Thursday, August 19
Thought and Metabolism
To regulate adaptive behaviour, the brain relies on a continuous flow of cognitive and memory-related processes that require a constant energy supply. Weighing around 1,200 grams in women and 1,300 grams in men, on average, the brain consumes around 90 grams, or 340 kilocalories’ worth, of glucose per day, accounting for around half of the body’s glucose demand1,2.
The tight integration of metabolic and cognition-related signals might aid the matching of the brain’s energy supply to its energy needs, by optimizing foraging behaviour and efforts to limit energy expenditure.
The synchronization of glucose supply with brain activity has so far been considered a function of a structure called the hypothalamus, at the base of the brain. Writing in Nature, Tingley et al.3 provide evidence in rats for the role of another brain region, called the hippocampus, which is typically implicated in memory and navigation, in this equation (Fig. 1).
Figure 1 | Brain signals that regulate glucose levels in the body periphery. The hypothalamus in the brain helps to regulate glucose concentrations in the blood and in the interstitial fluid that surrounds cells in the body. This hypothalamic (feedback-mediated) regulation is activated, for example, during stress. Tingley et al.3 provide evidence in rats that another brain structure, the hippocampus, also regulates peripheral glucose concentrations. In the hippocampus, oscillatory patterns — called sharp wave-ripples (SPW-Rs) — emerge in the collective electrical potential across the membranes of neurons. They seem to signal, by way of a region called the lateral septum, to the hypothalamus to produce dips in interstitial glucose concentration about 10 minutes later. The feedback mechanism in this regulatory loop is unknown (dashed arrow). Given that hippocampal SPW-Rs are a hallmark of the reprocessing of previous experiences, they might thus control the brain’s energy supply during a ‘thought-like’ mode.
The hippocampus receives many types of sensory and metabolic information, and projections from neuronal cells in the hippocampus extend to various parts of the brain, including the hypothalamus. Thus, the hippocampus might indeed represent a hub in which metabolic signals are integrated with cognitive processes3.
Figure 1 | Brain signals that regulate glucose levels in the body periphery. The hypothalamus in the brain helps to regulate glucose concentrations in the blood and in the interstitial fluid that surrounds cells in the body. This hypothalamic (feedback-mediated) regulation is activated, for example, during stress. Tingley et al.3 provide evidence in rats that another brain structure, the hippocampus, also regulates peripheral glucose concentrations. In the hippocampus, oscillatory patterns — called sharp wave-ripples (SPW-Rs) — emerge in the collective electrical potential across the membranes of neurons. They seem to signal, by way of a region called the lateral septum, to the hypothalamus to produce dips in interstitial glucose concentration about 10 minutes later. The feedback mechanism in this regulatory loop is unknown (dashed arrow). Given that hippocampal SPW-Rs are a hallmark of the reprocessing of previous experiences, they might thus control the brain’s energy supply during a ‘thought-like’ mode.
The hippocampus receives many types of sensory and metabolic information, and projections from neuronal cells in the hippocampus extend to various parts of the brain, including the hypothalamus. Thus, the hippocampus might indeed represent a hub in which metabolic signals are integrated with cognitive processes3.
To examine this possibility, Tingley and colleagues recorded oscillatory patterns called sharp wave-ripples (SPW-Rs), reflecting changes in electrical potential across the cell membranes of neuronal-cell ensembles in the hippocampi of rats. They did this while using a sensor inserted under the skin of the animals’ backs to continuously measure glucose levels in the interstitial fluid surrounding the cells there. READ MORE
Underpinnings of Consciousness
Consciousness is arguably the most important scientific topic there is. Without consciousness, there would after all be no science.
But while we all know what it is like to be conscious – meaning that we have personal awareness and respond to the world around us – it has turned out to be near impossible to explain exactly how it arises from the hardware of the brain.
This is dubbed the “hard” problem of consciousness.
