Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight.
Their findings, published in the Dec. 20, 2009, issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, add new insight to our understanding of how attention is controlled by the brain. The results are closely related to a neurological disorder known as the neglect syndrome, and they may also shed light on the origins of other disorders associated with chronic attention problems, such as autism or attention deficit disorder.
"Our ability to survive in the world depends critically on our ability to respond to relevant pieces of information and ignore others," explains graduate student and first author Lee Lovejoy, who conducted the study together with Richard Krauzlis, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Salk's Systems Neurobiology Laboratory. "Our work shows that the superior colliculus is involved in the selection of things we will respond to, either by looking at them or by thinking about them."
Health & Wellness
© Daily Telegraph
Transplant: David Waters received the heart from Kaden Delaney (top right). David holds Kaden's baby sister who was born after he passed away. He now craves Burger Rings - one of Kaden's favourite snacks
Transplant: David Waters received the heart from Kaden Delaney (top right). David holds Kaden's baby sister who was born after he passed away. He now craves Burger Rings - one of Kaden's favourite snacks
David Waters cannot stop eating an Australian-made snack food called Burger Rings, and he has now found out that the teenager whose heart he received was always eating the same snack.
The curious case adds weight to a theory that the brain is not the only organ to store memories or personality traits.
Some researchers believe that a memory process can develop in other parts of the body, such as the heart, a phenomenon known as 'cellular memory'.
© University of New South Wales
Chest X-ray image: One in three people already carry the TB bacterium
Chest X-ray image: One in three people already carry the TB bacterium
Australian researchers from the University of New South Wales and the University of Western Sydney have published the new finding in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Laboratory-based studies have suggested that antibiotic-resistant TB strains cause longer-lasting infections but with a lower transmission rate. Therefore, scientists have questioned whether drug-resistant TB strains are more likely than drug-sensitive strains to persist and spread - an important question for predicting the future impact of the disease.
© AP Photo/David Longstreath
This Oct. 5, 2009 photo shows tuberculosis and HIV patient Vancherleum Maharathanaing, 33, looking out from the isolation ward at Wat Prabat Nampu, in Lopburi, Thailand. Simple TB is simple to treat, a $10 course of medication, but the pills must be taken in specific combinations for six months to completely wipe out the bacteria. If treatment is stopped short, the TB learns to fight back against the drugs, mutating into a tougher strain for which few, if any, medications exist. It can cost $100,000 a year or more to cure drug-resistant TB, which is described as multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extremely drug-resistant (XDR) and completely drug-resistant (CDR).
This Oct. 5, 2009 photo shows tuberculosis and HIV patient Vancherleum Maharathanaing, 33, looking out from the isolation ward at Wat Prabat Nampu, in Lopburi, Thailand. Simple TB is simple to treat, a $10 course of medication, but the pills must be taken in specific combinations for six months to completely wipe out the bacteria. If treatment is stopped short, the TB learns to fight back against the drugs, mutating into a tougher strain for which few, if any, medications exist. It can cost $100,000 a year or more to cure drug-resistant TB, which is described as multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extremely drug-resistant (XDR) and completely drug-resistant (CDR).
Then came the fevers. They bathed and chilled the skinny frame of Oswaldo Juarez, a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English. His lungs clattered, his chest tightened and he ached with every gasp. During a wheezing fit at 4 a.m., Juarez felt a warm knot rise from his throat. He ran to the bathroom sink and spewed a mouthful of blood.
I'm dying, he told himself, "because when you cough blood, it's something really bad."
It was really bad, and not just for him.
Doctors say Juarez's incessant hack was a sign of what they have both dreaded and expected for years - this country's first case of a contagious, aggressive, especially drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. The Associated Press learned of his case, which until now has not been made public, as part of a six-month look at the soaring global challenge of drug resistance.
Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, a study published online on December 24th by Cell Press in the journal Cell Stem Cell uncovers an unexpected new role for this natural compound: facilitating the generation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells.
Over the past few years, we have learned that adult cells can be reprogrammed into cells with characteristics similar to embryonic stem cells by turning on a select set of genes. Although the reprogrammed cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), have tremendous potential for regenerative medicine, the conversion is extremely inefficient.
"The low efficiency of the reprogramming process has hampered progress with this technology and is indicative of how little we understand it. Further, this process is most challenging in human cells, raising a significant barrier for producing iPSCs and serious concerns about the quality of the cells that are generated," explains senior study author Dr. Duanqing Pei from the South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Over the past few years, we have learned that adult cells can be reprogrammed into cells with characteristics similar to embryonic stem cells by turning on a select set of genes. Although the reprogrammed cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), have tremendous potential for regenerative medicine, the conversion is extremely inefficient.
