VOLUME 2; ISSUE 7 NOVEMBER 2010

CHEMVIBES
LIFE IS SHORT... MAKE FUN OF IT !

C H E N G A L P A T T U M E D I C A L C O L L E G E

F r o m t h e e d i t o r i a l b o a r d . . .

Hi Friends!
Hope you all had a great time going through Chemmag 2010 !
It is with a bittersweet feeling that we present before you this last issue
of Chemvibes. On one side, we are elated that the newsletter has been
a grand success, all because of your support. On the other hand, there
is a pang in our throats when we realise that this is our last issue in our
tenure :-(
The feeling that we have now is that of the parents sending away
their daughter to her in-laws house after marriage. With this we hand
over the responsibility to our juniors, the Stalwartz, in the hope that
they continue the tradition and keep up the spirit. We wish them all
success.
We would like to thank our chief sponsors, SPEED
MEDICAL INSTITUTE—without their efforts our dreams
would still be in hibernation. We thank Dr. R .K. Sekar for extending
his moral and financial support for Chemvibes.
We would like to thank all the Chemcoits for throwing in their
support in the form of manual work and as valuable responses for the
improvement of the newsletter. We are indebted to all of you.
HAPPY READING !
P.SUBRAMANI M.SOWMYA
MAGAZINE SECRETARY J T.MAGAZINE SECRETARY

1 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION
EX.OFFICIO PRESIDENT

DR.P.RAMAKRISHNAN, M.D., D.L.O.,

DEAN

EX.OFFICIO VICE PRESIDENT

DR.P.PARASAKTHI, M.D.,
VICE PRINCIPAL

TREASURER

DR.RAVI, M.D.,
DEPT. OF PATHOLOGY

STAFF ADVISORS

DR.EDWIN FERNANDO, M.D., D.M.,

DEPT. OF NEPHROLOGY

DR. UMA SHANTHI, M.D., D.G.O.,

DEPT OF O.G

EDITORS & DESIGNERS

P.SUBRAMANI
M.SOWMYA

WITH BEST WISHES FROM

Dr.N.M.Balakrishna, M.S.,Mch Urology
Coimbatore, 1974 batch, CHMC.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
5 THINGS HUMANS NO 4
LONGER NEED

FACTS ABOUT OBESITY 7

LOVE CAN BE AN ADDICTION 11

MEDNEWS 15

MEDTOON, HEALTH TIP 19

ECHO 21

JUST FOR LAUGHS 27

3 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 5 THINGS HUMANS NO LONGER NEED
Vestigial organs are parts of the body that once had a func-
tion but are now more-or-less useless. Probably the most famous
example is the appendix, though it is now an open question
whether the appendix is really vestigial. The idea that we are car-
rying around useless relics of our evolutionary past has long fas-
cinated scientists and laypeople alike.

Vomeronasal organ
Rodents and other mammals secrete chemical sig-
nals called pheromones that carry information about
their gender or reproductive state, and influence the be-
haviour of others. Pheromones are detected by a special-
ised sensory system, the vomeronasal organ (VNO),
which consists of a pair of structures that nestle in the
nasal lining or the roof of the mouth. Although most
adult humans have something resembling a VNO in
their nose, neuroscientist Michael Meredith of Florida State University in
Tallahassee has no hesitation in dismissing it as a remnant.

"If you look at the anatomy of the structure, you don't see any cells that look
like the sensory cells in other mammalian VNOs," he says. "You don't see
any nerve fibres connecting the organ to the brain." He also points to genetic
evidence that the human VNO is non-functional. Virtually all the genes that
encode its cell-surface receptors - the molecules that bind incoming chemical
signals, triggering an electrical response in the cell - are pseudogenes, and
inactive.

Goose bumps
Though goose bumps are a reflex rather than a per-
manent anatomical structure, they are widely considered
to be vestigial in humans. The pilomotor reflex, to give
them one of their technical names, occurs when the tiny
muscle at the base of a hair follicle contracts, pulling the
hair upright.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 4

In birds or mammals with feathers, fur or spines, this creates a layer of insu-
lating warm air in a cold snap, or a reason for a predator to think twice before
attacking. But human hair is so puny that it is incapable of either of these
functions.