Solving the hard problem is a matter of great scientific curiosity. But so far, we haven’t even solved the “easy” problems of explaining which brain systems give rise to conscious experiences in general – in humans or other animals.
This is of huge clinical importance. Disorders of consciousness are a common consequence of severe brain injury and include comas and vegetative states. And we all experience temporary loss of awareness when under anaesthesia during an operation.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, we have now shown that conscious brain activity seems to be linked to the brain’s “pleasure chemical”, dopamine. READ MORE
Solving the hard problem is a matter of great scientific curiosity. But so far, we haven’t even solved the “easy” problems of explaining which brain systems give rise to conscious experiences in general – in humans or other animals.
This is of huge clinical importance. Disorders of consciousness are a common consequence of severe brain injury and include comas and vegetative states. And we all experience temporary loss of awareness when under anaesthesia during an operation.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, we have now shown that conscious brain activity seems to be linked to the brain’s “pleasure chemical”, dopamine. READ MORE
Ancient Genetics
A joint research team led by Prof. FU Qiaomei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sequenced the ancient genomes of 31 individuals from southern East Asia, thus unveiling a missing piece of human prehistory.
The study was recently published in the journal Cell.
Prof. FU’s team used DNA capture techniques to retrieve ancient DNA from Guangxi and Fujian, two provincial-level regions in southern China.
They sequenced genome-wide DNA from 31 individuals dating back 11,747 to 194 years ago. Of these, two date back to more than 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest genomes sampled from southern East Asia and Southeast Asia to date.
Previous ancient DNA studies showed that ~8,000-4,000-year-old Southeast Asian Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers possessed deeply divergent Asian ancestry, whereas the first Southeast Asian farmers beginning ~4,000 years ago show a mixture of ancestry associated with Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers and present-day southern Chinese populations.
Previous ancient DNA studies showed that ~8,000-4,000-year-old Southeast Asian Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers possessed deeply divergent Asian ancestry, whereas the first Southeast Asian farmers beginning ~4,000 years ago show a mixture of ancestry associated with Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers and present-day southern Chinese populations.
In coastal southern China, ~9,000-4,000-year-old individuals from Fujian province show ancestry not as deeply divergent as the Hòabìnhian. READ MORE
Wednesday, August 18
Afghanistan
How Obama freed key Taliban leader in 2014 in prisoner swap despite pentagon warnings only for him to spearhead steaming take-over of Kabul
- Former president released five Taliban commanders from Guantanamo in 2014
- He promised US public Taliban Five would be stopped from harming Afghanistan
- But one of them ended up brokering terms of US troop withdrawal this year
- Khairullah Khairkhwa was sent to Qatar after detention camp but formed regime
- He promised Biden's Afghanistan envoy that Taliban wouldn't launch offensive
- But the warlords are now trying to track down Afghans who sided with allies
- US soldier they were exchanged for has since been dishonourably discharged
By ISABELLA NIKOLIC FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:36 EDT, 17 August 2021 | UPDATED: 18:43 EDT, 17 August 2021
Surviving & Living With Cancer(s)
When I was 60 years old (2007) I was diagnosed with non-hodgkin's "b" cell lymphoma and was told by my oncologist that this type of cancer would never leave my body. my cancer was staged at level iv which in many cases is terminal but in my case it was because the lymphoma was in my bone marrow.
In 2011/2012, I worked in kentucky for a few months and the oncologist there ordered Cytoxin and Fludara in addition to my Rituxan and it is widely believed that one of those first two drugs caused me contract melanoma.
My oncologist treated me for both cancers and for a while, he was not sure if he was going to be successful in stopping their growth. So, in 2017/2018, Radiation was added to my monthly infusions.
Fortunately, the two individualized treatments worked and both my cancers started to experience minimal growth if any growth at all. Again, with a biopsy, my oncologist was unable to determine if it was the lymphoma or the melanoma that was growing.
