Advertising is an age-old concept of conveying the messages to the people. In prehistoric days, people used to write with chalk, which was available in plenty, in their own languages the messages they wanted to propagate on the walls of the caves or on tree trunks. While doing excavations in Pompeii, signs and evidence were found that services and goods were advertised as early as in 79 A.D.

Later, Egyptians wrote the messages and drew images on papyrus. When paper and printing press were invented, advertising became popular, first in Great Britain, then in other countries. Illustrated ads were placed in newspapers and magazines. Products like Pears soap, Woodbury’s Facial soap, Michelin Tires and Encyclopedia Britannica were among the first to advertise. Advertising companies like J. Walter Thomson, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Volney Palmer and N.W. Ayer were among the pioneers, responsible for creating ads and getting them placed in newspapers and magazines. J. Walter Thomson was however the first to expand internationally.

Today, we live in the world of advertising. Nothing sells without advertising; may it be a product or service. It is a well-known fact that you need to create an awareness of the product you want to sale, then promote it through means of advertising; hence the importance of advertising cannot be denied. That is why ad agencies are flourishing and their clients are spending millions of dollars to promote their products or services. Ads should be clever and to the point. Yet, many advertisers rely on belittling the competitors’ products which results in a big confusion in the minds of consumers.

David Ogilvy, the guru of advertising, said that ‘a good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing the attention to itself.’. One wonders how many ads these days conform to this belief. The Chief Executive of one the agencies where I used to work way back in Pakistan had a motto framed behind his desk. It read: Advertising is supposed to be impactful and clever without being overpowering. In short, be subtle.

There are various outlets where the ads are placed. Generally, your product is promoted through TV, Radio and social media, newspapers and magazines, billboards and brochures and your product gets consumers’ awareness and impulse to buy. This is the common practice, yet there is another means to advertise. It is called subliminal advertising, and it has been found that this means alone can soar the sale of your product. Only few clients and advertisers know and realize the positive effect such advertising would produce. Others simply do not believe in its efficacy and consider it a fallacy.

Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal advertising is described as the use of images, logos and sounds to influence consumers’ responses without being conscious of it. A subliminal message passes below the normal perception. It might be inaudible to the conscious mind, but audible to the subconscious mind, because it is a brief flash of the product, escaping the conscious level of mind but getting stored in the subconscious mind, so that when a consumer goes to the market and sees the product along with other products, he is inclined to buy the product subliminally advertised.  They are ‘hidden persuaders’ – as said by Vance Packard in his book,’ Hidden Persuaders’ which was published in 1957. There are various ways to do it:

Single Frame Effect

This was often practiced in the days when movies were processed by 35 mm cameras. It involves the insertion of ‘hidden’ messages into movies or TV programs. The concept ‘moving pictures’ relies on persistence of vision to create movement in a series of images projected at 25 frames per second. A single frame of the ad is then inserted after every 25 frames on the editing table. The hidden command in a single frame flashes across the screen so quickly that it is not perceived consciously but is registered in the subconscious mind.

As mentioned in QUORA journal, an experiment was conducted by James Vicari, a marketing researcher and psychologist, in 1957 when a popular movie PICNIC was released. Every five seconds the words, Hungry? Eat popcorns. Drink Coca-Cola, were projected for 0.003 seconds. The sales of popcorn and Coke in that New Jersey theater increased by 57.8 percent and 18.1 percent respectively.  

In the early seventies, we, at an advertising agency where I worked, made a similar experiment. In the cinema house where one of our client’s products was advertised subliminally through the screening of the movie, I stood near a concession stand. During the interval – in those days we had intervals of 10 to 15 minutes – a good number of moviegoers were seen to buy that soft drink.

You may think that this is a very easy and economical way of advertising. No, it is not. It took a series of meetings with the client to convince him about this method of promotion. The client eventually agreed, but still seemed doubtful. Then we had to approach the movie producer who was shooting a blockbuster movie with famous stars. After being assured that it would not make any difference in projection, and paying him the agreed amount, he consented. When the movie was shot and ready for editing, I went to see the editor to get the frames of our product inserted after every 25 frames of the movie. The editor simply shook his head and said that it was just an experience in futility, but he had to do it, because the producer asked him to do that. It took him two weeks to complete the editing. I met him again and saw that the one frame of the product was inserted after every 25 seconds in the master print of the movie. I was happy to learn that and took the editor, who had by now become a good friend, for a lunch at a Chinese restaurant on my expense account.

