BaKhabar, October 2013, Page-9 [The Beneficial Effects of Lightning by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed + BENEFITS OF OBESITY]

The Beneficial Effects of Lightning

… by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed*

The Qur’an is a book of guidance and wisdom. About 20 percent of its verses allude to scientific matters or natural phenomena. For example: “He it is who shows you the lightning, (causing) fear and hope, and He it is Who rises up the heavy clouds.” (13:12). “And among His Signs—He shows you lightning,(In it there is) hope and fear, And He brings down rain from the heavens, Then He bestows life to earth after it is dead—Indeed, in that are Signs for a people who reason.” (30:24)
Yusuf Ali, in his commentary on these verses asks several questions about lightning: “Why look to evil rather than to good? To punishment rather than to mercy? To the fear in the force and fire of the lightning rather than to hope of good and abundant crops in the rain which will come behind the lightning clouds” (note 1818); “Nay, thunder itself which may frighten you, is but a tame and beneficent force before Him, declaring His praises, like the rest of creation. Thunder thus aptly gives the name to this Surah of contrasts, where what we may think is terrible is shown to be really a submissive instrument of good in God’s hands” (note 1819); and: “To cowards, lightning and thunder appear as terrible forces of nature. Lightning seems to kill and destroy where its irresistible progress is not assisted by proper lightning conductors. But lightning is also a herald of rain-bearing clouds and showers that bring fertility and prosperity in their train” (3530).
Journals publish articles on injuries and death caused by lightning. However, the Qur’an specifically mentions the hope of lightning as a good or beneficent force. This article addresses this issue.

What are ions?
After a storm, the air feels clean and fresh filled with negative ions. People often report feelings of pleasantness and well-being following an electrical storm. Electrical storms are generally preceded by higher levels of positive ions and followed by higher levels of negative ions.
Air is made of individual molecules. When the outer electrons of two or more atoms join together, the resulting particle is a molecule. Each molecule, in turn, contains smaller particles of positive and negative charges (protons and electrons). Under normal circumstances, the number of protons and electrons are equal, and so their charges cancel out and leave the molecule electrically neutral. However, negatively charged electrons are lighter and more mobile. If they happen to absorb energy from intense sunlight, they tend to “jump” from one molecule to another. When a negative charge jumps from a molecule, it upsets the equilibrium and leaves behind more positive than negative charges. Thus the molecule becomes a positive ion. The electron arriving at the new molecule brings with it an extra negative charge. This molecule now becomes a negative ion. When the energy supply is removed, the electrons return toward the vacated spaces, and everything becomes balanced and has a zero charge.
Oxygen, a prime example of small gaseous molecules, remains neutral as long as the proton-electron balance is maintained. Since atoms have equal numbers of protons and electrons, they have no charge. However, if an electron is lost or gained, the molecule becomes positively or negatively charged, respectively, and an ion is created.
The simplest way to visualize an air ion is to consider it a tiny charge of static electricity carried by the air. This charge can be either positive or negative. The charged particles, or ions, are not merely suspended in the atmosphere; rather, they are part of the air’s very fabric. The air we breathe contains billions of tiny, invisible, electrically charged energy packets called ions, each of which have either positive or negative charges. Every time we take a breath, ions fill up our lungs and are carried by our blood into every cell in our body. Without ions in the air, our body could not process oxygen properly.
A lack or imbalance of ions affects the environment in which we live and breathe. Research shows that most of us who live, work, and travel in closed spaces suffer some degree of negative ion starvation or positive ion overabundance. This has become extremely evident to NASA in its space travel program.
People are spending their lives submerged in an atmospheric ocean of nitrogen, oxygen, and a small percentage of other elements, plus the toxins and pollution of our industrial world. In cities like New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mexico City, Karachi, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta, and many other densely populated cities, there may be few or no detectable negative ions at all during heavy traffic and high pollution periods.
In nature, abundant ions are generated wherever energy is transferred into the air by the friction within wind, rain, and surf. Certain events occurring in nature, such as lightning discharges, falling water, and air friction can cause electrons to be torn loose from a molecule. These orphan electrons are then adopted by other nearby molecules, which transform them into negative ions. The parent particles become positive ions.
Negative ions carry the air’s electrical energy. Some examples of nature’s ion generators are solar (ultraviolet) and cosmic radiation, air friction, lightning, falling water (the splitting of water into droplets by waterfalls), ocean surf and waves, evergreens and Earth’s radioactivity (from natural radiation in rocks and soil).