After 13 years of chemo treatments, surgeries, radiation, and immunotherapy treatments, I have left with the following situation with which I must live:
- hypothyroidism
- Lymphodema in my left leg
- Weight gain of 50 pounds (of which I have lost 30)
- anemia due to very low red blood cell count
- no immunity due to very low white blood cell count
- low platelet count
- intermittent nausea
- High susceptability to squamous carcinomas (of which I have had 6 surgically removed)
- constant mild to not so mild fatigue
- no taste of food
- swollen prostate
- extreme sensitivity to sun rays
- Extreme sensitivity to humidity
- constant sinus infections
- constant facial skin infections
- Pink skin pigment has disappeared
- Mouth soars
- minor loss of hearing
- intermittant blurred vision
- intermittant diarrhea
- an increase in tooth decay
- increase risk of afib
- allergic reactions to bug bites
- increased risk of deyhydration
- minor bouts of depression
Are all of these related to my cancer treatments?
Well...
maybe yes...
maybe no...
Some could be related to old age or not...
I don't really think about living with cancer, I just think about living my life, one day at a time, while trying to make the most out of each day. If I make the most out of each day, then I consider myself to be living a successful life and living a successful life is, for me, a form of happiness.
There were many days still lodged in my memory banks where I laid on the tile floor in the bathroom, puking my guts out.... I remember my body convulsing and arching as I tried for many seconds to bring up through my throat what my body did not want.
I remember those episodes lasting for hours as my body heaved and pulled from the inside... my upper body became super hot and broke out in sweat that made me feel I had just gotten out of the shower.
I was completely exhausted from the vomiting and laid on the tile floor waiting for the next episode to grab hold of me... Sometimes, it would get so bad and of a long duration that my wife would take me to the ER.
i don't like being around stangers in a waiting room when i am convulsing and vomiting and trying to puke out what little is left inside. It is embarrassing and rather humiliating but necessary.
Those days are gone for good I hope...
Populist Press
- Supreme Court Delivers Massive 9–0 Ruling Against Biden’s Administration
- Audit Takes Massive Turn — Release Date Revealed
- Democrats Arrested and Charged With Rigging Election With Ballot Scheme
- Biden Leaves White House Again — Where He’s Going Has Infuriated Everyone
- Warning Of Mass Suicide On Military Base
- Breaking: China Dispatches Warships, ASW Aircraft and Fighter Jets
- Woke NFL Team Requires Fans To Be Vaccinated To Enter Stadium
- Trump Gets Back At Biden In BIG Way After Being Blamed For Afghanistan Disaster
- WARNING: Chaos In The US Is Coming Soon
- Thousands Of Rescued Afghan Refugees Coming To US Before Americans
- LIVE REMARKS: Joe Biden Speaks on His Afghanistan Disaster
- Biden Admin Unveils Potential Catastrophic Plan as Afghanistan Falls
- China Seizes on Collapse of Afghanistan — Goes After Joe Biden With Latest Move
- Shots Fired At US Troops At Kabul Airport
- Kamala Turns On Joe Biden
The Great Reset
The Great Reset: The Global Elite’s Plan To Radically Remake Our Economic And Social Lives August 16, 2021
What will this change look like? The global elites want to create a society of renters who own nothing, while also pushing a social agenda that would be unpopular with the unwashed masses and difficult to implement in a society with a broad, ownership-based middle class. What this means is that you would rent not just your home, but also your phone, computer, car (though you probably will “carshare,” the term for renting a car when you need one for an extended period and summoning one when you need it for a ride), and even the pots and pans you cook with.
The flip side of this will be a radical transformation of the world economy. No longer will you have a job in the sense that it has traditionally been understood. Instead, you will work various and sundry “gigs,” all of which place you in a precarious position at any given time. You will receive a fee for services performed, with no benefits, paid time off, healthcare, or anything else that the middle class in the West has become accustomed to.
To facilitate the Great Reset, rural populations will have to be coerced into more concentrated population centers since dispersed populations have too high a “carbon footprint.” The suburbs will be a thing of the past as suburbs and exurbs become more like cities. Mixed-use housing, where you and 500 other people live in a mid-rise condo hive with shops and “workshare” spaces (the new version of an office – on your dime, not your employer’s) in the same area.
