Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center SPRING 2014 | Year 7, Issue 2 IN THIS ISSUE...

The Lunar Effect: 4 Fact or Fiction?

The Healing Hands of 5 Ancient Egypt Planetarium HUMAN HEALTH: Science Center 6 Women in Medicine By: Maissa Azab 8 Puzzling Practices THEN AND NOW;

SPRING 2014 11 Cultural Dis-ease HERE AND THERE Year 7, Issue 2 health since ancient times the controversial, to the 12 This Is Hepatitis: up to this minute; and current, the challenging, Cultural Outreach Sector Know It, Confront It to also check out what the psychologically humans are capable of damaging, and the Educational & Promotional 14 The Great Baby Sleep doing to their own selves potentially devastating. Publications Unit (COPU) Debate and bodies. The truth is, Once again, we have human health is indeed valuable contributions from 16 Cholesterol and Kids a perpetual enigma; the Dr. Omar Fikry, PSC, p. 22; Maissa Azab more we learn about it, Dr. Mohamed Soliman, Head of Unit Allergies: The Downfall the more complicated we the Manuscripts Museum, Editorial Team 1617 of the Immune System realize it is. p. 20; Gamal Hosni, the Art Shahenda Ayman Today, many health Exhibitions and Collections issues that used to be (AEC) Department, p. 21; Hend Fathy 1618 Long Live Nuts Esraa Ali inexplicable, and mostly in addition to the artistic terminal, have been illustrations of Mohamed Vegetarianism: Dr. Reem Sassy 1619 rendered fairly clear and Khamis, AEC. In this issue, Jailane Salem The Pros and Cons curable. Moreover, with we are also privileged with Lamia Ghoneim so many advances, many an introductory article by Moataz AbdelMegid Al-Zahrawi: previously dangerous the eminent Dr. Yehia Ahmed Khaled 20 The Father of Surgery operations have been Halim Zaky, Advisor at the Omar Raafat reduced to simple, Bibliotheca Alexandrina 21 I, You, and the Others benign procedures. Yet, Academic Research Design Team so many health riddles Sector. Asma Haggag Exploring the Human keep popping up, even We hope you enjoy 22 Civilization Enigma - 02 re-emerging after a long the selection of articles Maha Sherin slumber. and features we offer Faten Mahmoud With our limited space, in this issue, and look we have tried to tap forward to your comments Publishing Department into a diversity of health and/or suggestions at: Language Revision issues that vary from the [email protected]. historic, the cultural, and Contact Us: our last issue, [email protected] Innot only have we launched a new SCIplanet phase of our quarterly science communication publication, we have also embarked on a new journey to explore, and re-explore, the different | WINTER 2014 aspects of human life. For additional information The first eternal theme to | SPRING 2014 and reservation, please pop into anyone’s mind in contact: such a journey is without a [email protected] doubt the closest to home: our own bodies; our health. Tel:+(203) 4839999 It is truly amazing to Ext: 2350, 2351 look back at how humans Fax: +(203) 4820464 have dealt with their www.bibalex.org/psc 2 PRINTING Advisor, Academic ResearchSector By: Prof. Yehia HalimZaky year, accordingtoOrganovo. made tomakeafunctioningliverlaterthis and 3Dreconstruction. Attempts are human partsusingstemcelltechnology amazing willbethemanufactureof to accident or disease. Whatismore a partoflongboneremoveddue ormandible, broken partsasfacebones and viewitfromdifferent directions. X-rays. Itiseasytoconstructina3Dmatrix (CT) usedinmedicineisa3Dscannerusing scanner. Incidentally, 3D the Computed Tomography a using by AutoCAD—or like on demandormakesuchrealistic cell eventually beusedtoprintwhole organs scientists evenhope3Dmethods could even printembryonicstemcells. Some before tobuildboneandeyecells, and marvel intheVatican. possible nowtorecreatetheMichelangelo starting fromarawblockofmarble.Itis example youcancopyastatueofmarble achieved usingasubtractionmethod;for entire objectiscomplete. layer, sparingthehollowareasuntil object by building it layer by successive technologies tocreateathreedimensional use avarietyofadditivemanufacturing certainly changeourlives.3Dprinters offer isnotyetfullyunderstood,but itwill easily, itisontheInternet! pistol can be done of plastic material very hours dependingonitssize. A complete can get it made in a matterof minutes or a planeontheothersideofworld,you soon followed.Ifyouneedasparepartfor started with resins, but other materials construct orreplicatealmostanything;it adequate software,itisnowpossibleto Revolution. With modern computers and Scientists haveusedprintingmethods The 3Dmanufacturingcanalsobe 3D— in file digital a with starts all It The impactthat3Dtechnologywill In Medicine, it offers reconstruction of A is here;itthe Third Industrial mazing as it sounds3Dprinting Methodist ResearchInstitute. Methodist a nanomedicineresearcheratHouston percent 100 viability,” to Qin, saidstudyco-authorLidong alive—close are printing improvement is that cells printed by BlocC past cell-printing methods, “the major orbraincells. between neurons Also, unlike more accuratelycapturecommunication glow green;themethodcouldbeusedto process. Here, cells printed into an array with thistechniquesurvivetheprinting printing, almostallthecellsprinted Chinese characters. the ancient wooden blocks used to print rubber stamps,whichareverysimilarto took inspirationfortheideafromkids’ close togetherorfarapart. The team cells intoanyarbitraryshapeandspaced interactions. The newmethodcanprint petri dishorcomplicatedimmune-system to recreatenetworksofbraincellsina technique, BlocCprinting,couldbeused revealed a new way to printlive cells. The of the National Academy of Sciences cells survive. out cells,meaningonlysomeoftheprinted create highshearforcesasnozzlesspit on a variant of inkjet printing, which can obsolete. Most of these methods relied cultures that they render animal testing Unlike pastmethodsthatuseinkjet A 2014paperinthejournalProceedings 3 | SPRING 2014 To reach this conclusion, researchers from the University of Basel (UB) in Switzerland studied the sleeping patterns of 33 volunteers who were divided into two separate age groups. All the participants slept in a specially designed sleeping laboratory, and while they slept, scientists analyzed their brain patterns, eye movements, and hormone secretion levels during varying stages of the regular lunar cycle. At the end, the research team observed that participants experienced a lower By: Shahenda Ayman quality of sleep during full Moon cycles, The even when the Moon was not necessarily visible to them. On average, it also took the participants about five minutes longer to fall asleep during a full Moon, not to mention the fact that these same participants slept Lunar about 20 minutes less on a given night around times when the Moon was at its

A COSMIC POINT OF VIEW fullest phase compared to other times. “The lunar cycle seems to influence human sleep, even when one does not Effect: ‘see’ the Moon and is not aware of the actual moon phase,” says Christian Fact or Fiction? Cajochen from UB’s Psychiatric Hospital, who led the study. “This is the first reliable Some legends say that the full Moon brings out the worst in people, causing them to evidence that a lunar rhythm can modulate sometimes act strangely during this phase of the Moon; numerous books and movies sleep structure in humans when measured have depicted bizarre, even unnatural, behaviors. Belief in the “lunar lunacy effect”, or under the highly controlled conditions of a “Transylvania effect” as it is sometimes called, persisted in Europe through the Middle circadian laboratory study protocol without Ages, when humans were widely reputed to transmogrify into werewolves or vampires time cues”. during a full Moon. However, does the Moon, in fact, have this kind of power? “The only explanation we could come up with is that maybe there is a lunar clock in the brain, as found in other species like fish and other marine animals,” adds Cajochen, Many studies have aimed to discover new Moons—when the Moon is invisible to as quoted by The New York Times (NYT), the connection between the Moon and us—as it is during full Moons. about the discovery. “But we do not have human behavior, especially during the full A team of researchers from the direct evidence for that”. Moon. Greek philosopher Aristotle and University of South Florida completed REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep Roman historian Pliny the Elder suggested what they believe to be a definitive answer latency, deep slow wave sleep, sleep that the brain was the “moistest” organ in to the question of whether or not the full EEG-Delta activity, and even melatonin the body and thereby most susceptible Moon causes epileptic seizures. The team production all change during full moons, to the pernicious influences of the Moon, reviewed 770 seizure occurrences over which suggests that humans do, indeed, which triggers the tides. a three-year period that took place in the possess a unique and inherent lunar Following Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, epilepsy monitoring unit at Tampa General sensitivity that modern science is only some contemporary authors, such as Hospital. The goal was to determine recently beginning to understand. Miami psychiatrist, Arnold Lieber, have whether or not epileptic seizures occurred It is hard to say where the lunar clock speculated that the full Moon’s supposed more often during full moons. is; it is likely in the suprachiasmatic nuclei, effects on behavior arise from its influence The study, which was published in the a tiny region of the brain near the optic on water. After all, the human body is about scholarly journal Epilepsy and Behavior, nerve that is involved in the production 80% water, so perhaps the Moon works its revealed that the full Moon period actually of melatonin, certain neurotransmitters mischievous magic by somehow disrupting had the fewest epileptic seizures. These and other time-keeping chemicals, all in a the alignment of water molecules in the results led the scientists to conclude that rhythm consistent with both its terrestrial nervous system. there is no significant correlation between and cosmic surroundings. Physically, However, there are at least three reasons the full Moon and increased incidence of human beings may be creatures of just this why this explanation is not true. First, the epileptic seizures. world, but our brains—and our behavior— gravitational effects of the Moon are too A new study published in the Current appear to belong to two. | SPRING 2014 | SPRING 2014 infinitesimal to generate any meaningful Biology journal supports what the more effects on brain activity. Second, the Moon’s progressive vein of scientific inquiry has gravitational force affects only open bodies been learning for years, mainly that the References of water, such as oceans and lakes, but human body responds to the changing www.livescience.com www.naturalnews.com not contained sources of water, such as geophysical rhythms of lunar cycles as health.howstuffworks.com the human brain. Finally, the gravitational a result of its own internal circa lunar freakingscience.blogspot.com effect of the Moon is just as potent during clock.