"The low efficiency of the reprogramming process has hampered progress with this technology and is indicative of how little we understand it. Further, this process is most challenging in human cells, raising a significant barrier for producing iPSCs and serious concerns about the quality of the cells that are generated," explains senior study author Dr. Duanqing Pei from the South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A study published by Bionsen, a company in the United Kingdom that sells aluminum-free body products, found that the average woman applies 515 chemicals to her face a day. Makeup, perfumes, lotions, mascara, and other beauty products all contribute to the toxic brew that is causing health problems for many women.
The study revealed that the typical woman uses about 13 different beauty products a day. Most of these products contain at least 20 ingredients and additives, many of which can have a detrimental effect on the body and skin. Perfumes alone were found to contain up to 400 different ingredients.
The study revealed that the typical woman uses about 13 different beauty products a day. Most of these products contain at least 20 ingredients and additives, many of which can have a detrimental effect on the body and skin. Perfumes alone were found to contain up to 400 different ingredients.
Imagine you are a man who has just been told you have a disease that might kill you -- prostate cancer. And the treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and/or hormones that could rob you of your virility, wreck your sex life and even interfere with your ability to urinate. Sound depressing and even terrifying? To some men, this disturbing news may actually be a lot more dangerous than their prostate cancer. A new study just published in PLoS Medicine has found that men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer have an increased risk of cardiovascular events and suicide -- with the youngest men being the most vulnerable.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and Harvard University used the Swedish Cancer Register to identify 168,584 men 30 years old or older who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1961 and 2004. The research team then turned to Sweden's Causes of Death Register and Inpatient Register to compile information on how many of these men suffered from subsequent fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events and suicides.
The results showed that prior to 1987, men were approximately 11 times more likely to have a fatal cardiovascular event during the first week after they were told they had prostate cancer than men without the disease.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and Harvard University used the Swedish Cancer Register to identify 168,584 men 30 years old or older who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1961 and 2004. The research team then turned to Sweden's Causes of Death Register and Inpatient Register to compile information on how many of these men suffered from subsequent fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events and suicides.
The results showed that prior to 1987, men were approximately 11 times more likely to have a fatal cardiovascular event during the first week after they were told they had prostate cancer than men without the disease.
Autism was first brought forth to the public's attention in the 1950's. Since then, it has been rising steadily. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently released that today 1 in 110 children are autistic. More alarming is the fact that on December 18, 2009, it reported that autism increased by 57% in the last four years.
Most experts attribute the cause of autism to be unknown, defining it as a combination of genetic and environmental factors. However, there has been much controversy as to what, indeed, is responsible for our children not being able to communicate, form relationships, and/or respond to their surroundings.
The most popular of these controversies is vaccines, pointing directly to the Mumps-Measles-Rubella vaccine and the mercury based preservative, thimerosal. Other theories include:
Most experts attribute the cause of autism to be unknown, defining it as a combination of genetic and environmental factors. However, there has been much controversy as to what, indeed, is responsible for our children not being able to communicate, form relationships, and/or respond to their surroundings.
The most popular of these controversies is vaccines, pointing directly to the Mumps-Measles-Rubella vaccine and the mercury based preservative, thimerosal. Other theories include:
- Genetics
- Atypical Brain Development
- Immune Deficiency Disorder
- Food Allergies
- Poor Nutrition
- Complications During Delivery
- Environmental Toxins
- Exposure to Heavy Metals
© PR
"It's attacking boredom, as simple as that" ...Dylan Moran.
"It's attacking boredom, as simple as that" ...Dylan Moran.
You've developed a reputation for being a curmudgeonly grump. Aren't you a bit young?
Hang on a minute there, we have to examine this closely. What is the national designated age for the transformation of a well-balanced human being into curmudgeonly grump?
But 38 isn't old, is it?
The thing is, you have to look for a commonality when you're writing about anything and nothing is more universal than lifespan. I'm just playing with the idea of lifespan, my place in it and the resentment that I've left the goodies behind.
According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates lead to excessive insulin release, which in turn leads to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia causes the brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.
The glutamate that causes this is identical to the flavor-enhancing monosodium glutamate (MSG) and its chemical cousins, which are found in thousands of food products, further exacerbating the problem.
Repeated hypoglycemic episodes increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and ALS (Lou Gehrig's). In children, hypoglycemia often leads to hyperactivity. In both children and adults, it can cause violent and aggressive behavior. In older people, there can be mental confusion.
An anti-hypoglycemic diet would consist of lean meat and lots of fresh vegetables. Another key is limiting sugars and starches.
Sources:
CBN News July 1, 2008
