/////////////BAM DREAM AND NIGHTMARE
///////////
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Saturday, 26 July 2008
CDS 2708071855
///////////IND WOUNDED AGAIN
////////////FMLY OVER CNTRY?
////////////Be a More Efficient Driver
# Brakes are your enemy. When you step on them, you have spent gas to go nowhere. Think ahead to limit the amount of brakes that you need to use. Trust me, it becomes a habit very quickly and you no longer have to think.
# Coast to red lights. Why use gas when you are going to have to stop?
# Coast down hills. I see a lot of people gunning it just to have to brake when they reach person in front of them.
# Coast to green lights far ahead of you. If it has been green for a LONG time, you might not make that light by the time you get there. That will force you to brake (see #1).
# Don’t tailgate… …In fact do the opposite. Leave plenty of room between you and the person behind you. If the person needs to slow down a little, you can coast to catch up a little instead of using your breaks.
# Take three rights instead of a left. UPS drivers do this in metro areas like NYC and found that they save fuel that would have been spent idling. Only look to do this at those really difficult left turns.
# Use Cruise Control. A constant speed is the most fuel efficient.
# Drive between 40-60 miles per hour. If you have a lighter car, you can aim for the 60 MPH number. If you have a heavier car, you’ll want to go 40 MPH. Go here for more information why.
# Avoid Traffic. Don’t drive during times of high traffic if you can avoid it.
# Use a GPS tracker. Time spent lost is gas wasted.
# Avoid air conditioning (if you stand it). Some tests seem to show that it’s not a big factor, so if it really impacts your comfort level, you might want to consider using air conditioning.
/////////////////WHAT TYPE OF A TOM R U? PLSING XHITE PPL
///////////////////Carnegie Mellon Mourns Passing Of Randy Pausch
A walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch
Reporting
Mary Robb Jackson
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The Carnegie Mellon University campus is mourning the death of Randy Pausch, the professor whose inspirational "Last Lecture" became an Internet sensation.
Pausch, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since September of 2006, died at his home in Virginia this morning.
Word of his death has quickly spread and calls have been coming in from all over the world from those touched by his message.
Pausch shared his lifelong adventure and the world took note last September when he gave what has come to be known as the "Last Lecture."
Over the past months on the CMU campus, Pausch has kept students, colleagues and friends up to date on the progress of his terminal cancer on a special webpage.
His last posting described how the chemotherapy was making him so sick and weak that it wasn't clear if it was the right tradeoff.
Since he wasn't strong enough to post any more messages, a friend updated the website yesterday explaining: "A biopsy last week revealed that the cancer has progressed further than we had thought from recent PETscans. Since last week, Randy has also taken a step down and is much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."
In an obituary released by the school, Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon said, "Randy was a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher. Carnegie Mellon and the world are better places for having Randy Pausch in them."
On campus, people who knew him tried to find words to describe the loss.
"It is very difficult," Pausch's friend, Cleah Schlueter, told KDKA.
Schlueter spoke with Pausch's wife this morning by phone about his final hours.
"He was in pain and I think they knew that he was deteriorating," Schlueter added, "but they didn't thing that he was going to pass so soon. It was kind of unexpected, too."
Pausch, 47, is survived by his wife, Jai, and three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan.
When asked about them, Schlueter said "they're going to survive. I mean that's what you have to do. That's what life is all about."
According to a posting on the CMU website, the Pausch family requests that any donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund.
Meanwhile, a walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch. "Pick Up The Pace" for pancreatic cancer will be held on Sunday, August 17th at the North Park Boathouse.
//////////////////10 MO ON DTH
//////////////////FMLY DRAMA BANDH KAR
////////////////////CONTRACT-2008
////////////////THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR-1973
///////////////HAPPY ENDING
////////////////Ben Franklin Effect
Explanations > Theories > Ben Franklin Effect
Description | Research | So What? | See also | References
Description
When we do a person a favor, we tend to like them more as a result. This is because we justify our actions to ourselves that we did them a favor because we liked them.
Benjamin Franklin himself said, "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged."
The reverse effect is also true, and we come to hate our victims, which helps to explain wartime atrocities. We de-humanize the enemy, which decrease the dissonance of killing and other things in which we would never normally indulge.
///////////////////
////////////FMLY OVER CNTRY?
////////////Be a More Efficient Driver
# Brakes are your enemy. When you step on them, you have spent gas to go nowhere. Think ahead to limit the amount of brakes that you need to use. Trust me, it becomes a habit very quickly and you no longer have to think.
# Coast to red lights. Why use gas when you are going to have to stop?
# Coast down hills. I see a lot of people gunning it just to have to brake when they reach person in front of them.
# Coast to green lights far ahead of you. If it has been green for a LONG time, you might not make that light by the time you get there. That will force you to brake (see #1).
# Don’t tailgate… …In fact do the opposite. Leave plenty of room between you and the person behind you. If the person needs to slow down a little, you can coast to catch up a little instead of using your breaks.
# Take three rights instead of a left. UPS drivers do this in metro areas like NYC and found that they save fuel that would have been spent idling. Only look to do this at those really difficult left turns.
# Use Cruise Control. A constant speed is the most fuel efficient.
# Drive between 40-60 miles per hour. If you have a lighter car, you can aim for the 60 MPH number. If you have a heavier car, you’ll want to go 40 MPH. Go here for more information why.
# Avoid Traffic. Don’t drive during times of high traffic if you can avoid it.
# Use a GPS tracker. Time spent lost is gas wasted.
# Avoid air conditioning (if you stand it). Some tests seem to show that it’s not a big factor, so if it really impacts your comfort level, you might want to consider using air conditioning.
/////////////////WHAT TYPE OF A TOM R U? PLSING XHITE PPL
///////////////////Carnegie Mellon Mourns Passing Of Randy Pausch
A walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch
Reporting
Mary Robb Jackson
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The Carnegie Mellon University campus is mourning the death of Randy Pausch, the professor whose inspirational "Last Lecture" became an Internet sensation.
Pausch, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since September of 2006, died at his home in Virginia this morning.
Word of his death has quickly spread and calls have been coming in from all over the world from those touched by his message.
Pausch shared his lifelong adventure and the world took note last September when he gave what has come to be known as the "Last Lecture."
Over the past months on the CMU campus, Pausch has kept students, colleagues and friends up to date on the progress of his terminal cancer on a special webpage.
His last posting described how the chemotherapy was making him so sick and weak that it wasn't clear if it was the right tradeoff.
Since he wasn't strong enough to post any more messages, a friend updated the website yesterday explaining: "A biopsy last week revealed that the cancer has progressed further than we had thought from recent PETscans. Since last week, Randy has also taken a step down and is much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."
In an obituary released by the school, Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon said, "Randy was a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher. Carnegie Mellon and the world are better places for having Randy Pausch in them."
On campus, people who knew him tried to find words to describe the loss.