The client later reported that the sale of his soft drink had increased by thirty-five per cent.

This form of subliminal advertising was gaining grounds and proving to be an effective vehicle for promoting products. This became a matter of concern for public relations officials and some advertising agencies, probably because they feared that budgets for regular advertising on TV and press would plummet, resulting in lesser profit. They argued that such a way of promotion is ineffective, counter-productive and unethical since it invaded the minds of the people without their consent. The other school of thoughts pleaded that it is not the only way that does that, there are many happenings in everyday life that do so, and on which we do not have any control.

In USA, Federal Communications Commission took up the matter, held several hearings and declared that subliminal advertising is contrary to public interest, because it involved ‘intentional deception’.

Terry Lane in CHRON journal reported, ‘While the US Congress has never passed a law restricting subliminal advertising, government agencies have said that the practice is unfair and could result in enforcements, especially for broadcast stations.’

Since then this form of advertising gradually decreased. It may still be in existence, but countries like Australia, U.K. and Canada have banned it. Other forms of subliminal advertising, like product-placement and hidden messages through logos are very much in practice throughout the world.

Product placement

A highly popular technique is product placement. Here again you need a movie producer or a TV show producer. Subject to his consent and agreed payment, a can or a box of food products such as cereal, jam, jelly, butter or a soft drink is strategically placed on a dining table – or any other place – at a home. When the scene of a family dinner is shot, the product is placed on the table in such a manner that it is quite visible. It is flashed for only a few seconds, and the message is delivered.

Products or services are also promoted when a character drives a car and it passes through a street where there is a billboard or a store front where it is displayed. The camera briefly focuses on it while the car is passing by.

An unethical and detrimental trend is now prevalent in our movies and TV dramas and shows. The hero or another important character is shown smoking a cigarette or a cigar leisurely and enjoying the puffs, while at the bottom of the screen you read a sign ‘smoking is injurious to health’. This is a subliminal advertising for tobacco smoking, and one is sure that some tobacco companies must be paying the producers or channels to promote this habit among viewers, especially youngsters. The tobacco companies have to rely on such a means for advertising, because they are not allowed to advertise directly through electronic or print media or through billboards. Authorities should take note of this and take proper action to stop such a practice.

Meaning of logos

Logo is an intelligent way of subliminal advertising. Let us look at some logos:

• amazon.com. Did you find a hidden message? Observe carefully. There is a curved line connecting a and z, meaning that everything from A to Z is available on this online store.
• Logo of FedEx shows an arrow in white space, an indication of the company’s speed and ability to deliver.
• In the current TOSTITOS logo, can you see two friends sharing chips and salsa?
• In the SONY VAIO logo, the design of the word Vaio shows the symbol of analogue and digital that defines the two worlds in which the brand works.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a Mediterranean perennial plant having light blue flowers, feathery leaves, and a sweet, distinctively flavored root. Its generic name, “Glycyrrhiza,” comes from the ancient Greek words glycos riza, meaning “sweet root.”1 It has grown in the wild in many Middle Eastern, European, and western Asian countries.

Licorice is 50 times sweeter than table sugar, though some researchers have placed it at more than 150 times sweeter than sucrose. This intense sweetness can be traced to Glycyrrhizic acid, a multi-purpose molecule that consists of two sugar moieties. Glycyrrhizic acid, one of the main components found in Licorice root, is believed to contribute to the herb’s healing properties. The varied properties of this molecule have led to the surprising mix of products containing licorice today: medicines, cough syrups, herbal supplements, gum, drinks, and candy.

History of licorice as a healing herb

Licorice root has been used since ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman times in the West, and since the second and third centuries B.C in the East. Hindus, Chinese, Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and eventually the Greeks and Romans all were acquainted with its sweet flavor. Egyptians used it as the main ingredient of a very well known drink, called erksoos,2 which is still popular in modern times. In Japan, the oldest specimen of licorice introduced from China in the middle of the eighth century still exists in the Imperial Storehouse. Ancient soldiers found that if they chewed the root on long marches, it would prevent thirst. The benefits of licorice were also known by physicians in the Middle East, so they prescribed it as a medicine. Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the famous physician and philosopher, said that: “the infused licorice purifies the voice and the trachea, and is useful in disorders and diets.”3 He used this plant in treating his patients nine centuries ago. Greeks and Romans ate licorice to treat coughs, asthma, colds, and sore throats. Today it’s still a popular flavor for cough drops and other medicines. During the Ottoman Empire Eastern Turks used to make a drink called “Meyan serbeti” by combining licorice and water. Even today it is sold by the street vendors in Southeast Turkey.

