Agrochemical control of plant water use via engineered abscisic acid receptors
Park et al. Nature, February 2015.

A recent breakthrough study reported that scientists successfully engineered drought-tolerant plants by adding a new piece of DNA to their genomes. Crops and many types of plants are increasingly challenged by hostile environmental conditions such as globally warming temperatures and diminishing water sources. Plants have very small openings called “stomata” that let carbon dioxide in and oxygen out. Each stoma is surrounded by two guard cells that control opening and closing using osmotic pressure. During daytime, the stomata lets plants allow carbon dioxide in and oxygen out. Since the air around the leaves is often drier than inside, water molecules also move out through the stomata – a process called transpiration. Under the stress of drought, plants produce a hormone called abscisic acid (ABA). When ABA is released, it makes guard cells close the stomata and in turn keeps the plant from losing the water. Scientists previously thought that if they could spray ABA on a whole field, plants would survive a drought. However, since ABA is very expensive and highly sensitive to light, this strategy never became an option. Then, scientists decided to take the commonly used fungicide mandipropamid and genetically engineered the plants to respond to mandipropamid as if it were ABA. By adding a new piece of DNA into genomes, plants ended up having slightly different ABA receptors, which can be efficiently activated by mandipropamid.  Researchers tried this approach on two different plants: tomatoes and Arabidopsis. When mandipropamid was sprayed, genetically engineered plants stopped transpiration, and hence were able to survive for 12 days without water. The next challenge is to test this strategy in real world crops. This approach potentially opens new avenues for crop improvement that could highly benefit a growing world population.

3D Vaccines to Cure the Cancer

Injectable, spontaneously assembling, inorganic scaffolds modulate immune cells in vivo and increase vaccine efficacy
Kim J et al. Nature Biotechnology, December 2014.

Cancer is a devastating disease.  The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that global cancer incidence rates will grow by nearly 60% to 22 million cases per year over the next two decades. The effective cure for cancer has not been developed yet, mostly due to its ability to escape the body’s immune system. Unlike infectious reagents like bacteria and viruses, cancer cells are actually our own cells that are broken and misplaced; they cause trouble as they grow. Scientists have been trying hard to develop vaccines that activate the immune system to recognize tumor cells as foreign and attack them. In a recent study, scientists reported that they designed a “3D vaccine” to effectively provoke the immune system to fight cancer. The 3D vaccine is composed of many microsized, porous silica rods submersed in liquid, where any combination of tumor antigens and immune-stimulating reagents can be loaded into.  Once the 3D vaccine is injected under the skin, it forms into a dime-sized scaffold that creates an “infection-mimicking microenvironment.” The scaffold then attracts the dendritic cells that patrol the body for harmful pathogens. When the scaffold was tested in mice, it showed over a 90% survival rate in animals that would normally die from lymphoma within 25 days. Further analyses in mice showed that the 3D vaccine can recruit, house, and manipulate immune cells to initiate a powerful immune response against cancer. As much as the discovery is promising, one should keep in mind that much more evidence will be required to establish 3D vaccines as a feasible way of combating human cancer.

Smoking Shrinks the Brain

Cigarette smoking and thinning of the brain’s cortex
Karama S et al. Molecular Psychiatry, February 2015.

Smoking is regarded as the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death. Past studies strongly linked smoking to cancer and lung diseases. A recent study now shows that smokers have a thinner brain cortex than non-smokers. The cortex is the outer brain layer in which critical cognitive functions such as memory, language, and perception take place. It is well known that the cortex becomes thinner with normal aging and cortical thinning is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. The study found that smoking accelerates this thinning process. Researchers analyzed brain MRI scans of 244 males and 260 females with an average age of 73, around half of whom were former or current smokers. Participants who had given up smoking for the longest time had a thicker cortex compared with those who had given up recently. Researchers cautiously suggest that the cortex might regain some thickness once smokers quit but the recovery is very slow and incomplete. For example, heavy smokers who had quit more than 25 years before still had a thinner cortex.

Tschauner O. et al. Discovery of bridgmanite, the most abundant mineral in Earth, in a shocked meteorite. Science, November 2014.

A team of scientists has identified and characterized the Earth’s most abundant mineral: “Bridgemanite” makes up about 70 percent of the Earth’s lower mantle and 38 percent of its total volume. It is made of a high-density form of magnesium iron silicate and named after 1964 Nobel laureate physicist Percy Bridgman. For decades, scientists knew of the existence of dense Bridgemanite layers in the Earth’s lower mantle (660 to 2890 km beneath the surface) through theoretical and some experimental studies. However, since the mysterious mineral never survived the trip to the surface, no one had been able to prove its existence. Conveniently, shock-compression that occurs in collisions of asteroids creates an identical hostile temperature (2100 C°) and high-pressure (240,000 times greater than sea-level) conditions to those found in deep layers of the Earth. As such, scientists decided to look at meteorites closely, particularly one that had fallen in Australia in 1879. By using a micro-focused X-ray beam in conjunction with electron microscopy, they were able to successfully detect the Bridgemanite grains for the first time. The discovery of the Bridgmanite’s crystal chemistry will have a significant impact on the future studies of chemistry and geology of the Earth’s deep mantle, and perhaps studies on the formation of the universe.

Male smokers lose Y chromosomes

Dumanski et al. Smoking is associated with mosaic loss of chromosome Y. Science, December 2014.

