Lots of red meat shortens life

- New Scientist Magazine, 28 March 2009; Page 5

STEAK may taste good but it’s not doing you many favours. Eating large amounts of red and processed meats seems to shorten your life. Both types of meat have been linked to cancer and heart disease, but Rashmi Sinha and colleagues at the US National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, wanted to know their effect on overall death rates.

They asked 545,000 volunteers aged between 50 and 71 about their diet over the past year, and used this to estimate their meat intake. The researchers then monitored the volunteers for 10 years .

During that time, more than 71,000 of the group died. After controlling for numerous factors, including age, weight, smoking history and total food intake , the researchers found that women who consumed the most red meat – 66 grams per 1000 calories – were 36 per cent more likely to have died than women who ate the least – 9.1 grams. Men who ate large amounts of red meat were 31 per cent more likely to have died ( Archives of Internal Medicine, vol 169, p 562 ).

Red Meat

Consumption of processed meats, such as sausage, salami and hot dogs, was lower but still had a significant effect on the rate of deaths.

“This is probably the biggest and most carefully done study on the relationship between diet and mortality,” says Barry Popkin , an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Grilled beef steak

Eating Red Meat Sets Up Target For Disease-causing Bacteria, Study Finds

ScienceDaily, 30 October 2008

Offering another reason why eating red meat could be bad for you, an international research team, including University of California, San Diego School of Medicine professor Ajit Varki, M.D., has uncovered the first example of a bacterium that causes food poisoning in humans when it targets a non-human molecule absorbed into the body through red meats such as lamb, pork and beef.

In findings to be published on line October 29th in advance of print in the journal Nature, the scientists discovered that a potent bacterial toxin called subtilase cytotoxin specifically targets human cells that have a non-human, cellular molecule on their surface. The molecule –N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) – is a type of glycan, or sugar molecule, that humans don’t naturally produce.

Subtilase cytotoxin is produced by certain kinds of E. coli bacteria, causing bloody diarrhea and a potentially fatal disease called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans. Humans usually become infected after eating contaminated red meat, which is why this is also known as “hamburger” disease.

Beef burger

Varki, UC San Diego School of Medicine distinguished professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine, and co-director of the UCSD Glycobiology Research and Training Center, previously discovered that humans don’t produce Neu5Gc because they lack the gene responsible for its production. Therefore, it was thought that humans should be resistant to the toxin.

“Ironically, humans may set themselves up for an increased risk of illness from this kind of E. coli bacteria present in contaminated red meat or dairy, because these very same products have high-levels of Neu5Gc,” Varki explained. “The Neu5Gc molecule is absorbed into the body, making it a target for the toxin produced by E. coli.”

In the Nature study, the researchers discovered that sites where the Neu5Gc has been incorporated into the human body coincide with toxin binding. “When the toxin binds to the non-human Neu5Gc receptors, it can result in serious food-poisoning and other symptoms in humans,” said Varki. The research emphasizes the need for people to eat only well-cook meat or pasteurized dairy products, processes that destroy contaminating bacteria.

Served beaf steak

Five years ago, Varki and his colleagues at the UC San Diego School of Medicine published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing how Neu5Gc is absorbed into human tissues – including the surface of cells lining the intestines and blood vessels – as a result of eating red meat and milk products. At the time, the researchers also showed that this foreign molecule generates an immune response that could potentially lead to inflammation in human tissues. The UC San Diego study was the first to investigate human dietary absorption of the Neu5Gc glycans which, while not produced in humans, does occur naturally in red meats. Levels are very low or undetectable in fruits, vegetables, eggs, poultry and fish. The researchers proved that people who ingest Neu5Gc incorporate some of it into their tissues, and demonstrated that many generated an immune response against the molecule, conjecturing that a lifetime of gradual incorporation of this glycan “invader” could result in disease.