Medicinal uses and indications

In both the East and West, licorice has been used to treat a variety of illnesses ranging from the common cold to liver disease. This herb has long been valued as a demulcent (soother) and expectorant (which rids phlegm and mucous from the respiratory tract). It is particularly popular for relief from respiratory ailments such as allergies, bronchitis, colds, and sore throats. It is also used as a treatment for stomach problems, diseases of the skin, relief from stress, and diseases of the liver.

Today’s studies and findings have revealed the amazing properties of licorice, which will be a remedy in medicine for different diseases beside pharmaceutical products.

• Animal studies and trials in humans have supported the value of licorice for stomach ulcers. “If I had an ulcer, the first thing I’d go for is licorice,” says James Duke, Ph.D., botanist at the US Department of Agriculture. .Dozens of studies, he says, endow licorice root with formidable anti ulcer properties.4 Many studies have shown the licorice is just as effective as the commonly used ulcer drug Tagamet in healing ulcers.

• The Journal of Drugs in Dermatology July edition reports that licorice, among other natural products, is very effective for use in treatment of rosacea, atopic dermatitis, irritated skin, drug-induced skin eruptions, and psoriasis.

• Licorice is showing well in studies of its use in heart treatment. In recent research, people with high cholesterol experienced significant reductions in total cholesterol after taking licorice root extracts for one month. Systolic blood pressure was reduced by 10%. These measures returned to their previous elevated levels when participants stopped taking the licorice supplements.

• Researchers at the University of California have been studying licorice root to prevent cavities. Studies which have been done so far have shown that compounds isolated from licorice root could be inhibitors for microbes to cause tooth decay. “More studies are needed before it is proven that the compounds effectively fight cavities in humans. If further studies show promise, the licorice compounds could eventually be used as cavity-fighting components in mouthwash or toothpaste” says Wenyuan Shi, Ph.D, a microbiologist at UCLA’s School of Dentistry.”5

• Some people in the USA face a serious oral problem which is the severe pain in the mouth called “canker sores”. Dentists have been trying different types of treatments for this disease. Studies have shown that the best result received the treatment that is used the adhesive patch with the licorice extract.6

Even though there are many benefits to using licorice, at high doses there may be some side effects such as high blood pressure and low blood potassium levels, and fluid retention because of glycyrrhizin. Some licorice root extracts, with the glycyrrhizin removed, are known as deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). This form retains many of licorice’s healing properties and is the better choice for long term use. Scientific studies have shown that DGL reduces inflammation and is as effective as prescription drugs for gastric ulcers without side effects. Natural health experts Phyllis and James Balch reported to naturalnews.com that “it’s best not to eat more than three ounces a day and it should not be used on a daily basis more than seven days in a row by persons with diabetes, heart diseases and high blood pressure.”

Food and other uses

Licorice root has a long history of being used to make candy. Two licorice candies that originated in England are Allsorts and Pontefract Cakes, which have been around since Elizabethan times when licorice was grown in the Pontefract district of Yorkshire. Allsorts are pastel-colored and round-square candies. Pontefract Cakes are soft, coin-shaped black licorice. Today, some of these candies are decorated with a stamp of Pontefract Castle. In Finland, red and black licorice is shaped like little smoking pipes, while in Germany it’s shaped into wheels. Salty licorice, shaped in coin-diamond, is very popular in Holland. Another popular Dutch candy is Katje, shaped with black cats and made of strong-flavored licorice [10]. Although it seems odd, many flavors such as mint, coffee, cherry, honey and chocolate are combined with licorice to make tasty treats. Unfortunately, many American candies that are called licorice actually contain no licorice at all. Licorice, fennel, and anise all have an essential oil called anethole, which gives them a distinctive taste. Many “licorice” candies are actually flavored with anise instead. Next time you eat licorice, check the package to see if licorice extract is one of the ingredients.

