[rael-science] Attention Problems May Be Sleep-Related

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 31 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/attention-problems-may-be-sleep-related/?ref=health

Attention Problems May Be Sleep-Related

By KATE MURPHY | April 16, 2012, 6:15 pm 42

Diagnoses of attention hyperactivity disorder among children have increased dramatically in recent years, rising 22 percent from 2003 to 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But many experts believe that this may not be the epidemic it appears to be.

Many children are given a diagnosis of A.D.H.D., researchers say, when in fact they have another problem: a sleep disorder, like sleep apnea. The confusion may account for a significant number of A.D.H.D. cases in children, and the drugs used to treat them may only be exacerbating the problem.

“No one is saying A.D.H.D. does not exist, but there’s a strong feeling now that we need to rule out sleep issues first,” said Dr. Merrill Wise, a pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at the Methodist Healthcare Sleep Disorders Center in Memphis.

The symptoms of sleep deprivation in children resemble those of A.D.H.D. While adults experience sleep deprivation as drowsiness and sluggishness, sleepless children often become wired, moody and obstinate; they may have trouble focusing, sitting still and getting along with peers.

The latest study suggesting a link between inadequate sleep and A.D.H.D. symptoms appeared last month in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers followed 11,000 British children for six years, starting when they were 6 months old. The children whose sleep was affected by breathing problems like snoring, mouth breathing or apnea were 40 percent to 100 percent more likely than normal breathers to develop behavioral problems resembling A.D.H.D.

Children at highest risk of developing A.D.H.D.-like behaviors had sleep-disordered breathing that persisted throughout the study but was most severe at age 2 1/2.

“Lack of sleep is an insult to a child’s developing body and mind that can have a huge impact,” said Karen Bonuck, the study’s lead author and a professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “It’s incredible that we don’t screen for sleep problems the way we screen for vision and hearing problems.”

Her research builds on earlier, smaller studies showing that children with nighttime breathing problems did better with cognitive and attention-directed tasks and had fewer behavioral issues after their adenoids and tonsils were removed. The children were significantly less likely than untreated children with sleep-disordered breathing to be given an A.D.H.D. diagnosis in the ensuing months and years.

Most important, perhaps, those already found to have A.D.H.D. before surgery subsequently behaved so much better in many cases that they no longer fit the criteria. The National Institutes of Health has begun a study, called the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Study, to understand the effect of surgically removing adenoids and tonsils on the health and behavior of 400 children. Results are expected this year.

“We’re getting closer and closer to a causal claim” between breathing problems during sleep and A.D.H.D. symptoms in children, said Dr. Ronald Chervin, a neurologist and director of University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center in Ann Arbor.

In his view, behavioral problems linked to nighttime breathing difficulties are more likely a result of inadequate sleep than possible oxygen deprivation. “We see the same types of behavioral symptoms in children with other kinds of sleep disruptions,” he said.

Indeed, sleep experts note that children who lose as little as half an hour of needed sleep per night — whether because of a sleep disorder or just staying up too late texting or playing video games — can exhibit behaviors typical of A.D.H.D.

Not only is a misdiagnosis stigmatizing, but treatment of A.D.H.D. can exacerbate sleeplessness, the real problem. The drugs used to treat A.D.H.D., likeRitalin, Adderall or Concerta, can cause insomnia.

“It can become a vicious, compounding cycle,” said Dr. David Gozal, chairman of the department of pediatrics at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, whose clinical practice focuses on children with sleep disorders.

Sleep deprivation is difficult to spot in children. Of the 10,000 members of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, only 500 have specialty training in pediatric sleep issues. And pediatricians may not even know to make a referral, because they often depend on parents to bring up their children’s sleep problems during checkups.

But parents themselves often are uninformed about healthy sleep habits. A study conducted last year by researchers at Penn State University-Harrisburg and published in The Journal of Sleep Research showed that of 170 participating parents, fewer than 10 percent could correctly answer basic questions like the number of hours of sleep a child needs.

