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Indian medicinal plants of Himalyan region: Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.) Wall. ex DC. syn. H. antidysenterica (Linn.) ( Apocynaceae) Vern. kurchi

Indian medicinal plants of Himalyan region: Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.) Wall. ex DC. syn. H. antidysenterica (Linn.) ( Apocynaceae) Vern. kurchi

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.) Wall. ex DC. syn. H. antidysenterica (Linn.) ( Apocynaceae) Vern. kurchi This plant is especially abundant in the sub-Himalayan tract. The used part is bark. The bark has astringent, antidysenteric, anthelmintic, stomachic, febrifugal and tonic properties. It is used in the treatment of amoebic dysentery and diarrhoea, and is usually administered as extract or decoction. Although slow in action as compared with emetine, it is less toxic and can be administered orally. Kurchi bark is given either alone or with other astringent drugs in piles, colic, dyspepsia, chest affections and diuresis ; it is also used for diseases of the skin and spleen. A hot decoction of the drug is used as a gargle in toothache.
Indian medicinal plants : Linum usitatissimum Linn (Linaceae)

Indian medicinal plants : Linum usitatissimum Linn (Linaceae)

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Parts used are seeds. An erect annual, herb, cultivated throughout the plains of India and up to an altitude of 1,800 m. The seeds heal ulcers, urinary discharges, cure leprosy,remove "Vata" and "pitta", "kapha" bad for the eyesight, lead to impotancy, used in consumption.; The leaves remove "Vata" and cough and asthma. The roasted seeds are said to be astringent. Fumigation with the smoke is recommended for colds in the head and hysteria and the tinder used to staunch haemorrhages. The seeds are used internally for gonorrhoea and irritation of the genito-urinary system. The flowers are considered as cardiotonic. The seeds are
Indian medicinal plants : Commiphora mukul(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl. syn. Balsamodendron mukul Hook. ex Stocks syn Commiphora wightii (Arn.)Bhandari( Burseraceae)

Indian medicinal plants : Commiphora mukul(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl. syn. Balsamodendron mukul Hook. ex Stocks syn Commiphora wightii (Arn.)Bhandari( Burseraceae)

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Commiphora mukul(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl. syn. Balsamodendron mukul Hook. ex Stocks syn Commiphora wightii (Arn.)Bhandari( Burseraceae)Used Part is Gum A small tree or shrub with spinescent branches occurring in the arid rocky tracts of Rajputana, Khandesh, Berar, Mysore, Sind, and Baluchistan. An Ayurvedic preparation "Thyrocap" having guggul as one of the constituents is used to control simple and diffuse goitre very effectively. During the treatment, T4 and T8 cells increase in the serum of patients. "Kanchanar guggul", also a composite preparation containing this resin is used in the treatment of swellings like galaganda, gandamala, granthi etc. Guggul has a wide range of usefulness in indigenous medicine.
Some medicinal plants of India: Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. commonly known as Gorkha mundi

Some medicinal plants of India: Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. commonly known as Gorkha mundi

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Sphaeranthus indicus Linn. commonly known as Gorkha mundi (Inflorescence)An aromatic herb, found abundantly in damp situations in the plains all over India, ascending to an altitude of c. 1,500 m. in the hills, especially as a weed in the rice-fields. All parts of the plant find medicinal uses. The drug may consist of the whole plant or only capitula (inflorescences). It is mostly administered in the form of its steam- distillate.
Strip-Search Prank Call

Strip-Search Prank Call

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Do you remember Stanley Milgram's famous authority experiments that found participants were willing to shock the living hell out of people if ordered to do so?

If you’re not familiar with this, just google “Milgram experiment” and get ready for some scary reading. If you ARE familiar with this, check out this link to a Washington Post article which describes a recent French reality show that found contestants willing to kill for cash.  Here is a BBC excerpt on Milgram's work.
Weekends - The Biggest Health Concern For The Latest Generation

Weekends - The Biggest Health Concern For The Latest Generation

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

Obesity is on the rise and one cause for that may be that young people do even less on the weekend than they do during the week - the number of those with inactive lifestyles goes up 100% when they're out of school.   Instead, boys primarily play video games and teenage girls prefer to surf the Internet.

The research, which forms part of the European HELENA study, has shown how the proportion of young people who watch television and play on the computer for more than two hours per day doubles at the weekend.
The rich biodiversity of eastern Himalaya has great medicinal potential

The rich biodiversity of eastern Himalaya has great medicinal potential

Sep 18 2010 | comment(s)

The rich biodiversity of eastern Himalaya including Bhutan, comprises most of the aforesaid types of forests except for the ones described at Sl. no. 4, 5 and 6 in preceding paras.
A long list of things I don't like about Mendeley - Alan Cann

A long list of things I don't like about Mendeley - Alan Cann

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

As I have said too many times in too many places to count, of the four pillars of Science 2.0 I originally envisioned - communication, collaboration, publication and participation - collaboration was always going to be the hardest.