"It is very difficult," Pausch's friend, Cleah Schlueter, told KDKA.
Schlueter spoke with Pausch's wife this morning by phone about his final hours.
"He was in pain and I think they knew that he was deteriorating," Schlueter added, "but they didn't thing that he was going to pass so soon. It was kind of unexpected, too."
Pausch, 47, is survived by his wife, Jai, and three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan.
When asked about them, Schlueter said "they're going to survive. I mean that's what you have to do. That's what life is all about."
According to a posting on the CMU website, the Pausch family requests that any donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund.
Meanwhile, a walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch. "Pick Up The Pace" for pancreatic cancer will be held on Sunday, August 17th at the North Park Boathouse.
//////////////////10 MO ON DTH
//////////////////FMLY DRAMA BANDH KAR
////////////////////CONTRACT-2008
////////////////THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR-1973
///////////////HAPPY ENDING
////////////////Ben Franklin Effect
Explanations > Theories > Ben Franklin Effect
Description | Research | So What? | See also | References
Description
When we do a person a favor, we tend to like them more as a result. This is because we justify our actions to ourselves that we did them a favor because we liked them.
Benjamin Franklin himself said, "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged."
The reverse effect is also true, and we come to hate our victims, which helps to explain wartime atrocities. We de-humanize the enemy, which decrease the dissonance of killing and other things in which we would never normally indulge.
///////////////////
CDS 2708071855
///////////IND WOUNDED AGAIN
////////////FMLY OVER CNTRY?
////////////Be a More Efficient Driver
# Brakes are your enemy. When you step on them, you have spent gas to go nowhere. Think ahead to limit the amount of brakes that you need to use. Trust me, it becomes a habit very quickly and you no longer have to think.
# Coast to red lights. Why use gas when you are going to have to stop?
# Coast down hills. I see a lot of people gunning it just to have to brake when they reach person in front of them.
# Coast to green lights far ahead of you. If it has been green for a LONG time, you might not make that light by the time you get there. That will force you to brake (see #1).
# Don’t tailgate… …In fact do the opposite. Leave plenty of room between you and the person behind you. If the person needs to slow down a little, you can coast to catch up a little instead of using your breaks.
# Take three rights instead of a left. UPS drivers do this in metro areas like NYC and found that they save fuel that would have been spent idling. Only look to do this at those really difficult left turns.
# Use Cruise Control. A constant speed is the most fuel efficient.
# Drive between 40-60 miles per hour. If you have a lighter car, you can aim for the 60 MPH number. If you have a heavier car, you’ll want to go 40 MPH. Go here for more information why.
# Avoid Traffic. Don’t drive during times of high traffic if you can avoid it.
# Use a GPS tracker. Time spent lost is gas wasted.
# Avoid air conditioning (if you stand it). Some tests seem to show that it’s not a big factor, so if it really impacts your comfort level, you might want to consider using air conditioning.
/////////////////WHAT TYPE OF A TOM R U? PLSING XHITE PPL
///////////////////Carnegie Mellon Mourns Passing Of Randy Pausch
A walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch
Reporting
Mary Robb Jackson
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The Carnegie Mellon University campus is mourning the death of Randy Pausch, the professor whose inspirational "Last Lecture" became an Internet sensation.
Pausch, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since September of 2006, died at his home in Virginia this morning.
Word of his death has quickly spread and calls have been coming in from all over the world from those touched by his message.
Pausch shared his lifelong adventure and the world took note last September when he gave what has come to be known as the "Last Lecture."
Over the past months on the CMU campus, Pausch has kept students, colleagues and friends up to date on the progress of his terminal cancer on a special webpage.
His last posting described how the chemotherapy was making him so sick and weak that it wasn't clear if it was the right tradeoff.
Since he wasn't strong enough to post any more messages, a friend updated the website yesterday explaining: "A biopsy last week revealed that the cancer has progressed further than we had thought from recent PETscans. Since last week, Randy has also taken a step down and is much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."
In an obituary released by the school, Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon said, "Randy was a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher. Carnegie Mellon and the world are better places for having Randy Pausch in them."
On campus, people who knew him tried to find words to describe the loss.
"It is very difficult," Pausch's friend, Cleah Schlueter, told KDKA.
Schlueter spoke with Pausch's wife this morning by phone about his final hours.
"He was in pain and I think they knew that he was deteriorating," Schlueter added, "but they didn't thing that he was going to pass so soon. It was kind of unexpected, too."
Pausch, 47, is survived by his wife, Jai, and three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan.
When asked about them, Schlueter said "they're going to survive. I mean that's what you have to do. That's what life is all about."
According to a posting on the CMU website, the Pausch family requests that any donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund.
Meanwhile, a walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch. "Pick Up The Pace" for pancreatic cancer will be held on Sunday, August 17th at the North Park Boathouse.
//////////////////10 MO ON DTH
//////////////////FMLY DRAMA BANDH KAR
////////////////////CONTRACT-2008
////////////////THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR-1973
///////////////HAPPY ENDING
////////////////Ben Franklin Effect
Explanations > Theories > Ben Franklin Effect
Description | Research | So What? | See also | References
Description
When we do a person a favor, we tend to like them more as a result. This is because we justify our actions to ourselves that we did them a favor because we liked them.
Benjamin Franklin himself said, "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged."
The reverse effect is also true, and we come to hate our victims, which helps to explain wartime atrocities. We de-humanize the enemy, which decrease the dissonance of killing and other things in which we would never normally indulge.
///////////////////
////////////FMLY OVER CNTRY?
////////////Be a More Efficient Driver
# Brakes are your enemy. When you step on them, you have spent gas to go nowhere. Think ahead to limit the amount of brakes that you need to use. Trust me, it becomes a habit very quickly and you no longer have to think.
# Coast to red lights. Why use gas when you are going to have to stop?
# Coast down hills. I see a lot of people gunning it just to have to brake when they reach person in front of them.
# Coast to green lights far ahead of you. If it has been green for a LONG time, you might not make that light by the time you get there. That will force you to brake (see #1).
# Don’t tailgate… …In fact do the opposite. Leave plenty of room between you and the person behind you. If the person needs to slow down a little, you can coast to catch up a little instead of using your breaks.
# Take three rights instead of a left. UPS drivers do this in metro areas like NYC and found that they save fuel that would have been spent idling. Only look to do this at those really difficult left turns.
# Use Cruise Control. A constant speed is the most fuel efficient.
# Drive between 40-60 miles per hour. If you have a lighter car, you can aim for the 60 MPH number. If you have a heavier car, you’ll want to go 40 MPH. Go here for more information why.
# Avoid Traffic. Don’t drive during times of high traffic if you can avoid it.
# Use a GPS tracker. Time spent lost is gas wasted.
# Avoid air conditioning (if you stand it). Some tests seem to show that it’s not a big factor, so if it really impacts your comfort level, you might want to consider using air conditioning.