Although licorice is something to eat or drink, some of its more interesting uses have little to do with food. Much of the natural licorice grown today ends up flavoring tobacco instead of candy. But what about the parts of licorice that remain once the flavor is removed?

One of the products of licorice roots is a foaming liquid. This can sometimes be added as a flavoring in some beverages, but an unexpected use for the same liquid is found in fire extinguishers. It can extinguish fires in oil tanks, where other traditional methods are unsuccessful.

Even after every drop of liquid is removed from roots, they’re still useful. Pulp mills blend the root’s fibers with other ingredients to make boxes and wallboards. Walls with only a half-inch-thick piece of this fiber board are better insulators from heat, cold, and sound than six-inch walls of brick, stone, or concrete.

Until several decades, Scientists have emphasized only how plants do photosynthesis other than informing or searching other amazing functions. Today, scientists have been studying plants in order to get more useful benefits from them. The licorice plant needs further research in order for us to discover other benefits to human being’s ecology. In the light of explored results about licorice, numerous ways of using this plant have been proven and caused people to ponder about how a simple plant is able to carry the varied properties in its roots. It is basically wood, but sweeter than sugar.

Conclusion

Almost every day humankind faces a new health problem which can never be healed by medicine, nor can they determine the root cause. Today, by understanding the amazing properties of the Licorice plant, we should explore the earth for other plants in search for what has been created and its benefits to us. There are surely countless other unknown and useful plants waiting to be discovered and used for their real purpose of living.

Even though there have been many promising findings, there are ongoing debates in the scientific community regarding the value and side effects of licorice products. Further studies are needed.

Despite its long history, licorice may yet surprise us. Its presence in the candy aisle, at the pharmacy, among the natural food products, and on the checkout stand attests to the complexity and rich chemistry of this sweet beneficial root.

Sumeyra Dural Cokavci has a Master’s degree in Nuclear Physics, Georgia State University, Atlanta.

References

1. The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook: By James A. Duke p:194

2. Toxicology and clinical pharmacology of herbal products By Melanie Johns Cupp, p: 223

3. http://www.asehlicorice.com/

4. Food–Your Miracle Medicine By Jean Carper p:177

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2632514?dopt=Abstract

6. http://www.food-info.net/uk/products/sweets/liquorice.htm

In the industrialised countries biotechnology has been one of the fastest developing and most promising fields of research in recent decades. It is defined as the application of biological organisms, systems or processes to manufacturing and service industries. There are sub-divisions within biotechnology — such as fermenter technology, genetic engineering, enzyme technology, environmental technology, animal and plant biotechnology. In this article, we will look briefly at some topics in plant biotechnology which deals with the building- blocks of agriculture, horticulture, and the food, chemical and pharmacological industries. Already, commercially important applications of plant biotechnology such as transgenic vegetables and fruits, insecticide-resistant corn and cotton, herbicide-resistant beans and synthetic seeds have begun to appear in the market-places of America, Japan and Europe. This trend is set to expand dramatically in the coming decade.

Molecular biology

Molecular biology tools figure importantly in plant biotechnology. Plant breeders are trying to discover and determine the best combination of the genetic characters in different plants with the help of Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisim (RFLP) techniques. The aim is to identify desirable characters and their precise location on chromosomes. Then, recombinant DNA technology can be applied to transfer a particular gene into a plant cell so as to alter and improve its original character. This technique enables us to, for example, produce flowers of a specified shape and colour or plants which secrete anti-fungal and anti- insect proteins.

The Human Genome Prced(HGP) is one of the grandest scientific projects of the end of the 20th century. The location, functions and base sequences of all human genes will be identified and the information used for diagnostic purposes such as controlling cancer or ageing genes. There is another, comparable project on model plant Aribidopsis which contains the smallest genome size in. The gene sequences of Aribidopsis are expected to have been fully mapped in ten years time. Japanese scientists are trying to determine the gene sequences of rice by using the mRNAs. Plant genome projects will be as important as the HGP in the coming century, because understanding the gene structures of plants may, by permitting us to produce ‘new’ genetically enhanced foods, provide the solution to the problem of ensuring food supplies while protecting the environment.