The Y chromosome is one of two sex-determining chromosomes in men, who have one X chromosome and one Y (women have no Y chromosomes, but two X chromosomes). During normal cell division, copies of all of the 23 chromosomes, including X and Y, are synthesized and sorted into the two new daughter cells. This complicated process sometimes goes wrong and chromosomes are lost. Cells with missing chromosomes usually die, but cells can still survive without a Y chromosome. Scientists initially thought that men lose Y chromosomes as they age and this is a part of the normal aging process. But later studies have shown that the age-dependent loss of Y chromosomes can have serious health implications, as it is linked to a shorter life span and an increased risk of dying from cancer. Even more troubling results came from a recent study that screened for associations between behavioral and lifestyle choices, and diseases. Comparison of the DNA in blood cells of over 6000 men suggested that blood cells from actively smoking men are 3-4 times more likely to be missing Y chromosomes than the nonsmokers in the control. These findings may explain why male smokers have a slightly increased risk of death from the majority of cancers than female smokers. The scientists hypothesized that the Y chromosome loss may create defective immune cells that cannot fight cancer and ultimately make the body susceptible to tumors. The study gives some good news to smokers though. Y chromosome damage by smoking is both reversible and dose-dependent, so you are always better off not smoking; it is never too late to quit.

The world’s oldest case of cancer

Lieverse AR et al. Paleopathological Description and Diagnosis of Metastatic Carcinoma in an Early Bronze Age (4588+34 Cal. BP) Forager from the Cis-Baikal Region of Eastern Siberia. PLOS ONE, December 2014.

Cancer is responsible for one in four deaths in the Western world. It is widely assumed that cancer is a disease of modern times. Since people in older eras were exposed to fewer toxins, ate only natural foods, and adapted physically active lifestyles, many people thought that no one in older civilizations would have had cancer. Yet an analysis of a 4500-year-old skeleton from a cemetery in the Cis-Baikal region of Siberia has seriously challenged this idea. Researchers estimated that the Siberian man was about 35 to 45 years old before he died from a severe lung or prostate cancer. The ancient man’s bones, from head to hip and including his upper arms and upper legs, were covered by lesions and big holes. It is almost certain that the deterioration of his bones left him immobile and eventually caused him a very agonizing death. It is also clear that those around him recognized his situation and placed him in a circular grave in the fetal position with some artifacts ,which is completely different from the rest of the burials in the cemetery. Although ancient skeletons with the scars of cancer are relatively rare, scientists suspect that cancer may have been considerably more common in ancient times than is generally predicted, especially when considering other variables such as naturally occurring carcinogens and longer life expectancies.

40 percent of smokers begin between the ages of 15-19. According to researchers, the intensity of spiritual-psychological and social problems between the ages of 13 and 19 puts youths under a higher risk of starting smoking. Smoking as an adolescent can be related to low self-esteem and academic problems. It is an established fact that teenage smoking is the most influential risk factor for adult smoking. A young person looking for a role model can be influenced by one’s parents, teachers, and friends. Family structure and social environments are influential regarding smoking and other addictive behaviors. Keeping away from smokers reduces the likelihood of smoking.

It is reported that light depression increases smoking, and that regular smokers’ have higher incidences of depression and suicide when compared to non-smokers. Smoking rates are higher with those who do manual labor, who have smokers among family members or close friends, who live in urban centers, who have a high income, who work under difficult conditions, who have a history of social problems, and who are male. It is also reported that 94% of people who smoke more than three cigarettes a day at the beginning become addicted in the long run.

Why do people insist on continuing a behavior they know to be harmful or that they cannot give up easily even if they wish to? There are various reasons for this. First of all, human beings do not only make decisions and act within the control of reason, logic, willpower, and conscience. Cigarettes contain addictive chemicals that stimulate the brain’s pleasure center. Developing an addiction weakens willpower. When individuals realize how dangerous this addiction is, it is mostly too late to give up, since it takes significant willpower. We act not only based on logical information, but on intense feelings, too. Thus, a person continues to smoke in spite of knowing the dangers. A person’s degree of psychological and spiritual “hunger,” the strength of their feelings, and a failure to meet other healthy goals can be contributing factors to an addiction.

The World Health Organization defines dependence syndrome as “a cluster of physiological, behavioral, and cognitive phenomena in which the use of a substance or a class of substances takes on a much higher priority for a given individual than other behaviors that once had greater value.” Considering cigarette dependence, the person may find it really hard to break free from a vicious cycle beginning with thought, gaining velocity with feelings, and ending with the execution of a certain act.

In terms of the human brain and neurotransmitters, smoking causes nicotine to react with nicotine receptors. As a result of long-term nicotine intake, a neuro-adaptation increases the number of nicotine receptors in the brain. The brain develops tolerance to certain effects of nicotine. After a person has become neuro-physiological dependent, they begin to crave nicotine.

The effects of nicotine on the human body depend on the dose and have two aspects. The reduction of nicotine in blood causes symptoms of depravation, and its increase causes symptoms of poisoning. If a person smokes more cigarettes, and has free access to them, the amount required to achieve stimulation grows; their tolerance gets higher. Because nicotine is a psychological and spiritual stimulant, it often gives a feeling of temporary relief, which helps the smoker to forget their problems. This causes the smoker to draw a connection between smoking and a lack of worries, thus further affecting their reasoning and will power. Researches have shown that as the daily number of cigarettes increases, the habit shifts from the critical phase to the supercritical, and that psychological dependence turns into neuro-psychological dependence. 75-80 percent of smokers wish to give up smoking, and one third of dependent smokers attempted to give up smoking at least three times.

Phases of treatment

The purpose in treatment is making the smoker give up the habit in the long run. The first goal is to get the behavior under control by reducing the amount of cigarettes, and then, finally, cutting them out completely. A set of psychological thresholds smokers need to overcome are defined. Each of them is passed by overcoming different psychological and social obstacles.

