WEDNESDAY. APRIL 26. 2006
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3A
WEDNESDAY, APRIL CAMPUS Schiavo's brother to speak at annual event
Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, is coming to speak today at 7:30 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom according to a KU Students for Life news release.
The event will cap off the KU Students for Life week, April 19th Up for Life" week, April 26th.
Mike Mostaffa
According to the news release, Schindler will be addressing issues surrounding the court ordered death of his late sister, Terry Schiavo, which sparked a national debate one year ago when a controversy erupted about who had legal rights to order the removal of the feeding tube that kept her alive. For more information about this event contact Heather Leger at (316) 990-8321.
Carly Pearson/KANSAN
Olathe junior, Andrew Wilson cleans out the water of a water scorpion's tank Tuesday afternoon at the Natural History Museum. Wilson is the live insect keeper at the museum.
Medicine fuses art, science
SPEAKER
BY ANNE WELTMER
aweltmer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The Dalai Lama's personal physician acknowledges Western medicine's importance but still prefers Tibetan medicine and believes in its effectiveness.
Dr. Dawa Dolma speaks about Tibetan medicine at the Hall Center for the Humanities Tuesday. Dolma is the director of research and development at the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute. Nicotella Nisel/KANSAN
Nicoletta Niosi/KANSAN
"Only Tibetan medicine is not sufficient," Dr. Dawa Dolma said. "We don't have facilities for emergencies."
Dolma, the 14th Dalai Lama's personal physician, spoke Tuesday night at the Hall Center for the Humanities about the nature and history of Tibetan medicine.
and history.
She said that while the United States was starting to look at more holistic medicine, Tibet was welcoming Western medicine and training their students in both methods. Western medicine can help injuries and accidents better because Tibetan medicine does not work in a way that can treat those problems, she said.
those problems, she said.
She said Tibetan medicine is the "fusion of science, art and philosophy." The five elements of life are earth, air, water, fire and space. Tibetan medicine is based on the three humors of rLung, or the relationship of the mind and body, mTrispa, or physical things like hunger, body heat and complexion; and Bad-kan, or the firmness of the body based on water and earth elements. When the three humors are disturbed, a person becomes ill.
Tibetan medicine uses visual observation, touch and interrogation of the patient to reveal his or her medical history and find the cause of the problem. Whereas Western medicine is based upon signs and symptoms, Tibetan medicine is based upon causes.
Once the cause is found, the treatment can be given. Treatments can be dietary, behavioral, medical or other therapies like massage, spring baths, blood letting or moxibution. Moxubuction can be used for many chronic illnesses, including arthritis, and is executed by placing herbs on specific points on the body then burning them.
Dolma said many patients couldn't stand the full intensity of the pain, so they had to perform several mild treatments instead of a single heavy one.
Medicines range from medicinal wines to herbal compounds.
Dolma said Tibetans recognized 404 diseases. Of them, 101 are curable by themselves, 101 are curable with treatment, 101 are mental diseases related to an evil spirit and the rest are related to Karma. Karma-related illnesses have to do with what patients did in a previous life and are sometimes incurable.
Although many think of Tibetan medicine as Buddhist, he
has its roots deeper than Buddhism does in Tibet. It's almost as old as the civilization itself.
as old as the civilization today. Today, the 14th Dalai Lama established the medical center, Men Tsee Khang, in Dharamsala, India. After the 1949 Chinese invasion, many doctors were imprisoned and died. In exile, the Dalai Lama opened the facility with one room and few doctors. Now there are more than 300 doctors and 45 branch clinics treating people with holistic, and sometimes ancient, medical techniques that sometimes work better than Western medicine can.
— Edited by Kathryn Anderson
NATIONAL Spaceship, NASA budget OK'd by Bush
WASHINGTON — A new spaceship could be ready to replace the nation's aging shuttle fleet by 2011 — three years ahead of schedule — if lawmakers added money to NASA's proposed budget, the head of the space agency told a congressional panel on Tuesday.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that date is the earliest the new spaceship, or crew exploration vehicle, could be developed no matter how much money the agency received.
Currently, the target date for building a new vehicle is 2014.
The shuttle is to be retired in 2010, and lawmakers are concerned about when a replacement will be ready.
President Bush's budget calls for a 3.2 percent increase in NASA spending from last year. The House and Senate have
authorized an additional $1.1 billion, but that is only a guide. The money must be appropriated by both chambers.
A Senate subcommittee was to meet Wednesday to consider the proposed increase.
NASA will shelve its three aging space shuttles in four years.
The Associated Press
The Associated Press