biomass’. When we burn fuel, we get the energy (Bio-energy) back, which we use for cooking, for driving our machines and vehicles. That is good but burning or combustion releases CO2!
Informed public
H.E.A.L will use the above as the basis to explain in future blogs the following issues to the non-biologist public;
• Nutrition and why vegetables give more energy than meats.
• How Biomass sunk underground millions of years ago turned into fossil fuel
• Why fossil fuel is non-renewable
• How carbon dioxide and some other gases produce the vital ‘greenhouse effect’
• What is enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming?
• Why should we reduce the use of fossil fuel?
Energy
We need to reduce the use of fossil fuel for two main reasons;
• We are using up the world reserves and oil experts arguably claim that we only have enough for another forty years or so.
• The burning of fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide and this is contributing to the observed raise in temperature of the globe and the UN claims we have only eight years to save the world.
Bio-energy and Bio-fuels
Nature made fuel from biomass (biogenic material; especially trees). The question is: Can we, humans, do the same? Fortunately, yes! And that is our answer to reducing the use of fossil fuel. Biomass can be fermented (a biological process) to form bio-ethanol (as opposed to ethanol made from petrol products by a chemical reaction). Examples of biomass are, wood and wood waste, crops (e.g. Maize, sugar cane, beet-root), garbage.
Bio-ethanol as transport fuel
Bagass from sugar cane is already being used in some countries to make bio-ethanol. This ethanol can be used not only to make electricity but also to use as fuel for vehicles. The latter use is not a new one. Indeed, Henry Ford called ethanol, ‘The fuel of the future’. His early Model T automobile ran on ethanol! Many states in America insist on using E10 (90% petrol, 10% ethanol) in vehicles. Most vehicles can use E10 without any engine modification. Using higher percentages of alcohol would require some engine modification but the automotive industry welcome these and many manufacturers are already producing cars that can use up to E100 (100% alcohol).
The two main producers of ethanol are the US and Brazil. Brazil started using E5 in 1931 and slowly increased to E 25 in 2010. In fact a minimum of E22 is compulsory in Brazil (E10 is compulsory in the US). New Flexible-fuel vehicles exist now that can use varying amounts of fuel (up to 85% ethanol) from many manufacturers.
Another transport bio-fuel that will probably gain popularity is bio-diesel. Any vegetable animal fat oil can easily be converted into bio-diesel. In America, many people are making their own bio-diesel at home. The process is indeed quite simple. We could explore our sources of oil; corn, sunflower, soybean and even waste oil from restaurants and hotels to assess their use as raw material for bio-diesel.
The energy race
There are arguments both for and against the use of bio-fuels in the energy competition, considering that solar energy is more efficient both for producing heat and for making electricity. H.E.A.L will expose both sides of the issue and show why the arguments against are not valid, especially in the Mauritian context. Based on estimates in the 2006 World Energy Outlook of the International Energy Agency (IEA), it is clear that bio-energy is becoming more popular. This is not surprising as it costs much less. One strong environmental aspect is that bio-fuels burn more smoothly than petrol and release less CO2. Furthermore, the plants that are used to make bio-fuels have consumed CO2 during their growth. Scientists are exploring the use of other biogenic material including cellulosic (tree parts and grass) products which would be broken down by biologically engineered bacteria, algae and fungi. The use of algae is interesting because it will not make use of land that could be used for food crops.
Gas emission and pollution
Pollution is not simply eyesore. Biogenic material can rot and cause multiplication of ‘bad’ bacteria which flying insects could bring to our food and affect our health. Furthermore, rotting garbage releases CO2 and another gas called methane; both greenhouses gases. Now, an interesting fact is that methane can be used to make electricity. I mentioned segregation of garbage above. Biogenic garbage and indeed compost can be used to produce methane using a biological process called anaerobic digestion (breaking down in the absence of oxygen). This gas can be used to make electricity.
