Kumbha (Kumbh) Mela is a mass pilgrimage centered on the ritual of riverside bathing, it is variously called the the Great Indian Bathing Festival, the Urn Festival, the Pitcher Festival and so forth. It occurs four times every twelve years rotating between Allahabad/Prayaga at the confluence of the rivers Ganga (Ganges), Jamuna (Yamuna) and the concealed Saraswati, Haridwar (Hara Dwar) on the river Ganga (Ganges), Ujjain on the river Kshipra (Shipra), and Nasik on the river Godavari (Gomati)
Bathing in these rivers during the Kumbha (Kumbh) Mela is considered an endeavour of great merit, cleansing both body and spirit. The Allahabad and Haridwar (Hara Dwar) festivals are routinely attended by five million or more pilgrims; the Kumbha (Kumbh) Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world. It may also be the oldest
Two traditions are in circulation regarding the origin and timing of the festival: one that stems from ancient texts known as the Puranas, and the other that connects it with astrological considerations. According to the Puranic epic, the gods and demons had churned the milky ocean at the beginning of time in order to gather various divine treasures including a jar containing a potion of immortality - Ambrosia. As the jar emerged from the ocean the gods and demons began a terrific battle for its possession. During the battle, which according to one legend the gods won by trickery, four drops of the precious potion fell to earth, when Jayantha (Jayanth) the son of the chief deity Indra carried the jar (Kumbha/kumbh) that held the ambrosia in the form of a giant bird - these places became the sites of the four Kumbha (Kumbh) Mela festivals, according to another legend he ran away with the jar and hid them on twelve locations on earth where few drops of ambrosia fell, four of these places are known and identified as the four sites for the Kumbh (Kumbh) Mela, the other eight locations are being researched by our team
The astrological tradition (ascribed to a lost Puranic text and not traceable in extant editions) seems to stem from a very ancient festival called the Kumbha Parva, which occurred at Hardwar every twelfth year when Jupiter was in Aquarius (the Indian name being Kumbha/Kumbh) and the sun entered Aries
At some later time the term 'Kumbha (Kumbh)' was prefixed to the Melas held at Prayaga, Ujjain, and Nasik and these four sites became identified with the four mythical locations of the immortality potion - Ambrosia. In theory the Kumbha (Kumbh) Mela festivals are supposed to occur every three years, rotating between the four cities. In practice the four-city cycle may actually take eleven or thirteen years and this because of the difficulties and controversies in calculating the astrological conjunctions. Furthermore the interval between the Kumbha Mela at Nasik and that at Ujjain is not of three years; they are celebrated the same year or only a year apart. This deviation in practice is intriguing and cannot be fully explained by either astrological or mythological means.
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Unfortunately, as Graham is adopted, he doesn\\\'t have an HLA-identical sibling to act as a donor for him. So the Red Cross here in Australia searched the Bone Marrow Registries worldwide for 9 months to find a match.
Graham has a rare tissue type and a match was not found.
Thanks to generous donations of over $400,000, Graham was able to travel from his home in Melbourne, Australia to Seattle in the USA for a revolutionary, life-saving stem cell treatment in April 2008.
On Wed 6th August, he was the 8th person in the world to receive a Stem Cell Transplant using stem cells grown in the lab from an umbilical cord.
The treatment was a complete success and he is now leukaemia free.
He is back in Melbourne, recovering from the treatment but still has outstanding medical bills of $416,000.
As the leading corporate advocate for positive afterschool programs, JCPenney is increasing its support of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) by sponsoring 500 high school teams nationwide as they compete in FIRST robotics competitions this spring.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/jcpenney/48221/
The nation’s largest high school cyber defense challenge, CyberPatriot, is gearing up for its new season!
Registration for CyberPatriot IV is now open, inviting students from ALL U.S. high schools or accredited home school programs to participate in this exciting competition while space is still available. Registration ends October 8, 2011.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/afa/49361/
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has begun enrollment for the first Phase I safety study approved by the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the use of a child’s own umbilical cord blood stem cells for traumatic brain injury in children. The study is being performed in conjunction with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, UTHealth’s primary children’s teaching hospital.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/cordblood/48021/
In an effort to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, the U.S. Army announced today that it has named the 2010 eCYBERMISSION national first-place teams. Managed by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the eCYBERMISSION program awarded more than $1 million to students from across the nation and in Department of Defense Education Activity schools overseas.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/ecybermission/44116/
On the eve of his 16th birthday, Greyson McCluskey from Indian Trail, North Carolina was named the national winner of Wouldn’t It Be Cool If…, a campaign jointly presented by Time Warner Cable’s philanthropic science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiative, Connect a Million Minds, and i.am FIRST, founded by artist, entertainer and entrepreneur will.i.am. The campaign challenged youth ages 10 – 15 to dream up the coolest idea to make their life, community or the world more awesome, and then to think about how science and math could help bring those ideas to life. Greyson McCluskey, an honor student and aspiring architect, developed his Baby Safe Rider – a mechanism for toddler car seats that would detect the onset of heightened temperatures in babies – as a way to address the rising incidents of vehicular Hyperthermia fatalities in the U.S. Greyson was inspired to create the Baby Safe Rider after the recent birth of his cousin. He entered the Wouldn’t It Be Cool If… contest after his mom saw a national public service announcement featuring will.i.am.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55955-time-warner-will-i-am-first-connect-a-million-minds-wouldnt-it-be-cool-if
Sutter Neuroscience Institute, a recognized Center of Excellence, and CBR (Cord Blood Registry), the world’s largest stem cell bank, are launching the first FDA- approved clinical trial to assess the use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells to treat select patients with autism. This first-of-its-kind placebo controlled study will evaluate the ability of an infusion of cord blood stem cells to help improve language and behavior. The study is in conjunction with the Sutter Institute for Medical Research.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/57707-cord-blood-registry-stem-cell-trials-child-autism
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Cord Blood Registry® (CBR) are launching the first FDA-approved, Phase I safety study on the use of cord blood stem cells to treat children with sensorineural hearing loss.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53686-cord-blood-childrens-memorial-hermann-fda-approved-stem-cells-hearing-loss
A new set of reports from Change the Equation (CTEq) paints a wide-ranging and in-depth picture of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning in each state and the District of Columbia. Vital Signs 2012 examines not only student performance but also access to educational opportunity and the amount of instructional support schools and teachers receive. The 51 state reports, which include never before available data, offer specific recommendations for each state to improve STEM teaching and learning in grades K-12.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56347-change-the-equation-vital-signs-2012-report-k-12-stem-learning
Honeywell (NYSE: HON) is hosting its fifth annual Green Boot Camp this week in San Diego. The weeklong event brings together 70 middle-school teachers from 10 countries and turns them into students, where they learn about sustainability, energy efficiency and renewable technologies. In addition to providing curriculum for the classroom, Green Boot Camp gives teachers the tools to inspire their students to be more environmentally conscious, and heighten their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/62197-honeywell-green-workshop-for-middle-school-teachers
The Amgen Foundation today announced $2.5 million in new grants for the Amgen Biotech Experience, an innovative science education program, bringing the total committed to nearly $8 million since the program’s inception in 1990. The Amgen Biotech Experience provides a real-world biotech lab experience to middle and high schools in Amgen’s U.S. and United Kingdom (U.K.) communities and will engage more than 50,000 students this year. Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), a global nonprofit organization that creates learning opportunities around the world, has also been named Program Office to oversee the program’s implementation and facilitate its continued development.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/59861-amgen-biotech-experience-lab-science-education-grants-for-students
