LegendaryLife Blog

If you are unlucky enough to require the use of an artificial limb, I hope this gives you hope that the functionality desire may not be that far away.

Dr. Goldfarbs Background

Dr. Goldfarbs is a professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University who has been fascinated by prosthetic limbs since childhood, and did his masters degree into designing a robotic artificial leg. He later did his doctorate in developing a computer controlled brace that would allow paraplegics to walk with the use of electrical stimulation on their muscles! He’s currently doing research into dramatically improving the usability and functionality of artificial limbs.

Power requirements are the next hurdle

Dr. Goldfarbs realized while doing robotic research that the achiles heel of any powered prosthetics is the inability to function for extended periods of time without having to have the power supplies refreshed (plugged in). As a result, he exchanged motors for special materials that expand and contract based on varying voltage, functioning very much like normal muscle tissue. In 2000, while doing research for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), he developed a fuel source that simply used hydrogen peroxide instead of conventional motors and batteries.

Military needs artificial limbs!

With impressive advances in body armor, the number of casualties that the military suffers from was sharply down but as limbs are still exposed, a record number of limbs where being amputated. Having impressed other researchers, he then set his sights in 2005 towards developing an advanced prosthetic arm ever with 30 million dollar in funds from DARPA.

DARPA Results

The artificial arm developed by Dr. Goldfarbs was radically different then anything currently in the marketplace and has almost the same functionality of a real one! The artificial arm has more dexterity, freedom of movement and power then what is currently available with the added benefit of using a liquid fuel power system which can be refreshed when ever the user desires. Other researchers are also studying implantation of electrodes directly within the central nervous system to control artificial limb movement instead of using current methods.

The Future of Artificial Limbs

Dr. Goldfarbs is now researching the development of an artificial leg using the same technology he developed with DARPA funds for the next generation artificial arm.

Video

I found a video by Dean Karmen, I don’t know if the arm is the same as the one developed by Dr. Goldfarbs but the end of the video is interesting regardless.

The Bottom Line

Follow your strengths and success will surely follow.

Buzzvia
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Creating_The_Ultimate_Artificial_Arm_999.html

The entire “wellness” industry has been on its BS binge for quite some time now, although herbs have been used for many millennia to “cure” conditions, it doesn’t mean they are effective beyond a placebo. Sure, there are exceptions but when you pit a pharmaceutical drug vs one sourced from “natural ingredients”, the pharmaceutical version is more often then not far more potent.

What are Herbal Remedies?

I haven’t heard anybody give me a definition for what exactly “Herbal Remedies” actually are? I visit trade shows and it seems everybody has their own self-serving definition of what a Herbal Remedy is and why their product is better then any pharmaceutical grade medications out there. As a result, here is my unbiased definition

Herbal Remedy: product sourced from many natural ingredients whose origins are dubious, it’s effectiveness relies heavily on both the placebo effect and on generational trust (it’s been used for thousands of years, so it must work safely). Often promoted as a supplement in modern times without any double blind clinically based studies to backup incredibly exaggerated marketing claims. Herbal Remedies are sold in a variety of formats, from homemade bags to pharmaceutical looking packaging at various price points that aren’t related to effectiveness nor quality. Some are effective but the vast majority are not, relying on a shotgun approach verses a laser one by the pharmaceuticals.

Natural cures for EVERYTHING!

The “wellness industry” likes to promote the reason why their “natural cures” aren’t widely available is due to pharmaceutical companies trying to protect their turf and corrupt government agencies getting in the way of healthy alternatives. I am sure there is some elements of that but while the pharmaceuticals must spend billions proving their product works before reaching the marketplace, the wellness industry is hell bent on not spending a dime on studies that would prove (more likely disprove) their effectiveness. Instead, they rely on pharmaceutical sounding words, testimonials, slick marketing and promises that they must know are over-the-top. Among the most successful out there is Mannatech but there are many more out there as well.