Plants genetically resistant to insects and herbicides

Insect pests and diseases caused by fungal, viral and bacterial pathogens are responsible for substantial losses in crop yields world-wide. The chemical control of insects and fungal pathogens represents a large segment of the crop- protecting business, currently estimated at US$ 8.7 billion annually. The global losses due to insects or diseases, despite extensive use of pesticides, are still 12-13%. Although all plants have some defensive systems to protect against insects and pathogens, the crop varieties used in modern agriculture often lack sufficient resistance. A kind of ‘killer proteins’ secreted by plants and micro-organisms prevent the larval development of insects or fungal and bacterial growths. The ‘killer protein’ genes are transposed to make genetically resistant varieties of such crops as corn, cotton, tomato, yellow squash, tobacco, and other model transgenic plants. For example, transgenic potato plants expressing a synthetic gene from B.thuringiensis sub sp terebrionus at high level exhibited strong resistance to Colorado potato beetle (CPB) in a large number of field trials and have recently been approved for commercial release. Potato growers currently spend US$ 75-100 million annually on the protection of about 480,000 hectares of potato. The CPB resistance potatoes will significantly reduce their use of environmentally undesirable insecticides.

Another example: Roundup is a commonly used herbicide which deactivates one of the chloroplast enzymes and so causes the death of the target plant but which also negatively affects crops. Plant molecular biologists identified a highly expressing enzyme which can defuse the effect of Roundup. This strain has been successfully transferred to some important crop species such as a rice which is now genetically resistant to the Roundup herbicide.

Natural plant metabolites in cell suspension cultures

Plants sometimes produce secondary metabolites (unlike primary metabolites such as DNA and amino acids) to adapt to their environment or to protect themselves from enemies. There are more then 100,000 types of secondary metabolites secreted by many kinds of plants which count as ‘natural products’ used particularly in the dyeing, pharmacology and cosmetic industry, and in insecticide and herbicide production. Some of the secondary metabolites are produced in batch cultures (growing plant cells in suspension medium) in plant biotechnology laboratories. Not all metabolites are in production, only a few and (for the present) economically non-viable metabolites have been produced over the last few decades. However, some metabolites are extremely important such as vincristine and taxol natural products which are used as anticancer drugs in medicine. Taxol is naturally produced by taxus tree (Taxus brevifolia), and costs approximately US$ 1.6 million kg-i. Taxol can be synthesized in chemistry labs in 52 steps, but is so laborious and expensive as not to hold much hope for commercial application. Vincristine is the rarest alkaloid found (1 part in 5 million dry weight) which is naturally produced by Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) and it costs US$ 3 million kg-i. Five to six year- old trees are used to extract these ‘fine chemicals’. 250 kg of taxol is needed throughout the world each year. That means we must destroy one million taxol trees every year in order to supply this amount. This is not a cost-efficient or environment friendly process. Today, some economically less important chemicals are produced in bioreactors but, as yet, valuable Chemicals like taxol and vincristine are still waiting for the development of economically viable in vitro production techniques. If that aim is achieved, destroying trees for extraction will stop, production will be increased and prices come down.

‘Edible vaccine production in transgenic plants

Plant and animal protein structures are almost similar. Today, micro-organisms are used to produce vaccines. However, plants can easily be made to produce some pharmacalogically important antigens, and can economically be used as an alternative method. For instance, the production of hepatic B surface antigen (HBsAg) was expressed by transgenic tobacco plant. Although the expression level was low, HBsAg was expressed with similar physical properties to the serum-derived protein. The antigen extracted from tobacco has recently been demonstrated successfully in mice.

There are some other reports on vaccine production against cholera and malaria by transgenic plants. The demonstration that vaccine antigens can provide new opportunities for bio-farming of vaccines, If the antigens were orally active, food-based ‘edible vaccines’ could allow economical production and delivery in developing countries. Astonishingly, the vaccines containing edible plants may be developed and will be commercially available, and in the very near future, children in developing countries will be eating tailor-made polysaccharide containing potato as a nutrient, as well as a vaccine to protect them from cholera. The ‘edible vaccine’ plant foods will be one of the most amazing new products of the next century.