The UC San Diego team included postdoctoral fellow Jonas C. Löfling and professor of pathology Nissi M. Varki. The international research collaborators included Jamie Rossjohn and Dr. Travis Beddoe, as well as Emma Byres and Matthew C.C. Wilce from Monash University in Victoria, Australia; Adrienne W. Paton, James C. Paton, Ursula M. Talbot and Damien C. Chong of the University of Adelaide, South Australia; David F. Smith, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; and Hai Yu, Shengshu Huang and Xi Chen, UC Davis Department of Chemistry.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, and by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council.

Feed your brain NOT with food

EATING less doesn’t just boost physical health. In elderly people, it seems to improve memory, too. As well as extending lifespan in mice , restricting calorie intake has been shown to boost cognitive ability in elderly animals. To see if the cognitive benefit held for people, Agnes Flöel and colleagues at the University of Münster in Germany tested the short-term memory of 50 people, with an average age of 60. The people were overweight, but not obese, and one-third of them were instructed to eat 30 per cent fewer calories than normal each day.

After three months, the dieters scored 20 per cent higher on the word-based memory test than they had before dieting, recalling on average 12.5 out of 15 words, compared to 10.5. “Two words may not seem like much, but it’s more than the difference between people under 30 and above 50,” says Flöel. Those who did not go on the diet showed no change (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0808587106).

The dieters had lower levels of glucose and insulin in their blood, which previous studies have linked to improved brain function.

You are what you eat....

Paris I'm Coming.....

My trip there will be supported and funded by the French Government, through the CROUS, the regional office of CNOUS (Centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires). Hence my status during my stay in France is BGF (boursier du gouvernement français) meaning that I am a French Government Scholarship Holder. Well, the day has been set. My friends and I have spent some time together, having dinner or just playing games. And here, I would like to present special thanks to everybody who saw me off to Paris in the Changi Airport, Singapore.

Thank you my friends for seeing me off in Changi Airport

No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow………..

by: Alice Walker

And you are really good friends of mine……  Thank you!

Lyrics:klaus meine, bruce fairbairn

I saw the morning
It was shattered by a gun
Heard a scream, saw him fall, no one cried
I saw a mother
She was praying for her son
Bring him back, let him live, dont let him die

Do you ever ask yourself
Is there a heaven in the sky
Why cant we get it right

cause we all live under the same sun
We all walk under the same moon
Then why, why cant we live as one

I saw the evening
Fading shadows one by one
We watch the lamb, lay down to the sacrifice
I saw the children
The children of the sun
How they wept, how they bled, how they died

Do you ever ask yourself
Is there a heaven in the sky
Why cant we stop the fight

cause we all live under the same sun
We all walk under the same moon
Then why, why cant we live as one

Sometimes I think Im going mad
Were loosing all we had and no one seems to care
But in my heart it doesnt change
Weve got to rearrange and bring our world some love

And does it really matter
If theres a heaven up above
We sure could use some love

cause we all live under the same sun
We all walk under the same moon
Then why, why cant we live as one
cause we all live under the same sky
We all look up at the same stars
Then why, tell me why cant we live as one

Reading those lyrics, will surely make us believe that when people understand each other, understand that we are different to each other, but we still have a lot of common thing we share, the condition described with the word ‘peace’ will be created.

I remember once, Obama said in his speech in Cairo, qouted from the Qur’an, that mankind were created male and female, races and tribes, so that we may know one another. Yes, so that we may know each other.

We were created different is not to fight one another. It is also not to force the dissimilarities to ‘change’ or ‘be changed’.

Remember, there will be no rainbow when all are red.

There are a lot of beuty in diversity.

Imagine!, when there is only red, or only yellow, or only bluw, there will surely no rainbow that we can enjoy to see in this world.

(Bring your own rice, KFC in Singapore won’t provide you with rice anyway).

And here are some pics on it….

We Are Friends!

After having lunch in KFC, we walk to the CSC Club bukit gombak, with so much talks and jokes along the street…

'nTo in action

Well, the bowling is fully booked when we arrived. While waiting for our reservation, it’s worth to spend some times here in the pool and bilyard.

I am in action

And here I am, for the first time to bowl. Never gotten strike, but it was really nice.

