Tuesday, June 18, 2013

TED Talk Tuesday: Brene Brown - The Power of Vulnerability

It's Tuesday.. so its time for another TED Talk. Have you ever come across something in your life either it be a book, a song, a person or set of circumstances that just resonate with you? Well the below TED Talk which features social researcher Brene Brown Ph.D definitely resonates with me.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

TED Talk Tuesday: Dr Robert Lanza - Cloning, Stem Cells & Regenerating Life

This week's TED Talk is from the TEDXDeExtinction conference held back in March and features Dr. Robert Lanza. I first heard about Dr. Lanza when I was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease last April. Dr. Lanza is the Chief Scientific Officer for Ocata Therapeutics which is a U.S. Biotech company that is currently conducting a clinical trial involving Age Related Macular Degeneration and Stargardt's.
The trial is testing for the safe use of human embryonic stem cells in the regeneration of damaged cells in the eye. The company has been in the news lately for some encouraging developments in the trial. I wrote more about it in further detail here:

Clinical Trials: Ocata Therapeutics (ACT) - Stem Cell Therapy



You may be curious about the correlation between regenerative medicine and extinct animals. The same technology that is being developed to possibly restore the vision of others and myself, may also bring back animals who have been long gone. Well not too long gone, you won't be able to have a pet T-Rex or read headlines like "A Pterodactyl Stole My Baby!!!" In my personal opinion that would be cool but I guess I have to stick with going to Universal Studios in Orlando to go to Jurassic Park which isn't all that bad.

Getting back to Dr. Lanza  his life story is particularly interesting. To be perfectly honest last year when I was diagnosed I was just happy to know that there were people out in the world working on a treatment or cure. It wasn't until a few months ago connecting with more people with Stargardt's is where I started to hear his name and genius in the same sentence. Genius is a hefty word but how many people in their teens are genetically altering chickens to turn them from white to black?  The closest thing to genetic engineering I got to in my teens was playing The Sims, playing a more obscure PC game called Creatures and having a Gigapet. (Yes I'm a child of the 90s aka a Millennial)  Also, how many people can say they were mentored by Jonas Salk (discovered the polio vaccine), famed psychologist B.F. Skinner and Christiaan Barnard who performed the first successful heart transplant surgery. I'll stop listing his achievements before this post turns into a novel.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. Lanza check out his website here. I'm done for now so watch the video below and share your thoughts.

 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

June Is...

Clouds and Blue Sky | Photo Credit
Essceejulies/Sharina Julien | If you would like to use
this picture please contact me or give proper attribution 
Its the beginning of the month and  that means I'm spreading awareness. So what's in store for this month installment? Something about 3D baby audiobooks, research, vision, smiles and Pina Coladas. That doesn't sound right... read more to find out what I'm exactly discussing this month. 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

TED Talk Tuesday: Chen Lizra - Seduction In Our Everyday lives

I took a bit of a mini-break from the blog but I'm back with this week's featured TED Talk... you know the organization that spreads ideas worth spreading (that I'm in L-O-V-E with). I wanted to switch up this week's talk and feature something a little lighter. 

The below video is from
a TEDx Vancouver event featuring creative marketing consultant Chen Lizra who discusses the powerful tool of seduction in our everyday lives. This talk is provocative in that Ms. Lizra uses the sexual connotation of the word 'seduction' to illustrate that seduction can be more than a device for temptation. Some people watching this video may not take it that way and never get pass the surface to see that the talk is really about self-confidence, passion and drive to live one's life and fulfill their dreams. Well that's what I took away from the talk. 
What I enjoy about the TED Talks is it gives the world a forum to talk about ideas in a different way that provoke deeper discussions. Like I said in my first TED-centric post A Different Perspective on: Introverts being presented with new ideas can be a catalyst to self-evaluation. An evaluation that makes us think differently about who we are and the world we live in the only difference is how will you react?

If you are interested in more perspectives in seduction you might want to check out Ms. Lizra's book My Seductive Cuba where much of the inspiration for her TED Talk comes from. I'll definitely say she 'seduced' me to think more inspiredly about my personal potential.