Micro-propagation and somatic embryogenesis

Plant cells unlike animals, have the potential, known as totipotency, to make individual plant organisms. Plants can be regenerated in biotechnology labs by the help of tissue culture techniques. Natural seeds are generally heterogeneous and lose desired characters in their phenotypes. Therefore, seed manufacturers produce homozygous (wild type) products but this is time-consuming and uneconomical. Plant biotechnologists are dealing with this problem by regenerating the plant in vitro. Micro-propagation and somatic embryogenesis are two principal ways of plant regeneration in vitro.

Micro-propagation involves the germination of seeds, cutting axillary buds of regenerants and then distributing on solid media to get new regenerated plants. Thousands of similar genomic structure regenerants can be produced by this technique. Although this technique needs less labour and money on a small scale, there are some technical problems in scaling up.

There is an alternative but less known somatic embryogenesis technique. It offers the production of ‘synthetic seeds’ in vitro on a large scales. A few model plant synthetic seeds such as carrot, alfalfa, spruce and celery have been successfully achieved in bio-industries. This technique involves the production of large numbers of synthetic seeds and then their encapsulation by variety gels. Subsequently, the synthetic seeds grow successfully in greenhouses. The aim in this field is to achieve large scale production of economically important plant seeds containing desirable characters.

Ethics

The question of what the effects will be of transgenic products on human health and on nature still remains unanswered. Should we answer this question now or should we wait until we see the bad consequences? It is our view that this question should be answered by scientists, philosophers and lay people before the products are released onto the market.

It is my belief that the earth has enough resources to provide the well-being of its human population, and human beings can enhance these resources by sensitive application of the new technologies, some aspects of which we have just looked at. However, some of the major problems of food supply and environmental degradation arise not from the lack of resources but from inequalities in access to and distribution of those resources, not least of which is the resource of knowledge and technology. If we are to use the new technologies for the benefit of human beings generally, without destroying the environment we all share, the political and social problems of distribution and transfer of technologies must be addressed. We need to live co-operatively and collaboratively both with ourselves and with our planet.

References 

• Mason H. S. & Amtzen C. J. (1994)‘Transgenic Plants as Vaccine Production System’, Trends In Biotechnology (Elsveir Trends Journals). 13(9), pp.388-392.
• Onishi N., Sakamato Y. & Hirosawa T.(1994) ‘Synthetic Seeds as an Application of Mass Production of Somatic Embryos, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (Kluwer Academic Publications), 39, pp.137-48.
• Pezzuta J., (1996) ‘Taxol Production in Plant Cell Culture Comes of age’. Nature Biotechnology, 14, p.1063.
• Shah M.D.. Rommens C.M T. & Beachy R.N. (1994) ‘Resistance to Diseases and Insects in Transgenic Plants: Progress and Applications to Agriculture’, Trends In Biotechnology (Elsveir Trends Journals), 13(9), pp.362-7.
• Smith J.E. (1981) Biotechnology, Edward Arnold Ltd, London, pp.1-6.
• Stogkigt J., Obitz P., Falkenhagen H.,Lutterbach R. & Endress S. (1995) ‘Natural Products And Enzymes From Plant Cell Cultures’, Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (Kluwer Academic Publications), 43. pp.97- 105. 

Therefore, the products existing in nature should be far more sophisticated than ours. Investigating any species of plant or animal whether it be a microscopic or a giant creature, we reach the following conclusions: They have been specially designed to adopt their environment. They own the precise and perfect skills, organs and defence mechanisms, needed for their survival. They are so perfect that none of our engineering skills are enough to produce anything even approaching the quality of these organisms. We need also to mention that products in nature are alive, a concept which has not yet been precisely understood or described despite all our advances in technology and science. Examples supporting the above argument are innumerable, covering all branches of science. I will present only a few for illustration purposes. Fish flow in a medium of liquid. They are exposed to two components of pressure while swimming, the static pressure and the dynamic pressure. The static pressure is directly related to the weight of the water above them and does not vary while swimming at constant depths. However, this is not the case with dynamic pressure. It increases or decreases depending on the velocity of the liquid flow around the body. Researchers have found that the eyes of fish are precisely located on the body so that the dynamic pressure is always zero. This means that vision is not distorted while the fish are swimming at varying speeds. The heart of the fish is located at a point where the dynamic pressure is most negative. This enables the functioning of the heart to be much easier at high swimming speeds. The mouth is placed at the very front of the body where the total pressure is highest. This high pressure makes it easier to take water for oxygen during fast swimming. Consider another example, the octopus, which is one of the more primary creatures in the so-called evolution process.

