Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
Junk Food
Junk Food: _ _ Section-1 Prologue: There are few things in this world more delicious than a candy bar. Notice how your tongue begins to tingle and mouth fills with saliva while you’re still unwrapping the darn thing. Then that first bite, an intoxicating tsunami of sweet, salty, rich and creamy, lighting up the pleasure centers in your brain. And there’s only one way to keep the thrill alive − another bite. Junk food is a miracle of edible engineering. It has no equal in the natural world − or else we’d all have a candy bar tree in the backyard − and has been fine-tuned to deliver pure pleasure through generous combinations of fat, sugar and salt. Not only does junk food taste amazing, but it’s also cheap, convenient, long shelf life and available in every fast-food restaurant, grocery store, gas station, truck stop, movie theater and […]
What Causes Cancer
What Causes Cancer: _ Figure above shows squamous cell carcinoma of the left anterior floor of mouth. _ Section-1 Prologue: International Cancer Institute has defined Cancer as a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Globally annually, there were an estimated 20 million new cases of cancer and 10 million deaths from cancer or nearly one in six deaths. The cancer burden will increase by approximately 60% over the next two decades, further straining health systems, people and communities. It’s often said that cancer is not one, but many diseases. In fact, there are more than 200 forms of cancer, and all of these are caused by cells in the body acquiring the ability to grow and proliferate uncontrollably. Deaths from cancer are usually caused by secondary tumours, which form when cancer […]
Smartphone Overuse
Smartphone Overuse: _ Average person spends 3 to 4 hours on their smartphone each day. ______ ______ Section-1 Prologue: If there’s anything that most deserves the claim to be a man’s best friend in the modern age, it has got to be the smartphone. The use of smartphones is now a necessity, not a choice. The technological innovation of smartphones and various software has made our lives more convenient. While the bounties of technological innovation have offered limitless opportunities to make life comfortable, their perils cannot be ignored. Worldwide, there are over 6 billion people that have smartphone data plans and it is projected that this will grow to over 7.5 billion by 2026. According to a recent study, almost half of the American population showed hyper-reliance on smartphones, and more than 90% of young people aged 19–29 reported daily use of smartphones. Smartphone devices have the same capabilities […]
Monkeypox (Tinypox)
Monkeypox (Tinypox): _ _ Section-1 Prologue: On May 7, 2022 the world was alerted to a confirmed case of monkeypox in the United Kingdom. Cases have since cropped up across the globe, from Germany and Spain, to the U.S. and Canada. The global monkeypox outbreak, the largest in history, is highly unusual because the virus is circulating widely in countries where it is not normally found. Historically, monkeypox has circulated in remote parts of West and Central Africa. In that context, people normally caught the virus from animals. There was little spread between people. Monkeypox is now spreading widely between people, mostly through close contact during sex among gay and bisexual men. _ Monkeypox is an illness caused by monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family; other members of Orthopoxvirus genus include variola virus (which causes smallpox), vaccinia virus (used in smallpox vaccines), cowpox virus, […]
MUCORMYCOSIS
Mucormycosis: (Previously called zygomycosis: misnomer black fungus) _ _____ Section-1 Prologue: Fungi are important to everyday human life. Fungi are important decomposers in most ecosystems. Mycorrhizal fungi are essential for the growth of most plants. Fungi, as food, play a role in human nutrition in the form of mushrooms, and also as agents of fermentation in the production of bread, cheeses, alcoholic beverages, and numerous other food preparations. Secondary metabolites of fungi are used as medicines, such as antibiotics and anticoagulants. Fungi are model organisms for the study of eukaryotic genetics and metabolism. Fungi are relatively uncommon causes of disease in healthy and immunocompetent human hosts, even though hosts are constantly exposed to infectious propagules. However fungal diseases have occurred originating from opportunistic and pathogenic fungi. Opportunistic fungi have a preferred habitat independent from the living host and cause infection after accidentally penetration of intact skin barriers, or when […]