Pollution and toxic substances
Biogenic material is biodegradable and therefore, if not recycled by man, will be recycled by nature. Man-made material like plastic should be collected for recycling. Going green goes beyond that. There are many chemicals that we use to control microbes. Many of these are hazardous chemicals that harm the environment. In particular, we should avoid chlorine and phosphate-based detergents. Apart from epidemic situations, we could use a variety of substances that we already have in our kitchen and that we actually use in our food (vinegar, lemon, sodium bicarbonate). They are much cheaper and safer. We also need to explain why plain soap is better than disinfectants for household purposes.
POPs and other chemicals
POPs are Persistent Organic Pollutants that can affect the environment and bio-accumulate along food chains. The UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Stockholm Convention has identified 12 POPs that are used in many countries. They have a long life in the environment and can travel long distances through the air, water and migratory organisms. It is believed that they can affect human beings in numerous ways as follows:
• Cancers
• Reduced reproductive capacity
• Endometriosis (a disease of the uterus)
• Affected nerves and reduced learning capacity in children
• Increased incidence of diabetes
• Weakened immune system
POPs and many other toxic chemicals are thus a serious threat that needs urgent attention and their use in Mauritius needs to be investigated. The Pop and a lot of other toxic chemicals are therefore a serious threatens and urgent attention is required. They affect everything that is on their path. Their final destination could be the sea. The sea would transport them to faraway land where they would cause other damages. Let's not forget how DDT has affected the eagles in America and then crossed the ocean to end up in Antarctica where they affected penguins. This was caused by bio-accumulation through the food chains in the sea. POP has the potential to do the same. But it is not all. They would also affect marine life and we should think of the coral reefs.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are among the most amazing of ecosystems on our planet. Together with green algae the reefs represent the rain forests of the sea. Like rain forests, they absorb CO2, release oxygen and make food. They have a great bio-diversity with thousands of species that are unique to reefs. Reefs also have living coral polyps growing. Pollution including toxic Industries dumping hazardous waste (toxic chemicals and heavy metals), human sewage, agricultural runoff, exhaust from boats, oil spill, sand and poor fishing practices all are affecting coral reefs around the world. Global warming also harms coral reefs. Global warming causes sea water to evaporate and this leaves the coral above the water. The coral polyps cannot breathe above the water and therefore die. When they die, there is no coral formation because it is polyps that build the coral. Food chains in the reef are affected. Everything dies after that.
More than a quarter of the earth’s coral reefs have already been destroyed. Coral reefs take millions of years to form. Many countries are blessed with coral reef protection. If we destroy them we will suffer severe consequences. Knowledge that they are being destroyed is not enough. We need to understand, as with all the other issues, why we need the knowledge. But there is one thing that we all understand. It is the reefs that give the beautiful lagoons we have in many places in the world and that we have learnt to appreciate.
Environment
By environment we mean the natural environment which allows all living things to perpetuate. I stress, ‘natural’ and ‘all’. Nature has its own way of doing things and it needs all the organisms that exist to do its things. Nature has its own rules and we cannot change these. There is some room for tolerance and adaptation but if we stretch the rules beyond their limits problems will arise.
Nature’s way
The natural environment has kept changing over millions of years. Indeed change and subsequent re-adaptation is a part of life. But change is the overall observation. The small ‘details’ should not change substantially. The amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, for example, remains more or less constant. Nature uses recycling as means to prevent drastic changes in those details. Nutrients, for example, are recycled. When a living thing dies it decomposes and becomes nutrients (fertilizers or minerals) in the soil which plants can use to grow. In fact any biogenic material (anything formed in a living thing) can be degraded by bacteria. They are said to be biodegradable.
Just leave a pile of grass clippings (biodegradable material) in your garden and in a few days, dig your fingers into the pile. You will be surprised how hot it is. It is already decomposing to release the nutrients. Why is it hot then? Well, good bacteria are using the grass as food and are using oxygen to break down the food to release energy. Like us, they need energy to live. Some of the energy is released as heat.
Decomposition is a natural process and we can use the above and a few more tricks to make compost. It depends on what starting material we use. Certain materials and unsuitable condition for decomposition may favor bad bacteria and cause odor. This is called pollution. Pollution may be a source of disease.