1. Not being aware of the damage and not taking any steps for change: At this phase, the smoker does not calculate the possible harm of smoking and thus does not wish to give it up. When the subject is mentioned, it is dismissed by means of certain defense mechanisms. Those who wish to help the smoker must know this situation, and they should never engage in a dispute about smoking; by using soft spoken words, they should patiently try to make that person feel the grim realities of smoking.

2. Beginning to think about giving up smoking: At this phase, the person states that he or she will give up smoking whenever the subject is mentioned. The person also expresses being aware of the dangers and being in need of help to give up. However, taking action can sometimes take months, or even years. At this phase, the person should make a self-evaluation for the sake of putting one’s knowledge to real life practice, and to help them face their conscience. Those who wish to give up smoking had better prepare a list of the advantages to not smoking. Sincerity and empathy shown by the person to help the smoker are the most influential help; a single look or word might have an adverse effect and cause a relapse.

3. The preparation: The person is ready to give up smoking. At this phase, it will be useful to prepare a practical plan by benefiting from the tips of those who gave up smoking successfully. The date to give up should be set, preferably a meaningful day for the person, such as a birthday or anniversary. For spiritual support, it can be useful to previously announce the day to give up smoking to the person’s friends and family.

4. Action: The person has quit smoking. Having a small ceremony can be beneficial, as it creates a sense of psychological and social obligation; in the interest of these obligations, it’s important the person receive social support throughout the process. The person should keep away from people and places that make them feel like smoking. Exercise is a good way to combat any urges. When the person feels an urge to smoke, one must take a deep breath, and then release it slowly after holding it for some time. They should know that an intense urge to smoke only lasts for two or three minutes and soon subsides.

5. Continuing the newly acquired good behavior: At this phase, the person must be resolved not to relapse. At this point, the issue depends on the person’s freewill. It will be useful to reward ones’ self for not having started again. One of the most important components of treatment is helping the smoker develop proper interests and hobbies so that they are not tempted to start smoking again. Others around the person can provide positive psychological support. It is narrated that one drunken man came to visit Rumi, but his disciples tried to get rid of him with harsh treatment. On seeing this, Rumi remarked: “He drank the toxicant, but you have become intoxicated.” In the same way, we must also act with magnanimity, tolerance, and a feeling of responsibility to save our friends from such a dangerous habit.

Smoking is a habit that can be given up and treated

Is it a wise strategy to give up smoking all of a sudden? Is it possible? Is it advised to give it up gradually? Answers to these questions differ from patient to patient. First and foremost, giving up smoking depends on the person’s own wish, resolution, and willpower. It is possible to give up this habit. According to the WHO, treating smokers are among a doctor’s duties. It is known that as a consequence of anti-smoking campaigns and activities, millions of people gave up smoking. As the average rate of success remains under 10% for those who receive no help, we need to provide as much support as possible and encourage people to be healthy.

None of the methods for giving up smoking are 100% successful on their own. The best results are obtained when medical treatment supports the psychological, mental, and spiritual processes. Medical treatment include symptomatic treatments that target the feeling of deprivation that arise after giving up smoking and using other drugs to lessen the wish to smoke.

References

• Heatherton, Todd F. et al. 1991. “The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence: a revision of the Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire.” British Journal of Addiction 86:1119-1127.
• JC Norcross, Krebs PM, Proschaska JO. 2011. “Stages of Change.” J. Clin. Psychol. Feb. 67 (2):143-54.
• World Health Organization http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html. Accessed March 9, 2013.

Harming our bodies or health is a betrayal against this incredible gift. One of the major ways people harm the body is through smoking cigarettes.

Smoking harms human health in countless ways. It is one of the main causes of many diseases, such as lung and throat cancer, along with cardiovascular and respiratory track diseases, such as chronic bronchitis. According to the latest report from the World Health Organization, smoking remains the fourth of the top ten risks that threaten human health. Approximately 20-30% of adult fatalities are caused by ailments contributed to by smoking. Recent studies have shown the negative effects smoking has on human reproductive functions.

Effects on fallopian tubes

Smoking has a negative impact on female reproductive organs; this impact is determined by how long, and how much, a woman smokes. It may cause infertility by damaging the fallopian tubes that serve as a ground for the egg to be fertilized by sperm. In many studies, the risk of damage to the fallopian tubes was very high – this danger increases if a woman starts smoking a pack a day before the age of 18.

Effects on female hormones

Many toxic substances in cigarette smoke, including nicotine, directly inhibits the activity of the enzyme called aromatase, which plays a major role in the synthesis of the female hormone (estrogen) in the ovaries. Depending on the biological function, estrogen can be found in three different forms: as estrone, estriol and estradiol. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons found in cigarette smoke stimulate the microsomal cytochrome P-450 enzyme system that degrades hormones in the liver and, consequentially, increases conversion of estradiol with high biologic activity into estriol with the lowest activity. Alkaloids, one of the harmful substances found in cigarette smoke, were discovered to prevent production of progesterone in the ovaries. This plays a role in preparing the womb and in continuation of the pregnancy during the first three months. Therefore, smoking leads to progesterone deficiency during the early stages of pregnancy, causing miscarriages.

Effects on the maturation of the egg

The concentrations of the FSH hormone that is involved in the maturation of reproductive cells in the ovaries are especially high in young female smokers. In other words, a resistance develops against the FSH hormone in the ovaries and higher FSH hormone levels are required for the maturation of the egg. Thus, fertilization problems and missed periods can occur because of an absent reproductive cell. During the treatment of such patients with insufficient egg cell maturation, there is a 50% decrease in the success of the implantation (placement of the fertilized egg into the womb) and the continuation of the pregnancy in smokers when compared to nonsmokers. This means smoking significantly reduces ovarian functions, and ovarian stimulation becomes inadequate at earlier ages in women.