Goose bumps in humans may, however, have taken on a minor new role.
Like flushing, another thermoregulatory mechanism, they have become
linked with emotional responses - notably fear, rage or the pleasure, say, of
listening to beautiful music. This could serve as a signal to others. It may also
heighten emotional reactions: there is some evidence, for instance, that a mu-
sic-induced frisson causes changes of activity in the brain that are associated
with pleasure.

Darwin's point
Around the sixth week of
gestation, six swellings of tissue
called the hillocks of Hiss arise
around the area that will form the
ear canal. These eventually coa-
lesce to form the outer ear. Dar-
win's point, or tubercle, is a minor
malformation of the junction of the
fourth and fifth hillocks of Hiss.
It is found in a substantial
minority of people and takes the form of a cartilaginous node or bump on the
rim of their outer ear, which is thought to be the vestige of a joint that al-
lowed the top part of the ancestral ear to swivel or flop down over the open-
ing to the ear.

Technically considered a congenital defect, Darwin's point does no harm and

is surgically removed for cosmetic reasons only. However, the genetics be-
hind it tells an interesting tale. The trait is passed on according to an auto-
somal dominant pattern, meaning that a child need only inherit one copy of
the gene responsible to have Darwin's point. That suggests that at one time it
was useful. However, it also has variable penetration, meaning that you won't
necessarily have the trait even if you inherit the gene. The variable penetra-
tion reflects the fact that it is no longer advantageous.

5 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 Tail bone
A structure that is the object of reduced evolu-
tionary pressure can, within limits, take on differ-
ent forms. As a result, one of the telltale signs of a
vestige is variability. A good example is the hu-
man coccyx, a vestige of the mammalian tail,
which has taken on a modified function, notably as
an anchor point for the muscles that hold the anus
in place.

The human coccyx is normally composed of four

rudimentary vertebrae fused into a single bone.
Whereas babies born with six fingers or toes are rare, the coccyx can and
often does consist of anything from three to five bony segments.

What's more, there are more than 100 medical reports of babies born with
tails. This atavism arises if the signal that normally stops the process of ver-
tebrate elongation during embryonic development fails to activate on time.

Wisdom teeth
Most primates have wisdom teeth (the third molars)
but a few species, have none. "These are probably
evolutionary dwarfs," says anthropologist Peter Lu-
cas of George Washington University, Washington
DC. He suggests that when the body size of mam-
mals reduces rapidly their jaws become too small to
house all their teeth, and overcrowding eventually
results in selection for fewer or smaller teeth). This seems to be happening
in Homo sapiens.

The problem of overcrowding has been exacerbated in humans in the

past four centuries as our diet has become softer and more processed. With
less wear on molars, jaw space is at an even higher premium, "so the third
molars, the last teeth to erupt, run out of space to erupt". Not only are im-
pacted wisdom teeth becoming more common, perhaps as many as 35% of
people have no wisdom teeth at all, suggesting that we may be on an evolu-
tionary trajectory to losing them all together !! :-)

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 6

 FACTS ABOUT OBESITY

We never want to have that humpty dumpty

figure that welcome ironic comments from
other people but unfortunately the obesity is
one of the wide spread problem worldwide
and its increasing very rapidly.

According to WHO currently 1 billion

adults worldwide are overweight and less than 300 million of
them are clinically obese. Obesity has taken place of an epidemic
still majority of people are not aware of the factors that welcomes
this problem and the results that are obtained after one gets into
this problem.

The increased ratio of obesity has leaded the researchers to study

the consequences of this problem and a lot of interesting informa-
tion has been obtained.

The Obesity is not just a massive burden of fats on your body but
there are lots of fun facts and interesting facts related to this ....
• Many researchers have proven this thing that the obesity
brings huge risks of chronic diseases; they may include hyper-
tension, Type II Diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular diseases and
others. Some major and dangerous forms of cancer are also as-
sociated with Obesity.

