Disconnect by Dr. Devra Davis

We, my husband and I, don't have a mobile phone when we are in US and Australia, but we do have 1-2 mobile phones when we were in Taiwan. I like the life without mobile phone because we have more free time for ourselves and it reduces the risk of getting many diseases. I think mobile phones and its cell towers should be banned or charged higher health tax as what they do with tobacco.

Disconnect by Dr. Devra Lee Davis
The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family.

The much-anticipated, explosive exposé of how cell phone use damages brain cells, especially in children, by one of the world’s foremost scientific experts in the field.

Cell phone radiation is a national emergency. Stunningly, the most popular gadget of our age has been shown to damage DNA, break down the brain’s defenses, and reduce sperm count while increasing memory loss and the risks of Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer. And half the world’s four billion cell phones are used by people under twenty.

Now, Devra Davis, the founding director of the Board on Toxicology and Environmental Studies at the United States National Academy of Sciences, takes readers through the dark side of this trillion-dollar industry. She pulls back the curtain on the potential dangers, reveals the industry’s efforts to suppress research, and outlines what cell phone users can do now to protect themselves and their families.



About Dr. Devra Lee Davis
Dr. Davis holds a B.S. in physiological psychology and a M.A. in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, 1967. She completed a Ph.D. in science studies at the University of Chicago as a Danforth Foundation Graduate Fellow, 1972 and a M.P.H. in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University as a Senior National Cancer Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow, 1982. She has also authored more than 190 publications in books and journals ranging from the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association to Scientific American and the New York Times and blogs in Freakonomics for the New York Times, Huffington Post and elsewhere.

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"Disconnect": Why cellphones may be killing us (SUNDAY, OCT 10, 2010 14:01 ET)
A new book probes the connection between mobile devices and a host of health problems -- with frightening results


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Home Made Dairy-Free Chocolate

In my Dairy-free Chocolate Recipes, I mentioned that I am not quite sure if I have chronic milk allergy after 10 years sick with breath problem. I think I am quite sure that I have it. I feel OK if I eat either a thin cheese with bread for breakfast, a small cheesecake for dinner desert, or some 70% cocoa chocolate. But I have breath difficulty whenever I eat both in the same day or eat too much chocolate.

I love chocolate so much that it is almost impossible to quit it. We would like to make our own chocolate and have tried to find cocoa butter but fail in the past. I saw an article The (Surprisingly Easy) Hunt for Cocoa Butter: "Cocoa butter is actually very easy to find, but you have to switch your thinking from "cooking" to "skin care." Pure cocoa butter is available in the skin care section of many supermarkets and most pharmacies. As long as it is labeled "100% cocoa butter," it should be fine for use in your recipe. We prefer jars that are also labeled "food grade," in which case there is no doubt that it is edible."

Haha, I guess that's why we couldn't find it ever because we always look into "food section". Hope we can find it today and make our own dairy-free chocolate. Unfortunately there are only cocoa butter formula lotion and body shampoo in Coles and Woolworth.

Chocolate sauce: too sweet
250g cocoa butter (or other vegetable butter) = 44.6% fat
150g sugar = 26.8% sugar
100g starch
1 teaspoon rum (朗姆酒) (ps. optional)
60g cocoa powder = 10.7% cocoa powder
some nuts or raisin (ps. optional)

Melt butter by microwave or double boiler
-> Put all the rest ingredients
-> Stir well then pour into mold
-> Cool in fridge

------------ some links ---------------
巧克力&美食‧畬樂天地- [巧克力相關製作]
如何融化巧克力: professional melting cabinet, melting & tempering machine, double boiler, microwave
隔水加熱法：兩個鍋，外鍋鍋底有靜止的小氣泡時熄火，將裝有巧克力的內鍋放入，慢慢攪拌融化。
微波加熱法：(50% power 30 sec -> stir) -> repeat above, but use 30, 20, 10 sec