Composting
Concerning pollution, we will try to explain how and why more effort needs to be made to segregate our rubbish nationally and how it can be done. Non-biogenic material like plastic would be recycled Note that plastic is made from fossil fuel products and more should be done to minimize its use. Biogenic material including wood waste from paper industries and other sources could be turned into compost. H.E.A.L will explain the biology of composting and also give practical clues on how to make compost.
Go Green
The five-R’s principle will be nailed into everybody’s mind: Recycle, Re-use, Reduce, Repair and Re-think. The expression ‘Go Green’ must be understood by everybody and emphasis will be laid on why it has to be done. Protocols on environmental issues are difficult to implement without winning approval from the public. But it has to be from an informed public and it is actually easier, as with many other issues, to win full support of the public if the latter is well informed. So, the ‘Education’ side of the issue will not be neglected.
Trees
In order to be alive or to sustain life, food and oxygen are vital. Trees play a role in providing these directly or indirectly. Trees (plants in general) need two raw materials from the environment:
CO2 (carbon dioxide) in air and water from the soil.
Plants literally convert CO2 into food. However, they need a source of energy. The wonder is that they can directly capture the sun’s energy. In making our food, plants release oxygen for us to breathe.
Plants therefore are the first (primary) producers of food. Herbivorous animals eat plants and indirectly obtain sun’s energy but less of it than plants. Carnivorous animals eat the herbivores and obtain sun’s energy from them but less than what herbivore get from plants. So, plants are eaten by an herbivore and the latter is eaten by a carnivore. This is called a food chain. Energy flows from the sun along this food chain. Humans also form part of the food chain. We eat vegetables and meats to get the energy (sun’s energy) from them.
Global warming
So plants use CO2 and give us food and oxygen. What if we do not have enough plants around? We would have less food and oxygen. But CO2 in air will accumulate. Living things breathe out CO2 and burning (fires, cooking) use oxygen and produce more CO2. It is the accumulation of CO2 that is causing global warming. The accumulation is caused mainly by burning fuel and cutting down trees.
Incidentally, nature made fossil fuel using mainly trees. This is because trees represent biogenic material that contains energy (sun’s energy), the so-called ‘Biomass’. When we burn fuel, we get the energy (Bio-energy) back, which we use for cooking, for driving our machines and vehicles. That is good but burning or combustion releases CO2!
Informed public
H.E.A.L will use the above as the basis to explain in future blogs the following issues to the non-biologist public;
• Nutrition and why vegetables give more energy than meats.
• How Biomass sunk underground millions of years ago turned into fossil fuel
• Why fossil fuel is non-renewable
• How carbon dioxide and some other gases produce the vital ‘greenhouse effect’
• What is enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming?
• Why should we reduce the use of fossil fuel?
Energy
We need to reduce the use of fossil fuel for two main reasons;
• We are using up the world reserves and oil experts arguably claim that we only have enough for another forty years or so.
• The burning of fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide and this is contributing to the observed raise in temperature of the globe and the UN claims we have only eight years to save the world.
Bio-energy and Bio-fuels
Nature made fuel from biomass (biogenic material; especially trees). The question is: Can we, humans, do the same? Fortunately, yes! And that is our answer to reducing the use of fossil fuel. Biomass can be fermented (a biological process) to form bio-ethanol (as opposed to ethanol made from petrol products by a chemical reaction). Examples of biomass are, wood and wood waste, crops (e.g. Maize, sugar cane, beet-root), garbage.
Bio-ethanol as transport fuel
Bagass from sugar cane is already being used in some countries to make bio-ethanol. This ethanol can be used not only to make electricity but also to use as fuel for vehicles. The latter use is not a new one. Indeed, Henry Ford called ethanol, ‘The fuel of the future’. His early Model T automobile ran on ethanol! Many states in America insist on using E10 (90% petrol, 10% ethanol) in vehicles. Most vehicles can use E10 without any engine modification. Using higher percentages of alcohol would require some engine modification but the automotive industry welcome these and many manufacturers are already producing cars that can use up to E100 (100% alcohol).