The ion effect: Serotonin hypothesis
An excess of positive ions and a lack of negative ions can produce uncomfortable effects. Scientists have demonstrated that small air ions are biologically active. Moreover, they can stimulate the over-production of serotonin, a powerful neurotransmitter and very active neurohormone that causes profound nerve, glandular, and digestive effects throughout the body. Tests show that positive ions increase the production of serotonin and that negative ions decrease the hormone level.
High serotonin concentrations are associated with migraines. Negative ions accelerate the oxidative degradation of serotonin, whereas positive ions deactivate the enzymes that break it down. Thus more negative ions should reduce migraines. A higher serotonin level also produces tachycardia, higher blood pressure, bronchial spasms and even asthma attacks, increased intestinal peristalsis (intestinal contractions and dilations to push the contents through), increased sensitivity to pain, and increased aggression. Reduced serotonin levels result in a mentally relaxed state and reduce feelings of depression. Negative ions appear to reduce serotonin by enhancing monoamine oxidizing activity. Paradoxically, mental illness is often treated successfully with drugs that inhibit this activity and raise serotonin levels in the brain.
The three major effects of positive ion excess are irritation and tension, exhaustion, and a hyperthyroid response. The common symptoms of dizziness, headaches, depression, anxiety, and a generally lower level of physical and mental functioning were shown to be alleviated and, in most cases, reversed by increasing the negative ions in the air.

Positive ions
Many people find a pre-storm atmosphere heavy and oppressive. This has been attributed to the high levels of positive ions building up in the air, which are also believed to trigger storm sensitivity in asthmatics and many other people. In the hours before a certain storm arrived, hundreds of people reported to hospital with severe asthma attacks. Was this due to positive ions?
Scientists have found that if the air is charged with too few negative and too many positive ions, we become anxious, tired, and tense. This positive-ion poisoning results from weather disturbances, central air conditioning, smog, and driving too long. It even has been linked to heart attacks, aggravated asthma, migraines, insomnia, rheumatism, arthritis, hay fever, and most allergies. However, a negative electrical charge imparts positive feelings of health and vitality.

Negative ions
Refreshing places, usually located in the mountains and near waterfalls and seashores, where health resorts are traditionally situated, have high negative ion concentrations. Areas with high levels of positive ions often make us feel uncomfortable and irritable.
In addition to providing a rewarding visual experience, waterfalls may be beneficial to our health. Those wishing to enhance their body and mind through breathing exercises should do so by a waterfall. Nearly everyone agrees that visiting a waterfall is a stimulating, refreshing, and energizing experience.
The energy produced by falling water causes negative ions, for as the falling water breaks into droplets, electrons (negatively charged parts of an atom) are separated from water atoms. These electrons combine with oxygen atoms in the air to create negative ions, which then are inhaled and absorbed into the bloodstream. Negative ions are not known to permanently cure anything. However, experts believe that they help our bodies by accelerating the delivery of oxygen to our cells. Some researchers believe that they may stimulate cells that regulate the body’s resistance to disease.
Plants grown in an ion-enhanced atmosphere show a marked increase in size and growth rate. Air-borne bacteria greatly diminish in number when there is a high negative ion count in the air. Synthetic materials, forced air circulation, improper humidity levels, excess static electricity, and a lack of fresh air all contribute to an ion imbalance. Natural negative ion levels should be maintained through full-spectrum lighting; natural materials on walls, floors, and furniture; windows that open to the outside; and living plants. These should be kept in mind when designing a place in which to live.
On average, 1,500 ions are found in a cubic centimeter (roughly the size of a sugar cube) of fresh air. Of these, about 45% are negative ions and the rest are positive ions. At Yosemite Falls in California, a reading of 100,000 negative air ions per cubic centimeter was recorded.
The fresh air after a thunderstorm, on a mountain top, or by the seaside are due to high negative ion concentrations. The reduced well-being often felt in highly polluted areas, cars, smog-enclosed areas, artificially air conditioned offices, or in hot dry weather conditions are usually due to an unduly low negative ion balance. Negative ions can be found in the billions on mountain tops, waterfalls, and by the sea. Radioactive substances in Earth’s crust and cosmic rays cause most ionization. But fire, crashing water, and plants during photosynthesis also produce negative ions. They give the air its invigorating freshness, which is so good for us.
Physiologically, the presence of negative ions in a sweat bath is as important as the heat. The discovery of negative ions in certain types of saunas a few years ago became headline news in Finland. Until then, the sauna’s healing power was attributed to relaxation and increased circulation. Now, negative ions add startling new possibilities.
Source: http://bit.ly/17DRGuc
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*He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine, in University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40292
and
President, Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc
7102 W. Shefford Lane
Louisville, KY 40242-6462
E-Mail: IRFI@INAME.COM

BENEFITS OF OBESITY

… by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful
"…It may happen that you dislike a thing which is good for you,
and it may be that you love a thing which is bad for you.
Allah knows, while you know not." Qur'an [Surah Baqara 2:216]
americas-obesity-epidemic

In America an obese (a fatty) person, in some cases is frowned upon. Majority of Americans dislike the human fat, which is scorned and despised and ruthlessly vacuumed from bellies and backsides by suction-assisted lipectomy (i.e., liposuction) may have a redeeming feature after all. This much-accused tissue appears to be a rich source of stem cells, prized by scientists for their seemingly magical power to turn into a variety of tissue types. These tissues can be replacements for almost any part of the human body without the problems of rejection. Rejection is a colossal problem currently in human organ transplants.