How to melt chocolate: double boiler, microwave.
Microwave: It is preferable to melt your chocolate on a low (50%) power setting. However, as a rough guide, estimate about 1 minute for 1 ounce of chocolate, 3 minutes for 8 ounces of chocolate, 3.5 minutes for 1 pound of chocolate, and 4 minutes for 2 pounds. Run the microwave in 30 second-1 minute increments, stirring in between and rotating the bowl if necessary. Finish heating when most, but not all, of the chocolate is melted. Stir the chocolate continuously until it is smooth, shiny, and completely melted.
(Note)
* Make sure the chocolate is chopped into uniform pieces to ensure even melting. Never try to melt large bars or blocks of chocolate that have not been chopped.
* Avoid all contact with water! Chocolate will seize and become unworkable if it comes into contact with even a few droplets of water. Make sure your bowls, workstation, and spatulas are completely dry.
* Melt the chocolate slowly over low heat. Chocolate is very delicate and can become lumpy or grainy if overheated.
* Stir the chocolate frequently with a rubber spatula, once the outer edges start to melt.
* Chocolate retains its shape when melted, so the only way to know if it is truly melted is to stir it. Do not rely on appearances alone.

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About Schmidt

We just watched a movie, About Schmidt. Very touching for me. It is about an aged people's life right after his retirement.

Information from wiki:

About Schmidt is a 2002 American drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt and Hope Davis as his daughter Jeannie.

The main narrative of the film follows Schmidt as he retires from his pedestrian job, followed by the untimely death of his wife for whom he has lost affection. He goes on a road trip in order to attend the wedding of his only daughter to a man and into a family he does not particularly like. Events compel him to reflect on his life with a sense of futility that lasts until the final moments of the film.

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Ph.D. or not

I just read this article and think it is worth reading.

Advising the Dissertation Student Who Won't Finish, By Leonard Cassuto on October 3, 2010, The Chronicle of Higher Ed

A former graduate student wrote me a note a few months ago to thank me for helping him drop out. What's wrong with that picture? Nothing, except that we don't see it often enough.

The problem is that academic culture doesn't credit the decision to stop writing a dissertation as legitimate. In fact, leaving graduate school has a reputation a lot worse than that..... Many see it as a personal failure .....

They stay because the unfinished dissertation is like the wound of Philoctetes in Greek mythology, a festering sore that never goes away. No mere albatross, it stigmatizes its owner in ways that usually leave permanent scars. .....

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Healing by Pawpaw

I just saw this news. Is it possible that pawpaw extract has the power to heal wound? I hope to see the successful scientific result.

I googled papain (papaya proteinase I, 木瓜酵素). There are some articles and researches talking about the the benefit and healing effects by papain. FDA has issued warning about allergic response and change in blood pressure & heart rate caused by papain On September 23, 2008. Anyway maybe it is best to eat papaya directly instead of papain.


Feature: Proteomics power of pawpaw, Kate McDonald (Australian Life Scientist)07 September, 2010 16:01
The first clinical trial of an Australian-made wound healing product derived from pawpaw, Carica papaya, is underway in Melbourne. While the exact modes of action are still unclear, proteomic and enzymatic approaches are being explored to understand how the extract got its power.

Discovering Papaya
Edited exert from The Healing Touch of Paw Paw, Australian Life Scientist, Vol 7, Issue 4, July/August 2010

It may sound like the spiel of a snake-oil salesman, but the story behind the development of a new Australian product derived from an extract of pawpaw (Carica papaya) designed to promote wound healing is a compelling one. The Australian company behind it has developed a new product, OPAL A, that could revolutionise wound healing and wound care.

