Mar 24, 2016

BRAIN LINK TO AUTISM

In a discovery that could offer valuable insights into understanding, diagnosing, and even treating autism, Harvard scientists for the first time have linked a specific neurotransmitter in the brain with autistic behavior.





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NIH won't follow the U.K.'s lead on human genome editing

Last week, a U.K. regulatory authority announced that it had granted permission to a London research team to edit the genomes of human embryos. The move, by the U.K.'s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, has led some people to ask whether the U.S. National Institutes of Health might follow suit and start funding gene-editing research on human embryos. The answer is almost certainly no.

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Scientists May Have Found the Key to Curing Autism, Cancer and HIV

Gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 has made it possible to isolate RNA in living cells for the first time. The cures for some of the world's most perplexing diseases might be closer than we think.

According to a study published in Cell, researchers have determined how to isolate and edit messenger RNA that carries genetic instructions from the cell's nucleus to make new proteins for the first time using gene-editing tool Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, also known as CRISPR-Cas9.


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Mar 23, 2016

Frankincense Trail

ANCIENT TRADE ROUTE EXPLORED

Kate Humble follows the ancient 2000 miles Frankincense Trade Route of Arabia
across the modern world of the Middle East.
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Mar 22, 2016

WHAT DOES A PARROT KNOW ABOUT PTSD?

An unexpected bond between damaged birds and traumatized
veterans could reveal surprising insights into animal intelligence.
Read more at:


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Parrots Are a Lot More Than ‘Pretty Bird’

Outside of the cage, they speak their own language, make tools,
and wreak havoc on plants and researchers’ efforts alike.
Dr Maesiello: “Their astonishing beauty and intelligence are inspirational.”
Parrot partisans say the birds easily rival the great apes and dolphins in 
all-around braininess and resourcefulness, and may be the only animals 
apart from humans capable of dancing to the beat. Read more at

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/parrots-are-a-lot-more-than-pretty-bird.html



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Mar 16, 2016

C. Diff: Deadly Infection on the Rise in U.S. Hospitals

A life-threatening bacterial infection is gaining ground in America’s hospitals, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a Consumer Reports analysis finds that even some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious medical institutions are having a hard time getting it under control.
The infection, called C. diff (Clostridium difficile) sickened 101,074 hospital patients in 2014, the most recent data available, according to a March report from the CDC. Other research shows that overall about 450,000 people a year, inside and out of hospitals, are sickened by the infection, and it contributes to the death of about 29,000 people.
Read more


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Mar 11, 2016

The Myth of Biodegration

Myth: Waste simply biodegrades in the landfill. 
Reality: Nothing biodegrades in a landfill because nothing is supposed to. 
Newspapers are still readable after almost 40 years; ten-year-old carrots are brown on the outside but bright orange on the inside; and 20-year-old steaks still have meat on the bones. 
From


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VISUAL GUIDE TO ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Atrial fibrillation is a condition that disrupts your heartbeat. A glitch in the heart’s electrical system makes its upper chambers (the atria) beat so fast they quiver, or fibrillate. This causes the lower chambers (the ventricles) to beat out of sync.

AFib can be dangerous because it raises your risk of stroke and heart failure.
Watch the slide show at
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/atrial-fibrillation/ss/slideshow-af-overview


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NEWLY DISCOVERED BACTERIA CAN EAT PLASTIC BOTTLES

A team of Japanese scientists has found a species of bacteria that eats the type of plastic found in most disposable water bottles. 
The discovery, published Thursday in the journal Science, could lead to new methods to manage the more than 50 million tons of this particular type of plastic produced globally each year. 
The plastic found in water bottles is known as polyethylene terephalate, or PET. It is also found in polyester clothing, frozen-dinner trays and blister packaging. 
"If you walk down the aisle in Walmart you're seeing a lot of PET," said Tracy Mincer, who studies plastics in the ocean at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. 
From


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Mar 9, 2016

What Causes Parkinson's Disease?

A Shortage of Dopamine
Parkinson's disease occurs when nerve cells, or neurons, in an area of the brain that controls movement become impaired and/or die. Normally, these neurons produce an important brain chemical known as dopamine, but when the neurons die or become impaired, they produce less dopamine. This shortage of dopamine causes the movement problems of people with Parkinson's. 