/////////////////WHAT TYPE OF A TOM R U? PLSING XHITE PPL
///////////////////Carnegie Mellon Mourns Passing Of Randy Pausch
A walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch
Reporting
Mary Robb Jackson
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― The Carnegie Mellon University campus is mourning the death of Randy Pausch, the professor whose inspirational "Last Lecture" became an Internet sensation.
Pausch, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since September of 2006, died at his home in Virginia this morning.
Word of his death has quickly spread and calls have been coming in from all over the world from those touched by his message.
Pausch shared his lifelong adventure and the world took note last September when he gave what has come to be known as the "Last Lecture."
Over the past months on the CMU campus, Pausch has kept students, colleagues and friends up to date on the progress of his terminal cancer on a special webpage.
His last posting described how the chemotherapy was making him so sick and weak that it wasn't clear if it was the right tradeoff.
Since he wasn't strong enough to post any more messages, a friend updated the website yesterday explaining: "A biopsy last week revealed that the cancer has progressed further than we had thought from recent PETscans. Since last week, Randy has also taken a step down and is much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."
In an obituary released by the school, Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon said, "Randy was a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher. Carnegie Mellon and the world are better places for having Randy Pausch in them."
On campus, people who knew him tried to find words to describe the loss.
"It is very difficult," Pausch's friend, Cleah Schlueter, told KDKA.
Schlueter spoke with Pausch's wife this morning by phone about his final hours.
"He was in pain and I think they knew that he was deteriorating," Schlueter added, "but they didn't thing that he was going to pass so soon. It was kind of unexpected, too."
Pausch, 47, is survived by his wife, Jai, and three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan.
When asked about them, Schlueter said "they're going to survive. I mean that's what you have to do. That's what life is all about."
According to a posting on the CMU website, the Pausch family requests that any donations be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund.
Meanwhile, a walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch. "Pick Up The Pace" for pancreatic cancer will be held on Sunday, August 17th at the North Park Boathouse.
//////////////////10 MO ON DTH
//////////////////FMLY DRAMA BANDH KAR
////////////////////CONTRACT-2008
////////////////THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR-1973
///////////////HAPPY ENDING
////////////////Ben Franklin Effect
Explanations > Theories > Ben Franklin Effect
Description | Research | So What? | See also | References
Description
When we do a person a favor, we tend to like them more as a result. This is because we justify our actions to ourselves that we did them a favor because we liked them.
Benjamin Franklin himself said, "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged."
The reverse effect is also true, and we come to hate our victims, which helps to explain wartime atrocities. We de-humanize the enemy, which decrease the dissonance of killing and other things in which we would never normally indulge.
///////////////////
CDS 270807
/////////////HARD SC-OBJECTIVE
SOFT SC-SUBJECTIVE
//////////////////PHILOSOPHICAL DOUBT
/////////////////AJANTRIK-BARKER SYNDROME
/////////////////Overcome your most primal urge!
Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so
you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College
of Medicine. For best results, try Simpson's "These Boots Are Made for Walking" video.
///////////////////////Doctors writing in the British Medical Journal have said that families should have no more than two children to help the fight against climate change.
ONE KID PLEASE-SAVE THE EARTH-DEFER DESTRUCN OF EARTH-A/W MCLWP
//////////////////Stop The Victim Mentality
It’s really a waste of time, thinking “why me”. I’ve wasted enough brain bytes, going over this question like a mantra and yet, this questioning has not helped me one bit. So my first suggestion is to stop the victim mentality.
When you ask yourself “why me”, you are intending to say that you do not deserve what life has handed out to you. However, from what we know from the Law of Attraction or metaphysics, you cannot be a true victim because you have attracted a negative outcome into your physical reality somehow.
Fortunately, thoughts can be changed, to effect new changes. As you become more positive in your thoughts, you are sending out energy vibrations that match more desirable outcomes. The Universe responds by delivering what you have intended to you.
“Humans think they are asking with their words, or even with their action, and sometimes you are, but the Universe is not responding to your words or your action. The Universe is responding to your vibrational calling.”— Teachings from Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks
////////////////Such a tipping point, for example, would be an ice free Arctic, which could happen within two decades or less (some scientists believe as early as 2013). Already in summer 2007 the Arctic lost in a single week an area of ice almost twice the size of Britain. The vanishing Arctic ice cap means an enormous reduction in the earth’s reflectivity (albedo), thereby sharply increasing global warming (a positive feedback known as the “albedo flip”). At the same time, the rapid disintegration of the ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland points to rising world sea levels, threatening coastal regions and islands.4
The state of the existing “planetary emergency” with respect to climate change was captured this year by James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the leading U.S. climatologist:
Our home planet is dangerously near a tipping point at which human-made greenhouse gases reach a level where major climate changes can proceed mostly under their own momentum. Warming will shift climatic zones by intensifying the hydrologic cycle, affecting freshwater availability and human health. We will see repeated coastal tragedies associated with storms and continuously rising sea levels. The implications are profound, and the only resolution is for humans to move to a fundamentally different energy pathway within a decade. Otherwise, it will be too late for one-third of the world’s animal and plant species and millions of the most vulnerable members of our own species.5
///////////////////CANDLE FOCUS DARK ROOM EXERCISE MEDITATION
////////////////////BEYOND REVENGE-MCCULLOUGH-FORGIVENESS NBC
/////////////////THE DD HEDGEHOG NR HILLCREST RD MVS ME
////////////////AKALER SANDHANE 1980
//////////////////INGROUP MORALITY OF CHIMPANZEES
////////////////////Why is revenge such a pervasive and destructive problem? How can we create a future in which revenge is less common and forgiveness is more common? Psychologist Michael McCullough argues that the key to a more forgiving, less vengeful world is to understand the evolutionary forces that gave rise to these intimately human instincts and the social forces that activate them in human minds today. Drawing on exciting breakthroughs from the social and biological sciences, McCullough dispenses surprising and practical advice for making the world a more forgiving place.
Michael E. McCullough (Miami, Florida), an internationally recognized expert on forgiveness and revenge, is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he directs the Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology.
//////////////////1943-BENGAL FAMINE-50,00,000 PPL STARVED TO DTH
///////////////////ODICOLON=EAU DE COLOGNE
///////////////////HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM
////////////////
SOFT SC-SUBJECTIVE
//////////////////PHILOSOPHICAL DOUBT
/////////////////AJANTRIK-BARKER SYNDROME
/////////////////Overcome your most primal urge!
Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so
you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College
of Medicine. For best results, try Simpson's "These Boots Are Made for Walking" video.
///////////////////////Doctors writing in the British Medical Journal have said that families should have no more than two children to help the fight against climate change.
