HEALTH AND WELLNESS

                                                Studies indicate that 15 to 20 percent of all diagnosed pregnancies end in miscarriage, says The World Book Encyclopedia. But the risk of marriage is highest during the first two weeks following conception [fertilization], a time at which most women do not know they are pregnant. Another reference states that over 80 percent of miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, of which at least half are thought to be caused by defects in the chromosomes of the fetus. These defects are not the result of similar defects in the chromosomes of the mother or father.            Other causes of miscarriage may stem from the mother’s health. Medical authorities point to hormonal and immune system disorders, infections, and abnormalities in the cervix or uterus of the mother. Chronic diseases such as diabetes [if poorly controlled] and high blood pressure may also be factors.     According to experts, miscarriage is not necessaril

      “My father was an alcoholic, and I followed in his footsteps. At 12 years of age, I was already drinking. By the time I married, I was getting drunk every day. I became violent; often the police came to my family aid, my health deteriorated. Alcohol caused a gastric hemorrhage, which I barely survived. I then developed cirrhosis and anemia. I joined self-help groups in an attempt to quit, but to no avail. Felt as if I were caught in a spiderweb and could not break free”.-Victor     Again and again stories such as this one are told by people ensnared by alcohol. Like Victor, they feel trapped with no way out. Can alcohol-induced problems be overcome or even avoided? If so, how? 1.        RECOGNIZING THE PROBLEM; the best way to reduce the total of alcohol-related problems in a society is to focus on curtailing the drinking of moderate rather than heavy drinkers. Does your drinking exceed the limits recommended by health authorities? Do you drink in situations requiring

               Bite into your favorite food, and immediately your sense of taste is activated.   But just how does this amazing process work?           Your tongue –as well as other parts of your mouth and throat –includes clusters of skin cells called taste buds. Many are located within papillae on the surface of the tongue. A taste bud contains up to a hundred receptor cells, each of which can detect one of four types of taste –sour, salty, sweet, or bitter. Spicy is in a different category altogether. Spices stimulate pain receptors –not taste buds. In any event, taste-receptor cells are connected to sensory nerves that, when stimulated by chemicals in food, instantly transmit signals to the lower brain stem.       Taste, however, involves more than your mouth. The five million odor receptors in your nose –which allow you to detect some 10,000 unique odors –play a vital role in the tasting process. It has been estimated that about 75 percent of what we call taste is actu

         For decades, scientists could not understand how dolphins could swim at the speed of nearly 40 kilometers an hour. The animals simply did not have enough muscle, the scientists thought. But dolphins have a secret, part of which lies in their blubber, a complex substance also found under the skin of porpoises, whales, and other marine animals           Blubber is a thick, dense layer of highly organized connective tissue with a lot of fat cells. It covers practically the whole creature, and it is strongly attached to the musculature and skeleton by highly organized, fan-shaped networks of tendons and ligament. These networks, in turns, are composed of elastic fibers and collagen, a protein that is also found in skin and bones. Blubber, therefore, is much more than a layer of insulating fat. It is a highly sophisticated combination of various living tissues.         How, though, does blubber help dolphins and porpoises to swim so fast –Dall’s porpoises at speeds of u

            On a quiet evening in rural Brazil, a tiny train emerges from beneath the forest litter. Two red headlights light its path, and 11 pairs of yellow-green lanterns illuminate its sides. To be sure, this is no ordinary train. Rather, it is a 70-millimeter-long larva of the Phengodidae family of beetles, found in North and South America. Because females, which retain their larval form, resemble internally illuminated railway cars, they are often called railroad worms. Brazilian country folk call them little trains.        During the day the dull-brown larva is hard to spot. But at night it advertises its presence with its amazing array of lights. These are energized by the organic substance luciferin, which, aided by enzyme luciferase, oxidizes to produce cold light. Colors of the light include red, orange, yellow, and green.        The red headlights glows almost constantly –but the yellow-green lateral lights. Research suggests that the headlights help the larva t