What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are living cells that can develop into many different types of tissue, such as bone, muscle or brain. There are three basic types: (1) "Totipotent" stem cells These cells are formed when a fertilized egg first divides- can turn into any type of tissue and form a "total" organism. After five days after fertilization, a hollow ball of about 100 cells called a blastocyst forms. The cells on the outside develop into the placenta, while those on the inside turn into the embryo itself. (2) The 50 or so inner cells are "pluripotent" - they can turn into almost all types of tissue, but not a whole organism. As the embryo develops further, stem cells become (3) "multipotent" - they can give rise only to specific kinds of cells. Totipotent and pluripotent cells are also known as adult stem cells.
What kind is useful?
If they had their way most physicians would go for pluripotent stem cells because these can give all the types of tissues one needs, but cannot turn into a whole human being.
From where to get them?
At present the only place to get them is from human embryos, which is the one reason why pro-life groups are so opposed to stem cell research. Three research groups around the world have found ways to grow potentially limitless supplies of pluripotent cells in the lab - but these did come from embryos in the first place. If a patient were given organs grown from somebody else's cells, the patient has to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his or her life.
Obtaining stem cells-primitive cells with the potential to become virtually any type of tissue-from adipose tissue or fat collected by liposuction - a cosmetic procedure - and converted them into becoming muscle, bone or cartilage, depending on the conditions in which they were grown, scientists, reported in the journal Tissue Engineering (Volume 7, Number 2: 211-218, April 2001). This article titled "Multilineage cells from human adipose tissue: implications for cell-based therapies, was authored by Zuk PA, Zhu M, Mizuno H, Huang J, Futrell JW, Katz AJ, Benhaim P, Lorenz HP, Hedrick MH of the Laboratory for Regenerative Bioengineering and Repair, Department of Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California. Tissue Engineering is the application of the principles of life sciences and engineering to develop biological substitutes for the restoration or replacement of tissue or organ function.
Stem Cells are undifferentiated cells in an embryo or adult which can undergo unlimited division and give rise to one or several different cell types. In adults an undifferentiated cell from which some renewable tissues (blood, skin, etc. ) are formed.
Human adipose tissue (fat) obtained by suction-assisted lipectomy (i.e. liposuction) was processed to obtain a fibroblast-like population of cells or a processed lipoaspirate (PLA). These PLA cells can be maintained in vitro (outside the body) for extended periods with stable population doubling and low levels of senescence. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry show that the majority of PLA cells are mesodermal or mesenchymal origin with low levels of contaminating pericytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. Finally, PLA cells differentiate in vitro into adipogenic (fat), chondrogenic (cartilage), myogenic (muscle), and osteogenic (bone) cells in the presence of lineage-specific induction factors. This pioneering study concludes that the data support the hypothesis that a human lipoaspirate contains multipotent cells and may represent an alternative stem cells source to bone marrow-derived MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells).
The discovery means that a person's own fat might one day be used to provide the tissue needed to treat disease or repair injured or worn-out parts. From cartilage implants in damaged knees to brain implants for Parkinson's disease and strokes. Theoretically, people might be able to get rid of their love handles while supplying the material needed to fix a creaky knee or hip. Unlike a transplant, tissue created by a person's owns stem cells would pose no risk of rejection or exposure to viruses from a donor.
"Fat may be a practical source of cells from which to make new tissues," said Dr. Marc H. Hedrick, the lead author and an assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at the university of California at Los Angeles and the director of the study, in which researchers from the University of Pittsburgh collaborated. "We don't yet know the limits for stem cells found in fat," said Dr. Adam J. Katz of the University of Pittsburgh, a co-author. " So far, we have seen promising results with all of the tissue types we have examined." The Bush administration is contemplating to ban the use of embryonic stem cells from aborted tissues, and hence this new discovery offers an alternative source that could be much more abundant and much less contentious. "This could take the air right out of the debate about embryonic stem cells," said Dr. Hedrick. The newly identified cells have so many different potential applications, he added, that "it makes it hard to argue that we should use embryonic cells." "This changes the way we think about fat tissue," Dr. Hedrick said. "It's not a static spare tire around our waist. It 's really a dynamic tissue, and there are a lot of things in it that could help us fix people with diseases." (NY Times April 10, 2001).
"This is extremely significant in terms of its potential," said Dr. Michael T. Longaker of Stanford University. "Unfortunately, fat is a substantial natural resource in the USA. This is a great way to do something with it." (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY April 10, 2001)

