Week 3 BioPhysics

Bionic Man

The idea of a bionic man is creepy, but and what is the point to build a complete robotic man?  But using bionic parts the help humans function when they are impaired is pretty cool.  I'm sure if I lost a limb I would be stoked to get a bionic replacement, and if someone with diabetes could have a sensor in their eyeball to test for glucose levels so they didn't have to prick their finger every time they ate, that would be awesome too.  I guess it just gets to the point where someone may be more bionic than human and that would be strange.  So where do you draw the line?  I support the development of the parts to be used though.

“Could this $300 headset transform the lives of 'locked-in' patients?”

This is an amazing invention if it works.  If something could bring someone out of their "locked-in" prison and allow them to communicate to others, that would be incredible.  What a crazy oppression to be trapped inside your body, unable to move a muscle.  I learned a lot about ALS by reading this article, which was enlightening.  The end of the article sounded pessimistic, in that the software that reads brainwaves may have a lot of development needed to work well.  I can certainly understand why family is so desperate to find something to help their loved ones.

week 2 Bio Physics

Acupuncture as Effective Energy Medicine

I thought this quote was worth repeating: "The essential concept of Energy Medicine is to use any means to balance the fields and energies of the body.  The essential concept of Allopathic or Trauma Medicine is to repair physical damage and make the symptoms go away.  If you are injured in an automobile accident, by all means go to a Hospital.  If you have cancer, look to changing your thoughts, your emotions and you nutrition while detoxifying your body."  Energy medicine is a little vague in that its harder to test and study, but it has surely been shown to be effective.  I wonder how much the effectiveness comes from inward- the patient's belief system and changing their energies and how much comes from the practitioner inflicting change.  I suspect the two are influenced by each other and blend to create effective healing.

Kirlian Photography

This is very cool and intriguing.  How awesome would it be to see a physical representation of your aura?  (Other than the physical representation you put forward to the world every day).  It reminds me of a project I heard about recently, where scientists photographed water molecules exposed to different words.  First the water molecules were disorganized and chaotic.  Then they put words with positive connotations, such as "peace", "love", "happy" on the water bottles, and photographed the molecules.  The pictures they got were beautiful.  The water organized itself in hexagonal shapes that resembled fluid snowflakes.  Pretty neat.  Especially considering we are about 80% water.

Human Intent as it effects health

I think intention is super powerful.  I try to practice this in my own life and I believe I cleared up my skin by setting the intention "I have beautiful skin." I also have a friend who believes she got pregnant as soon as she set her intention on it.  I think our own beliefs structure how we behave, surely consciously but also subconsciously too.  So if we can train our mind to effect our subconscious that would be pretty awesome.  And maybe it just requires shifting our beliefs towards more positivity and that's good for everyone.  I'm super into this idea right now and I'm trying to use it a lot.  I use it to find parking spots too :)

BioPhysics and Oriental Medicine:

BioPhysics and Oriental Medicine:

I am excited to learn more about this topic.  I am sure many researches have tried to use BioPhysics to explain how acupuncture works.  We would like to know how the needles affect the molecular biology, structural biology, biochemistry neuroscience and physiology of humans.  Im sure people have tried to measure paths of energy flow to see if meridians can be scientifically mapped, and that would be cool to see.  I would also like to know about magnet use in Chinese Medicine.  And what about crystals?

BIO PHYSICS Week 1

BioPhysics

I know I’m a living system because :

Based on the article “How do I know when a being is living?” I can say I know I am living because I am continually self-producing.  I am an autopoietic organization.  My body is constantly rebuilding itself.  Cells die and new cells are produced.  Hair falls and out new hair grows.  Skin sloughs off and new skin grows.   I head that by the time we are 28 we have all new cells than we had when we were born.  We have transformed ourselves into a new person.  Not only am I constantly producing myself, hopefully one day I will help to grow another person as well.

Week 14, reflections on week 13 discussions

Crows offer clues to cognition

I like looking at this article just after reading about the dolphins and their amazing cognition.  I like how it compares the crows to a 7 year old child.  In our group we talked about how children in our society are coddled so that they aren't able to figure out simple life skills, but that a 3 year old child living in the jungle of Costa Rica might be as "smart" as the crow.  It is pretty neat that crows can solve problems in interesting ways.  I wonder if they could pass this information on to their offspring, as dolphins can.  I would like to know what age children dolphins are smarter than.  

week 14- Dolphins

   Couldn't agree more.  Dolphins are so cool, smart beautiful, playful, amazing, it is terrible to keep them confined for use in shows etc.  I love reading about all dolphins' amazing attributes.  It definitely makes me want to spend the rest of the night watching youtube videos about dolphins in the wild.  

   All I know is that sometimes when I am surfing, dolphins swim by, and sometimes they even surf in the waves, and it is out of this world amazing.  It is so cool to see them playing in the waves, and the energy they bring is palpable.  If the water is freezing, or I just got destroyed by a big set, and the dolphins swim by, my mood is lifted and my day is better.  

   And for this reason I agree that they should only be living in their natural habitat, interacting with their dolphin friends and family.  I love the author's passion about dolphins, but I can't help but think about all other animals.  Probably anyone who spent 25 years studying a particular species, and loved them, would be opposed to confining them for use in amusement parks and zoos.  Animals are always at their most awesome in nature.  But the author made a particularly good case for dolphins.

week 13- Earthworms Detoxify Pesticides at a high Cost

This article talks about the hardships faced by earthworms who live in pesticide treated, conventionally farmed soil, versus the healthy lifestyle enjoyed by those in organic fields.  However, it is cool that they have adapted to living in the contaminated soil, even if they have to fight harder to live there.  They have to use more energy and don't weigh as much as worms in organic soil, showing they are less well nourished.  They are using a lot of energy to detoxify themselves.  This is another example of why its so important to support the organic food movement .  I wonder if the worms processing the toxins, help to "clean" the soil, or if the toxins remain in the feces of the worms.  The article did not say.  But it makes me want to hit up the local farmers market!