4 of thePharaohs. have alittlepeekatmedicineinthetimes today. So let us travel back in time, and days of yore, can be logically explained research, what baffled our ancestors in the With theadvancementofmedicalcareand everything else,hadhumblebeginnings. to reach where we are now; medicine, as packaged foryoureasyuse. common ailmentisconvenientlymadeand modern medicine;allyouneedtocurea Here is an inhaler. Ah! The wonders of headache? Take apill.Haveasthma? h mdcl il ws loe todevelop because theeconomy wasanagrarianone; allowed was field medical The the time however, they were revolutionary. We may view theirpracticesasbasic;at people toestablishthemedicalprofession. Ancient Egyptians were among the first the among were Egyptians Ancient Of course,ittookusthousandsofyears Have acold? Take apill.Have discoveries andobservationsweremade. and addedtoastimewentbymore knowledge wasthereforepreserved they could also read and write; medical was easytomaintain.Notonlythat, their whole lives, therefore advancement people livedandworkedinthesameplace Egyptians wereabletopreserve their towards itsteppingoutsidethatrealm. step first the was this was blocked, but realm, spiritual achannel Medicine wasstillstronglygroundedinthe remedies weretriedinordertounblockit. when field; scientific more a is medicine that realizing cures for diseases and disorders, to to movefromentirelyrelyingonspiritual of Wehedu, anevilspirit. thought itwastheresultofevildoings a blockageinoneofthechannels,they who controlled one’s health. If there was of life. They believed in different gods gods werethecreatorsandcontrollers the centerofchannels. needs. Itwasbelievedthattheheart inside thebody, andprovideitwithallits also haschannelsthatarefarreaching made ananalogythatthehumanbody land withthenourishmentitneeded,they their crops. Seeing how these supplied the farmers whodugoutirrigationchannelsfor This idea came from their observations of channels thatcarriedair, water, andblood. They hadanothertheory;thatofchannels. fact thatbloodcirculatedaroundthebody. knowledge however, didnotexpandtothe and thatitwaslinkedtotheheart;their They knewthatthebodyhadapulse understanding of how the body functioned. to beinghealthy, physicianshadan good dietandawellmaintainedhygiene or uncleananimalswereavoided. sure thattheyateadietwhereunhealthy their bodieshabitually, buttheyalsomade in theimportanceofbathingandpurifying personal hygiene.Notonlydidtheybelieve and tothemthatmeantgreatcareof something, thebestwaywasprevention, knew that to decrease the risk of catching Ancient Egyptianswascleanliness;they The HealingHands By: JailaneSalem As theyknewhowtowrite, Ancient The channel theory allowed medicine The Ancient Egyptiansthoughtthe They believedthattherewerevarious Beyond makingthelinkofhavinga One ofthemostimportantthingsfor of AncientEgypt justly earnedatthat. they wereperceivedwithandwhich which showstherespectandreverence to besenttheminorderhealthem, would alsoaskforEgyptianphysicians to receivetreatmentthere.Otherrulers that peoplewouldtravelfromfarinorder for their advanced medicine at the time proper actionsofdoctors. were inspectors who would supervise the worked intheRoyalCourt;belowthem female doctors. At thetime,topdoctors and wasknownasthesupervisorofall believed tobePeseshet(2400BCE), King Djoser. A pioneer female doctor is as “ChiefofDentistsandDoctors”to ever recordedphysician.Hewasknown perform sutureswell. surgery onsurfacewounds,andcould were notperformed,buttheyperformed Surgeries thatwentdeepinsidethebody set brokenbonesanddislocatedjoints. surgically treatanabscessoratumor. intestinal disease,parasites,andhowto problems, diseasesrelatedtotheeyes, information about skin problems, dental evil spiritsthatcausedisease.Includedare incantations andspellsaimedatrepelling magical formulae,aswellnumerous has over700remedies,herbaland in existence. the oldest preserved medical documents translates toabout100pages;itisoneof back goes to. This scrollis20meterslong,which medicine of field the back far dating back to 3400 BCE; this shows how that hasbeenre-transcribedfrommaterials been writtenaround1500BCE. these documents,andisthoughttohave at thetime. The Eberspapyrusisoneof have givenusanideaoftheirknowledge sheets; somewerelaterdiscovered and knowledge inwrittenformonpapyrus civil/egypt/egcs05e.shtml http://www.civilisations.ca/cmc/exhibitions/ http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/50/ References Ancient Egyptians were so well known Hesy-Ra (2700BCE)istheearliest Ancient Egyptians also knew how to papyrus the Ebers length, its Befitting Most probably it includes information 5 | SPRING 2014 THE STORY BEHIND THE SCIENCE THE STORY BEHIND THE SCIENCE 6 | SPRING 2014 in the field of medicine. However, she However, medicine. of was immortalized byhersonwhowasa field the in about Merit-Ptah and her achievements around 2700BCE. the EgyptianphysicianMerit-Ptah,wholived in thehistoryofscience,notjustmedicine,is women and men; the first-ever named female Egypt, allprofessionswereopentoeducated on Earth.Inancient one ofthegreatest is recognized as beyond domesticity, to pursuedreams female members one thatallowedits civilization, being Ancient Egyptian Egypt the Great Egypt imprint inmedicine,yetofwhomweknowverylittle. their passion.Inthecominglineswewillshedlightonsomewomenofremarkable were prohibited to practice the profession, some even disguised as men to pursue contributions tomankind.Women physicians werenoexception;intimeswhenthey cultural settings,brightnameshavedeterminedlymadetheirwaytoeternitywithgreat male-dominated thought and the deliberate suppression set for them in different Unfortunately, verylittleis known No wonderthe S fields of science and humanities. Despite the challenges and obstacles the and thechallenges Despite and humanities. science of fields ince thebeginningoftime,womenhavealwaysplayedleadingrolesindifferent to beconfusedwiththeformerPtolemaic in thesecondcenturywasCleopatra, not gynecology of field the in mark her made a womanaswell. also thatitwasdirectedandsupervisedby of femalephysiciansin Ancient Egypt,but title not only shows that there was a body overseer ofthefemalephysicians”. This Kingdom tomb, she was known as a “lady to inscriptionsonastelafoundinanOld Dynasty (2613–2494 BCE). According Peseshet, wholivedduringtheFourth female physicianofhertimewas of Cairo. of Memphis,around30kilometerssouth necropolis forthe Ancient Egyptiancapital of “chief physician” on her tomb at the High Priest, andwho inscribed hertitle A laternotableEgyptianfemalewho Another prominentancientEgyptian Medicine Women a man. first the British femalesurgeon,allwhiledisguisedas became and University Edinburgh first female tograduateasamedicaldoctorfrom the as history Ann Bulkleymade schools, Margaret admitted intomedical female studentswere Britain, whenno Medicine of Victoria Victor/ The Britain Seventeenth Century their wings. The four of themtogether of his liberal-minded friends took her under passed awayintheearly1800swhere two Uncle James Barry—a distinguished artist— moved withhermothertoLondon after her the early17 Egyptian females. not aslucky time, womenwere years. focus ofstudyformorethanathousand health; herworkscontinuedtobethe about pregnancy, childbirth,andwomen’s Queen. Cleopatrawroteextensively Born around1789,inIreland,Margaret Much later in th - century century In In By: HendFathy in provided the ingredients for Margaret’s Nightingale found Elizabeth Blackwell applied to numerous future as a physician; the disappearance of conditions filthy, schools of medicine but was rejected by them Margaret Bulkley and the appearance of a supplies inadequate all because she was a woman. However, young medical student called James Barry and overcrowding when her application arrived at Geneva was carefully orchestrated. severe. She bought Medical College at Geneva, New York, the Barry graduated in 1812 and decided to equipment with administration asked the students to decide join the British Army; surely a strange, yet funds provided by whether to admit her or not. The students, ambitious, choice for someone with such the London Times reportedly believing it to be only a practical a secret to hide. Her excellent credentials and enlisted soldiers’ joke, endorsed her admission. She studied made her a good candidate, and she is said wives to assist with hard and endured the taunts and meanness to have managed to get around the physical the laundry. Most of the other students and the people in the examination somehow. During her service important, she established standards of care, college town to graduate first in her class in period in the Army, Barry got promoted to setting bathing, clean clothing and dressings, January 1849. high-ranked prestigious posts and was and adequate food as basic necessities. One of the things she did after receiving well-known for her professionalism and She also paid attention to psychological her medical degree was travel to Paris excellent manners. needs through assistance in writing and then to London—where she met and The Military sent Barry around the letters to relatives and through providing became friends with Florence Nightingale— world; yet, her biggest accomplishment educational and recreational activities. to study more about medicine. Having been was in South Africa in 1826. She performed Nightingale herself wandered the wards denied a post in American hospitals after an excellent Caesarean section surgery, at night to provide support to the patients, her return, Elizabeth had to purchase a becoming the first known instance of a hence earning the title “Lady with the house in which to begin her practice and British surgeon performing the surgery with Lamp”. Her accomplishments reportedly began to see women and children in her both mother and child surviving. reduced the mortality rate among soldiers home, and even started a dispensary. Later, The secret Dr. James Barry kept for to about 2%. she was joined by her sister Emily, newly over fifty years was only known after his/ In 1860, she established the Nightingale graduated with a medical degree, and her death in 1865. Sophia Bishop, a maid Training School for Nurses in London. another woman doctor. A number of leading at Barry’s lodging, discovered while laying Once the nurses were trained, they were male physicians supported their infirmary out the body in preparation for burial that sent to hospitals all over Britain, where as consulting physicians. the person she had always known as a man they introduced the ideas they had learned, In 1868, the Blackwells established was in fact a woman. and established nursing training on the a medical college for women, and the Margaret Bulkley was buried with full Nightingale model. A few years later, she following year, Elizabeth left Emily in charge military honors in the graveyard at Kensal opened the Women Medical College with of the infirmary and college and returned to Green where Dr. James Barry’s tombstone the aid of her friend Dr. Blackwell. England to open the Women Medical College can still be seen. Nightingale’s theories, published in in cooperation with Florence Nightingale. Notes on Nursing (1860), were hugely Elizabeth Blackwell passed away in The Lady with the Lamp influential and her concerns for sanitation, May 1910, having made a name for herself Florence Nightingale, the founder of military health, and hospital planning as the first female doctor in America. modern nursing, was born in 1820, to a established practices that are still in The ladies we just skimmed through wealthy family who expected her to make existence today. Nightingale received a represent only a handful of examples of the a good marriage and live a conventional number of prestigious merits and awards impact of women in medicine. Nowadays, upper class woman’s life. Yet, she had from different countries for her notable many prestigious medical associations, another plan that ended up into a long- contributions and passed away in 1910. merits, and awards are named after them lasting celebrated legacy. in an attempt to spotlight these names and Nightingale developed an interest in America’s First Female give the remarkable achievements of these nursing, and despite her parents’ denial, Doctor women their due respect. began visiting hospitals and medical Crossing the Atlantis to the USA, we institutes in 1844. Her desire to have a meet Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first career in medicine was reinforced when she woman to receive an MD degree from an met the first American female physician, American medical school in 1849. Elizabeth Blackwell, during the latter’s visit Born in England, in 1821, Elizabeth to London. Blackwell encouraged her to Blackwell was educated by a private tutor keep trying. until her family moved to the USA in 1832. Having her parents relenting to her At the age of sixteen, Elizabeth worked as restless passion for nursing in 1851, a teacher to help References Florence had a three-month nursing support her family www.bbc.co.uk training in Germany. This qualified her after the death of her www.nlm.nih.gov to become superintendent of a hospital father. During this www.dailymail.co.uk for gentlewomen in London, in 1853. The period, urged by the www.britannica.com | SPRING 2014 following year, the Crimean War erupted suffering of a dying ancientstandard.com and newspapers reported a desperate lack friend and by her www.ancient.eu.com www.victorianweb.org of proper medical facilities for wounded private readings in womenshistory.about.com British soldiers. medicine, Elizabeth www.todayifoundout.com In 1854, she led a team of 38 women to take decided to become www.socialstudiesforkids.com over the management of the Barrack Hospital. a doctor.