ONE KID PLEASE-SAVE THE EARTH-DEFER DESTRUCN OF EARTH-A/W MCLWP
//////////////////Stop The Victim Mentality
It’s really a waste of time, thinking “why me”. I’ve wasted enough brain bytes, going over this question like a mantra and yet, this questioning has not helped me one bit. So my first suggestion is to stop the victim mentality.
When you ask yourself “why me”, you are intending to say that you do not deserve what life has handed out to you. However, from what we know from the Law of Attraction or metaphysics, you cannot be a true victim because you have attracted a negative outcome into your physical reality somehow.
Fortunately, thoughts can be changed, to effect new changes. As you become more positive in your thoughts, you are sending out energy vibrations that match more desirable outcomes. The Universe responds by delivering what you have intended to you.
“Humans think they are asking with their words, or even with their action, and sometimes you are, but the Universe is not responding to your words or your action. The Universe is responding to your vibrational calling.”— Teachings from Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks
////////////////Such a tipping point, for example, would be an ice free Arctic, which could happen within two decades or less (some scientists believe as early as 2013). Already in summer 2007 the Arctic lost in a single week an area of ice almost twice the size of Britain. The vanishing Arctic ice cap means an enormous reduction in the earth’s reflectivity (albedo), thereby sharply increasing global warming (a positive feedback known as the “albedo flip”). At the same time, the rapid disintegration of the ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland points to rising world sea levels, threatening coastal regions and islands.4
The state of the existing “planetary emergency” with respect to climate change was captured this year by James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the leading U.S. climatologist:
Our home planet is dangerously near a tipping point at which human-made greenhouse gases reach a level where major climate changes can proceed mostly under their own momentum. Warming will shift climatic zones by intensifying the hydrologic cycle, affecting freshwater availability and human health. We will see repeated coastal tragedies associated with storms and continuously rising sea levels. The implications are profound, and the only resolution is for humans to move to a fundamentally different energy pathway within a decade. Otherwise, it will be too late for one-third of the world’s animal and plant species and millions of the most vulnerable members of our own species.5
///////////////////CANDLE FOCUS DARK ROOM EXERCISE MEDITATION
////////////////////BEYOND REVENGE-MCCULLOUGH-FORGIVENESS NBC
/////////////////THE DD HEDGEHOG NR HILLCREST RD MVS ME
////////////////AKALER SANDHANE 1980
//////////////////INGROUP MORALITY OF CHIMPANZEES
////////////////////Why is revenge such a pervasive and destructive problem? How can we create a future in which revenge is less common and forgiveness is more common? Psychologist Michael McCullough argues that the key to a more forgiving, less vengeful world is to understand the evolutionary forces that gave rise to these intimately human instincts and the social forces that activate them in human minds today. Drawing on exciting breakthroughs from the social and biological sciences, McCullough dispenses surprising and practical advice for making the world a more forgiving place.
Michael E. McCullough (Miami, Florida), an internationally recognized expert on forgiveness and revenge, is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he directs the Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology.
//////////////////1943-BENGAL FAMINE-50,00,000 PPL STARVED TO DTH
///////////////////ODICOLON=EAU DE COLOGNE
///////////////////HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM
////////////////
Thursday, 17 July 2008
MIRRORING PEOPLE-IACOBONI
WIKI=Mirror neuron · Neuroscience
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A mirror neuron is a neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially conspecific) animal. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were itself acting. These neurons have been directly observed in primates, and are believed to exist in humans and in some birds. In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex and the inferior parietal cortex.
Some scientists consider mirror neurons one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade. Among them is V.S. Ramachandran,[1] who believes they might be very important in imitation and language acquisition. However, despite the popularity of this field, to date no plausible neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions such as imitation.[2]
Furthermore, it is generally accepted that no single neurons can be responsible for the phenomenon. Rather, a whole network of neurons (neuronal assembly) is activated when an action is observed.
The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation. These neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers also speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to our theory of mind skills,[3][4] while others relate mirror neurons to language abilities.[5] It has also been proposed that problems with the mirror system may underlie cognitive disorders, in particular autism.[6][7] The connection between mirror neuron dysfunction and autism remains speculative and it is unlikely that mirror neurons are related to many of the important characteristics of autism.[2]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Discovery
* 2 In monkeys
* 3 In humans
o 3.1 Development
* 4 Possible functions
o 4.1 Understanding intentions
o 4.2 Empathy
o 4.3 Language
o 4.4 Autism
o 4.5 Theory of mind
o 4.6 Gender differences
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 8 See also
* 9 External links
[edit] Discovery
In the 1980s and 1990s, Giacomo Rizzolatti was working with Luciano Fadiga, Leonardo Fogassi and Vittorio Gallese at the university in Parma, Italy. These scientists had placed electrodes in the inferior frontal cortex of the macaque monkey to study neurons specialised for the control of hand actions; for example, taking hold of an object and manipulating it. During each experiment, they recorded from a single neuron in the monkey's brain while the monkey was allowed to reach for pieces of food, so the researchers could measure the neuron's response to certain movements.[8] They found that some of the neurons they recorded from would respond when the monkey saw a person pick up a piece of food as well as when the monkey picked up the food. Further experiments confirmed that approximately 10% of neurons in the monkey inferior frontal and inferior parietal cortex have 'mirror' properties and give similar responses to performed hand actions and observed actions.
This work has since been published[9] and confirmed[10] with mirror neurons found in both inferior frontal and inferior parietal regions of the brain. Recently, evidence from fMRI, TMS and EEG and behavioral strongly suggest the presence of similar systems in humans, where brain regions which respond during both action and the observation of action have been identified. Not surprisingly, these brain regions closely match those found in the macaque monkey.[11]
More recently Keysers and colleagues have shown that both in humans and monkeys, the mirror system also responds to the sound of actions.[12][13]
[edit] In monkeys
neonatal (newborn) macaque imitating facial expressions
neonatal (newborn) macaque imitating facial expressions
The only animal in which mirror neurons have been studied individually is the macaque monkey. In these monkeys, mirror neurons are found in the inferior frontal gyrus (region F5) and the inferior parietal lobule.[14]
Mirror neurons are believed to mediate the understanding of other animals' behavior. For example, a mirror neuron which fires when the monkey rips a piece of paper would also fire when the monkey sees a person rip paper, or hears paper ripping (without visual cues). These properties have led researchers to believe that mirror neurons encode abstract concepts of actions like 'ripping paper', whether the action is performed by the monkey or another animal.[15]
The function of mirror neurons in macaques is not known. Adult macaques do not seem to learn by imitation. Recent experiments suggest that infant macaqes can imitate a human's face movements, though only as neonates and during a limited temporal window.[16] However, it is not known if mirror neurons underlie this behaviour.
In adult monkeys, mirror neurons may enable the monkey to understand what another monkey is doing, or to recognise the other monkey's action.[17]
[edit] In humans
Diagram of the brain, showing the locations of the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum, viewed from the left. The inferior frontal lobe is the lower part of the blue area, and the superior parietal lobe is the upper part of the yellow area.
