Dark Chocolate, a rich source of antioxidants and minerals. Good for everyday health, plays a role in cancer prevention, reduces heart disease risk, helps in weight loss, improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure. Also Improves brain function.

Oh look Astonby Coaches... no wait it’s Aston Manor Coaches. They must be more fancy because they’ve got a Manor. Aston Manor sounds like James Bond’s car mixed with a GWR locomotive. This drivel is how my brain functions at 1am.

Anyway Irizar i6 VIL 1488 is seen passing through Baslow on 22.8.25

Because we do not understand the brain very well we are constantly tempted to use the latest technology as a model for trying to understand it. In my childhood we were always assured that the brain was a telephone switchboard. ('What else could it be?') I was amused to see that Sherrington, the great British neuroscientist, thought that the brain worked like a telegraph system. Freud often compared the brain to hydraulic and electro-magnetic systems. Leibniz compared it to a mill, and I am told some of the ancient Greeks thought the brain functions like a catapult. At present, obviously, the metaphor is the digital computer.

John R. Searle, MINDS, BRAINS AND SCIENCE, p 44

Model : Rana Jubara

Here are some tips on how to eat to preserve your memory and keep your brain healthy.

Key Points

Limiting candy in your diet may support brain health, as high added sugar intake could increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

A brain-healthy lifestyle includes regular exercise, managing chronic diseases, staying socially engaged and following diets like the MIND diet.

Making mindful dietary and lifestyle choices can enhance cognitive health and overall well-being over time.

More than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form, contributing to 60% to 70% of dementia cases. Having Alzheimer’s disease means living with a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die, leading to a continuous decline in memory, thinking skills and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Sadly, as the disease progresses, even basic activities and communication become challenging.

Several factors influence the risk of developing dementia, with some being completely beyond your control. Aging is the most significant risk factor, as individuals over the age of 65 are more susceptible. Genetics also play a crucial role, with specific genetic mutations directly linked to Alzheimer’s disease. However, along with unchangeable factors, certain lifestyle choices can help lower the risk of cognitive decline, with diet being a pivotal piece of the puzzle. “Some of the best foods for brain health are antioxidant-rich wild blueberries, salad greens for B vitamins, salmon for its anti-inflammatory fatty acids, fiber-rich black beans, and walnuts, the best source of plant-based omega-3 ALA among nuts,” says Maggie Moon, M.S., RD. There are some foods you should avoid when focusing on brain health support too, with candy being the #1 food on that list.

Why You Should Limit Candy for Brain Health

Taking steps to reduce dementia risk is one positive step for brain health. While there isn’t one food that will cause dementia, high-added-sugar candy tops the list of foods that should be limited on a brain-healthy diet.

“Candies are not your brain’s friend,” Moon says. She points to a study that found that eating too much added sugar more than doubled the risk for dementia. “That includes added sugar from candies, as well as other sweets like pastries, sweetened café drinks and sodas,” she says. Researchers think that high blood sugar and insulin levels are risk factors for Alzheimer’s because insulin resistance may also occur in the brain, which may impact memory.

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Of course, everything can be eaten in moderation in a healthy, balanced eating plan. “While fine once in a while, research has found that a diet that is consistently high in added sugar may increase the amyloid plaque buildup in the brain,” says Laura M. Ali, M.S., RDN. "These plaques disrupt the communication system in our brain, and scientists have found that people with Alzheimer’s disease tend to have more of these plaques.”

In fact, says Ali, one study found that every 10 grams of added sugar consumed per day (equivalent to 2½ teaspoons of sugar or 8 gummy candies) was associated with a 1.3% to 1.4% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Those with the highest daily added sugar intake had 19% higher odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Don't Miss

The #1 Habit to Start Now to Reduce Your Dementia Risk

Other Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

Limiting sweetened candy doesn't guarantee that you won't get dementia, but it is a positive step forward. Along with limiting added sugar in your diet, here are some other ways to reduce your dementia risk:

Exercise by participating in both aerobic activity and resistance exercise.

If you smoke cigarettes, take the first steps to quit.

Limit alcohol intake. If you regularly drink alcohol, try to do so in moderation. Excessive drinking is linked to cognitive decline. Moderate drinking means two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.

Stay socially engaged. Maintaining social connections builds your cognitive reserve to maintain good brain function with age.

If you have chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, make sure you’re managing these well. Stiffness in arteries and blood vessels can damage the brain. If you need help or individualized advice, reach out to a healthcare professional.

Include brain-healthy foods in your diet. The MIND diet emphasizes foods like whole grains, nuts, berries, vegetables and olive oil, which research shows may help support brain health. “The brain-healthy MIND diet limits foods high in saturated fats and added sugars because both are linked to oxidative stress, inflammation and the brain plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease,” says Moon. She clarifies that this diet limits—but does not eliminate—fried foods, pastries and sweets, red meat, whole-fat cheese and butter.

Our Expert Take

Nothing will guarantee that you will live a life free from dementia. But certain steps may help reduce your risk, with your dietary choices being one factor. And along with eating brain-healthy foods, limiting your candy intake can help keep you cognitively sharp. Enjoying a small handful of candy corn on Halloween or conversation hearts on Valentine’s Day won’t “cause” dementia. “It’s important to remember that no single food eaten once, or even once in a while, is going to make or break your brain health,” Moon adds.

8 Sources:

World Health Organization. Dementia.

Alzheimer’s Association. What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

National Institute on Aging. Thinking about your risk for Alzheimer’s Disease? Five questions to consider.

Dhana K, James BD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, et al. MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis.;83(2):683-692. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210107.

Agarwal P, Ford CN, Leurgans SE, Beck T, Desai P, Dhana K, Evans DA, Halloway S, Holland TM, Krueger KR, Liu X, Rajan KB, Bennett DA. Dietary sugar intake associated with a higher risk of dementia in community-dwelling older adults. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023;95(4):1417-1425. doi:10.3233/JAD-230013

Liu L, Volpe SL, Ross JA, Grimm JA, Van Bockstaele EJ, Eisen HJ. Dietary sugar intake and risk of Alzheimer's disease in older women. Nutr Neurosci. 2022 Nov;25(11):2302-2313. doi:10.1080/1028415X.2021.1959099

Alzheimer’s Association. Risk reduction.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dietary guidelines for alcohol.

Green tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet. It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body. These include improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of cancer and many other impressive benefits. One of the simplest ways to get rid of bad cholesterol is to drink a cup of green tea early in the morning on an empty stomach.

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www.jango.com/stations/214063943/tunein?song_id=3232

Rebellion/ Arcade Fire

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

Wearing the new West Midlands Railway livery 172 339 is arriving at Yardley Wood station. The new "Cadbury Wafer" livery is applied to the two driving cars, the middle vehicle has overall advertising for 2-1 offers on local attractions if going by rail. I noticed the Birmingham Botanical gardens is one offer, what a pity you cannot get there by train without either a long walk or a bus ride! The train was the 12.56 Stourbridge Junction to Stratford-upon-Avon service*

*Gricers Brain function.

On my way home, saw the train at Moor Street heading for Stourbridge,

Check RTT to work out diagram, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Where to get it returning in the time available?

Hall Green, light wrong.

Shirley booked to cross with Whitlock's End departure.

All bridges tree tunnel, they are out.

That only left Yardley Wood where the light is right and, unless it was late it would not cross with anything.

Why do we do it, generate pressure as if it was life and death! It is only an old train wrapped in new plastic.

Copyright Geoff Dowling; All rights reserved

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

Alcohol does all kinds of things to your body, but killing brain cells is not one of them. Over the years, several studies show that alcohol doesn't kill brain cells, but it does affect how the brain works.

Alcohol disrupts brain function in adults by damaging message-carrying dendrites on neurons in the cerebellum, a structure involved in learning and motor coordination. This reduces communication between neurons, alters their structure and causes some of the impairment associated with intoxication. It does not kill off entire cells, however.

Too much alcohol can impair brain function (including memory). However, it's not because brain cells get killed off, it's because the neurons aren't communicating as well they should. The damage is akin to running into pot holes along your daily commute: you still get to work, but it takes you a lot longer.

--------------------

Candid street shot, New Orleans.

Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.

While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy. Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.

Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter. Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings). Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination. Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en-abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur-pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro-jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.

Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af-fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi-ally as well as spiritually.Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin. See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten-tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti-vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica-tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen-dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con-tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.” Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel.The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.

Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire. Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re-liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di-vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament. For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity. Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health. In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi-tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be-come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition.

www.azothalchemy.org/metals.htm

May is Egg Month

"Honey, don't drop these eggs! Those chickens worked hard to lay them and to make them the perfect food item for your diet."

"But Mom!"

"What?"

"Those chickens aren't working. They're doing the Chicken Dance!"

_____

May is a perfect month to celebrate the arrival of spring, mothers, and the Incredible Egg!

While eggs are commonly associated with breakfast and protein, many aren’t aware of the nutrient package the whole egg provides. One large egg has varying amounts of 13 essential vitamins and minerals, and high-quality protein all for 70 calories. Cost-effective and versatile, the unique nutritional composition of eggs can help meet a variety of nutrient needs of children through older adults. Plus, nutrition research suggests eggs can play a role in weight management, muscle strength, healthy pregnancy, brain function, eye health, and more. From hard-boiled and scrambled to perfectly poached, eggs can be enjoyed in countless ways.

You can learn more about the ‘incredible edible egg’ at: www.eggnutritioncenter.org

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Project MKULTRA, or MK-ULTRA, was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human experimentation program, run by the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continued at least through the late 1960s, and used U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects.

The published evidence indicates that Project MKULTRA involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate individual mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture.

Project MKULTRA was first brought to wide public attention in 1975 by the U.S. Congress, through investigations by the Church Committee, and by a presidential commission known as the Rockefeller Commission. Investigative efforts were hampered by the fact that CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MKULTRA files destroyed in 1973; the Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission investigations relied on the sworn testimony of direct participants and on the relatively small number of documents that survived Helms' destruction order.

Although the CIA insists that MKULTRA-type experiments have been abandoned, 14-year CIA veteran Victor Marchetti has stated in various interviews that the CIA routinely conducts disinformation campaigns and that CIA mind control research continued. In a 1977 interview, Marchetti specifically called the CIA claim that MKULTRA was abandoned a "cover story.

I can’t post snow shots anymore and please assume that this is a spring chicken. I wish I can invent better than this but in cold temperatures, my brain function is low level and imagination cells are numb.

Even my car tires shrink but not as much as my brain.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

So this is the piece I was drawing on election night. Clearly, I was expecting a different outcome. It’s a strange thing, how the brain functions, when you anticipate a certain way for things to go, and then they go sideways. It takes time for your brain to catch up to the new reality. Mine still hasn’t caught up.

So in some ways it feels like we’ve been thrust into an alternate reality, a branch in the timeline. In that other reality, the one we thought we were in, we didn’t elect a racist sexist man-child to the highest office in the land. But somehow we got bumped into this branched reality, where we actually did elect a profoundly stupid serial sexual predator as our next President.

So I guess you can look at this illustration as sort of an artifact of that other reality. It survived the shunt across dimensions, to remind us of that other world.

In this new world, the wires weren’t cut in the nick of time.

Copyright Susan Ogden

A short post tonight...with a simple request for a prayer or healing wishes for the older of my two brothers, who was in a motorcycle accident this evening and airlifted to a trauma center in Pennsylvania.

From what i know to this point he has broken several ribs, a punctured or collapsed lung, a dislocated shoulder and possible head trauma...not sure what that means....a concussion? They are keeping him sedated so he does not move and then they periodically check the brain function by making requests of him.

He was responsive to requests to give thumbs up and to blink his eyes...i am hopeful that is a good sign but am told the brain can swell after the initial trauma and so he will remain in ICU for a while. It is hard being this far and not knowing. i think it will be a long night. The younger of the brothers promised to keep me updated...

it will be a long night with my phone by my side.

i believe in the power of prayers and thoughts of healing...so if you have some to spare that would be most excellent.

thanks so much.

PS....of all nights to hear the trauma copter fly over my house to the hospital behind me....it had to be tonight........sigh....prayers to them too.....

USES: Sage has a strong flavour and should be used judiciously. It is traditionally used in stuffings for meats, especially pork and poultry, but is also used in a range of vegetable, fish and cheese dishes. It complements onion well. The plant has a long history of both cosmetic and medicinal use. Both the Ancient Egyptians and the Chinese believed it improved brain function. It has antiseptic properties.

I belong to this set - Herbal Essence.

© All rights reserved

or your medicine will become your food.

So said Hippocrates (maybe). I tend to agree.

Enough of lolling around feeling crook - time to make something nourishing; so here it is.

In the slow cooker:

Cooking bacon - choline (brain function, memory) and more

Mushrooms - protect the gut, brain, immune system ...

Red potatoes (sliced) - potassium (heart), B6 (stress), C, fiber ...

Onions - lower cholestorol, antioxidants, C, K, Allicin ...

Tomato pulp - all of the above, eye health, prostate health, heart ...

Apple - all the above, more quercetin (brain health)

Lemon - all above, and help reduce the chance of kidney stones

Brussels sprouts - all the above, and folate (red cell health)

Garlic - joint health, anti viral, anti bacterial, anti inflammatory

Bell pepper - all the above, lutein (eye health), A, C

Salt and pepper - a bit improves taste, improves immune system, metabolism, and heaps more beside

Vegetable stock - vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory, all of the above

Ginger - pain relief, heart health, digestion, insulin regulation ...

I'm putting this on at the low setting overnight. It took longer to write this than do the prep. Hopefully it will taste half decent!

It's that time of year when fields across Britain glow dandelion-yellow with rapeseed.

Did you know? As with olive oil, rapeseed oil contains Omegas 3, 6 and 9, essential fatty acids known to reduce cholesterol and maintain heart health, joint mobility and brain function. It is also a rich, natural source of vitamin E. High in mono-unsaturated fats, it is one of the few unblended oils that can be heated to deep-frying temperature without its antioxidants, character, colour and flavour spoiling. In short, it is one of best "good" oils.

Who would have known!

Must view on black

Concussion, from the Latin concutere ("to shake violently") or the Latin concussus ("action of striking together"), is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. The term "concussion" has been used for centuries and is still commonly used in sports medicine, while 'MTBI' is a technical term used more commonly nowadays in general medical contexts. Frequently defined as a head injury with a temporary loss of brain function, concussion can cause a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.

Strobist: white foamcore camera right, white umbrella upper left reflecting light from canon speedlite 580exii at 1/16th power

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

Temple. Sanctuary. Rest.

I was still stressed, completely fatigued, and operating on lower brain functions, but lunch, and the promise of a half hour break on top of the mountain helped keep the thought of descent a distant intangible future thing.