木瓜酵素製作法
一、基本原則
1.食材不可有農藥。
2. 製作時食材外表不可有水分玻璃缸內也需確保乾燥。
3．食材與台糖二砂或原色冰糖比例:一比一。
4．製程中須攪動讓上層食材也浸泡到。
攪動次數:第一週每天一次 。
第二週每兩天一次。
第三週每三天一次。
第四遇每四天一次 。
第二個月每週一次。
二、材料：水果、蔬菜
三、製作：
1.洗淨陰乾，乾淨後，再以冷開水洗一遍，陰乾(勿曬)。
2.切片投入玻璃缸蓋好 3.三個月就可濾渣分裝飲用了.
一層木瓜一層冰糖， 第一天裝滿第二天縮成一半
青木瓜酵素簡介
木瓜原產於美洲熱帶，目前木瓜樹大部分都種植在全球熱帶國家。木瓜果實中含豐富的β胡蘿蔔素是強效的抗氧化劑，對身體的健康相當有益而且可以治病，木瓜中所含的蛋白質（木瓜酶）具有高消化性，木瓜酶所釋放氨基酸可分解體內的毒素，而且可以強化身體免疫系統。對於多種疾病都有相當的療效。是上帝留給人類的最佳禮物。
木瓜酵素的重要性與特性：
首先我們必須了解，酵素與細胞代謝極為密切，它有神奇的催化活力，可以把醣轉變為酒精。生命體藉著酵素的催化作用與調節，有效地完成生理活動，若人體細胞內缺少酵素，則生命體則出現異狀。
青木瓜中含有大量的木瓜酵素，約為成熟木瓜之二倍含量，所以民間常以青木瓜做為燉補食品。殊不知在高溫燉煮下，木瓜酵素大都已破壞，無法達到預期之食療效果，然生食青木瓜既麻煩又不易攝取足夠之量，要知青木瓜中所含之水份達91.2﹪，往往因攝取量不足，而誤判其食療效果。
新鮮食物全都含有酵素，木瓜酵素於55℃時會失去活性、死亡、然後消失，而木瓜中所含的酵素具有其他食物酵素不同的性質：
1.木瓜酵素可分解蛋白質、醣、脂肪，其分解脂肪的能力可說是木瓜最大特色。細菌或黴菌等原始生命也都無法分解脂肪。
2.木瓜酵素可於酸、鹼、中性的環境中發揮作用，不像其他的酵素僅能在單一環境中發生作用與活性。
3.木瓜酵素能強力分解食物或體內衰敗的細胞組織或老廢物，就像是感應器一樣，有強力的選擇性來分辨出老舊、壞死、受傷、異常的細胞蛋白質加以分解，但不會對體內正常細胞產生任何作用。換而言之，它對癌症有反應效應。
4.木瓜酵素可以幫助消化，可消化比本身重35倍的蛋白質。現代食物因過度烹煮、化學農藥、油炸食物和微波所造成較難消化的情況，而木瓜中其他的成分都有助於改善此缺失。
5.木瓜酵素具有解毒作用，根據法國研究，它可化解白喉或破傷風的毒，甚至可將化膿症的膿液溶解，再逐漸排出體外。對燒燙傷、褥瘡及頑固的異位性皮膚炎均可發揮療效。
6.日本醫學博士中川菜一指出木瓜酵素可改善平衡失調的機能，抑制過剩、補充不足、改善體質。它有分解脂肪的作用亦可分解血管內的中性脂肪和膽固醇。此外，分解醣的作用能夠提高醣的代謝，它可重建血管、健康血液，使全身血液循環順暢，恢復青春。 糖尿病患者更是最佳建議使用的食補。
7.木瓜酵素有助美容：有『好萊塢最棒的美容師』及『花草療法師』之稱的美國維吉妮.湯瑪斯女士發表其研究結果，認為木瓜酵素對肌膚乾燥或因為紫外線受傷的肌膚護理非常有效。
木瓜酵素對成人病有效？ 根據日本醫學博士中川菜一研究：生物體過了某個年齡之後，每過一天就會出現一天的老化現象，機能減退，生命活動平衡失調，成為引起各種病態現象的原因。為了改善或克服疾病，必須將其他生命體的活性物質當成食物攝取到體內，促進生命活動的活化。而”木瓜”是最適合的食物之一。
因木瓜中的木瓜酵素，首先能促進血液循環，要出現這個現象的第一步驟就是產生「血液循環亢進」。這一點可以滿足生命活動一切的必要條件，亦即藉著補給酵素或營養刺激荷爾蒙，活化腦或神經機能，使得生命體達到最充實的狀態，使生命體延遲老化。在科學研究已確立使用蛋白分解酶，可藉由蛋白分解酶的攝取而提升免疫系統功能。木瓜酶是頭號的植物性蛋白分解酶，它對於透過活化的免疫系統來維持最佳身體狀況有重要的地位。
因為免疫系統常受化學物質，如汞填料中的水銀，添加在水中的氟化物、牙膏和兒童漱口水而受到破壞摧毀，就如同巴拉松和百草枯（殺蟲劑名稱）等化學噴劑一樣地可怕。
木瓜是唯一所知含有木瓜酶，也就是活性酵素的食物。它完全的分解蛋白質，釋放胺基酸讓人體快速吸收。它可以平均地在酸性、鹼性、中性的環境中發生作用，對於年紀大或任何因發酵不良而長年消化系統虛弱的人是很珍貴的聖品。
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什麼是木瓜酵素？ (11/20/2009)