“Parents didn’t know what was normal sleep behavior,” said Kimberly Anne Schreck, a psychologist and behavioral analyst at Penn State who was the study’s lead author. “Many thought snoring was cute and meant their child was sleeping deeply and soundly.”

--
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.

Rael
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[rael-science] [with Rael's comment] Russia overtakes UK and France in global arms spending league table

วันพุธที่ 30 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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RAEL'S COMMENT: Of course, American imperialist warmongers will find this "alarming," notwithstanding that Russia's military budget is only 10 percent of the USA's.

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/17/russia-overtakes-uk-france-arms

Russia overtakes UK and France in global arms spending league table

Russia becomes third biggest spender after US and China as global spending on arms totals more than $1.7tn

Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 16 April 2012

A
Russian military tank moves along Red Square during a
military parade

A tank moves along Red Square during a military parade: Russia spent nearly $72bn on arms in 2011. Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Global spending on weapons totals more than $1.7tn (£1tn), and Russia has overtaken Britain and France to take third place in the world league table, according to the latest figures released by a leading research body on Tuesday.

While military expenditure fell last year in most western countries, including the US, which is facing serious budget deficits, Russia and China have continued to increase significantly their spending on weapons – by more than 9% and 6% respectively last year.

While the US remains by far the biggest military spender, with a defence budget amounting to $711bn last year, it is followed by China, which in 2011 spent an estimated $143bn on its armed forces, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). China has increased its military spending by 170% in real terms since 2002, it says.

Russia spent nearly $72bn on arms last year, overtaking Britain ($62.7bn) and France ($62.5bn) according to Sipri.

It notes that Russia is planning further increases in its military spending, with draft budgets showing a 53% rise in real terms up to 2014.

However, Sipri adds that many analysts are doubtful whether the industry will be able to deliver on such ambitious plans after decades of stagnation following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

China's increased military spending has caused concern among its neighbours, as well as the dominant Pacific power, the US. The recent announcement of a US "pivot" towards Asia is in part a response to such concerns, Sipri says.

It adds: "China's extensive and growing trade relations with the countries in its neighbourhood have been marred by disputes – eg the border dispute with India, a dispute over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands with Japan, and contested maritime borders with several nations in the South China Sea – all of which have led to increased tensions."

However, the report says talk of an "arms race" in the region may be premature, as both data and analysis reveal a mixed pattern of trends in military expenditure and arms acquisition, with China far from the only driving factor.

Two countries where concerns over China do appear to have contributed to increased spending are India and Vietnam. India has increased military spending by 66% since 2002. While both internal conflicts and the long-running dispute with Pakistan remain key issues, India in many ways sees China as a rival for regional power.

Vietnam has increased military spending by 82% since 2003, and has invested heavily in its navy in recent years, partly due to tensions with China in the South China Sea. But the military spending of both India and Vietnam fell in real terms in 2011.

Middle East countries continued to increase their military budgets while Algeria – concerned about the Arab spring and revolutions in Tunisia and Libya – increased its military spending last year by a massive 40%.

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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[rael-science] HOPE BEE MEDICINE WILL TACKLE SCOURGE OF PROSTATE CANCER

วันอังคารที่ 29 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
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Source: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/318248/Hope-bee-medicine-will-tackle-scourge-of-prostate-cancer

HOPE BEE MEDICINE WILL TACKLE SCOURGE OF PROSTATE CANCER

Honeybees could hold the key

Saturday May 5,2012

By Jo Willey

Have your say(0)

AN over-the-counter natural remedy obtained from honeybees could be the key to tackling prostate cancer.

Research has shown the potent compound can stop the growth of killer cells and tumours.

The ancient remedy, called propolis, comes from resin used by bees to patch up holes in their hives.

It has been used for centuries for conditions ranging from sore throats and allergies to burns and cancer.