Basically, it doesn't exist.   Here, an advocate outlines why he doesn't use one of the available tools, Mendeley, which is not so much science 2.0 as a reference organizer but perhaps has a kernel that could be used in the future.
Glucosamine And Chondroitin Don't Work For Joint Pain - Study

Glucosamine And Chondroitin Don't Work For Joint Pain - Study

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

Two popular supplements taken by millions of people around the world to combat joint pain, glucosamine and chondroitin, do not work, according to research published today - but they don't hurt you either.  Basically, they are expensive placebos.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are either taken on their own or in combination to reduce the pain caused by osteoarthritis in hips and knees.  The researchers, led by Professor Peter Jüni at the University of Bern in Switzerland, state that although they don't work these supplements are not dangerous - "we see no harm in having patients continue these preparations as long as they perceive a benefit and cover the cost of treatment themselves."
Perfect casting:

Perfect casting: "Ali G" as Queen's Freddie Mercury - OMG

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

"Borat" star Sacha Baron Cohen is set to play flamboyant rocker Freddie Mercury in a dramatic feature focusing on his glory days as the frontman of Queen, its producers said on Thursday.

Aside from the fact that Cohen can pull off almost anything - well, that "Bruno" movie was crap but he set out to push some boundaries.  When he makes his "Ali G" movie it will be crazy successful.

Until then, take a look at them side-by-side.   I expect Cohen will nail it.
Launch Delays-- Failure, Victory, Or Luxury?

Launch Delays-- Failure, Victory, Or Luxury?

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

The prospective launch of the ambitious and successful Copenhagen Suborbitals rocket received a lot of press. The subsequent launch-abort and delay to spring may not seem an upbeat thing.  In a broad sense, though, it is.
"MAIN LOX VALVE FAILURE
Jupiter approaches Earth - catch it now or wait until 2022

Jupiter approaches Earth - catch it now or wait until 2022

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

A number of important things have happened since 1963.   In September, 1965, for example, Bob Dylan heralded in the modern rock album with "Highway 61 Revisited"(1) and my mother was so excited about a Sandy Koufax no-hitter for the Dodgers she went into labor(2) and gave birth to me.
How Group Theory Dispelled My Worry About Mirrors

How Group Theory Dispelled My Worry About Mirrors

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

I remember, as a child, being very upset by a ventriloquist’s dummy at a show, and crying out and making a ‘scene’.  Even well into my teens and beyond, I felt disturbed by “magic”, even in mathematics or science.  One particular incident I remember was being shown in class the ‘proof’, by an elementary form a calculus of variations, that the shortest path[1] between two coordinates is a straight line.  This left me with an uncomfortable feeling.
Is your child a

Is your child a "prehomosexual"? The latest on forecasting adult sexual orientation - Scientific American

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

Scientific American has basically fired all of its online columnists and seems to want to emulate Scienceblogs.com (without the pesky ethical angst - they are part of a multi-billion dollar company) so this sort of controversy-for-its-own sake is what their audience can look forward to - legitimizing superstitious, irrational nonsense and claiming it is a discussion point.   In reality, it is whoring-for-pageviews, though it will certainly work.

Does your son like musicals?   Daughter a tomboy?   
And, curiously enough, the age-old homophobic fears of parents seem to have some genuine predictive currency.
Saola: 'Unicorn' Sighted In Laos

Saola: 'Unicorn' Sighted In Laos

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

A non-mythological unicorn?   So it seems.   Unicorns have been mentioned throughout history, in mythology and in the works of The Bible and Pliny the Elder's Natural History.    Today the modern westernized unicorn is pure white and hangs out with virgins.

In zoology, it is never so simple.

In 1992, in Vietnam's Vu Quang Nature Reserve near the country's border with Laos, a spectacular zoological discovery occurred.  A creature with long horns (sorry unicorn fans - two of them) and white facial markings, and resembling the antelopes of North Africa but more closely related to wild cattle, a new species called the Saola was discovered.
Analogy Watch: Gravitational Lensing

Analogy Watch: Gravitational Lensing

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

My last post about hydrogen bonding included a video about dogs as an analogy to the chemistry. This got me thinking about visual analogies, and how video or images can be used to convey something that perhaps print can't quite accomplish.

This video by Brad Plummer and Julie Karceski of SLAC (disclaimer -- they are both colleagues and friends) explains the concept of gravitational lensing -- in which a particularly large galaxy bends light in such a way that an observer can see objects behind the galaxy -- with a simple household item: the wine glass. Watch:
Solutions For A Creativity Crisis: A Look At Cuba's Technological Disobedience

Solutions For A Creativity Crisis: A Look At Cuba's Technological Disobedience

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

When you think of the ideal creative environment, what comes to mind?  We may imagine a place where you have freedom of expression, a place that encourages breaking convention, somewhere that is abundant in resources that are readily accessible for innovative development of technology, and exposure to many different cultures for inspiration and collaboration.
Plants and plant products could reduce obesity

Plants and plant products could reduce obesity

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

Suddenly the prevalence of obesity in the last 25 years in rich and not so rich nations cant be attributed to the genetic factors. At present more than one billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese (WHO 2009). Among the two strategies to reduce obesity are (1) reduce the levels of pancreatic lipase which may help in reducing the absorption. (2) Reduce the appetite . Both are not the correct approach and could have side effects. Its not to reduce intake or absorption but it is to take proper food . Plants listed by Yun (2010) are important and already in use in traditional medicines.
People With Depression And Heart Disease Have 5X Greater Risk Of Death

People With Depression And Heart Disease Have 5X Greater Risk Of Death

Sep 17 2010 | comment(s)

A new study in Heart says a combination of depression and heart disease is far more lethal than either one of those condition alone.

Depressed people are more likely to die from all causes so it's difficult to narrow down whether or not depressed people with heart disease are at greater risk and people who who are depressed, but otherwise healthy, have been shown to be more likely to develop coronary heart disease, irrespective of what other risk factors they might have.