Neurological Disorders: Alien Hand Syndrome

Synonyms:
 Anarchic hand; Diagnostic dyspraxia;  Intermanual conflict; Magnetic apraxia; Unilateral apraxia; La main etrangere. 

Overview
     Alien hand syndrome  is a rare neurological disorder that causes hand movement without the person being aware of what is happening or having control over the action. The afflicted person may sometimes reach for objects and manipulate them without wanting to do so, even to the point of having to use the healthy hand to restrain the alien hand. A new study identified the areas of the brain involved in both voluntary and involuntary movement and found that neural activity was restricted to the primary motor cortex during the unconscious motor activity seen with AHS. The study will be published online in the official journal of the American Neurological Association.

The Perfect Defect: A Chinese Boy with Cat-Like Eyes Can See in the Dark

Nong Youhui is a young boy from Southern China who was born with Siamese bright blue eyes that allow him to see in pitch dark.

     An eye-specialist visited the boy, in his home village, in China’s Guanxi province, to examine his unusual eyes, the first thing he noticed when he arrived was that Nong’s eyes were light blue just like Westerners, but very unusual for Asians. He became even more intrigued when he noticed that when shined upon with a flashlight, the boy’s eyes would emit a kind of blue-green light, just like a cat’s. As it turned out, his eyes not only looked liked a feline’s they also allowed him to see and even read perfectly in total darkness.