The negative effects of smoking on the reproductive system are also observed during the implementation of reproduction methods such as in vitro fertilization and assisted fertility technologies. The presence of high androgenic hormone levels (pre-metabolites of gender related hormones: androstenedione, DHEAS and testosterone/SHBG) in female smokers has been found to decrease the possibility of pregnancy during in vitro fertilization efforts.

Effects during pregnancy

There are many harmful consequences of smoking during pregnancy, especially for older women who are pregnant. Some of these consequences are premature birth, miscarriage, retardation of development, inadequate baby weight, perinatal mortality, ectopic pregnancy, placental praevia, and placental abruption. Placental praevia is the abnormal placement of placenta in the womb. In this case, depending on the excessive bleeding that occurs after the eighth month of gestation, the lives of the mother and fetus become imperiled, and fetal development is hindered. Placental abruption occurs depending on the premature separation of placenta from the womb, causing excessive bleeding that can also endanger the lives of the mother and baby.

In pregnant smokers, the postnatal ratio of infant mortality and disability increases as a consequence of deficiencies involving lung function and nerve development. These effects are directly proportional to how much a woman smokes. There are also negative impacts when a pregnant woman is exposed to second hand smoke by a spouse or close friend. Harmful metabolites of nicotine reach the baby via the placenta. Furthermore, nicotine is degraded slowly in the liver of a pregnant woman. Inadequate baby weight is related to smoking dosage and time.

Due to smoking in the early stages of pregnancy, the hormone levels of estriol, estradiol, progesterone and hCG, hPL which is secreted from the placenta, have been found to decrease. This reduction, which is observed in parallel with the amount of smoking, can result in miscarriages.

Toxic polyaromatic hydrocarbons have been found to accumulate at elevated ratios in the wombs of women who were exposed to cigarette smoke for a long time. During pregnancy, this situation leads to the deterioration of sertoli cells located in the reproductive glands of male fetuses. These glands assist in sperm production during adulthood, and damage to them can therefore cause a reduction in sperm generation.

An insufficient placental development occurs because of the negative effects of nicotine, cadmiums, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons damage the reproduction of trophoblast cells that make up the placenta. This situation explains the increasing miscarriage ratios among female smokers.

The free T4/TSH ratio in the serum of the umbilical cord, which connects the fetus to the placenta, increases in the babies of smokers compared to those of nonsmokers. This means that in babies of smokers, the thyroid glands may become overactive during birth. Depending on a mother’s smoking habits, this hyperactivity of the fetal thyroid increases the metabolic speed and the amount of consumed oxygen in the body, thus leading to the inadequate development of fetus.

Menopause occurs two-to-four years earlier due in women who smoke, as compared to non-smokers. This is due to the aging of the eggs. The risk of entering menopause before the age of 45 in women who quit smoking at least ten years prior is 87% less than smokers who don’t quit. Therefore, the earlier a woman stops smoking, the lower the risk of early menopause.

Effects of smoking on men

In research studies, it has been discovered that smoking has many harmful effects on testicular development and functions. These effects can be summarized as follows:

• Reduction of semen volume and quality, increase in its adhesiveness, delay in its becoming liquid, and resulting deformation of the sperm.

• Reduction in the number and mobility of sperm cells.

• Delayed sperm nucleus maturation, deteriorated DNA integrity.

• Decrease in the production of testosterone from Leyding cells.

• Decrease in the egg fertilization capacity of the sperm.

As a consequence of these negative effects, male infertility can occur. As the amount of daily cigarette consumption increases, the number, strength, and types of anomalies also increase. In a study conducted in 2010, smoking has been showed to decrease zinc levels in the seminal plasma. As a result of this decrease, oxidative agents populate and DNA breaks take place, thus causing a disruption of sperm functions and infertility. Zinc deficiency at the same time leads to the destruction of seminiferous tubule cells where sperm cells are produced. Paternal smoking generates negative results during the application of assisted fertility methods (such as in vitro fertilization). The damage in the sperm DNA of the father can disrupt the embryo development. The risk of anomalies, cancer, and genetic diseases increases for the fetus.

Cigarette smoking clearly occupies a position as one of the worst enemies of mankind because of its destructive effects on the body. In this case, it does not make any sense to try finding excuses for smoking, for it is harmful to the body that has been loaned to us as a gift and a temporary property.

Cihanoglu is a professor of medicine in KATU, Trabzon, Turkey.

Original Article: Mak, G.K. & Weiss, S., Nature Neuroscience 13, 753 (2010).

Motherhood or maternal recognition is well characterized by associated brain plasticity during both early development and adulthood. Unlike motherhood, paternal-offspring recognition and its related brain plasticity is poorly understood. A group from University of Calgary designed a set of experiments to test whether father mice can recognize their own infants once they’ve reached adulthood. They exposed adult males to their own and genetically unrelated infants for 2 days. The fathers were tested for adult offspring recognition six weeks later. Assay compared the time spent by the fathers with their own and unrelated offsprings. Results showed that although the father mice show similar parenting behavior toward both sets of infants (own and adopted), they only recognize their own pups as adults. Paternal recognition is associated with increased prolactin (a hormone primarily associated to lactation), mediated neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb, and hippocampus, a major component of mammalian brain. These newly generated neurons are important for the formation of socially relevant olfactory memories. Authors also found that the fathers must physically interact with the infants in order to recognize them later. This is confirmed by some control experiments in which fathers are only allowed to see, smell or hear infants through a wire mesh barrier which was not sufficient to induce neurogenesis. One of the socially relevant benefits of paternal recognition of the infants as adults is to avoid incest interactions which cause inbreeding depression.