7 them into the “lotus” shape. The ideal was to elongated, but orthopedic surgeons say By: Jailane Salem create a 3-inch “lotus foot”; the binding would this is impossible, at least without eventual force the girl’s toes down toward the soles paralysis or death. What happens is that the Each culture has certain practices of her feet to form a concave shape. What weight of the brass pushes the collarbone and beliefs that distinguish it from perpetuated this tradition was that a girl’s down, compressing the rib cage; the others; it is what makes each culture prospective heavily depended on whether appearance of a stretched neck is thus unique. However, when viewed she had bound feet or not; families would created by the deformation of the clavicle.

SCIENCE & CULTURE from an outsider’s lens these said only look for brides who had bound feet. Some women have removed the rings practices may seem bizarre and even The binding of the feet was not a one- and after an initial discomfort they feel dangerous at times. time process; as the girl grew, her feet had normal. The Government of Myanmar has Cultural practices do not always to be re-broken and rebound to ensure started discouraging neck rings and many stand the test of time; some die out. that it was molded into the correct shape. women have broken the tradition; however, Many cultural practices are related to Due to the unnatural shape the feet took in remote villages, some women still body modifications, and each culture’s on, women’s health was greatly affected. continue with this tradition. definition of beauty. By exploring Women with bound feet found it difficult Chiseled Faces to walk, squat, or work in the fields. Many them, we delve into other people’s Moving further South, we come to other things could go wrong and infections perceptions, allowing our own views New Zealand where the Māori people could occur; in general, their quality of life to be challenged as well as widened. reside. They are the indigenous people suffered. Not only will we be looking at cultural of New Zealand and are famous for their A 1997 study, by researchers at the practices and their effect on one’s tattoos, especially facial tattoos. These University of California at San Francisco, health, we will also have a look at are called Tā moko, and are permanent found that women ages 80 and older with health practices that are bizarre by body and face markings. bound feet were more likely to have fallen modern standards, but that were The traditional Māori technique for the in the previous year and to need assistance deemed effective when they were still Tā moko was to dip a narrow blade in black in rising from a sitting position. They also in use. pigment and then tap the blade with a mallet had lower bone density in the hip and spine to chisel deep incisions into the skin. This than women with normal feet, increasing technique cut and scarred the face, and when their risk of debilitating fractures. Overall, Lotus Feet all was healed, it left a black raised pattern on it is a relief that this extreme practice has Our first order of business takes us to the cheeks, forehead, eyelids, and chin. died out. China, where the practice of foot binding This practice no longer takes place; used to take place. It is an old Chinese Flamingo Beauty men stopped having the Tā moko applied custom where a young girl’s feet were Crossing the borders, we leave China with the traditional method around the wrapped and bound in order for it to alter its and go to Myanmar, where women with 19th century, while women continued to growth and change its shape; it is believed long necks are traditionally perceived have it until the 20th century. Nowadays, to have originated in imperial China in the as beautiful in the tribe of Kayan. This is the Māori people use modern day tattoo 10th century or 11th century. something that is true in many cultures, but At first, this practice differentiated for the Kayan people, it goes a step further. upper class women from the other classes; Women of the Kayan tribes are well however, it eventually spread to other known for wearing neck rings made from classes as well. The practice was banned brass coils that are placed around the neck by the Chinese Government later on but it to give the appearance of extremely long

| SPRING 2014 took a long time for it to die out. You can still necks. Around the age of five, girls start to find women who had their feet bound, but wear rings around their necks; as they grow they will be around 70 years old or older. older, more brass coils are placed around What happened was that when a girl their necks. reached three years of age, her toes would How does this tradition affect their be broken and her feet bound tightly in linen health? Well, some people may feel when strips so as to stop their growth and mold they see them that their necks have been

8 unlike before. done, moko leaving the surface of the skin smooth Tā their get to techniques surface infectionsoftheskin,fungal equipment orcontaminatedinkinclude tattoo transmitted bytheuseofunsterilized has notalwaysbeenthecase. offer the wearer a safe experience, but this working inaclean environment inorderto regulations forsterilizingequipmentsand tattoo artists have to follow rules and in general,canbequitedangerous. Today, tattoo a or moko, Tā a getting impressive, man’s bonestructure. create amask-likeeffect, enhancingthe in suchawaythattheendoutcomewasto faces weretattooedfromforeheadtothroat, Men’s adornment. flattering a as regarded a person’s physical appearance, and was but of achievement aswell. It also enhanced ancient times, a sign of not only adulthood processagain. painful body torestandrecoverbeforestartingthe over done the spanofafewyears,soastoallow usually was it moko, Tā facial symbol a was of courage.Duetotheriskynature moko Tā the hence, pain; discomfort, theyhadtoenduretheextreme that couldhelpalleviateaperson’s risk ofinfection,therewasadying. due tothelossofbloodaswellhigh their visionforsometime.Notonlythat,but In some cases people were known to lose operation, thefacewouldbecomeswollen. the painwasagonizing;afterinitial commemorate theoccasion. important, and there weremanyritesand rituals to very was moko Tā a of getting The moko. Tā received who ones the were Infections that can theoretically be Even thoughtheendresultisquite in considered, was moko Tā facial Male There was no medicine or pain killers Due to thenature of theprocedure Those whowereofthehighestrank tuberculosis. simplex virus, HIV, staph, tetanus, and infections, someformsofhepatitis,herpes more urbannotionsaboutappearance. move totheurbanareas,theystartadopting on theelderly; as more and more people practiced asbefore.Itcanbemainlyseen However, this tradition is no longer as widely and isthereforematureenoughtomarry. that signals she is able to withstand the pain ofchildbirth she scarification, a getting of tomarry;bywithstandingthepain readiness Adorned Skin Adorned harm andtraumatotheskinthatis express personalbeauty. individuals,aswellto of tribes,families, identification for used is scarification facial body the means alottoitswearer;inWest Africa, to modification permanent This is not only long, it is also very painful. more thanusual. process, andcausethescartoberaised is created so as to prolong the healing the skinisbroken,irritationtowound a raisedscar;toformsuchscarafter the personbelongsto. many cases,thescardenotestowhichtribe is viewedasabeautifyingadornment.In heal theyformthepatternonskinthat are drawn into the skin; when the scars is incisedwithasharptool,andshapes beautification, andascureforailments. to mark important times in one’s life, for serves manypurposes:toexpressidentity, can practice be foundinseveralplacesacross Africa; it This scarification. patterns: practice cultural another that hastodowithadorningtheskin find we where West overtheoceanandarrivein Africa, The process of scarification produces scarification of process The It isalsoperformedongirlstomarktheir scarification a getting of process The There arealsoprocedurestocreate Scarification is carried out when the skin Leaving behind New Zealand, we cross possible. woman anarrowerwastethannaturally aesthetic byshapingthetorso,giving pleasing a figure female the give to meant stiff andunyieldingthisgarmentwas;itwas between thelayers. You canimaginehow whalebone strips inserted and stitched in canvas, stiffened withglueorpaste, with were madefromlayersofheavylinenor health. thenegativeeffectsignoring ithadontheir women worethemforfashionreasons, is gettingit. to endangerthehealthofpersonwho be careful while they do their work so as not countless oftimesbefore,buttheyhaveto so done have scarification the performing hygiene must be maintained. Usually those clean toavoidanycomplications,and sanitary. The woundsmustalwaysbekept are uncleanandiftheenvironmentisnot can becaughteasilyifthetoolsused why itcanbequitedangerous.Infections The tightstaysreducedthevolumeof enough tobesupportivewithoutthestays. became weak,andwerenolongerstrong period of time, the abdominal muscles significant. the healthconsequencesithadwerequite intended to decrease the size of the waist, self-control. Although tight-lacingwasonly mobility was seen as a way to exercise to wear such able a stiff garment that limited self-control wasthemantraofage;tobe Perfect Figures e rs te eierna ad find and all theragein18 Mediterranean the ourselves inEurope,wheretight-lacingwas cross we but was full force in the 18 fitting corsets; it started in the 16 the in started it corsets; fitting the practiceofwearingverytightandform- During the18 The staysthatwereusedintight-lacing Once thestayswerewornforalong Moving Northandleaving Africa behind, th century, disciplineand th century. This was th century. Many th century, 9 | SPRING 2014 torso and altered the placement of organs; become detached and some were never Since trepanning was practiced by some very tight stays even pushed the the same again. No wonder you cannot go many cultures and at different times, the lower ribs inwards, leading internal organs poking the brain willy-nilly and expect all to process was not always the same and to move in closer to each other and out of be well. the instruments differed as well; however, their original positions. Before our extensive knowledge of the the end result was the same: a hole in the Of course, breathing was also altered, body, there used to be many theories about skull. What is quite remarkable is that this since the volume of the lungs was affected how the body functioned and what caused procedure was performed while the patient as well. A tight-lacer tended to breathe its ailing. One theory that was quite popular was awake and fully conscious. We now intercostally, which meant they only is that of the four humors, where it was are afraid of going to the dentist lest we breathed with the upper part of their lungs. believed that the body was filled with four feel some pain; can you imagine having As the lower portion of the lungs was used fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black someone cutting into your skull while you less, mucosal build-up occurred, which led bile. are completely aware? to a slight but persistent cough. Any imbalance between those four could All in all, the practices we had a look at show The stomach was also compressed, cause a lot of trouble; that is why bloodletting the diversity of human culture and thinking. Sometimes living in our own little bubble, we which reduced its volume; tight-lacers was quite popular from the times of the forget how big a world our Earth is, and that often found that eating too much causes Ancient Greeks until the 19th century. Many indigestion as well as heartburn. Women in each culture and each individual has a different sicknesses were believed curable if only you perspective and perhaps a different way of doing the Victorian era were known to faint often got rid of any excess blood you may have. and have a weak constitution; this could be something. We now know that this idea is baseless, and We may view the decline of some of these attributed partly to wearing very tight and bloodletting is no longer as widely practiced cultural practices with a sigh of relief. No matter inflexible stays. Thankfully, this practice as it used to. whether we agree or disagree with them, at the died out; we can all literally breathe a sigh Another odd practice was that of end of the day, it is quite remarkable and beautiful of relief! trepanation, which is basically the drilling of how different we are from each other, and that Lobotomy, Bloodletting, and holes in one’s head. Believe it or not this despite our differences we all belong to the same Skull Drilling! is one of the oldest surgical procedures race and share the same Earth. Cultural practices are not the only things in human history and can be found in that change and evolve over time, whether different cultures and at different times. This References www.oddee.com dying out or morphing into something else; procedure of drilling holes in the skull was scienceblogs.com medical practices also pass through the most commonly performed to cure seizures content.time.coml same cycle. and migraines. www.med.uottawa.ca “Here let me poke your brain with this The hole is made using an instrument webecoist.momtastic.com long ice pick;” as strange as that sounds, called a trepan; the trepan perforates the this was a procedure that was performed skull and a chunk of the skull is extracted. during the first half of the 20th century. The The skin heals over the hole in the skull idea was that people suffering from mental and the person is left with a small bump. issues or psychological disorders could be Trepanation was practiced by the Greeks, cured by having a lobotomy. Indians, Chinese, Egyptians, Romans, The doctor would use a long thin Incas to name a few. The oldest trepanned instrument, which would be inserted inside skull is 7000 years old and was found at a the patient’s eye socket reaching deep to Neolithic burial site in France. poke the frontal lobe of the brain. Certain cuts made in brain tissue were thought to help the patient improve. As crazy as that practice sounds, at the time it was seen as quite the invention and the man who came up with the lobotomy was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1949. The procedure evolved to the extent that doctors claimed lobotomy could be as quick and easy as a trip to the dentist. It is believed that around 70,000 people were lobotomized before the practice started to die out. That was great news because | SPRING 2014 the procedure had severe negative effects on patients’ personalities, as well as their ability to function independently. Patients who underwent a lobotomy often showed a marked reduction in initiative and inhibition. They could also