But the compound has not gained acceptance in clinics because of scientific questions about its effect on cells.

Now, however, researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine in the US have found that a compound isolated from bee-hive propolis, called caffeic acid phenethyl ester, or Cape, can slow early-stage prostate cancer by shutting down the tumour cells’ system for detecting sources of nutrition.

Senior researcher Dr Richard Jones said: “If you feed Cape to mice daily, their tumours will stop growing.

If you feed Cape to mice daily, their tumours will stop growing

Senior researcher Dr Richard Jones

“After several weeks, if you stop the treatment, the tumours will begin to grow again at their original pace. So it doesn’t kill the cancer, but it basically will indefinitely stop prostate cancer proliferation.”

To study the purported anti-cancer properties, experts tested the compound on a series of cancer cell lines. Even at the low concentrations expected after oral administration, Cape successfully slowed the proliferation of cultured cells isolated from human prostate tumours.

It was also effective at slowing the growth of human prostate tumours grafted into mice.

Six weeks of treatment with the compound decreased tumour volume growth rate by half.

But when treatment was stopped, tumour growth resumed at its previous rate.

The results suggested that Cape stopped cell division rather than killing cancerous cells.

To determine the cellular changes that caused this effect, researchers then used a tech- nique invented by Dr Jones and colleagues which allowed them to survey hundreds of proteins at once from many samples. The technique allowed researchers to build a new model of Cape’s cellular effects, significantly expanding on previous work that studied the compound’s mechanisms.

Dr Jones said that because Cape has the ability to stop cancer-cell spread, it could make it a promising treatment to use alongside chemotherapies which kill tumour cells.

But he cautioned that clinical trials would be necessary before it could be proven effective and safe for this purpose in humans.

Dr Kate Holmes, head of research at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: “This study does suggest that Cape can reduce the growth of artificially grown human prostate tumours in mice.

“However this research is very early stage and many more detailed studies will have to take place before we will know if Cape would have a similar effect on prostate tumours in men.

“We would not recommend anyone with prostate cancer or trying to prevent prostate cancer, to consume Cape supplements without further evidence that this might be effective in humans.”

Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s senior science information manager, said: “While this natural extract seems to have some effect in slowing down prostate cancer cells in the lab, much more research will be needed to work out whether it could have the same effect in humans.”

The findings were published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

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WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".

[rael-science] In Praise of Soft Rationality and Rational Spirituality

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 27 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/prisco20120505?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EthicalTechnology+Ethical+Technology#When:12:57:05Z

In Praise of Soft Rationality and Rational Spirituality

Giulio Prisco

Giulio Prisco
Turing Church

Posted: May 5, 2012

I cultivate the excellent habit of rationality and consider it as a very useful tool. But rationality is indeed a tool (a useful means to achieve a desired result), and not an end in itself. Far from being the enemies of science, religion and spirituality often drive scientific advances. Open-minded soft rationality is a much better approach to science than dull, fundamentalist rationalism.

The endless debate on science and religion has been re-ignited by a Science article on “Analytic Thinking Promotes Religious Disbelief,” commented in a good (and open access) Nature article on “Is rationality the enemy of religion?”

The authors of the Science article state that they “focused primarily on belief in and commitment to religiously endorsed supernatural agents.” This is a too narrow definition of religion, which not necessarily and not always includes supernatural agents.

For example, I am a believer (I say this very clearly at the end of my recent talk at the MTA 2012 Conference) without believing in the supernatural, which I consider as a contradiction in terms: if we define nature as all that exists, then the supernatural cannot exist by definition. I believe in Shakespeare’s “ more things in heaven and earth” though.

“It’s highly plausible that in the universe there are God-like creatures,” thinks Richard Dawkins. “Whether we ever get to know them or not, there are very probably alien civilizations that are superhuman, to the point of being god-like in ways that exceed anything a theologian could possibly imagine.” These are the Gods I believe in, and I believe that our descendants may also become Gods when the time is right. I am also open to the possibility that some weird time physics may permit future Gods to influence events in (their) past times, before they are born, or that “we [may] live in a computer simulation, set up by some vastly superior civilization” (Dawkins again).