2- Recently revealed hideous effects of smoking on children

Original Articles: Brion, M.J. et al., Pediatrics 126, e57 (2010) & Kwok, M.K. et al., Pediatrics 126, e46 (2010).

Smoking is bad for our health, but apparently it may also have subtle, yet far-reaching consequences on our children according to two recent studies. The first study reports that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have children with psychological problems. A related study presents evidence that babies who develop in the presence of second-hand smoke (from their fathers) may develop weight problems. Dr. Mary-Jo Brion of the University of Bristol tells “Babies exposed to smoke (in the womb) may be prone to rule breaking, such as lying, cheating, bullying, and disobedience in later years” and adds “To some extent it is somewhat surprising that … maternal smoking may also directly impact child behaviors from exposing the fetus to tobacco in utero.” The other study suggests that smoking around expecting mothers (even when the mother herself is not smoking) also affects the child: higher childhood weight appears to be clearly correlated with paternal smoking. “To protect their children, fathers should avoid smoking from conception onward,” says Dr. Mary Schooling of the University of Hong Kong. Furthermore, smoking mothers should not be too surprised to see their children “disobey” when they tell them not to smoke.

3- Exposure to certain wavelengths of light resets the body clock

Original Article: Gooley, J.J. et al., Science Translational Medicine 2, 31ra33 (2010).

With the introduction of high-tech gadgets into our lives, our daily functions have changed drastically. As opposed to old-fashioned bed-time reading of an “actual” book made of paper, we fiddle with our iphones or ipads or notebooks or channel surf on our bedside TVs before going to sleep. A recent study revealed that exposure to certain wavelengths of light, such as those from laptops or TVs, would negatively influence our circadian rhythms (daily rhythmic activity cycle) by resetting our body clocks (e.g., keeping us awake when we should be sleeping). The feeling of sleepiness at night time is triggered by the secretion of a hormone called melatonin. It had been known that exposure of blue light to the eye’s photoreceptor system located in the ganglion cells suppresses the melatonin secretion, therefore stimulating alertness. In their recent work, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital showed that green light exposure of a different cell population on the eyes – cone cells – also resets the body clock by suppressing melatonin secretion. The senior author of the paper, Dr. Steven Lockley, said in an interview that “we need to think about the entire spectrum of light when designing light therapy or lightning designs to boost alertness or induce sleepiness.” The moral of the story is to be more vigilant about our interaction with fancy electronic gadgets at night if we want to have a healthy and relaxing sleep.

4- Poor teachers may impede good students

Original Articles: Taylor, J. et al., Science 328, 512 (2010).

Scholars know that educational environment, including both tasks and the social environment of a classroom, affects children’s achievement just as much as genetic factors. But the teacher plays a main role, because the quality of the educational environment depends on teachers’ performances. A new study underlined the importance of qualified teachers and how they can make a difference in education. The researchers examined the influence of teacher quality by studying 280 identical and 526 fraternal twin pairs in the first and second grades in different Florida schools representing a diverse environment. Identical twins share 100 percent of their genes and fraternal twins share half, and some of the twins were taught by the same teacher but some were in different classes. The researchers used an Oral Reading Fluency test which is based on how many words in a paragraph a child can accurately read in a minute in order to assess the reading skills of children. The researchers recorded the reading scores of students in the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester, and they followed the students’ improvements during the year. To measure teacher quality, they used the scores of twins’ classmates. By studying twins’ groups, researchers were able to eliminate some other factors such as genetics and socio-economic conditions. According to the findings, the teachers played a role in “moderating” students’ achievements, and they helped the students to grow to their full potential. When teacher quality is very low, genetic variance is constricted, whereas, when teacher quality is very high, genetic variance blooms. As the study’s lead author, Jeanette Taylor, said “Better teachers provide an environment that allows children to reach their potential.”

Useful Links: Organizations devoted to the academic study of religion and interfaith research and activities have found a home on the Internet. Have a look at:

www.conjure.com/religion.html; www.theorderoftime.-com/cyber/to/rs-file/interf.html; www.interfaithclergy.org/ links.html; http://religion.rutgers.edu/vri/academic.html, www.fefadmin.org/interfaith_links.htm; www.beliefnet. com/index/ index_102.html, and www.academicinfo.net/

Religionmeta.html. We encourage our readers to take part in their activities and online discussions.

North American Interfaith Summit: The United Religions Initiative (URI), a global network of grassroots-based interfaith groups, is holding its first North American summit, “Circles in Motion-Gifts to Share,” May 31-June 4, at Salt Lake City’s 2002 Olympic Village. Contact Kay Lindahl, URI-North America, P.O. Box 6071, Laguna Niquel, CA 92607; Tel: (949) 661-3087; Fax: (949) 496-5535; e-mail: theasc949@aol.com; or visit www.uri.org.

Interesting Books: Huston Smith, Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief; Andrew Newberg M.D. et al., Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief; Gerald L. Schroeder, The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth; William A. Dembski and Michael J. Behe, Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology; Jensine Andresen (editor) et al., Cognitive Models and Spiritual Maps: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Religious Experience; Joel Beversluis (editor), Sourcebook of the World’s Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality. -www.amazon.com.

