Archive for the ‘Outside The Lines’ Category

The chicken’s superior ability to see color may aid scientists

02.23.2010

Researchers have mapped five types of light receptors in a chicken’s eye. What researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered is that the receptors were laid out in interwoven mosaics which afforded the chicken the ability to see several colors in any given part of the retina.

chickenDetails of the study are in the February 1, 2010 journal of PLoS ONE. Scientists are hoping that this knowledge will allow them to use stem cells and other new therapies to treat the various genetic disorders that can cause various forms of blindness.

The difference between the avian and human retina is that humans have cones which are sensitive to red, blue and green wavelengths while birds have cones sensitive to red, blue, green and violet wavelengths. They can even detect some ultraviolet wavelengths. In addition, our avian friends have a double cone which is believed to help them detect motion.

Since many of the conditions that cause blindness in humans involve cones and rods, it is hoped that studying the organization of the chicken’s retina will help scientists understand and fix related problems in the human eye.

Andrea Schumann
Staff Writer

Is Organic Food Really No Better Than Conventional?

08.07.2009
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Nancy Hirsch, VisiVite.Com Certified Nutritionist

Quote of the day:

“The food industry, in alliance with pharmaceutical and big biotechnology companies, has waged a long, often cynical campaign to convince the public that mass-produced, chemically-assisted and intensively-farmed products are just as good as organic foods, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.”

The quote comes from an article written in response to the UK’s Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) report this week that claims that organic food is no healthier for you than conventional food. The findings were based on fifty years worth of research papers on the subject.

There are, in my opinion, many inherent problems with this report. First of all, contaminants  like pesticides and antibiotics contained in conventional produce were not even addressed. The FSA said that they were “beyond the scope of the study.” It is now widely believed that pesticides not only poison the soil and harm wildlife, but also promote cancer and many other diseases because of their toxicity.

Is this food organic?

Is this food organic?

The FSA report didn’t include the latest research commissioned by the European Union, which found that vitamins and other beneficial compounds were significantly greater in organic crops than in conventional ones. The EU study found that organic wheat, tomatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce had between 10 and 20 percent more vitamins than conventional produce. And let’s not forget that organic food simply tastes better. It’s not just that conventional food is sprayed with pesticides and herbicides — it is also filled with additives, colorings and other chemicals just so that is has an acceptable appearance once it reaches grocery store shelves.

The FSA also failed to include the 15 studies that came out after the cut-off date of February 2008, which could have changed the outcome of the report. For example, one study  found that organic foods contain more phosphorus, while conventional foods contain more nitrogen, which scientists have linked to cancer.

Supporters of organic farming claim that the results of the study are flawed because of the criteria used to select the most important research. Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association states, “The review rejected almost all of the existing studies of comparisons between organic and non-organic nutritional differences.” When all of the research was taken into account, organic food was frequently higher in nutrients than conventional produce. Beta-carotene was shown to be over 50 percent higher in organic food, and organic milk contained around 60 percent more antioxidants and beneficial fatty acids than non-organic milk. Even the FSA’s own published research shows that organic foods are clearly far better for the consumer in nutritional terms alone.

So why was this research by the FSA brought to the attention of the public? There are some people who feel that by reporting it this way and apparently rendering the playing field equal for conventional farmers, the government and the agricultural sector wouldn’t have to begin the difficult job of moving towards a system of sustainability. One reporter on the subject wrote in response to this idea, “Sustainable agriculture improves not just our personal health, but our collective environmental health as well.”

And I couldn’t agree more.

The Importance of Inspired Musical Education

04.08.2009

Are you concerned about the state of musical education in our country?

If so, I must share with all of you a speech given last week by Wynton Marsalis.

Marsalis, who has won a Pulitzer Prize in Music and several Grammy awards, delivered the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the evening component of the 22nd annual Arts Advocacy Day, organized by Americans for the Arts.  The organization’s purpose is to promote the arts and arts education in America.

The speech goes to the heart of the value of music in American society and our inherent responsibility to nourish it, regardless of its economic value.

Marsalis cried at his speech’s conclusion. If you are passionate about his message, you will too.

“A financial inheritance can be accurately assessed in dollars, but what is the value of an artistic heritage? “
- Wynton Marsalis

A 60 minute video of the lecture can also be watched from the bottom of this page.

Marsalis starts approximately 10 minutes into the video. A transcript of his speech can be downloaded here. It is a tour de force amalgamation of musical history, culture, and the collective wisdom of our nation. But if you are impatient and look at nothing else, at the very least read the final page of the transcript.

The message is stunning and transparent - nurturing passionate musical education and appreciation is important not merely because it trains today’s children to be tomorrow’s financial donors, but more importantly, music uniquely defines us as individuals and creates a shared culture, strengthens our interpersonal bonds, and creates a common history. That history transcends the culture of what we are and what we do by instead fostering a culture of who we are.

The power of music, when taught with passion and shared with joy, goes far beyond the notes and rhythms.

Paul Krawitz, M.D.