The two main producers of ethanol are the US and Brazil. Brazil started using E5 in 1931 and slowly increased to E 25 in 2010. In fact a minimum of E22 is compulsory in Brazil (E10 is compulsory in the US). New Flexible-fuel vehicles exist now that can use varying amounts of fuel (up to 85% ethanol) from many manufacturers.
Another transport bio-fuel that will probably gain popularity is bio-diesel. Any vegetable animal fat oil can easily be converted into bio-diesel. In America, many people are making their own bio-diesel at home. The process is indeed quite simple. We could explore our sources of oil; corn, sunflower, soybean and even waste oil from restaurants and hotels to assess their use as raw material for bio-diesel.
The energy race
There are arguments both for and against the use of bio-fuels in the energy competition, considering that solar energy is more efficient both for producing heat and for making electricity. H.E.A.L will expose both sides of the issue and show why the arguments against are not valid, especially in the Mauritian context. Based on estimates in the 2006 World Energy Outlook of the International Energy Agency (IEA), it is clear that bio-energy is becoming more popular. This is not surprising as it costs much less. One strong environmental aspect is that bio-fuels burn more smoothly than petrol and release less CO2. Furthermore, the plants that are used to make bio-fuels have consumed CO2 during their growth. Scientists are exploring the use of other biogenic material including cellulosic (tree parts and grass) products which would be broken down by biologically engineered bacteria, algae and fungi. The use of algae is interesting because it will not make use of land that could be used for food crops.
Gas emission and pollution
Pollution is not simply eyesore. Biogenic material can rot and cause multiplication of ‘bad’ bacteria which flying insects could bring to our food and affect our health. Furthermore, rotting garbage releases CO2 and another gas called methane; both greenhouses gases. Now, an interesting fact is that methane can be used to make electricity. I mentioned segregation of garbage above. Biogenic garbage and indeed compost can be used to produce methane using a biological process called anaerobic digestion (breaking down in the absence of oxygen). This gas can be used to make electricity.
Pollution and toxic substances
Biogenic material is biodegradable and therefore, if not recycled by man, will be recycled by nature. Man-made material like plastic should be collected for recycling. Going green goes beyond that. There are many chemicals that we use to control microbes. Many of these are hazardous chemicals that harm the environment. In particular, we should avoid chlorine and phosphate-based detergents. Apart from epidemic situations, we could use a variety of substances that we already have in our kitchen and that we actually use in our food (vinegar, lemon, sodium bicarbonate). They are much cheaper and safer. We also need to explain why plain soap is better than disinfectants for household purposes.
POPs and other chemicals
POPs are Persistent Organic Pollutants that can affect the environment and bio-accumulate along food chains. The UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Stockholm Convention has identified 12 POPs that are used in many countries. They have a long life in the environment and can travel long distances through the air, water and migratory organisms. It is believed that they can affect human beings in numerous ways as follows:
• Cancers
• Reduced reproductive capacity
• Endometriosis (a disease of the uterus)
• Affected nerves and reduced learning capacity in children
• Increased incidence of diabetes
• Weakened immune system
POPs and many other toxic chemicals are thus a serious threat that needs urgent attention and their use in Mauritius needs to be investigated. The Pop and a lot of other toxic chemicals are therefore a serious threatens and urgent attention is required. They affect everything that is on their path. Their final destination could be the sea. The sea would transport them to faraway land where they would cause other damages. Let's not forget how DDT has affected the eagles in America and then crossed the ocean to end up in Antarctica where they affected penguins. This was caused by bio-accumulation through the food chains in the sea. POP has the potential to do the same. But it is not all. They would also affect marine life and we should think of the coral reefs.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are among the most amazing of ecosystems on our planet. Together with green algae the reefs represent the rain forests of the sea. Like rain forests, they absorb CO2, release oxygen and make food. They have a great bio-diversity with thousands of species that are unique to reefs. Reefs also have living coral polyps growing. Pollution including toxic Industries dumping hazardous waste (toxic chemicals and heavy metals), human sewage, agricultural runoff, exhaust from boats, oil spill, sand and poor fishing practices all are affecting coral reefs around the world. Global warming also harms coral reefs. Global warming causes sea water to evaporate and this leaves the coral above the water. The coral polyps cannot breathe above the water and therefore die. When they die, there is no coral formation because it is polyps that build the coral. Food chains in the reef are affected. Everything dies after that.