• A study carried by Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at

Yale University has showed that over 4,000 people in an online
survey has said that they’ll give up a year of their life than to be
fat. This shows how much the people are fed up with this problem
yet it’s not getting decreased.

7 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 • While considering the data of United States only this fact
comes that, the obesity rate as calculated for US is now double to
that calculated in the year 1970.
• According to some estimates Airlines are spending $275 mil-
lion on 350 million additional gallons of fuel in 2000 and you
know why? Yes this is the blessing of obesity as airlines are in-
creasing the fuel just to compensate the extra weight of the pas-
sengers.
• Another finding has been obtained from Duke University
Medical Center, according to its findings the women and men who
have lost 10 percent of their body weight have also reported a sig-
nificant increase in their sexual quality of life.
• The major reason of obesity is the food of restaurants; it has
been declared that 35% of our daily caloric intake comes from the
restaurant food. So we seemed to be helpless in front of restau-
rant’s food and I think you are not required to describe the conse-
quences of it.
• A normal person who is not considered in the class of obese
people carries 25 to 35 billion of fat cells and this amount in-
creases up to 100 to 150 billion cells when a person comes in the
class of obese people.
• The most increased epidemic in children in the 21st century
is Obesity and in almost every country of the world the Obesity
rate among children is rising.

So this was some of the information related to Obesity that

every Obese person in fact every human must know, this informa-
tion is actually a kind of warning that shows what are the further
affects that you can get from Obesity •

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 8

 MYSTERIOUS MEDICAL SYNDROMES

CAPGRAS DELUSION
The Capgras delusion is a mental condition in
which the sufferer comes to believe that
someone close to him -- typically a spouse or
family member -- has been replaced by an
identical imposter. The sufferer may con-
tinue to live peacefully (though distrustfully)
with the "imposter," or he may violently at-
tack the loved one. Some people with Capgras
delusion even second-guess their own
reflections. The condition is typically caused
by brain injury or mental illness like
schizophrenia and dementia.

STENDHAL SYNDROME
Stendhal syndrome is the name given to a feeling
of anxiety -- dizziness, confusion, rapid
heartbeat, even hallucinations and fainting --
upon seeing beautiful works of art. The
overwhelming sensation can come from the
exceptional beauty of one particular piece of art
or from the abundance of art in one location.
The condition is most widely associated with the
art of Florence, Italy, although it has been
applied to similar reactions to overwhelming
beauty of any type.

9 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 UNBELIEVABLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS

THE GIRL WHO EATS ONLY TIC TACS !!

Meet Natalie Cooper, a 17-year-old teenager who has a

mystery illness that makes her sick every time she eats
anything. Well, almost anything. She can eat one thing
that doesn’t make her sick: Tic tac mint!

For reasons that doctors are unable to explain, Tic tacs

are the only thing she can stomach, meaning she has to
get the rest of her sustenance from a specially formulated
feed through a tube.
Doctors investigated whether she was suffering from
bulimia, but they have dismissed this theory and are now
baffled by her condition.
Bulimia is an eating disorder. Someone with bulimia
might binge on food and then vomit (also called purge) in
a cycle of binging and purging. Binge eating refers to
quickly eating large amounts of food over short periods of
time. Purging involves forced vomiting, laxative use, ex-
cessive exercise, or fasting in an attempt to lose weight
that might be gained from eating food or binging •
CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 10
 LOVE CAN BE AN ADDICTION

: In a new study published in the American Journal of Drug and

Alcohol Abuse, investigators examined and compared the clini-
cal, psychological and biological details of love, passion, gam-
bling, and substance dependence. It turns out that an addiction
to love is almost indistinguishable from other addictions.

