Tree Man!

Tree Man who grew 'roots' offered hope of new life by doctor:
- December 24, 2007 - Indonesia



Above: Dr Anthony Gaspari believes that he has diagnosed Dede's rare condition.

An Indonesian fisherman who is "half man half tree" has been offered new hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A.

32-year-old Dede, who lives in a remote village in Indonesia with his two children, feared that he would be killed by the tree-like growths that cover his body.

Known locally as 'Tree Man' his condition has baffled local doctors for 20 years.

He has root like structures growing out of his body - branches that can grow up to 5cm a year and which protrude from his hands and feet, and welts covering his whole body.

In an attempt to earn a living to support his family, he is part of a circus troupe, displaying his Tree Man limbs along with others afflicted with skin deformities in 'freak' shows.

The former fisherman was the subject of a documentary "Half Man Half Tree", part of the "My Shocking Story" series on Discovery Channel TV.

Dede's story began when wart-like "roots" started growing out of his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident. The medical world was completely baffled.

The welts spread rapidly across his body and soon he was not able to carry out ordinary household tasks.

Dede was sacked from his job and deserted by his wife. He has been raising two children, now in their late teens, in poverty. He is resigned to the fact that local doctors have no cure for his condition.

To try to support his family he even joined a local "freak show", parading in front of a paying audience along with victims of other peculiar diseases.

While he has the support of his extended family, he has frequently been a target of ridicule and abuse in rural fishing village where he lives.

But now new hope has emerged for Dede after an American dermatology expert flew out to his home village south of the capital Jakarta.

Dr. Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland claims to have identified Dede's condition, and has proposed a treatment that could completely change his life.

Following the testing of samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr. Gaspari says his condition is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This is a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.

Dede's problem is that he has a rare genetic fault that impedes his immune system. This means his body is unable to contain the warts.

According to Dr. Gaspari, the virus was able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", instructing them to produce huge amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on both his hands and feet.

The doctor became involved in the case through the Discovery Channel documentary, and he is convinced that Dede's condition can be largely cleared up by a daily doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin A, which has been demonstrated to stop the growth of warts in severe cases of HPV.

Dr. Gaspari said that Dede's warts should reduce in size to the point where he can use his hands. He said he had never seen anything like this in his entire career.








Dede with his teenage daughter. He fears that his children may also become infected

Weird Trees

Here are some really strange trees from around this weird wonderful world. From the top down you can see: the Bike Tree, Fat Tree, Fork Tree, Six Branches Tree, Smiley Tree and the Snake Tree.

Joss Stone - Son of a Preacher Man

I have only recently discovered Joss Stone and I like her vocals and style.

Melissa Etheridge & Joss Stone - Janis Joplin Tribute

Janis Joplin has always been one of my favourite singers but sadly she left early in her prime years due to a 'deep bout of loneliness'. Anyway, as a tribute to Janis, Melissa and Joss Stone rendered "Cry Baby" & "Take Another Piece Of My Heart" beautifully. By the way, when she sang the song, Melissa has just undergone chemotherapy for her breast cancer. That explained her baldheadedness but the spirit she displayed is indeed to be commended by all!

"Here In My Home" - Malaysian Artistes For Unity

News Clips (Excerpted Fr. Malaysiakini.com):

A group of Malaysian artistes got together one fine day and made an anti -racism song and music video.

Pete was juggling tomatoes and was getting bored. So he telephoned a few friends instead: "how about getting together to make an anti-racism song and music video?" Al said yes without hesitation. Not because Pete threatened them with a rusty knife. Only because they love Malaysia.

The contingent swelled to 52 people a few days later. It included filmmakers, dancers, singers, producers. musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, designers, footballers, activists, celebrities, students and a florist. Nobody would be paid. Yet they were enthused. not because they were high on speed. Only because they love Malaysia.

They gathered to record the song. It had a catchy chorus and was able to induce a mass sing-along. everyone was happy when it was done. They named it 'Here In My Home'. Then more people joined. The party now included more than 120 people. But the budget remained exactly zero. It seems even the spreadsheet loves malaysia.

Everyone turned up for the video shoot. Much fun was had and friendships made. Video editors went to work after the shoot was done. Both the recording and the video would be given away for free. A gift to the nation. From those who love malaysia to those who feel the same.

Did you ask what this is all about?

It's about love.

Malaysiakini.tv feels that this is a beautiful project and really reflects what a majority of Malaysians feel and want -- released from the shackles of racism. We congratulate the 52 people who created this project.

Below is the entire entry in 'about' at http://www.malaysianartistesforunity.info
(The video is available for free download from this site)

I too congratulate them on this novel effort. SYABAS!!

Pfizer Starts Paying for Painkiller Deaths

Source : New York Times 3 May 2008

Pfizer has started settling cases over its Celebrex and Bextra painkillers. More than 3,000 patients have claimed that the drugs caused heart attacks and strokes.

Celebrex, which is in the same class of medicines as Merck’s recalled Vioxx, is Pfizer’s third-best-selling drug. The product is still on the market, and generated $2.3 billion in sales in 2007. Pfizer withdrew Bextra in April 2005 after it was tied to a potentially fatal skin condition.

Pfizer has already reached settlements with three law firms representing more than 200 of the thousands who sued over the drugs. Firms have been offered $40,000 to $50,000 a client to resolve Bextra cases, and as much as $200,000 a client for Celebrex.