IN SOCIETY

Interfaith Network: The United Communities of Spirit is a global interfaith network linking people of diverse faiths and beliefs who want to work with others to build a better world. In its quest to promote awareness that all people belong to the same spiritual family, it offers e-mail/web conference facilities and an extensive database that allows members to express the fine details of their personal beliefs. – http://origin.org/ucs.cfm.

Ecological Medicine: As more people realize that health and environment are interlinked, interest in ecological medicine continues to increase. Kenny Ausubel’s “The Coming Age of Ecological Medicine” (The Utne Reader, 27 July 2001) deals with this topic. In it, Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), says that ecological medicine seeks to establish the conditions for health and wholeness, acknowledges that people are part of the local ecosystem, and that medical practices should not damage other species or the ecosystem. SEHN calls upon science and industry to conduct impact studies before implementing their activities. Raffensperger claims that this usually is not done, and that the results are disastrous. – www.utne.com.

The “Benefits” of Smoking: Philip Morris reports that deaths from smoking saved the Czech government at least $30 million on health care, pensions, and housing for the elderly; that smoking had a positive effect on the nation’s 1999 public finance balance (estimated at $146 million); and that smoking-related expenses of $394 million (1999) were “almost exactly balanced out by the excise duty charged by the Czech government.” Moreover, the government benefited from value added tax of $89 million, customs duty of $9 million, and income tax from tobacco businesses in the Czech Republic of $19 million. Spokesman Remi Calvet said that: “We deeply regret any impression that premature death of smokers could represent a benefit for society. Tobacco is a controversial industry, but we are still an industry and sometimes we need some economic data on our industry.” – http://washingtonpost.com.

IN SCIENCE

Free Space Optics: Researchers are studying the possibility of replacing underground cabling with free space optics, a system that uses invisible focused lasers to transmit data. Speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, faster than any other broadband connection now available, are possible. Several problems remain to be solved, though: automatic refocusing of laser connections, ensuring a clear line of sight, and how to deal with fog and other weather conditions that could disrupt the signal. Terabeam reports successful trials in foggy Seattle. – www.popsci.com.

The “God” Particle: Europe’s CERN laboratory and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago are racing to find evidence supporting the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle popularly known as the “God” particle. Researchers at CERN thought that they had found it in November 2000, but now it appears that these “may have been simply random movements by other, less interesting particles.” The Higgs boson is a theoretical particle believed to be the source of mass and weight in the uni- verse. The race continues. – www.latimes.com.

A More Accurate Clock: American scientists using sophisticated laser technology and a cooled ion of the liquid metal mercury (a mercury atom with one electron stripped off) have developed the “all-optical atomic clock.” In theory, it could be as much as 100 to 1,000 times more accurate than current cesium-based microwave atomic clocks. Applications are expected in navigation and communications technology, as well in such abstract areas as Einstein’s theory of general relativity and the plasticity of time. – http://news.cnet.com.

Stem Cell Research: A National Institutes of Health report calls for more research on how adult, fetus, and embryo stem cells can help treat juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s, and other diseases. Stem cells from days-old embryos, most of which are obtained from fertility clinics, seem to show the most potential. They are more plentiful, easier to extract and then grow and multiply in a laboratory, and can develop into a much wider array of tissues. Opponents are trying to block research on the grounds that such cells constitute potential or actual human life. – http://washingtonpost.com.

It is estimated that 80 to 90 percent of all cancer cases are related to environmental and lifestyle influences (1). Many cancer research centers estimate that 80 to 90 percent of human cancers are preventable. Beside chemicals and infections (viral and parasitic), extrinsic factors include diet among a variety of other factors wholly or partly determined by personal behaviour. Though genetic factors and age affect cancer onset rates, the conclusion holds that many human cancers are avoidable (2). A great number of these are related to tobacco smoking and chewing, alcohol consumption, homosexuality, promiscuity and excessive exposure to solar radiation as in sunbathing, all practices disapproved in traditionally religious societies.

Dr John Hill, a London physician, reported an increase of lip cancer in pipe smokers as long ago as 1761. Sir Percival Pott reported cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweeps in 1777, which he attributed correctly to lodgement of soot in the rugose scrotal skin. This type of cancer was virtually eliminated by simple personal hygiene (3). Later, many chemicals were proved to be carcinogenic and hence many cancers became avoidable by taking more care when dealing with them. Ionizing radiation is still an important hazard, preventable by taking better care.

Tobacco and Cancers

In many countries cancer is the second most important cause of death. In the USA and many developed countries, it accounts for 20 percent of all deaths (1,2). An estimated 6 million new cases of cancer occur annually worldwide, of which about a million are caused by tobacco smoking and chewing (4). The death toll due to malignant disease in the USA amounts to 400-450,000 annually of which 100,000 are due to lung cancer, 85 to 90 percent of those due to cigarette smoking (1,2). Indeed, tobacco (smoked, chewed or sniffed) is the most important single factor in cancer causation generally, responsible for 30- 40 percent of all cancers (5). No other single agent has been examined in more detail, nor more firmly established as a causal agent, than cigarette smoking (6). Let us look at some of the facts.

