Weird Animals

Weird Animals

Blue whale babies weigh up to 7 tonnes at birth. 

A female cod can lay up to 9 million eggs. 

Snakes can see through their eyelids. 

Elephants spend 23 hours a day eating. 

Vultures sometimes eat so much they can't take off again. 

The Amazon 'Jesus Christ lizard' can run across water. 

The biggest Antartic inland animal is a wingless fly measuring about 60 mm long. 

Fleas can jump up to 30 cm, twenty times their own body length. 

Bluebottle flies can smell meat from distances 7 km away. 

Many birds migrate, but the Arctic tern travels furthest. It flies from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and back again, a trip of 32,000 kilometers. 

Some animals can regrow parts of their bodies if damaged. Starfish can grow new 'arms.' Slow-worms can regrow broken-off tails. Lizards can grow new tails. 

One golden poison-dart frog could kill up to 1500 people with its poison. 

The giant squid has the largest eyes of any animal. They can be 39 cm across, which is 16 times wider than a human eye. 

The peregrine falcon can spot its prey from more than 8 km away. 

The sleepiest mammals are armadillos, sloths and opossums. They spend 80 per cent of their lives sleeping or dozing. 

A mayfly only lives one day, but a tortoise can expect to live 100 years. 

Stegosaurus was one of the most famous of the dinosaurs and was an impressive 9 metres long. But its brain was the size of a walnut.

Dragons do exist!

Dragons do exist!

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest flesh-eating lizard and living reptile. This amazing creature is only found in the wild on four small Indonesian islands, where they are vulnerable to disease, volcanic activity, and competition with feral dogs and man. It lives on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, and Flores. 
The Komodo is an endangered species and there are only about 5,000 of them in existence around the world, including a small number kept and bred in zoos.

This giant lizard can grow to 3 meters (10 feet) long, and has an average weight of 70 kg (155 pounds). Komodo dragons are dangerous predators with sharp serrated teeth more like a shark's than a reptile's. Swift runners, they can swim and climb trees, and they can use their tail as a weapon and swing it like a club. They find most of their food by smell. Like shakes they 'taste' the air with their tongues, which are deeply forked and collect scent molecules from the air. They have an acute sense of smell and can detect the scent of decaying remains from up to 5km (3 miles).

While Komodos like to eat dead things, they also prey on wild pigs, water buffalo and deer. They have a huge capacity for food, often eating up to half of their body weight in one meal. They are also cannibalistic, sometimes eating their own kind. They eat almost all of a carcass, consuming flesh, skin and even bones. A large Komodo can swallow a whole wild pig; their jaws expand like a snake's.

Their bite is often lethal because the bacteria in their mouths is so poisonous that wounds often do not heal, and their victim, if it manages to escape, dies in a day or two.

Although often regarded as pests, Komodos are not a serious danger to humans. In order to protect the dragon, the Indonesian government has made the islands of Padar and Rinca into nature reserves for both the lizard and its prey. Commercial trade in specimens or skins is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The Komodo dragon can live up to 40 years. Although often regarded as pests, Komodos are not a serious danger to humans. In order to protect the dragon, the Indonesian government has made the islands of Padar and Rinca into nature reserves for both the lizard and its prey. Commercial trade in specimens or skins is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Vampires that drink blood!

Vampire bats really do drink blood. They feed on the blood of birds, cattle, horses, and pigs ... and the occasional sleeping human. 

They need to consume a few tablespoons of blood every day. If the vampire bat doesn't eat for more than a few days it will starve. They can only be found in Central and South America. 

Irish writer of horror tales Bram Stoker was so fascinated by these bats that drink blood, that he incorporated them in his book 'Dracula.'

TOP 10 MEDICAL COLLEGES IN INDIA

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi
Address : Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029
Phone: 91-11-26588500, 91-11-26588700, 91-11-26589900
Fax : 91-11-26588663, 91-11-26588641
Website: http://www.aiims.edu/
Website: http://www.aiims.ac.in/ 

Christian Medical College, Vellore
Address : Vellore 632 004, Tamil Nadu, India
Phone: 91-416- 2222102, 2223603, 2222722, 2223977, 2225535, 2222716
Website: http://cmch-vellore.edu/ 

Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
Address : Pune 41104
Website: www.afmcpune.com 

JIPMER, Pondicherry
Address : Dhanvantri Nagar, Gorimedu, Pondicherry - 605 006, India
Phone: (0413) 2272380 - 90 (11 lines)
Fax : (0413) 2272067 (Director), 2272066(Dean), 2272735(M.S.)
E-mail : director@jipmer.edu 
Website: http://www.jipmer.edu/

Lady Hardinge Medical College
Address : Bhagat Singh Road, Pin - 110001
New Delhi
Phone: 23343984 

Lady Hardinge Medical College
Address : Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001
Phone : 3363596 

Kasturba Medical College Chennai 

Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi
Address : Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi - 110002 
Phone: (011) 23239271/ 72/ 73/ 74/ 23231478 
E-mail: deanmamc@vsnl.net
Website : http://mamc.ac.in/ 

Grant Medical College
Address : B25 (ESIS Hospital Quarters)
Mulund (W), Mumbai-400080
Phone: 022-25680861 

St John's Medical College, Bangalore
Address : Sarjapur Road
Bangalore - 560 034
Phone: 080-22065000
Fax: 080-25530070 
E-mail: sjmch@vsnl.com , stjohns@blr.vsnl.net.in 