I’m still remember clearly when the lecturer in my Graduate Communication class, Dr Murphy, once said that “Your PhD is your Thesis”. And that is true. I 200% agree to what she said.

And here it comes…  After so loooong waiting, the time has finally came for my colleague in Robotics Research Center (RRC) – BioRobotics Group, to “celebrate” the judgement day of his works.

Congratullation, Dr Low!!

Your Dr has finally been officially attached in front of your name.

and now…  let’s go party!!!!

The People in the BioRobotics Group

Dr Low, 2nd from left

Me (center) with my Gym/Jog/Swim/Lab/Groups/Lunch-mates..

The party was in the Sakura International Buffet in Sport Center, Jurong West.

Merlion in Singapore

Merlion PhD scholarship is a scholarship given by French Government through the French Embassy in Singapore to foster scientific collaboration between Singapore and France.

The following information is taken from the website of the French Embassy in Singapore http://www.ambafrance-sg.org in 21 June 2009 12:00 Paris time:

The candidates have to be involved, for their PhD studies, in a French-Singaporean research project of which the themes are in accordance with the scientific priorities of both partners.

The research project must be jointly defined and agreed upon by both French and Singaporean partners, along with the student. The two-PhD supervisors (1 French and 1 Singaporean) must be clearly identified, and the periods of stay in France and Singapore for the research project detailed precisely. The co-funding of the research project, if it exists, will also be considered.

Singaporean candidates who possess a grant or a scholarship from any Singaporean institution are eligible and may cumulate both funding sources, that from France and that from Singapore. In any case, the Singaporean partner must commit itself to financing the student during his stay in Singapore.

The length of stay supported by the Embassy is 18 months over a period of 3 years with a maximum of 6 months per year.
Important things to be noticed:

• The proposal should originate from both supervisors. We will not accept an individual application.

• Only new PhD student are eligible.

• Specific attention will be given to the funding of the project. Co-funding is mandatory.

• Flexibility : if the student stays less than 6 months during his first or second year, it could be possible to put off the time missing (or one part) the year after. Each case will be considered case per case.

More information can be found in the website.

In year 2008, only 5 PhD students awarded the scholarship. This info also taken from the website:

For MERLION PhD, the selected proposals are:

Mathematics:

• Codes and Secret Sharing Schemes

Physics:

• Dilute nitride technology for high speed photonics
• Ultracold fermions in 2D honeycomb lattice: Quantum Hall Effect in Effective Magnetic Field

Engineering:

• Pathological Tremor Modelling and Active Compensation via Functional Electrical Stimulations
• Molecular Design of Complex molecule Logic Gate

Eiffel Tower in Paris, Francs

This program is really good, in the sense that it could accelerate institutional collaboration between Singapore Institutions (Universities and Research Institutes) and the French Institutions. In addition, this program will allow more researchers form Singapore and France to be more involve in a project co-funded by institutions in both country. Last but not least, the student will have chance to spend some times in both countries. This will surely brings another big opportunities in the future when the their time comes to take over the research directions towards better society through science and technology.

Find more about Merlion PhD Scholarship, visit: http://www.ambafrance-sg.org

Every rose has its thorn….

We both lie silently still

In the dead of the night

Although we both lie close together

We feel miles apart inside

Was it something I said or something I did

Did my words not come out right

Though I tried not to hurt you

Though I tried

But I guess that’s why they say

Every rose has its thorn

Just like every night has its dawn

Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song

Every rose has its thorn

Yeah it does

I listen to our favorite song

Playing on the radio

Hear the DJ say loves a game of easy come and

Easy go

But I wonder does he know

Has he ever felt like this

And I know that you’d be here right now

If I could have let you know somehow

I guess

Though its been a while now

I can still feel so much pain

Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals

But the scar, that scar remains

I know I could have saved a love that night

If I’d known what to say

Instead of making love

We both made our separate ways

But now I hear you found somebody new

And that I never meant that much to you

To hear that tears me up inside

And to see you cuts me like a knife

I guess

Every rose has its thorn….

