Ants Help the Military to Improve Their Techniques

Researcher studies ant trails in order to help plan troop movements on the battlefield.

SUMMARY: Ants are noted for their ability to find the shortest path from nest to food source. They do this by laying down a chemical trail as they walk. At first, the ants wander randomly as they look for food. Because the chemical evaporates gradually, the ants who find the food the soonest will have the shortest paths with the strongest chemical presence. The ants use the chemical to converge on the most efficient route to the food.

Now a U. of Granada researcher, Mora Garcia, has designed a system that uses this behavior to help plan troop movements on the battlefield, and it has caught the interest of the Spanish army. Garcia has developed formulas for choosing the best route for troops in particular environments, maximizing speed of movement while minimizing casualties. Computer simulations of the ant problem-solving process take into account factors such as enemy presence, battlefield settings, and location of troops. Then the mini-simulator software executes the formulas and analyzes the results. The idea is that troops could follow a computer-provided solution while skipping the "random walk" stage.

Scientists say the simulator might also be useful to solve non-military problems such as finding the most efficient path for a sales agent to visit clients, or for distributing goods.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

To read the entire article, click on this link to WORLD SCIENCE.

COMMENT: Here is another example of biomimicry--the use of features found in nature to inspire human inventions and technologies. (For many other examples of biomimicry, such as the invention of velcro, click on this link to the LSI Journal.)

The implications of biomimicry in the evolution/creation and intelligent design arguments are obvious. Humans are supposed to be the most highly evolved creatures on this planet. Yet we so often end up going to such “primitive” organisms as burrs and ants for features and ideas we haven’t been smart enough to evolve or consider on our own, and that does seems strange.

Isn’t it more reasonable to believe than a Supreme Designer has given to lifeforms the various ingenious features they enjoy for their benefit and survival? For humans, that means we have intelligent and inventive minds. We haven’t been born with wings, but we have invented airplanes with wings to help us fly. We haven’t been born with sonar like bats, but by using our mental capacities we have invented our own sonar.

It is useful at times to look to nature for help in assisting us in our present lives, but nature can’t help us when it comes to planning for our future existence. For this, we need to look at God’s Word, the Holy Bible, where we learn that our futures in Paradise are guaranteed if we allow Jesus Christ to be our substitute and suffer the punishment that we deserve.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What amazing event occurred in the life of a man named Tony Cicoria?

Not particularly adept in the area of music, Cicoria was struck by lightning at the age of 42. Now he is a gifted classical pianist and composer, talents that apparently are traced to his accident.

Source: Discover (December, 2009)

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Ancient Egyptian Woman Had Heart Disease

CT scan of her mummified remains shows plaque in her arteries.

SUMMARY: Lady Rai was a nursemaid to an Egyptian queen who lived three centuries before Pharaoh Ramses I, and she had heart disease. According to researchers in Orlando, a CT scan helped them peer through her tattered wrappings and into her ancient arteries. There they found the same kind of plaque doctors see today in patients.

Today's risk factors for heart disease include fast food, sedentary living and cheap cigarettes, but this maid lived 3,500 years ago. "To me, it means we're all susceptible," says researcher Randall Thompson of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., who presented the findings at an American Heart Association meeting. "To a certain extent, this may be a disease of being human."

The team of scientists examined 22 mummies, dating from 1981 B.C. to 364 A.D. They found heart tissue or blood vessels in 13 and intact hearts in four. Three of the mummies had atherosclerosis (a buildup of fat), cholesterol and calcium inside their arteries. Another three had probable atherosclerosis.

To read the entire article, click on this link to USA TODAY.

COMMENT: This report made me think of the passage from Ecclesiastes: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV)" Although, according to Wikipedia, there is no evidence of smoking before the 9th century and, as far as we know, there were no fast food establishments in Lady Rai's time, she still could have suffered from an inadequate diet and/or a lack of exercise.

This report I believe should make us realistic but not pessimistic. We need to be realistic and realize that there is no guarantee of anything we can do or not do to reach a ripe old age, of say 100. However, we shouldn't be pessimistic about healthful living and a healthy spiritual life letting us achieve as many years as God and our genes want us to enjoy in this world.