In history, there are countless examples of rational scientists who demonstrate the impossibility of doing something… and irrational engineers who do it anyway. Scientists worship rationality and the current scientific paradigm, but engineers want to realize their dreams, the current scientific paradigm be damned if it stands in the way. Often, facts prove that the irrational engineers are right, and soon the rational scientists realize that they had just made one or two little mistakes here and there in their papers.

Science is about what reality is, and engineering is about what reality must become: reality imitates art, or at least it should. We need both attitudes of course, but I have little patience for fundamentalist rationalism, and I am an engineer at heart. If the laws of nature stand in our way, let’s just try to rewrite them. This does not mean that reality should be ignored (always a dangerous thing to do), but it does mean that unpleasant aspects of reality can often be engineered away, someday if not now.

Nature writer Philip Ball tries to keep a balanced position, and acknowledges that “ it seems to be extreme views of any sort, whether religious or the opposite, that are the real enemy of analytical thinking,” and “ there are plenty of devout believers [...] who perhaps have no need of a belief in God in a traditional or Christian sense (Max Planck was one such example).”

Religious believers and spiritually oriented New Age seekers often have powerful intuitions, beyond what current science can analyze. Their visions form an aesthetic layer that colors their (and then our) perception of the universe and, even when they are not entirely correct, inspire scientists and engineers to turn visionary dreams into actual reality.

For example many mystics, and some scientists, believe in telepathy and extras-sensory perception (ESP), and many scientists think that it is all crap. I am open to the possibility that some yet undiscovered science may provide solid theoretical foundations and experimental evidence for ESP, and I am also open to the possibility that ESP may not exist. In science, we let experiment decide.

But ESP will exist. Soon we will have brain implants linked to our thoughts and to the Internet. These implants will give us instant telepathic communication with others, and the ability to access the Internet in our minds and see what happens elsewhere. Brain implants will also permit influencing, by thought alone, physical objects in remote places via appropriate actuators. So, regardless of whether or not we possess native ESP abilities for telepathy, remote vision and psychokinesis, the mystics are right anyway. If we have no native ESP, we will engineer ESP someday soon.

Engineered ESP will be a joint achievement of the visionaries who have given us powerful dreams, and the scientists and engineers who have made them true. Soft rationality and rational spirituality join the advantages of both mindsets in a whole bigger than the sum of its parts.

In an article on “Combining Extreme Distrust and Spastic Bursts of Blind Fait… What New Edge Culture has to say about Today’s Schizophrenic Information Society,” appeared in 2011 on RU Sirius’ accelerator, Dorien Zandbergen remembers how “Intellectuals at Esalen were inspired by Eastern spirituality as much as by cutting edge science and technology. As Esalen historian Walter Truett Anderson writes, they even turned ‘the flowing together of East and West, the ancient and the modern, science and religion, scholarship and art’ as a guiding principle. [...] Both the use of psychedelics and high tech endorsed the experience among these early pioneers that they were godlike in their potential for comprehending reality. ‘We are as gods and might as well get good at it,’ as Stewart Brand famously stated in the pages of the Whole Earth Catalog.”

The story of Esalen is also told by the excellent book How the Hippies Saved Physics, mostly dedicated to the “Fundamental Fysiks Group.” The book shows that modern physics, and especially quantum information science, has a surprisingly psychedelic past.

Zandbergen notes that [”Mondo 2000] conjure[d] up worldviews very similar to what was being proposed in New Age circles, while also including distant, skeptical, rationalistic stances,” which is exactly the soft rationality, rational spirituality attitude that I am recommending here.

