Clouds bring us rain, thunder and lightning. How many of us know what clouds are and how they are formed?

Clouds consist of millions of condensed water droplets as well as ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of earth. The water droplets floating as clouds are made of various shapes and sizes.

Clouds form over other planets well. We often see the pictures of clouds on other planets such as Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Clouds are formed when air and more so warm air comes in contact with a cool surface. The air absorbs the water vapor and is cooled below its saturation point. When the cool air rises into the atmosphere, the condensed cotton like mass so formed is called cloud. Clouds are also formed by a process called convection which is caused by the warming of surface by insulation.

Sometimes the air blowing over the hotter surface becomes warm and light. When it reaches the watery or colder regions, it absorbs the water content. This is the reason why cloud formation takes place along the cold and warm fronts. Clouds also form on mountains.

Another process of cloud formation is based upon ice memory. When the air reaches those clay areas where the temperature is minus ten degrees Celsius, it forms into clouds around the same clay at minus five degree Celsius.

The colors of the clouds vary from cloud to cloud. Sometimes the color of the clouds helps us to predict weather. According to weather lore, if the clouds are red during day time, they predict bad weather, and if they are red at night, it would be fair weather. The white color of the clouds indicates that they were formed with warm air which contained water vapor. Other colors of the clouds are blue, green and yellow.

Although people may tend to reject these stories in weather lore as unscientific and figment of imagination, it has been proved by lengthy observations that predictions made by folklore on the basis of the color of the clouds prove fairly correct.

Have you ever thought that the US ever had so many days we celebrate? I have written about 38, but going over and over again to learn about history, I’m learning there are many new holidays and days coming to our calendar soon. Here are a few of the calendar days as well as federal days.

a. Thanksgiving                                                              
b. Christmas                                                                      
c. Independence day                                      
d. Memorial day                                                          
e. Labor day                                                             
f. mothers day                                                
g. fathers day                                                       
h. Valentines day                                                     
i. Hanukkah
j. Kwanzaa
k. Uniform holidays bill
l. Veterans day
m. New years day
n. Martin Luther king Jr.
o. Inauguration Day
p. Columbus Day
q. Columbus Day
r. Washington’s Birthday
s. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
t. Flag Day
u. National Grandparents’ Day
v. Wright Brothers Day
w. Patriot Day
x. Thomas Jefferson’s birthday
y. Peace Officers Memorial Day
z. Parents’ Day

1a. Law Day, U.S.A. (May 1)
2b. Leif Erikson Day                                                                        
3c. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (September 17)
4d. Child Health Day
5e. Ash Wednesday
6f. Groundhog day
7g. ST. Patrick’s day
8h. April fools day
9i. Good Friday
10j. Easter
11k. Boss’s day
12l. Earth day

Sleep apnea is caused due to obstruction in the airway passage and the patient wakes up several times at night to breath. There are different treatment options for the patient suffering from sleep apnea like CPAP, weight loss, positional therapy, medications and surgery.

Surgery is rarely opted by the patients, but it may be sometimes necessary for increasing the passage of the airway. Reducing obstructions in the passage to a increases the airway passage. Sleep specialist and/or experienced surgeon must be referred before opting for surgery to discuss the advantages, disadvantages and after effects of the surgery. For instance, throat pain for about 7 to 10 days is quite common after the surgery. Surgery may not be able to eliminate the problem completely but it may be able to reduce the number of apneas. It may make the further treatment of the patient easy. In rare cases, apnea may get even worse post surgery. The following types of surgeries can be performed for treating sleep apnea.

One of the most common surgical procedure for sleep apnea is uvulopalatopharhngoplasty (UPPP) procedure. It enlarges the airway by removing the excessive tissues at the back of the throat, uvula, tonsils, adenoids and sometimes a part of the soft palate.

Laser-Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP): LAUP is an amendment of the UPPP procedure. Under this procedure, the surgeon cuts the uvula using the laser technique. It is usually performed to eliminate snoring - the primary symptom of snoring. Sleep studies are usually required before LAUP is performed.

Tracheotomy: Tracheotomy is performed to create a hole in the trachea (windpipe) just below the obstruction site and a tube is inserted into this opening. This is like a last option for a person with whom all the other treatments have failed. It is used in patients suffering from severe sleep apnea. The patient is instructed to keep the hole site clean in order to prevent the site from infections. The tube is closed during the day for normal breathing and during the night while sleeping it is opened to make a passage for the air to flow directly into the lungs. This is a highly effective but rarely preferred method.

Surgery of the Nose: Surgery of the nose may be sometimes necessary for correcting any nasal obstructions in the patient.

Maxillomandibular Advancement Surgery: Sometimes, a person may suffer from severe sleep apnea due to some facial abnormalities or throat obstructions. Maxillomandibular advancement surgery is preformed to move the jaw forward and enlarge the airway.

