Week Three, Day One

[sinanju]

I ran again tonight.  It was tough sledding, but I managed to get through it.  About a third of the way into my run the outside rear of my calves really began burning.  That happens occasionally, though I'm not sure why.  It went away eventually.  Toward the end of my run the toes and the ball of my left foot began to tingle like it was asleep.  That hasn't happened before.  It felt odd.

It was good to get my blood moving after sitting at my computer all day, but now I'm unusually tired.  Don't think I'll be staying up til 1 a.m. or thereabouts tonight.

I read a squib on Instapundit today that reminded me--again--that I'm living in the future.  Allow me to quote:

Nanotechnology has restored the sight of blind rodents, a new study shows.

Scientists mimicked the effect of a traumatic brain injury by severing the optical nerve tract in hamsters, causing the animals to lose vision.

After injecting the hamsters with a solution containing nanoparticles, the nerves re-grew and sight returned.

The researchers injected the blind hamsters at the site of their injury with a solution containing synthetically made peptides - miniscule molecules measuring just five nanometres long.

Once inside the hamster's brain, the peptides spontaneously arranged into a scaffold-like criss-cross of nanofibres, which bridged the gap between the severed nerves.

The scientists discovered that brain tissue in the hamsters knitted together across the molecular scaffold, while also preventing scar tissue from forming.

Importantly, the newly formed brain tissue enabled the brain nerves to re-grow, restoring vision in the injured hamsters.

That is just too cool for words.  Now if they'll just get busy on anti-aging drugs.  I'm not getting any younger here, you know.

But still no flying cars, dammit.

Comments

Running hamsters

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, great that you're keeping up with the workouts! Woot! As far as the burning/tingling stuff:
Make sure you're using excellent form while running. Toes have to point straight forward and align with your knees, which (unless you have an alignment problem in your legs) should also point straight forward.
You can also try low-impact running. Lots of ways to do it. It's quite a bit more strenuous than regular running. One way of thinking of it is making as little sound as possible--my personal favorite, and my bane. Some people glide the run, keeping their knees bent through the entire stride. Others deliberately roll their weight from heel to toe and more fast-walk than run. Or you can switch off. This will add juice to the workout, prevent overuse joint injuries and will probably eliminate the tingling sensation. I'm no sports doctor by any stretch but the first thought that popped into my mind is irritated nerve.

Woot! Go Mark!

Kami