Every coin has two sides….

There is evil along with the good….

There are cons along with the pros….

There are consequence for every choice that we make…..

There are side effects along with the medicine that we take…..

And there are always disadvantages along with the decision that we chose….

It's Not Only About a Degree

If we were asked why do we study, we hardly think an answer other than to get a degree, then with that we apply for a “secure” job in a company, institution or government agency that we think could guarantee to give us some short of comfort-life in the future. Yes..  A degree to get a JOB. A degree as a basic survival tool in this modern civilization.

If we take a look back in the past, we will see that none of our ancestor before the fourteenth century had ever gotten a degree. But they could manage their life in such a way to survive this life. Even in the not so ancient age, where the countries were ruled by a king, we will hardly find that the people in the cumminuty has graduated from the University of Antah Berantah with First Class Honours.  In addition, in our geenration, few years back, some university drop-outs could build and also manage a multi-national or even a global company that made them be the first few richest human being in the period.

Believe it or not, most of the education provided in the university, especially in the engineering field, will only train us well to be a good employee, a perfect worker. We can never think of being tought to be the boss, the employer who employ those graduates. We learn this and that, do this and that that is not determine by our desires, but their needs to run their business. The money owners, the business owners. The bosses. Who determine the kind-of-trainings in the university. Inderectly.

This is true especially when we reach the time to graduate but yet to find a job we want. The feeling of not being employed keep haunting us days and nights. This fear makes it hard for us to enjoy life like before. But once again, the blame is not on you, but to those who plant “workers’ mindset” into our brain.

It is not only about a degree that we go to college. It is not only about job that we should get honors degree. I didn’t say that degree is not important or working for a boss is not acceptable. It is all fine. Just that we should be aware that once we keep that “workers’ mindset” in our brain, we will hardly find what people call a freedom. Yes…  a freedom. 

A freedom from a fear of not being employed. A freedom from a fear of not being able to graduate on time. And a freedom from a worries to the future.

It is not only about a degree. But we shall learn something more valuable, meaningful, and precious other than degree. We should train our minds and emotions to think creatively. 

I remeber one think that my history teacher in high school once said that a culture could be created from the challenges faced. And it is all true. The more we face a problem, the more we become a tough person. I am not saying that we should make a problem. But we have to find a way to solve it. And the best problem that will make us learn a lot is the one which we think could harm our comfortability most. 

When we face such an obstacle, we will be forced to wake up and think things properly and carefuly. Once we are willing to step out from our comfort-zone, we will be able to see a lot more of opportunities out there that could be taken as a solution to face our fear. Still, we have to get rid of those fears once again.

It is not only about a degree………

*sorry,  feel really sleepy….

*got to go to my bed… hope can continue this entry

The Sky is The Limit

Literally, here are some explanations of this idiom:

“The sky is the limit” when there is almost no limit to how far you can go in what you are doing. Example: “For people who work hard at this company, the sky’s the limit.” You feel very optimistic (positive, hopeful) about your future because there are so many possibilities when “the sky’s the limit.” Example: “After I graduate from business school, the sky’s the limit!”

This phrase is very powerful to give us strength and optimism when we do things in our live. There are some people who benchmark their works moderately medium or even low. Comparing with previous works that have been done, or other’s works, they just set their target as what others did. And when they achieve their low-benchmark, they get what they call “satisfaction”.

The problem will come when the trip to go where other’s went previously is not as smooth as expected. It really does become a serious problem when their “thinking boundary” is not expanded. Pessimistic will then haunt them time to time reaching the deadline. A “loser” feeling completely covers their mind as the world will end today. They could not see other possibilities. Hence they could not find another chance to solve what they call “problems”.

Lets Climb to The Sky!

But when this powerful philosophy is adopted in our thinking from the very beginning, not only our thinking has no limit, but our action will certainly make it possible the impossible. We will think in an unlimited thinking space boundary as nothing could not be done. This simple but psychologically complicated phrase will transform the “IMPOSSIBLE” to the “I’M POSSIBLE”.