Your Cellular Level

What’s Greater.        .        .        ?

An  Academy Award.      .       .

An Olympic Medal.        .       .

A Nobel Prize.            .           .

A  Single  Cell  of  Compassion.             .               .              ?

Japan-born scientist, Yoshinori  Ohsumi

has recently been named as one of the newest

Nobel Prize Winners.     .     .

Ohsumi illuminated a cellular process called,

A  U  T  O  P  H  A  G  Y

or

S E L F – E A T I N G

in which cells

take unneeded or damaging material

including entire

o r a n g e l l e s

and transport them to a

recycling compartment

of sorts–

in yeast cells,

this compartment is called

the  lisosome,

while  vacuoles 

serve a similar purpose in

h u m a n    c e l l s.     .     .

and   this   means   what   to   us.       .       .        ?

Ohsumi figured out a way to observe the inner workings of yeast cells and reveal autophagy inside of them.  He went even further to identify the genes involved in yeast autophagy and to show that similar self-eating mechanisms occur inside human cells.  His discoveries in the 1990’s led to a new understanding of how the cell recycles its contents, opening up a window into the importance of autophagy to several physiological processes and even to understanding certain diseases.  Mutations in autophagy have been linked to diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.        .        .        .

and     this     means     what     to     us.       .       .       ?

On a cellular level.     .     .

at    o u r   core

both animals and human beings

have what Dacher Keltner

at the University of California, Berkley,

coins a

compassionate  instinct.        .        .

we are wired for kindness and compassion.       .       .

Compassion is a

natural  and   a u t o m a t i c 

response

that   has   ensured   our   survival.       .       .

Mr Darwin’s message

was not the

survival  of  the  fittest

but rather

s  u  r  v  i  v  a  l        o  f        t  h  e        k  i  n  d  e  s  t

because we need

each   other’s   support

and  care  to  survive  as  a  species.        .        .

Being   a   Caring  Catalyst

is  who  we  can’t  help

but  to  be

but we can

h e l p

it   more.       .       .

and   t h a t

goes way.       .       .w   a   y

deeper   than  a

c e l l u l a r     l  e  v  e  l.        .         .

What’s  Greater.     .     .     ?

An Academy Award.     .     .

An Olympic Medal.     .     .

A Nobel Prize.         .         .

A  Single-Cell of Compassion.     .     .

or    y   o   u   r  

 Single-Cell of contagious Kindness.     .     .

B       E       T             Y       O        U       R              L     I     F     E  

on

I    T