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Hunger Can Make You Happy

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:29:37 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: The researchers think that hunger-induced happiness is an adaptive measure. Getting food, especially in the wild, requires concentration, clear-headed perception and often cooperation.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Contrary to the moans of many dieters, being hungry may make you happy. Or, at least, it can be a serious motivator whose evolutionary intent was to help you find dinner instead of becoming dinner.

When our bodies notice we need more calories, levels of a hormone called ghrelin increase. Ghrelin is known to spur hunger, but new research suggests this may be a side effect of its primary job as a stress-buster.

Researchers manipulated ghrelin levels in mice through a variety of methods, including prolonged calorie restriction, ghrelin injection and a genetic modification rendering the mice numb to ghrelin’s effect.

Mice who had limited ghrelin activity seemed depressed. If pushed into deep water they made no effort to swim. When introduced to a maze, they clung to the entryway. And when placed with other mice, they tended to keep to themselves. (These behaviors were reversed when the mice were given a low-dose antidepressant commonly prescribed to humans.)

Tags: hunger, happy, ghrelin

"Second Thoughts" - Found in Brain

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:17:31 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: static-p4.fotolia.com

Clip Source: www.webmd.com

The a little voice in your head that warns you not to do something you were just about to do is real, brain researchers say.

researchers now say last-minute second thoughts come from a specific part of the brain

"Many people recognize the 'little voice inside the head' that stops you from doing something, like pressing the 'send' button on an angry email," Haggard says in a news release. "Our study identifies the brain processes involved in that last-minute rethink about what we are doing."

Brass and Haggard find that a brain region just above and between your eyes -- the dorsal fronto-median cortex or dFMC -- is specifically designed to let you pull back from doing something you were just about to do.

The participants were asked to decide to push a button at times of their own choosing.

The subjects reported feeling frustrated when they did not push the button as they had intended to do. That fit with their brain scans; a part of the brain linked to feelings of frustration

New Pleasure Principles

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:42:35 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: A neuroscientist discusses a few ways that pleasure shapes us and makes life more enjoyable.

Clip Source: www.spurdesign.com

Clip Source: www.rd.com

A neuroscientist discusses a few ways that pleasure shapes us and makes life more enjoyable.

We talked with University of Oxford neuroscientist Morten Kringelbach, author of the upcoming book The Pleasure Center, about his revolutionary research and our constant craving to feel good.

Can pleasure be used as medicine?
We can implant electrodes in the brain of a person in pain. When we stimulate the right spots, almost magically the pain goes away. The relief is very pleasurable. This can help people with depression too.

Can I get an electrode just for fun?
It wouldn't work. The brain balances itself, and while you can help restore that balance temporarily, you can't permanently swing it one way or the other. That's why many people, even those who aren't getting any treatment, will probably come out of depression within a year.

The Future Isn't What it Used to Be! (It's Going to be Better)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:09:11 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

The future continues to get better for most of the world, but a series of tipping points could drastically alter global prospects."

2008 UN State of the Future Report

We've seen the future ... and we may not be doomed. So says the UN 2008 State of the Future Report that finds life is getting better for people worldwide, but that governments are failing to respond to critical time-sensitive opportunities.

"This is a unique time in history. Mobile phones, the internet, international trade, language translation and jet planes are giving birth to an interdependent humanity that can create and implement global strategies to improve its prospects," reports 2008 State of the Future. "It is increasingly clear that the world has the resources to address our common challenges. Ours is the first generation with the means for many to know the world as a whole, identify global improvement systems, and seek to improve them."

Humanity stands on the threshold of a peaceful and prosperous future

Tags: future, we are not doomed, humanity

NASA Needs to Take Space Sex Seriously

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:27:02 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The fact remains however, that we are naive of the effects of sex in space, let alone if it is even a pleasurable experience. The mechanics of "human docking procedures" (as described by tests carried out by the Russian space agency) are a lot more complicated when in zero gravity.

There are also huge ethical questions hanging over possible pregnancies in space. Zero-G tests on rat embryos produced decreased skeletal and brain development, the effects on a human embryo will remain a mystery.

