Tupac Shakur saved my life...

"I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me/ He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be/ And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough/ And though we had it rough, we always had enough" - Tupac Shakur (Keep Ya Head Up)... Man.. You don't even know how much this line came through my head phones and touched something deep in my soul as a pre-teen. Tupac was not only the sound track of my youth but also my source of self pride, belief that I could make it outta the ghetto of North Philadelphia. The belief that kid like me, from where I'm from, can go on to do extraordinary things without a basketball or a microphone... I'm thankful to have grown up in the 90's.

Something's gotta give...

When I was a child living in North Philadelphia, my biggest fear was that someone was going to kill me or one of my brothers before we had a chance to move out of our neighborhood and give our parents a better life.

As I get older, and thank God everyday for more life, my fear is now that my brothers, friends, my future sons, and even myself will come across "the wrong" Police Officer on "the wrong day".

I have this spirited debate time and time again with my Father (retired detective for the Philadelphia Police Department) that if I'm walking down a dark street and I see a young black man walking towards me on one side and a cop on the other, 9/10 times I feel safer on the side with the young black man... More than likely, he's just trying to get to where he needs to be and is not looking for any trouble. I cannot say the same for the Cop.

To the Cop, we are suspects in an active murder/robbery/assault investigation that can quickly turn into sanctioned target practice solely because of the color of our skin. It doesn't matter that I'm a Doctor and this young black man walking towards me has the potential to be our future US Attorney General. What matters is that we're not wearing clear identifiers that state our worth to society and that makes it ok for him to harass us as well as give that cop the right to take my life as if it means nothing.

The system is rigged and Police have the biggest gang in the world. Of all the police shooting publicized in recent years, how many have ended with a conviction of murder? Scratch that, how many were even charged?!?!

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal last year that cited a Bowling Green State University Criminologist who showed that "41 officers in the U.S. were charged with either murder or manslaughter in connection with on-duty shootings over a seven-year period ending in 2011. Over that same period, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 2,718 justified homicides by law enforcement..." How is this even factual data?!

In today's society where everything gets "microwave media coverage", I doubt that this story will last no longer than two weeks but the pain and anguish that Laquan McDonald's family will endure will last a lifetime...

I am a firm believer that jail is a clear deterrent. If a police officer knew that by murdering a man he has a high chance of going to prison he would he more hesitant to pull the trigger. Unfortunately the system is severely flawed and it allows for so many people to be cut down in the streets like animals and their murderers walk away unscathed...

There has to be a better way. Murders should not be able to hide behind a badge. My Father (retired Air Force, retired Detective) never had to discharge his weapon in 20+ years in the PPD. So I truly believe there are ways to mitigate tough situations without increased violence. Maybe change the hiring requirement or something. I don't know but something's gotta give. #LaquanMcDonald #Chicago

The Legacy of Barack H. Obama...

In 2008, the United States of America elected our 1st African American President. I was elated at the idea of having this "great orator" being our next President. Partially because I am a Black man for North Philadelphia with very little role models growing up and this was the opportunity for other young Black man to have something positive to aspire to emulate. The other reason for my elation was due to it being the official good bye to President George W. Bush. Although he seemed very genuine in his belief, I constantly was overwhelmed with the idea that he did not have a clue as to what he was doing over the entire 8 years of his tenure as President.

Now, as I sit back and admire my President for what he has accomplish, I smile at the idea that he was will go down as one of the top 10 Presidents this country has even produced. Although this is may seem naive since history will determine the place of Barack Hussein Obama. We will have to wait 30-40 years to see which of his actions have a lasting effect. No one will remember any of the divisive up-rise that ensued after his election. History will judge him on

• Opening up Cuba, 
• Fighting for equal pay for women
• Abolishing Don't Ask, Don't Tell  
• Immigration reform by way of the Dream Act
• Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care), 
• Repair of the economy (although it completely squeezed out the middle class), 
• Saving the auto industry (while forcing them to make more fuel efficient vehicles), 
• and what ever else he can accomplish over the next 2 years.