Radio Frequency Tissue Ablation ( RFTA) or Somnoplasty: Radio frequency is used to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway and open the passage. It shrinks the size of the palate and/or the tongue.

Certain surgical procedures to reduce obesity may also be recommended and used for treating sleep apnea.

CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is the treatment for those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP gently passes the pressurized room air though the airway of the patient to enable him to breath properly while sleeping. The pressure of the air is set according to the requirements of the patients, but a low pressure is not much effective in eliminating the apnea and hypoapneas. CPAP process involves a mask, headgear and tubing of the mask with the CPAP machine. The machine-generated air is passed through the nasal mask into the blocked air passage of the patient. This air applies a positive pressure on the obstructed airway just like a splint and enables the patient to breath properly. The pressure of the air increases gradually. Initially, when the person starts the machine the pressure is low and by the time he is fully asleep the pressure automatically increases to a higher level. The patient is able to breath comfortably and sleeps peacefully.

The physicians order the CPAP through a home care company for the patients after confirmation of OSA. The company then delivers the CPAP system along with the Respiratory Therapist for the complete set up of the system. Instructions are given to the patient regarding its use. The physician and the home care team assess the success of the treatment on the follow up of the patient.

It is important to note that a proper mask that suits the patient is very essential for establishing a proper air pressure level. It may be a nose, mouth or a full-face mask with adjustable straps of the headgear for holding it in place. Tight headgear straps bring about discomfort and loose ones may lead to leakage of air. Only a proper fitted mask can provide a proper air pressure level. More recently, the gel-type masks have been introduced into the market. It is a soft gel cushion and is appropriate for all types of patients as it consists of a flexible shell and a wire molded into the shell which allows the patient to change the shape of the mask. In addition to it, nasal pillows are also available for the patient that consists of two small flexible pieces (like mushroom caps) that are inserted into the nostrils. Although, nasal pillows are better alternative to the mask but the patients with higher pressures may suffer from discomfort with these nasal nostrils.

In certain cases CPAP may not work appropriately and a surgery may be necessary.

People often say that laughter is the best medicine. For years, this adage has persisted, a commonly used clichè. But is there really truth to this?

In recent years, some researchers and doctors have delved into serious studies about laughter and humor and their effects on health. The common understanding is that humor really does have health benefits.

Scientists were able to find out that laughing can actually reduce stress and anxiety. In experiments, there were major drops in the level of stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine (adrenalin), and dopamine. Aside from this, laughing also increases the level of endorphin in our bodies. Endorphins are our body’s natural “high” or “feel good” hormones. The more we laugh, the better we feel.

Laughing can also be a great workout. When we laugh hard, we burn calories. Whenever we laugh, we stretch our diaphragms, we breathe faster, we inhale more oxygen into our lungs. Our pulse also quickens and our hearts beat faster. Laughter and humor can also have other benefits like longer sleep and lower blood sugar levels.

However, scientists and doctors are quick to say that while laughing can have its benefits, they might have probably something to do with who we laugh with. Apparently, we laugh more when we’re with people than when we’re alone. This could be an indication that laughter is partly a social gesture, which connotes a feeling of security when with other people.

If anything, this only goes to show that laughter doesn’t only have health benefits, it also benefits us emotionally, and mentally. By way of humor, we tend to relax and look at our immediate surroundings in a calm, composed manner as compared to a stressful environment.

The question may still stand about laughter as being the best medicine but it certainly is better than going to the clinic to get a shot or swallowing that bitter pill. Laughter is free and abundant. You can even say that laughter surrounds us. So, take a deep breath and laugh.

The French State Telegraph Network was conceived by Claude Chappe, who became the system’s Chief Engineer. Since 1790, he had been experimenting with an array of telescopes and pendulum clocks and had managed to transmit several sentences over a distance of about ten miles.

By 1793, Chappe had switched to a semaphore system of cross-arms and pulleys, which was technically simpler and easier to read at a distance. Chappe persuaded the French government to allow him to build the first telegraphic connection, between Paris and Lille, a distance of about 120 miles. Fifteen stations were in the network when it began operating in July 1794.

The system proved useful in the war against Austria and Prussia, and was rapidly extended. Napoleon Bonaparte was an enthusiastic supporter of the semaphore telegraph. In 1804, when he declared himself emperor, he ordered the construction of a government hot line from Lyon to Turin and Milan. It took five years to build but, when complete, and under optimum conditions, a coded message could be transmitted across the Alps in thirty minutes. In bad weather and poor visibility, messages could take two or three days.