10 misinformation and portrayedbiasedviews someone infected. is not and flu, transmitted just by touching or being near the like caught be cannot pregnancy andbreastfeeding. The virus and betweenamotherherinfantduring blood, sharing of contaminated needles, through the transfusion of contaminated those ofsomeoneinfected;forexample from the body of a healthy person mixwith process evenfurther. antiretroviral drugs can slow down the for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; Syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10–15 years HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency infections. The mostadvancedstageof the personbecomesmoresusceptibleto the immunesystembecomesweaker, and their function. As theinfectionprogresses, immune system,destroyingorimpairing (HIV) isaretrovirusthatinfectscellsofthe the illnessitself. focused on, without knowing much about methods ofitstransfer, whichthemediahas withthenameand become familiar thirty yearsisHIV/AIDS.Manypeoplehave tackled negativelyinmediaoverthepast A and riskshavebeenengravedinaudiences’ mindsregardlessoftheiraccuracy. positively ornegatively! As aresult,certainimagesaboutmanydiseases,theirsymptoms becoming one of the most common themes in media as it touches people directly, either well-known, havebeentackledinmovies,documentaries, TV series,andadvertisements, means ofmediaconstitutesarealthreattooursociety. Manydiseases,whetherrareor a result,suffer fromdiscriminationandfrustration, andmayevenlosehope. worse, mediahasneglectedthosewhoarelivingalreadywiththediseaseandwho,as some ofwhich,however, havejustcastedfearintheheartsofmanyaudiences.Whatis For manyyears,mediapropagated fluids the when transmitted is HIV/AIDS Virus Immunodeficiency Human The One ofthosediseasesthathavebeen Media campaignshavetackledvariousdiseaseswiththeaimofspreadingawareness; withinformationabouthealthanddiseasescommunicatedthroughthevarious Dealing Tarek Amr, anEgyptianblogger. who live with the virus, as described by still feelworriedtoshakehandswiththose after reading more about the disease, you than educate them, to the extent that even those TV adstendedtoscarepeoplerather people’s awarenessabout AIDS; however, advertisements ontheEgyptian TV toraise late 1980sandearly1990s,therewere about thoselivingwiththedisease.In (1992) andDisco(1994). (1992) on fear; such as in the movies Love in Taba about the facts of the disease, and to play virus, they inclined to display total ignorance divine punishment. In early movies about the and toportraytheirillnessasmoreorlessa with HIV/AIDSbothmorallyandreligiously, down themisconceptions. with thevirusthemselves. the stigmaexistsevenamongthose living has becomesointoleranttotheextentthat die morethananythingelse. The culture any way, whichbecomesthereasonthey them ascontagiousandavoidingin who deservetheirdisease,andviewing view thoselivingwithHIV/AIDSassinners change people’s attitudesandhelplift the The movie is a pioneering attempt to The movie is a pioneering attempt to In 2011, the movie Asmaa tried to break Consequently, the society started to Media tendedtojudgethoseinfected By: Esraa Ali By: a righttobetreated. thediseasesayingthateveryonehas caught in principle,shewillnotdisclosehow society,judgmental Asmaa isadamantthat, disclosing hersecrettodaughteranda between herdesiretoliveanddreadof fight her illnessandtheignoranceofsociety. to TornAsmaa urges who presenter, TV a the daysheisapproachedbyMohsenElsisi, Asmaa joinsanHIV/AIDSsupportgroupuntil Country Coordinator, Egypt. fear ofthevirus,asdescribedbyUNAIDS the virusahumanfaceandeliminatepeople’s script writeranddirectorof Asmaa, triedtogive stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Amr Salama, is themedia’s truemessage. living with diseases are perceived, and this can changetheculture ofhowthose we maynot we have acurefor AIDS andotherdiseases, while So, way. dignified and a sensitivesubjectinsuchcompassionate commendablejobof portrayingsuch highly andnotclichéd. judgmental Asmaa doesa approach itwithanewformofmedia,non- diseases, ismedia-madeandweneedto she isHIV-positive. life, butdoctorsrefusetotreatherbecause operation onher gall bladder to saveher a poorCairosuburb.Sheneedssimple who liveswithherfatheranddaughterin with HIV. Itnarratesthestoryof Asmaa a middle-agedEgyptianwomanliving uncut.indexoncensorship.org www.childrennow.org www.cairo360.com medisnetwork.net www.who.int References The AIDS stigma, and that of many other In a world where AIDS is stigmatised, The movieisbasedonatruestoryof 11 | SPRING 2014 SCIENCE & CULTURE DISCOVER LIFE 12 | SPRING 2014 people are people chronically infected and at risk of 34 Organization (WHO),everyyear, thereare Hepatitis Chasnovaccine. 20–30 years. toHepatitisB, As opposed of those infecteddevelopcirrhosis within at all,about20%to30% symptoms ornone Although HepatitisCmaycauseonlymild with bloodorcontaminatedneedles. article, isusuallyspreadthroughcontact This IsHepatitis: common. transmission. Hepatitis DandEareless families—horizontal whole pass betweenadultsandchildrentoinfect can transmission—and afterward—vertical pass frommothertochildatbirthorsoon transfusions andneedlesharing.Itcanalso other hand,canspreadthroughblood gets betteronitsown.HepatitisB,the form ofhepatitisbecauseitalmostalways with thevirus.Itisleastdangerous eating foodordrinkingwatercontaminated as non-A non-Bhepatitis. Michael Houghton,itwasoriginally known by 1989, in identified properly being Before Hepatitis A orB,leadingtoliverdamage. apparent thattherewasanewvirus,not discovered inthe1980s,whenitbecame million newinfections. About 150million Hepatitis A is usually transmitted through According to the World Health first was (HCV) Virus C Hepatitis Hepatitis C,ourmainfocusinthis failure, andlivercancer. complications suchascirrhosis,liver which canleadtolife-threatening infection, knownaschronichepatitis, viruses can also cause long-term however, hepatitisB,C, and D cause shortterm,oracuteinfection; viruses: hepatitis A, B, C,D, and E. hepatitis All of them different five are of thelivercausedbyavirus;there worldwide. oflives problem threateningmillions is amajorglobalpublichealth In fact, nowadays, viral hepatitis real-life impactof viral hepatitis. success becauseitfocusesonthe this themehaswitnessedgreat S Viral hepatitis is the inflammation the is hepatitis Viral MPH, SenghorUniversity Hepatitis in2010, Alliance ince its launch by the World By: Dr. ReemSassy more than350,000peoplediefromhepatitis developing livercirrhosisand/orcancer; among adultsinWestern countries. the primaryreasonforlivertransplantations numerous sideeffects. HCVhasthusbecome not welltoleratedbythepatients medicines, butthistreatmentisusually Hepatitis C-related liver diseases everyyear. Know It,ConfrontIt apparent afterdecades. infected populationhasbecome more true impact of this disease on our growing disease takingaslong20years, the disease frominfectiontosymptomatic liver severe liver disease. With a typical cycle of chronic stages,whenithasalreadycaused most ofunderdevelopedcountries. screening in1991,whichisnotthecase with theintroduction of routineblood transmission ratesdecreasedsubstantially with aninfectedperson.Inmanycountries, milk, food,orwater, orbycasualcontact borntoahepatitisC-infected mother.being syringes, aswellinjectiondruguse,and givenwith contaminated injections transplants. Itisalsotransmittedvia transfusions, blood products ororgan through receiptofcontaminatedblood through exposuretoinfectiousblood; HCV is often not detected until its However, it is not spread throughbreast The HCVismostcommonlytransmitted C can be treated using antiviral and has Hepatitis CinEgypt HCV; atthat time,thisincidenttriggered donorsweredetectedpositivefor blood of blooddonation,about20% Egyptian Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, duringacampaign was announcedbytheoutside.In 1991,in treatment, andvarioussurgicalprocedures. transfusion,unsafeinjections, dental blood through avarietyofmechanisms,including transmission ofHCVinEgypthascontinued of oral anti-bilharzialdrugs later on, the serious diseasehasemerged. (bilharziasis) fromEgypt,anothermore In anattempttoeradicateschistosomiasis cause of theHCVtransmissionatthat time. treatment campaign is considered to be the injecting equipment used during this mass areas and the insufficient sterilisation of the consisted of weekly injections in endemic (PAT) inthe1960–1970s. This treatment TreatmentParenteral Anti-schistosomiasis in Egyptthroughthemasscampaignsof Infact,theviruswasintroduced unique. prevalence of21.9%amongadults. worldwide, withanestimatedoverall “silent epidemic”. these reasons, it is often referred to as the disorders could all have other causes. For problems, insomnia,painanddigestive For example,depression,fatigue,skin can oftenbeput down to otherillnesses. for many years, because its symptoms The outbreakofHepatitisCinEgypt Despite thebroadspreadintroduction The historyofHCVinEgyptisvery Egypt hasthehighestHCVprevalence Hepatitis Cusuallygoesundiagnosed a crisis and it was the real start of the and healthy enough to donate a piece, and improving the management of the patients, epidemic in Egypt. should be free from any diseases with good and reduce the socio-economic impact of Nowadays, the population of Egypt results in all liver function tests. If the donor viral hepatitis at individual, community and has a heavy burden of liver disease and is not a relative, doctors need to apply population levels. is currently experiencing a wave of HCV- the same criteria if they are considering a WHO, in coordination with the World related morbidity with a growing number foreign donor and also make sure he/she Hepatitis Alliance, also organizes World of patients with end-stage cirrhosis and understands the risks he/she is putting him/ Hepatitis Day on 28 July of each year. This hepatocellular carcinoma. herself through. annual event aims at providing international Extending the treatment of hepatitis at A Hepatitis C patient seeking a transplant focus for patient groups and people living a large scale in Egypt is not feasible and is usually faced with two problems. First, is with viral hepatitis. It is an opportunity to is facing a number of major challenges; to be able to find an eligible donor; second, raise global awareness and influence real treatment costs are still too high for the is to be financially able to afford the liver change in disease prevention and access vast majority of Egyptians and health care transplant surgery. The cost of typical liver to testing and treatment. infrastructure is inefficient, especially in transplant surgeries in Egypt ranges from As a relatively new disease there are rural areas to allow for a proper delivery of EGP 200,000 to EGP 400,000 including the still many aspects of Hepatitis C which are treatment to the patients. hospital expenses. yet to be fully understood. Countries should For patients in end-stage liver disease, However, many patients do not find a review their strategies to fight Hepatitis C treatment options are very limited; liver suitable living donor. The opportunity to and to improve access to early detection transplantation is the only effective travel abroad for liver transplantation from and treatment of chronic patients to prevent treatment. As Egypt is one of the few deceased donors attracts more patients liver complications. They must also ensure countries around the world where organ who are able to finance its costs. It is said access, equity and sustainability of care transplants from deceased donors is not yet that a liver transplant in China is more by allowing all eligible people to access allowed, surgeons currently engage in living affordable compared to the cost of medical treatment services. donor liver transplantation under extremely care in the United States and Europe. Global efforts are needed to fight strict conditions. Similarly, it is possible to obtain a liver Hepatitis C, help low-income countries The preparations for the program of living from a deceased donor body in China in a to increase access to treatment and donor liver transplantation, “Living donor relatively short time. encourage scientific research to find new liver transplantation,” began at the National drugs and an effective vaccine against the Role of World Health Liver Institute, Menoufiya University, since Organization (WHO) silent epidemic that is threatening the world. 1992. At first, surgeries were performed In response to the outbreak of the References with an Egyptian–Japanese joint team; from hepatitis epidemic, WHO established the www.webmd.com July 2007 until now, the cases are entirely Global Programme of Hepatitis in order www.who.int operated by the team of the Institute. to reduce the transmission of agents that www.epidemic.org www.hepctrust.org.uk The donor should be a close relative of cause viral hepatitis; reduce morbidity the patient, and has to have the same blood www.dailynewsegypt.com and mortality due to viral hepatitis through www.worldhepatitisalliance.org group as the patient, a liver which is large | SPRING 2014