Diagram of the brain, showing the locations of the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum, viewed from the left. The inferior frontal lobe is the lower part of the blue area, and the superior parietal lobe is the upper part of the yellow area.
It is not normally possible to study single neurons in the human brain, so scientists can not be certain that humans have mirror neurons. However, the results of brain imaging experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have shown that the human inferior frontal cortex and superior parietal lobe is active when the person performs an action and also when the person sees another individual performing an action. Therefore, these brain regions are likely to contain mirror neurons and have been defined as the human mirror neuron system.[18] Several indirect measures have been used to study the mirror neuron system in humans. For example, when a person observes another person's action, their motor cortex becomes more excitable.[19] This excitability can be measured by recording the size of a motor evoked potential (MEP) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation. The changes in MEP size are taken as a measure of mirror neuron system activity, because MEPs come from primary motor cortex which is closely connected to the mirror neuron regions of the brain. Recent data suggests that these changes in MEP size can be strongly influenced by training on different stimulus-response mappings, with the strongest enhancement for well-learnt mappings.[20]
Eye tracking provides another indirect measure that may reflect mirror neuron processing. Upon moving his or her hand, a person's eyes move ahead of the hand to look at the object the person will grasp. Similarly, when watching someone else's action, a person's eyes are also likely to anticipate what the other person will do.[21]
[edit] Development
Human infant data using eye-tracking measures suggest that the mirror neuron system develops before 12 months of age, and that this system may help human infants understand other people's actions.[22] A critical question concerns how mirror neurons acquire mirror properties. One model postulates that mirror neurons are trained through Hebbian learning.[23] However, if premotor neurons need to be trained by action in order to acquire mirror properties, it is unclear how newborn babies are able to mimic the facial gestures of another person (imitation of unseen actions), as suggested by the work of Meltzoff & Moore (unless this is a special type of imitation not supported by mirror neurons).
[edit] Possible functions
[edit] Understanding intentions
Many studies link mirror neurons to understanding goals and intentions. Fogassi et al. (2005)[24] recorded the activity of 41 mirror neurons in the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) of two rhesus macaques. The IPL has long been recognized as an association cortex that integrates sensory information. The monkeys watched an experimenter either grasp an apple and bring it to his mouth or grasp an object and place it in a cup. In total, 15 mirror neurons fired vigorously when the monkey observed the "grasp-to-eat" motion, but registered no activity while exposed to the "grasp-to-place" condition. For four other mirror neurons, the reverse held true: they activated in response to the experimenter eventually placing the apple in the cup but not to eating it. Only the type of action, and not the kinematic force with which models manipulated objects, determined neuron activity. Significantly, neurons fired before the monkey observed the human model starting the second motor act (bringing the object to the mouth or placing it in a cup). Therefore, IPL neurons "code the same act (grasping) in a different way according to the final goal of the action in which the act is embedded".[24] They may furnish a neural basis for predicting another individual’s subsequent actions and inferring intention.[24]
[edit] Empathy
Mirror neurons have been linked to empathy, because certain brain regions (in particular the anterior insula and inferior frontal cortex) are active when a person experiences an emotion (disgust, happiness, pain, etc.) and when they see another person experience an emotion.[25] [26][27] However, these brain regions are not quite the same as the ones which mirror hand actions, and mirror neurons for emotional states or empathy have not yet been described in monkeys. More recently, Keysers and colleagues have shown that people that are more empathic according to self-report questionnaires have stronger activations both in the mirror system for hand actions[28] and the mirror system for emotions[29] providing more direct support to the idea that the mirror system is linked to empathy.
[edit] Language
In humans, mirror neurons have been found in the inferior frontal cortex, close to Broca's area, a language region. This has led to suggestions that human language evolved from a gesture performance/understanding system implemented in mirror neurons. Mirror neurons have been said to have the potential to provide a mechanism for action understanding, imitation learning, and the simulation of other people's behaviour.[30] However, like many theories of language evolution, there is little direct evidence either way.
[edit] Autism
Some researchers claim there is a link between mirror neuron deficiency and autism. In typical children, EEG recordings from motor areas are suppressed when the child watches another person move, and this is believed to be an index of mirror neuron activity. However, this suppression is not seen in children with autism.[31] Also, children with autism have less activity in mirror neuron regions of the brain when imitating.[32] Finally, anatomical differences have been found in the mirror neuron related brain areas in adults with autism spectrum disorders, compared to non-autistic adults. All these cortical areas were thinner and the degree of thinning was correlated with autism symptom severity, a correlation nearly restricted to these brain regions.[33] Based on these results, some researchers claim that autism is caused by a lack of mirror neurons, leading to disabilities in social skills, imitation, empathy and theory of mind. This is just one of many theories of autism and it has not yet been proven.[2]
[edit] Theory of mind
In Philosophy of mind, mirror neurons have become the primary rallying call of simulation theorists concerning our 'theory of mind.' 'Theory of mind' refers to our ability to infer another person's mental state (i.e., beliefs and desires) from their experiences or their behavior. For example, if you see a person reaching into a jar labelled 'cookies,' you might assume that he wants a cookie (even if you know the jar is empty) and that he believes there are cookies in the jar.
There are several competing models which attempt to account for our theory of mind; the most notable in relation to mirror neurons is simulation theory. According to simulation theory, theory of mind is available because we subconsciously put ourselves in the shoes of the person we're observing and, accounting for relevant differences, imagine what we would desire and believe in that scenario.[34][35] Mirror neurons have been interpreted as the mechanism by which we simulate others in order to better understand them, and therefore their discovery has been taken by some as a validation of simulation theory (which appeared a decade before the discovery of mirror neurons).[36]
[edit] Gender differences
One study reports stronger MEG responses related to the mirror neuron system in women compared to men;[37] however, because of the relatively small sample sizes, this may be an area for further research.
////////////////HUMAN ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER
//////////MIRROR NEURONS RECREATE THE EMOTION-EMPATHY
////////////FOUNDN OF EMPATHY AND ?MORALITY
//////////////AUTISM =?DEFICIT PY OF MIRROR NEURONES
////////////MEMES IS THE STUFF OF OUR MIND-WE ARE WHAT OUR MEMES ARE-BLAKEMORE
///////////MRR NRNS HELP US REENACT IN OUR BRAIN THE INTENTNS OF OTHR PPL,GIVING US A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER PPLS MENTAL STATES
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A mirror neuron is a neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially conspecific) animal. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were itself acting. These neurons have been directly observed in primates, and are believed to exist in humans and in some birds. In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex and the inferior parietal cortex.
Some scientists consider mirror neurons one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade. Among them is V.S. Ramachandran,[1] who believes they might be very important in imitation and language acquisition. However, despite the popularity of this field, to date no plausible neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions such as imitation.[2]
Furthermore, it is generally accepted that no single neurons can be responsible for the phenomenon. Rather, a whole network of neurons (neuronal assembly) is activated when an action is observed.
