BUFF UP YOUR BRAIN

Studies like Glaser's and Dr Tracey's have "given credibility to mind-body approches,which had been rejected and ignored by the scientific and medical communities,"says Esther Sternberg Neural immune Program at the [US] national Institue of Mental Health.
Now scientists and doctors have begun taking the next step,harnessing the immense powers of the human brains to help people heal themselves.
For example,using special MRI scanners and software that allowed patient to see their own brain activity,scientists at Stanford University ansd Omneruron,a biotech company,trained participaints to reduce chronic pain by just visualizing it and learning to control it.
Some were able to decrease it by more than 40 percent,says pain expert Sean Mackey,MD,one of the study leaders.

HOW YOUR MIND HEALS YOU

In one of brain biology's most amazing advances,scientists have found that our brain may actually help our immune system fight diease.It took 20 years ofcareful experiments for Kevin Tracey,MD,to see it that way.It also took a very special patient-an 11 month-old girl named Janice."She changed my life," says Dr Tracey,a neurosurgeon,immunologist and director of the Feinstein Institute of Medical Researcher in New York.In the spring of 1985,Dr Tracey was a surgeon in training at New York Hospital,treating patients for such things as gunshot wounds,head injuries and infection,when Janice was admitted.She had been crawling on the kitchen floor of her grandmother's apartment when her grandmother,who was cooking pasta,tripped over her and split a large pot of boiling water onto the baby girl.Dr Tracey cared for the girl,who had suffered second-and third-degree burns over 75 percent of her body.A week after she was admitted,Janice developed severe sepsis,a condition in which the immune system massively overreacts to a bacterial infection,indiscriminatelytraining its cannons on the body's own tissues.

MEMORY GENES

Scientists are already striking gold thanks to the Allen brain Atlas.Dietrich Stephan,PhD,who directs neurogenomics research at the Translational Genomics research Institute (TGen)in phonix,has used it to learn more about a gene called Kibra,which affects our short-term memory.The Atlas revealed that the gene was activated in the hippocampus,a small sea-horse-shaped brain structure that helps store memories.tGen plans to market drugs to reduce age-related memory loss,including the common short-term sort that causes senior moments and lost car keys.

MAPPING THE BRAIN

September 2006 marked a major mile stone for our noggins,with completion of the Allen Brain Atlas,the first gene map of the brain.It all started in 2002,when billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen,co-founder of Microsoft,gathered some of the world's top scientists and charged them with finding an innovative new way to accelerate our understanding of the brain.From that he committed $100 million and established the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seatle.Uaing custom-built robotics and software,60 full time researchers teated 250,000 preserved slices of mouse brain,which resembles the human one enough that most discoveries would also hold true for us .They generated a volume of raw data that revealedwhere in the brain each of the mouse's 21,000 genes,producing a unique roster of proteins that enables each cell to do it's job- storing memory,directing movement or some other task.) The map revealed that about 80 percent of the body's genes are turned on in the brain-more than anyone had expected.That means if pharma companies are not careful,drugs targeted to other organs could have unwanted side effects in the brain.The map also uncovered evidence that could help reveal what goes wrong in complicated brain disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.the result is a 3-D virtual mouse brain atlas(brain-map.org)that does for neuroscientist what a survey map pinpointing gold deposits does for miners:It lets them quickly get to where the action is and start diging,says David Avderson,PhD,a professor of biology at California Institute and a project advisor.

GETTING MORE CREATIVE

Humour can also loosen up our minds,allowing us to play around with ideas and be more creative.That's according to years of psychological studies,many of which got people to laugh,then asked them to come up with creative things to fo with brick.After years of bricks studies,pshychologists were still skeptical,so in 1987,Alice Isen,PhD,a professor psychology and management at cornell university,began using what she say's is a better measure of creativity:she challenged undergraduates to nail a burning candle to a corkboard.More specifically,Isen and her colleagues gave subjects a candle,matches,a box of nails and ten minutes,and told them to attach the candle to the wall without dripping any wax. People who were not amused spent most of their time trying repeatedly to tack the candle to the crockboard."Thats won't work because the candle is too thick," Isen says ,"besides,the wall would catch fire."But subjects who had just watched funny outtakes from old TV shows were more than three times as likely to find the correct and creative,answer : Dump the nails from the box,nail the box to the corkboard,and use the attached box as a candle holder .