Prevalence of hepatitis C in the world (2010). Source: Lavanchy, 2011

13 SCIENCE IN OUR LIFE 14 | SPRING 2014 just begun.Insteadofsleepingthroughthe like myself, the baby sleep dilemma had intervals oftime,forsomeunluckysouls fourth monthandstartssleepingforlonger night’s restastheirbabynearshisthirdor with awakefulnewborn. the constantsleepdeprivationthatcomes same storyofmanynewparents,facedwith strong resolveintodesperation.Itisthe and confidence my turn soon would sleep for days on end, and that my chroniclack of awake staying involve would sacrifice andwithoutamoment’sgladly hesitation. keep her safe and happy, and I would do so to just being my of moment every sacrifice that motherhoodhastooffer. Iwasreadyto for her, Iwouldconquereverychallenge felt I love of strength the with that confident that Iwoulddoanythingforher. Iwas happiness, and I knew deep in my heart girl inmyarms,Ipledgedlifeforher cry themselvestosleep? Should we let restless babies While manyparentsbegintogetabetter Admittedly, Iwasnotawarethatmy newborn precious my held first I When time itwhimpersinitssleep. or to keep on running to its rescue every sleep—and cry its eyes out in the process— our now older baby learn to soothe itself to basically meanswhetherweshouldlet professionals never seem to settle, which also knownasthe“CryitOutDebate”,that with the“TheGreatBabySleepDebate”, the night. get their baby to sleep, preferably through a professionalwhowillhelpexplainhowto combing thebookshelvesforasleepguru; is when the sleep-deprived parents start meaning parentsofwell-restedbabies. This bottles, common-sense advicegivenbywell- extra patting, soothing chamomile drinks,orany other gentle pacifiers, co-sleeping, expensivevibratingcribs, routines do not seem to help; neither does sleep everytime. a longtimeandeffort tobesoothedback by, wakingeveryhourorlessandrequiring babies growmorerestlessasthemonthsgo night and going to sleep fairly easily, some training approach. heated debates regarding the best sleep onthisissue,andoftengointo opinions Children’s Hospital in Boston, and strong Center forPediatricSleepDisorders atthe famous Dr. RichardFerber, Founderofthe Let theCryingBabyLie This is when they begin to struggle Long, supposedlyrelaxingbedtime At oneendofthespectrum,there is the Experts have completely differing over hisshortmonths. without thesleepassociationshedeveloped teaches himthat he isabletosleepunaided, on hisownandforlongerperiodsbecauseit to successfullyteachinghimgosleep a childtobedawake,saysFerber, iscrucial for graduallylongerperiodsoftime.Putting cries— he if him—even leaving awake, bed bedtime routineandthenputtingyourbabyin and controversial—expert on children’s sleep. leading— a as known become has he 1985, book independently. Sincethepublicationofhis advocate oflettingbabieslearntosleep After afewdaystooneweekofgradually routine iscalled“progressive waiting”. but nottopickuporfeedtheirbaby. This of time,usuallystartingwith5–10 minutes, their babyaftereachpredetermined period through thenight. timefeedings,andareabletosleep night Ferber believesbabiesnolongerrequire six months of age. This is the age when to five between usually ready; emotionally himself to sleep whenheisphysicallyand and should, teach your baby to soothe it thatforobviousreasons. method, althoughDr. Ferberrefusestocall on itarealsoreferredtoas“thecryout” “Ferberizing”. This methodand variations closely associated with him it is often called so method sleep—a to themselves soothe methodforteachingbabiesto Ferber’s Parents are instructed to pat and comfort He recommends following awarm, loving In anutshell,Ferbersaysyoucan, Chances areyouhaveheardabout Solve Your Child’s SleepProblemsin By: LamiaGhoneim Parenting” movement Dr. William Sears— evidence to support that the cortisol aka “America’s Favorite Pediatrician”. released during intense crying damages Sears recommend maintaining close nerve cells in the brain, leading to unhealthy physical contact with a baby 24 hours a attachments and psychological disorders. day for the sake of bonding. Parents are Shore demonstrates how a repeated encouraged to keep the baby next to them pattern of unmet needs disrupts a child’s at all times in their arms or in a baby carrier, stress-regulating system and can alter the to cosleep, and to nurse a child for comfort way his limbic structures process emotion. whenever the baby cries or a toddler asks. However, Schore’s research is in fact about how trauma, chronic neglect, or abuse increasing the waiting time, the theory In his book The Baby Sleep Book, Sears affects a child, not about implementing the goes, most babies learn to fall asleep on emphasizes a nurturing, child-centered “cry it out” technique against the background their own, having discovered that crying approach to sleep and recommends of a caring and responsive parenting earns nothing. patiently helping your baby learn to sleep in atmosphere. His data is mainly collected from Following the training, babies no longer his own time. He encourages co-sleeping, grossly neglected children, often using Child wake up and demand attention through the rocking, and nursing your baby to sleep, Protective Services cases for reference. night. Instead, whenever they stir during and other forms of physical closeness to On the pro-sleep-training side, a regular REM(1) sleep intervals, they soothe create positive sleep associations now and recently published Australian study followed themselves back to sleep instantly, the healthy sleep habits down the road. 326 children with parent-reported sleep same way adults do on their own. He devotes an entire chapter to critique problems at seven months. Half the babies Other authors and consultants have the “cry it out” approach, arguing that it can were placed in a sleep-training group—using since added and subtracted behaviors to give your child negative associations with a form of a “cry it out” technique—and the create their own formulas of the Ferber bedtime and sleep that could last a lifetime, other half in a that did not use sleep training. method—staying in the room or not, being whilst teaching him to lose trust in the Five years later, researchers followed visible or not, soothing by voice or not, support of his family. up with the now-six-year-old participants touching or not, gradually increasing time No-cry advocates admit that the and their parents. The children in the two intervals between check-ins or not—though approach can take a while—longer, in all groups showed no significant differences most caution against sleep training under likelihood, than the cry it out techniques— in terms of emotional health, behavior, six months. but they maintain that in the long run it is IQ, or parent–child bonds. As a result, the Advocates of this school insist that it is less traumatic for baby and parents alike. researchers found no harm in permitting best for the babies’ health and happiness, children to cry for limited periods of time as well as the parents’; nighttime rest The Evidence Does Not Lie while they learned to sleep on their own. makes babies more attentive during the day, Other contradicting research includes a allowing them to grow stronger and reach Adding to the confusion of sleep-deprived study conducted at the University of North their developmental milestones faster. parents are the contradicting studies Texas observing 25 infants aged four to Many parents swear by the “cry it out” supporting both schools of sleep training. ten months in an inpatient sleep training method and how it worked for their sleepless On one side, some studies claim that program. Researchers monitored levels of babies, who became good sleepers after ignoring baby cries during sleep training the stress hormone cortisol in the babies they “ferberized” them. However, for some is linked to all kinds of problems later in who were left to cry themselves to sleep parents, Ferber’s approach is not extreme life; ADHD(2), antisocial behavior, and even without being soothed. enough; they choose to resort to a more lower IQ(3). At the root of these claims is The scientists measured how long the harsh form of the sleep training program by the idea that the stress of crying and the infants cried each night before they fell simply shutting the door. absence of a responsive parent release asleep. By the third night, the babies were Most experts disapprove of this extreme intense levels of chemicals—namely stress crying for a shorter period of time and approach, including Dr. Ferber himself, who hormones such as cortisol—that alter a falling asleep faster. However, the cortisol in the second edition of his book, published child’s brain development. levels measured in their saliva remained in 2006, added a preface clarifying the The work of UCLA(4) researcher high, indicating that the infants were just as difference between his method and a shut- Dr.Allan Schore is often cited as “stressed” as when they were crying. the-door approach. What the researchers thought was concerning was that, although the infants’ Do Not Let the Baby Cry internal physiological distress levels had not changed, their outward displays of that At the other end of the spectrum, are stress were extinguished by sleep training. parents who cannot bear the sound of Opponents argue that perhaps the