Giulio Prisco is a physicist and computer scientist, and former senior manager in the European space administration. Giulio works as a consultant and contributes to several science and technology magazines. In 2002-2008 he served on the Board of Directors of Humanity Plus, of which he was Executive Director, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Italian Transhumanist Association. He is often in Hungary, Italy and Spain. You can find more about Giulio at his blog and home page.

[rael-science] Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science (video)

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 20 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

กำลังโหลดการแสดงตัวอย่าง วิดีโอ จาก YouTube

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Get Rael-Science on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/raelscience
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Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JB7jSFeVz1U

Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science

Uploaded by melodysheep on Mar 23, 2011

Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JB7jSFeVz1U

mp3: http://symphonyofscience.com "Ode to the Brain" is the ninth episode in the Symphony of Science music video series. Through the powerful words of scientists Carl Sagan, Robert Winston, Vilayanur Ramachandran, Jill Bolte Taylor, Bill Nye, and Oliver Sacks, it covers different aspects the brain including its evolution, neuron networks, folding, and more. The material sampled for this video comes from Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Jill Bolte Taylor's TED Talk, Vilayanur Ramachandran's TED Talk, Bill Nye's Brain episode, BBC's "The Human Body", Oliver Sachs' TED Talk, Discovery Channel's "Human Body: Pushing the Limits", and more.

Special thanks to everybody who's donated to keep the project alive and to those who helped track down the material used in this video.

You may enjoy more of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor ( http://mystrokeofinsight.com ) at TED.com ( http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html ) and in her book "My Stroke of Insight" ( http://www.amazon.com/My-Stroke-Insight-Scientists-ebook/dp/B0019IB0II/ref=tm... )

To download and watch more videos visit http://symphonyofscience.com.

Enjoy!

~John
john@symphonyofscience.com

Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JB7jSFeVz1U

[rael-science] Range of brain diseases could be treated by single drug

วันเสาร์ที่ 19 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contributed by Mike Bennett
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17952797

Range of brain diseases could be treated by single drug

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Can brain cell death be prevented in a range of diseases?

The tantalising prospect of treating a range of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, all with the same drug, has been raised by UK researchers.

In a study, published in Nature, they prevented brain cells dying in mice with prion disease.

It is hoped the same method for preventing brain cell death could apply in other diseases.

The findings are at an early stage, but have been heralded as "fascinating".

Many neuro-degenerative diseases result in the build-up of proteins which are not put together correctly - known as misfolded proteins. This happens in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's as well as in prion diseases, such as the human form of mad cow disease.

Turn off

Researchers at the University of Leicester uncovered how the build-up of proteins in mice with prion disease resulted in brain cells dying.

They showed that as misfolded protein levels rise in the brain, cells respond by trying to shut down the production of all new proteins.

It is the same trick cells use when infected with a virus. Stopping production of proteins stops the virus spreading. However, shutting down the factory for a long period of time ends up killing the brain cells as they do not produce the proteins they actually need to function.

The team at the Medical Research Council laboratory in Leicester then tried to manipulate the switch which turned the protein factory off. When they prevented cells from shutting down, they prevented the brain dying. The mice then lived significantly longer.

Each neuro-degenerative disease results in a unique set of misfolded proteins being produced, which are then thought to lead to brain cells dying.

Prof Giovanna Mallucci told the BBC: "The novelty here is we're just targeting the protein shut-down, we're ignoring the prion protein and that's what makes it potentially relevant across the board."

The idea, which has not yet been tested, is that if preventing the shut down protects the brain in prion disease - it might work in all diseases that have misfolded proteins.

Prof Mallucci added: "What it gives you is an appealing concept that one pathway and therefore one treatment could have benefits across a range of disorders.

"But the idea is in its early stages. We would really need to confirm this concept in other diseases."

'Fascinating'

Alzheimer's brain on the left showing shrinkage, with a healthy brain on the right

The study has been broadly welcomed by other scientists although many point out that the research is in its infancy.