More than a quarter of the earth’s coral reefs have already been destroyed. Coral reefs take millions of years to form. Many countries are blessed with coral reef protection. If we destroy them we will suffer severe consequences. Knowledge that they are being destroyed is not enough. We need to understand, as with all the other issues, why we need the knowledge. But there is one thing that we all understand. It is the reefs that give the beautiful lagoons we have in many places in the world and that we have learnt to appreciate.
H.E.A.L's Health
H.E.A.L’s Limb 1
Health
The human body is a work of art both inside and outside, so wonderfully built that one would be inquisitively puzzled as to why it ever becomes diseased. The environment is the main culprit so I wonder why health and environment are treated as separate issues when doing so is almost a sin.
War- Microbiology and toxicology v/s immunology
Think of a war. The ‘attackers’ are from the environment (chemicals, microbes, allergens, ‘bad’ food...) and the ‘defenders’ are inside your body (your immune system and your general health). Your health (physical, mental and genetic) is directly or indirectly related to your environment (physical, social and psychological). We have to understand both and cannot separate the two (Health and environment). Indeed, a new field or method of studying health is Conservation medicine. It studies the interaction between human health and the environment and that includes animals. Conservation medicine is also known as Ecological medicine, Environmental medicine, or Medical geology.
Teaching health issues
Microbes and chemicals in the environment constantly threaten the proper functioning of our body and indeed all living things, our animals and crops. Sometimes the threat is self-inflicted and sometimes accidental. H.E.A.L will address both. People need to know more about pathogens (microbes-bacteria, viruses and other organisms); when, how and why antibiotics are used. It is also important that people not only realise that abuse of antibiotics causes the emergence of resistant bacteria (those that are not killed by the overused antibiotic) but also understand what causes the resistance. Microbes in the environment are controlled using various chemicals (soaps and disinfectants). Some of these too cause resistance and many can harm the environment. Thus, caution has to be exercised in our use of chemicals in controlling microbes (see POPs in the blogg on Environment). But control there must be because pathogens infect our hopes and kill our progress; drugs (both medicinal and illegal) and chemicals can destroy lives physically and psychologically.
Let us learn more about them. We need the knowledge to minimise the impact of these three potential killers from the environment. Too much medicinal drugs can be bad; learn about side-effects and cross-reactions.
Genetics in disease
What about genetics? Some diseases are hereditary (they run in the family) and are therefore genetic. This is a kind of war where the ‘attacker’ is not from the environment but from inside your body. Some genetic diseases have complex hereditary characteristics. Biologists are starting to understand the genetic basis of diseases like cancer, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. We tend to ignore this aspect of disease. Medical curricula too do not tend to stress this. Indeed, in the future there will be genetic tests that will define the genetic predisposition of individuals (i.e., genetic tests will show if you have a higher risk to get the disease). Accordingly, preventive measures and treatment will be less random and will be based on these tests. We should certainly wonder if environmental issues (food, exercise and chemicals) can influence genetic diseases. “It’s one of these classic things: is it genes or environment? It turns out it’s both,” says Dr. Jake Lusis, professor of medicine and human genetics at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, “Heart disease is one of these complex diseases in that it has multiple genetic and environmental factors. Really, our understanding is very, very incomplete.” Another doctor at John Hopkins University says, ‘You can’t beat genetics.’ We will discuss this too; Environment v/s Genetics in the prevention and cure of disease.