WHAT'S SO FUNNY ?

Humar is so clearly central to the human adventure that it's surprising how little attention science has paid it until recently,preferring instead to tackle weighter subjects like global warming, earth-meaning astorids and the dangers of trans fats in cookies."No one take humour seriouly," jokes Ed Dunkelblau,PhD,a psychologist,humour consultant and formaer president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humour. Nonetheless, Allman and a smattering of other scientists have forged bravely ahead,to the occasional consternation of their more earnest colleagues , probing minds and brains to find our funny bones.And they're finding them,burried deep in our grey matter.Humour,it turns out,is a whole brain parts-call them "humour musceles"-passing signals quickly and efficiently to help us get a joke.We need relatively few of those musceles to comprehend simple slapstick like that in The Three Stooges,which requires us only to chortle when Moe pokes curly in the eye .but more complex humour,such as the jokes,cartoons and funny stories ,puts more of our brains to work.

ADDICTED TO WATER

ARE YOU AN AQUAHOLIC?if you drink over five liters of water a day and feel irritable when you can't get a glass oh H2o,you may have a problem."Aquaholics do exits,"says Catherine Collins of the British Diietetic Association."There's a very real psychogenic polydipsia.For most,it's aparked when a lifestyle change like cutting out caffeine is made.Typically,someone will up thier intake of water in the beleif that they're 'cleaning' their body.With time,an obsession with drinking water to 'purify' or offset hunger creates potential for harm,especially if combined with a low-salt diet and excessive exercise."But surely you can't drink too much water?you can."Overhydration coupled with a low salt diet can gradually deplete blood salt levels,initially causing fatigue,"explain collons."But eventually low salt levels will impair normal cell fuction causing confusion,disorientation and even coma."Aim to drink around two litres daily,she advises."This could be via water,coffee,tea,juice or soup.The goal is to pass a pale green or yellow urine three or four times a day.If you're going to the toilet every hour you're probably drinking too much."

PROFITS AND LOSS

The investigation generated front page stories.But the terrible crime also spotlights the growing need for body parts.it's big business.Innumerable transplants are perfomed each year with tissue and related products that repair injured knees,relive bad backs,and replace damaged heart valves or burned skin.Tissue banks are regulated to identify,retrive and prepare medically suitable bone and tissue for future use.Tissue (bone,tendons,ligaments,skin,corneas,heart valves,blood vessles)can be recovered up to 24 hours after death.This differs from organ donation,such as hearts,lungs or kidneys,which requires amore immediate retrieval process because of the need for oxygen and blood flow."Tissue donation provides the last opporunity you have on earth to help someone," explains Bob Rigney,CEO of the American Association of tissue banks."We've found more and more ways to recycle the human body."But these high-tech procedures don't come cheap.Screening,procuring,storing and cleansing the tissue is expensive.It's about a billon-dollar industry with a steady growth rate.

HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF SAVE--2

4.SING UP AT WORK:- If youremployer puts money into the company pension scheme,don't just join it.contribute more than the minimumrequired.This saving creates a balance that grows tax fre with compound interest.Alternatively,keep cash aside and buy into index fund when the sensex takes dips.
5. GET AUTOMATED:- However you decide to save.the best way to make sure you do it is to set up a standing order, which puts payments straight into a pension,mortgage,stock,market,investment and savings account.
You will miss the money less-it just becomes another regular bill.The only difference is you're paying it to yourself!
6. OVERPAY:- You are already making a regular housing loan payment,so why not write a slightly larger cheque?It can be as good as saving-it means you will own your home more quickly and end up paying much less interest.But if you're paying a low fixed interest rate (say. 7.5 percent) and your monthly payments give you a tax rebate,it may be wiser not to overpay.

HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF SAVE

In order to build that nest egg for the future.you'll need to start saving to generate some cash.Here are six strategies for developing the habit.
1.PAY OFF YOUR DEBT:- The smart way to start saving is to clear your debts first. Think a moment-you could be paying over 30 percent interest on a credit card debt.commit yourself to paying off a set amount each month.Then,when the debt has gone.put the money you would have paid in interest each month into a regular saving plan.
2:- SAVE SOMETHING. Make small daily savings.They soon mount up.Put spare cash into a jar:take a packed lunch to work:cut down on those expensive cappuccinous-and stop smoking.Avoid buying clothes and other things you can do without.By the month end .you'll have a small sum to put into a saving plan.
3:-PUT WINDFALLS TO WORK. Perhaps you worked overtime recently.received a tax refund,a bonus or small inhentance?It's not part of your regular income-so you won't miss it if you save it.

BEST WAY TO LOSE?

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)claimed that people who went on the Atkins Diet lost more weight after 12 months(and it was better for their heart)than those on three other popular diets.However,the researches' analysis showed there was no statistically significant difference in weight loss on the Atkins,Ornish and LEARN diets after a year.This is not surprising,since most people didn't follow any of the diets very well.What this study really shows is that it's hard to lose weight just from reading a book.That's hardly news to anyone who has ever tried.In our earlier research,also published in JAMA,most people followed the program I recommend and lost 10 kilos on average in the first year and kept off half that weight five years later.Their LDL(bad)cholesterol fell by an averageof 40%in the first year without drugs.Also,they showed reversal of heartdisease after one year and even more improvement after five.This doesn't mean you should never indulge in bacon,burgers and cheese.just don't kid yourself that these foods are good for your heart.

THESE BUGS MAKE YOU BETTER

Bacteria are bad,right?Not always.Yes,they can cause illness.
But some of them,called probiotics,are actually good for you.
In short,while harmful bacteria hate your guts,probiotic bacteria love your guts.
There are trillions of the healthy kind in the body,especially in the mouth,gut and vagina.
Those in your belly live in a complex ecological equilibrium with other bacteria and help keep harmful ones from growing.
Some produce healthy vitamins B and K.they may also aid digestion,improve absorption of nutrients,help reduce the formation of carcinogens and enhance immune function.
But many forces can throw off this delicate balance.Among them:aging,alcohol,poor diet,chronic illness and possibly even stress.
Antibiotics are particularly trouble some.They destroy many of the beneficial bacteria on the way to killing the disease causing ones they're prescribed to treat.
When the balance in the digestive tract is disrupted,some of the harmful bacteria can grow too numberous,like weeds taking over a lawn,and cause intestinal distress,diarrhoea or worse.
Probiotics may help restore equilibirum.They're found in foods like curd and indietary supplements that contain various strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium,among others.

By:- Dr. Dean Ornish

RISING OF BPOs AND IT SECTORS

In the past few years,the world,especially India,has considerable rise in Business Process Outsourcing(BPO)'s.
And with the boom in the IT industry in India, many global companies are steeping on to Indian shores to set up BPOs,
thus enhanching career opportunities.Companies look at outsourcing their business processes not only as a proven way to reduce cost,
but to enable greater focus on the core business.Is India ready to face the competition with the other countries like China and Philipines,
which are becoming viable options for outsourcing?
India's competitive edge in the outsourcing sector hinges on its cost effective business model.Certain operations are being outsourced to us,
as we posses a language adavantage over other competitors like China or Brazil.
Eight out ten organisations thinking of outsorcing,think of India first.
"We continue to face the high growth that we have become famous for.There is a lot of talk in the market regarding how the rupee appeciation affects.
Some people think that might get in the way of the growth of the BPO industry-one is the increasing salaries in India and the other is the rupee.
But is you really look at the cost of talent in the developed markets,that is also growing.The basis of offshoring work to countries like India, China and Philipines is not going to go away.