Love addiction, or pathological love, has been described

as repeated or uncontrolled care and attention to a romantic part-
ner. This attentiveness often occurs at the expense of other re-
sponsibilities or activities, with or without returned emotions,
causing considerable pain and suffering. Love addiction is not
often studied, and can even be glorified to some extent by soci-
ety and the media ,but an addiction to love is not as warm and
fuzzy and it sounds. Love addiction has no unique clinical cri-
teria, but the new study reports that the phenomenon shares
striking characteristics with better-understood substance and be-
havioral addictions.
Love addiction renders euphoria in the presence of the
object of affection, just as drug intoxication elicits euphoria.
Negative mood and affect, lack of interest in once pleasurable
activities, and sleep disturbances accompany separation from
the loved one, just as they accompany withdrawal from drugs of
abuse. Obsessive and compulsive thoughts and behaviors, in-
cluding focused attention and intrusive thoughts about the loved
one and maladaptive or disruptive behaviors, knowingly and de-
spite the consequences, are also signs of an addiction to love, as
well as substances or behaviors.

11 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 A handful of studies, mostly in non-human mammals, sug-
gest that the regions and transmitters of the brain that are in-
volved in the reward system mediate not only healthy, appropri-
ate reward and emotions, but also substance and behavior abuse.
Researchers believe that a dysregulation of the reward and stress
systems, which include dopamine, opioid peptides and corticotro-
pin-releasing hormone, lead to dependence and a vulnerability to
addiction and relapse.
There may be genetic markers that
control the development of compromised
reward and stress systems, but none has yet
been identified.

The neurobiology of love likely evolved as

a way to make the mating process in hu-
mans more efficient. Romantic and sexual attraction allows hu-
mans to focus their courtship attentions on specific people, con-
serving valuable time and energy.

The attraction and subsequent monogamous pairing facili-

tates mating and parenting, and, therefore the propagation of the
species. Romantic love and monogamy share the same dopa-
minergic reward pathways as other pleasurable activities, emo-
tions and actions necessary for survival and progress. The forma-
tion, expression, and maintenance of healthy social pair bonds
are reliant on dopamine. However, in most cases, the reward sys-
tem functions normally, and a romantic relationship does not de-
scend into an addiction.

Still, the similarities between love and substance abuse are unde-
niable. Love is as strong of a pleasurable experience as cocaine
or other drugs of abuse, and obsessively seeking love’s “high” is
no less harmful than that of a drug.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 12

 People at risk for love addiction are the same who are at risk for
substance use disorders: those who suffer from rejection, loss of
self-worth, low self-esteem, anger, impulsivity, feelings of fail-
ure, distrust or loss, or other self-defeating behaviors.

Similar to other addicts, love addicts will seek out one relation-
ship right after another, will compartmentalize relationships from
different areas of his or her life, and will have a high tolerance
for risky behavior. While a clinical diagnosis for love addiction
has not been defined, many clinicians do recognize the signs and
characteristics that so closely resemble substance and behavior
abuse diagnoses.

In the future, a better understanding and criteria for the dis-

order will allow clinicians to tailor cognitive and behavioral ther-
apy to treat patients who are addicted to love •

With this printer, what you see...

...is what you smell !
That crisp apple colour and that crisp apple smell could one day come
out of the same ink-jet printer, if an idea hatched in a Japanese lab takes off.
Using technology from existing ink-jet printers, the idea is to generate evoca-
tive aromas to complement images on your computer or TV, from the
scent of a mown lawn in a family photo to truffles in a cookery show.

13 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 Scent-assisted movies were tried out in the mid-20th century. Aro-
maRama pumped scent into cinema air conditioning, while the rival
Smell-O-Vision had its own dedicated system of pipes. Both were ab-
ject failures, with noisy machinery or patchy odours. Worst of all, each
aroma lingered too long and mixed with the next, blending into a nox-
ious stench by the closing credits. More recent attempts to make whiffy
peripherals, such as the iSmell USB device from Digiscents in 2000,
fell at the same hurdle.
But ink-jet printing technology can do the job, according to
Kenichi Okada of Keio University in Tokyo and
colleagues. They are using the ink-jet printer's abil-
ity to eject tiny pulses of material to achieve precise
control.
In the most common type of ink-jet, a pulse
of current heats a coil of wire, creating bubbles
that force a small volume of ink down a tube and
onto the page at high speed.

