CheekyQi

ACCHS Biochemistry Summer 2018 Professor Spears Sarah Donnelly The Microbiome and TCM The microbiome is an enormously interesting area right now. With steadily rising rates of gastrointestinal disorders, despite all the best that western medicine has to offer, people are looking for a solution which isn't worse than the illness. Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infections alone have doubled in the United States in the last decade. There are many variables which can contribute to all this gut-sickness, but the underlying problem is our western medical model. Our current model, with the finest technology and equipment at its disposal, has distilled all functional parts of the human body – flora and fauna, vitamins, probiotics, antioxidants, amino acids and the like – down to their very basest constituents. We have the machines which tell us exactly which nutrients we lack, and we pack it into pills and swallow it down. This is our preventative medicine. The body ...

Physics/Biophysics 2018 ACCHS Professor Spears Sarah Donnelly TCM & Physics             Of all the fascinating material covered in this course, it was quantum physics which really stuck with me. The impossibly small world which underlies our macro world is governed by different laws, because when things get very small, apparently they also get very weird. The laws which rule the quantum level can't be applied to the world on our scale, and vice versa. It would like assuming breathing air would be like breathing water. The different worlds just work in different ways. Some favorite weirdnesses: •       Entangled particles, separated by the globe, will simultaneously react even if only one particle is subjected to a stimuli. •       Molecules can exist in more than one physical state at the same time, temporarily stopping at one particular state when being ...

This week we covered bionics for those who have lost limbs or full musculoskeletal function of their bodies. Would you support the development of a bionic person? Yes, absolutely. The articles we covered in class were inspiring, these stories of huge-hearted people who were driven to help those who want full use of their bodies. From athletes to children, everyone deserves a chance to use their minds and bodies to their full abilities. There was a lot of discussion in class about the possible shadow side of this technology, but we can't get hung up on pessimistic maybes - foretelling the future is not a skill I have, nor would I want it. The technology is a tool, and in the hands of unscrupulous people it may become a weapon. But for now, the potential benefits to humankind outweigh the potential for bad. Would your view change if this were for a military purpose? 'Military purpose' was probably intentionally vague. I'd support the technology, regardless. ...

This is a terrible truth. "The human species is living as if it had more than one planet to occupy". And more weighty than ever with the present administration - at first impression, it seemed they were simply overturning their predecessor's policies across the board. But worse than that, they are overturning the earth-protecting policies which hamper the profits of large corporations.  The Dakota Access Pipeline, disavowing all evidence of climate change, dismantling protections for the earth, air and water, endangered animals - not to mention horrific crimes against people who aren't wealthy or white. It's hard to even write about without getting my heat up and feeling frustrated and angry at myself for not taking action. I'm gone off topic a little here, focusing on the crimes of this administration specifically instead of humankind in general, but the ones here on home soil are so much more glaring to me.  In the US, we seem to be living as i...

Found this adorable animation of how a virus replicates - viruses are really cool! They act alive but aren't 'alive' as we define life. They are fully parasitic, depending on their hosts to support their reproductive functions. What I find so interesting is their uncompromising drive to replicate - it can be so aggressive, that it kills the host too quickly, before it can spread - as in the case of filoviruses like Ebola, some strains of which have mortality of up to 90%. Influenza is a 'smarter' virus, in that there is a longer incubation period in which the host might spread the disease while exhibiting few to zero symptoms. Viruses can adapt, but only in the most direct, obvious ways - by manipulating the defenses and metabolism of the host cells. Thank goodness, because these mighty little machines would be terrifying if capable of critical thinking. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0002397 http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/ce...

Death, illness, suffering are as natural a part of life as birth. From these shadow subjects comes the richness of religion, philosophy and faith - the very fearsomeness of death gives life it's spice and energy. How we deal with suffering - whether we accept it or fight it - has everything to do with the culture of our community. Do we intend to avoid suffering at all cost? Do we intend to enjoy the life we have, and connect with the people we call family? Do we choose not only run towards pain, but help shepherd others through theirs?  My grandfather had been living alone and mostly isolated after my grandma passed away. When my uncle stopped in to visit, he found that grandpa was sleeping downstairs on an old, broken, moldy couch covered in dog hair and urine, using a loaf of bread as a pillow. He was disoriented and in pain. Uncle Derrick took him to the hospital and they found a huge colorectal tumor, nearly complete hearing loss and borderline vision. We had ...

Biophysics encompasses so many parts of other disciplines of science, and I like how the definition of biophysics seems to change depending on what it's trying to describe. Biology is the study of living systems, and so this week we covered: - alternative ideas on the origins of life on earth - what it means to be alive vs. dead - whether clinically brain dead patients are aware/can communicate - whether we ought to expect a mass extinction soonish - discussion on the mad tetris skills of mother nature when packing in DNA Judging from this week's readings, I'd conclude that biophysics means biology and physics and all that entails...with a healthy dose of ethics, alternative ideas, and how to see things from different perspectives. Curiosity. Compassion. Connectedness. Biophysics feels like the best of what science has to offer. This body I ride around in sure feels like a living system - it gets worn down and tired, it demands constant feeding and...

