Fortune Cookie

Salvete omnes,

I went to a Chinese restaurant the other day and ordered my usual- beef fried rice. I don't even have to really order anymore, the waiter just walks over and asks, "The usual?" to which I give my nod and off they go to fix my food. I also get my egg drop soup featuring my favorite protein (and yours too) albumin and is a major protein component of your blood plasma. Albumin functions to maintain the osmotic transmural pressure differential which ensures proper mass exchange between the blood and the interstitial fluid when at the capillary level. It also serves as a transport molecule for certain hormones and some metal ions. But that has nothing to do with fortune cookies, so moving on to fortune cookies, I received mine and it said "You will reach the highest possible point in your business or profession." Sounds good to me, looks like I'm on my way to Chief of Trauma Surgery (one day anyway, hehe). I do like the sound of that. Heck, lets add Chief of Trauma Surgery/Associate Professor, that sounds even better.

In other news:

Stem Cell Research News- Stem Cell Transplants Improve Recovery In Animal Models For Stroke, Cerebral Palsy
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41331

'A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say. Using a commonly utilized animal model for stroke, researchers administered a dose of 200,000-400,000 human stem cells into the brain of animals that had experienced significant loss of mobility and other functions. The stem cells used in the study were a recently discovered stem cell type, referred to as multipotent adult progenitor cells, or MAPCs. '

Biology/Biochemistry - Don't Hold Your Breath: Carp Can Manage Without Oxygen For Months-
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41326

'Article Date: 12 Apr 2006 - 5:00am (PDT)How long can you hold your breath? Scientists at the University of Oslo have recently discovered how the Crucian Carp, a close relative of the goldfish, is able to live for months without oxygen. The researchers hope that understanding how some animals cope with a lack of oxygen might give clues as to how to solve this problem in humans. "Anoxia related diseases are the major causes of death in the industrialized world. We have here a situation where evolution has solved the problem of anoxic survival millions of years ago, something that medical science has struggled with for decades with limited success", says Professor Göran Nilsson who will be presenting his latest results at the Annual Meeting for the Society for Experimental Biology on Friday 7th April [session A9]. The researchers have found that this extraordinary fish can change the structure of its gills to avoid becoming anoxic. In addition its blood has a much higher affinity for oxygen than any other vertebrate, and it makes tranquilizers and produces alcohol when oxygen supplies are limited. These mechanisms allow the fish to survive for days or even months without oxygen depending on the temperature, whilst still maintaining physical activity. ### '

Stay safe everyone,
Bravomedic out.