The short version is that it’s a total end to the American way of life, specifically the way of life of most of the Western middle class. The specifics, including the why, are a longer story that you’re going to want to read if you want to be ready to fight against the Great Reset. TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...
Sam Jacobs, The Great Reset is upon us…or at least the powers that be are trying to bring it out. What was once a fringe “conspiracy theory” is now on display plain as day for everyone to see. The economic, political, academic, and media elites around the world are leveraging the chaos, confusion, and restrictions on liberty from the COVID-19 lockdowns and using them to radically alter society around the world.
What will this change look like? The global elites want to create a society of renters who own nothing, while also pushing a social agenda that would be unpopular with the unwashed masses and difficult to implement in a society with a broad, ownership-based middle class. What this means is that you would rent not just your home, but also your phone, computer, car (though you probably will “carshare,” the term for renting a car when you need one for an extended period and summoning one when you need it for a ride), and even the pots and pans you cook with.
The flip side of this will be a radical transformation of the world economy. No longer will you have a job in the sense that it has traditionally been understood. Instead, you will work various and sundry “gigs,” all of which place you in a precarious position at any given time. You will receive a fee for services performed, with no benefits, paid time off, healthcare, or anything else that the middle class in the West has become accustomed to.
To facilitate the Great Reset, rural populations will have to be coerced into more concentrated population centers since dispersed populations have too high a “carbon footprint.” The suburbs will be a thing of the past as suburbs and exurbs become more like cities. Mixed-use housing, where you and 500 other people live in a mid-rise condo hive with shops and “workshare” spaces (the new version of an office – on your dime, not your employer’s) in the same area.
The short version is that it’s a total end to the American way of life, specifically the way of life of most of the Western middle class. The specifics, including the why, are a longer story that you’re going to want to read if you want to be ready to fight against the Great Reset. TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...
NASA Astronauts
The publication claims that Auñón-Chancellor had an emotional breakdown in space, then damaged a Russian spacecraft in order to return early. This, of course, is a complete fabrication.
The context for the article is the recent, near-disastrous docking of the Russian Nauka science module with the International Space Station.
The context for the article is the recent, near-disastrous docking of the Russian Nauka science module with the International Space Station.
The TASS article attempts to rebut criticism in US publications (including Ars Technica) that covered the incident and raised questions about the future of the Roscosmos-NASA partnership in space.
One of a dozen rebuttals in the TASS article concerns a 2018 incident—a 2 mm breach in the orbital module of the Soyuz MS-09 vehicle docked with the International Space Station.
One of a dozen rebuttals in the TASS article concerns a 2018 incident—a 2 mm breach in the orbital module of the Soyuz MS-09 vehicle docked with the International Space Station.
Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, and NASA's Auñón-Chancellor had flown to the station inside this Soyuz in June. The leak was discovered in late August.
Left unchecked, the small hole would have depressurized the station in about two weeks. Fortunately, cosmonauts were able to patch the hole with epoxy, and the Soyuz spacecraft was deemed safe to fly its crew of three back to Earth.
Attention quickly turned to what had caused the hole to appear. A micrometeoroid strike was ruled out. Some Russian media reported that it had been caused by a manufacturing or testing defect, and this seems to be the most plausible theory.
Left unchecked, the small hole would have depressurized the station in about two weeks. Fortunately, cosmonauts were able to patch the hole with epoxy, and the Soyuz spacecraft was deemed safe to fly its crew of three back to Earth.
Attention quickly turned to what had caused the hole to appear. A micrometeoroid strike was ruled out. Some Russian media reported that it had been caused by a manufacturing or testing defect, and this seems to be the most plausible theory.
At the same time, however, sources in the Russian government started baseless rumors that perhaps a disgruntled NASA astronaut had drilled the hole. READ MORE
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