Why we get Hiccups ?

A hiccup is very normal to us. But do we actually know why hiccups occur ? A hiccup is a contraction of the diaphragm that repeats several times per minute. In humans, the abrupt rush of air into the lungs causes the vocal sounds to close, creating a "hic" sound. Hiccups are the result of an action the body takes to protect itself.

Hiccups can start because hot food has irritated the phrenic nerve or when gas in the stomach presses upward against the diaphragm. The diaphragm separates the chest from the stomach. The diaphragm tightens and pulls air into the lungs. Hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm that occur along with contractions of the larynx and closure of the glottis, arresting the inflow of air. Hiccups are commonly induced by minor stomach upsets.

What are the causes of Hiccups ?

• Overeating
• Rapid eating
• Sudden temperature changes
• Laughing
• Tobacco use
• Consuming alcohol, dry breads, some spicy food
• Abdominal surgery can also irritate the nerves that control diaphragm, causing hiccups

How to Overcome Hiccups ?
A solution involving sugar placed on or under the tongue can be an efficient method. It has seen that the process of holding one's breath serves to quite the sound caused due to hiccups. When the breath is held in such a way that the chest cavity and lips are used to create a prison for the sound, hiccups can go unnoticed, but it must be noted that hiccups will run their full course when the method is acknowledged.
Home treatment like drinking water is effective. Biting lemon can also be effective for hiccups.

Most hiccups will stop on their own. Home remedies are generally sufficient to resolve hiccuping. For persistent hiccups (lasting more than three hours) treatment varies. Some muscle relaxants, sedatives, analgesics and even stimulants have been reported to help alleviate hiccup symptoms.

Note : Hiccups are often rhythmic. They are usually just a temporary minor annoyance, but prolonged hiccups may signal a major medical problem.

Super Earth

                                                            First light from a Super-Earth spotted !
According to NASA's scientists who are studying the alien planet using Spitzer Space Telescope that light from a "super Earth" has been detected for the first time. The light from Jupiter-like gas giants has been seen before. But the new finding proves that researchers can now detect the infrared glow from smaller, more Earth-like worlds.

The planet called 55 Cancri e, falls into a class of planets termed super Earths, which are more massive than our planet Earth but lighter than giant planets like Neptune. The planet is about twice as big and eight times as massive than Earth. It orbits a bright star, called 55 Cancri, in 18 hours. Like the majority of known extrasolar planets, 55 Cancri e was discovered by detecting variations in its star's radical velocity.

 Since the planet's discovery in 2004, scientists have unearthed a number of its properties. Dubbed 55 Cancri e, the planet lies roughly 40 light-years away in the constellation Cancer, the Crab. The planet has a perpetually sun-facing side that is about 1725° C. Despite the high temperatures, it is still a waterworld - a planet with atmospheres extremely high in water vapour. High temperatures and pressures on waterworlds turn the water into states of matter that do not exist on Earth such as hot ice or superfluid water.

Why is it called Super-Earth ?
Compared with our planet Earth, 55 Cancri e has radius around two times as that of Earth. Its mass is about 7.8 Earth masses, thus classifying it as the Super-Earth.

It was initially unknown whether 55 Cancri e was a small gas giant like Neptune or a large rocky terrestrial planet. The high density on this planet suggests that the planet has a "rock-iron" composition supplemented by a significant mass of water, gas or other light elements. A scientist of the California Institute of Technology said, "One of the best ways to get information on a planet is to study the light that is emitted and to do that you have to be able to detect the light in the first place".

Now that scientists have demonstrated how to use Spitzer to spot and characterize small planets, they will be able to use similar techniques to explore other super-Earths.

MATLAB Coding

MATLAB (Matrix Laboratory) is a numerical computing environment. It is used in digital image processing. It is a fourth-generation language. It allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages, including C, C++, Java and Fortran.

MATLAB is a programming language developed by MathWorks. It started out as a matrix programming language where linear algebra programming was simple. It can be run both under interactive sessions and as a batch job. Most MATLAB scripts and functions can be run in the open source programme octave. This is freely available for most computing platforms. MATLAB, among other things, can perform the functions of a simple calculator from the command line.

MATLAB is interesting in that it is dynamically complied. In other words, when you are using it, you would not run all your code through a compiler, generate an executable, and then run the executable file to obtain a result. Instead, MATLAB simply goes line by line and performs the calculations without the need for an executable.

File Extensions for MATLAB programming -

.fig - MATLAB figure
.m - MATLAB function, script or class
.mat - MATLAB binary file for storing variables
.mex - MATLAB executable (platform specific, ".mexmac" for Mac, ".mexglx" for Linux)

MATLAB was first adopted by researchers and practitioners in control engineering but quickly spread to many other domains. It is now also used in education, in particular the teaching of linear algebra and numerical analysis, and is popular amongst scientists involved in image processing.  

Rubbing Alcohol lowers fever

Is it true that rubbing alcohol helps bring down a child's fever ?
Yes,it is true that rubbing alcohol helps bring down a child's fever temporarily but this is not an appropriate solution.
Rubbing a child with rubbing alcohol used to be a popular folk remedy for quickly reducing fever. The alcohol does cool the skin as it evaporates, but the fact that it works so quickly is part of the problem.

When you cool a child too fast - with alcohol or a cool bath, for example - it can be counterproductive. The child may start to shiver, which can further raise the body temperature again. In addition, the alcohol can be absorbed through the skin as well as inhaled, causing alcohol poisoning.
There are much better options, including a cool washcloth on the forehead, a sponge bath with lukewarm to warm water. Never give aspirin to a child, as it could put him at risk for a rare but serious disease called Reye's syndrome.