a crying baby, supported by the “no-cry” infants were not stressed in the first place | SPRING 2014 experts who consider letting a baby cry for and their cortisol levels were normal, or any length of time to be cruel, unnatural, and that even if they were stressed, it is a a betrayal of the trust your baby is developing kind of positive stress that creates growth in adults and the world around him. in the child, in the form of coping skills The most famous advocate of the no- and frustration tolerance that serve to be cry school is the founder of the “Attachment critically important throughout their life span.

15 Cholestrol and KidsBy: Ahmed Khaled

Cholesterol is a type of fat particle found in blood, and is made by the liver; it is needed for the body to perform certain functions, such as building cell walls and producing hormones. While some cholesterol, like HDL cholesterol, is helpful (“H” for helpful); other cholesterol, To Cry or Not to Cry like LDL cholesterol, is lousy (“L” is for Glossary lousy). When you have too much of the : is a stage of sleep characterized The good Dr. Spock advocated decades 1. REM lousy kind and not enough of the helpful by the rapid and random movement ago that parents should be skeptical of all kind, the likelihood of developing heart the parenting “methods” and trust their own of the eyes. : Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disease increases. instincts, since no single approach works 2. ADHD Disorder is a psychiatric disorder Once thought of as a disease of for every baby or every situation. of the neurodevelopmental type in middle age, heart disease, heart attacks, “The American Academy of Sleep which there are significant problems strokes, and other blood vessel problems, SCIENCE IN OUR LIFE Medicine” is in agreement with this of attention, hyperactivity, or acting cholesterol is a growing concern among advice. After reviewing sleep-training impulsively that are not appropriate our children and adolescents. for a person’s age. strategies, including crying-it-out and no- According to the Centers for Disease 3. IQ: Intelligence Quotient, is a cry approaches, their conclusion was that Control and Prevention (CDC) National there is no single, best approach for solving score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the your baby’s sleep problems. Each baby is assess intelligence. incidence of overweight kids and teens different, and parents should choose what 4. UCLA: The University of California, has tripled since 1970; today, more than is best for their particular situation, provided Los Angeles, is a public research 30% of American kids are considered they follow one simple rule: consistency. university located in the Westwood overweight or obese. It has been five years since I let my baby neighborhood of Los Angeles, The American Heart Association, California, United States. cry herself to sleep, but I still remember the along with other childhood obesity sound of her crying like it was yesterday. References experts, blames the epidemic on the I remember sitting alone in the dark Richard Ferber (2006) “Solve Your growing sedentary lifestyle and lackluster arguing with myself, holding myself from Child’s Sleep Problems”, Touchstone nutritional habits. Think of days filled edition.cnn.com rushing to her rescue, and it still tugs at my with television, video games, and other heartstrings every time I think about it. psycnet.apa.org abcnews.go.com technology that encourages us to sit, I also remember that it worked like www.askdrsears.com and diets filled with fast food and highly magic. In a matter of days, my baby, whose www.babycenter.com processed foods. previous bedtime ritual lasted for tedious Weight and lifestyle are not the hours, and who never once slept for more only culprits; heart disease can also than one hour at a time, was falling asleep be in our genes. Family history of early on her own within minutes, and sleeping heart disease, diabetes, and high blood ten to twelve hours straight every night. pressure also increases our odds for During the day, she was also a happier atherosclerosis (plaque building up child; gone was the frequent fussing and in arteries), high cholesterol and lipid crying, and all the milestones she had abnormalities. previously missed she quickly achieved at What will land kids on the at-risk list lightning speed. having a family history of high cholesterol At the time I decided to go with the cry-it- or premature heart disease—onset out method, I had read every book and studied before age 55 for men, 65 for women—or every research, and tried every no-cry method a family history that is unknown. to no avail. As miraculous as it may seem, For children who are overweight, the cry-it-out method is not for everyone. lifestyle changes are the first line of While I do not really believe I have damaged action. Nutritional counseling is helpful for | SPRING 2014 my baby’s brain or caused her everlasting creating a diet low in saturated fats and problems by resorting to this route, I would cholesterol. Exercise is also essential; have preferred to teach her the sleeping skills kids and teens should get 60 minutes or she needed without the trauma associated more of physical activity every day. with this method, even if the trauma—and guilt—were only mine to bear. References health.howstuffworks.com www.whattoexpect.com kidshealth.org 16 threatening, they immediatelybegin Whenever theydiscoveracellthat seems busy checking every cell they encounter. agents; everywhere they go, they are it cancreateanallergicresponse. immune system;whentheymakeamistake are afundamentalcomponentofthe known as white blood cells. Lymphocytes should knowaboutlymphocytes,also tobeprotecting. is supposed failure of the organism the immune system inconvenient anduncomfortable to the total this attackcancauserangefrommildly far greaterthanrequired. The problems attacks thesubstancewithferocity then and otherwise innocuoussubstanceasharmful, The allergic immune system misidentifies an result ofahypersensitiveimmunesystem. sometimes makesmistakes;allergiesarethe the bodyremainshealthy. becoming tumors. It doesall of thisworkso well asmanycellsthatareontheirwayto that are infected internally with viruses, as immune systemcanalsoidentifycells and destroymanyforeigninvaders. The system isquiteamazing;itabletoidentify warfare unitforthebody. The immune is awell-trainedanddisciplinedbiological everywhere. lymph nodesandchannels;namely, vessels, andmovebetweenthevarious of thebody, travelthroughthewallsofblood move freely through and among the tissues invading bacteria,virusesandtoxins. They body against foreign substances such as (T-cells); both types help guard your B lymphocytes (B-cells) and T lymphocytes THE DOWNFALL OFTHEIMMUNESYSTEM Lymphocytes actliketraveling customs lymphocytes: of types two are There If youhavereadaboutimmunity, you As amazing as the immune system is, it A properlyfunctioningimmunesystem ALLERGIES: a potentiallydevastatingsubstance. the body in too high a quantity, histamine is fighting for infection. Unfortunately, arsenal whenreleasedinto body’s the in weapon contain histamine,whichisanimportant in commontotheallergysufferer. They connective tissue,theyhaveonething name of the sensitizing exposure. under known scientifically mast cellsthroughoutthebody, whichis IgE antibodiesthatattachthemselvesto to theproductionoflargequantities “misinformed” at the genetic level, lead containing shellfish is not invading the body. that the protein ingested as part of a meal immune system, the lymphocytes cannot tell threatening proteins. In an allergic person’s distinguish betweenthreateningandnon- information to enable the lymphocytes to system, thegeneticcodecontainsenough responsible forallergicreactionsisIgE. suffix: IgA, aletter IgD, IgE,IgG,andIgM;however, theIg with type by classified known asImmunoglobulins,orIg.Eachis threat. specifically engineered to fight that particular make into aplasmacellandproduceantibodies itwill antigen, its waybacktoalymphnode,change an identifies B-cell antibody generators, or antigens. After a ofantibodies,theyarecalled production of theinvader. shots mug and fingerprints taking of version a foreign invader, it performs a microscopic surface markermoleculesthatidentifyitas lymphocyte encountersaparticleorcellwith countermeasures againstit.Whena Although mast cells are found in The B-cellsofanallergicperson, In aproperlyfunctioningimmune antibodies, of types basic five are There As theseforeigninvadersleadtothe By: Ahmed Khaled By: Ahmed great roleinprotectingus. this doesnot,byanymeans,takefromits our immunesystemhasitsdownfalls;but threat itself.Likeanythingelsearoundus, it seemsthisarmycansometimesbethe invasion that threatens our body; however, acts as an internal army against any external antibody calledIgG. also stimulatingtheproductionofablocking system producefewerIgEantibodies,while over time. The injectionshelptheimmune maintenance dose that may be continued gradually buildinginstrengthtoa and allergen, beginning with a very weak dilution of aseriesinjectionstheoffending has forleadinganormallife.Itconsists risk; but it is often the only hope a person expensive, time consuming, and not without case ofanaphylaxis,epinephrine. cromolyn sodium,corticosteroids,andinthe such asantihistamines,decongestants, can oftenbemanagedbyusingmedications very difficult, if preservatives—are not and impossible, dust, to mold, avoid.pollen, These shellfish, youdonoteatit. be avoided;ifyouknowareallergicto simply can identified, once allergens, Many avoidance, medication,andimmunotherapy. offered bydoctorstohelpallergysufferers: or vomiting. common are sneezing, wheezing,diarrhea, various allergy symptoms, some of the most part ofthebodyinvolved,thisbringson the or allergen the on Depending fill fluid. with cells surrounding between spaces The and a subsequent drop in blood pressure. leads todilationofsurfacebloodvessels the surroundingtissuesandblood. This other allergymediatorsarereleasedinto destroyed, their stores of histamine and allergic cascade. effect withinthesystemknownas it triggers adestructivedomino along again, IgE antibodies. Then, if the allergen comes cells and basophils to become primed with days of sensitizing exposureforthemast science.howstuffworks.com health.howstuffworks.com blogs.discovery.com www.aaaai.orgx References It is amazinghowourimmunesystem Immunotherapy, ontheotherhand,is allergens—like many Unfortunately, There arethreetechniques commonly When mastcellsandbasophilsare It takes betweenoneweekandten 17 | SPRING 2014 SCIENCE & ME By: Omar Raafat and the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study yielded data on 42,498 men from In winter, we always feel hungry, then we eat a lot of food and we gain 1986 to 2010. NUTSweight; the kind of food that we eat may also be harmful to us. So when Participants in the studies filled out you feel hungry, grab a handful of nuts; not only are they packed with detailed food questionnaires every two protein, but it turns out they may be the food for longevity. to four years. With each questionnaire, Nuts are part of the balanced diet public health officials recently participants were asked to estimate how outlined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; the government group often they consumed nuts in a serving size advised that adults eat about 140–170 grams of protein—which could of one ounce. SCIENCE & ME include nuts—per day. Sophisticated data analysis methods Several people ask: How many nuts does it take to extend lifespan? were used to rule out other factors that That is not clear; scientists say that the findings do not imply any cause might have accounted for the mortality and effect relationship between nuts and later death; however, the benefits. However, analysis was able to correlation is worth investigating further. isolate the association between nuts and LONG LIVE LONG mortality independently of these other At least, that is the conclusion of in the risk of dying from cancer,” added factors. the largest study to date looking at the Fuchs. “In all these analyses, the more nuts relationship between eating nuts and Whether any specific type or types of people ate, the less likely they were to longer lives. Nuts are high in unsaturated nuts were crucial to the protective effect die over the 30-year follow-up period,” fats, protein, and vitamins, as well as could not be determined. However, the explained Ying Bao of Brigham and antioxidants that are thought to be linked to reduction in mortality was similar both for Women’s Hospital, first author of the report. a lower risk of heart disease. peanuts—a legume, or ground nut—and Those who ate nuts less than once a week According to the largest study of its for tree nuts—walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, had a 7% reduction in mortality; once a kind, people who ate a daily handful of Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, pecans, week, 11% reduction; two to four times per nuts were 20% less likely to die from any pistachios, and pine nuts. week, 13% reduction; five to six times per cause over a 30-year period than those Several previous studies had found week, 15% reduction; and seven or more who did not consume nuts, say scientists an association between increasing nut times a week, a 20% reduction in death from the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber consumption and a lower risk of diseases rate. Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Hospital, and the Harvard School of Public colon cancer, gallstones, and diverticulitis. References Health. Higher nut consumption also has been edition.cnn.com Their report, published in The New linked to reductions in cholesterol levels, ajcn.nutrition.org www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov England Journal of Medicine, contains oxidative stress, inflammation, adiposity, further good news; regular nut-eaters and insulin resistance. were found to be more slender than those Some small studies have linked an who did not eat nuts, a finding that should increase of nuts in the diet to lower total alleviate fears that eating a lot of nuts will mortality in specific populations. However, lead to overweight. The report also looked no previous research studies had looked at the protective effect on specific causes in such detail at various levels of nut of death. consumption and their effects on overall “The most obvious benefit was a mortality in a large population that was reduction of 29% in deaths from heart followed for more than 30 years. disease, the major killer of people in For the new research, the scientists