CONNECTING LIFE TO LIVELIHOOD

Finance minister P.Chidambaram recently expressed that he could not understand why people did not mind paying ten or twelve
for a bottle of mineral water but made such a fuss when the price of wheat went up by one or two rupees.He spoke and how the gap is widening each day.
The current growth process in the economy calls for concentrated programme action to link the rural unemployed youth with the job providers.
Many organisations are moving towards the smaller towns ,opening up centres there and also providing employement opportunities to people who hail from there.
But does our government have anything to do when it comes to bringing rural India closer to these burgeoning MNCs and other organisations?
"The Ministry of Rural Development has developed some programs in rural areas through the state governments for poverty reduction,employment generation,rural infrastructure
habbitant development,provision of basic minimum services,etc."expresses S M Khan,additinal Director General-PIB,Chief Spokeperson
(Ministry of rural Development),Minstry of Information and broadcasting,Government of India while talking about the initiatives the Ministry of Rural Development has undertaken.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Information Technology has put India in the trajectory of faster economic growth and social development.
But till recently the benefits of the IT boom was the privilege of a few urban dewellers.
However,with the growth in IT and a change in the expantion plans,many firms are moving towards Tier 2 and Tier 3 tows.
Smaller towns like mysore,coimbatore,madurai,khochi,vishakapatnam,Nagpur,Ahmedabad,Chandigarh,Gurgaon,Noida,Guwahati,bhubaneswar are emerging as favoured IT destinations.
Many IT majors like Infosys,TCS,IBM,Satyam have centres in these towns.The bigger cities have almost reached a saturation point with regard to infrastructure and other facilities.
Also the demand for quality talent is growing day by day,forcing the firms to find newer pastures for getting talent.
"Good educational infrastructure,availbility of skilled resources nad favoyrable real estate optionshave made small towns an ideal destination for IT companies looking to enchance their return on investment,"
says Bhaskar Das,VP,HR,Cognizant.
Mysore has the required infrastructure and environment to foster growth of IT very rapidaly.
The more affordable infrastructure costs,cost of living,close proximity to Banglore, and presence of good educational institutes are some of the evident reasons for us to set up our global training and development centre in Mysore,
"explains Vignesh Hebbar,Associate VP,Professional Services and Marlabs India.

THE TIE THAT BINDS

According to a Manpower report 'The Changing World of Work'.
"Today's world of work is unrecognisable from the workplace of only a few years ago.
Employers and employees have embraced revolutionary communications advances,the introduction of flexible working
arrangements.greater diversity in the workplace,and significant restructuring of working arrangements through outsourcing and off shoring.'
However,while all businessess need to manage today's changes they must also prepare for the work place of the future:how they will need to operate to remain competiotive,demands of a flexible workforce,
the impact of techonology and the skills they will need to maximise the opportunities ahead.
"The great workplace of the future will take an infrastructural view of itself.At the bottom would be the physical infrastructure ,above it will be the emotional infrastructure.
The purpose of leadership would be to focus on all the three at all times ,'says Subroto Bagchi,COO,mindtree consulting.
Adds Vasanthi Srinivasan,Associate Proffesor,Organisational Behaviour and HR management ,IIK,Banglore,'Employees will look for friendship, support,care,growth,autonomy,learning and integrity from workplaces in the future.'

VIRTUAL WORKINGS?

There was a time when your workplace comprised of only one thing:work!You signed in at a particular time and left at a given time .
Walking in late was a major faux pas,taking a half day was like committing a grave sin and taking a day off on a weekday was even worst.
However,you no longer work in the 'dark ages' as workplaces have become relatively 'chilled'out.
your employer no longer thinks like a neanderthal,who once beleived that work was only supposed to be done in an office ,flexi-timmings are a curse and workplaces are not supposed to be fun.
However,with the changing times,working from home is considered to be one of the best concepts that could have been implemented and the workplace have to become more virtual than it was before.
However,the questions that arises is,is a virtual workplace better than a personal workshop?