One of the members of our group gave me one hundred yen to offer incense before the Buddha of the temple. It can be considered my first o-settai (gifts of food/money/anything offered to pilgrims), a thought which did not cross my mind as I was only looking forward to sitting down somewhere, and not considering how I was going to make it back down a mountain which was clearly trying to punish me.

Here are some tips on how to eat to preserve your memory and keep your brain healthy.

Key Points

Limiting candy in your diet may support brain health, as high added sugar intake could increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

A brain-healthy lifestyle includes regular exercise, managing chronic diseases, staying socially engaged and following diets like the MIND diet.

Making mindful dietary and lifestyle choices can enhance cognitive health and overall well-being over time.

More than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form, contributing to 60% to 70% of dementia cases. Having Alzheimer’s disease means living with a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and die, leading to a continuous decline in memory, thinking skills and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Sadly, as the disease progresses, even basic activities and communication become challenging.

Several factors influence the risk of developing dementia, with some being completely beyond your control. Aging is the most significant risk factor, as individuals over the age of 65 are more susceptible. Genetics also play a crucial role, with specific genetic mutations directly linked to Alzheimer’s disease. However, along with unchangeable factors, certain lifestyle choices can help lower the risk of cognitive decline, with diet being a pivotal piece of the puzzle. “Some of the best foods for brain health are antioxidant-rich wild blueberries, salad greens for B vitamins, salmon for its anti-inflammatory fatty acids, fiber-rich black beans, and walnuts, the best source of plant-based omega-3 ALA among nuts,” says Maggie Moon, M.S., RD. There are some foods you should avoid when focusing on brain health support too, with candy being the #1 food on that list.

Why You Should Limit Candy for Brain Health

Taking steps to reduce dementia risk is one positive step for brain health. While there isn’t one food that will cause dementia, high-added-sugar candy tops the list of foods that should be limited on a brain-healthy diet.

“Candies are not your brain’s friend,” Moon says. She points to a study that found that eating too much added sugar more than doubled the risk for dementia. “That includes added sugar from candies, as well as other sweets like pastries, sweetened café drinks and sodas,” she says. Researchers think that high blood sugar and insulin levels are risk factors for Alzheimer’s because insulin resistance may also occur in the brain, which may impact memory.

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Of course, everything can be eaten in moderation in a healthy, balanced eating plan. “While fine once in a while, research has found that a diet that is consistently high in added sugar may increase the amyloid plaque buildup in the brain,” says Laura M. Ali, M.S., RDN. "These plaques disrupt the communication system in our brain, and scientists have found that people with Alzheimer’s disease tend to have more of these plaques.”

In fact, says Ali, one study found that every 10 grams of added sugar consumed per day (equivalent to 2½ teaspoons of sugar or 8 gummy candies) was associated with a 1.3% to 1.4% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Those with the highest daily added sugar intake had 19% higher odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Don't Miss

The #1 Habit to Start Now to Reduce Your Dementia Risk

Other Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia

Limiting sweetened candy doesn't guarantee that you won't get dementia, but it is a positive step forward. Along with limiting added sugar in your diet, here are some other ways to reduce your dementia risk:

Exercise by participating in both aerobic activity and resistance exercise.

If you smoke cigarettes, take the first steps to quit.

Limit alcohol intake. If you regularly drink alcohol, try to do so in moderation. Excessive drinking is linked to cognitive decline. Moderate drinking means two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women.

Stay socially engaged. Maintaining social connections builds your cognitive reserve to maintain good brain function with age.

If you have chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, make sure you’re managing these well. Stiffness in arteries and blood vessels can damage the brain. If you need help or individualized advice, reach out to a healthcare professional.

Include brain-healthy foods in your diet. The MIND diet emphasizes foods like whole grains, nuts, berries, vegetables and olive oil, which research shows may help support brain health. “The brain-healthy MIND diet limits foods high in saturated fats and added sugars because both are linked to oxidative stress, inflammation and the brain plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease,” says Moon. She clarifies that this diet limits—but does not eliminate—fried foods, pastries and sweets, red meat, whole-fat cheese and butter.

Our Expert Take

Nothing will guarantee that you will live a life free from dementia. But certain steps may help reduce your risk, with your dietary choices being one factor. And along with eating brain-healthy foods, limiting your candy intake can help keep you cognitively sharp. Enjoying a small handful of candy corn on Halloween or conversation hearts on Valentine’s Day won’t “cause” dementia. “It’s important to remember that no single food eaten once, or even once in a while, is going to make or break your brain health,” Moon adds.

8 Sources:

World Health Organization. Dementia.

Alzheimer’s Association. What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

National Institute on Aging. Thinking about your risk for Alzheimer’s Disease? Five questions to consider.

Dhana K, James BD, Agarwal P, Aggarwal NT, et al. MIND Diet, Common Brain Pathologies, and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis.;83(2):683-692. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210107.

Agarwal P, Ford CN, Leurgans SE, Beck T, Desai P, Dhana K, Evans DA, Halloway S, Holland TM, Krueger KR, Liu X, Rajan KB, Bennett DA. Dietary sugar intake associated with a higher risk of dementia in community-dwelling older adults. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023;95(4):1417-1425. doi:10.3233/JAD-230013

Liu L, Volpe SL, Ross JA, Grimm JA, Van Bockstaele EJ, Eisen HJ. Dietary sugar intake and risk of Alzheimer's disease in older women. Nutr Neurosci. 2022 Nov;25(11):2302-2313. doi:10.1080/1028415X.2021.1959099

Alzheimer’s Association. Risk reduction.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dietary guidelines for alcohol.

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Brain and brain functions, leftover teacher lesson from a classroom in an abandoned school in Toronto. Shot with the Rolleiflex.

Film: Expired Kodak Ektachrome 100

Shutter: about 1 second

Aperture: F/11-ish

Camera: Rolleiflex 2.8D

Psychology is the science of mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand behavior and mental processes by researching and establishing both general principles and specific cases. For many practitioners, one goal of applied psychology is to benefit society. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist, and can be classified as a social scientist, behavioral scientist, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie certain functions and behaviors. Psychologists explore such concepts as perception, cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also consider the unconscious mind.a Psychologists employ empirical methods to infer causal and correlational relationships between psychosocial variables. In addition, or in opposition, to employing empirical and deductive methods, some—especially clinical and counseling psychologists—at times rely upon symbolic interpretation and other inductive techniques. Psychology incorporates research from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, such as philosophy.

While psychological knowledge is often applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is also applied to understanding and solving problems in many different spheres of human activity. Although the majority of psychologists are involved in some kind of therapeutic role (clinical, counseling, and school positions); many do scientific research on a wide range of topics related to mental processes and behavior (typically in university psychology departments) and/or teach such knowledge in academic settings; and some are employed in industrial and organizational settings, and in other areas such as human development and aging, sports, health, the media, law, and forensics

Dr. Sharma and shared with Dr. Judith Ho that he believes that one of the biggest problems right across the U.S. in the assessment and treatment of substance abuse disorders is that we are putting people in process groups that cannot process information because we are not measuring cognitive function. Understanding the effects of addiction on cognitive function is a key to changing behavior in those affected. For quite some time doctors and psychologists have had the tools to measure brain function yet they’re not being used in a systematic way. If we collect and measure the data it can be used to analyze, interpret and ultimately inform treatment plans. Dr. Sharma stated that establishing standards of assessment it really quite simple yet it is not happening. The treatment community has been stuck in a mind set with an unwillingness to change. It is time for a paradigm shift and he called upon the substance abuse treatment community to establish measurement based assessment, treatment and follow-up. First it’s important to understand what cognitive function is and how it affects substance use disorders and mental illnesses. Cognitive function are the basic functions that enables us to think. We navigate through everyday life by using functions such as memory, attention, reasoning and problem solving. We use these skills almost unconsciously. New information comes to you, you pay attention to it, you absorb that information and you decide what is important and what to keep. With cognitive disorders there you are not able to keep that information because your brain function has decreased due to illness or other circumstances such as alcohol or drug addiction. In the substance abuse treatment community we should be assessing attention, memory, reasoning and problem solving because cognitive impairment impacts response to treatment including a patient not understanding what is wrong with them. Unfortunately it has been the norm to treat substance abuse with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) such as process groups. And process groups require somebody to sit down and absorbing information from someone else and make sense of that information and then utilize the information so they can change behavior. make sense of that information, effectively rendering the treatment useless to the patient. The person seeking treatment is left wondering how is it possible to change if I can’t process the information. However it isn’t the patient who needs to change but the providers who need to change their methods of collecting and analyzing the cognitive function of the patient and work to establish measurement based assessment and standards of care.

About Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, CEO, Sovereign Health Group. Over a career spanning 30 years Dr. Sharma has served primarily as an acclaimed researcher having led countless international mental health clinical research trials, taught and trained students as a neuro-scientist and served as author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed published articles and five books on schizophrenia and mental illness. His entire career has been dedicated to putting his vast knowledge to further the mental health field with insights into pharmacology and cognitive impairment treatment. Dr Sharma recognizes that the substance abuse treatment community is heading towards an inevitable next step in its evolution to ensure it continues to improve the quality of patients’ treatment. Today Dr. Sharma is committed to tirelessly promote and call for measurement-based care (MBC) in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction and mental health cognitive impairments so that a national standard measurement scale for level of addiction, and normalcy symptoms can be identified to standardize care and standardize treatment. For more on Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health Group go to LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/tonmoysharmaceo

About Dr. Ho. A licensed and board certified clinical psychologist, Dr Judy Ho, Ph. D. offers her expertise on a variety of national television shows. Based in Los Angeles, she provides professional services in psychological testing and forensic expert work.

This summary graphic from the Royal Society shows the long-range neuronal sprouting that occurs with psilocybin; the untreated brain on the left shows a number of regions with the synaptic connections arranged in a ring of nearest-neighbor connectivity. On the right, you can see the dramatic change, with new spanners across formerly disconnected regions. Instead of a mental model of brain damage, imagine the neuronal sprouting that we associate with fetal development or neural plasticity.

Researchers Robin Carhart-Harris and team also found that that some of these changes in neuronal wiring were permanent.

The effect of this is a more flexible and open mind and visual hallucinations of colored words, numbers or sounds... much like the fascinating condition called synaesthesia.

I first learned of this condition from V.S. Ramachandran, and so I read his book Phantoms in the Brain. Some tidbits from his Bio-X symposium: 1 in 50 people have it. It's 8x as prevalent among artists, poets, novelists and creative people. Shakespeare was a master: “Juliet is the sun.”

“A word is just a penumbra of associations… a syntactic juggling in the head.”

Often blamed on drugs: “The incidence does go up on LSD, and there are more cases in Berkeley than Stanford.”

Suspected to be a cross wiring in the fusiform gyrus that has a genetic basis given its hereditary pattern in families. The typical synaptic pruning is interrupted by some mutation.

Why doesn’t it disappear from genetic drift? Why would it persist? “They are the outliers in the population. They are more creative. They may be gaining, but evolution moves slowly.” [cue Apple Ad]

At the time, I thought that the mastery of evocative metaphor, in written or visual form, seems like a touch of synaesthesia. Great artists can tap into their internal cross talk, and synaesthesia is the extreme example of what might lie along a spectrum from rationalist to artiste.

It also seems that young children are better at this than the average adult. Given the 10x reduction in synaptic connections at the age of 2 to 3 years, perhaps the benefits of crosstalk are lost in the carvings of maturity.

Here are summary quotes from the new mushroom research:

“The two pictures are simplified cartoons of the placebo (a) and psilocybin (b) scaffolds. The nodes are organized and coloured according to their community membership in the placebo scaffold. This is done in order to highlight the striking difference in connectivity structure in the two cases.

One possible by-product of this greater communication across the whole brain is the phenomenon of synaesthesia, which is often reported in conjunction with the psychedelic state. Synaesthesia is described as an inducer-concurrent pairing, where the inducer could be a grapheme or a visual stimulus that generates a secondary sensory output—like a colour for example. Drug-induced synaesthesia often leads to chain of associations, pointing to dynamic causes rather than fixed structural ones as may be the case for acquired synaesthesia. Broadly consistent with this, it has been reported that subjects under the influence of psilocybin have objectively worse colour perception performance despite subjectively intensified colour experience .

The results show that the homological structure of the brain’s functional patterns undergoes a dramatic change post-psilocybin, characterized by the appearance of many transient structures of low stability and of a small number of persistent ones that are not observed in the case of placebo.

A simple reading of this result would be that the effect of psilocybin is to relax the constraints on brain function, ascribing cognition a more flexible quality, but when looking at the edge level, the picture becomes more complex…these functional connections support cycles that are especially stable and are only present in the psychedelic state. This further implies that the brain does not simply become a random system after psilocybin injection, but instead retains some organizational features, albeit different from the normal state.

To summarize, we presented a new method to analyse fully connected, weighted and signed networks and applied it to a unique fMRI dataset of subjects under the influence of mushrooms. We find that the psychedelic state is associated with a less constrained and more intercommunicative mode of brain function, which is consistent with descriptions of the nature of consciousness in the psychedelic state.”

Dr. Tonmoy Sharma speaks with Dr. Judy Ho about brain wellness after alcohol and drug addiction. He offers the hopeful message that there is neuroplasticity at every age and there are certain things you can do to help that along. He note4s that whether or not someone got that brain injury through substance use or a traumatic brain injury there is a solution. During a series of conversation held recently between Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health and Dr. July Ho, PhD they discussed cognitive function, proper diagnosis and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. Often during assessment it is found that there are significant cognitive impairments however there are programs that can be started right away during treatment that can help with cognitive remediation. Activities offered include work within the online Neurobic program. Often there is a younger population in the Sovereign Health Group facilities who have led chaotic lives. It is important to teach them about the effects that nutrition and sleep have on brain function. Classes help them to go back to a health lifestyle with good nutrition and a more organized and structured life. With work the damage to the brain can be reversed. While in the past there was a belief that only the liver or skin could regenerate today we know that neurons can regenerate themselves. It’s okay, people make mistakes but it is possible to reverse the damage that was caused whether by substance abuse or traumatic brain injury.

About Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, CEO, Sovereign Health Group. Over a career spanning 30 years Dr. Sharma has served primarily as an acclaimed researcher having led countless international mental health clinical research trials, taught and trained students as a neuro-scientist and served as author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed published articles and five books on schizophrenia and mental illness. His entire career has been dedicated to putting his vast knowledge to further the mental health field with insights into pharmacology and cognitive impairment treatment. Dr Sharma recognizes that the substance abuse treatment community is heading towards an inevitable next step in its evolution to ensure it continues to improve the quality of patients’ treatment. Today Dr. Sharma is committed to tirelessly promote and call for measurement-based care (MBC) in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction and mental health cognitive impairments so that a national standard measurement scale for level of addiction, and normalcy symptoms can be identified to standardize care and standardize treatment. For more on Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health Group go to LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/tonmoysharmaceo

A licensed and board certified clinical psychologist, Dr Judy Ho, Ph. D. offers her expertise on a variety of national television shows. Based in Los Angeles, she provides professional services in psychological testing and forensic expert work.

