Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
JEANNA SMIALEK, - Bloomberg
Stephan: For at least some blind people at least a measure of vision may be only a few years away. Then, as part of the Homo Superiorus trend, nearsightedness and other visual problems will simply be resolved by being genetically engineered
Blind mice had their vision restored with a device that helped diseased retinas send signals to the brain, according to a study that may lead to new prosthetic technology for millions of sight-impaired people.
Current devices are limited in the aid they provide to people with degenerative diseases of the retina, the part of the eye that converts light into electrical impulses to the brain. In research described today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists cracked the code the retina uses to communicate with the brain.
Enlarge image Blind Mice See
Blind mice had their vision restored with a device that helped diseased retinas send signals to the brain. Above, a household mouse not part of the experiment. Photographer: Roger Jackman/Oxford Scientific
The technology moves prosthetics beyond bright light and high-contrast recognition and may be adopted for human use within a year or two, said Sheila Nirenberg, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and the study’s lead author.
‘What this shows is that we have the essential ingredients to make a very effective prosthetic,
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
SUSANNE POSEL, - Infowars.com
Stephan: This is all part of the soft police state monster brought into being after 9/11. Fear and greed combined to create this creature of the state.
In 2010, the US Army’s Operating Concept 2016-2028 was published and explains how armed forces in the US and overseas will behave in the future. Specific tactical operations, special ‘theater
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Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
Stephan: More and more we are coming to understand that our emotional state has profound psychophysical consequences. This is one of the reasons meditation is so important. It makes the brain grow and increases neuronal capacity.
Severe depression and chronic stress can shrink the brain by blocking the formation of new nerve connections, a study has shown. The effect disrupts circuits associated with mental functioning and emotion.
It could explain why people with major depressive disorder (MDD) suffer from concentration and memory loss, as well as blunted emotional responses.
Several genes involved in building synapses, the connection points between brain cells, were suppressed in people with MDD, scientists found. This was thought to contribute to shrinkage of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is known to occur in MDD sufferers.
Researchers in the US analysed brain tissue from patients who had died after being diagnosed with MDD. They found molecular signs of reduced activity in genes necessary for the function and structure of brain synapses.
Evidence pointed to the involvement of a single genetic ‘switch’, or transcription factor – a protein called GATA1. Turning on GATA1 reduced activity of the genes and triggered the loss of brain connections. Study leader Professor Ronald Duman, from Yale University, said: ‘We wanted to test the idea that stress causes a loss of brain synapses in humans.
‘We show that circuits normally involved in emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single transcription factor […]
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Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
MARTHA ROSENBERG, - Truthout.org
Stephan: Once again, just with a different agency, we see the corruption that has eaten away the American government.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is often accused of serving industry at the expense of consumers. But even FDA defenders are shocked by reports this week of an institutionalized FDA spying program on its own scientists, lawmakers, reporters and academics that included an enemies list of ‘actors’ and collaborators.
The paranoid and retaliatory email monitoring program, which sought to suppress the safety opinions of those hired to give their safety opinions, has provoked swift action from Capitol Hill. ‘I am writing to express my disappointment and disbelief with the way the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has retaliated against whistleblowers who expressed concern to Members of Congress and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) regarding safety concerns about medical products,’ wrote Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, the day after the breadth of the surveillance was reported in The New York Times.
Government agencies cannot discourage whistleblowing and reporting of wrongdoing by monitoring employees, echoed a White House memo sent to all government agencies about the FDA spy program.
‘Devicegate’ dates back at least to January 2009 when scientists in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health wrote President Obama […]
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Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
, - The Raw Story/The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: Here is some excellent news concerning wind energy. One can only wonder what the situation would be if even a fraction of the subsidies for old energy were put to work advancing wind.
The US wind energy industry is now providing enough capacity to power 13 million homes, equivalent to all of Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama, and Connecticut combined.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) used the annual National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas last week to confirm that the sector had passed the 50GW installed capacity milestone after yet another quarter of rapid growth.
The trade body said the 50GW of capacity was equivalent to the generating power of 44 coal-fired power stations or 11 nuclear power plants, resulting in emission reductions that would equate to taking 14 million cars off the road.
The milestone was achieved thanks to a surge in new wind farms coming online as developers rush to complete projects before the possible lapsing of the US government’s crucial production tax credit (PTC) at the end of this year. According to AWEA, over 2.8GW of capacity has now been added during the year to date, while total US wind energy capacity has doubled since 2008.
‘This milestone for wind-energy production marks continued success for this clean, renewable and domestically produced energy source,
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