The Keio team use the same hardware to squirt scent. Working with
printer maker Canon, they converted the guts of an off-the-shelf printer
into what they call an olfactory display, capable of rapidly switching
between four aromas.

They found that a standard Canon ink-jet can eject as little as a

picolitre of scent droplets in 0.7 milliseconds. That is too little to smell,
but pulses 100 milliseconds long produced perceivable aromas of
lemon, vanilla, lavender, apple, cinnamon, grapefruit and mint. Better
still, a 100-millisecond ink-jet burst dissipates fast, at least in the team's
small-scale experiment. After an average of two human breaths it has
gone, allowing a different smell to be activated.

The next step is to work out how to automatically sync scents with pic-
tures. If it works, a single ink-jet machine might serve as both printer
and odour projector •

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 14

 EXCITING HEALTH NEWS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE

World's first plastic antibody works in mice

Antibodies made entirely from plastic have saved the lives
of mice injected with bee venom – the first time such a strat-
egy has worked in live animals.
Researchers developing the antibodies say it is the first step
towards customized antibodies for a host of other medical
applications, from treating people who have been poisoned
to combating infection.
Natural antibodies are made by the body's immune system to lock onto a spe-
cific "antigen". Likewise, the plastic antibodies contain cavities molded in
exactly the right shape to capture target molecules, in this case, melittin – the
active agent in bee venom.

Faking it
Kenneth Shea of the University of California at Irvine led the team
which made melittin antibodies through a process called molecular imprint-
ing. They used a catalyst to stimulate polymers to form around molecules of
bee venom, then dissolved away the venom itself, leaving empty cavities
with the exact shape to trap melittin.

Shea injected these tiny plastic nanoparticles into mice 20 seconds after
they'd been injected with bee venom, 60 per cent survived whereas all the
untreated mice died. The plastic antibodies were then destroyed by the liver.
"We conclude that imprinted polymer nanoparticles efficiently capture melit-
tin in the bloodstream," say Shea and his colleagues.

Plastic copycats
Philipp Holliger of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge,
UK, said that the plastic antibodies do perform some of the functions of natu-
ral antibodies – capturing toxins and sending them to the liver for destruction.
"These properties should make them attractive alternatives to antibodies in
antidote anti-toxin treatments," he says.
15 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010
 However, Holliger doubts whether they could perform other important func-
tions of natural antibodies, such as priming the body's immune system to
fight future infections. Unlike natural antibodies, they are not equipped to
communicate with other cells and components of the immune system •

ROBOT LIMBS TO PLUG INTO THE BRAIN WITH LIGHT

Imagine a bionic arm that plugs directly into the
nervous system, so that the brain can control its
motion, and the owner can feel pressure and
heat through their robotic hand. This prospect
has come a step closer with the development of
photonic sensors that could improve connec-
tions between nerves and prosthetic limbs.

Existing neural interfaces are electronic, using metal components that may be
rejected by the body. Now Marc Christensen at Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas, and colleagues are building sensors to pick up nerve signals
using light instead. They employ optical fibres and polymers that are less
likely than metal to trigger an immune response, and which will not corrode.

The sensors are currently in the prototype stage and too big to put in the body,
but smaller versions should work in biological tissue, according to the team.

Whisper light
The sensors are based on spherical shells of a polymer that changes shape in
an electric field. The shells are coupled with an optical fibre, which sends a
beam of light travelling around inside them.

The way that the light travels around the inside of the sphere is called a
"whispering gallery mode", named after the Whispering Gallery in St Paul's
Cathedral, London, where sound travels further than usual because it reflects
along a concave wall.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 16

The idea is that the electric field associated with a nerve impulse could affect
the shape of the sphere, which will in turn change the resonance of the light on
the inside of the shell; the nerve effectively becomes part of a photonic circuit.
In theory, the change in resonance of the light travelling through the optical
fibre could tell a robotic arm that the brain wants to move a finger, for in-
stance.

Signals could be carried in the other direction by shining infrared light directly
onto a nerve – this is known to stimulate nerves – guided by a reflector at the
tip of the optical fibre.