The Hippocampus and Depression Trusting and loving the hardworking-but-gets-no-credit brain can only end well. The Chinese call it the Shen and it's seen as one of the '3 treasures' of the human system, the other two being Jing and Qi. The 3 can be roughly summed up as body, mind, and spirit - all need tending, and I love the fact that scientists did research on what can be summed up as instructions on how to work out your brain in a loving way.  The hippocampus assists in memory, learning, and giving proper context - I'm imagining a discreet personal assistant at a party, reminding us that we met Mrs. Holt at the dog fights last month, and makes a note to send her your layer cake recipe. Like everything else in the body, the hippocampus may be affected as we age, losing neuroplasticity and having a harder time recalling past events.  In addition to memory loss, depression can be seen as loss of hippocampus function: a  2015 article from Medical News Daily r...

Newton's laws in my life:  1: I maintain a low effort level of studying until propelled to do otherwise. Study effort (object) will remain minimal until acted upon by an outside force -panic- (study time temporarily increases). Or outside force -party- (study time disappears entirely).  2: how hard and well I study is inversely proportionate to amount of time before a test.  Study effort under the force of panic 3: how well (or poorly) I study meets with appropriate grade and a forceful reaction.  Study effort (object) collides with resulting grade (object).  Initial forces exerted (panic).  Resultant force positive: celebration with ice cream.  Resultant force negative: mourning with ice cream. Our culture is obsessed with energy conservation. And we are really bad at it - s ince it isn't possible to use your time 100% efficiently in the pursuit of paper goals, this ambition is doomed to fail.   In equating t...

My E-Prime Day - describe your day, using only English Prime My preset alarm chimed, signaling the time 5:30am had arrived in Northen California in summer of 2018. I processed myself through the morning cycle of intake, output, shower, and traveled to school by driving my car. After I arrived in clinic, I placed needles in elderly patients, spun them a bit, and removed them. The next phase of my day led me upstairs to the western science classes where I learned about physics and biochemistry. After classes, I met with friends, and traveled home again. How might you synthesize eastern and western ideas in Physics? This class has given me a great head start, because I feel this synthesis otherwise lacking in our curriculum. Reading books like The Tao of Physics and continuing to follow acupuncturists who work in networks with traditional western practitioners. There's a wonderful non-profit over on 16th Street, Oakland called Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic (CMCC). Vo...

My (a)symmetrical world -  If we're talking life, I'm neatly bookended by birth and death: transition thresholds which are crossed to enter/exit our seen world. As I near these thresholds, I become less complex, less independent, and contain less mass. In that respect, life looks like a perfect palindrome. In between those transitions, there are little symmetries that I look for because it feels comforting: synchronicities; finding things in common with other people; seeing 11:11 on a digital clock; recognizing shadow/light issues in self, society and history; patterns in natural forms. And word games like palindromes: "do geese see god?" Finding these symmetries sort of feels like the Universe is giving me a friendly poke. Just what does this CP violation really mean? At this moment, I really wish I had heard the lecture last week, because it's all very confusing. C refers to Charge Conjugation - all processes involving particles should carry on ind...

Dictionary.com has 'loafing' as 1.  to idle away time: 2. to lounge or saunter lazily and idly This is so easy in theory! In the middle of a class, I'll be dreaming about sleeping in until noon, eating ice cream for breakfast, and staying up late reading trashy novels. In practice, my teenage dreams are mostly beyond the capabilities of my 30-something body. My eyes open at 6am, whether I want it or not; ice cream is now known as 'the triple yin death', and 10pm is really way too late for me anymore.  So I took this assignment to mean do something relaxing that I wouldn't normally do. I planned out a perfect 2-daygetaway for the semester break. This took lots of time to dream about, play with maps and restaurant and beach reviews, all of which was very satisfying. For this, I have realistic goals - I'll be up and to bed early but in between, no one will be able to ask anything of me, and nothing work or school like will be scheduled. I'll hav...

Are all vibrations 'good'? - A 'good' vibration depends on who's involved! If good = beneficial, then no, not all vibrations would benefit all involved parties equally. The vibration which brings down a bridge is not good for the bridge, the workers, or anyone on the bridge. It is good for me, in that it's incredibly interesting and makes me wonder whether my humming could ever stop traffic, or if a cat's purr could cause an electric can opener to operate. Resonance in my world About 2 weeks after our class on vibrations, I got to use the new information in a dream. There was a guy who was showing me his new personal sound device – the ear buds were just tiny pieces of cheap styrofoam he broke off to put into my ears. No cords or anything. I asked him if they worked because they were attuned to the resonance of the player. He said no, the pieces of foam were sentient and only worked if they enjoyed what was being played. I went to a m...

“ordered chaos” - does this sound familiar? - in TCM, yin and yang balance each other. We have a lovely black and white yin/yang symbol, with a spot of one deep within the other to symbolize yang is always within yin, and yin is always within yang. This symbol is a little misleading, because it looks like roughly 50% yin and 50% yang. When yin is the substance, and yang is the warming, motivating force, we only need enough yang to keep the yin from stagnation. I think of this when I hear 'ordered chaos'. There is a balancing proportion to all systems, but within the systems, there can be all sorts of chaos – unpredictable, changeable. The order comes with finding the tipping point. That proportion, that perfectly predictable point of overwhelm when one system tips into the other, is evidence of a well-functioning system. Fractals as patterns of complex systems - I am still pretty confused about fractals, which seems like a common problem. Can people be fractal...