For thousands of centuries, the octopus has been using the conservation of momentum principle. The octopus takes in water and propels it through a narrow pipe in a direction opposite to its line of movement. This jet propulsion principle has been effectively used in man-made motors only in this century. It should be evident then that these sophisticated designs and techniques cannot be generated by those animals themselves, still less randomly produced by the trial and error of blind (unguided) natural forces. The physical laws and the perfectly adapted designs must originate from the same source, the Supreme ‘Engineer’. This explanation is the most rational and logical. Other explanations, which attempt to attribute design and engineering skills to plants and animals or to blind and deaf nature, make no sense at all. Another example is the development of the embryo. From the manufacturing point of view, this development can only be explained by the term miracle. In engineering practice, the size of each part in a product is predetermined and manufactured separately. Those parts are then assembled together to form the final product. Let us call this type of manufacturing static manufacturing, since the sizes of the parts remain the same during assembling. In the case of an embryo, the sizes of organs are changing with time while a continuous assembling takes place under those conditions. New organs are created inside, without any interference from outside, developing in size over time, yet holding the assembly in a perfect condition at each interval of time. This process is an example of dynamic manufacturing which is, to put it bluntly, quite impossible for us to achieve. In usual manufacturing, the size of a part is smaller than the raw bulk of material from which it is produced, and some of the material is wasted. In some cases, moulds are used to achieve the desired shapes. In the creation of an embryo, however, there are no moulds at all, no spare parts thrown away, no wastage.

These manufacturing techniques are by far beyond the limits of humanity. Note that we have not yet mentioned the events that take place at the micro level inside the cells. Even a general glance at the global events shows us how extraordinary the development of an embryo is. A final example will be given from the mechanics of materials. For birds to be able to fly, they must balance minimum weight with maximum strength. Their bones can be considered as hollow pipes. Calculations reveal that the ratio of the inner radius of the bones to the outer radius is selected in the optimum way precisely so that, with minimum weight, maximum strength is achieved. We have not mentioned the macro creation process (cosmos, galaxies, solar systems etc.) since these topics are more related to pure sciences such as physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology etc. An understanding of creation, even then not comprehensive, requires knowledge of these pure sciences together with knowledge of engineering and design. The Creator of the earth and cosmos describes Himself as ‘the Best of Creators’ (Mu’minun, 23.14). The reader may consider what we have said here as a tiny effort towards understanding this verse. 

American Indians applied its leaves as a poultice to heal wounds, and brewed a cough mixture from its roots. Now its seeds are claimed to have medicinal uses ranging from relieving pre-menstrual syndrome to management of multiple sclerosis, alcoholism and atopic eczema.

The seeds contain approximately 15% protein, 24% oil and 43% cellulose and lignin. The fatty acids in the oil are thought to be important to health because the oil contains 65-85% linoleic acid (LA) and 7-15% gamma linoleic acid (GLA): LA is an essential fatty acid for the body which it cannot make but which it converts to GLA. GLA is one of the components of cells and a precursor of prostaglandins which regulate many body functions. However, the LA GLA conversion step may be blocked by a range of factors including excessive levels of blood cholesterol, a high proportion of certain fatty acids in the diet, ageing, alcohol intake and diabetes.

Supplementing the diet with evening primrose oil (EPO) by-passes the conversion step, thus providing for the presence of GLA in the body. A recent World Health Organisation report suggested that 3% of the total calorific intake of adults should be in the form of essential fatty acids, this figure rising to 5-6% for children and pregnant and lactating women. GLA can be provided by several other sources as well, e.g. borage oil and blackcurrant oil, both of which contain a higher concentration of GLA than EPO but not as much LA.

The quality and composition of EPO used in commercial manufacturing is currently the subject of much research and monitoring work. In the UK research is concentrated on obtaining GLA from other sources e.g. by fermentation from the fungus mucor javanicus.

A concentrated oil from evening primrose, borage and blackcurrant seeds, is now undergoing clinical trials and may be used in second generation oil products of the future. EPO is already used in a variety of beauty and hygiene products, including cosmetic and skin care products, shampoos and soaps.

Trials have been curried out to investigate claims of the effectiveness of EPO in treating many diseases and conditions, including multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, asthma, atopic eczema, cancer, obesity and premenstrual syndrome. So far the results have been variable but some genuine clinical effects have been seen.