一、什麼是木瓜酵素？

木瓜酵素（papain）是一種存在木瓜（Carica papaya）植株皮層的半胱胺酸蛋白酶（cysteine protease），木瓜酵素可分解蛋白質、醣類、及脂肪，其分解脂肪的能力可以說是木瓜最大的特色。木瓜酵素不論是在酸性、鹼性、甚至是中性的環境中皆可發揮作用，不像其他的酵素僅能在單一環境中發生作用與活性。青木瓜中含有大量的木瓜酵素，約為成熟木瓜之二倍含量，在婦女產後食用，能使乳汁分泌順暢，去除產後的異物或老廢物，促進新陳代謝消除產後之肥胖，故深受女性之喜愛，所以民間常以青木瓜做為燉補食品。由於一般人攝取之方法錯誤，使青木瓜中之養份在高溫燉煮中喪失了絕大部分功效，且又無法天天吃、餐餐吃，所以豐胸的功能不易彰顯。（註一）

二、木瓜酵素的功效：

01.當食品軟化劑：

市面上常見的嫩精或鬆肉粉中就含有木瓜酵素，而木瓜酵素應用於食品上主要是軟化肉質，通常在煮肉時加入少許青木瓜一起煮，利用青木瓜中豐富的木瓜酵素分解肉類的結締組織及蛋白質，這樣可以使肉吃起來更美味而不至於感覺肉質太老咬不動。根據研究結果顯示，木瓜酵素在冷藏山羊肉軟化上效果明顯，肌原纖維蛋白由 9.93%降至 7.19%，肉漿蛋白由 5.34%降至 2.12% 。

豇豆(Vigna unguiculata L.)屬豆科（Leguminosae）作物，其蛋白質、胺基酸、礦物質與膳食纖維（dietary fiber）含量豐富，為許多國家主要蛋白質來源，但其高硬度需延長烹飪時間為一大缺點，通常以鹼性岩鹽處理，但岩鹽中可能含有其他具毒性的元素，故以不同濃度木瓜酵素處理結果顯示縮短豇豆烹飪時間，由 50 分鐘縮短到 25 分鐘，但在軟化方面的成效不如預期。（註二）

02. 幫助消化

木瓜酵素是植物性蛋白分解酶，在科學研究己確立使用蛋白分解酶，可藉由蛋白分解酶的攝取而提升免疫系統功能，木瓜酵素對於透過活化的免疫系統來維持最佳身體狀況有重要的地位。木瓜酵素可消化比本身重 35 倍的蛋白質。現代食物因過度烹煮、化學農藥、油炸食物和微波所造成較難消化的情況，飯後吃木瓜，可以幫助消化，有輔助治療腸胃炎、消化不良的效果。胃腸病患者，每餐有積食不化現象，烹飪時加未成熟木瓜少許，食後可助消化。

