The Planets

Our solar system has eight planets which orbit the sun. In order of distance from the sun they are; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto, which until recently was considered to be the farthest planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet. Additional dwarf planets have been discovered farther from the sun than Pluto.

A list of the 8 planets of the solar system, from the smallest diameter to the largest:

1. Mercury - 4,900 km in diameter
2. Mars - 6,800 km in diameter
3. Venus - 12,100 km in diameter
4. Earth - 12,800 km in diameter
5. Neptune - 49,500 km in diameter
6. Uranus - 51,100 km in diameter
7. Saturn - 125,000 km in diameter
8. Jupiter - 143,000 km in diameter

The benefits of a Banana

Bananas consist mainly of sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) and fiber, which makes them ideal for an immediate and slightly prolonged source of energy.

Reducing Depression
Bananas contain tryptophan, an aminoacid that can be converted to serotonin, leading to improved mood

Anemia
Bananas are relatively high in iron, which helps the body’s hemoglobin function

Constipation and Diarrhea
Due to their content in fiber, they help restore a normal bowel function. In addition, diarrhea usually depletes your body of important electrolytes (of which the most important is potassium, contained in high amounts in bananas). They also contain pectin, a soluble fiber (hydrocolloid) that can help normalize movement through the digestive tract.

Eyesight Protection
Research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology has proven that adults consuming at least 3 servings of fruit per day have a reduced risk (by 36%) of developing age-related mascular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

Healthy Bones
Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound that nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce enzymes that increase our digestive ability and protect us from unhealthy bacteria infections. Thanks to fructooligosaccharides, probiotic bacteria can increase both in number and functionality, increasing our body’s ability to absorb calcium. In addition, green bananas contain indigestible short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are very nutrient to the cells that make up the mucosa of the stomach. These cells, when healthy, absorb calcium much more efficiently.

Healthy Kidney
About 190,000 cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed each year. Research published in the International Journal of Cancer has shown that daily consumption of whole fruits and vegetables, especially bananas, is highly protective to kidney health. The results show that, over a long timeframe (13.4 years), women eating more than 2.5 servings of fruits and vegetable per day cut their risk of kidney cancer by 40%. Among the fruits, bananas were especially protective. Women eating bananas four to six times a week halved their risk of developing the disease compared to those who did not eat this fruit. The conclusion of the study is that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially bananas, cabbage and root vegetables, may reduce risk of kidney cancer. This is because bananas and many root vegetables contain especially high amounts of antioxidant phenolic compounds, while cabbage is rich in sulfur, necessary for effective detoxification of potential carcinogens.

Blood Pressure
Bananas are extremely high in potassium (about 4673mg), yet very low in sodium (1mg), thus having a perfect ratio for preventing high blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood-sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Smoking
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. They contain vitamins B6 and B12 they contain,as well as potassium and magnesium: these substances help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Ulcers
This is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicle cases. It also helps reduce acidity and reduces irritation. Bananas stimulate the cells on the internal stomach lining to produce a thicker mucus (which protects against acid). Additionally, bananas contain protease inhibitors that help eliminate bacteria in the stomach that have been pinpointed as a primary cause of ulcers.

Nerves
Bananas are high in B vitamins that have been shows to improve nerve function.

Mosquito Bites
Many people report that rubbing the inside of a banana peel on a mosquito bite is very effective in reducing itching and swelling

Stress Relief
Bananas are high in potassium, which helps normalize the hearthbeat and regulate the body’s water balance. During periods of high stress, our body’s potassium levels tend to be rapidly depleted: eating bananas is a healthy way to rebalance them without using drugs

Stroke Risk
According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can reduce the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.

History of MORINGA OLEIFERA (Murunga kirai)

Facts on Farts

The gas in our intestine comes from several sources : air we swallow, gap seeping into intestines from blood, gas produced by chemical reaction in our guts and gas produced by bacteria that living in our guts. The composition of fart gas is highly variable. Most of the gas especially oxygen, is trapped by body before it gets into intestine. By the time gas reaches the intestines , most of the nitrogen is left in large intestine. Moreover, the chemical reaction between stomach acid and intestinal fluids may produce hydrogen gas, which is also being a product of bacteria action. Bacteria is also produce hydrogen and methane.

The longer a fart is held in, larger the proportion of inert nitrogen because the other gases tend to be absorbed into bloodstream through the wall of intestine. A nervous person who swallow a lot of air and who moves stuff through his digestive system rapidly may have a lots of oxygen in his/her farts because his body didn't have time to absorbs the oxygen.