From 1759 to 1855, the ‘Optical Telegraph Network’ grew from 15 to 556 stations; at its height it connected 30 French cities to Paris and employed more than 3,000 people.

Similar networks appeared in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, England, Germany, Spain, Russia, Australia and the US, but the invention of the telegraph in 1831, and the telephone in 1880, killed communication by semaphore. Sweden, the second nation to adopt the system, was the last to let it go. The last three operating semaphore towers, in the Gothenburg area, were closed in 1881.

The 20th century dawned on confident and vigorous economies in the western world. Electricity and the telephone changed the way that people thought and communicated and business boomed, helped along by rapid technological advances. The 1890 US census was completed 50 times faster than the 1880 census, thanks to the new Hollerith machine. The idea of pre-programming a machine, of storing instructions on a medium such as punched cards, was new, and no one foresaw where it would eventually lead. Hollerith was a businessman who laid the foundation for the rise of International Business Machines.

Other innovations, seemingly unconnected with computing, were coming into being. In 1903, Nikola Tesla patented electrical logic circuits called switches, or gates. A year later, John Fleming patented a diode vacuum tube, and in 1915, physicist Manson Benedicks discovered that the germanium crystal could be used to convert alternating to direct current, foreshadowing the use of microchips.

By 1925, computers as we know them today were beginning to see the light of day. In that year, Vannevar Bush built a large-scale analog computer at MIT, and in 1936, the Englishman Alan Turing described a hypothetical computer which was defined as capable of computing any calculable function. Turing’s work laid the foundation for modern computer theory. In the same year, the contribution of another brilliant man was recognized. George Boole had been dead for 75 years when Claude Shannon, a student at MIT, recognized the connection between electronic circuits and Boolean algebra.

Technological advances came thick and fast as war engulfed Europe. In 1940, George Stibitz, at Bell Labs demonstrated the Complex Number Calculator automatic digital computer. In embattled wartime Britain, Alan Turing was developing an advanced computer for the military. Colossus was designed in 1941, and Colossus II in 1943. These machines helped break the German ENIGMA cipher code, and gave a tremendous boost to the allied war effort. After the war, the British authorities stripped down the equipment and destroyed the records.

In 1944, IBM unveiled the Harvard Mark 1 Computer. Its program was not internally stored, but was driven by paper tape. It was eight feet high and fifty-five feet long. It contained 760,000 parts and about 500 miles of wire. It weighed five tons.

The new computers served well in wartime, but they were single-minded; calculating the path of artillery shells, breaking codes. They were soldiers, designed to perform a single function. With the coming of peace, they were to be harnessed to the civilian effort, taking on diverse and multifarious tasks, building the economy, and accelerating the breakneck pace of technological experimentation and innovation.

What is a virus? The word virus is derived from Latin and it means toxin or poison. The virus can’t grow or reproduce without a host cell such as the human cell or the monkey cell. Therefore, it doesn’t live outside of the body. You would not get it from touching things or articles like clothing. By the time it’s outside, it’s no longer alive. Viruses have the ability to infect all cellular organisms and this is all human and all animals.

Martinus Beijerinck first discovered the tobacco mosaic virus in 1899. Now there are as much as 5000 different types of virus found. You can study virology from majoring in microbiology. Virus is an interesting topic because it’s very stubborn and causes a lot of death in human. Currently we are seeking a vaccine for the HIV virus but we haven’t come across a plan yet.

Viruses are like human they have genes that is consisted of DNA or RNA. They too have genetic information. They also have a protein coat as a protective layer. Viruses also have a fat coat when they are outside a cell. The have the shape of a simple helical and icosahedral. They do come in more complex structures. It’s 100 times smaller than bacteria. They don’t know the exact origin of viruses but rumor is that they evolved from plasmids which are free piece of DNA that can move around cells. They also evolve from bacteria.

How do viruses spread? They spread differently in plants, animals and human. In plants the virus is spread by the insects that eats the plants. Blood sucking insects spread the virus in animals. In human , it’s spread via intercourse like the HIV virus. These insects that carry viruses are called vectors. You can catch the influenza virus from the sneezing and coughing of someone else. Norovirus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, when they contaminate hands, food or water. The Rotavirus is spread by direct contact with infected children.

Viruses can be harmless in some cases and harful in other. It all depends on the type of the virus and the host. HIV virus is the harmful one and it could cost life long infections and replication. The interesting thing is that virus doesn’t have a fatal effect on animals. When an animal is confronted with a virus, the animal give off an immune response which can terminate the virus’s life. The animal immune responses is the same as a vaccines that give lifelong immunity to the virus. Another interesting thing is that bacteria can even attack virus better than human. You will find no use with antibiotics but with only antiviral. If you want to prevent the spread of virus, you should avoid insects, flyes, mosquitoes, unprotected sex, fecal matter, being around sick people, and blood substances.