For more detailed information on Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health Group go to LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/tonmoysharmaceo

Therefore, designed from our octave also was the idea of placing the great Statue of Liberty that open door to connect your mind with cosmic energy. The radiating light and flame of divine love from the gracious Goddess of Liberty through that statue (whose “likeness” it is) is a much more powerful protection to your internal tree of life and give your body to ascended this world. Many are the love shrines and foci of the accumulated energies of lifestreams who, in the past, have loved liberty and freedom more than life itself in many lands—sacrificing their all for them. To our beloved chelas in every land we say—”Be ever grateful—even as we of the ascended host are—for every one and every activity in your land which has brought and is now bringing greater light and liberty to your people”.

What is the Christmas tree? Let us analyze the word Christmas. “Christ” is a solar energy, and “mass” is a rite; so, Christmas, is a transformation or a rite in which the solar energy is transformed into life. The Tree of Life is always studied in Kabbalah. It is represented in the spinal column of every single person. The spinal column is the Tree of Life. If you have your spinal column healthy, your whole body is healthy, strong. If you damage your spinal column, you can damage your brain, you can damage other limbs of your body. The Tree of Life, the Christmas tree, symbolizes the spinal column. All the lights on the Christmas tree represent the senses of the soul that we need to awaken in order to perceive what Christ is. The Tree of Life: The Christ-Mass Tree : When that light is shining in our spinal column, within the seven churches that are described in the Book of Revelation, and within all the powers of that Tree of Life, then Santa Claus comes and delivers a gift. That comes from the north then down the chimney, which is our particular north, the chakra Sahasrara, or the church of Laodicea, related to the pineal gland and the sephirah Kether. This is where he enters. This is precisely what is written in the Acts of the Apostles, that when the Apostles were reunited, celebrating it, tongues of fire came hovering above their heads. Those tongues were the fire of the Holy Ghost, or the fire of Santa Claus, which is a force. That was the gift that they received. They received many gifts, because remember that is written there in the scriptures that anybody can receive different gifts according to the transformation or permutation of this energy. But in this day and age people do not understand what type of gift or what is that, that the bible calls “a gift.” It is a power of the Holy Spirit and it is not something that you will automatically receive. No, you have to earn it.

The Fire of the Pentacost : “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3 . Two-Witnesses2: This is why Christmas, the Nativity of Christ, is for children. Do we have the minds of children? What type of mind do we have? The mind of children is symbolized in the pine tree. The pine tree is related with the forces of childhood, the forces of Aquarius, the mind. Observe your mind: is your mind innocent? Did you acquire that innocence in your mind? Only a Buddha has that type of mind. That is why it is written that in order for Christ to descend into you, you have to be united with your own particular individual Buddha, who gives you that illumination. That is what the word Buddha means: Illuminated, Enlightened One. That is symbolized in the Tree of Life, in the Christmas Tree, which is a symbol taken from the Nordics, yet, this symbol is represented in every tradition. But of course, many Christians have their Christmas tree with its lights, but don’t know anything about this. Indeed, in this day and age Christmas is just a business. Many people celebrate Christmas, and when Christmas comes they ignore about the relation of this rite of the Solar Light with the Earth, and they just worry about what are the gifts somebody is going to give them, and what type of gifts they should give to their relatives. And everybody is thinking in that. When you watch TV you find a lot of commercials, advertisements, encouraging you “to give” for Christmas. The Black Lodge has commercialized everything, taken all the sacred symbols and mocks the symbols of religions; this is why people in this day and age celebrate these holidays’ celebrations but ignore the meaning of them.

This drama of the Cosmic Christ and the way in which we can assimilate that Solar Force is a secret related with the spinal column. Remember that the spinal column has 33 vertebrae. This is why Master Jesus, it is written, lived 33 years. The Alchemists talk about 33 initiatic degrees. And it is because in order to develop that energy, we have to do it in 33 degrees, but in different octaves, different ways.mAs such, enjoy your holiday season with a Christmas Tree, and don’t get caught up in the propagated lies by pundits who will use any tool at their disposal to destroy this true cosmic power. Yes, the Christmas Tree is nothing more than the Tree of Life (from the Kabbalah) and its use is truly a spiritual experience mIn addition to being divisable into the four worlds the Tree of Life can also be divided into three vertical pillars. All of the spheres belong to one of these three pillars and share particular characteristics with the other pillars which belong to that Pillar. The three pillars are called: The Pillar of Severity, The Pillar of Mercy and The Pillar of Balance. The Pillar of MercymIs found on the right hand side of diagrams of the Tree of Life, and is associated with the left hand side of the body and right-brain functions. It is composed of the following spheres: Chokmah, Chesed, Netzache

.The top sphere - Chokmah - is the sphere of Yang, the highest sphere of the masculine, whereas the lower spheres are generally considered to have feminine characteristics. This is Yang at the centre of Yin, as shown in the famous Taoist symbol : .The Pillar of Severity. The Pillar of severity lies on the left hand side of the Tree of life as you look at it as a diagram drawn on a piece of paper, but on the right hand side of the body. It is associated with 'left brain' functions. It is composed of the following sephira: Binah, Geburah, Hod. Binah, the Great Sea, is the sphere of Yin, the highest aspects of the feminine principles, whereas the lower spheres, representing war and science, are generally considered to be masculine. This is the Yin at the centre of Yang. The Pillar of Balance : This is the 'middle pillar' which runs up the centre of the Tree. It is associated with balance, holism and integration. It is composed of the following spheres: Kether, Tipareth, Yesod, Malkuth. The Middle Pillar is now expanded to what it always should have been, a thorough, accessible examination and extension of the single ritual that has become the very embodiment of magic.

Persistent vegetative state

SpecialtyNeurology

A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative state (VS), the patient is classified as in a persistent vegetative state. This diagnosis is classified as a permanent vegetative state some months (three in the US and six in the UK) after a non-traumatic brain injury or one year after a traumatic injury. Today, doctors and neuroscientists prefer to call the state of consciousness a syndrome,[1] primarily because of ethical questions about whether a patient can be called "vegetative" or not.[2]

Contents

1Definition

1.1Medical definition

1.2Lack of legal clarity

1.3Vegetative state

1.4Persistent vegetative state

2Signs and symptoms

2.1Recovery

3Causes

4Diagnosis

4.1Diagnostic experiments

4.2Misdiagnoses

5Treatment

5.1Zolpidem

6Epidemiology

7History

8Society and culture

8.1Ethics and policy

8.2Notable cases

9See also

10References

11External links

Definition[edit]

There are several definitions that vary by technical versus layman's usage. There are different legal implications in different countries.

Medical definition[edit]

A wakeful unconscious state that lasts longer than a few weeks is referred to as a persistent (or 'continuing') vegetative state.[3]

Lack of legal clarity[edit]

Unlike brain death, permanent vegetative state (PVS) is recognized by statute law as death in very few legal systems. In the US, courts have required petitions before termination of life support that demonstrate that any recovery of cognitive functions above a vegetative state is assessed as impossible by authoritative medical opinion.[4] In England and Wales the legal precedent for withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration in cases of patients in a PVS was set in 1993 in the case of Tony Bland, who sustained catastrophic anoxic brain injury in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.[3] An application to the Court of Protection is no longer required before nutrition and hydration can be withdrawn or withheld from PVS (or 'minimally conscious' – MCS) patients.[5]

This legal grey area has led to vocal advocates that those in PVS should be allowed to die. Others are equally determined that, if recovery is at all possible, care should continue. The existence of a small number of diagnosed PVS cases that have eventually resulted in improvement makes defining recovery as "impossible" particularly difficult in a legal sense.[6] This legal and ethical issue raises questions about autonomy, quality of life, appropriate use of resources, the wishes of family members, and professional responsibilities.

Vegetative state[edit]

The vegetative state is a chronic or long-term condition. This condition differs from a coma: a coma is a state that lacks both awareness and wakefulness. Patients in a vegetative state may have awoken from a coma, but still have not regained awareness. In the vegetative state patients can open their eyelids occasionally and demonstrate sleep-wake cycles, but completely lack cognitive function. The vegetative state is also called a "coma vigil". The chances of regaining awareness diminish considerably as the time spent in the vegetative state increases.[7]

Persistent vegetative state[edit]

Persistent vegetative state is the standard usage (except in the UK) for a medical diagnosis, made after numerous neurological and other tests, that due to extensive and irreversible brain damage a patient is highly unlikely ever to achieve higher functions above a vegetative state. This diagnosis does not mean that a doctor has diagnosed improvement as impossible, but does open the possibility, in the US, for a judicial request to end life support.[6] Informal guidelines hold that this diagnosis can be made after four weeks in a vegetative state. US caselaw has shown that successful petitions for termination have been made after a diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state, although in some cases, such as that of Terri Schiavo, such rulings have generated widespread controversy.

In the UK, the term is discouraged in favor of two more precisely defined terms that have been strongly recommended by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). These guidelines recommend using a continuous vegetative state for patients in a vegetative state for more than four weeks. A medical determination of a permanent vegetative state can be made if, after exhaustive testing and a customary 12 months of observation,[8] a medical diagnosis is made that it is impossible by any informed medical expectations that the mental condition will ever improve.[9] Hence, a "continuous vegetative state" in the UK may remain the diagnosis in cases that would be called "persistent" in the US or elsewhere.

While the actual testing criteria for a diagnosis of "permanent" in the UK are quite similar to the criteria for a diagnosis of "persistent" in the US, the semantic difference imparts in the UK a legal presumption that is commonly used in court applications for ending life support.[8] The UK diagnosis is generally only made after 12 months of observing a static vegetative state. A diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state in the US usually still requires a petitioner to prove in court that recovery is impossible by informed medical opinion, while in the UK the "permanent" diagnosis already gives the petitioner this presumption and may make the legal process less time-consuming.[6]

In common usage, the "permanent" and "persistent" definitions are sometimes conflated and used interchangeably. However, the acronym "PVS" is intended[by whom?] to define a "persistent vegetative state", without necessarily the connotations of permanence,[citation needed] and is used as such throughout this article. Bryan Jennett, who originally coined the term "persistent vegetative state", has now recommended using the UK division between continuous and permanent in his book The Vegetative State, arguing that "the 'persistent' component of this term ... may seem to suggest irreversibility".[10]

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council has suggested "post coma unresponsiveness" as an alternative term for "vegetative state" in general.[11]

Signs and symptoms[edit]

Most PVS patients are unresponsive to external stimuli and their conditions are associated with different levels of consciousness. Some level of consciousness means a person can still respond, in varying degrees, to stimulation. A person in a coma, however, cannot. In addition, PVS patients often open their eyes in response to feeding, which has to be done by others; they are capable of swallowing, whereas patients in a coma subsist with their eyes closed (Emmett, 1989).

Cerebral cortical function (e.g. communication, thinking, purposeful movement, etc) is lost while brainstem functions (e.g. breathing, maintaining circulation and hemodynamic stability, etc) are preserved. Non-cognitive upper brainstem functions such as eye-opening, occasional vocalizations (e.g. crying, laughing), maintaining normal sleep patterns, and spontaneous non-purposeful movements often remain intact.

PVS patients' eyes might be in a relatively fixed position, or track moving objects, or move in a disconjugate (i.e., completely unsynchronized) manner. They may experience sleep-wake cycles, or be in a state of chronic wakefulness. They may exhibit some behaviors that can be construed as arising from partial consciousness, such as grinding their teeth, swallowing, smiling, shedding tears, grunting, moaning, or screaming without any apparent external stimulus.

Individuals in PVS are seldom on any life-sustaining equipment other than a feeding tube because the brainstem, the center of vegetative functions (such as heart rate and rhythm, respiration, and gastrointestinal activity) is relatively intact (Emmett, 1989).

Recovery[edit]

Many people emerge spontaneously from a vegetative state within a few weeks.[10] The chances of recovery depend on the extent of injury to the brain and the patient's age – younger patients having a better chance of recovery than older patients. A 1994 report found that of those who were in a vegetative state a month after a trauma, 54% had regained consciousness by a year after the trauma, whereas 28% had died and 18% were still in the vegetative state. But for non-traumatic injuries such as strokes, only 14% had recovered consciousness at one year, 47% had died, and 39% were still vegetative. Patients who were vegetative six months after the initial event were much less likely to have recovered consciousness a year after the event than in the case of those who were simply reported vegetative at one month.[12] A New Scientist article from 2000 gives a pair of graphs[13] showing changes of patient status during the first 12 months after head injury and after incidents depriving the brain of oxygen.[14] After a year, the chances that a PVS patient will regain consciousness are very low[15] and most patients who do recover consciousness experience significant disability. The longer a patient is in a PVS, the more severe the resulting disabilities are likely to be. Rehabilitation can contribute to recovery, but many patients never progress to the point of being able to take care of themselves.

There are two dimensions of recovery from a persistent vegetative state: recovery of consciousness and recovery of function. Recovery of consciousness can be verified by reliable evidence of awareness of self and the environment, consistent voluntary behavioral responses to visual and auditory stimuli, and interaction with others. Recovery of function is characterized by communication, the ability to learn and to perform adaptive tasks, mobility, self-care, and participation in recreational or vocational activities. Recovery of consciousness may occur without functional recovery, but functional recovery cannot occur without recovery of consciousness (Ashwal, 1994).

Causes[edit]

There are three main causes of PVS (persistent vegetative state):

Acute traumatic brain injury

Non-traumatic: neurodegenerative disorder or metabolic disorder of the brain

Severe congenital abnormality of the central nervous system

Medical books (such as Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins. (2007). In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms) describe several potential causes of PVS, which are as follows:

Bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, including meningitis

Increased intracranial pressure, such as a tumor or abscess

Vascular pressure which causes intracranial hemorrhaging or stroke

Hypoxic ischemic injury (hypotension, cardiac arrest, arrhythmia, near-drowning)

Toxins such as uremia, ethanol, atropine, opiates, lead, colloidal silver[16]

Trauma: Concussion, contusion

Seizure, both nonconvulsive status epilepticus and postconvulsive state (postictal state)

Electrolyte imbalance, which involves hyponatremia, hypernatremia, hypomagnesemia, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, hypercalcemia, and hypocalcemia

Postinfectious: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)

Endocrine disorders such as adrenal insufficiency and thyroid disorders

Degenerative and metabolic diseases including urea cycle disorders, Reye syndrome, and mitochondrial disease

Systemic infection and sepsis

Hepatic encephalopathy

In addition, these authors claim that doctors sometimes use the mnemonic device AEIOU-TIPS to recall portions of the differential diagnosis: Alcohol ingestion and acidosis, Epilepsy and encephalopathy, Infection, Opiates, Uremia, Trauma, Insulin overdose or inflammatory disorders, Poisoning and psychogenic causes, and Shock.