The genetic basis of some diseases is quite complicated. Let us consider diabetes type 2 as an example in this category of disease. Much of the genetic basis is known. Three companies in the US, Navigenics, 23andMe and DecodeMe are already offering genetic tests that can tell if someone has a genetic predisposition for diabetes type 2. Dr Francis Collins, the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) says, ‘I signed up for all three because I wanted to see if they gave the same answer; they all agreed my diabetes risk is higher.’ However, he adds, ‘Admittedly, right now your family history may be your best bet and it doesn't cost anything.’ You cannot change your genetics but more interestingly is that, at least with diabetes type 2, environmental factors can override the genetic predisposition. Controlling weight, eating a balanced diet and including plenty of exercise are some of the environmental changes we can make that will reduce the possibility of contracting Type 2 diabetes and even control it. It is not simply about reducing sugar intake because it is not sugar that causes diabetes. Overweight or obesity is the real risk factor, not the sugar directly. Several studies have shown that there is ‘no definitive influence of sugar intake on the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.’ However we should reduce high calories generally and have a balanced diet.
Mechanism and control of disease
Our body has its own rules and we cannot change these. There is some room for tolerance and adaptation but if we stretch the rules beyond their limits disease will set in. How much can we stretch? That is the question. Stretching too much is equivalent to Biological stress. Stress of any form is the primary initiator of disease. If we removed that stress, we could prevent disease.
Preventive medicine
Prevention involves understanding the ‘rules’ in the body. The rules are simple and follow simple logic which I would like to call ‘Bio-logic’. One of the rules is based on a very simple phenomenon- burning. If you burn wood, for example, heat is produced and we can use it for cooking. Similarly, if we burn food, energy is released. Whether you burn wood or food, oxygen is needed (That is why you ventilate the coal when you are grilling your BBQ). Your body needs food (sugar) and oxygen to produce energy. Your body needs energy; simple!
Now, if one part of your heart, for instance, does not receive food and oxygen, that part dies. This is a disease of the heart called MI (Myocardial infarction). If the same thing happens in your brain, a part of the brain dies. This is called a stroke. Food of the right type (water included) is very important. But food does not bring only energy; it also supplies very important things called ‘Nutrients’. The process of taking food into the body is called ‘Nutrition’. Oxygen is not a nutrient. It is only needed to break down the food we eat. We can increase the available oxygen in our body with exercise.
Nutrition and exercise in prevention
Exercise increases the availability of food and oxygen to tissues and organs. Thus exercise should not be only for athletes, young or diseased people. The numerous benefits of exercise need to be reiterated.
Thus, we wish to introduce ‘Diex lifestyle’ activity groups to give education on Diet and Exercise and also on removal of bad habits. Ideally, nutritionists, P.E teachers, pure biologists and doctors would work together to devise ‘Diex’ programmes in view of promoting health and controlling disease. Indeed, certain diseases can be quite effectively controlled using diet and exercise. Prevention is cheaper than cure and sometimes there is no cure. Here is one of the many ways H.E.A.L will try to contribute towards savings in individual expenditure on health.
Communicating with the doctor
Many people say that doctors do not like giving details about the disease of their loved ones. But the question is, ‘If he told them everything, would they understand the answer?’ You need a minimum medical knowledge to improve communication between a health professional and a patient.
It is my firm belief that there is no knowledge more important than Biology for an individual and perhaps for his country as well. I am not imposing the ‘Bio-concepts on you. You already are ‘Bio’- you like it or not; a large part of your environment is ‘Bio’. ‘Bio’ means ‘life’. In this respect, H.E.A.L will also explain, despite its projected attempt to over-simplify biological and medical issues, how complicated the human body is and how difficult and tricky, diagnosis of a disease is and why no unqualified person should try to diagnose or prescribe medicine.
It is also important to realise that the doctor does not know everything about medical issues. To this effect, H.E.A.L proposes to unambiguously define for the public, the role of each biologist in society- the biology teacher, the ‘Medical’ lecturers, the nurse, the health care assistant, the doctor (more appropriately the medical practitioners), the medical scientist, the medical researcher (the one who gives medical professionals all their knowledge), the medical biologist and the environmentalist, amongst others.
We would like to formulate a series of articles and videos entitled ‘A day in the life of a ...........’; a day in the life of each of the numerous professions involving Biology. A day in the life of a nurse, for example, would show to people how hectic this profession is. Hopefully, this will allow people to be more patient and show more respect to nurses. The nurse, in turn, having been the focus will correct his imperfections, if any.