The risk of cigarette smokers developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked the duration of smoking, the time of onset and the type of smoking. Approximately one-sixth of those who smoke two packs of cigarettes per day will eventually develop lung cancer. The risk to hose who smoke 40 cigarettes per day are 25 times more that to non-smokers (6-8). Cigarette smoking causes all ol the major types of lung cancer including squamous cell carcinoma, adeno carcinoma, oat cell and large cell carcinoma (6). Cancer of the lung was a rare form of cancer at the beginning of this century, even in developed countries. As smoking increased dramatically after World War I among men, and among women after World War II, the incidence of cancer of the lung showed incessant increase until the seventies, after which it began to decline among men and a decade later among women. Nevertheless, cancer of the lung is still the first killing cancer among men and women in many developed and developing countries (7,9,13). In Hong Kong, the rates for women are now the highest in the world (13). Lung cancer rates in Chinese men (e.g. 50.2 per 100.000 in Shanghai) are higher than in many North American and European populations (13). It is the leading cause of cancer mortality among males in Bulgaria. Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong. Hungary, Israel, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Thailand, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. The risk is particularly high among cigarette smokers, and a clear cut dose-response relationship has been confirmed. The risk is greater among those who started smoking at a young age and those who smoke high tar cigarettes (2,14-16).

Laryngeal cancer is the second cancer caused by cigarette smoking, but the total number of cases is smaller than lung cancer and the survival is much better (6). Cigarette smokers are five times more likely to develop cancer of the oral cavity and the oesophagus than non-smokers (&-8). There is synergism between alcohol and cigarette smoking in causing cancer of the larynx oesophagus and oral cavity(6-8.14-16,22).

Cigarette smoking is also an important contributing factor in cancers of the bladder, kidney and pancreas. Association between gastric cancer and smoking has also been noted (23-26). Cigarette smoking has even been implicated in cancers affecting the breasts, kidneys, liver, cervix, uteri and many other organs (27-29). It has also been implicated in childhood cancer as a result of prenatal exposure to parental smoking (30). Passive smoking was implicated in causing many cases of cancer (31-33).

Non-smoked Tobacco

Long term use of chewing tobacco or snuff has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity, cheek, gums and oropharynx (6). Oral cancer is one of the ten most common cancers in the world. In Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it is the most common malignant disease and accounts for a third of all cancers. More than 100,000 new cases occur annually in South and South East Asia (13). The commonest cause for oral cancer is tobacco chewing, usually in the form of betel quid which consists of betel vine leaf (piper betel), areca nut, lime and tobacco (13,34). Tobacco chewing is also widespread in parts of Yemen, Sudan and Southern Province of Saudi Arabia: the so called ‘shamma’ is a tobacco plus lime and ash mix, implicated in many cases of oral cancer in these areas (35,36).

Tobacco was propagated in developed countries by tobacco companies after the decline of cigarette smoking there. The 39th World Health Assembly in 1986 adopted Resolution WHA39 which declared that ‘the use of tobacco in all its forms is incompatible with the attainment of health for alt by the year 2000’ (37). The study group concluded that the use of smokeless tobacco caused cancers in humans, the evidence of causality being strongest for cancers of the oral cavity. It also increased the risk of cancers of the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, pancreas and urinary tract. Laboratory studies clearly supported the observations that smokeless tobacco caused a number of precancerous oral lesions (37).

Carcinogens in Tobacco Smoke

Tobacco smoke is an aerosol consisting of about 2000 different substances, 50 of which are already proven to be human carcinogens e.g. Benza pyrines, Benza anthracene, Benzo floaranthene, Benzene and other Benzyl derivatives, cadmium, chrysene, methylchryscne, methyl fiouranthene and nitroso compounds (38,39).

Cigarette smoke also contains significant amounts of radioactive substances e.g. thorium Th228, polonium-210 and radium-Rd226. These compounds lodge in the lungs where they constantly irradiate the nearby cells and hence facilitate malignant change (38). Even the urine of cigarette smokers contains mutagenic substances for bacteria, and substances that cause changes in the chromosomes of human cells in tissue culture.

Sidestream smoke which is inhaled by non-smokers contains fifty fold greater concentration of nitrosamines than mainstream smoke. In one hour of breathing in a smoke filled room, a non-smoker may inhale an amount of nitrosamines equivalent to the amount inhaled after having smoked 15 filter cigarettes (38).

Cessation of Smoking

The risk after cessation of smoking decreases dramatically. Light smokers approximate the risk of nonsmokers after 10 to 15 years of cessation of smoking, while heavy smokers have a residual two to three fold increase after cessation (2,6). The mechanism of lung carcinogenesis and smoking cessation has been extensively studied (40).

Women and Smoking

As women started smoking long after men, there is a time lag in the incidence of lung cancer. The incidence of lung cancer has already fallen for men in most developed countries while it was still increasing for women early in the eighties. In 1984, 32 percent of the women smoked in Britain compared with 36 percent of men. In 1961, the figures had been 60 percent of men, and 40 percent of women. Whereas in 1950 the average woman smoker smoked half as many cigarettes as the average male smoker, in the eighties the corresponding figures were 14 and 16 cigarettes (41).

During the second decade of the anti-smoking campaign in Britain, smoking started to fall among women too, slowly at first, but with accelerating momentum (42). Similar trends are found in all developed countries, In some countries e.g. Australia, smoking among young and middle aged women was rising in the early eighties (5,43A4). The proportion of male smokers was falling in 19 out of 22 developed countries, and for women rising or stable in II countries (42-44). In Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.S.S.R., smoking among women was still rising in the early eighties(42).

We may note that lung cancer has already surpassed breast cancer in the number of fatalities it causes. Non-smoking wives of smoking husbands (passive smokers) and non-smoking women working in smoking environments are also afflicted with lung cancer(6,31-33.37).

Trends in Developed and Developing Countries

Anti-smoking campaigns have been launched in the developed countries in the last three decades with tremendous achievements. In Britain, 60 percent of men were smokers in 1961 (the year before the first report of the Royal College of Physicians about smoking was published). By 1971 this figure had dropped to 47 percent, by 1984 to 36 percent, and by 1992 less than 25 percent of the adult males are smoking. As already noted, a similar trend among women smokers was apparent with a ten-year lag (42-45). The decline in cigarette consumption in other European countries and the USA has been comparable. By the mid-eighties sales had plummeted by an impressive 2$ percent with a 5-10 percent annual decline (42-44).