If both parents are methane producers , their children have a 95 percent chance of being producers as well. Some researchers suspect a genetic influence, whereas others think the ability is due to environmental factors. However, all methane gas comes from bacteria and not form body cells.

NASA's Juno Spacecraft Launches to Jupiter - 05.08.11

NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:25 a.m. PDT (12:25 p.m. EDT) Friday to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter.
Juno's detailed study of the largest planet in our solar system will help reveal Jupiter's origin and evolution. As the archetype of giant gas planets, Jupiter can help scientists understand the origin of our solar system and learn more about planetary systems around other stars.

Juno will cover the distance from Earth to the moon (about 250,000 miles or 402,336 kilometers) in less than one day's time. It will take another five years and 1,740 million miles (2,800 million kilometers) to complete the journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft will orbit the planet's poles 33 times and use its collection of eight science instruments to probe beneath the gas giant's obscuring cloud cover to learn more about its origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere, and look for a potential solid planetary core.

With four large moons and many smaller moons, Jupiter forms its own miniature solar system. Its composition resembles that of a star, and if it had been about 80 times more massive, the planet could have become a star instead.

Sultan Kösen - Tallest man in 2011

The 2010 edition of Guinness Book of World Records lists Sultan Kosen (born 10 December 1982) as the tallest living man as well as having the largest hands (11.22 inches) (28.5 centimeters) and largest feet (14.4 inches) (36.5 centimeters) when last measured on 8 February 2011.

According to Guinness, Sultan Kosen is the tallest living human reaching an average height of 8'1" (2,46.5 m) when measured by GWR in Ankara, Turkey, in February 2009. He takes over the title from China's Bao Xishun, who stands 'just' 2.36 metres (seven feet 8.95 inches). However, Sultan Kosen was still growing and at a more recent meeting with then tallest man of the U.S. George Bell, Sultan Kosen was measured at 8'2" tall. On 8 February 2011 Sultan Kosen was measured in Ankara, Turkey at 8 feet 3 inches (251.4 cm).

Personal details :

Sultan Kosen was unable to complete his schooling because of his extreme height, but works occasionally as a farmer to support his family. Sultan Kosen has three brothers and a sister, who are all normal-sized, but his rate of growth surged from the age of 10 because of a tumour which caused too much growth hormone to be released from his pituitary gland. The tumour was successfully removed in surgery and he was thought to have stopped growing last year (2008). He uses walking sticks and tires quickly if he is standing. Another pretender to the tallest title, Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk, who claims to be 10.5 centimetres taller than Sultan Kosen, fails to qualify for the record because he refused to be measured by Guinness World Records officials. Guinness editor-in-chief Craig Glenday travelled to Turkey to personally validate Sultan Kosen's height under strict guidelines, measuring him three times in one day because bodies expand and shrink throughout the day.

Epileptic fit?

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which people experience repeated seizures. Let’s start with the basics. Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes the brain to produce sudden bursts of electrical energy. For the brain to function, there needs to be a balance between increased activity (excitation) and restraint (inhibition). When this balance is changed, a seizure may result.

Causes:
Epilepsy can result from a birth defect, birth or head injury, brain tumor, or an infection in the brain. It can also be inherited. But for half the people with epilepsy, a cause cannot be found. Epilepsy is not contagious.

Epilepsy can occur for the first time at any time, including during old age.

Seizure:
A seizure is the abnormal electrical release of cells, called neurons, in the brain. This can cause different symptoms based on the location of the seizure and where the abnormal electrical activity spreads. Not all seizures are the same. They can range from tingling in a finger to grand mal (generalized) seizures, during which people lose consciousness, become stiff, and jerk.

Not everything that looks like a seizure is a seizure. And not every seizure is an epileptic seizure. Fainting, collapsing, and confusion can also result from other disorders or even from emotional stress. Withdrawal from alcohol or addicting drugs can also cause seizures, but these will not continue if you avoid these situations.

Difference between seizures and epilepsy:
Seizures are a symptom of epilepsy. Epilepsy is the underlying tendency of the brain to release electrical energy that disrupts other brain functions. So the seizure is the symptom of this underlying condition. Having a single seizure does not necessarily mean a person has epilepsy.

Which doctors treat epilepsy?
Neurologists, pediatric neurologists, pediatricians, neurosurgeons, internists, and family physicians all provide treatment for epilepsy.

A neurologist is a physician who specializes in diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles. A neurologist who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy is an epileptologist.

People whose seizures are difficult to control have many options and may seek treatment in large hospitals, medical centers, neurological clinics at universities, and from specialists in private practice.