Diagnosis[edit]

Despite converging agreement about the definition of persistent vegetative state, recent reports have raised concerns about the accuracy of diagnosis in some patients, and the extent to which, in a selection of cases, residual cognitive functions may remain undetected and patients are diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. Objective assessment of residual cognitive function can be extremely difficult as motor responses may be minimal, inconsistent, and difficult to document in many patients, or may be undetectable in others because no cognitive output is possible (Owen et al., 2002). In recent years, a number of studies have demonstrated an important role for functional neuroimaging in the identification of residual cognitive function in persistent vegetative state; this technology is providing new insights into cerebral activity in patients with severe brain damage. Such studies, when successful, may be particularly useful where there is concern about the accuracy of the diagnosis and the possibility that residual cognitive function has remained undetected.

Diagnostic experiments[edit]

Researchers have begun to use functional neuroimaging studies to study implicit cognitive processing in patients with a clinical diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Activations in response to sensory stimuli with positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electrophysiological methods can provide information on the presence, degree, and location of any residual brain function. However, use of these techniques in people with severe brain damage is methodologically, clinically, and theoretically complex and needs careful quantitative analysis and interpretation.

For example, PET studies have shown the identification of residual cognitive function in persistent vegetative state. That is, an external stimulation, such as a painful stimulus, still activates "primary" sensory cortices in these patients but these areas are functionally disconnected from "higher order" associative areas needed for awareness. These results show that parts of the cortex are indeed still functioning in "vegetative" patients (Matsuda et al., 2003).

In addition, other PET studies have revealed preserved and consistent responses in predicted regions of auditory cortex in response to intelligible speech stimuli. Moreover, a preliminary fMRI examination revealed partially intact responses to semantically ambiguous stimuli, which are known to tap higher aspects of speech comprehension (Boly, 2004).

Furthermore, several studies have used PET to assess the central processing of noxious somatosensory stimuli in patients in PVS. Noxious somatosensory stimulation activated midbrain, contralateral thalamus, and primary somatosensory cortex in each and every PVS patient, even in the absence of detectable cortical evoked potentials. In conclusion, somatosensory stimulation of PVS patients, at intensities that elicited pain in controls, resulted in increased neuronal activity in primary somatosensory cortex, even if resting brain metabolism was severely impaired. However, this activation of primary cortex seems to be isolated and dissociated from higher-order associative cortices (Laureys et al., 2002).

Also, there is evidence of partially functional cerebral regions in catastrophically injured brains. To study five patients in PVS with different behavioral features, researchers employed PET, MRI and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) responses to sensory stimulation. In three of the five patients, co-registered PET/MRI correlate areas of relatively preserved brain metabolism with isolated fragments of behavior. Two patients had suffered anoxic injuries and demonstrated marked decreases in overall cerebral metabolism to 30–40% of normal. Two other patients with non-anoxic, multifocal brain injuries demonstrated several isolated brain regions with higher metabolic rates, that ranged up to 50–80% of normal. Nevertheless, their global metabolic rates remained <50% of normal. MEG recordings from three PVS patients provide clear evidence for the absence, abnormality or reduction of evoked responses. Despite major abnormalities, however, these data also provide evidence for localized residual activity at the cortical level. Each patient partially preserved restricted sensory representations, as evidenced by slow evoked magnetic fields and gamma band activity. In two patients, these activations correlate with isolated behavioral patterns and metabolic activity. Remaining active regions identified in the three PVS patients with behavioral fragments appear to consist of segregated corticothalamic networks that retain connectivity and partial functional integrity. A single patient who suffered severe injury to the tegmental mesencephalon and paramedian thalamus showed widely preserved cortical metabolism, and a global average metabolic rate of 65% of normal. The relatively high preservation of cortical metabolism in this patient defines the first functional correlate of clinical–pathological reports associating permanent unconsciousness with structural damage to these regions. The specific patterns of preserved metabolic activity identified in these patients reflect novel evidence of the modular nature of individual functional networks that underlie conscious brain function. The variations in cerebral metabolism in chronic PVS patients indicate that some cerebral regions can retain partial function in catastrophically injured brains (Schiff et al., 2002).

Misdiagnoses[edit]

Statistical PVS misdiagnosis is common. An example study with 40 patients in the United Kingdom reported 43% of their patients classified as PVS were believed so and another 33% had recovered whilst the study was underway.[17] Some PVS cases may actually be a misdiagnosis of patients being in an undiagnosed minimally conscious state.[18] Since the exact diagnostic criteria of the minimally conscious state were only formulated in 2002, there may be chronic patients diagnosed as PVS before the secondary notion of the minimally conscious state became known.

Whether or not there is any conscious awareness with a patient's vegetative state is a prominent issue. Three completely different aspects of this should be distinguished. First, some patients can be conscious simply because they are misdiagnosed (see above). In fact, they are not in vegetative states. Second, sometimes a patient was correctly diagnosed but is then examined during the early stages of recovery. Third, perhaps some day the notion itself of vegetative states will change so to include elements of conscious awareness. Inability to disentangle these three example cases causes confusion. An example of such confusion is the response to a recent experiment using functional magnetic resonance imaging which revealed that a woman diagnosed with PVS was able to activate predictable portions of her brain in response to the tester's requests that she imagine herself playing tennis or moving from room to room in her house. The brain activity in response to these instructions was indistinguishable from those of healthy patients.[19][20][21]

In 2010, Martin Monti and fellow researchers, working at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge, reported in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine[22] that some patients in persistent vegetative states responded to verbal instructions by displaying different patterns of brain activity on fMRI scans. Five out of a total of 54 diagnosed patients were apparently able to respond when instructed to think about one of two different physical activities. One of these five was also able to "answer" yes or no questions, again by imagining one of these two activities.[23] It is unclear, however, whether the fact that portions of the patients' brains light up on fMRI could help these patients assume their own medical decision making.[23]

In November 2011, a publication in The Lancet presented bedside EEG apparatus and indicated that its signal could be used to detect awareness in three of 16 patients diagnosed in the vegetative state.[24]

Treatment[edit]

Currently no treatment for vegetative state exists that would satisfy the efficacy criteria of evidence-based medicine. Several methods have been proposed which can roughly be subdivided into four categories: pharmacological methods, surgery, physical therapy, and various stimulation techniques. Pharmacological therapy mainly uses activating substances such as tricyclic antidepressants or methylphenidate. Mixed results have been reported using dopaminergic drugs such as amantadine and bromocriptine and stimulants such as dextroamphetamine.[25] Surgical methods such as deep brain stimulation are used less frequently due to the invasiveness of the procedures. Stimulation techniques include sensory stimulation, sensory regulation, music and musicokinetic therapy, social-tactile interaction, and cortical stimulation.[26]

Zolpidem[edit]

There is limited evidence that the hypnotic drug zolpidem has an effect.[27] The results of the few scientific studies that have been published so far on the effectiveness of zolpidem have been contradictory.[28][29]

Epidemiology[edit]

In the United States, it is estimated that there may be between 15,000 and 40,000 patients who are in a persistent vegetative state, but due to poor nursing home records exact figures are hard to determine.[30]

History[edit]

The syndrome was first described in 1940 by Ernst Kretschmer who called it apallic syndrome.[31] The term persistent vegetative state was coined in 1972 by Scottish spinal surgeon Bryan Jennett and American neurologist Fred Plum to describe a syndrome that seemed to have been made possible by medicine's increased capacities to keep patients' bodies alive.[10][32]

Society and culture[edit]

Ethics and policy[edit]

An ongoing debate exists as to how much care, if any, patients in a persistent vegetative state should receive in health systems plagued by limited resources. In a case before the New Jersey Superior Court, Betancourt v. Trinitas Hospital, a community hospital sought a ruling that dialysis and CPR for such a patient constitutes futile care. An American bioethicist, Jacob M. Appel, argued that any money spent treating PVS patients would be better spent on other patients with a higher likelihood of recovery.[33] The patient died naturally prior to a decision in the case, resulting in the court finding the issue moot.

In 2010, British and Belgian researchers reported in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that some patients in persistent vegetative states actually had enough consciousness to "answer" yes or no questions on fMRI scans.[34] However, it is unclear whether the fact that portions of the patients' brains light up on fMRI will help these patient assume their own medical decision making.[34] Professor Geraint Rees, Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, responded to the study by observing that, "As a clinician, it would be important to satisfy oneself that the individual that you are communicating with is competent to make those decisions. At the moment it is premature to conclude that the individual able to answer 5 out of 6 yes/no questions is fully conscious like you or I."[34] In contrast, Jacob M. Appel of the Mount Sinai Hospital told the Telegraph that this development could be a welcome step toward clarifying the wishes of such patients. Appel stated: "I see no reason why, if we are truly convinced such patients are communicating, society should not honour their wishes. In fact, as a physician, I think a compelling case can be made that doctors have an ethical obligation to assist such patients by removing treatment. I suspect that, if such individuals are indeed trapped in their bodies, they may be living in great torment and will request to have their care terminated or even active euthanasia."[34]

Notable cases[edit]

Tony Bland – first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die

Paul Brophy – first American to die after court-authorization

Sunny von Bülow – lived almost 28 years in a persistent vegetative state until her death

Gustavo Cerati – Argentine singer-songwriter, composer and producer who died after four years in a coma

Prichard Colón – Puerto Rican former professional boxer and gold medal winner who spent years in a vegetative state after a bout

Nancy Cruzan – American woman involved in a landmark United States Supreme Court case

Gary Dockery – American police officer who entered, emerged and later reentered a persistent vegetative state

Eluana Englaro – Italian woman from Lecco whose life was ended after a legal case after spending 17 years in a vegetative state

Elaine Esposito – American child who was a previous record holder for having spent 37 years in a coma

Lia Lee – Hmong child who spent 26 years in a vegetative state and was the subject of a 1997 book by Anne Fadiman

Haleigh Poutre

Karen Ann Quinlan

Terri Schiavo

Aruna Shanbaug – Indian woman in persistent vegetative state for 42 years until her death. Due to her case, the Supreme Court of India allowed passive euthanasia in the country.

Ariel Sharon

Chayito Valdez

Vice Vukov

Helga Wanglie

Otto Warmbier

See also[edit]

Anencephaly

Brain death

Botulism

Catatonia

Karolina Olsson

Locked-in syndrome

Process Oriented Coma Work, for an approach to working with residual consciousness in patients in comatose and persistent vegetative states

References[edit]

^ Laureys, Steven; Celesia, Gastone G; Cohadon, Francois; Lavrijsen, Jan; León-Carrión, José; Sannita, Walter G; Sazbon, Leon; Schmutzhard, Erich; von Wild, Klaus R (2010-11-01). "Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome: a new name for the vegetative state or apallic syndrome". BMC Medicine. 8: 68. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-68. ISSN 1741-7015. PMC 2987895. PMID 21040571.

^ Laureys S, Celesia GG, Cohadon F, Lavrijsen J, León-Carrión J, Sannita WG, Sazbon L, Schmutzhard E, von Wild KR, Zeman A, Dolce G (2010). "Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome: a new name for the vegetative state or apallic syndrome". BMC Med. 8: 68. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-68. PMC 2987895. PMID 21040571.

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^ Royal College of Physicians 2013 Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness: National Clinical Guidelines

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^ Schapira, Anthony (December 18, 2006). Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience. Mosby. p. 126. ISBN 978-0323033541.

^ Mirsattari SM, Hammond RR, Sharpe MD, Leung FY, Young GB (April 2004). "Myoclonic status epilepticus following repeated oral ingestion of colloidal silver". Neurology. 62 (8): 1408–10. doi:10.1212/01.WNL.0000120671.73335.EC. PMID 15111684.

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^ Owen AM, Coleman MR, Boly M, Davis MH, Laureys S, Pickard JD (2006-09-08). "Detecting awareness in the vegetative state". Science. 313 (5792): 1402. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1022.2193. doi:10.1126/science.1130197. PMID 16959998.

^ "Vegetative patient 'communicates': A patient in a vegetative state can communicate just through using her thoughts, according to research". BBC News. September 7, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-14.

^ Stein R (September 8, 2006). "Vegetative patient's brain active in test: Unprecedented experiment shows response to instructions to imagine playing tennis". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-09-26.

^ Willful Modulation of Brain Activity in Disorders of Consciousness at nejm.org

^ Jump up to: a b Richard Alleyne and Martin Beckford, Patients in 'vegetative' state can think and communicate,Telegraph (United Kingdom), Feb 4, 2010

^ Cruse Damian; et al. (2011). "Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state: a cohort study". The Lancet. 378 (9809): 2088–2094. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.368.3928. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61224-5. PMID 22078855.

^ Dolce, Giuliano; Sazbon, Leon (2002). The post-traumatic vegetative state. ISBN 9781588901163.

^ Georgiopoulos M, et al. (2010). "Vegetative state and minimally conscious state: a review of the therapeutic interventions". Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 88 (4): 199–207. doi:10.1159/000314354. PMID 20460949.

^ Georgiopoulos, M; Katsakiori, P; Kefalopoulou, Z; Ellul, J; Chroni, E; Constantoyannis, C (2010). "Vegetative state and minimally conscious state: a review of the therapeutic interventions". Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. 88 (4): 199–207. doi:10.1159/000314354. PMID 20460949.

^ Snyman, N; Egan, JR; London, K; Howman-Giles, R; Gill, D; Gillis, J; Scheinberg, A (2010). "Zolpidem for persistent vegetative state—a placebo-controlled trial in pediatrics". Neuropediatrics. 41 (5): 223–227. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1269893. PMID 21210338.

^ Whyte, J; Myers, R (2009). "Incidence of clinically significant responses to zolpidem among patients with disorders of consciousness: a preliminary placebo controlled trial". Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 88 (5): 410–418. doi:10.1097/PHM.0b013e3181a0e3a0. PMID 19620954.

^ Hirsch, Joy (2005-05-02). "Raising consciousness". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 115 (5): 1102. doi:10.1172/JCI25320. PMC 1087197. PMID 15864333.

^ Ernst Kretschmer (1940). "Das apallische Syndrom". Neurol. Psychiat. 169: 576–579. doi:10.1007/BF02871384.

^ B Jennett; F Plum (1972). "Persistent vegetative state after brain damage: A syndrome in search of a name". The Lancet. 1 (7753): 734–737. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(72)90242-5. PMID 4111204.

^ Appel on Betancourt v. Trinitas

^ Jump up to: a b c d Richard Alleyne and Martin Beckford, Patients in 'vegetative' state can think and communicate, Telegraph (United Kingdom), Feb 4, 2010

This article contains text from the NINDS public domain pages on TBI. [1] and [2].

External links[edit]

Sarà, M.; Sacco, S.; Cipolla, F.; Onorati, P.; Scoppetta, C; Albertini, G; Carolei, A (2007). "An unexpected recovery from permanent vegetative state". Brain Injury. 21 (1): 101–103. doi:10.1080/02699050601151761. PMID 17364525.