The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation. These neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers also speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to our theory of mind skills,[3][4] while others relate mirror neurons to language abilities.[5] It has also been proposed that problems with the mirror system may underlie cognitive disorders, in particular autism.[6][7] The connection between mirror neuron dysfunction and autism remains speculative and it is unlikely that mirror neurons are related to many of the important characteristics of autism.[2]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Discovery
* 2 In monkeys
* 3 In humans
o 3.1 Development
* 4 Possible functions
o 4.1 Understanding intentions
o 4.2 Empathy
o 4.3 Language
o 4.4 Autism
o 4.5 Theory of mind
o 4.6 Gender differences
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 8 See also
* 9 External links
[edit] Discovery
In the 1980s and 1990s, Giacomo Rizzolatti was working with Luciano Fadiga, Leonardo Fogassi and Vittorio Gallese at the university in Parma, Italy. These scientists had placed electrodes in the inferior frontal cortex of the macaque monkey to study neurons specialised for the control of hand actions; for example, taking hold of an object and manipulating it. During each experiment, they recorded from a single neuron in the monkey's brain while the monkey was allowed to reach for pieces of food, so the researchers could measure the neuron's response to certain movements.[8] They found that some of the neurons they recorded from would respond when the monkey saw a person pick up a piece of food as well as when the monkey picked up the food. Further experiments confirmed that approximately 10% of neurons in the monkey inferior frontal and inferior parietal cortex have 'mirror' properties and give similar responses to performed hand actions and observed actions.
This work has since been published[9] and confirmed[10] with mirror neurons found in both inferior frontal and inferior parietal regions of the brain. Recently, evidence from fMRI, TMS and EEG and behavioral strongly suggest the presence of similar systems in humans, where brain regions which respond during both action and the observation of action have been identified. Not surprisingly, these brain regions closely match those found in the macaque monkey.[11]
More recently Keysers and colleagues have shown that both in humans and monkeys, the mirror system also responds to the sound of actions.[12][13]
[edit] In monkeys
neonatal (newborn) macaque imitating facial expressions
neonatal (newborn) macaque imitating facial expressions
The only animal in which mirror neurons have been studied individually is the macaque monkey. In these monkeys, mirror neurons are found in the inferior frontal gyrus (region F5) and the inferior parietal lobule.[14]
Mirror neurons are believed to mediate the understanding of other animals' behavior. For example, a mirror neuron which fires when the monkey rips a piece of paper would also fire when the monkey sees a person rip paper, or hears paper ripping (without visual cues). These properties have led researchers to believe that mirror neurons encode abstract concepts of actions like 'ripping paper', whether the action is performed by the monkey or another animal.[15]
The function of mirror neurons in macaques is not known. Adult macaques do not seem to learn by imitation. Recent experiments suggest that infant macaqes can imitate a human's face movements, though only as neonates and during a limited temporal window.[16] However, it is not known if mirror neurons underlie this behaviour.
In adult monkeys, mirror neurons may enable the monkey to understand what another monkey is doing, or to recognise the other monkey's action.[17]
[edit] In humans
Diagram of the brain, showing the locations of the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum, viewed from the left. The inferior frontal lobe is the lower part of the blue area, and the superior parietal lobe is the upper part of the yellow area.
Diagram of the brain, showing the locations of the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum, viewed from the left. The inferior frontal lobe is the lower part of the blue area, and the superior parietal lobe is the upper part of the yellow area.
It is not normally possible to study single neurons in the human brain, so scientists can not be certain that humans have mirror neurons. However, the results of brain imaging experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have shown that the human inferior frontal cortex and superior parietal lobe is active when the person performs an action and also when the person sees another individual performing an action. Therefore, these brain regions are likely to contain mirror neurons and have been defined as the human mirror neuron system.[18] Several indirect measures have been used to study the mirror neuron system in humans. For example, when a person observes another person's action, their motor cortex becomes more excitable.[19] This excitability can be measured by recording the size of a motor evoked potential (MEP) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation. The changes in MEP size are taken as a measure of mirror neuron system activity, because MEPs come from primary motor cortex which is closely connected to the mirror neuron regions of the brain. Recent data suggests that these changes in MEP size can be strongly influenced by training on different stimulus-response mappings, with the strongest enhancement for well-learnt mappings.[20]
Eye tracking provides another indirect measure that may reflect mirror neuron processing. Upon moving his or her hand, a person's eyes move ahead of the hand to look at the object the person will grasp. Similarly, when watching someone else's action, a person's eyes are also likely to anticipate what the other person will do.[21]
[edit] Development
Human infant data using eye-tracking measures suggest that the mirror neuron system develops before 12 months of age, and that this system may help human infants understand other people's actions.[22] A critical question concerns how mirror neurons acquire mirror properties. One model postulates that mirror neurons are trained through Hebbian learning.[23] However, if premotor neurons need to be trained by action in order to acquire mirror properties, it is unclear how newborn babies are able to mimic the facial gestures of another person (imitation of unseen actions), as suggested by the work of Meltzoff & Moore (unless this is a special type of imitation not supported by mirror neurons).
[edit] Possible functions
[edit] Understanding intentions
Many studies link mirror neurons to understanding goals and intentions. Fogassi et al. (2005)[24] recorded the activity of 41 mirror neurons in the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) of two rhesus macaques. The IPL has long been recognized as an association cortex that integrates sensory information. The monkeys watched an experimenter either grasp an apple and bring it to his mouth or grasp an object and place it in a cup. In total, 15 mirror neurons fired vigorously when the monkey observed the "grasp-to-eat" motion, but registered no activity while exposed to the "grasp-to-place" condition. For four other mirror neurons, the reverse held true: they activated in response to the experimenter eventually placing the apple in the cup but not to eating it. Only the type of action, and not the kinematic force with which models manipulated objects, determined neuron activity. Significantly, neurons fired before the monkey observed the human model starting the second motor act (bringing the object to the mouth or placing it in a cup). Therefore, IPL neurons "code the same act (grasping) in a different way according to the final goal of the action in which the act is embedded".[24] They may furnish a neural basis for predicting another individual’s subsequent actions and inferring intention.[24]
[edit] Empathy
Mirror neurons have been linked to empathy, because certain brain regions (in particular the anterior insula and inferior frontal cortex) are active when a person experiences an emotion (disgust, happiness, pain, etc.) and when they see another person experience an emotion.[25] [26][27] However, these brain regions are not quite the same as the ones which mirror hand actions, and mirror neurons for emotional states or empathy have not yet been described in monkeys. More recently, Keysers and colleagues have shown that people that are more empathic according to self-report questionnaires have stronger activations both in the mirror system for hand actions[28] and the mirror system for emotions[29] providing more direct support to the idea that the mirror system is linked to empathy.