Dopamine is a chemical messenger, or neurotransmitter. Dopamine is responsible for transmitting signals between the substantia nigra and multiple brain regions. The connection between the substantia nigra and the corpus striatum is critical to produce smooth, purposeful movement. Loss of dopamine in this circuit results in abnormal nerve-firing patterns within the brain that cause impaired movement.
Read more at



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The Best Way to Boost Your Immune System

Over the years, countless dietary supplements, alternative remedies—such as kombucha, a fermented tea—and foods such as mushrooms and oysters have been touted as immune-system boosters. In fact, more than 1,000 supplements currently on the U.S. market are claimed to have a positive effect on immunity.
But a single solution for a flagging immune system in otherwise healthy people has eluded us.
So, what can you do to help maintain health as your immune system naturally declines? 
Read more at

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What You Need to Know About Supplements and Drug Interactions

Pick up a prescription at the pharmacy, and you’re likely to encounter shelves of dietary supplements. Is it safe to use one along with your medication? 
“Many supplements, including herbal remedies, vitamins, and minerals, can cause dangerous side effects when combined with drugs,” says Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., Consumer Reports’ chief medical adviser.



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Mar 4, 2016

WHY GOATS USED TO BREASTFEED HUMAN BABIES

The Internet’s favorite animal images are photos or videos of one species nursing a baby of another.
A cow nurses lambs. A dog nurses tiger cubs. You can almost hear the aawws.

Google a different sort of interspecies suckling, however — animal-human nursing — and you’ll likely find tabloid headlines and no small amount of fetishized, not-safe-for-work material that borders on porn.
You can almost hear the ewws.
But it was not always this way, and it’s still not in some places. In fact, human-animal breastfeeding has a fairly rich history. Look no further than Rome (or, if you’re low on frequent flyer miles, Georgia), whose symbol is a statue of the Roman gods Romulus and Remus, who according to legend were abandoned and then breastfed by a she-wolf — an image said to symbolize the city’s strength and survival.

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Feb 28, 2016

Reindeer Are Strangely Radioactive 30 Years After Chernobyl

April 26 marks the 30-year anniversary of the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history. When a nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, in what is now Ukraine, exploded, it coated the earth with radioactive material — as far as the picturesque, snow-capped mountains of Scandinavia, where for generations, the indigenous Sami people lived in harmony with nature.

Chernobyl poisoned their way of life by turning the reindeer radioactive. Thirty years later, the reindeer ..................
Read more at
http://www.techinsider.io/chernobyl-radioactive-reindeer-2016-2


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Feb 27, 2016

PARMESAN CHEESE AND WOOD PULP FILLER

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of defrauding customers by selling Parmesan cheese touted as pure that contained wood pulp as filler.
The suit follows a Bloomberg News  investigation that asked an independent laboratory to test store-bought Parmesan cheese for wood-pulp content.
The tests found Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, from Jewel-Osco, contained 8.8 percent cellulose, while Wal-Mart’s brand registered 7.8 percent. Whole Foods 365 brand didn’t list cellulose as an ingredient on the label, but still tested at 0.3 percent. Kraft Heinz Co.’s Parmesan had 3.8 percent of the filler.
Read more at

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Feb 19, 2016

BIGGER BRAINS - BIGGER THOUGHTS?

A bigger brain does not mean bigger thoughts. In fact, human brains were larger back when we were living in caves, but our bodies were also larger then. As we evolved, more of the space in our brains became used for complex processes such as language, thinking, and memory. 

A 1999 study of Einstein’s brain, based on photographs taken of it after he died in 1955, showed that the parietal lobes, which are linked to math ability, appeared 15% wider than normal. But the size of his brain was a little smaller than average.

We may be the smartest creatures on the planet, but others have bigger brains. Larger brains are needed partly to control larger muscles. A sperm whale's brain weighs about 17 pounds and an elephant's weighs a little more than 10 pounds. An owl's brain weighs 0.005 pounds and a bullfrog's about one-tenth of that.