Bangalore Medical College
Address : Fort, Bangalore – 560 002
Phone: 080-26704342 
Fax: 080-26704342
E-mail: bmc-bng@vsnl.net

LIST OF MEDICAL COLLEGES IN ANDHRA PRADESH

LIST
OF GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGES IN ANDHRA PRADESH 

Sl. No.	Name of the Medical College	No. of Seats to be filled up
1.	Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam	200
2.	Guntur Medical College, Guntur	200
3.	Siddartha Medical College, Vijayawada	100
4.	Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad	200
5.	Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad	150
6.	Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada	150
7.	S.V. Medical College, Tirupathi	150
8.	Government Medical College, Anantapur	100
9.	Kakatiya Medical  College, Warangal	150
10.	Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool	150

 

LIST OF PRIVATE MEDICAL
COLLEGES IN ANDHRA PRADESH

S.No	Name of the Private Medical College	Total Seats
1.	Deccan College of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad	150
2.	Mamta Medical College, Khammam	100
3.	Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally, Nalgonda	100
4.	Sri Venkata Sai Medical College, Mahaboobnagar	100
5.	Narayana Medical College, Nellore	100
6.	Alluri Seetha Ramaraju Academy of Medical Sciences, Eluru.	100
7.	MNR Medical College, Fasalwadi, Sangareddy, Medak	100
8.	Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Naganur Road, Karimnagar	150
9.	Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences, Ghanapur, Medchal, R.R.Dist	100
10.	PES Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Kuppam, Chittoor	150
11.	Katuri Medical College & Hospital, Chinakondurupadu, Guntur	100
12.	Churches of South India Association, Medak Diocese, Dichpally, Nizamabad	100
13.	GSL Educational Society, Rajahmundry	150
14.	Siddhartha Academy of Geni & Tech Education Gannavaram	150
15.	Sri. Rama Educational Society, Vizianagaram.	100
	Total ::	1750

Osteoporosis drugs may prevent future bone growth

eventually stop regimens of a common class of osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates may be unable to benefit from parathyroid hormone (PTH), which can rebuild bone mass lost due to advanced stage osteoporosis. PTH has been proven to increase the volume and strength of the honeycomb-like bone infrastructure, the inner mesh that begins to diminish in old age.

Bisphosphonates, the active ingredient in widely prescribed osteoporosis medications such as Fosamax, Actonel, and Boniva are currently taken by more than thirty million Americans.

"These medicines work by preventing further bone loss," explains Dr. Warren Levy, president and CEO of Unigene Laboratories, Inc. "However, recent reports suggest that some patients using bisphosphonates may be unable to repair or replace older or damaged bone. Furthermore, it has been reported that the prior use of certain bisphosphonates may blunt the effects of PTH, which could render the only currently available bone growth drug ineffective. Since bisphosphonates typically deposit in the bones for years, the use of a bisphosphonate could compromise the ability to grow new bone later in life when it is most needed."

Estrogen alternatives have grown in recent years, including calcitonin, a naturally occurring hormone involved in calcium regulation and bone metabolism. In third-party clinical trials, calcitonin demonstrated a 62% reduction in the incidence of new vertebral fractures for a subgroup of women over seventy-five years of age, one of the most significant reductions demonstrated by any current osteoporosis therapy.

"Calcitonin has a proven, thirty-five-year record of safe human use with virtually no significant side effects and can be taken simultaneously with other medications," said Dr. Levy. "Since it is rapidly cleared by the body, it does not build up in the bone and may allow the patient to effectively employ PTH therapy in subsequent years if necessary."

Although, PTH injections have been shown to reduce the incidence of fractures by restoring bone, the treatment can be very costly and requires daily injections. Unigene and GlaxoSmithKline are jointly developing a low-cost, orally administered PTH treatment, and Unigene is currently performing a Phase I clinical study in the U.S. Twenty-four healthy postmenopausal women are enrolled in the study, which is designed to assess product safety and measure PTH blood levels.

The tablets being tested utilize the improved Enteripep? oral delivery technology. "One pill a day to treat bone fractures would be ideal for patients who need to take this medicine for life," adds Dr. Levy.

http://www.unigene.com

A new method to control bleeding in hemophilia

Investigators at Children's Research Institute, BloodCenter of Wisconsin's Blood Research Institute and the Medical College of Wisconsin have discovered a new way to help the blood clot by having the missing clotting factor packaged in the patient's own platelets.

In the October 2008 edition of Blood, investigators describe how a gene-modified bone marrow transplant can be used to initiate clotting in hemophilia. This type of approach may work in the 30 to 35 percent of hemophilia patients that have developed inhibitory antibodies against the missing clotting protein.

The bone marrow is removed from the patient and stem cells are treated with Factor VIII, a clotting factor, which is placed in the platelets. The marrow is given back to the patient, who then retains the essential clotting mechanisms to stop bleeding that otherwise would lead to complications.

For people suffering from hemophilia, this research means the potential relief of a constant, burdening disease. People who have hemophilia previously had to be treated every time they bled. Currently, they can receive treatments three times a week, but these are very costly and time consuming. The results from this study provide hope that people with hemophilia could potentially lead a disease-free life.

The scientific community once believed that hemophilia would be treated successfully by gene therapy. Research then showed that gene therapy typically resulted in the patient not retaining a substantial amount of clotting factor, which is integral in preventing serious bleeding.

This research was a collaborative effort that included investigators Qizen Shi, PhD, MD; David A. Wilcox, PhD; and Robert Montgomery, MD.

http://www.chw.org/