Sidenote; I kick myself for not going to his speech on racial equality in Philadelphia during the 2008 Presidential campaign. That was a legendary moment in history and I missed in to sit in the library and study... Which is what I am currently in the library attempting to do this evening.

J. Cole - Be Free

http://youtu.be/qQZc8SH6EFk

This is a very powerful song. What makes is even more powerful is that he did release it on his new ablum that came out 2 days ago. No profit... Just a statement articulated by one of the leaders of the new generation of today's music.

Crossing that Bridge...

I've have completed the first two years of medical school and it was truly an amazing experience. I would not change one bit of the journey. Especially the people, school, and city! When I first embarked upon this journey I was excited and afraid about what the future held. If it wasn't for the people that I was surrounded with I would not have been as successful as I was. Special shout out to my ace J and Bossman. Their drive made me "go harder" than I would have by myself and I wish I could repay them for all of the intangibles that they instilled within me. Now we are "crossing the bridge" from the classroom to the patient's room and we are about to apply the knowledge that we have gained over the first two years. I'm excited!!!... and still a lil' scared about what the future holds lol. I'll keep you posted this time ;-)

UK, Japan scientists win Nobel for adult stem cell discovery

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scientists from Britain and Japan shared a Nobel Prize on Monday for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like stem cells that may one day regrow tissue in damaged brains, hearts or other organs. John Gurdon, 79, of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain and Shinya Yamanaka, 50, of Kyoto University in Japan, discovered ways to create tissue that would act like embryonic cells, without the need to collect the cells from embryos. They share the $1.2 million Nobel Prize for Medicine, for work Gurdon began 50 years ago and Yamanaka capped with a 2006 experiment that transformed the field of "regenerative medicine" - the search for ways to cure disease by growing healthy tissue. "These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and specialization of cells," the Nobel Assembly at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute said. All of the body starts as stem cells, before developing into tissue like skin, blood, nerves, muscle and bone. The big hope is that stem cells can grow to replace damaged tissue in cases from spinal cord injuries to Parkinson's disease. Scientists once thought it was impossible to turn adult tissue back into stem cells. That meant new stem cells could only be created by taking them from embryos, which raised ethical objections that led to research bans in some countries. As far back as 1962 Gurdon became the first scientist to clone an animal, making a healthy tadpole from the egg of a frog with DNA from another tadpole's intestinal cell. That showed that developed cells carry the information to make every cell in the body - decades before other scientists made world headlines by cloning the first mammal from adult DNA, Dolly the sheep. More than 40 years later, Yamanaka produced mouse stem cells from adult mouse skin cells by inserting a small number of genes. His breakthrough effectively showed that the development that takes place in adult tissue could be reversed, turning adult tissue back into cells that behave like embryos. Stem cells created from adult tissue are known as "induced pluripotency stem cells", or iPS cells. Because patients may one day be treated with stem cells from their own tissue, their bodies might be less likely to reject them. "The eventual aim is to provide replacement cells of all kinds," Gurdon's institute explains on its website. "We would like to be able to find a way of obtaining spare heart or brain cells from skin or blood cells. The important point is that the replacement cells need to be from the same individual, to avoid problems of rejection and hence of the need for immunosuppression." In just six years, Yamanaka's paper has already been cited more than 4,000 times in other scientists' work. In a news conference in Japan, he thanked his team of young researchers: "My joy is very great. But I feel a grave sense of responsibility as well." Gurdon spoke of his own unlikely career as a young man who loved science but was steered away from it at school, only to take it up again at university. He still keeps an old school report in a frame on his desk: "I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist... This is quite ridiculous," his teacher wrote. "It would be a sheer waste of time, both on his part and of those who have to teach him." EARLY STAGES The science of iPS cells is still in early stages. Among concerns is the fear that implanted cells could grow out of control and develop into tumors. Some scientists say stem cells from embryos may prove more useful against disease than iPS cells, and the ethics of working with embryos should be defended. Nevertheless, since Yamanaka published his findings the discoveries have already produced advances. The techniques are being used to grow cells in laboratories to study disease, the chairman of the awards committee, Urban Lendahl, told Reuters. "You can't take out a large part of the heart or the brain or so to study this, but now you can take a cell from, for example, the skin of the patient, reprogramme it, return it to a pluripotent state, and then grow it in a laboratory," he said. "The second thing is for further ahead. If you can grow different cell types from a cell from a human, you might - in theory for now but in future hopefully - be able to return cells where cells have been lost." Thomas Perlmann, Nobel Committee member and professor of Molecular Development Biology at the Karolinska Institute said: "Thanks to these two scientists, we know now that development is not strictly a one-way street." "There is lot of promise and excitement, and difficult disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders, like perhaps Alzheimer's and, more likely, Parkinson's disease, are very interesting targets." For now, both men said their scientific work continues. Asked why he still keeps his schoolteacher's discouraging report, Gurdon said: "When you're having problems, like when an experiment doesn't work - which often happens - it's nice to remind yourself that perhaps after all you're not so good at this job and the schoolmaster may have been right." (Reporting by Patrick Lannin, Alistair Scrutton, Ben Hirschler, Kate Kelland, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chris Wickham and Peter Graff; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Blacks urged to donate blood, stem cells