Canavero S, et al. (2009). "Recovery of consciousness following bifocal extradural cortical stimulation in a permanently vegetative patient". Journal of Neurology. 256 (5): 834–6. doi:10.1007/s00415-009-5019-4. PMID 19252808.

Canavero S (editor) (2009). Textbook of therapeutic cortical stimulation. New York: Nova Science. ISBN 9781606925379.

Canavero S, Massa-Micon B, Cauda F, Montanaro E (May 2009). "Bifocal extradural cortical stimulation-induced recovery of consciousness in the permanent post-traumatic vegetative state". J Neurol. 256 (5): 834–6. doi:10.1007/s00415-009-5019-4. PMID 19252808.

Connolly, Kate. "Car crash victim trapped in a coma for 23 years was conscious", The Guardian, November 23, 2009.

Machado, Calixto, et al. "A Cuban Perspective on Management of Persistent Vegetative State". MEDICC Review 2012;14(1):44–48.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistent_vegetative_state

In a series of conversations recently held between Dr. Judith Ho and Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, CEO, Sovereign Health Group discussed the need for a paradigm shift in the way we are assessing and perhaps treating people with substance abuse addiction as well as mental health in this country. Dr. Sharma suggests that if this is a brain disorder let us assess cognitive function and assess brain function both in terms of the cognition as well as the psychophysiology. For instance, just as we would look at blood sugar in a diabetic patient, let’s look at how our brain waves are behaving as a tool for assessing brain disorders. We now have the tools to assess these and yet we don’t do so and they are not that expensive and they are reimbursable by insurance carriers. We can make a strong argument that these assessments are crucial to helping people suffering from addiction. Armed with this information we can then start treatment. We know that a lot of people with substance abuse also have mental health problems almost 80% of people have a dual diagnosis. At Sovereign Health Group we have expertise in-house to be able to treat both conditions. We can treat cognitive problems by cognitive remediation but let us first do the assessment. For instance, we might assess what we call the psychophysiology of the brain by doing a quantitative EEGs. It is not as complicated, there are automated methods of doing this. Now we talk about how you might change people’s thinking and you want to change behavior. You could change behavior but unless you change the way they think and the way their brain behaves and their deficits and their decision making process you are not going to change behavior. Currently, the entire industry is focused on changing behavior. We ask, “how did patients get into this in the first place?” Because their decision making process was impaired, they are aware that alcohol and drugs are bad for them yet they went ahead and did it anyway. This happened because there was a problem in what we call executive function planning and decision making. Unless we help people with addiction improve their planning and decision making we are going to discharge them they are going to do the same thing over and over again.

For more detailed information on Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health Group go to LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/tonmoysharmaceo

Dr Judy Ho, Ph. D., ABPP is a licensed and board certified Clinical Psychologist based in Los Angeles. She lends her psychology expertise as a panelist on a variety of national television shows and provides professional services in Psychological Testing and Forensic Expert work. She is a tenured professor of psychology at Pepperdine University.

The longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebral hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. The hemispheres exhibit strong, but not complete, bilateral symmetry in both structure and function. For example, structurally, the lateral sulcus generally is longer in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere, and functionally, Broca's area and Wernicke's area are located in the left cerebral hemisphere for about 95% of right-handers, but about 70% of left-handers.

Broad generalizations are often made in popular psychology about one side or the other having characteristic labels, such as "logical" for the left side or "creative" for the right. These labels are not supported by studies on lateralization, as lateralization does not add specialized usage from either hemisphere. Both hemispheres contribute to both kinds of processes, and experimental evidence provides little support for correlating the structural differences between the sides with such broadly-defined functional differences.

The extent of any modularity, or specialization of brain function by area, remains under investigation. If a specific region of the brain, or even an entire hemisphere, is either injured or destroyed, its functions can sometimes be assumed by a neighboring region in the ipsilateral hemisphere or a corresponding region in the contralateral hemisphere, depending upon the area damaged and the patient's age. When injury interferes with pathways from one area to another, alternative (indirect) connections may develop to communicate information with detached areas, despite the inefficiencies.

Brain function lateralization is evident in the phenomena of right- or left-handedness and of right or left ear preference, but a person's preferred hand is not a clear indication of the location of brain function. Although 95% of right-handed people have left-hemisphere dominance for language, 18.8% of left-handed people have right-hemisphere dominance for language function. Additionally, 19.8% of the left-handed have bilateral language functions. Even within various language functions (e.g., semantics, syntax, prosody), degree (and even hemisphere) of dominance may differ. Additionally, although some functions are lateralized, these are only a tendency. The trend across many individuals may also vary significantly as to how any specific function is implemented. The areas of exploration of this causal or effectual difference of a particular brain function include its gross anatomy, dendritic structure, and neurotransmitter distribution. The structural and chemical variance of a particular brain function, between the two hemispheres of one brain or between the same hemisphere of two different brains, is still being studied. Short of having undergone a hemispherectomy (removal of a cerebral hemisphere), no one is a "left-brain only" or "right-brain only" person.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

Tonmoy Sharma, CEO, Sovereign Health Group recently shared his vision for using neuro feedback as a tool for empowering patients who are being treated for substance abuse. In order to do so, Dr. Sharma explains, we start by measuring the four types of brain activity through the use of an EEG (electroencephalograph). The EEG picks up electrical impulses that are generated when we have any thoughts. Just like when we treat high cholesterol by measuring the different types of cholesterol in the body and the ratio between them, we can measure the four types of brainwaves that signify different types of brain activity. We know that people with substance abuse issues have a certain type of brain activity and our goal is to decrease that type of brain activity in relationship to other types of brain activity. We are working with the patient to change the ratio of the different brain activities in order to normalize brain function. After we have used EEG as an assessment tool we employ neuro feedback to help patients get their emotion regulation and decision making back on track. During between 12 and 20 neuro feedback sessions of about 30-40 minutes each we have them look at stimulus such as video or a photo that will evoke a certain emotion. We then train the patient to manage the brain waves so when faced with a trigger they can change their brain waves and resist the craving. This gives them the ability to help themselves by empowering them to take control over their emotions and begin to live day-by-day. Through these neurofeedback sessions, people suffering with addiction can see for themselves that it makes a big difference.

About Tonmoy Sharma, CEO, Sovereign Health Group. During a career spanning 30 years, Dr. Sharma has served as an acclaimed researcher having led countless international mental health clinical research trials, taught and trained students as a neuro-scientist and served as author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed published articles and five books on schizophrenia and mental illness. He is dedicated to putting his vast knowledge to furthering the mental health field with insights into pharmacology and cognitive impairment treatment. Dr Sharma recognizes that the substance abuse treatment community is heading towards an inevitable next step in its evolution to ensure it continues to improve the quality of patients’ treatment. Today Dr. Tonmoy Sharma is committed to tirelessly promote and call for measurement-based care (MBC) in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction and mental illness calling for a national standardized measurement scale for assessing, diagnosing and treating alcohol and drug addiction.

For more on Tonmoy Sharma, CEO of Sovereign Health Group go to LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/tonmoysharmaceo

About Dr. Judith Ho. Dr. Judy Ho, Ph. D., ABPP is a licensed and board certified Clinical Psychologist based in Los Angeles. She lends her expertise as a panelist on a variety of national television shows and provides professional services in Psychological Testing and Forensic Expert work. She is a tenured professor of psychology at Pepperdine University.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

Everyone knows the whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has an amazing sense of smell. But how good is it really? While a human's brain is much larger than a deer's, a comparatively small area of the human brain is dedicated to analyzing odors. Even though the deer's brain is much smaller, more brain power is dedicated to analyzing odors than any other brain function. Here are a few things you probably didn't know about a deer's ability to smell. A whitetail deer's long nose has olfactory receptors throughout both nasal cavities-800 times as many as a human. There are olfactory receptors on the outside of the deer's nose as well. This is why they tend to lick their noses a lot. It's to moisten them, which helps them pick up scents and smells. But wait, there's more! The whitetail deer has an organ on the roof of the mouth that also interprets smells. It's called the vomeronasal organ (AKA Jacobson's organ) and it can sort out smells that come through the mouth. It basically functions like you would expect the nose to function except it detects chemical signals known as pheromones. Ever seen a deer curl its upper lip and sniff? It's actually bringing scent molecules from urine into contact with the vomeronasal organ. This helps the buck detect a doe in estrous. This 9-point buck demonstrates the typical lip curl.

Click on the link below to explore your options. Select from fine art prints, canvas, acrylic or metal prints for your home or office. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on updates, sales, and new blog posts.

www.cuttsnaturephotography.com

Note: this photo was published in a Jan 25, 2010 PopTech blog titled "Help Count the Homeless Tonight in NYC." It was also published as an illustration in an undated (Feb 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Tent Cities In America," as well as an undated (Feb 2010) Squidoo blog titled "Homeless Combat Veterans." And it was published on a Wikipedia page on Jan 30, 2010. It was also published in a Sep 3, 2010 blog titled "Veterans Make Up 35% of the San Diego Homeless." And it was published in a Sep 15, 2010 blog titled "Cadillac Man tells tales of a city’s mean streets." It was also published in a Dec 21, 2010 "Deflation Times" blog titled "Homeless In America: Ed Yourdon Photography."

Moving into 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 10, 2011 blog titled "Seeing the world as a nomad." It was also published in a Jan 26, 2011 blog titled "The Road Home." And it was published in a Jan 28, 2011 blog titled "Santa Barbara's Quick Fix to Homelessness: Sweep It Out of Sight." It was also published in a Jun 15, 2011 blog titled "Blessed are the Uncool." And it was published in a Sep 14, 2011 blog titled "Modern-day slavery in the UK? Travellers charged in Leighton Buzzard case." It was also published in a Nov 2, 2011 blog titled "Choose to be generous." And it was published in a Dec 16, 2011 blog titled "Census: Half of Americans not poor; but economy still bad as 25-year recession looms," as well as a Dec 16, 2011 blog titled "The Legislature adjourns - and kicks the tough questions down the road, again."

Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 18, 2012 blog titled "How a United Way event gets at real needs of the homeless." It was also published in a Feb 2, 2012 blog titled "A Christian Nation? Stephen Colbert Calls Us Out," as well as an Apr 16, 2012 Australian blog titled "Parents: Don’t teach your child to fear people." And it was published in a May 17, 2012 article summer titled "tPreying on the Poor." It was also published in a Jun 22, 2012 blog titled "The modern homeless - and their Louis Vitton suitcases." And it was published in a Jun 27, 2012 blog titled "Terrorized by the Supreme Court on Healthcare." It was also published in an Aug 30, 2012 blog titled "Top 5 Worst Lies Paul Ryan Told", at www-dot-care2-dot-com/causes/top-5-worst-lies-paul-ryan-told.html?page=4 And it was published in an Oct 17, 2012 blog titled "When Homelessness Causes PTSD." It was also published in a Dec 10, 2012 blog titled "Night shelter for the homeless to open during cold snap," as well as a Dec 10, 2012 blog titled "Sparkle Box Christmas Tradition – Bible Verses About Giving." And it was published in a Dec 21, 2012 blog titled "National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day."

Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Jan 24, 2013 blog titled "Making Your PIT Count More Useful to Local Providers ." And it was published in a Feb 20, 2013 blog titled "Mike Bloomberg Will Leave the Homeless Worse Off Than He Found Them." It was also published in a Mar 24, 2013 blog titled "Open Bible With Pen." It was also published in an Apr 5, 2013 blog titled "21 Statistics About Poverty You Must Know." And it was published in a May 6, 2013 blog titled "Homelessness and Mental Health: Moving Past Stereotypes," as well as an Aug 21, 2013 blog titled "Wall Street's Fix for Homelessness," and an Aug 30, 2013 blog titled "Study: Poverty Impairs Brain Function." It was also published in a Nov 15, 2013 blog titled "Folks Could Die Out There" and a Dec 19, 2013 blog titled "USA spenderar hundratals miljarder på kärnvapenupprustning."

Moving into 2014, the photo was published in a Jan 22, 2014 blog titled "Finding Housing When You're Homeless." It was also published in an Apr 20, 2014 blog titled "Across the Tracks."

Moving into 2015, the photo was published in a Feb 1, 2015 blog titled "The thing that kills people…."

**************************************

This is a continuation of a set that I created in 2009 (shown here ) and 2008 (shown here ) to show a variety of scenes and people in the small park known as Verdi Square, located at 72nd Street and Broadway in New York City's Upper West Side.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

I built this for the Jaeger vs. Kaiju building challenge over on Brick Mecha Division. Here's the lore writeup I made for it there:

The next generation of technology in the fight against the Kaiju, EUXO was designed to mirror a human's anatomy without using any organic material. The result is an incredibly complex synthetic organism that - by linking with the pilot's brain - functions as their surrogate body. This allows for reaction times and awareness unheard of in previous generation Jaegers.

The EUXO can also utilize optional Type-B equipment. This functions as extra armor and includes a number of stabilizers for extra maneuverability during air drops.

