STEM CELLS TO HEAL HEARTS

"People think stem cell therapies are 10 or 20 years away. The reality is that they're right around the corner," says Joshua Hare, MD, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at America's University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Stem cells are sometimes called the body's generic cells. Because they have the ability to differentiate into most kinds of cells in the body, they could theoretically offer an infinite supply closet when body parts are damaged. In 2009, Hare and his colleagues not only proved that it was safe to infuse heart attact patients with stem, but they also found evidence that the treatment halped the damaged hearts recover. "This is still experimental," Dr Hare says. "But it's very, very exciting."

Hare's group was one of several that has recently been leapfrogging past each other with advances. "In one of our studies, 45 patients were so sick, they had troble talking," says Bob Nellis, a spokesperson for the Maya Clinic in Rochester, New york state. "Now they can easily walk the lenght of a football field. One took up the trumpet.
"The real story is how fast it's all happening," Nellis adds. "It's the fastest - advancing field in human biology right now."

A BETTER BLOOD THINNER

For the nearly 2.5 million people with heart - rhythm abnormality called atrial fibrillation,
the blood thinner with genetic name warfarin, is a lifesaver .. and a major problem. It's a lifesaver because it helps prevent blood clots - the in  creased risk of stroke is the scariest thing about atrial fibrillation. It's a problem because preople taking warfarin need frequent  blood tests and dose adjustments ans can be forced to declay surgery until their drug level falls. Enter dabigatran, approved by the [US] FDA. At a high dose, it appears to be better than warfarin at preventing stroke; a lower dose seems just as good and is much less likely to cause side effects. The cardiology community has been waiting for years to have a replacement for warfarin," one heart expert told cdsnews.com when dabigatran was approved.

EASIER, MORE EFFECTIVE CPR

Cardio- pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) saves life. Now its accepted that a hands-only method is preferable to the classic push -and -breathe: This pared down method saves more lives. Here's why:

• Studies show that if your heart were to suddenly stop as you walked down the street, you'd have a little chance of getting CPR from a bystander - unless you're lucky.

• If someone did lead forward to perform effective CPR, your chance of survival would double or even triple.

• Bystanders are much more willing to help if they don't have to worry about germs from stranger's mouth. After an education campaign in Arizona, USA, 40 percent of victims got CPR, compared with 28 percent before the information initiative began.

Hands- only is not just more acceptable - it's more effective, says Anthony Komaroff, MD,    editor - in - chief of Harvard Health Letter. "When a person collapses, there's enough oxygen in the blood  that you don't need to breathe for them.What you need to do is keep that blood circulating to protect the brain and the rest of the body. The time you spend breathing - when you can't be pushing on the chest - is actually harming the patient."

CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD, also put this change on his list. "Hands - only CPR is easy to learn," he says. "And that means any- one in the room can save a life." To find a CPR class, go to heart.org.

How do the holes get into cheese?

How do the holes get into cheese?

 Cheese is made by adding rennet - a combination of various enzymes - to milk so that it coagulates, In the process, some of the protein and fat turn to 'curds' which separate from the res called 'whey' . The surds are then pressed into moulds and stored for a time until they mature.

In some cheeses, such as Tilsit, irregular holes appear because the curds are poured loosely into mould and not pressed. More whey drains away during storage, leaving cavities in the cheese. Large, spherical holes like those in Emmental - known as 'Swiss' cheese in some countries - develop a firm rind. The holes are produced by the lactic acid bacteria present in raw, unpasteurised milk. To make cheese with particularly large holes requires the addition of propionic acid bacteria, which consume the lactose and produce carbon dioxide as the cheese matures. The small bubbles join with larger ones, and as the rind develops and the curds harden, they are unable to escape. The holes vary in size according to how the cheese is matured and the number of bacteria present.

Why are mouldy cheeses mouldy?

Cheese like Stilton or Camembert are injected with harmless, edible, mould cultures under the most stringent hygienic conditions. Once the mould has spread, there is no room left in the cheese for any harrmful alien moulds. If cut cheese is left uneaten for a while the 'good' mould can grow over the cut surface or spread to other types of cheese stored nearby.

How is instant coffee manufactured?

How is instant coffee manufactured?

When we make a cup of instant coffee we actually brewing it for the second time. this is because the manufacturing of instant coffee begins with making coffee. Roasted and ground coffee beans are boiled in pot, just as they would be for mocha or turkish coffee, only much more intensely. When  most of the water has evaporated and the coffee solution that remains is dried. There are two ways of doing this: spray-drying and freeze-drying. With spray- drying, the wet coffee solution is sprayed through a fine nozzle into a drying tower, from the bottom of which hot, dry air rises. The remaining water evaporates and the instant coffee powder collects at the bottom of the tower. With freeze-drying, the coffee extract is chilled to -40*C in a matter of minutes. The slab of iced coffee then pass into a warm vacuum, where sublimation takes place - the solid ice turns straight into water vapour, bypassing the liquid stage. Again, all that is left behind is the familiar dry, water-soluble powder.

What exactly is 'soya meat'?

What exactly is 'soya meat'?

Soya meat is what the food industry calls 'textured soya', and it is used as a meat substitute with a similar protein content but no cholesterol. Herbs, spices and flavourings can be added to give soya a meaty taste, since it has barely any flavour of its own. Soya meat can also be made into different shapes, with variations in texture and composition designed to make it resemble a variety of meat products. Textured soya is produced from ground - up soya beans that have had up to 95% of their fat content removed by being pressed repeatedly. The ground soya is then mixed with water and passed through a extruder - a kind of mincer. Depending on the machine's setting, the soya emerges in different forms: mince, strings of sausages or thick ropes which can be sliced to make 'steaks'.

                 “Soya is versatile plant

                  that can be made into all sorts of food,

                  from oil and sausages to tofu”