To use working versions of the sensors, nerve connections would need to be

mapped. For example, a patient could be asked to try to raise their missing
arm, so that a surgeon could connect the relevant nerve to the prosthesis •

'Father of test tube baby' wins Nobel Prize for medicine

Robert Edwards, pictured holding the world's first test tube baby,
Louise Brown, who was born on July 25, 1978

17 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 The "father of the test tube baby," Robert G. Edwards, won the Nobel
Prize for medicine His contributions to developing in vitro fertilization (IVF)
"represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine," the Nobel
Prize committee said.

"As early as the 1950s, Edwards had the vision that IVF could be useful as a
treatment for infertility," which affects about 10 percent of all couples world-
wide, the committee said. "He worked systematically to realize his goal, dis-
covered important principles for human fertilization, and succeeded in accom-
plishing fertilization of human egg cells in test tubes (or more precisely, cell
culture dishes).

His efforts were finally crowned by success on 25 July, 1978, when the
world's first 'test tube baby' was born," the committee said. Louise Brown,
who was born in Oldham, northern England, has since married and given birth
to a son, who was conceived naturally.

His work has led to the birth of about four million babies, the committee
said in praising his work.

Born in Manchester, England, in 1925, Edwards is based at Cambridge

University in England.

Last year's prize for medicine went jointly to three United States researchers
for solving "a major problem in biology," the Nobel Committee said.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak shared

the $1.4 million prize "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by
telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."Understanding how chromosomes are
protected against degradation could shed light on human aging and diseases,
including cancer •

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 18

 MEDTOON

HEALTH TIP
Change your showerhead once a year.

Disease-causing germs, which grow and spread on

showerheads, can potentially cause threats to people with
a weakened immune system, a new study by the National
Academy of Sciences found.

19 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 Crime scene blood could identify age of criminal
BLOOD left at a crime scene could be used to
estimate the age of a perpetrator, thanks to a new
DNA test. The test could narrow down the range
of possible suspects.
Manfred Kayser at the Erasmus University
Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands,
and colleagues say their test needs between 5
and 50 nanograms of DNA to predict someone's
age to within 20 years. This can normally be retrieved from a small drop of
blood.

The researchers took blood samples from 195 individuals whose ages ranged
from a few weeks to 80 years. After extracting DNA from the sample, they am-
plified it using the polymerase chain reaction to generate billions of copies of
DNA fragments called sjTRECs, or "signal joint T-cell receptor
rearrangement excision circles".
These fragments are produced as by-products when the receptors of in-
fection-fighting T-cells rearrange themselves to become more diverse and bet-
ter at combating foreign agents in the blood by deleting pieces of their DNA.
People are known to have fewer sjTRECs as they age.

After the assessing the sjTREC level in each sample and comparing it with the
donor's age, Kayser says he can accurately predict what 20-year age bracket,
from birth to 80 years, a new blood sample belongs to .

Kayser says this method is more accurate than previous DNA-based age tests,
such as those that analyse mitochondrial DNA deletions, which cannot detect
ages below 20 years old. Other methods also need more intact DNA. The team
also found that the technique works on blood samples up to 18 months old. If,
as they hope, it is accurate for even older samples, it could be useful for solv-
ing past crime cases where blood was collected.

As it stands, the test has its limitations, says Peter Gill, a former principal research
scientist at the Forensic Science Service in the UK. "Although this test is a useful
thing to have in the armoury, it would be a lot more practical if the age brackets
could be narrowed down to about five years," he says.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 20

 VOICE YOUR VIEWS...

WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS

YEAR’S CHEMVIBES?

Since this will be our last issue, we decided to give

away the top up prize of ` 50 to all the entries :-)

Simply the best! A riot of colours and a perfect blend

of fun and information in galore.
An exact platform for the youth to prove their caliber.
Spreading the ardor and maintaining always a step
ahead of its predecessor, this is the arena that
proudly shows us that SKY IS THE LIMIT.

Hats off to the masterminds in their arduous

task behind it !
- Shruthi , Zenfoz.