So yeah, obvious Evangelion inspiration here. I originally just wanted to add some optional shoulder parts containing ammo/missiles but that eventually grew into a full armor set. Note that the waist armor also includes extra braces for the hip joints so the whole thing doesn't topple under the added weight.

via Instagram ift.tt/2aAvkR8

youtu.be/073FG3b9zgE Classical Flute Music - Instrumental Background Music for Focus, Relaxation and Productivity Music. Perfect for studying and focus. Can also be used as music for creativity, music for productivity and music for inspiration. This beautiful flute music can also be used as background music to unwind and relax as well as to boost your energy levels, increase dopamine and feel happy and positive, optimistic, inspired. Our Beautiful Music is designed to enhance brain function and concentration, to deeply relax, meditate and study. For this reason, we use binaural beats. More Like This: www.youtube.com/watch?v=inaoCBXMncY&index=3&list=... Check Out Our Instrumental Music Playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdq_tkZ5zkp7Ml4l5-wG-lcRXQ... Playlist The Fairy Queen - 0:00 Landkjending, Op 31 - 17:48 Lyric Pieces, Op 43 - 23:39 Lyric Pieces, Op 38 - 35:17 Lyric Pieces, Op 12 - 48:54 Holberg Suite, Op 40 - 1:00:39 Classical Music - Classical music is known to be one of the best types of music to relax, aid in concentration, memory retention, extended focus. The majority of studies that have been conducted, used Mozart K.448, though enough other classical music or instrumental music tracks have now been used. So it is clear the effect is universal. Listening to Classical Music for Studying and Concentration will indeed increase your memory, focus, allowing you to study hard and concentrate at a more effective level. That means by listening to our Classical Music with Alpha Waves for 1 hour while you study or do homework, you will learn more, achieve more. As though you had been studying for one and a half or two hours.That is the power of our classical study music. Study with classical to get the best grades, ace your final exams, concentrate longer, relax, focus, improve memory #ClassicalMusic #Classical Study Music Instrumental Music - You will find our Instrumental music to be of the highest quality on YouTube. Find a great selection of Classical Instrumental Music that is embedded with Alpha waves, making it the best instrumental music for study We also create our own ambient instrumental music for your listening pleasure. Instrumental music is perfect as background music, yoga music, study music, meditation music, concentration music, focus music, soothing music, relaxing music when you do zen, meditation, massage and relaxation. Check out more instrumental music on the Beautiful Music channel. Subscribe to stay informed of all new releases of instrumental music. #InstrumentalMusic Background Music - Background music is designed to Soothe and Relax you deeply. You will find that our background music is best suited to relaxation or meditation, yoga or massage. Use for study, work, concentration, to relax and be calm. When listening to background music, check if there is mention of Alpha Waves or BiNaural Beats anywhere in the description. If so, headphones are recommended for best results from this background music. We love background music as much as you! Please subscribe for more amazing background music. #BackgroundMusic Focus Music - Focus music is a major key factor in effective learning practices. When we are able to focus on our task at hand we can easily understand the things or the information we need learn. Focus music also increases our productivity. A focused student or employee will perform better with their task or work. Listening to focus music will surely increase your attention span and you will have a better understanding. Focus music is very calming, relaxing and very much like chillout music that will relax you as you listen to the music. Focus music unlike other music, will not distract you. While listening to a focus music track, you will feel like you are subconsciously meditating while working, that is what our focus music can do. Focus music helps you focus on your work without even realizing it. With our focus music, you will notice that you've done a lot in a short period of time, leaving you with much more time for leisure or personal time for yourself. #focusmusic #focus Thank you for listening to our channel. We appreciate each and every single one of you. All our music is created with you in mind and we are so happy that it is serving you well. For more information about where to purchase or listen to our music such as Spotify, Google Play, Amazon etc. check out the “About” section of our YouTube channel. Music By The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Holberg Suite, Op. 40, Lyric Pieces - Book 2, Op. 38, Lyric Pieces - Book 3 , Op. 43, Lyric Pieces - Book 1, Op. 12 Performed By: Papalin License: ift.tt/qdXal7 H4Happiness ©All Rights Reserved

At Google this weekend. Seeing a CMU telepresence robot now.

Some details from the scifoo Wiki:

I'd like to discuss an idea I'm formulating to improve climate modeling called "Global Swarming." The core idea is to deploy tens of thousands of ocean probes by leveraging the creative smarts and logistics coordination of the web.

As someone who served as an expert witness in the Dover "Intelligent Design" trial, and who has worked in the "creation-evolution" arena for a long time, if there is any interest I would be happy to run a session on "What happens post-Dover?" What will be the next wave of anti-evolutionism and anti-science? What needs to be done to combat it and raise the American public's awareness of the evidence for evolution? Why is this issue critical to the success of basic research in this country? How do scientists, educators, and tech folks fit in?

I'd like to brainstorm about programmable matter ProgrammableMatter. Programmable matter is any substance which can be programmed to change its shape or physical properties. We are currently working on constructing programmable matter and investigating how to program it. I would be most interested in talking about how one might program ensembles.

I’d like to present on OpenWetWare, a wiki promoting open research among biologists and biological engineers. With 65 labs and 1200 users on OpenWetWare, I can provide practical examples of how scientists are currently making use of the web(2.0) to support research and education in new ways. I’ll also talk about where the site is headed in the future, and how foocampers could help make it easier for scientists to share more of their secrets online.

I'll bring a memory stick with the recent radar images of what appear to be hydrocarbon-filled lakes on Saturn's moon, Titan, and some movies from Titan. I'm also happy to discuss the interesting phenomenon of "instant public science" done by enthusiasts everywhere who have instant access to the latest space science data from the web. BTW, Nature magazine's piece on exciting questions in chemistry (this week) included a mention of Titan, which should be on every organic chemists' hit list for places to visit.

I am interested in discussing the dichotomy of design and evolutionary search as divergent paths in complex systems development. - jurvetson.blogspot.com

I could begin a session about Systems Biology, with a general theme of building towards whole cell or whole organisms models in biology. I have some (whacky) ideas about this in addition to having done some real science on this subject.

I could present about novel circuit-focused neurotechnologies I'm developing, for advancing the study of brain function and consciousness, and for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. Although I've been exploring this question in academic research settings – and I'm gearing up to set up my own university laboratory – I'd like to brainstorm about how to build the significant community of clinicians, engineers, scientists, and psychologists that we'd need to make strong scientific progress on the timeless, unyielding problem of understanding the nature of consciousness.

I could talk about/demonstrate: digital fabrication in the lab and its impact in field fab labs around the world, mathematical programs as a programming model for enormous/unreliable/extended systems and their application in analog logic circuits and Internet 0 networks, and microfluidic logic to integrate chemistry with computation

I could contribute to a session on powerlaws in nature, markets and human affairs. They're found nearly everywhere, from earthquakes to species distributions to cities to wars. We used to think the world was mostly defined by gaussian distributions (bell curves) with neat medians and standard deviations. But now we see that powerlaws, where low-frequency events have the highest amplitude, are far more common, and they're infinite functions where concepts like "average" are meaningless. What are the factors that create powerlaws and what does nature have in common with economics and social networking in this instance?

I'd like to talk to the assembled folks about a project we are running to help scientists move large datasets without using the internet (which can be very slow or expensive.

I hope to demo a viral database and talk about efforts to build real time surveillance via the WHO.

I'd like to discuss the range of applications being discussed in HE (HigherEd) that permit faculty and research groups to store and share a wide range of scholarly assets, including research data, texts (articles such as pre-prints and post-prints), images, and other media. These next generation academic apps provide support for tagging, community-of-use definitions, discovery, rights assertions via CC, and new models of peer review and commentary. Early designs typically implicate heavy use of atom or gdata for posting and retrieval, lucene, and ajax.

I can offer a brief introduction to the Human Genome, and the field of Comparative Genomics which focuses on comparing our own genome to that of other species. I'll try to give a taste of some of the startling revelations, seeming paradoxes, and many open questions that make working with this three billion letter string a ball.

I could offer the opposite point of view, looking at the very simplest organisms, what they do, how they work, and what life looks like when the genome fits on a floppy.

I would like to talk about the future of the scientific method. How the scientific method was one invention the Chinese did not make before the west, and how the process of science has changed in the last 400 years and will change even more in the next 50 years. I'd love to hear others' ideas of where the science method is headed.

I could offer some (possibly naive) ideas on how we could design evolvability into the scientific process by learning from the evolution of cellular complexity. I can also include some examples from language evolution and software evolution.

I can describe our general approach for open collaborative biomedical research at The Synaptic Leap.

I have in mind a presentation related to my project on Milestones in the History of Data Visualization – an attempt to provide a comprehensive catalog documenting and illustrating the historical developments leading to modern data visualization and visual thinking. The talk might encompass some of (a) some great moments in the history of data visualization, (b) 'statistical historiography': the study of history as 'data', (c) a self-referential Q: how to visualize this history. The goal would be more to suggest questions and aproaches than to provide answers – in fact a main reason to present would be to hear other people's reactions.

As we're on the topic of visualizations, I could give a talk about the rise of the geobrowser/virtual globe and how it is revolutionizing the geospatial visualization of information. I can showcase some of the best examples of scientific visualizations, show how geobrowsers are helping humanitarian causes and discuss the social-software aspect of Google Earth and other expected 'mirror worlds', where geospatial information is shared, wiki-like. Above all, I would love to brainstorm the possible use of geobrowsers in the projects of other campers.

I'm willing to give a talk about imaging projects in the Stanford Computer Graphics Laboratory, such as our large array of cameras, our handheld camera whose photographs you can refocus after you take the picture, and our work on multi-perspective panoramas (the Google-funded Stanford CityBlock Project). These projects are part of a trend towards "computational photography", in which computers play a significant role in image formation.

I'm a Hugo Award-winning science-fiction writer, and I'm working on a trilogy (my 18th through 20th novels) about the World Wide Web spontaneously gaining consciousness once the number of interconnections it has exceeds the number in a human brain. I'd love to talk a bit about my ideas of how such a consciousness, at first an epiphenomenon supervening on top of the web infrastructure, might actually come to access the documents and input sources available online and how it might perceive external reality, and I'd love to brainstorm with people about what sort of interactions and relationships humanity might have with such an entity.

I could talk about the current and future generation of astronomical surveys that will map the sky every three nights or so (e.g. the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope). They are designed to be able to address multiple science goals from the same data set (e.g. understanding cosmology and dark energy through to indentifying moving sources such as asteroids in our Solar System). With hundreds of thousands of variable sources detected each year (on top of the ten billion non-variables) the flow of data presents a number of challenges for how we follow up these sources.

I could talk about insights gained as part of the NSF-funded Pathways research project (Cornell U, LANL) that looks at scholarly communication as a global workflow across heterogeneous repositories and tries to identify a lightweight interoperability framework to facilitate the emergence of a natively digital scholarly communication system. Think introspecting on the evolution of science by traversing a scholarly communication graph that jumps across repositories. I could also talk about work we have been doing with scholarly usage information: aggregating it across repositories, and using the aggregated data to generate recommendations and metrics.

I'd love to show the prototype of an NSF-sponsored web-based simulation designed to help students learn about the nature of science. I'll bring the server on my laptop; we can all connect and play cosmologist. Advice welcome. More at NatureOfScienceGame

Making Open Access Affordable (free): There is a move afoot to put all science literature in the public domain (it is mostly funded with tax-free or tax money). There is a move afoot to put all science data in the public domain (ditto). These are unfunded mandates. We can not do much about the funding, but we computer scientists can do a LOT to drive the needed funds to zero by making it EASY to publish, organize, search, and display literature and data online. This also dovetails with Jill Mesirov's approach to reproducable science – future science literature will be a multi-layer summary of the source data – words, graphs, pictures on top and derivations + data underneath. Many working on these issues will be at this event. We should have a group-grope.

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) for small labs with BIG data. It is embarrassing how many scientists use Excel as their database system – but even more embarrassing is how many use paper notebooks as their database. New science instruments (aka sensors) produce more data and more diverse data than will fit in a paper notebook, a table in a paper, or in Excel. How does "small science" work in this new world where it takes 3 super-programmers per ecologist to deploy some temperature and moisture sensors in a small ecosystem? We think we have an answer to this in the form of pre-canned LIMS applications.

Related to this I could talk a bit about how our work on myGrid has been aiming at taking the escience capabilities offered to large well funded groups down to a more 'grass roots' level - grid based science is traditionally the realm of people and groups with serious money but we don't think this has to be the case.

I could present a software demo of a new web-based collaborative environment for sharing drug discovery data – initially focused on developing world infectious disease research (such as Malaria, Chagas Disease, African Sleeping Sickness) with technology that should be equally applicable for scientists collaborating around any private or public therapeutic area. This demo is a collaboration initiated between Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc and Prof. McKerrow at UCSF which could shift drug discovery efforts away from today's fragmented, secretive, individual lab model to an integrated, distributed model while maintaining data and IP protection.

Our present vaccine production infrastructure leaves us woefully unprepared to deal with either natural or artificial surprises – think SARS and avian influenza (H5N1), which can both easily outpace our technological response. There are superior technological alternatives that will not be widely available for years to come due to regulatory issues, and I would like engage the other campers on ways to address this problem. In particular, I would like to explore the potential contribution of distributed, low cost science – garage science – to improving our safety and preparedness.

The "Encyclopedia of Life" is a buzz phrase being bandied around by biologists – the idea is having an online resource that tells you what we know about each species of organism on the planet. It's an idea that seems obvious, but how would we achieve this given the scale of the task (number of known species about 2 million, those waiting to be found maybe 2-100, we really don't know), the rapidly dwindling number of experts who can tells us something about those organisms, the size of the literature (unlike most sciences, taxonomists care about stuff published back as far as the 18th century), and the widely distributed, often poorly digitized sources of information? I'd willing to chat about some of the issues involved, and some possible solutions

I would like to share briefly with you the results of a five year project to create and publish the world’s first totally integrated Encyclopedic vision of food – its origins, variations, complexity,nutrients, dimensions, meanings, enjoyment, history and a thousand and one stories about food. The result is a new kind of truly multidimensional Encyclopedia of Food and Culture that I edited with a whole team of scientists and scholars, and Scribner’s (Gale /Thompson) published in 2003. The Encyclopedia has been well reviewed and we won, among many awards, the Dartmouth Medal (the top prize in the reference world) in July 2004. I am bringing a three volume HARD copy with me and will put it on display at the “Table” for everyone to peruse at your leisure -(it is designed to ‘catch you’ – so if you are a browser and you love food you may have trouble giving it up for others to read!)I would also be delighted to talk about a new kind of World Food Museum that is designed to make the Encyclopedia come alive (please seem my bio statement for more).

I would like to present Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen Science work as an example of several of the broader citizen science interests described in the Wiki. These include: Challenges of involving the public in data collection for professional research, scientific tradeoffs and possibilities, internet data collection tools, dynamic graphing and mapping tools, data mining, sustainability, webcommunity building plans for the future, and recruitment models within the contexts of conservation science and ornithology.

I would also like to demonstrate the new Pulluin software chip that fits in a TREO palm cell phone. It has a bird ID tool, lets you hear vocalizations, see pictures, and enter data into one of our citizen science projects, eBird. The ideal way to show you this toy would be to take interested campers on an early morning bird walk. If I can get enough signups, I will try to get eBird project leader, Brian Sullivan, to come up from Monterey, providing he is available. We would probably carpool to the shore to bird. If you are interested, email me and tell me which days, Sat., Sun., or both, you would be available.

Who are we? I'd like to give a short talk to argue for the importance of addressing an old question with a new meaning: What is it like to be human? Why do we dare, care and share? Why are we curious, generous and open? We have to deal with these questions before artifical intelligence, genetic engineering and the globalisation of cultures have changed us irreversibly. Many areas of activity in science, technology and the arts offer new perspectives: Sexual selection, algorithmic information theory, perception, nutrition, experimental economics, game theory and network theory, etc. They point to a coherent view of humans as flows and processes, rather than things and objects. Openness is essential. Attention is essential. Time is ripe for a new collective effort at producing a view of human being relevant to our age.

Robotics for the Masses – I would like to present two new technologies that we are public-domaining imminently. One is Gigapan, a technology for taking ultra-high-resolution panoramic images with low-cost equipment. We can generate time lapses of an entire field with enough detail to see individual petals in detail as they bloom and wither. The second is the TeRK site, which is designed to enable non-roboticists to make robots for tools without becoming robotics experts. I will bring Gigapans and TeRK robots with me and would love to show them doing their techie things. Both of these strands have the potential to be useful scientific tools.