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Feb 18, 2016

Surprising Things That Can Damage Your Liver

Too much sugar isn’t just bad for your teeth. It can harm your liver, too. The organ uses one type of sugar, called fructose, to make fat. Too much refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup causes a fatty buildup that can lead to liver disease. Some studies show that sugar can be as damaging to the liver as alcohol, even if you’re not overweight. It’s one more reason to limit foods with added sugars, such as soda, pastries, and candy. 
Read more at




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Feb 17, 2016

13 Surprising Ways to Wreck Your Credit Score

A seemingly small stumble — such as forgetting to return library books — can cause your credit score to plummet. Discover the unusual ways you can hurt your credit.
Read more at:




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51 Must-Read Marketing Blogs You Should Know

Today’s digital landscape is constantly changing. In order to be successful in marketing, it’s necessary to stay on top of the latest trends and improve your marketing efforts as you go.Blogs can provide inspiration for new strategies, show you new ways of doing things, solve problems you have and ultimately, provide you with the information you need to do your job better.
Read more at
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Mosquito Repellents That Best Protect Against Zika

Consumer Reports shares its exclusive Ratings of the sprays that can help keep you safe. The World Health Organization has declared the rapid spread of the Zika virus—which has been linked to serious birth defects and is transmitted mainly by mosquitoes—an international public health emergency. In response to this growing threat, Consumer Reports is releasing free to the public its exclusive test results and Ratings of mosquito repellents (download a PDF of the Ratings)—including those that will protect you best against Aedes mosquitoes, the type that carry Zika.




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Feb 16, 2016

Pentagon Portrays Nuclear Modernization As Response to Russia

Obama administration effectively crowns this administration as the nuclear modernization leader of post-Cold War U.S. presidencies.
While official statements so far have mainly justified the massive nuclear modernization as simply extending the service-life of existing capabilities, the Pentagon now explicitly paints the nuclear modernization as a direct response to Russia.




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LIVING IN A GARBAGE TRUCK?



WOULD YOU?
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Feb 15, 2016

The New iPhone Update Could Send Your Bill Skyrocketing. Here's How ToSwitch It Off.

The latest iOS 9 update from Apple has a rather sneaky feature that has seen people on limited data plans receiving sky-high bills. It's called 'Wi-Fi Assist' and works by automatically switching to 4G if it senses that the Wi-Fi being used is running too slowly. When the new iOS update is installed, this feature is activated by default.
The good thing is, it's easy to turn off. Here is how to do it:

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Feb 14, 2016

Cauliflower: Kitchen Chameleon and Cancer Fighter




Thanks to its mild flavor and easy-to-work-with texture, cauliflower goes great with so many dishes. It can take the place of high-calorie starches. There are just 25 calories and 5 grams of carbs in one cup.
Cancer Fighter
Veggies such as cauliflower and kale have glucosinolates, which might prevent cancer. Studies on the sulfur-rich chemicals show they may block cancer cells, repair DNA, boost immunity, and stop inflammation.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-cauliflower-new-kale
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Samsung Smart TV is Spying on You

Samsung is warning customers about discussing personal information in front of their smart television set.
The warning applies to TV viewers who control their Samsung Smart TV using its voice activation feature.
When the feature is active, such TV sets "listen" to what is said and may share what they hear with Samsung or third parties.


http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31296188


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Dr. David Ludwig clears up Carbohydrate Confusion





When our country embraced low-fat diets, we also unwittingly committed ourselves to carbohydrates. As nutrition research has advanced, however, we’ve learned that healthy fats are an important part of a well-balanced diet, and that carbohydrate quality is crucial to health.

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Feb 12, 2016

9 Ways to Build Willpower That Creates Success

Science has linked willpower to success in life. But even if you didn’t develop self-control as a kid, it’s not too late.


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Feb 11, 2016

THE AMAZING TICKER


1. The heart beats 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime
2. It can live outside your body
3. An enlarged heart is weak, beats irregularly and causes fluid buildup in the lungs
4. Winning the lottery can cause sudden chest pains like an heart attack
5. The heart is in the center of the body and tipped to the left
6. Your heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood each day
7. Thousands of heart transplants are performed each year
8. Your heart has four chambers (two atria above two ventricles)
9. Apes and monkeys have hearts similar to humans
10. A damaged heart can make limited repairs
11. The heart has been associated with Love since the Middle Ages 

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Feb 10, 2016

WHY AMERICANS CAN'T SLEEP

Sleeplessness has a long and tortured history. A 15th-century Italian lawyer named Hippolytus de Marsiliis is said to have first documented sleep deprivation as a way to punish prisoners. (If you’re unconvinced by his cred, note that he is the same fellow credited with confirming the effectiveness of slow-drip water torture.) And he was only making formal what humans had known for centuries: Not getting enough sleep is painful.

 http://www.consumerreports.org/sleep/why-americans-cant-sleep


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Feb 9, 2016

NEW USB-C CORDS CAN FRY YOUR LAPTOP and . .