03.美容的功能

木瓜酵素有助美容，根據美國維吉妮˙湯瑪斯發表其研究結果，認為木瓜酵素對肌膚乾燥或因為紫外線受傷的肌膚護理非常有效。因木瓜酵素可分解蛋白質固可分解並去除肌膚老化角質層，敷塗於臉部有消除黑斑、雀斑、美化肌膚的功效，
常被應用在化妝品中。（註一）

04.醫療上的用途

A. 依民間經驗，婦女產後乳汁不足，可用木瓜加草魚片煮湯食用，利用木瓜酵素幫助消化吸收養分的作用，達到促進乳汁分泌的功效。據我國古書記載，利用木瓜葉于可作為強心劑及驅蟲劑，治哮喘並可敷皮膚病，用途非常廣泛，但用時最好先請教中醫師（註三）

B. 木瓜酵素具有解毒，根據法國研究，它可化解白喉或破傷風的毒，甚至可以將化膿症的膿液溶解，再逐漸排出體外。對燒燙傷、褥瘡及頑固的異位性皮膚炎均可發揮療效。

C. 可加速手術後傷口的復原，減少手術後的腫脹，幫助減少發炎，加速癒合挫傷和其它組織傷害(包括破裂)，並且減少整體恢復時間。（註四）

D. 其他醫療用途：

a、 椎間盤突出症的治療：有人嘗試經皮打入椎間盤木瓜酵素或膠原酵素 (collagenase)，稱為化學核溶術 (chemonucleolysis) 以溶化部分椎間盤，減少其對神經根之壓迫，解除疼痛及麻痺，這種療法，對輕度椎間盤突出之病例，常有令人滿意的療效，惟對慢性或腰脊椎症或椎間盤已破裂的病例，則不宜施行，不然也無療效。但近年來，因為該種酵素可能引起嚴重的過敏性反應，同時可能滲到鄰近的神經組織而傷害到神經，因此此種療法目前很少施行。（註五）

b、 作為清潔隱形眼鏡的成份：隱形眼鏡的去蛋白保養，使用酵素才是真正有效的方法，利用酵素分解蛋白質的作用以達到清潔的效果，目前市售的去蛋白酵素清潔液成分大多為木瓜酵素及胰島酵素。（註六）

05. 工業用途

木瓜酵素在工業上可做為釀酒之安定劑，提煉魚肝油可增加二倍提取量。紡織及皮革業上，能去除絲上的膠質及皮革的蛋白汁，使皮革變軟。(註三)

參●結論

就我們收集整理的資料可知，因為木瓜酵素具有分解蛋白質、脂質及醣類的功能，所以可以被應用在料理時軟化肉質及縮短烹調時間，食用可有助於消化。而在美容上可去斑、美白及去角質。在醫療上更可加速傷口癒合、增進乳汁分泌，
甚至做為隱形眼鏡清潔劑等等。雖然作用很多，但總結就是利用木瓜酵素是蛋白質分解酶的特性，加以廣泛利用。

當我們研究之後，我們深深的覺得這個大自然真是深不可測，然而這也只是冰山一角罷了。自然界的生物多樣性越高便會越穩定，若以地球為一生態系，其豐富的多樣性，便是我們可以進行研究的方向。木瓜是我們生活週遭的生物，理所當然會由我們所熟悉的東西研究起，然而生物圈是如此的多樣化，我們又是否可以更加深入的研究這些我們週遭常見的生物體，甚至是擴大到其他我們不熟悉的物種，藉此將其好處更加發揚光大，而使我們的社會更加美好呢？這或許將是未來科技的走向之一。