How to H.E.A.L the world
‘H.E.A.L with Biolophy’ invites everyone to heal the world (or attempt to).
By Sunil Appadoo
[BSc Hons –Biomedical Sciences, MSc- Applied Molecular Biology and Biotechnology]
Introduction
The world is infested with all kinds of problems and Governments, NGO’s, religious bodies and other institutions are actively dealing with them. Some problems are eradicated; some simply disappear after having done its ‘course’, some of the more stubborn ones remain to bug our life while other new ones appear. Many new NGO’s are coming to address the stubborn and the new problems. ‘H.E.A.L with Biolophy’’ is a proposal for an NGO which will address problems associated with the environment, human health and certain social problems that have their origin in genetics. H.E.A.L will use a novel interpretation of certain basic concepts of Biology (Bio- Concepts) to try to solve or attenuate the said problems.
Definitions of H.E.A.L and Biolophy
H.E.A.L is an acronym for Health, Environment, Appreciation and Love for Mankind. Biolophy is a word derived from ‘Biology’ and ‘Philosophy’. I would like it to mean ‘using Biology as a philosophy in life’.
Summary of missions
Using the concepts of Biology, H.E.A.L intends to promote:
· The Health of people.
· The preservation of the Environment
· Appreciation of all living and non-living things, of the chemical and physical mechanisms that form the basis of the Bio-phenomenon
· Love for Mankind, fraternity and sharing to decrease racial discrimination
Justification
Biology is taught as an examinable subject at school, yet we do not realise that the knowledge it imparts is the down-to-earth answer to many environmental, health, social, socio-psychological and economic problems. Nowadays, we often hear about stem cell research, genetic engineering, cloning, recombinant DNA technology, genetically modified food, genetic finger-printing, human genome project, gene therapy, protein engineering, nanotechnology, bio-fuels, biotechnology, bio-terrorism, bio-this, bio-that, here a bio, there a bio, everywhere a bio (even old Mac Donald now has his Bio-farm). We simply will not survive without knowledge of Biology.
I have always felt Biology cannot be taught only as a subject but as a tool, an ingredient for successful living. Today, that knowledge of biology is a must is an international feeling. They give it different names but it is still Biology- a rose by any other name remains a rose. It is now a political tool and infiltrates Government strategies worldwide. Biology is not simply the ‘Study of life’; it is the blood of life and it flows in the veins of all societies. Ignoring it does not mean it is not there. It has been there all the time waiting to be noticed. Unfortunately people only see when something is red and bleeping (the red signal) or to put it more bluntly, when the blood spills (bleeding). It is better late than never, though!
Governments across the world have at long last been awakened by this life-flow of warm, comforting ‘blood’. They have felt the warmth of this awakening. Has this been prompted by the heating of the globe (global warming) or the imminent cold humanity would face when oil reserves will be depleted? The answer is unimportant. What matters is that now WE, biologists, can talk. The time is ripe. Politicians and economists are willing to listen because ‘the world is changing’. In fact, the world has always kept changing, but the problem now is that, because of man’s action, it is changing too fast. The world needs healing and Governments and NGOs cannot do it alone. It is everybody’s job; everybody’s responsibility.
Mission
H.E.A.L is an invitation to heal the world. The potential is there. I can assure you that we will make Biology ‘digestible’ and ‘assimilable’. I am big-headed, you may say. But does it matter? What matters is that we help ourselves and our world.
The ‘popularization of science’ is indeed a good thing. Joël de Rosnay, who is a special advisor at the in Paris an d President of Biotics International, has been criticised for his ‘Vulgarisation’ of science. Yet, he likes the term, and perhaps rightly. It is true that some early scientists resentfully used terms such as ‘prostitution of science’. Even now it is still a fact that some professionals do not want to ‘vulgarise’ science, because they earn their money selling their knowledge and it therefore pays to keep the public ignorant.
