A few years ago, researchers in Montreal produced a disturbing finding. By the simple act of neglecting her young, a mother rat could permanently change the expression of genes in her offspring. Dams that licked their pups only infrequently-the rat equivalent of bad maternal care-sent their little ones off into the world with a more anxious disposition than rats with dams that had lavished care on them. What is more, this lack of attention, the researchers discovered, had chemically altered a gene controlling an important stress hormone. It was a striking case of how nurture affects nature. And it made the researchers curious about whether the same could be happening in humans. Now, by studying the brains of suicide victims, they have begun to explore that question. The field they are investigating is known as epigenetics. This is the interface between our genes, which are fixed, and our environment, which is ever-changing. Although people are born with a complement of genes that they are stuck with for life, those genes can be switched on and off-and this can make a world of difference. All the more harrowing, then, that simple things like dietary supplements and stress have been […]
The Federal Reserve’s direct loans of cash to commercial banks climbed to the highest level on record in the past week as money-losing lenders increasingly turn to the central bank for funds. Funds provided through the so-called discount window for banks rose by $2.8 billion to a daily average of $14.4 billion in the week to May 14, the central bank said today in Washington. Separately, the Fed’s loans to Wall Street bond dealers rose by $75 million to $16.6 billion. Policy makers have increased the attractiveness of direct loans as they seek to alleviate the impact of the credit crunch. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said two days ago that while markets have improved, they remain “far from normal,” adding that the central bank is prepared to increase its twice monthly auctions of funds to banks. ‘The Fed is providing an extraordinary amount of liquidity through various mechanisms,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. While “credit markets are showing signs of improvement” there is ‘a long way to go,” he said. Fed officials have reduced the cost of direct loans to a quarter-point above the benchmark overnight lending rate […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices. It was Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world’s largest oil reserves. But Saudi officials stuck to their position that they will only pump more oil into the system when asked to by buyers, something they say is not happening now, the president’s national security adviser told reporters. ‘Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy,’ Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices rose above $127 a barrel, a record high. ‘What the Saudis wanted to tell us was we’re doing everything we can do … to meet this problem, but it’s a complicated problem.’ The Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, announced that the kingdom decided on May 10 to raise production by 300,000 barrels at the request of customers, including the United States. He said that increase was sufficient. […]
OTTAWA — World food prices should stay high because of rising energy costs and the use of biofuels, but they may ease after stocks are replenished, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday. Senior officials from the U.N. agency, testifying by video link to a Canadian Senate committee, cautioned lawmakers to consider the effects on world markets of any attempt to require a minimum content of biofuels in gasoline and diesel. ‘Our message is, ‘Please be aware’,’ said the chief of the FAO’s trade and markets division, Ali Gurkan. ‘The actions that you take might have spillover effects outside your borders.’ FAO commodities economist Abdolreza Abbassian said price rises for major grains in the past year have had less to do with food being diverted to biofuels than with below-average yields and drought. But for the current growing season, he said corn prices will likely be supported by 20 million tonnes in new demand for ethanol, combined with lower U.S. plantings. Barring big weather problems, production should fall by 30-35 million tonnes from last year’s record output in the United States, he said. U.S. corn exports could fall by 10 million tonnes but that […]
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-1 to grant preliminarily approval to an ordinance aimed at deterring hospitals from discharging homeless patients to the streets, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure would permit hospitals to be fined up to $25,000 and charged with misdemeanors for discharging patients anywhere other than their residence without written consent. If the measure receives majority approval from the council next week, it will go before the mayor for final approval. Background Since 2005, the city attorney’s office has investigated more than 50 cases of patient dumping, in which patients are dropped off by a taxi or ambulance, oftentimes on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. City officials said the ordinance was necessary because their efforts to create a state law failed in October 2007, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed a bill that would have prohibited patient dumping. Because there are no criminal statutes on the practice, Los Angeles prosecutors have relied primarily on civil actions against hospitals suspected of dumping, the Times reports. Opposition Council member Tom LaBonge, the lone dissenter on the ordinance, said he thought the city should not take responsibility […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