肆●引註資料

註一：永樂家集團 Ever-More。營養保健新知。木瓜酵素
註二：奇摩知識網。添加東西到肉裡面對肉的影響?
註三：臺北市內湖區麗山國民小學。校園植物。木瓜
註四：SupplementWatch。Papain
註五：新竹市脊髓損傷者協會。脊髓損傷醫訊。椎間盤突出症及其相關手術
註六：健康、正確的隱形眼鏡保養。賴裕源
本文摘自 國立彰化女子高級中學 作者 林書平。林慈鈺。曾薐璇

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America Before Columbus

I am watching America Before Columbus. It is an amazing program produced by National Geographic. It shows how the agriculture crops (maize in north America, potato in south America, and bean, tomato and pumpkin in America) and animals (bison in north America and llama in south America) shaped America and how native American domesticated the land. It compared America and Europe and showed how the colonization change the agriculture and food in both America and Europe.

Based on this program, if Spain Queen Elizabeth did not support Columbus to find a new way to India, the majority of America forests and fishes might still be there and more than 90% native American might not be dead.

Below is the information from National Geographic channel


History books traditionally depict the pre-Columbus Americas as a pristine wilderness where small native villages lived in harmony with nature. But scientific evidence tells a very different story: When Columbus stepped ashore in 1492, millions of people were already living there. America wasn't exactly a "New World," but a very old one whose inhabitants had built a vast infrastructure of cities, orchards, canals and causeways.

AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS
* The English brought honeybees to the Americas for honey, but the bees pollinated orchards along the East Coast. Thanks to the feral honeybees, many of the plants the Europeans brought, like apples and peaches, proliferated.

* Some 12,000 years ago, North American mammoths, ancient horses, and other large mammals vanished. The first horses in America since the Pleistocene era arrived with Columbus in 1493.

* Settlers in the Americas told of rivers that had more fish than water.
The South American potato helped spark a population explosion in Europe.
In 1491, the Americas had few domesticated animals, and used the llama as their beast of burden.

* In 1491, more people lived in the Americas than in Europe. The first conquistadors were sailors and adventurers.

* In 1492, the Americas were not a pristine wilderness but a crowded and managed landscape.

* The now barren Chaco Canyon was once covered with vegetation. Along with crops like wheat, weeds like dandelion were brought to America by Europeans.
It’s believed that the domestication of the turkey began in pre-Columbian Mexico, and did not exist in Europe in 1491.

* By 1500, European settlers and their plants and animals had altered much of the Americas’ landscape. While beans, potatoes, maize, tomato, (and pumpkin, turkey) from the Americas became major crops in continental Europe.
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Below is information from wiki:


1491: New Revelations of the Native Americans Before Columbus is a 2005 non-fiction book by American author and science writer Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas. The book argues that a combination of recent findings in different fields of research suggests that human populations in the Western Hemisphere — that is, the indigenous peoples of the Americas — were more numerous, had arrived earlier, were more sophisticated culturally, and controlled and shaped the natural landscape to a greater extent than scholars had previously thought.

The past 140 years have seen scientific revolutions in many fields, including demography, climatology, epidemiology, economics, botany, genetics, image analysis, palynology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and soil science. As new evidence has accumulated, long-standing views about the pre-Columbian world have been challenged and reexamined. Although there is no consensus, and Mann acknowledges controversies, Mann asserts that the general trend among scientists is to acknowledge:
1.(a) population levels in the Native Americans were probably higher than traditionally believed among scientists and closer to the number estimated by "high counters";
(b) humans probably arrived in the Americas earlier than thought, over the course of multiple waves of migration to the New World (not solely by the Bering land bridge over a relatively short period of time);
2. The level of cultural advancement and the settlement range of humans was higher and broader than previously imagined; and
3. The New World was not a wilderness at the time of European contact, but an environment which the indigenous peoples had altered for thousands of years for their benefit, mostly with fire.

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