The fact remains that NASA continues to cut back biological research in favor of future Moon missions, so much about human sexuality in space will remain a mystery.

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

The US space agency needs to have better consideration for the sexual needs of their astronauts during long missions in space.

Also, more research needs to be done to investigate human embryo development in zero-gravity or low-gravity environments, especially if NASA is serious about setting up a colony on Mars in the next 30 years.

These concerns are by no means trivial, basic human needs and the ability to procreate beyond Earth may be critical for missions lasting years…

At a time when the question "Can we have sex in space?" is becoming more and more popular by the future space tourists hoping to become a member of the 100-mile high club, a serious issue is beginning to surface for our long-term presence in space.

although the astronauts selected by NASA, ESA and the other international space agencies are highly professional individuals

sexual desire is as potent as the need for water and food.

Tags: sex, space

Medieval Macabre

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:06:58 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

37. Death and the gentleman. From Der Doten Dantz, printed by Heinrich Knoblochzer, Heidelberg, 1490.

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

10. Demon carrying off a child promised to the Devil. From Geoffrey de Latour Landry's Ritter vom Turn, printed by Michael Furter, Basle, 1493.

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

The demon of greed and the treasure-hunting fool.

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

The demons of Antichrist seducing men by bribe and the destruction of sacred images

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

XLV. The Blind Man

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

XLIII. The Idiot Fool

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

Infernal punishment for the Seven Deadly Sins: the prideful are broken on the wheel

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

the envious are immersed in freezing water

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

Death as a worm-eaten corpse

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

Papist crowning the Devil's pig

Clip Source: www.godecookery.com

For more medieval illustrations at Gode Cookery, please visit:

Brasilian Caves

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:19:13 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: olesiafx.com

Marine worm's jaws say 'cutting-edge new aerospace materials'

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:55:41 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Researchers in California and New Hampshire report the first detailed characterization of the protein composition of the hard, fang-like jaws of a common marine worm.

Their work could lead to the design of a new class of super-strong, lightweight materials for use as construction and repair materials for spacecraft, airplanes, and other applications.

Researchers remain intrigued by the remarkable hardness of its jaws and long pincers, which rivals that of human teeth and exceed the hardness of many synthetic plastics. But little is known about the exact chemical composition of these structures.

The researchers also characterized the chemical conditions needed for its formation, such as the presence of zinc, which could allow researchers to create synthetic versions of this super-hard, lightweight material.

Tags: biology, bio mimickry, materials

Genes That Control Embryonic Stem Cell Fate Identified

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:28:33 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Scientists have identified about two dozen genes that control embryonic stem cell fate. The genes may either prod or restrain stem cells from drifting into a kind of limbo, they suspect. The limbo lies between the embryonic stage and fully differentiated, or specialized, cells, such as bone, muscle or fat.

By knowing the genes and proteins that control a cell's progress toward the differentiated form, researchers may be able to accelerate the process -- a potential boon for the use of stem cells in therapy or the study of some degenerative diseases, the scientists say.

"The genes we identified are necessary for embryonic stem cells to maintain a memory of who they are,"

"Without them the cell doesn't know whether it should remain a stem cell or differentiate into a specialized cell."

They found 22 proteins, each of which is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their consistent shape, growth properties, and pattern of gene expression.

Tags: stem cells, dna

Tasmanian devils breed younger to defy disease

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:42:23 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Seems like nature is plugging the gap, while we're still running around wondering what to do.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Dani Cooper

Tasmanian devils are mating and breeding much younger in response to the fatal facial cancer that threatens to wipe out the iconic Australian marsupial, researchers say.

In today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, a team of Australian researchers report what they believe to be the first known case of an infectious disease leading to increased early reproduction in a mammal.

Lead author Dr Menna Jones, of the University of Tasmania's School of Zoology, says the move to early mating may help buy enough time for research to beat the fatal devil facial tumour disease (DFTD).

She says the devil is showing its capacity to respond to the disease-induced increased adult mortality with a 16-fold rise in the proportion of females showing early sexual maturity.

"The disease is still going to overwhelm the devil, but it will slow it down," she says. "It gives us more time."

Areas where the disease is present have experienced a loss of up to 95% in devil population