The gadget world is slowly adopting a new power cord standard called USB Type-C. They're small, multipurpose, universal, reversible and might fry whatever gadget you plug them into.
The advantage of the new standard is that USB-C isn't owned by any one company. That means anyone can make them for cheap. The disadvantage: They might wreak havoc. Read more at:
http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/05/technology/usb-c-cords/index.html

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LEAD GREAT LAKES LAMPREYS TO DEMISE BY THE NOSE ?


For all the havoc that zebra mussels, Asian carp, round gobies and dozens of other alien species have wrought on the Great Lakes, those waters have never known a foe like the sea lamprey. The vampire like parasites cost many millions each year in depleted fisheries and eradication efforts. Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/science/hoping-to-lead-great-lakes-lampreys-to-demise-by-the-nose.html
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THE BICYCLE AND THE RIDE TO MODERN AMERICA

On May 10, 1884, midway through his 48th year, Samuel L. Clemens reluctantly “confessed to age” by wearing glasses for the first time. That same day, the celebrated writer better known as Mark Twain sought to reclaim his youth by mounting a bicycle for the first time.
Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/science/the-bicycle-and-the-ride-to-modern-america.html

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New Ways Into the Brain’s ‘Music Room’


Americans listen to music nearly four hours a day. 
We marry to music, graduate to music, mourn to music. Every culture ever studied has been found to make music, and among the oldest artistic objects known are slender flutes carved from mammoth bone some 43,000 years ago — 
Read more:

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Feb 8, 2016

BEST SELLING VEHICLE FOR 30 YEARS CONTINUES TO ROLL

Read more at


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Feb 6, 2016

WINNING PHOTOS FROM BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

From bloom-loving bees and perfectly manicured lawns - to green vistas in more remote parts of the planet - the winners of the latest International Garden Photographer of the Year competition have been announced.


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TINY BUT DANGEROUS: MOSQUITOS SPREADING ZIKA

They’re tiny. They attack with supreme stealth, biting in full daylight with no buzz and no sting. They carry viruses that can be lethal to their preferred food source: US .

http://www.webmd.com/news/20160202/mosquitoes-speading-zika-virus

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Feb 4, 2016

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER OUR BRAIN WAVES CAN BE SENT BY ELECTRICAL FIELDS

Most biology students will be able to tell you that neural signals are sent via mechanisms such as synaptic transmission, gap junctions, and diffusion processes, but a new study suggests there's another way that our brains transmit information from one place to another.
Read more at:

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Zika: The Unexpected Pandemic

World remains unprepared as novel pathogens just keep coming.
Read more at: 

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/55915
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BRAINS OF COMPULSIVE GAMERS ARE WIRED DIFFERENTLY .

According to scans of nearly 200 adolescent boys, the brains of compulsive video gamers are wired differently. Read more at


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DUTCH WAR AGAINST THE WATER

They say God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands. In fighting the flood waters again and again, the people have defined and redefined their nation’s borders. This struggle has been epic and endless.
Read more at:

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IS EARTH MADE UP OF TWO PLANETS FUSED TOGETHER ?

Astronomers investigating how the Moon formed have found evidence that it was produced after a small planet smashed headfirst into Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. 


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Feb 3, 2016

TEN WAYS TO LOOK SMARTER ON LinkedIn


Read more at:

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CFL BULBS ARE GOING THE WAY OF THE DINOSAUR

General Electric says it’s flipping the switch on compact fluorescent light bulbs. It is phasing out the coiled bulbs (CFLs) and shifting its focus to LEDs.
Read more at:

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Feb 2, 2016

Boiling Water with Sound?

If you are not hooked within the first five minutes of this video, go on.


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Building a Home from Cordwood ?

INNOVATION !
Building a Home from Cordwood in the State of Maine.
Read more at:

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Feb 1, 2016

Airport Security Rules Are More Bewildering Than Ever

In recent weeks, the government has made two surprising policy changes: First, the Transportation Security Administration announced that screening with a full-body scanner would no longer be optional for some passengers, and then the Department of Homeland Security said that soon your state-issued driver’s license might not be sufficient ID for you to pass through the airport screening area.
Read more at

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Jan 31, 2016

TED Talks: How to Build Your Creative Confidence by David Kelly..

TED Talks:  Build Your Creative Confidence by David Kelly...: David Kelly's TED Talk is about creativity is focused on what he calls creative confidence . While design schools and workplaces seem to divide people in two categories (creative and practical people), David says that anyone can be creative if the creativity is stimulated.
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