4/2/12-FROM THE DESK OF DR. HILDY-Series 2- BioEthnoticity and Nanotechnology – Cinnabar and Nanocheops

From the Desk of Dr. Hildy™

© March 6, 2012

Series 2: BioEthnoticity & Nanotechnology 

CINNABAR and NANOCHEOPS

Emperor Qin Shibuangdi, First Emperor of the Ming-dynasty

Cinnabar was “truly one” with Qin Shibuangdi, First Emperor of the Ming-dynasty (ruled 221-210 BCE) and the earliest known imperial patron of alchemy, next to Rudolf the Great of Hapsburg in 1218 AD for Europe.  Despite the time periods Confucian disapproval of both the First Emperor and his fondness of alchemy, the ingestion of gold – or, rather, the transformed gold- appears to have remained quite popular throughout the Han dynasty.   However, most Han dynasty alchemists worked with cinnabar, sometimes with fatal results.  Cinnabar (mercury sulfide) is an ore of mercury that is a deep vermilion in color.  When heated, cinnabar produces liquid mercury, and further heating and combination of mercury and sulfur will in turn reproduce cinnabar (a cyclical transformation that particularly intrigued Chinese alchemists).  Mercury was further amalgamated with other metals (gold and lead in particular) producing elixirs to be ingested. While cinnabar itself was non-toxic- indeed it still maintains a prominent place in traditional Chinese medicine –

3/7/2012 – Series 1: Vitamins and Minerals – Vitamin A

From the Desk of Dr. Hildy™

March 7, 2012©

Series 1:  Vitamins and Minerals

VITAMIN A

VITAMIN A ESSENTIALS

Vitamin A has a special relationship to the “lining cells” of the body, including the skin, eyes, urinary tract, bones, teeth and the gastrointestinal tract (pertaining to the stomach and intestines).  It is also known as an anti-infection vitamin, helping the body to fight off diseases, such as viral infections.  This vitamin as an essential constituent of the pigments which the retina of the eye uses to register visual stimuli.A lack of Vitamin A affects the skin, the digestive system, respiratory tract, genitor-urinary system, special senses, and the glandular system of the body.  The skin will probably become rough and dry.  Also bones are affected, so that growing children will have problems with bone formation, bone repair and faulty tooth formation.  Insufficient Vitamin A is likely to decrease the amount of acid required by the stomach to digest food, and diarrhea may be an obvious symptom.

There may also be an inability to gain weight, and in fact there is likely to be a decrease in weight.  The hair may start to fall out and become gray, and there may be a disposition toward abscesses of the scalp.  Small pus formations (pustules) may form on the scalp and on other parts of the skin. The forearms and the thighs will be especially noticeable for the roughness and scaliness.