Professor of Molecular Neurobiology at King's College London, Roger Morris, said it was a "breakthrough in understanding what kills neurons".

He added: "There are good reasons for believing this response, identified with prion disease, applies also to Alzheimer's and other neuro-degenerative diseases.

"And because it is such a general response, we already have some drugs that inhibit this response."

Prof Andy Randall, from the University of Bristol, said: "This is a fascinating piece of work.

"It will be interesting to see if similar processes occur in some of the common diseases with such deposits, for example Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

"Furthermore, if this is the case, can modulating this same pathway be a route to new therapeutic approaches in these more prevalent conditions that afflict many millions of sufferers around the world? Ultimately only more research will tell us this."

Dr Eric Karran, the director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "The findings present the appealing concept that one treatment could have benefits for a range of different diseases; however the idea is in its early stages.

"The research focuses on the effects of the prion protein and we would need to see the same results confirmed in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to really strengthen the evidence."

[rael-science] The Vitamin D Scam: Yes, “D” is vital to health but …

วันศุกร์ที่ 18 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

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The Raelian Movement
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Source: http://thehealthcoach1.com/?p=1581

The Vitamin D Scam: Yes, “D” is vital to health but …

Posted on April 30, 2012

… not when it is taken in the way it is formulated, manufactured and processed, and recommended by the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

To where has good ole fashioned common sense fled? When did the ability to utilize the human faculty of reason flee the field of health and wellness?

The current marketing blitz, regarding the necessity of adequate vitamin D levels in the maintenance of optimal health, has been quite effective. It has made people more aware of the need to get out in the sun on a regular basis, truly the best way to stimulate vitamin D production. Especially during these days when sun-starved people stay sequestered in their homes, businesses and autos, and when many do not have sufficient intake of vitamin D-rich foods (which are both numerous and diverse), is this message both timely and important.

The medical advice, which has been routinely dispensed encouraging people to stay away from the ‘deleterious’ rays of the sun, has had a truly profound effect on our community health. The entire medical establishment has done an incredible disservice scaring people away from sun exposure with the threat of skin cancer, and into the sunscreen marketplace, haven’t they?!

So, here’s another way we can all take back our power — BIG time!

Without question the very best way for the human body to receive its daily vitamin D requirement is through exposure to the sun, which then stimulates its production in the skin. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University has this posted at their “Micronutrient Center”:

“Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for maintaining normal calcium metabolism (1). Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized by humans in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sunlight, or it can be obtained from the diet. Plants synthesize ergosterol, which is converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) by ultraviolet light (2). When exposure to UVB radiation is insufficient for the synthesis of adequate amounts of vitamin D3 in the skin, adequate intake of vitamin D from the diet is essential for health.”

The key point here is that the sun’s interaction with the upper epidermal layers of the skin is by far the best source of vitamin D [production] for the human body. The following statements from ehow.com health ought to be considered the voice of reason is this raging debate about how to effectively maintain a sufficient daily dosage of vitamin D.

Sunlight Is The Answer!

Copyright Text

WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its
full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not
mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL"
means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to
know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is
completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles
in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying
for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to
believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when
I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group
or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I
support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings
to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our
readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent
articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it
clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support
decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad
people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is
any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any
drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of
expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course
that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or
anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your
values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect
of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to
the death your right to say it".

The Elohim Sound

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Attention Problems May Be Sleep-Related

[rael-science] [with Rael's comment] Russia overtakes UK and France in global arms spending league table

Russia overtakes UK and France in global arms spending league table

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HOPE BEE MEDICINE WILL TACKLE SCOURGE OF PROSTATE CANCER

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In Praise of Soft Rationality and Rational Spirituality

[rael-science] Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science (video)

Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science

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Range of brain diseases could be treated by single drug

[rael-science] The Vitamin D Scam: Yes, “D” is vital to health but …

The Vitamin D Scam: Yes, “D” is vital to health but …

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