Anyway, H.E.A.L, is not really about popularisation or vulgarisation. It is about survival, harmony and welfare. Nevertheless, the tools we will use and the difficulties we will encounter will probably be similar to the ones Joël de Rosnay so eloquently describes in his book ‘L'écologie et la vulgarisation scientifique: de l'égocitoyen à l'écocitoyen’; eco-citizen- a nice term that adapts to H.E.A.L as ‘bio-citizen.’ Our primary objective is to turn Biology into ‘cultural activity’; that is what Biolophy is about. And as culture is about survival, so is ‘Biolophy’.
H.E.A.L proposes to show how much we need biology in our life and to make it accessible to people of all social class, creed, political penchant or religion. It aims to give fundamental bio-knowledge to the general public so that we can all have a better place to live. We believe people become more responsible when they understand the ‘Why’s’ of things. Acquirement of knowledge alone is not a guarantee for voluntary change. A child does not stop playing with matches when you ask or order him to do so. He stops when he understands why it is dangerous. We want to make people understand the facts about nature. But first people have to understand why they need to understand those facts. Understanding why, I believe, will nurture the ego, that is the person will start to feel the reality of the facts. This emotion is important; it is a pre-requisite for change. Change, if we want it to last, must be voluntary. Change involves understanding and accepting the knowledge, the facts. The facts I am talking about are those we learn in Biology. So, I am not talking about an invention but a different angle of vision and application.
Many NGO’s are trying hard to help mankind have a better place to live and H.E.A.L is doing just the same thing. But the approach is different. In addition, never before have so many issues been put together under one umbrella. I reiterate the reason why; it all concerns Biology and the interactions are such that the issues cannot be separated. The world is getting sick; we are analysing the sickness; we are explaining the effects, we are patch-repairing the symptoms but leaving the causes untouched. The source of the sickness is the human mind. I sincerely believe that a sound bio-knowledge could help make a more Earth-friendly human who will also be more peace-loving, human-friendly and generous, happy, charitable and healthy.
Martin Luther King had a dream; John Lennon was a dreamer; Bob Dylan believes ‘the answer is blowing in the wind’; Mahatma Gandhi thinks ‘you must be the change you wish to see in the world’. But C.G Jung says, ‘We cannot change anything until we accept it.’ And people do not accept unless they understand. How will they understand if we do not explain?
We also need to know what and how to explain? But then again, who will do it? Mother Theresa says, ’Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.’ Alone? I found an interesting picture in a Sociology book showing a crowd and each person in the crowd is saying, ‘What can one man do?’ Many small ripples in the sea could make a mighty wave; many gentle breezes make strong wind- the wind of change. To use John Kennedy’s thought, let’s not ask what our country can do for us; let’s ask what we can do for our country and why not ...for our World! Pretentious? Perhaps. But let us try first, and judge later. Negative criticism in matters of science often only shows ignorance. It is no time for judgement, division or opposition but concerted action. Let us be ‘Bio-friends’ and work together.
In order to realise this dream it would be ideal that everyone gave a hand and participated in any way he can as per our philosophy. H.E.A.L needs all interested biologists (environmentalist, ecologist, pharmacologist, nurse, doctor, immunologist, biochemist and organic chemist, physiologist, microbiologist, nutritionist, pathologist, socio-biologist, clinical psychologist and others) to give some ideas on how to education to the lay-person (the pedagogy and the communication) and also on the preparation of material that will be available on the net somewhat like 'Wikipedia' but the articles will have the author's name. Therefore you keep your identity.
None of us knows everything in biology. We will be amazed at how much we will learn from each other. But above all, we will discover how much we need each other. We need each other because there is no biochemistry without physiology; no nutrition without biochemistry; no medicine without nutrition; no nursing without medicine; all the biological sciences are inter-related.
We need non-biologists too; graphic designers, artists, singers, film makers, publishers, computer programmers, event managers, accountants, economists, sponsors, long distance runners, antique and rally car owners, owners of printing companies, journalists, politicians, bus owners, paint makers, teachers, activists, students.
What about organisations? Yes certainly. Your endorsement and participation is most welcome. Indeed our mission overlaps that of many other NGOs. We will support and accept support from any business and other institutions that share our views.
In fact everybody can help as said Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.’ And Helen Keller adds, ‘The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.’
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