The Wellness Industry Circumventing a Paradox

I believe the entire “wellness industry” is in sort of a paradox, it cannot prove their product work in a clinical setting yet they cannot gain acceptance by the medical field without proving their product works. How to circumvent this seemingly endless paradox? Well, keep telling people they work, if you say something often enough, the general populous will eventually believe it’s a fact. Open any health magazine (Muscle & Fitness, Cosmopolitan, Runners World, Flex etc… ) and you will see this effort in full force, listen to the radio and you will hear the same, watch television and commercials are pushing useless herbal remedies as well.

Times article about potential dangers of herbal remedies

Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote an interesting piece for Time which outlines the “wellness industry” in rather stark terms, here is a summary:

• use of herbal supplements by the general public has jumped 83% in the past decade and is now worth 22.3 billion dollars a year!
• most common mistake herbal remedy users make is believing the product actually works
• 19% of herbal remedy users are trying to treat specific conditions, not general wellness and wellbeing
• 2/3 of herbal preparations have never been clinically proven for effectiveness
• 2002, the FDA put out a warning against the dangers of supplements using kava root due to its potential to cause liver damage
• 2004, FDA banned ephedra after it was linked directly to over 100 deaths
• Ayurvedic supplements (Indian and South Asian preparations) may be laced with heavy metals such as mercury and lead
• Saint-John’s-wort has an anti-depressive effect but also interferes with some HIV medications and heart drugs like warfarin and digoxin

What to do?

Well, before you spend another dime on naturally sourced supplements, be sure to visit a doctor and share your concerns. He or she knows far more about health then either of us and can lead you in the right direction. Secondly, tell your doctor each and every medication you are taking, some herbals that do work interfere with pharmaceuticals. Thirdly, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is, save your money.

The Bottom Line

Effective herbals may have their place in overall health but should never be taken in replacement or in conjunction with pharmaceuticals unless cleared by your health practitioner.

Buzzvia
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625175,00.html

Al Jazeera has come out with a fantastic piece of journalism that really puts at heart the issue not only facing Mexico but the entire world. I say the entire world because the abuses being done to the environment in Mexico are nothing compared to what is going on in other parts of the world such as China, Philippines, India and sadly, the list goes on.

Physical vs Mental Labor

Where ever the government does a sorry job of educating its local population, corruption, desperation and poverty are not very far behind. What do you do with such a population? Well, set-up factories where they have to use their bodies instead of their brain to barely earn a living. The nice thing about brain work is that it differentiates individuals, there is at least a possibility to move up while with manual work, the more you work (forced or otherwise), the faster your body breaks down.

Industrial jobs at the cost of the environment

Mexico, like many other third world places, has a lot to offer labor intensive industries such as the textiles in this piece by Al Jazeera. There is a ready source of hard working people willing to work long hours for cheap, lax regulations from pollution to job safety and a government that is eager to make deals. The local populations know what is going on but feel powerless to do anything about it, the government wants to attract jobs even if they come at the cost of the local environment. In this case, what was once pristine water used for various purposes by everybody in the small city of Tahuacan now kills crops planted by farmers and is no longer fit for even animal consumption. The governments answer? We are working on it, it doesn’t take six years to enforce environmental regulations even while a plant is in the works.

Health and Environment

I believe it’s high time that we add to our basic charter of rights the right to live in a pollution free environment! Of all the risk factors that could harm a persons health and those of future generation, growing up in a polluted environment is number one in my opinion. I would far prefer to live in a clean environment under a dictator then a dirty one in a democracy, and I am sure if you thought about this, you would agree.

It isn’t all bad

Before you go to the local store and buy the collective human species a rope, realize that we do have technology, expertise and where there is a will, a way to undo the damage that us humans are doing to the environment. It’s always easier to prevent damage then fixing it after the fact, but as we progress into the future and wise up, drastic improvements in environments of all types is possible. For instance, check out what Jordan and Israel are doing jointly to restore the coral reef in the Red Sea which they both share a border with.

The Bottom Line

You only have one environment that we all have a responsibility to keep clean… why not give it the respect it deserves?

Buzzvia
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/909667C9-7DC2-4EF1-94F7-3C3BB5FE8CD5.htm