Millions of dollars have been and are being spent on developing new methods of extracting useful natural products for the benefit of mankind. We are now seeing a widespread desire to return to natural resources to cure various ailments. Let us hope that, before mankind destroy their environment, they will come to realize the importance of nature’s medicine-cabinet, and give thanks where it is due. Without that giving of thanks, mankind will not practise the humility and compassion necessary if our common resources are to be preserved both for ourselves and for future generations.

The general atmosphere and conditions surrounding us promise great happiness so long as science and technology with all their facilities and fruits are devoted to the service of humanity. Nevertheless, so far we have not been able to make proper use of these extensive possibilities. The happiness of humanity has been delayed. There is some doubt and despair because nobody has taken on the responsibility for guiding humanity to eternal bliss. Such will probably continue to be the situation until those who have authority and competence come to acknowledge their true responsibility.

In the past, cities and villages used to live in an isolation that was unpleasant, disorderly and devoid of spirituality. They were frequently visited by privation and pestilence and were permeated by immoralities. Moreover, they merely observed what was going on with indifference, believing life to consist of nothing but this. Today, it is obviously impossible to live with out-of-date conceptions which have nothing to do with reality. ‘Continuing the old state being impossible, it means either following the new state or annihilation.’ We will either reshape our world as required by science, or we shall be thrown into a pit together with the world we live in.

Some believe that doing this will reduce man to a machine, and mankind to a swarm of ants, running the world in accordance with mechanistic science. This is not true at all! Just as the past was not without science, so too, the future cannot be without it; everything in the end is connected with science. A world without some science has nothing to give to man.

It is, however, true that in some of our cities man has been reduced, human feelings have been diminished, certain human virtues together with health and ability to think, have been wiped out. But it is an injustice to ascribe all this to science and technology. The fault lies rather with the scientists who avoid their responsibilities. Many worrying conditions would probably not have existed if the scientists had acquired an awareness of their social responsibility and had performed what was expected of them.

Science means comprehending what things and events tell us, and what the Divine Laws prevailing over the universe reveal to us. It means striving to understand the purpose of the Creator. Man, who has been created in order that he shall rule over all things, needs to observe, read, discern and learn about what is around him. Then, he has to seek the way of exerting his influence over events and subjecting them to himself. At this point, by the decree of the Sublime Creator, everything will submit to man who himself will submit to God.

Science, with all its branches such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, medicine and so forth, is at the service of humanity, and every day brings new gains which may also be gifts of hope.

There is no reason for man to be afraid of science. The danger does not lie with science itself and the founding of a world in accordance with it, but rather with ignorance, and the irresponsibility of scientists.

We acknowledge that some planned acts based on knowledge may sometimes give bad results, but it is certain that ignorance and disorganization always give bad results. For this reason, instead of being opposed to the products of science and technology, it is necessary to use them so as to bring happiness to man. Herein lies the essence of the greatest problem of mankind. It is simply not possible to take measures against the space age or to remove the thought of making atomic or hydrogen bombs from the minds of some people.

Given that science might be a deadly weapon in the hands of an irresponsible minority, we should nonetheless adopt science with its products to found a civilisation where man will be able to secure his happiness in this world and the next. It is vain to curse the machine and factories, because machines will continue to run and factories to operate. So too science and its products will not cease to be harmful to mankind until the men of truth assume the direction of things and events.

We must not fear science nor the technology it enables, for such a fear paralyses every sort of activity. Instead, we must be fearful of the hands using it. Science in the hands of an irresponsible minority is something disastrous which could on its own change the world into hell. Having come to know only after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that a monster of cruelty had exploited his studies of the atom, Einstein apologized in tears to his Japanese counterparts, but by then it was too late!

That calamity was neither the first nor will it be the last of its kind. Seas have been changed into sewage and poison, rivers into canals of filth, and the atmosphere into a fog of pollution by the barbarian minority, and this will continue to be so…

Mankind has never suffered harm from a weapon in the hands of angels. Whatever they have suffered has all come from depraved, ambitious souls who believe only that ‘might is right’. This situation will continue until mankind builds a world on the foundation of science and faith.

It is our hope that human beings will come to comprehend the nature of the world they live in before it is too late.