A shortage of blood and stem cells in the black community is costing lives, Canada's blood agency warns.

Canadian Blood Services is calling on people of African and Caribbean heritage to register as blood and stem donors through its OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease of red blood cells, predominantly affecting people of African descent. In people with sickle cell disease, the red blood cells are abnormally shaped and starve tissues of oxygen.

The lifespan of affected people is about three decades shorter than average, said Dr. Isaac Odame, medical director of the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Complications can include infections, extreme bone pain and damage to the brain, lungs, heart and kidneys, Odame said.

Kynan Jackson, 7, of Halifax struggles with painful sickle cell disease. He takes medication twice a day, has had blood transfusions and been admitted to the hospital a few times since he was diagnosed at age four.

"It is stressful," said his mother, Winnell Jackson. "It's almost like a waiting game. The medication won't ever stop him from getting crisis again, so I know it's coming."

A stem cell transplant replaces the bad, misshapen ones with normal ones, said Odame.

Sickle cell disease can be cured with stem cell transplants, says Dr. Issac Odame. (CBC)
"The only way to give him [Kynan] a chance is to cure it," Odame said. "We know that it can be cured through stem cell transplantation."

Stem cell transplants require a close match from a donor of the same ethnic background, which narrows Kynan's odds of getting one.

"If you are Caucasian and you're looking for an unrelated match, probably 75 per cent chance you will find one. If you are of African descent, your odds are far, far, far less," Odame said.

Canada's blacks represent about 2.5 per cent of the population, based on the 2006 census. But of the 300,000 on the blood agency's stem cell and marrow registry, only 0.7 per cent are of African descent.

"Sometimes people wait six months to years to find a match and they may end up passing away in that time period because we can't find a match in Canada or around the world," said Sue Smith, executive director of One Match.

During Black History Month, Canadian Blood Services is appealing for young, black male donors in particular to donate blood and be registered. Men tend to be bigger and deliver a larger volume of stem cells without the complications of an over-reactive immune system that can occur during pregnancy.

Currently, the agency said there is a waiting list of 36 African Canadians with cancer who could be cured with a stem cell transplant. Kynan's mom hopes the campaign is a success and she's able to see him grow up.

It would "be really nice to know that, you know what, he does have a match out there. There's somebody out there wherever they may be, that would match him and be able to take that pain, help ease that pain in his life."

The blood agency's theme this year, "Our Canadian Story: Making Community Engagement a Priority," emphasizes community

Plea is aimed at battling sickle cell disease
CBC News Posted: Feb 4, 2012 10:44 AM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/03/blood-stem-cells-black-history.html