21 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 My opinion on vibes -

Virulent virus
Infecting the
Brilliant brains and
Examining eyes of
Serene souls of students and staff of CHMC.
-Parthiban, Celestians

"This Chemvibes is very informative ! " - I have heard this

many times from the professors and students. Last year
there was a feedback that vibes does not have picture
quality. This time it has been overcome.

It's really nice introducing birthday blasts reminding us

about the birthday of our friends- it is helpful for people like
me who frequently forget friends birthdays and get hit
by them :-)

It was very interesting to read about very strange patients

who are allergic to water and a singer with persistant hic-
cups and about foetus in foeto.

I would be more happy if you provide the source of in-

formation for the articles you publish. I have realized how
difficult the task of publishing a monthly magazine is.

-D.Saranya , Stalwartz.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 22

The Chemvibes this year was awesome. The brain teasing
puzzles and stimulating information of Chemvibes sewed a
red carpet for itself ! Hope the same continues in the forth-
coming years.
- A.G.Balaji Vishwanath, Krenoviantz.

Chemvibes has been a novel idea, an innovative and an

informative supplement . The vibes has struck an even
chord with both students and doctors alike , receiving rave
reviews from even the elite medical fraternity, which is quite
heartening to see .Conciseness and lucid presentation of
articles which touches upon all aspects of medicine makes
it a delightful read .

Simply put ,it has been a little beacon of knowledge in the

hands of every chemcoit ,one month at a time !!!!
- K. Maria Sherlyn Deepika , Zenfoz.

It has been nice experience of our own vibes being improved

by our classmates. Medical articles were fascinating espe-
cially like the one allergic to water... like many of us for bath.
Mysterious Medical Syndromes introduced many medical
students syndromes! B'day blast is a source for many treats!

My further ideas for improvement are— It would be won-

derful to see Vibes in colour– if we have money that is. We
can introduce student/professor corner where they share
their cases they see. Contents are good but the cover needs
to change.

-R.Siddharthan, Celestians.

23 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 A monthly vibration for all the brains coming in the form of
vibes...a page to share our thoughts...a page to feed our
brains...always gives a feel to go through it !
- Bhuvaneshwari, Zenfoz.

‘’The Enthiran’’ of CHMC - giving everyone information,

education, and fun alike!

A handbook having a world within it brought out by d great

chemcos..This tiny booklet has attracted everyone. I
eagerly await the arrival of this storming newsletter every
month :-)
Great work by the editors.

-Shanmugapriya, Celestians.

Vibes has been really informative and this year especially

with many of its new features its becoming even more inter-
esting. In a time where we don’t have any time to read news-
papers Vibes brings us the latest Med news, presented in a
way we like to read n enlightens us about the recent ad-
vances in Medicine.
And the monthly poll, Med toon, B’day blast coulmns
newly added this year makes it more interesting. Congrats 2
the hard work of the vibes team 4 this gr8 job of bringing
Medical stuff 2 us in a way we enjoy reading.

-R.Aishwarya,Zenfoz.

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 24

I felt the fonts were not attractive. The rest of the issue is
good.

-Jeevagan, Stalwartz.

People say that appearances are deceptive...Chemvibes

can be quoted as a classical example for this. Even though
it is not voluminous, it is a lot informative. I don’t think vibes
got its fame by just being informative..Editors had taken
every vibes as a challenge and brought it out in the most in-
teresting way especially with puzzles and amazingly rare
info that made readers eyes stick to it ! I have a collection of
vibes in my bag so that I can enjoy it even during my
travel :-)
- Saranya devi, Celestians.

25 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 FROM THE EDITORS…
We are very happy that our hard work has paid off in a
wonderful manner– as your valuable responses portray.
Thank you Chemcoits !

This year’s Chemvibes was exclusively home designed by us

and we wanted to clarify some issues on it.

The Font. We received a number of feedbacks on the fonts used

in the issues. Some felt the headings weren't that clear.
Since Vibes is presently a black n white newsletter , the
only things where we could provide some richness and
difference were the fonts and the use of cliparts. Some issues had
printing errors and the output appeared drastically different from
the one we did in digital form. We apologize if you had
experienced any problems with the fonts.