During the 1990s, researchers have found that adults also have stem cells in a variety of locations, ranging from bone marrow, to the brain. Since they are present in small numbers and recovering them could be difficult and painful. Small amounts of stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow, but removing marrow from a patient can be painful. For example to extract stem cells from the bone marrow requires drilling a tiny hole directly in the bone, which remains painful for weeks after the procedure. Furthermore the yield is small, usually about a few milliliters (ml). Stem cells for research has been collected from bone marrow, brain or fetal tissue. But the use of fetal tissue has provoked ethics disputes, and performing brain surgery to harvest stem cells is not practical.
On the other hand Liposuction is much easier to perform through an incision in the skin that about one inch long and is relatively painless. And liters of fat is harvested and tossed away-producing a thousand times as many stem cells as can be obtained from bone marrow. In older adults, the percentage of stem cells is even higher in fat cells than in bone marrow. Since each person serves as his or own fat donor, there would be no problem with rejection of implanted cells. Researchers looked for stem cells in fat because fat, marrow and bone in humans developed from the same layer of embryonic tissue, the mesoderm, and tissues from the same origin often had properties in common. So if bone marrow has stem cells, then it is logical to think that fat should have them too. The researchers saved fat from liposuction and processed it to isolate cells thought to include stem cells. To get things revved up, the cells have to be fed with the right stuff.
To coax the cells to make bone, for instance, the researchers used a medium containing calcium, phosphate and vitamin C. They varied the conditions to grow cartilage, muscle or more fat cells. Stem cells can be converted into specific tissues by exposing them to complex mixture of growth hormones and other chemicals, which requires a different formula for each desired tissue. The bottom line is finding what needs to be included in each formulation.

The study was the first to find stem cells in fat and use them to grow different tissues. Like any other study, other researchers to find out whether the conclusions hold up must repeat it. Another team at Duke University has produced similar results, turning stem cells from fat into cartilage. "It's very important for different groups to reach the same conclusion with a study with this much potential impact," said Dr. Farshid Guilak, leader of the Duke study. Both the Stanford and Duke groups are executing tissue examinations in animals, and both suggested that for the first clinical trials to be conducted in humans, it may take up to five years. Repairing of knees and other joints, as well as noses and ears by cartilage implants will be the initial utilization of this discovery. Laboratory grown Cartilage cells are being used in the reconstruction of damaged knees, but the use of stem cells would astoundingly increase the supply of tissue available. The organs and tissues that resist healing such as broken and impaired bones could be repaired. This item is also high on the agenda. The stem cells might be used for a much extensive diversity of applications, including brain implants for Parkinson's disease and strokes (brain attacks), and in the repair of heart tissues, are all possibilities in the future. Now, embryonic stem cells that secrete vital hormones are used to treat victims of Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, for example.

In the adult human body most of the cells are somatic cells. These somatic cells are called differentiated cells and have adopted an indelible identity- skin, heart, muscle, whatever the case and they cannot be changed. Skin cells, for example, cannot be converted into bone, cartilage or brain tissue, or vice versa. But embryos have a large percentage of genetically unprogrammed or undifferentiated cells that have the potential to become any kind of cell in the body. All other cells stem from these undifferentiated cells, hence the name stem cells them. The stem cells are a premium for researchers and clinicians, but their use is highly disputed because the only way to obtain them is through a miscarriage.
Even if they do, using fat to provide tissue for patients is a long way off and a procedure for doing so is not clear. Scientists must determine, for instance, whether stem cells can be given to patients or whether the cells must be cultured in the laboratory to turn them into the desired tissue, then implanted where needed. Actual tests involving humans are likely five years away.

Eight years ago, President Clinton reversed a ban on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells, but many observers believe that Bush administration officials will restore the ban. Performing research on fetuses obtained from abortion or miscarriages has become a political hotchpotch. Hence the scientific research community is taking the wrath of the anti-abortion groups. In the eighties President Ronald Reagan prohibited federal funding of research that utilized fetal tissue. They were transplanting more matured cells to treat Parkinson's disease and in the pancreas of diabetics. Our President Bush's father supported this ban when he was President (1988-1992). When Bill Clinton became the President he reversed the ban of his Republican predecessors. President Clinton's federally funded fetal tissue research is continuing. As mentioned above, researchers have already transplanted dopamine-producing cells from the fetal brain into patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. What will happen to the destiny of stem cell research using fetuses, under the present Bush administration is uncertain.

Email: bakhabar@biharanjuman.org 9