Smoking changes brain the same way as drugs: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smoking causes long-lasting changes in the brain similar to changes seen in animals when they are given cocaine, heroin and other addictive drugs, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

A study of the brain tissue of smokers and nonsmokers who had died showed that smokers had the changes, even if they had quit years before, the team at the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported.

"The data show that there are long-lasting chemical changes in the brains of humans," said Michael Kuhar of Emory University in Atlanta, who was not involved in the study.

"The chemical changes alone suggest a physiological basis for nicotine addiction."

A team led by Bruce Hope of NIDA, one of the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health, analyzed levels of two enzymes found inside brain cells known as neurons.

These enzymes help the neurons use chemical signals such as those made by the message-carrying compound dopamine.

Smokers and former smokers had high levels of these enzymes, the researchers reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Hope said other studies had seen the same thing in animals given cocaine and heroin -- and it was clear that the drugs were causing the effects.

"This strongly suggests that the similar changes observed in smokers and former smokers contributed to their addiction," he added in a statement.

Experts on smoking have long said that nicotine is at least as addictive as heroin.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20.9 percent of all adults smoke in the United States, which adds up to 45 million people. And 23 percent of high school students smoke.

Be Afraid: Powder-Sized RFID Chips

Everyone's so paranoid about the RFID chips that are already in place in so many parts of our lives, so here's an item (via Engadget and Pink Tentacle) about Hitachi's new powder-sized RFID chips to make us even more scared of Big Brother (or little-Brother-ID thief). RFID chips are tiny microchips that use radio waves to do everything from conduct credit card transactions (as on those little key-fob-Paypass MasterCard thingies) and pay for tolls (EZ Pass and its ilk) to keeping track of your devices and travel (U.S. passports).

Hitachi plans to start marketing these new chips—seriously no bigger than a speck of dust at 0.05 x 0.05 mm—in two to three years. The company says this super-tiny chip can be used in paper, currency, gift certificates, and the like, but as some sites have pointed out, today's chips are already small enough for those uses. So, as Engadget cracked, does this mean we should be watching what we eat in case of some James-Bond-style pepper-shaker swap?

Maybe, but is the terror around RFID over-hyped? According to most proponents of the technology, and my own experiences paying with PayPass at my local drug store, you really need to physically tap the RFID chip to something for the transaction to go through. And yet, when I go through a toll booth, my RFID-enabled EZ Pass box is only about ten feet away from the sensor. So maybe it is time to watch what you eat, lest Big Brother starts to track you wirelessly (or you spill some RFID powder from which evil ID thieves can extract your vital stats!)

What do you think? Is RFID worth the convenience or is it setting up some dangerous privacy-invasion precedents?

Chocolate Benefits

Feeding your brain: new benefits found in chocolate

By Julie Steenhuysen Sun Feb 18, 5:03 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As if people needed another excuse to like chocolate, new studies suggest a specially formulated type of cocoa may boost brain function and delay decline as people age, researchers said on Sunday.

Scientists, speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco, presented results from early studies testing the effects on the brain of flavanols, an ingredient found in cocoa.

Funded by candy maker Mars Inc., which provided a specially formulated liquid cocoa concoction for the research, the studies suggest that flavanols increase blood flow to the brain and may hold promise for treating some vascular impairments.

Mars, a private company, has made a study of the health benefits of cocoa. Its CocoaVia line of chocolates, made with a process that retains flavanols, have been shown in clinical trials to have benefits for the heart.

The latest research also suggests benefits for the brain.

Ian Macdonald of Britain's University of Nottingham Medical School, conducted a small brain imaging study on young, healthy women to see whether flavanol-rich cocoa helped boost cognitive function during challenging mental tasks.

Although the beverage did not improve their performance on the tests, it did increase blood flow to their brains for a two to three-hour period, Macdonald said.

He believes more research might show that increased blood flow could benefit older adults and those who have cognitive impairments, such as fatigue or even mini-strokes.

A U.S. study of healthy adults over 50 also found a marked rise in blood flow. It was conducted by Harvard Medical School researcher Dr. Norman Hollenberg, who has studied the effects of cocoa and flavanols on Panama's Kuna Indian population.

Hollenberg believes that, while promising, the brain benefit needs to be verified.

"The only way we can prove something is working is a large clinical trial," he said.

Meanwhile, the researchers cautioned against rushing out to binge on the special Mars line of chocolates.

"It is a modest calorie load but it is a calorie load," Macdonald said. "As long as you are doing something to earn that 100 calories, then that's fine."

Humans' Emotional Side

In work, through rough days and bad moods you feel down..less emotional less motivated less committed and you feel you can't be good anymore.. a lot of people miss how can they make a difference in others life..

For me, i thought it's very hard to cheer up someone and make such a great difference and major change Although i do cheer up some of my friends when they r down but i just thought the difference thing is too hard but i was really shocked when i saw people telling me little words and made me feel much better and things i thought they never change now i believe it's not that hard it just depends on how much i believe on me..

and i remember Allah's words :

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللّهُ مَثَلاً كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِي السَّمَاء
..إبراهيم24

and Prophet's words: "Al kalema el tayeba Sadaka"

So let's make a Tree and Sadka

Allah's Creation

I wonder why Allah created the world so perfect in this way that sometimes while driving the car i look for a moment to the Nature and i feel that it's such a great Bless from Allah to make things looks that good, and i believe that we don't deserve this perfection because we don't worship, follow Quraan, do everything 100% the way he wanted it to be..etc.

But that's why his name El Wahab, El Razak, El Karim, El Manan, El wadod, El Shakor,....etc.

Imagine our Life in Black & white
Imagine our arms without a hand
Imagine our hand without Fingers
Imagine ourselves without Eyes
Imagine water was Black
Imagine our Life without Prophet Muhammed
Imagine our Life without Allah

Just we need to Thank Allah more and to love him more than our parents and friends and money and jobs and........Ourselves because he loves you more than your parents and you friends and yourself.

About Google Documentary

A look inside Google, The Machine


I watched this Video in Arabia News Channel, it's very nice one, i wish one day we can have a company like Google but 100% Egyptian... made by Egyptian Youth

I liked the way they break the rule that working in a company isn't all about making effort and being stressed... having Sport Place, Play place,...etc. just value the Human side and by doing that they will assure more success because they will give more it's really great thing and we need that on Egypt because work became nothing but stress, pain & hard work... you can rarely find who value it..

And it made me think about it's not only about achieving goal but also Developing it.. i mean Brin and Larry accomplished their goal and now the company is developing in it's products and make great effort and Google is becoming better and better each day..

Google Documentary