The cover. We brought so many new changes... Now why dint

we change the cover ?
The first thing that we wanted to do before our first issue of
Chemvibes was to redesign the cover – to a more appealing one.
We worked on it a lot, but unfortunately, our sponsor SPEED
MEDICAL INSTITUTE, had already printed and kept stock of
thousands of the previous year’s cover. We had no choice but to
use the same this year too •

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 26

 JUST FOR LAUGHS
Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects!
Nurse: How old are you?

Patient: None of your business.

Nurse: But the doctor must know your age for

his records.

Patient: Well, first, multiply twenty by two,

then add ten. Got that?

Nurse: Yes. Fifty.

Patient: All right, now subtract fifty, and tell

me, what do you get?

Nurse: Zero.

Patient: Right. And that’s exactly the chance

of me telling you my age...

Wife: Doctor, my husband thinks he's a horse.

Psychiatrist: He is just probably a little stressed out and needs some

rest.

Wife: But he kicks chairs and eats grass and do not even sleep in the
bed.

Psychiatrist: Well, in that case, it looks like he may need a lot of help,
but it may cost quite a lot of money for prolonged treatment.

Wife: Oh you don't have to worry about the money part. Last
Sunday, my husband won the horse race!

27 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010

 TWO WOMEN TALKING:
Woman 1: Oh! You got a haircut! That's so cute!
Woman 2:Do you think so? I wasn't sure when
she gave me the mirror. I mean, you don't think it's
too fluffy looking?
Woman 1: No, it's perfect. I'd love to get my hair
cut like that, but I think my face is too wide. I'm
pretty much stuck with this stuff I think.
Woman 2:Are you serious? I think your face is adorable. And you
could easily get one of those layer cuts - that would look so cute I think.
I was actually going to do that except that I was afraid it would accent
my long neck.
Woman 1:Oh - that's funny! I would love to have your neck! Anything
to take attention away from these football player shoulders of mine.
Woman 2: Are you kidding? I know girls that would love to have
your shoulders. Everything drapes so well on you. I mean, look at my
arms, see how short they are? If I had your shoulders I could get clothes
to fit me so much easier !

NOW TWO MEN TALKING

Man 1: Haircut?
Man 2: Yeah.

* Kangaroos can not walk backwards.

* Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
* In Brazil, there's a species of cockroach that eats eyelashes, usually
those of young children while they are asleep.
* The only letter not appearing on the Periodic Table is the letter "J".
* Cellophane is not made of plastic. It is made from a plant fiber,
cellulose, which has been shredded and aged.
* Honeybees never sleep.
* On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
* Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
* No word in the English language rhymes with
"MONTH"

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 28

 ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S THINK TANK
1. Match the side effects:

1. Carbimazole D. Agranulocytosis
2. Spironolactone C. Gynaecomastia
3. Prednisolone A. Osteoporosis
4. Erythromycin B. Long QT interval

2. In which rickettsial illness is Rumpel-Leede

test done?

3.Which is NOT a misnomer?

A googly… all are misnomers !!
Sebaceous cyst - these cysts do not arise from sebaceous
glands. The correct name is epidermoid cyst
Pretibial myxoedoma - thyroid dermopathy is a better
name. it occurs in grave’s disease and not in
hypothyroidism
Lateral aberrant thyroid – only secondaries in cervical
lymph nodes. It is not thyroid gland in aberrant position
Pulses paradoxus - represents an exaggeration of the
normal phenomenon and not a controversial, or
paradoxical phenomenon

4. QUESTION FROM LAST ISSUE OF VIBES:

What is parapagus ?
Twins fused side by side with a shared pelvis.

THE WINNERS ARE...

1. s.majeetha banu, celestians

2. priyanka dixit, zenfoZ

3. prathyusha, stalwartz. CONGRATULATIONS !!!

29 CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010
 LAST MONTH’S PULSE
While learning for the sake of the degree, have you learnt
enough for your practice ?

A. Yes 12%

B. No 88%

CHEMVIBES, NOV 2010 30