Science, not near as much fun as math! :~) But without it the world remains untouchable. Do you want your child with maximum understanding? We better equip the rest to understand her, so that she is heard when speaking about this exquisite world. But how to reach as many as can be reached? Free is not near enough, full access comes close. The challenge is to deliver science, as the compelling, engaging, tantalizing world that it is, the very first frontier to cross into who we are. The quality of that experience needs freedom of expression. NASA World Wind is a bold step towards that. We are delighted to share the not-so-secret secrets thereof.

I could discuss how our fundamental discoveries on bipedal bugs and octopuses, gripping geckos and galloping ghost crabs have provided biological inspiration for the design of robots, artificial muscles and adhesives. I can include a demo of artificial muscles from Artificial Muscle Incorporated. I will bring two robots in development – a gecko-like climbing robot from our collaboration with Stanford and an insect-like hexapedal robot built by our UPenn colleagues. I will carry with me live death-head cockroaches that serve as our inspiration. I could facilitate a discussion of neuromechanical control architectures. I will introduce briefly our new center at Berkeley (CIBER – Center for Interdisciplinary Bio-inspiration in Education and Research) and a new journal - Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. I welcome this group’s creative suggestions not only for the next generation of robots, but also for novel designs using tunable skeletal structures, artificial muscles and dry adhesives

I would be interested in discussing and debating technical and nontechnical issue involving Social Semantic Search and Analytics. There is a significant interest in Social Search, and some interest in Semantic Search. Here is a scenario that probably involves more futuristic capabilities but a modest verion of this can lead to lower hanging fruits involving "little semantics" and "weak semantics" which would involve less infrastructure in creating and maintaining ontologies (albeit my experience shows building and maintaining large ontologies is doable, see Semantic Web: A different perspective on what works and what doesn't: (a) a research paper is published ;Eg: Semantics Analytics on Social Networks www2006.org/programme/item.php?id=4068], (b) there is a popular press article with numerous factual errors and unsupported conjuctures e.g., this one, (c) there are several versions on popular web sites along with numerous blog postings containing emotional reactions See for example, (d) Tim O'Reilly digs into the facts and sets the record staight in Datamining Social Networking Sites. How can we track the string of these stories along various dimensions [thematic, spatial, temporal] while provding overview, ranking based on various criteria, contextual linking, insights on individual postings, and more? I am interested in more than clustering and linking through statistical analysis which are good to put some stories in font of a reader,but would not sufficiently help someone who needs to creat a cogent understanding of an event or a situation.

I'd like to discuss the planning of a Mountain View Consensus, in response to Bjørn Lomborg's Copenhagen Consensus, a ranking of where to spend money on the world's biggest problems. The frustrating thing about the Copenhagen Consensus is that it is published as a report – so if you think the compund interest rate should be 2% higher, you can only speculate on what the effect would be of changing it. For the Mountain View Consensus we would publish findings as a collaborative spreadsheet, with annotations for the values that different participants place on each variable, and the opportunity for anyone to add annotations. Also, while Lomborg invited only economists, we would include scientists and engineers who understand the technologies, and venture capitalists who understand risk factors and chances of technology bets.

I have two projects I'd like to share at Science Foo–and i'm eager to hear your thoughts on how best to build and deploy them both:

1) An open source project–the Family Medical History Tool –that could graphically capture essential medical data and which could be shared by family members (with this goes a myriad of challenging issues around privacy, HIPPA laws, etc.

2) We're initiating a "citizen science" approach to a retrospective clinical trial providing open and transparent results real-time. We believe that additional data could be rapidly collected to demonstrate a correlation between drug metabolism and genotype for the 2D6 gene and the drug tamoxifen. Preliminary data shows that 5-10 % of women who are 2D6 poor metabolizers taking tamoxifen (to avoid a reoccurrence of cancer) may be getting nothing more than a placebo effect, and worse, run a 3 times greater risk of a cancer reoccurrence.

I could give a talk and lead a discussion on the status and prospects for advanced nanotechnologies based on digital control of molecular assembly. I'd start by describing machines that already do this (in biology) and how they are being exploited to make nanostructures. I'd then outline a path forward to some very powerful technologies that today can be studied only by means of physical modeling and computational simulation. There are potential applications on a scale relevant to the climate change problem.

The main benefits of Yoga include:

1.Healthy Weight

2.Increases Flexibility

3.Relieves Anxiety

4.Lowers Stress Level

5.Lowers Risk of Heart Diseases

6.Relieves Chronic Back Pain

7.Improves Brain Function

8.Alters Gene Expression

9.Improves Sexual Function

10.Lowers Blood Pressure

11.Improves Sense of Balance

12.Stronger Bones

13.Lowers Blood Sugar level in Diabetics

14.Improves Lung Capacity

Eugenics theories were popularized in England by Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin. According to Galton, the human race could be improved through selective breeding and by exterminating the unfit. Galton hoped that eugenics would one day become “the religion of the future.” According to Galton’s thought, the intelligence of the aristocrats was genetically inherited. Galton came up with the word eugenics from the Greek word ‘eugenes,’ meaning ‘well born.’ The first International Congress of Eugenics was held at the University of London In 1912. The president of this meeting was Charles Darwin’s son.

Throughout the years, the Rockefeller’s have spent large sums of money funding eugenics. The Rockefeller’s even funded eugenics research in Germany during World War II, stating that war should not impede scientific research.

The British National Association for Mental Health (NAMH) was formed in 1944. It was lead by Montagu Norman, who had been the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. In the beginning, the group met at Norman’s home. In the 1930s, Norman had also invited Nazi Economics Minister Hjalmar Schacht into his home to arrange financing for Hitler. The British National Association for Mental Health was just a rebranding of the National Councils of Mental Hygiene, which had been one of the major advocates for eugenics programs around the world. This group had collaborated with Nazi eugenicists prior to World War II.

The British National Association for Mental Health (NAMH), joined forces with the United Nations and the Tavistock Institute In 1948. The Tavistock Institute had been collaborating with British military intelligence and numerous psychiatrists. NAMH and the Tavistock Institute held an International Congress of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health. In this meeting they formed The World Federation of Mental Health, in order to coordinate global psychological operations.

The Tavistock Institute also sponsored group ‘sensitivity’ programs. The purpose of these programs was for the breaking down of an individual’s personality, so that it could be reconstructed to go along with the group (herd). Millions of people have gone through these programs. Today we have sensitivity programs like DEI: diversity, equity, and inclusion.

They have also used the education system to dumb down the population. Students do not receive a classical education, in which they can learn how to critically think. Instead, they are indoctrinated. Look no further then sex education and queer theory, which are both forms of eugenics indoctrination. The education system has been used to help drug up students on mass with Ritalin, antidepressants, and puberty blockers.

One technique of eugenics is to destroy traditional morality and normalize deviancy. Mass communications are used to promote the rejection of chastity, self control, and ethics. Since the social engineers have been promoting illicit sexual conduct, most sexual acts are now accepted. They have become normalized. The sexual revolution was used to disassociate sex from procreation, all the while selling birth control and abortion to the masses. This has eaten away at the foundations of the nuclear family. The Nazi’s also promoted sexual immorality. “It was the Nazis who restored the ‘right to love’ in their propaganda.” Indeed, “Love was old-fashioned, sex was modern!” The Nazi’s even pushed the idea of premarital sex in school, as a means to increase the Aryan race.

In 1949, under Project BLUEBIRD, the CIA used drugs to experiment with mind control. “Basic to the financing of mind control projects, Nelson Rockefeller merged three federal corporations into the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and HEW and its sub-agency the National Institute of Mental Health were used to fund ARTICHOKE and other early CIA mind control projects.” In a recently released Project Artichoke document, they spoke about putting drugs and chemicals in food, water, Coca-Cola, beer, liquor, cigarettes, vaccinations, shots, gases, and aerosols. They also mentioned taking nutritional elements out of food to create dietary deficiencies as a method to condition people for mind control. They wanted to produce agitation, anxiety, nervousness, tension, and depression in order to create feelings of despondency, hopelessness, and lethargy. In another document, they asked the question, “Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against such fundamental laws of nature such as self-preservation?” Project Artichoke was a precursor to the MK-Ultra program, which was launched in 1953.

The CIA was obsessed with LSD. In one experiment, they used four times the normal dosage to keep seven addicts stoned for 77 days straight, and they using electroshocks to keep them from falling asleep. They used prostitutes to lure men into a certain room in order to give them LSD-spiked drinks. They sprayed LSD in public places. LSD and hypnosis were used to persuade individuals that they had been abducted by aliens. They promoted psychedelics to the public. Charles Manson, with his occult practices, LSD, and murders, can be linked to the CIA. Their sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, and spiritualism, neutered the antiwar activists of the time. Indeed, the hippy generation became passive materialistic yuppies.

The CIA, with its social engineering programs, media propaganda, and its sexual revolution, was used to prepare America for change—the revamping of society through the use of psychedelic drugs and mysticism. “As illogical as it may seem at first glance, the LSD drugging of the world and an accompanying injection of mystical religion fits neatly into the New World Order—and eugenics—intention for population control and a ‘post-technological’ world. Believing that the world is overpopulated and that resources are being squandered through consumption by the masses, dystopian social visionaries epitomized by those of Tavistock and the Club of Rome have repeatedly urged that the solution is a return to a mystical primitivism—at least for the vast majority of the world’s population. And that primitivism, they seem to believe, can be furthered through the use of drugs and mysticism.”

Captain Alfred Hubbard, who was labeled the “Johnny Appleseed of LSD,” said that LSD was discovered years prior to its announced. He said that it was first discovered by members of Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophical Society—an offshoot of Blavatsky’s occultist Theosophy group—in their quest to discover a “peace pill.” It also looks like Aldous Huxley and George Orwell were both connected to British Intelligence due to their various connections. In Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley said, “If the first half of the twentieth century was the era of the technical engineers, the second half may well be the era of the social engineers—and the twenty-first century, I suppose, will be the era of World Controllers, the scientific caste system and Brave New World. To the question quis cusodiet custodes?—Who will mount guard over our guardians, who will engineer the engineers?—the answer is a bland denial that they need any supervision.” Aldous Huxley was a proponent of LSD. He asked his wife for LSD on his death dead. He had his soma and died.

They implanted electrodes into people’s brains, while injecting various drugs into their brain tissue. By implanting electrodes into the brain, they could switch on and off various emotional and mental states such as feelings of fear or well-being. They could even cause sexual sensations. They also had the ability to manipulate memory and artificially induce hallucinations.

Dr. Delgado, MK-Ultra’s infamous psychopath, found that low intensity electromagnetic fields could alter DNA. He remarked, “Our understanding of genetics is very clumsy at present. But if we can produce lethal mutations with EMF fields, perhaps we will someday be able to use the technique to produce behavior changes.” Delgado said, “This new knowledge is so important that I think it should radically change the philosophy of our educational system, which believes in the sanctity of individuals, thinking that an individual exists at birth. This belief is not true. And this science is going to prove the fallacy of democracy in the sense that we talk about the rights of the individual; this democratic belief is not true. Because we are forming this individual, because we are constructing his brain, we are willy nilly making the differences we either desire or dislike.”

In 1956, Curtiss Shafer said, “The ultimate achievement of biocontrol may be man himself. The controlled subjects would never be permitted to think as individuals. A few months after birth, a surgeon would equip each child with a socket mounted under the scalp and electrodes reaching selected areas of brain tissue.” He stated that “sensory perceptions and muscular activity could be either modified or completely controlled by bioelectric signals radiating from state-controlled transmitters.” In 1968, Dr. Stuart Mackay, a specialist in brain implants wrote, “Among the many telemetry instruments being used today are miniature radio transmitters that can be swallowed, carried externally, or surgically implanted in man or animal.”

As early as World War II, American Intelligence was using psychiatrists to split the personalities of military personnel, so that they could insert false memories into their minds. They found that certain drugs, along with hypnosis, worked well with some subjects.

It appears that Lee Harvey Oswald was under mind control. A book written in 1969 claimed that the CIA used a method called Radio Hypnotic Intracerebral Control and Electronic Dissolution of Memory (RHIC-EDOM) to program Oswald. A CIA agent named Herman Kimsey said that “Oswald was programmed to kill.” Of course, Kimsey quickly ended up dead. As documented in the Warren Report, Oswald allegedly lived at the home of a psychiatrist named Francisco Silva prior to the assassination of JFK. Silva had collaborated in his scientific writings with scientist Robert Heath, who was known for his surgical brain physiology experiments. Oswald was friends with David Ferrie, who was also a hypnotist. On the day of the assassination, Oswald’s wallet contained Ferrie’s library card. A friend of Ferrie, Jack Martin, said that Ferrie had hypnotically programmed Oswald to kill Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald had attended ritualistic parties with David Ferrie. During the time that Ferrie was testifying about the Kennedy assassination, he was found dead in his apartment.

Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, also appeared to be under mind control. An evaluation of Jack Ruby by a number of doctors yielded some interesting results. According to Dr. Walter Bromberg, Ruby was “preset to be a fighter, to attack.” Dr. Bromberg also stated, “Definitely there is a block to his thinking which is no part of his original mental endowment.” Dr. Roy Schafer remarked, “He appears to feel not altogether in control of his body actions, as if they occur independently of his conscious will at times.” Dr. Manfred Guttmacher, suggested that Ruby’s brain had somehow been damaged. Ruby, in his correspondence with journalist Lincoln Lawrence, said they had used clever means to trick him into silencing Oswald. Ruby remarked, “I walked into a trap the moment I walked down that ramp Sunday morning.” Ruby also stated that he was framed and that they were after his blood. “In the end, no one listened to what Ruby had to say, except for journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, who was found ‘suicided’ shortly after her interview with him. Ruby himself was to die soon after from a cancer that he believed had been injected into him.”

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy, also appeared to be under mind control. Sirhan had received a head injury. He was seeing doctors at the time, and then disappeared for three months. When he returned, he had gained an interest in the occult. Many times drugs, hypnosis, and the occult are used in mind control. After the murder of Kennedy, numerous people said that Sirhan had a hypnotic-like demeanour. When Sirhan was questioned about the assassination, he said, “I don’t remember much about the shooting, sir, did I do it? Well, yes, I am told I did it. I remember being at the Ambassador [Hotel]. I am drinking Tom Collinses. I got dizzy. I went back to my car so I could go home. But I was too drunk to drive. I thought I’d better find some coffee. The next thing I remember I was being choked and a guy was twisting my knee.” A man named Bill Bryan, who was the president of the American Institute of Hypnosis, also worked for the CIA. Bryan stated that Sirhan had been his client in 1968. It is also known that Bryan hypnotized Albert De Salvo, the “Boston Strangler.” A notebook of Sirhans’ made references to a guy named “Di Salvo.” Without a doubt, there were CIA agents on the ground at the time of the assassination, one of which shouted, “We shot him! We shot him!”

