Project Dosa!

One fine Sunday morning Philip was having several doubts arising in his head. Doubts that were making him restless,doubts that were uncomfortable and demotivating. Doubts whether his life was moving in the direction he wanted it to go, whether there was something more interesting to life he was missing. He started to analyze his thoughts to figure out if he could find an answer. Human nature is such that it will make a person toil hard for something he wants but as soon as he gets the fruit of his labour it tends to make him feel inadequate all over again. Philip was aware of such thoughts but even knowing this beforehand was not of any help, just like the times when you know somethings are bad for you but you do them even then as if forces of nature have conspired against your will and made you do those things. Biggest question that was worrying him was whether he has stopped learning new things. It was a dreadful feeling, he could now empathize with people who could not change things in their lives even though they are aware that things need to be changed. He could relate to an alcoholic who just could not quit even though he realized his organs were failing or that fat lady who could not quit smoking and overeating although she realized they were killing her. Medicine was an art of life long learning, Philip had heard people saying that in medical circles all the time, he could still recall that Professor's voice as if he was still whispering in his ears. The feeling was terrible and Phillip was in distress, but then he suddenly thought of making Indian Dosas. He had no idea why he had such a notion, it was as if some external force implanted this seedling of a thought in his mind. He felt very upbeat about it, although he had never made such a thing before but he looked very determined. He researched it's recipe, collected all the required stuff and started his project. He thought instead of just cooking he would call it a project. After an hour and half he was finished and asked his girlfriend to try the dosas out. His girlfriend was ecstatic that he had cooked something for her and she ate with all her heart and liked it so much that she could hardly believe that Philip was capable of pulling off such a feat. Philip was happy at the outcome of his project and realized that he learnt something that he never thought he would, something so new, something so different.
His learning curve was still up.
Project Dosa was successful.

Japan Detects Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug - Discovery News

http://news.discovery.com/human/superbug-found-in-japan.html

Japan Detects Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug

September 7, 2010 12:03:00 PM

Japan on Monday said it has detected its first case of an antibiotic-resistant "superbug" that surfaced in South Asia and has triggered a global health alert.

A hospital linked to the Dokkyo Medical University in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo detected a drug-resistant "superbug," a bacterium carrying the New Delhi metallo-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) gene, in a patient last year, a hospital official told AFP.

The case follows a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) last month calling on global health authorities to monitor the drug-resistant superbug that is believed to have spread from India.

"A patient who came home from India, in his 50s, had fever symptoms while he was hospitalized in May last year, and after a blood test the hospital detected an antibiotics-resistant bacterium," the official said, adding that the patient fully recovered.

After examination doctors found that the bacterium contained the NDM-1 gene, making it difficult to treat with standard drugs, he said.

The WHO has said research published in The Lancet medical journal on August 11 identified a new gene that enables some types of bacteria to be highly resistant to almost all antibiotics.

"While multi-drug resistant bacteria are not new and will continue to appear, this development requires monitoring and further study to understand the extent and modes of transmission, and to define the most effective measures for control," it said.

Multi-drug resistant bacteria generally "constitute a growing and global public health problem," the UN health agency noted.

The Lancet reported last month that bacteria containing the NDM-1 gene had been found in 37 Britons who had received medical treatment in South Asia.

Researchers said they had identified dozens of cases among Britons who had traveled to South Asia for medical tourism purposes.

Indian doctors warned earlier this year about the threat from the bacteria -- months before the British study -- saying that patients could spread them worldwide.

In August a Belgian man became the first such known fatality.

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