[edit] Language
In humans, mirror neurons have been found in the inferior frontal cortex, close to Broca's area, a language region. This has led to suggestions that human language evolved from a gesture performance/understanding system implemented in mirror neurons. Mirror neurons have been said to have the potential to provide a mechanism for action understanding, imitation learning, and the simulation of other people's behaviour.[30] However, like many theories of language evolution, there is little direct evidence either way.
[edit] Autism
Some researchers claim there is a link between mirror neuron deficiency and autism. In typical children, EEG recordings from motor areas are suppressed when the child watches another person move, and this is believed to be an index of mirror neuron activity. However, this suppression is not seen in children with autism.[31] Also, children with autism have less activity in mirror neuron regions of the brain when imitating.[32] Finally, anatomical differences have been found in the mirror neuron related brain areas in adults with autism spectrum disorders, compared to non-autistic adults. All these cortical areas were thinner and the degree of thinning was correlated with autism symptom severity, a correlation nearly restricted to these brain regions.[33] Based on these results, some researchers claim that autism is caused by a lack of mirror neurons, leading to disabilities in social skills, imitation, empathy and theory of mind. This is just one of many theories of autism and it has not yet been proven.[2]
[edit] Theory of mind
In Philosophy of mind, mirror neurons have become the primary rallying call of simulation theorists concerning our 'theory of mind.' 'Theory of mind' refers to our ability to infer another person's mental state (i.e., beliefs and desires) from their experiences or their behavior. For example, if you see a person reaching into a jar labelled 'cookies,' you might assume that he wants a cookie (even if you know the jar is empty) and that he believes there are cookies in the jar.
There are several competing models which attempt to account for our theory of mind; the most notable in relation to mirror neurons is simulation theory. According to simulation theory, theory of mind is available because we subconsciously put ourselves in the shoes of the person we're observing and, accounting for relevant differences, imagine what we would desire and believe in that scenario.[34][35] Mirror neurons have been interpreted as the mechanism by which we simulate others in order to better understand them, and therefore their discovery has been taken by some as a validation of simulation theory (which appeared a decade before the discovery of mirror neurons).[36]
[edit] Gender differences
One study reports stronger MEG responses related to the mirror neuron system in women compared to men;[37] however, because of the relatively small sample sizes, this may be an area for further research.
////////////////HUMAN ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER
//////////MIRROR NEURONS RECREATE THE EMOTION-EMPATHY
////////////FOUNDN OF EMPATHY AND ?MORALITY
//////////////AUTISM =?DEFICIT PY OF MIRROR NEURONES
////////////MEMES IS THE STUFF OF OUR MIND-WE ARE WHAT OUR MEMES ARE-BLAKEMORE
///////////MRR NRNS HELP US REENACT IN OUR BRAIN THE INTENTNS OF OTHR PPL,GIVING US A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER PPLS MENTAL STATES
CDS 170708-ANTICIPATING 24 WEEKER-Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.' Ogden Nash
/////////////TOPHATS
//////////////PED RESUS-WETFAGS
//////////////////Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.'
Ogden Nash
////////////////////Wealth, democratisation and tolerance
Among the 52 countries and territories for which long-term comparative data were available, India, Ireland, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South Korea showed steep upticks in happiness last year, while the happiness quotient in 14 other countries, including nine in Europe, also rose, though less sharply.
Those 14 countries are: Argentina, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
/////////////////Gene makes Africans more susceptible to HIV
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Cosmos Online
Anopheles mosquito
Higher risk: A gene which confers some protection against malaria - carried by this Anopheles mosquito - has been found to increase susceptibility to HIV.
Credit: Wikimedia
Sign up to the Cosmos weekly newsletter
Related articles
* Major role for genes in AIDS progression
* Gene for human height revealed
* 'Warrior gene' more prevalent in New Zealand's Maoris
* Tiny dogs have tiny mutation
* Out of Africa: Human odyssey traced in detail
SYDNEY: A genetic variation, which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has, now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent.
Conversely, according to a new study, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years.
The discovery marks the first genetic risk factor for HIV found only in people of African descent, and sheds light on the differences in genetic makeup that play a crucial role in susceptibility to HIV and AIDS.
25-year study
The research, published today in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, was the product of an international research project led by Sunil K. Ahuja, from the University of Texas Health Science Centre in San Antonio, USA.
Researchers there, and at University College London (UCL) in the U.K., analysed data from a 25-year study of thousands of Americans of different ethnic backgrounds.
The gene that the research focused on encodes a binding protein found on the surface of cells, called Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC). The variation of this gene, which is common in people of African descent, means that they do not express DARC on red blood cells.
DARC influences the levels of inflammatory and anti-HIV blood factors called chemokines and is not the gene related to the disease sickle cell anaemia, which also confers some malaria resistance.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, the vast majority of people do not express DARC on their red blood cells and previous research has shown that this variation seems to have evolved to protect against a particular form of malaria," said co-author Robin Weiss a virologist at UCL in London. "However, this protective effect actually leaves those [people] with the variation more susceptible to HIV."
"The big message here is that something that protected against malaria in the past is now leaving the host more susceptible to HIV," said Weiss.
"Double-edged sword"
"It turns out that having this variation is a double-edged sword," added lead author Ahuja. "The finding is another valuable piece in the puzzle of HIV-AIDS genetics."
HIV affects 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa today, an HIV burden greater than any other region of the world. Around 90 per cent of people in Africa carry the DARC genetic variation, meaning that it may be responsible for an estimated 11 per cent of the HIV burden there, said the researchers.
They noted that sexual behaviour and other social factors do not fully explain the large discrepancy in HIV prevalence in populations around the world, which is why genetic factors are a vital field of study.
With University College London.
////////////////////Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily
activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your
thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware,
and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this
each day, your meditation will have been successful. (Kathleen McDonald, in
_How to Meditate_)
//////////////If you want to become whole
let yourself be partial
if you want to become straight
let yourself be crooked
if you want to become full
let yourself be empty
if you want to be reborn
let yourself die
if you want to be given everything
give everything up
///////////////////SOP=STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
PROTOCOL
//////////////ns= Patient suffered from 'climate change delusion'
Climate change deniers have been having a field day with a recent report of the first known case of a patient diagnosed with "climate change delusion".
The 17-year-old man believed that, due to climate change, his own consumption of water could run supplies dry, leading to the deaths of millions of people. He became suicidal, tried to stop drinking, and had been obsessively checking for leaking taps at home to prevent this happening. The case was reported in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
Andrew Bolt, a columnist at the Herald Sun here in Australia, got the ball rolling. He claimed that the "17-year-old [was] tipped over the edge by global warming fearmongers."
Ultra-conservative US commentator Rush Limbaugh ran with the ball, reading from Bolt's article on his radio show. (Incidentally, in his show that day Limbaugh also expressed his concerns about children being encouraged to ride bikes to school rather than be driven because of environmental concerns. Mr Limbaugh: we are talking about riding bikes, not switching off dialysis machines.)
Both Bolt and Limbaugh would, in all probability, be aware that both clinical depression and psychosis - components of the young man's condition - are relatively common. The causes are still unclear, although genes, brain chemical imbalances, drug abuse and environmental stresses - things like domestic violence, not concerns about climate change - may all play a role.
Bolt also used the case as a hook to call policy makers who purport to take seriously climate change, such as Australian prime minster Kevin Rudd, deluded. Which makes me wonder how Bolt comes to terms with the drought that currently hangs over many Australians. In Melbourne, my hometown, it is the wettest time of year but the dams are only 30% full and we await summer with trepidation.
Or a report from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology released on July 4th projecting that droughts are going to occur more frequently in Australia due to climate change.
Interestingly, the original journal article points out that it is well known that delusions are culturally determined. So in Memphis, a man might believe that he is Elvis; in Washington DC, that he is the President. Twenty years ago, apocalyptic delusions might have revolved around nuclear war. Today, it is climate change.
Of course, this case might just illustrate something that climate change deniers may be anxious to deny: in many parts of the world, concerns about climate change are no longer limited to a small group of professionals, but are a societal concern that is widespread enough to become part of 17-year-old's delusions.
And as the article notes, a 2007 poll found that 85% of Australians are "very" or "fairly" concerned about climate change, significantly more than those concerned about terrorism.
Rachel Nowak, Australasian editor
////////////////////////////
//////////////PED RESUS-WETFAGS
//////////////////Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.'
Ogden Nash
////////////////////Wealth, democratisation and tolerance
Among the 52 countries and territories for which long-term comparative data were available, India, Ireland, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South Korea showed steep upticks in happiness last year, while the happiness quotient in 14 other countries, including nine in Europe, also rose, though less sharply.
Those 14 countries are: Argentina, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
/////////////////Gene makes Africans more susceptible to HIV
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Cosmos Online
Anopheles mosquito
Higher risk: A gene which confers some protection against malaria - carried by this Anopheles mosquito - has been found to increase susceptibility to HIV.
Credit: Wikimedia
Sign up to the Cosmos weekly newsletter
Related articles
* Major role for genes in AIDS progression
* Gene for human height revealed
* 'Warrior gene' more prevalent in New Zealand's Maoris
* Tiny dogs have tiny mutation
* Out of Africa: Human odyssey traced in detail
SYDNEY: A genetic variation, which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has, now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 per cent.
Conversely, according to a new study, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years.
The discovery marks the first genetic risk factor for HIV found only in people of African descent, and sheds light on the differences in genetic makeup that play a crucial role in susceptibility to HIV and AIDS.
25-year study
The research, published today in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, was the product of an international research project led by Sunil K. Ahuja, from the University of Texas Health Science Centre in San Antonio, USA.
Researchers there, and at University College London (UCL) in the U.K., analysed data from a 25-year study of thousands of Americans of different ethnic backgrounds.
The gene that the research focused on encodes a binding protein found on the surface of cells, called Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC). The variation of this gene, which is common in people of African descent, means that they do not express DARC on red blood cells.
DARC influences the levels of inflammatory and anti-HIV blood factors called chemokines and is not the gene related to the disease sickle cell anaemia, which also confers some malaria resistance.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, the vast majority of people do not express DARC on their red blood cells and previous research has shown that this variation seems to have evolved to protect against a particular form of malaria," said co-author Robin Weiss a virologist at UCL in London. "However, this protective effect actually leaves those [people] with the variation more susceptible to HIV."
"The big message here is that something that protected against malaria in the past is now leaving the host more susceptible to HIV," said Weiss.
"Double-edged sword"
"It turns out that having this variation is a double-edged sword," added lead author Ahuja. "The finding is another valuable piece in the puzzle of HIV-AIDS genetics."
HIV affects 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa today, an HIV burden greater than any other region of the world. Around 90 per cent of people in Africa carry the DARC genetic variation, meaning that it may be responsible for an estimated 11 per cent of the HIV burden there, said the researchers.
They noted that sexual behaviour and other social factors do not fully explain the large discrepancy in HIV prevalence in populations around the world, which is why genetic factors are a vital field of study.
With University College London.
////////////////////Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily
activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your
thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware,
and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this
each day, your meditation will have been successful. (Kathleen McDonald, in
_How to Meditate_)
//////////////If you want to become whole
let yourself be partial
if you want to become straight
let yourself be crooked
if you want to become full
let yourself be empty
if you want to be reborn
let yourself die
if you want to be given everything
give everything up
///////////////////SOP=STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
PROTOCOL
//////////////ns= Patient suffered from 'climate change delusion'
Climate change deniers have been having a field day with a recent report of the first known case of a patient diagnosed with "climate change delusion".
The 17-year-old man believed that, due to climate change, his own consumption of water could run supplies dry, leading to the deaths of millions of people. He became suicidal, tried to stop drinking, and had been obsessively checking for leaking taps at home to prevent this happening. The case was reported in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
Andrew Bolt, a columnist at the Herald Sun here in Australia, got the ball rolling. He claimed that the "17-year-old [was] tipped over the edge by global warming fearmongers."
Ultra-conservative US commentator Rush Limbaugh ran with the ball, reading from Bolt's article on his radio show. (Incidentally, in his show that day Limbaugh also expressed his concerns about children being encouraged to ride bikes to school rather than be driven because of environmental concerns. Mr Limbaugh: we are talking about riding bikes, not switching off dialysis machines.)
Both Bolt and Limbaugh would, in all probability, be aware that both clinical depression and psychosis - components of the young man's condition - are relatively common. The causes are still unclear, although genes, brain chemical imbalances, drug abuse and environmental stresses - things like domestic violence, not concerns about climate change - may all play a role.
Bolt also used the case as a hook to call policy makers who purport to take seriously climate change, such as Australian prime minster Kevin Rudd, deluded. Which makes me wonder how Bolt comes to terms with the drought that currently hangs over many Australians. In Melbourne, my hometown, it is the wettest time of year but the dams are only 30% full and we await summer with trepidation.
Or a report from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology released on July 4th projecting that droughts are going to occur more frequently in Australia due to climate change.
Interestingly, the original journal article points out that it is well known that delusions are culturally determined. So in Memphis, a man might believe that he is Elvis; in Washington DC, that he is the President. Twenty years ago, apocalyptic delusions might have revolved around nuclear war. Today, it is climate change.
Of course, this case might just illustrate something that climate change deniers may be anxious to deny: in many parts of the world, concerns about climate change are no longer limited to a small group of professionals, but are a societal concern that is widespread enough to become part of 17-year-old's delusions.
And as the article notes, a 2007 poll found that 85% of Australians are "very" or "fairly" concerned about climate change, significantly more than those concerned about terrorism.
Rachel Nowak, Australasian editor
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