The Jonestown massacre appears to have also been part of a CIA project. It looks like a group brainwashing gone wrong. Congressman Leo Ryan was assassinated during the Jonestown massacre. His friend and attorney, Joe Holsinger, said, “The more I investigate the mysteries of Jonestown, the more I am convinced there is something sinister behind it all. There is no doubt in my mind that Jones had very close CIA connections. At the time of the tragedy, the Temple had three boats in the water off the coast. The boats disappeared shortly afterwards. Remember, Brazil is a country that Jones is very familiar with. He is supposed to have money there. And it is not too far from Guyana. My own feeling is that Jones was ambushed by CIA agents who then disappeared in the boats. But the whole story is so mind-boggling that I’m willing to concede he escaped with them.”

It appears that the FBI was behind the Weather Underground, which was responsible for a series of bombings. American intelligence can also be linked to the Symbionese Liberation Army, which kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974.

During the cold war, both Russia and the United States were beaming radio signals worldwide. These signals affected the human brain. These low frequencies could travel through the earth and the atmosphere, and there was no escaping them—they penetrated anything and everything. These frequencies could not be jammed. They caused symptoms of headaches, anxiety, lack of body coordination, and other symptoms such as depression.

Various beliefs can be implanted in people after brain function has been greatly disturbed by fear, anger, or excitement. The most common effect is temporarily impaired judgment and heightened suggestibility. When this happens to a group, it is sometimes called ‘herd instinct.’ This phenomenon usually happens during war, epidemics, and periods of danger, which increases anxiety and mass suggestibility.

The CIA likes to use trauma based mind control. They show individuals pictures and movies of bestiality, human sacrifices, and cannibalism. They cause some subjects to participate in such acts. They mess with peoples sensories by drugging them up for long periods, putting them in confined spaces (include holes), placing them in water, and using strobe lights and various noises. The victims lose all sense of time and end up in a zombie-like state. The CIA has also used trauma-based mind control on small children, turning them into little Epstein-style pawns to entrap unwitting men with hidden cameras. These poor children have been abused in the most vile and wicked ways! These evils are still happening today!

“A person’s memory, consciousness, and sense of self can be fully accessed and modified by electromagnetic means.” “Experiences, feelings, memories—virtually any mental state—can be artificially injected into a human brain from an exterior source. The most frightening thing is that the means for doing this already exist in a fully operational form on a worldwide basis.”

In the early 90s, they spoke about hardwiring humans with silicon computer chips in order to not only trigger neuron impulses but also to receive them. A lab in the 90s was working on an implantable chip that could record the data of the electrical pulses that flow through the nervous system from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and sense of touch. They said that in the future they would use Directed Energy Systems for molding the perception of the public. Those who would reject this mind control would be identified through inter-agency databases, and computerized personality simulators would develop tailor-made psychological warfare programs for use against them. They also said that if the U.S. were to remain a successful superpower, it would need to have information dominance. Part of this dominance would include developing a satellite-linked information grind that would monitor those who would be implanted with a “microscopic brain chip.” Since the mid-eighties, they have used satellites not only to track victims but also to beam them with electromagnetic weapons from space. Anyone remember the Star Wars project that was started in the eighties? Twenty-five scientists, who worked for a UK firm linked to the Star Wars project, died suspiciously.

“As reported in the New York Times, in 1998, British Telecommunications is currently at work on a device that they dub the Soul Catcher, a computer chip implanted in the optic nerve behind the eye that, in conjunction with genetic programming, will monitor and record the entirety of a person’s thinking, what they see, what they feel. This information, according to Dr. Chris Winter of British Telecommunications, will be stored in a central computer. Information will also be fed to the person from an exterior computerized source, for ‘extrasensory’ experience. Among the other capabilities foreseen for Soul Catcher is the implanting of one person’s chip into a newborn baby, thus transplanting the entire experience of one person into another.”

They use microwaves to beam images and voices into people’s heads. They use Voice to Skull technology to verbally abuse them. They use frequencies to cause them great pain. The CIA can use these tactics to persuade their victims to kill others or to commit suicide. Their victims have no privacy, their every thought is read. Artificial intelligence is also used to reply to their thoughts, constantly driving their victims crazy.

Indeed, today the CIA is using Directed Energy Weapons in conjunction with Voice of God Weapons. These attacks can cause extreme torment, even severe burns. People are being physically and psychologically tortured. They even use these electromagnetic weapons to sexual assault and rape their female victims. Gang-stalking is also used against their victims—perpetrators physically stalk, harass, and intimidate them. Victims will have their homes broken into and their property vandalized. Stalkers will approach their victims on the streets and tell them about something they were thinking. A gang-stalker came out as a whistleblower and said that the CIA was paying him 10 thousand a month to stalk people. His job was to stalk at least one person a day. He had to make sure the victim saw him. Then, to prove that he did his job, he had to send a video of the victim to the CIA. A lot of these victims lose their family and friends, their jobs and homes, and many commit suicide. The victims become powerless, and society looks on them as crazy or mentally ill. Therefore, these people do not have a voice.

Whole families are targeted, including children. They even speak to young children using their mother’s voice. They torture these little ones, causing them to writhe and scream uncontrollably. This has happen to children as young as three!

DARPA has been working on next-generation non-surgical neurotechnology for the development of bi-directional brain control technology interfaces. This nanotechnology will be capable of entering the body through the mouth, nose, or by injection. Once this nanotechnology enters the body, it will migrate to the brain, where it will act as sensors and transmitters. This technology has the capability of mind control.

While Investigating Havana Syndrome, individuals were found emitting electromagnetic radiation in the lower megahertz range. This was due to nanotechnology, which was assembling at high density nerve endings in the body. At present, this nanotechnology can literally be measured in everyone. This technology exponentially increased after COVID-19. This nanobot technology is made with silicon. Jesse Beltran is an expert on Havana Syndrome, and his job is to investigate and test people who are suspected of having Havana Syndrome. He claims that everyone he has tested, whether targeted or not, has this nanotechnology in their bodies. He thinks there is a switch that turns this technology on, so that it can pick up outside frequencies. Those who have Havana Syndrome have this switch turned on. Those who don’t have Havana Syndrome have this switch turned off. He hypothesizes that once 6G is set up and fully functional, all switches will be turned on and everyone will be on this system.

I love Revelation 18:13! The end of verse 13 is usually translated something like the “slaves and souls of men,” but it can be translated the “bodies and souls of men” like in the New King James Version. I love the ring to that! In the original language this word slave, properly indicates the body. The word means body first, then secondarily it means slave. If one expounded on the verse, it could be translated like this: the bodies of slaves and the souls of men. Enslaving the body is one thing, enslaving the soul is another! This Babylonian (Tower of Babel) system in Revelation 18 makes merchandise of the bodies and souls of men. I have chosen the words “made merchandise of” strategically. In the context of Christianity, one meaning of this phrase denotes the exploitation of a person for profit in a deceptive or unethical manner, and it indicates a betrayal of trust in a relationship. An example of this in the Bible was when Laban took advantage of Jacob. The Beast system will be sold as something great, as something to help unit humanity, yet this promise will be betrayed and those who take the Mark of the Beast will be exploited. The Beast system will usher humanity into transhumanism. This will be the betrayal of humanity. This global mind control network will control the masses remotely, exploiting the bodies and souls of men. You have been forewarned. Repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Scientists have been developing astounding new tools for exploring neural circuits that underlie brain function throughout the first five years of the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative. Now, the NIH has announced its continued support for these projects by funding over 180 new BRAIN Initiative awards, bringing the total 2019 budget for the program to more than $424 million.

Learn more: www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-nih-brain-initi...

Credit: Leterrier, NeuroCyto Lab, INP, Marseille, France

Composite image of a bedrest volunteer being tilted down.

Nestled in an Alpine valley in Slovenia, a group of 24 volunteers followed a bedrest routine for two months to explore how prolonged inactivity affects the human body. Participants were not allowed to stand up and performed all daily activities with their heads lower than their feet, including eating, showering and toilet breaks.

This strict protocol tricked their bodies into responding as if they were astronauts on the International Space Station for a long-duration mission. Scientists monitored everything from brain function to immune response, collecting data on muscles, bones and fluid shifts.

The second campaign of BRAVE – short for Bed Rest with Artificial gravity and resistive Vibration Exercise – brought complexity to previous bedrest studies by adding three more layers: artificial gravity and resistive vibration exercises, all under reduced oxygen levels simulating conditions at 4,000-metre altitude. BRAVE took place at Slovenia’s Planica Nordic Centre.

As spinning encouraged blood to flow back towards the feet, participants followed a 30-minute daily exercise regime of squats, jumps, heel and toe raises. Artificial gravity has the potential to reduce many of the negative effects of weightlessness on the human body.

Each day was carefully structured: meals in bed, medical checkups, cognitive tests and biological sampling. The Planica facility has clinical research equipment that allows for comparison with other ESA bedrest studies.

The BRAVE campaign conducted a total of 13 experiments and allowed researchers to test techniques to counteract the negative impact of living in space. Many of these effects – osteoporosis, muscle loss and cardiovascular deconditioning – mirror those experienced by elderly or bedridden patients.

This research also consolidates the cooperation with Slovenia, which became the 23rd ESA Member State in January 2025.

Credits: Marjan Verc

The basic version of the problem asks people to imagine that they see five passengers on a runaway trolley, headed for certain destruction. They can save these five by throwing a switch that would divert the trolley to a safe course, saving the five passengers, but the diversion will end up killing one bystander who happens to be standing on the safe route. The problem thus asks people if they will act in a way that kills one but saves five. Most people struggle, but agree that they would divert the trolley. But if the hypothetical is altered so that the only way to stop the trolley is by pushing a portly individual off of a footbridge onto the tracks so as to stop the trolley, fewer agree to sacrifice the one to save the five. The hypothetical is designed to illustrate the greater moral dilemma associated with direct, forceful action. Moral Heuristicsis not such a piece. It brings some psychological research to bear on legal issues, but the piece is more ambitious than that. It provides a new way for both psychologists and legal scholars to think about the concept of heuristics. It then uses this new approach to challenge the basic epistemological assumptions of contemporary moral philosophy. The basic thesis of Moral Heuristics is that people rely on simple habits of the mind when thinking about moral issues. As in many areas of life, they do not adhere to principles of deductive logic. They resist relying on broad-based optimization strategies (such as cost-benefit analysis) as a means of addressing hard moral questions in favor of simple rules of thumb. For example, Sunstein argues that people avoid making decisions that they know will result in the death of another person. This is a good principle to follow, of course, but blind application of it can lead to paradox because some fatalities are more invisible than others. The principle can produce condemnation of those who account for less visible, indirect fatalities, as happens in cost-benefit analysis. Cost- benefit analysis makes indirect fatalities transparent, thereby making those who rely on it seem callous, even if they are trying to minimize the total fatality rate. Intuitions about moral issues, he contends, are no more apt to be coherent than intuitions about probability theory. Therefore, founding a normative theory of moral philosophy upon intuition is just as misguided as founding mathematics on intuition. And yet, that is exactly what contemporary moral philosophers undertake. The primary methodological approach at the time was to study the ways that memory and perception might go astray. For example, psychologists studying memory found that when they presented people with lists of words to memorize, people more easily remember them. From this pattern, psychologists inferred that memory includes a short-term storage buffer with limited capacity. At the beginning of the list, the short-term buffer is not yet fully engaged, and hence, it can be used for active rehearsal of the words. At the end of the list, the buffer is not clouded with subsequent words and can be used to facilitate the transfer of the words into long-term storage. The errors in memory, in effect, guide the cognitive theory ofhow memory works. Cognitive psychologists assumed that human memory does not work the same way as a tape recorder, but they also reasoned that the departures from the concept of human memory as a tape recorder could provide insights into the underlying cognitive systems supporting memory. Likewise, cognitive psychologists studying human judgment and choice rejected the idea that human judgment and choice perfectly followed deductive logic and rationality, but they also reasoned that departures from this vision of human judgment would give clues as to how these systems actually worked. And thus, the methodology that produced insights into

the understanding of memory and perception should produce insights into understanding ofjudgment and choice as well. The heuristics and biases approach to assessing human judgment has extraordinary strengths. It provides a simple, inexpensive methodology for studying human judgment and decision making. It also capitalizes on the enormous success of the cognitive psychology of memory and perception in documenting how the brain functions. But, it also inspires criticisms. It arguably fails to account for variations in human ability in judgment, fails to account for motivated reasoning processes, and simply makes people seem too inept. People with different cultural worldviews may well experience betrayal in different settings. The idea that people react negatively to betrayal itself allows for such variations, making it easier to see how this heuristic is compatible with the research on cultural cognition than the representativeness heuristic. Handgun owners might not feel the betrayal of a gun accident (or they might feel more betrayed because they see the gun as a precaution not as a weapon), whereas handgun opponents might deem a handgun accident an ironic betrayal (or might feel that the owner got what was expected). Research on the representativeness heuristic suggests that to the extent to which activities resemble dangerous undertakings, people treat them as if they are dangerous, regardless of the underlying risk. But such treatment fails to account for variations in how individuals assess risk. Betrayal aversion, by contrast, has variation built in. Furthermore, the idea of betrayal aversion is one that proponents of ecological rationality can support much more easily than the representativeness heuristic. Evolutionary psychologists, in particular, argue that humans have an ancestral need to be highly vigilant against betrayal. Cooperation was essential to the survival of hunter- gatherer bands of human ancestors, but cooperative undertakings are vulnerable to exploitation by a defector. Human ancestors who were known to react strongly and punish betrayal aggressively likely deterred defection, therebyfacilitating productive cooperation within their group. Ancestors known to tolerate defection would attract defectors who would destroy group cohesiveness. Such accounts might be little more than "just so" stories, but the idea of a universally strong reaction to betrayal at least seems to have some advantages in social settings. Thus, it is easier to square with an ecological rationality than some of the more general heuristics. Koehler and Gershoff, Like betrayal aversion, the prohibition against deliberately causing another's death fits well with ecological rationality. Only in a vastly more interconnected modem world do humans face the moral consequences of indirectly causing each other harm through action (voting for a political candidate who starts a war that produces collateral injury to civilians) and inaction (failing to donate to charity that cannot save lives as a consequence of lack of funding). The human brain evolved to process a much smaller social universe than we face today. But in ordinary social settings, the prohibition against directly causing death functions as a sensible way of deciding how to act. It has been a great puzzle for psychologists studying judgment and choice, in fact, that intuition about probability and deductive logic deviates so markedly from logical principles. The discrepancy between the answers people's intuition produces and the teachings ofdeductive logic underlies some ofthe backlash against the early literature on heuristics and biases. It has led many to embrace ecological rationality, as discussed above. But most have simply accepted that intuition and deductive logic are not the same, and conclude that it is extremely difficult to develop a unified theory of human judgment and choice that is both descriptively accurate and normatively logical. If that is correct, then relying on intuition to construct a system of logic, probability, or mathematics would be deeply misguided.

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