| SPRING 2014 America,” said Charles S. Fuchs, Director were able to tap databases from two well- of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment known, ongoing observational studies Center at Dana-Farber, who is the senior that collect data on diet and other lifestyle author of the report and a professor of factors and various health outcomes. The medicine at Harvard Medical School. “But Nurses’ Health Study provided data on we also saw a significant reduction—11%— 76,464 women between 1980 and 2010,

18 THE PROS AND CONS While some people cannot imagine a day part of the cycle of life. They argue that without meat, others insist that a vegetarian vegetarians mistakenly elevate the value of or vegan lifestyle is the best way to enjoy animal life over plant life. food and stay healthy. Vegetarian lifestyles Research shows that plants respond and veganism have slowly embraced millions electrochemically to threats and may feel fear, of people interested in eating natural foods so vegetarians are also causing harm every and foregoing questionable meat sources to time they kill and eat a plant. Every organism get their daily protein. Generally speaking, on Earth dies or is killed, at some point, so almost every person who chose to become other organisms can live. There is nothing vegetarian did so for one of the following four wrong with this cycle; it is how nature works. motives: It is a fact that meat is the most convenient 1. Health motives: As response to high protein source available. In one serving, meat cholesterol, heart issues, obesity, diet provides all the essential amino acids, which recommendations, diabetes, or a desire are the building blocks of protein, as well as to eat healthier and more environmentally essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, and friendly, and/or a wanting to increase raw B vitamins. Most plant foods do not provide SCIENCE & ME foods in their diet. adequate levels of all the essential amino 2. Spiritual motives: Revulsion to the idea of acids in a single serving. killing another organism for food. Since meat is the most convenient source 3. Ethical motives: As protest to the terribly of vitamin B12, several clinical studies inhumane treatment of the food animals proved that vegetarians suffer from a lack of by the industry. Also, as protest against vitamin B12, which is essential for cell growth the genetic and hormonal alteration of and the formation of blood cells. Lack of this the food animals. Some people with this vitamin threatens neurological disorders, concern are not necessarily against eating including irreversible loss of nerve cells. animals, but rather their treatment and so Infants who are fed breast milk by vegetarian feel that eating free-ranging chicken/eggs, mothers can have anemia because of a lack and cows is fine if they have lived a healthy of vitamin В12. life with normal nutrition. Weak bones is also a common problem 4. Environmental motives: Using land among vegetarians as their bones suffer from and resources to graze cattle for food deficiency of Cyancobalamin as a result of is horrifically inefficient way to produce inadequate calcium and vitamin D supply, protein, use the same acre of land to grow which may reduce the growth of bone tissue soy, cut out the greenhouse gases from and cause a decrease in bone mineral density. livestock, and you now have a recipe to Correspondingly, fractures are frequent truly address world hunger. among vegetarians. The strongest debate that vegetarians There are also other issues surrounding pose during their arguments is that a vegetarianism that do not relate to health. By: Moataz Abdelmegid vegetarian diet provides a low intake of Truth is, when you decide to become a saturated fats and foods with the “bad” vegetarian you voluntarily decide to miss out Vegetarianism is the practice cholesterol. Thus, vegetarians eat a lot of on a lot of food and a lot of experiences. of following a strict nutritional diet dietary fiber and a variety of phytochemicals To sum up, we can simply agree that that avoids eating all sorts of meat, that promote health. This is achieved there are contradictory rumors about fish, and poultry. Veganism, on by increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetarianism due to the lack of accurate the other hand, is a higher degree vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and knowledge about this unusual diet. No one of vegetarianism that includes various soy products. can simply tell you if becoming a vegetarian is abstaining from eating or using all As a result, vegetarians tend to have lower the best choice for you or not. You need to do animal products, including milk, body mass index, low-density lipoprotein your homework, research on the vegetarian cheese, other dairy items, eggs, and blood pressure. Vegetarians are less lifestyle, and absorb a complete full image honey, wool, silk, or leather. People likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, of its advantages and disadvantages before | SPRING 2014 become vegetarians for many hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes and deciding to become a part of it. different reasons among these some cancers. reasons are health, environmental, On the other side, we find the argument References and ethical concerns, dislike of meat, against vegetarianism very strong, analytical, http://www.health.harvard.edu www.healthremarks.com non-violent beliefs, and compassion and convincing. They believe that eating http://vegetarian.procon.org/ for animals. meat is not cruel or unethical; it is a natural

19 By: Dr. Mohamed Soliman Director, Manuscripts Museum

here is no doubt that the main The truth is, Albucasis’ inventions Albucasis is also the first to describe Tpurpose of all the sciences Man are countless and cannot possibly be a catheter surgery, inventing its concept has discovered, studied, and developed compiled in this brief space. I would just and tools. He is also responsible for is the service of humankind; this is even ask you to think of him whenever you see highlighting the importance of connecting more evident in the fields that deal with a “syringe”; an essential tool we cannot arteries during surgical procedures to human health, such as medicine and live without today that he invented and avoid hemorrhaging, and so much more of pharmacology with all their branches. that, incredible as it may seem, is just a what was attributed to Western physicians During the Golden Age of Islamic drop in this man’s ocean of knowledge and who followed him after hundreds of years. civilization, Arab scientists contributed repertoire of contributions to humankind. Not only Albucasis who had left behind greatly to these sciences. Albucasis’ writings had been the an impressive scientific heritage among A most famous and well-known case principal reference for Arab and European Arab physicians, many Muslim physicians in point is the Andalusian Physician physicians for hundreds of years at a time contributed greatly to the field. One great Albucasis, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (died when the European church prohibited the example is Ibn Sina (died 980), also 1037), who is considered the Father of teaching of surgery in schools of medicine known as Avicenna, who is the author Surgical Medicine due to the fact that and considered surgeons to be heretics, of the Canon of Medicine, a book the he was the first surgeon to use surgical claiming disease to be a punishment from translations of which had been global threads made from feline intestines, God that should not be cured. medicinal references for centuries, being applying a correct scientific methodology. That is why medicinal science in taught in Western universities up until the Albucasis is attributed for the invention general, surgery in particular, owe so beginnings of the 19th century. of surgical tools that are still in use to much to the Arab Civilization, leading We must also acknowledge Ibn al-Nafis date with their original design, including German Orientalist Zigrid Honke to state (died 1213), Chief Egyptian Physician, spatula tongue depressor, teeth extraction the following in her book “Allah’s Sun over who discovered pulmonary circulation, the tools, bone saws, scalpels, tweezers the Occident”: “This particular branch theory of which continued to function as of all kinds, just to name a few among owes its progress and rise to the Arabs. reference to scientists until the discovery hundreds of tools. He also described each They alone are attributed for the elevation of systematic circulation. He was one of tool accurately, explaining how it is to be of this great art to the level it deserves and the most important pioneers in the field of manufactured and used. its continuation.” human physiology. Not to mention the strict rules and It would not be correct to end this procedures Albucasis set for surgery, article without mentioning one of the which he detailed in his book, al-Tasrif, greatest physicians humankind had ever that is divided into thirty chapters where yielded, as indicated by Zigrid Honke in he tackled three main themes: diseases her book, Abu Bakr al-Razi (died 923), and anatomy; medicines and medications; the author of Al-Hawi, which continued surgery and its arts. This book was to be taught in the West for almost four translated into many languages since the centuries, and in which he compiled the beginning of the 12th century, ending with medicinal knowledge from Greek times. the French translation in the 19th century All that, as we always emphasize, is at the hands of French Orientalist, Lucien nothing but a mere brief glance at sparks Leclerc (died 1893). of what the Arab and Islamic civilization Moreover, Albucasis pioneered the had contributed in its Golden Age to

| SPRING 2014 manufacture of medicinal pills and their humanity. There are hundreds of other molds; as a matter of fact, he dedicated scientists, in different scientific fields, that the 28th chapter of his book, al-Tasrif, to we cannot possibly amass here but whom the reverse printing of writings on pills to we will try to mention a few of in future make them readable, and that was before articles. printing was introduced by the German Gothenburg (died 1468).