How have the tobacco companies been selling the 10 billion cigarettes they produce daily? By promoting sales in the poor Third World, already suffering from serious health hazards. Consumption of tobacco in Third World has seen a horrendous increase. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that tobacco related diseases are on the rise in developing countries.

During the last three decades: in Senegal the percentage of men who smoke in urban areas has reached an unprecedented 80 percent in Bangladesh 70 percent; in Lagos 72 percent of the Faculty of Medicine male students were smoking (46). Statistics from the Chamber of Commerce of Saudi Arabia show an unbelievable increase in tobacco imports: over 4,5 million kgs in 1972: over 27 million kgs in 1977; nearly 36 million kgs in 1981; 42 million kgs in 1984 – an increase of 900 percent (47-48). It is no surprise to find that lung cancer in Saudi Arabia has increased dramatically – from the twelfth most common cancer in a 1950-61 study (49) to the third most common cancer in a 1979-84 study (50). It is expected to be the leading cancer in the nineties us the effects of smoking are unfolding.

The tobacco companies’ methods are unscrupulous as well as aggressive, with bribery of government officials to permit promotion not unusual. In 1982, the head of the Malaysian parliament retired and went to work as a chairman of Rothman’s, Malaysia’s largest cigarette manufacturer (48-51). Ethiopia imported 200 million expensive British cigarettes in 1984 when a large portion of its population were starving to death (52). In Bangladesh, smoking of five cigarettes daily robs the family of a quarter of its food supply, which results in an estimated 18.000 deaths among children annually (53). Unfortunately, the World Bank and Western Governments are co-operating with the seven giant tobacco companies (three American, three British and one French). The World Bank has given Pakistan 60 million dollars in loans to raise tobacco and the US Food for Peace Programs have spent 2 billion dollars in loans to developing countries for the purchase of U.S. tobacco and to establish joint-venture tobacco projects and factories (48-51). Tobacco needs to be cured with heat, obtained by burning wood. This results in deforesting 7 million acres annually with the obvious detrimental impacts on the local ecology, Heavy use (without protective measures) of carcinogenic pesticides on tobacco plantations has also resulted in many fatalities.

Neither tobacco promotion nor high tar content are restricted in many third world countries. Cigarettes smoked in China. India. Pakistan. Sri Lanka the Philippines etc. contain 21-33mg tar and 2-3mg nicotine: while in tile developed countries of U.S.A., Canada, Western Europe, the maximum legally permitted levels are 15 mg tar and 1 mg nicotine (13,46,48).

China consumes one third of the world’s production of cigarettes, while the other developing countries consume another third (48,54). The Eastern and Western block combined consume the remaining third.

The WHO emphasizes the need for a ban on tobacco promotion which should be comprehensive, fully implemented, well publicized, given major priority by governments and health authorities, and sustained on a long term basis (13).

Islamic Law and Tobacco

Muslim muftis and grand ‘ulama’ proscribed smoking tobacco soon after it was introduced to Turkey around 1000H (1573). Sultan Murad of the Ottoman Caliphate made it a capital offence in 1663. The former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim (55) included in his fatwa the names (If many grand ‘ulama’ and muftis who had proscribed tobacco use since its first appearance in Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, and Yemen (56). All the religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, including of course the present Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, prohibited tobacco use, its promotion, sale, cultivation or dealing with it in any way other than destroying it.

Recently the 1st International Islamic Conference of ulama’ (On Drugs, Narcotics and Liquors held in Madina, March 22-25, 1982, under the auspices of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz passed a resolution prohibiting the use of tobacco in any of its forms, its cultivation, manufacture, trading in. selling or promoting it in any way (57). The WHO Eastern Mediterranean office published a book in 1988 under the title Al-Hukm al-Shar’i fi at-Tadkhin (Islamic legal ruling on smoking) which involved the decision of the ten leading ‘ulama’ of Egypt, including Sheikh Al-Azhar, who explicitly considered tobacco use as haram (58).

The grounds for these judgments were:

1. Smoking is detrimental to health. The Qur’an states clearly Don’t kill yourselves (4.29) and Make not your own hands contribute to your destruction (2.195). Islamic teachings generally, as well as hundreds of sayings of the Prophet, upon him be peace, encourage Muslims to preserve good health and abstain from things injurious to health.
2. Tobacco use wastes huge sums of money. Saudi Arabia spends annually more than one billion riyals on tobacco imports (59). Some poor Muslim countries spend more money on smoking and other tobacco use than on health promotion or education. The Qur’an deplores such waste: Squander not your wealth senselessly. Squanderers are indeed the like of Satans (17.26, 27).
3. Smoking is had and impure, khabath. The Qur’an declares that the Prophet, upon him be peace, forbids all that is bad and impure and allows all that is good and clean (7.157). Smoking is bad and impure, as it Causes environmental pollution and is unpleasant, even seriously harmful, to those who do not smoke, injuring others is completely prohibited in Islam and considered one of the worst sins a believer can commit.

There is a great need to inform Muslim communities about the legal opinions on tobacco use and the rationale for them. The Muslim governments should stand firmly against the pressures exerted upon them by the tobacco companies and their powerful Western backers. If Muslim countries and peoples adhere to the traditional religious lifestyles. They will succeed in avoiding the perils and tragic losses of life and wealth caused by tobacco consumption.