What is stem cell therapy? Stem cell therapy is genetic therapy in which the stem cell of another person or the recipient themselves will be grown inside the affected part in hope of curing the disease or growing an organ. Stem cells have been a very effective treatment for many diseases and that’s why there’s an increase in government funding for stem cells research.

Stem cells can be embryonic or adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are cells of an embryo when a person is pregnant. The embryo is in a cell like stage and has not formed into the fetus yet. It’s in an earlier stage. The adult stem cells are derived in the adult such as bone marrow cells. There have been adult stem cells therapy in the past and it’s a very effective way to cure diseases. The research on stem cells is in its peak. The good thing about adult stem cells is that there’s no rejection to the cells implanted. This is a very good thing because rejection is one of the problems when it comes to stem cells transplant from another person. Rejection will not allow the recipient to be cure from the disease but have to get treatment for the rejection part.

How does stem cell therapy works? The stem cells taking from the embryo will be implant into the recipient for the particular thing that they are trying to achieve or cure. The stem cells will generate new layers of cells for the patient on the problems that they have. For example, if the patient has heart problems, stem cells that generate heart cells will be use to grow new heart cells or cure something in the process. Stem cells therapy has been very effective in the past but it was only with adult stem cells. They have study on animal stem cells and found that stem cells therapy can heal many diseases.

Adult stem cells are being currently used but not embryonic stem cells because the government has not allowed it. This is a very controversial topic. The government won’t allow it because they say that the embryo is also a life and that it needs protection. Therefore, stem cells research on embryo is not allowed. There are donations of embryo stem cells from inviter procedure for research though. I think that the government should allow embryonic stem cells research because it could make human immortal one day. It’s a brilliant breakthrough.

It’s a question of ethics but when we study it’s not like we will pull embryo of the entire country, we’ll only use a limited number of embryo that are specifically there for the purpose of research. We can use as little as ten embryos and achieve all of our goals. There are many abortions going on every single day. Abortion is legal. Abortion has no medical benefit for human kind but it’s legal. When we talk about embryonic stem cells research, we are using a small number of embryos and in return we can find cures for the whole entire world. The benefits have outweighed the risk and therefore we should proceed to this study. Researchers have work hard to make new discoveries and therefore they should be supported to full extend of their treatment procedure. Maybe we won’t take just any body’s embryo but just the one that volunteer to have their embryo studied.

How does the brain works? The brain is the central computer of a person. Your thinking, reasons, thoughts, memory, are all done in your brain. It’s a very sensitive and valuable thing to a human. It’s your goal to keep it in top shape or else you can have diseases and illnesses. It’s one of the most important organs in your body. It’s like the electrical plug for your computer, without electricity you can’t use your computer at all even though all the work is done with the computer and not the plug but it’s the plug that provides electricity for your computer. It’s an essential component to ensure that everything else is working. You can have the most expensive computer but if you have no electrical source you won’t be able to use it. Just like your body, you can have the best body but without the normal function of the brain, the rest of the body won’t work at all.

The brain is like water to your body, you won’t be able to live without water. All of your instructions are derived from your brain. Your brain tells the rest of the body what to do. Your brain tells your heart what to do. The heart rate will be fast or slow according to the signal that the brain sends out. If you are in a sympathetic stage then the brain will prepare the fight or flight syndrome and tells your body to speed up heart rate in order for you to prepare for your emergency. When you are at rest or sleeping the brain will tell your heart to slow down because you don’t need as much work when you’re sleeping. Everything that goes on in your body is congruent or integrated with your brain signals.

Why do you feel hungry? You feel hungry because your brain got a response from your digestive system saying that you’re empty and that you need to eat. The brain then sends hungry signals to make you consume. When you’re full the stomach would send signal to the brain that you’re full and your brain will send out signal telling you to stop eating. The body and the brain works back and forth.

The brain also gives out thirst signal for you to drink. When your body doesn’t have enough water or have too much concentration like sodium, the brain will send out thirst signal so that you can drink in order to dilute the concentration and gives your body the water that it needs.

Your brain secretes hormones that would make you feel happy, sad, mad, excited or jealous. Everything is done in the brain and not at your heart even though this is often said. People say you love something with all of your heart but it’s actually the feeling inside of your brain that makes you feel loved.

When you walk or talk or run, you rely on the nerves from your brain to innervate your movements. Without the nerves innervating your extremities you won’t be able to move. This is why people become paralyze when they have injured their nerves on the part of the affected extremity. When you break a leg, you can possibly damage the nerve on that particular leg and if it’s severe enough, you can become paralyze. You will damage the connection of nerves from your brain to that particular extremity and therefore there are no more innervations and you will be paralyzed.