20 This amazingly free interpretation By: Gamal Hosni reveals, if ever, reveals the advanced level Director, Art Exhibitions and Collections of creativity and free thinking of the ancient I, YOU, Egyptian artists. They deliberately altered perspectives to render the human form from the best angle for each part of the body; thus, attaining an eagerly sought after level of aesthetic perfection.

AND The abilities of the artists for life-imitating THE OTHERS drawings are proven through much evidence of less orthodox representation on sketch-like figures on papyri and ostraca where the artists used to practice. In such representations, artists expressed themselves freely and demonstrated their skills in lively renditions of the human body that was not tolerated for formal temple and funerary scenes. Here again art uses the representation of the human body used instrumentally to serve a message that man wants to communicate to his fellows. The king is great; he is in the most perfect form, bigger than anybody else and dwells in the company of the gods. It is marketing in its most modern sense.

Rock art in Leliekloof, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Processions of people are typical of dancing scenes associated with altered states of consciousness. The sheep and dogs indicate that the paintings are less than 2000 years old. Photo: Janette Deacon(ii) Ramses II triumphing over the enemies, relief from Memphis(i)

Ever since the beginning of times, Man his way to tell the universe: “I was here”; a has always sought to represent himself wishful trial against destiny’s erasing hand. in various ways. We can trace back the The Ancient Egyptians’ legacy is a rich appearance of human representation on the source of human representation showing walls of prehistoric caves. men and woman during various scenes of At that time, drawings show men in hunting daily life. While Pharaohs, kings and queens scenes chasing wild animals, triumphing over are shown triumphing over enemies, offering Black ink sketch on a potsherd from Ramesside them. At this early stage of human evolution, libations to the gods or just standing or sitting period (fig.37) picturing a naked girl tending the aim of these drawings was hardly solemnly, revealing their omnipotent status a hot baking oven. She is stooping down, decoration. Hunting scenes showing gangs of and gazing to infinity. blowing up the fire and, unusually, her breath is indicated. An inscription in hieratic above men surrounding a large animal and working In paintings and wall reliefs, the style was states that her “head is towards the chamber” their weapons into it were supposed to help very distinct. Ancient Egyptian artists chose and she is “blowing into the oven”. This piece is an outstanding example of the quiet humour men achieve their goal hunting the animal. to represent the human body from the side (iii) found in humble subjects on figured ostraca­ | SPRING 2014 For them, it was as if representing what view for the lower part from the waist down References they wished for would help make it occur to the feet, while for the upper body part, (i) http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/werner-herzog- in reality. The representation was thought they drew the torso from a frontal view. Once jean-clottes-and-the-origins-of-art/ to have magical effect on real events. The again, face is of side view, eye frontal. This (ii) http://www.veteranstoday.com/wp- reproduction of the form of the self, as was naively interpreted by some to be due content/uploads/2012/03/Ramses-II-relief- well, was a way for Man to emphasize his to a lack of rendition abilities of the ancient from-Memphis.jpg (iii) dc355.4shared.com/doc/24urcIVV/ presence during a short life span. It was artists, a grave erroneous belief. preview.html 21 EPISODE Exploring the Human Civilization Enigma 2 By: Dr. Omar Fikry Head, Planetarium Section you want to come up? You answer his behavior, on the other hand, is what leads Planetarium Science Center question by another question, ignoring his to the extinction of many of them. The fat, the short, and the tall have strange request: Where did you go? And The shortest interrupts, addressing the raised many questions inside your head how did your color change? fattest: You are right. If mankind continues about planet Earth, the development of life The shortest answers in his funny robot- like this, they will definitely face extinction. on it, and the whole human civilization issue. like way: We did not go anywhere; you are You ask him indignantly: How can mankind This issue that has aroused your curiosity to what we want. We picked you randomly and cause the extinction of mankind? And research, read, and ask yourself: how has we cannot leave you without completing our please come down because my neck this civilization developed and changed mission. The fattest looks at his friends and hurts and you still have not answered my through the years? notices the change in their color; he alerts question about the change of your color. After they had disappeared when the them with a strange signal with his left foot The tallest answers: We are special door was opened—because they do not and they return again into green. However, creatures, and we have this advantage, want to meet anybody but you—you get up they stay attached to the ceiling so you in addition to other advantages you may excited searching for them after the door continue asking: What happened? How did see as supernatural. We are all in good was closed again; you look under your you change your color like that? And what is health and our planet has not experienced bed, inside your closet, behind your desk, the mission that you have been sent here for? any kind of illness or weakness like yours. behind the curtains, but there is no trace of The tallest answers interestingly: You humans—the inhabitants of the blue them. You go back to sleep, but you cannot We love your planet; we want you to be planet—have not followed the simplest because of what you have seen. reasonable again and inhabit this beautiful rules to maintain your species’ health. You wonder where they have gone. Was I blue home as members of one herd. You You ask sarcastically: How is that? There hallucinating? Was that a dream? Suddenly, interrupt him refusing this description: Hey, are reasons beyond our control that affect you shudder violently as you see them hey! We are humans, the finest creatures the “human health”. The tallest tries to calm attached to your bedroom’s ceiling without on Earth; we cannot be described as a herd. you down: Calm down my friend; we are just exerting any effort, without even touching The fattest interrupts refusing your chatting with you and you are right about the ceiling, their color changed from green objection: Oh beautiful human, we do the reasons or the causes that may affect into orange, scaring you even more. not mean to insult you. My friend talks the health. We can state some of them: You sit looking upward, trying to talk but figuratively, referring to the balance in the environmental factors for example—even you cannot; they are the ones who started lifestyle of some herds; they live in harmony though they are natural—such as geographical the conversation. The tallest begins to talk with nature and this lifestyle has not led— conditions or the elevation above sea level; with a smile on his face: Hey friend, don’t as you can see—to your extinction. Your geological conditions like the soil type, which defines the kind of food, water, weather, water, can leadtosomeseasonaldiseases. offood, andwinddirection;allthesefactors humidity kind the defines them looktowardsthewindow. health levelsforallsocietymembers. order to avoid diseases and to develop the their pricestobeavailableforthepoor, in fruits andvegetables, as well asdecreasing fish, eggs, milk, poultry, meat, providing to developed countries have been directed anemia. tooth decay, scurvy, beriberi, eye crust, and diseases, suchasrickets,osteomalacia, generations thatsuffer frommalnutrition approach tonutrition,leadingweak most communitiesdonotknowthecorrect It planet. has become clear to them that and international health generally on our for children’s health, “humanhealth”, specialists andthosewhoareresponsible is why this issue is the focus of nutrition person’s health,whether youngorold. That a on influence great a has Nutrition know: saying, whichyoumayalreadyknow. it might be better to continue what I was offer scares you so you answer: Not really, change ourform;doyouwanttosee?His wish. Just as we change our color, we can to nutrition;wecanchangeourlooksas Being fatorthinonourplanetisnotrelated one, whyishesothin? The tallestanswers: eat ordrink,whyareyousofat? And thattall teasing them;yourfeargone:Ifyoudonot or drink. You answerwithastonishment, drink likehumans? types. Speakingofnutrition,doyoueatand the nutritionallevel,methodsand with you;“humanhealth”isalsoaffected by were humans like you: I agree completely in theircolor, addressingthemasifthey coordination betweenyoutocombatthem. diseases, the ways to avoid them, and the awareness, healthbehavior, thespreadof educational level,whichaffect theirhealth as thepopulation,itsdistribution,and social andtheculturalenvironmentsuch geological environment,aswellthe communicate witheachother. has justhappenedistheirlanguageto chance totalk;youunderstandthatwhat tallest becomessilent,givingthefattesta the shortestaround himself vertically. The astonishment increaseswiththerotationof You stoptalkingabruptlyasthethreeof That iswhygreatefforts inmost You tellthemtheinformationyou The fattestreplies:Never, wedonoteat You answer, forgettingaboutthechange The fattestspeaks:Donotforgetthe You areastonishedbyhistalkandyour • • • [10:30, 11:30, 12:30,13:30,14:30] Saturday to Thursday: Guided Tours Schedule [10:00–15:00] Saturday to Thursday: Opening Hours Visitors INFO History ofScience Museum History • • Visitors INFO holders. Museum Tours arefreeforticket Museum entryfeesareEGP 2.- For non-audienceofthePlanetarium, all Planetariumshowstickets. Museum entryfeesareincludedin at any time without prior notification. the righttocancelorchangeshows reasons, thePlanetariummaintains Kindly note that, for technical www.bibalex.org/psc officialwebsite: Center’s and fees,pleaseconsultthe For thePlanetariumdailyschedule 45 min.LiveShowbythePSC VISITORS INFO VISITORS 35 min.Full-domeShow 33 min.Full-domeShow 30 min.Full-domeShow 35 min.Full-domeShow 25 min.Full-domeShow Stars ofthePharaohs Resident Astronomer Available Shows Mystery oftheNile Planetarium 35 min.IMAXShow 45 min.IMAXShow The LifeofTrees Seven Wonders Cosmic Voyage Oasis inSpace Kaluoka’hina Stars Show

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