Clogged arteries, weak hearts, cancerous tissue, and all other signs that our bodies are wearing out will be a thing of the past when we enjoy perfect health in the only place where perfect health is guaranteed--God's home in heaven, which He is offering to all who come to faith in Jesus as the one and only Savior from sin.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do women get lung cancer as often as men?

In 2007 about 16,000 more men than women were diagnosed with lung cancer, but the gap is narrowing. Between 1930 and 1997, the number of lung cancer deaths among U.S. women increased by 600%! While the incidence of lung cancer among men is decreasing, it is increasing among women. Women's genes are more vulnerable to the cancer-causing effects of cigarette smoke.

Source: Dr. James Hubbard in American Profile (October 25-31, 2009)

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Meditation Cuts Heart Attack Risk in Half

A clinical trial found better results from meditation than from statin drugs.

SUMMARY: Meditation can cut the risk of heart attacks, stroke, and death by almost 50% in patients with existing coronary heart disease, according to a new clinical trial. Relaxation and mental focusing can be as effective as powerful new drugs.

Preventive medicine specialist Robert Schneider from Iowa and Endocrinologist Theodore Kotchen based in Milwaukee collaborated in a test of how effective transcendental meditation (TM) can be on the risk of heart attack. They enlisted 201 patients, all of whom were African American, a high-risk group for heart disease and all of whom had narrowed coronary arteries.

TM is the "most widely used meditation technique" and was invented by an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It grew in popularity in the 1960s thanks to reports that the Beatles practiced it. The technique requires the practitioner to focus on repetitions of a single sound or mantra, such as a phrase from Hindu scripture. It has been shown to decrease blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve mental health, at least in college students. Its effect on overall health or with other ethnic groups is not clear.

In the trial, a control group was given standard treatment involving drugs and also an educational course in cardiovascular health. A second group was told to practice transcendental meditation for 15 to 20 minutes a day. After 5 years (9 years in some cases) the TM group experienced 47% fewer heart attacks, strokes, and deaths. For comparison, statin drugs, which reduce cholesterol levels, tend to lower life-threatening events by 25-30%.

The reason for such a dramatic improvement isn't obvious, but meditating patients had lower blood pressure, and past studies indicated meditation reduces stress hormone levels and dampens the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers the body's stress response. "We've shown that the brain has a direct positive influence on clinical outcomes," says Schneider.

Cardiologist Herbert Benson from Massachusetts praised the study, but he says other stress-reducing techniques such as yoga "or even prayer" may be just as powerful.

To read the entire article, click on this link to SCIENCE.

COMMENT: It is not news that one's mind can affect how one physically reacts whether it is something as innocent as blushing or as serious as extreme anger leading to a heart attack. The advice often given to an agitated person to "relax" does have scientific support when it comes to better health. Meditation, when properly practiced, does seem to relax people. This report then should not be a complete surprise.

For Bible-based Christians though, the type of meditation is very important. Why would we want to constantly repeat a phrase from a different religion when the Bible alone comes to us from God Himself (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16)? He warns us about putting too much trust in worldly things (1 John 2:15, Jeremiah 17:5).

Instead Christians are encouraged to meditate on God's Word (Joshua 1:8, Luke 24:32) and to pray (Psalm 145:18, 1 John 5:14). While some non-Christian meditation practices may apparently provide some benefits, only meditating on God's Holy Word can give us help not only from within but also from outside of ourselves, namely from God, the Great Healer. My suggestion to Dr. Benson when he is mentioning meditation techniques is to say "and especially prayer" instead of "or even prayer."

God not only has the power to heal our bodies, if He so wishes, but even more important He has a plan to heal our souls so that we can enjoy eternity with Him. This He does when He washes away the sins of all those who have repented of their misdeeds and have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What kinds of wood are healthiest to burn in the fireplace?

It can be unhealthy to inhale any wood smoke. However, dry, seasoned wood like oak, maple, birch and poplar produces less smoke than soft woods like pine or wet, moldy logs.

Source: Dr. James Hubbard in American Profile (October 25-31, 2009)

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