About Internet Marketing

It's been almost 2 years now since I started learning and getting involved in Internet Marketing. No doubt it's been a journey of trial and errors but I've never regretted a day of it. Infact, I love it! Internet Marketing requires patience, passion and commitment. It is not for those who are impatient and restless. I am currently helping to facilitate an Internet Marketing Workshop in Kuala Lumpur. Well, the internet marketing experience has been very satisfying for me especially so when I see money starts flowing in! If you'd like to know more about Internet Marketing do have a look here.

The Future of Medicine in the Age of Biotech

Everything you wanted to know about the future of health care industry and related themes. Keynote speech plus videos below by Dr Patrick Dixon (physician and futurist) for gene technology companies and biotech analysts / investors in Zurich. Audience of 150 - October 2002

How scientists will attempt to slow down or stop the ageing process - video
Comment by Dr Patrick Dixon on science of ageing, health care, life expectancy, medical advances, pensions, retirement, lifestyles and government policy.

Themes: The future of medicine and health care. Major trends impacting every area of health care. How genetics will create new patterns of drug discovery and drug development. New cures and treatments. Ethical and social issues of biotech. Gene testing for insurance, genetic predictions of disease and related issues. Human cloning and reproductive technologies. How public mood towards biotech is changing. Media pressures and single issue activism. Laws, regulations and moral debates.

Human Cloning - How Clones Will Be Made, Stem Cells & Future Researchc:


Dr Patrick Dixon lecture to biotech venture capital investors about future medicine and health care, gene therapy, biotechnology, and the pharmaceutical industry. Dr Dixon is a physician and trends analyst.

Future Of Malaysian Economy

By Dr Patrick Dixon: Futurist, "Europe's Leading Futurist" - Press Assocation
"Global Change Guru" - Wall Street Journal, "One of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive today" Thinkers 50 survey in 2005.

Future Of Malaysian Economy:


Future Of Malaysia :

Science of Mentos - Diet Coke explosions explained

Science of Mentos-Diet Coke explosions explained
* 11:31 12 June 2008
* NewScientist.com news service
* Hazel Muir

The startling reaction between Diet Coke and Mentos sweets, made famous in thousands of YouTube videos, finally has a scientific explanation. A study in the US has identified the prime factors that drive the fizzy plumes from Coke bottles: the roughness of the sweet and how fast it plummets to the bottle's base.

"If you drop a pack of Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, you get this huge fountain of spray and Diet Coke foam coming out," says Tonya Coffey, a physicist at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. "This was a good project for my students to study because there was still some mystery to it."

When mint or fruit Mentos are dropped into a fresh bottle of Diet Coke, a jet of Coke whooshes out of the bottle's mouth and can reach a height of 10 metres. Theories abound as to why this happens, with some bloggers speculating that it is an acid-base reaction because Coke is acidic.

Experiments in a 2006 edition of the Discovery Channel programme Mythbusters suggested the chemicals responsible for the reaction are gum arabic and gelatine in the sweets, and caffeine, potassium benzoate and aspartame in the Coke. But there have been no rigorous scientific studies of the reaction until now.



Fizzy liquids

To find out more, Coffey and a team of students tested the reactions between Diet Coke and fruit Mentos, mint Mentos, and various ingredients such as other mints, dish-washing detergent, table salt and sand. They also compared reactions using other fizzy liquids such as caffeine-free and sugary colas, as well as soda water and tonic water.

All the reactions took place in a bottle angled at 10° off vertical and the fountain trajectories were recorded on video. The team also investigated the total mass lost in the fountain and the influence of the sweet's surface roughness.

The results showed that Diet Coke created the most spectacular explosions with either fruit or mint Mentos, the fountains travelling a horizontal distance of up to 7 metres.

But caffeine-free Diet Coke did just as well, suggesting that caffeine does not accelerate the reaction, at least at the normal levels in the drink.

Measurements of the pH of the Coke before and after the experiments showed that its acidity did not change, ruling out the idea that a simple acid-base reaction drives the fountains.

Instead, the vigour of the jets depends on various factors that affect the growth rate of carbon dioxide bubbles.

The rough, dimply surfaces of Mentos encourage bubble growth because they efficiently disrupt the polar attractions between water molecules, creating bubble growth sites.

Diet Coke & Mentos:


Rough candy

"Water molecules like to be next to other water molecules, so basically anything that you drop into the soda that disrupts the network of water molecules can act as a growth site for bubbles," Coffey told New Scientist. "And if you have rough candy with a high ratio of surface area to volume, then there's more places for the bubbles to go."

Low surface tension also helps bubbles grow quickly. Measurements showed that the surface tension in water containing the sweetener aspartame is lower than in sugary water, explaining why Diet Coke creates more dramatic fountains than sugary Coke.

Another factor is that the coatings of Mentos contain gum arabic, a surfactant that further reduces surface tension in the liquid. Rough-surfaced mints without the surfactant did not create such large fountains.

Mentos are also fairly dense and sink rapidly, quickly creating bubbles that seed further bubbles as they rise. Crushed Mentos that fell more slowly created puny fountains that only travelled about 30 centimetres.

"Middle-school teachers are getting their students out onto the baseball field next to their school and doing this reaction, and their students love it," says Coffey. "It's a great way to get students excited about science and learn something new."

Mentos Geyser World Record: