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Organic Coconut Oil Information (#1 source for organic coconut oil education, research info and recipes)
Scientists have known since the 1940s that intermittent fasting helps us lose weight, and can cut the incidence of diabetes in lab animals.
Recent studies have also confirmed that restricting calorie intake could possibly reverse type 2 diabetes in some people. Researchers measured improved pancreatic function and fewer of the fatty deposits associated with insulin resistance were present in fasting subjects. A link is below to the start of human trials.
"Proponents claim that in addition to weight loss, the diet can lead to longer life, and protection against disease, particularly conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease"
"Evidence from clinical trials shows that fasting can limit inflammation, improve levels of sugars and fats in circulation, and reduce blood pressure. Our fasting bodies change how they select which fuel to burn, improving metabolism and reducing oxidative stress" The FULL 1 Hour documentary http://video.pbs.org/video/2363162206. From the doco, intermittent fasting ALSO lowers blood pressure, and causes neurons to GROW!! And it's easy to do!
Visit www.OrganicCoconutOil.info for more on the use of coconut oil....Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) and the clock test. Steve Newports symptoms of Alzheime...
An experimental 'Trojan-horse' cancer therapy has completely eliminated prostate cancer in experiments on mice, according to UK researchers.
The Psychology Of Facebook, is addiction affecting our minds? How exactly is Facebook and Internet addiction affecting our minds? Or is it something you’ve even thought about? Chances are it hasn’t even crossed your mind that constantly checking for new notifications or spending hours a day on the Internet is actually an addiction in the making. Every time you receive a notification on Facebook it could mean a new professional, social, or even sexual opportunity. Once you answer the little red box signaling a notification, it results in a hit of dopamine. The same dopamine that recharges our addictive compulsion and is similar to people who have addictions to abusive substances such as heroin, meth, or crack. However, as you probably know, these notifications are hard to resist.
A joint project of Killer Infographics and Mandril Design. Interactivity creates greater reader engagement, which, in turn, generates interest and educates a wide spectrum of people. This particular interactive infographic was picked up by hundreds of websites, including National Geographic! The precision of the interactive scalability highlight the importance of accuracy in successful infographics - Killer Infographics will never publish any data they won't stand behind!
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
If nothing else, work on your gratitude on your own for the next 90 days. While we would love to help and support you as much as we are able, for some people, this is a very personal exercise that they prefer to do alone. Whatever you decide, just do it!
Have you ever felt so stressed out and overwhelmed that you can’t think straight? We now know that prolonged stress or trauma is associated with decreased volume in areas of the human brain responsible for regulating thoughts and feelings, enhancing self-control, and creating new memories. A new research study, published in today’s issue of Nature Medicine, is a first step in uncovering the genetic mechanism underlying these brain changes. While the evidence is not yet conclusive, these studies suggest that prolonged exposure to stress can shrink the brain, both via the damaging effects of cortisol on brain neurons, and by disrupting expression of genes that facilitate neuronal connections. This raises the question of whether there is anything we can do to prevent such damage. Since we can’t always control how much we are exposed to financial, relationship, or illness stress, are there preventive activities we can do to maintain cognitive resilience so we can continue to deal effectively with the stressors? It is not known if we can reverse the damage by these methods, but we may lessen it and make our brains more resilient to stress. Brain-Enhancing Activities to Combat Stress Take a Daily DHA Supplement Exercise Most Days Do Yoga, Meditate, or Pray How to meditate 4.00 minutes http://pinterest.com/pin/213921051021457807/
Via Maggie Rouman, Rich Guy Miller
A faster DNA sequencing machine and streamlined analysis of the results can diagnose genetic disorders in days rather than weeks. Up to a third of the babies admitted to neonatal intensive care units have a genetic disease. Although symptoms may be severe, the genetic cause can be hard to pin down. Thousands of genetic diseases have been described, but relatively few tests are available, and even these may detect only the most common mutations. Whole-genome sequencing could test for many diseases at once, but its cost, the complexity of the results and the turnaround time are prohibitive. In what they hope will be a prototype for other hospitals, a research team led by Stephen Kingsmore at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, has implemented a much faster, simpler system for finding relevant mutations in whole-genome sequences that is designed for physicians without specialized genetic training. These kinds of innovation will help more hospitals bring sequencing into clinical care, says Richard Gibbs, director of the human genome sequencing centre at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. “A lot of people are going to realize from this that the future is now.” Sequencing has been used before to pinpoint the cause of mysterious diseases. In 2011, Gibbs led a team that sequenced 14-year-old twins with a neurological movement disorder and found a way to improve their treatment2. In another instance, whole-genome sequencing suggested that a mysterious case of severe inflammatory bowel disease had a genetic cause and could be relieved through a bone marrow transplant3. But both these examples required several weeks and a team of experts to resolve. The Children’s Mercy Hospital plans to offer routine sequencing in the neonatal intensive care unit by the end of the year. To order a test, physicians will choose terms from pull-down boxes to describe the infant's symptoms. Software then compiles a list of potential suspect genes. After the genome is sequenced, the software hunts for and analyses mutations in only those genes, which allows it to compile a list of possible causative mutations more quickly. The team had early access to a new DNA sequencing machine from sequencing company Illumina, based in San DIego, California, that could generate a whole genome within 25 hours. The entire process, from obtaining consent to preliminary diagnosis, took 50 hours, not counting the time taken to ship DNA samples and computer hard drives between Illumina's lab in the UK, where the DNA sequencing was carried out, and the hospital, where analysis was conducted. Kingsmore estimates that the cost of sequence and analysis is $13,500 per child, including costs to verify variants in a laboratory certified to perform clinical tests. Fast sequencing cannot diagnose all genetic diseases. Current sequencing technology tend to overlook mutations such as duplicated genes, for example. Nonetheless, deep sequencing will be able to provide diagnoses for many cases that would otherwise remain harrowing mysteries.
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
Scientists have found that eliminating an enzyme from mice with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease leads to a 90 percent reduction in the compounds responsible for formation of the plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease. That's the biggest drop in A-beta levels that has been reported so far by treating animal models with drugs or genetic manipulation. The compounds are amyloid beta, or A-beta peptides; peptides are proteins, but are shorter in length. When A-beta peptides accumulate in excessive amounts in the brain, they can form plaques, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The key to reducing A-beta peptides was the elimination of an enzyme called jnk3. This enzyme stimulates a protein that produces A-beta peptides, suggesting that when jnk3 activities are high, A-beta peptide production increases – increasing chances for their accumulation and formation into plaques. The researchers also observed that jnk3 activities in brain tissue from Alzheimer’s disease patients were increased by 30 to 40 percent when compared to normal human brain tissue. Jnk3 activity typically remains low in the brain, but increases when physiological abnormalities arise. The findings suggest that jnk3 could be a new target for Alzheimer’s disease intervention, Yoon said. So far, some drugs can slow the disease’s progression, but there is no cure. Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 5 million Americans, and its cause remains unknown. Although scientists have not yet determined whether A-beta peptides present in plaques cause Alzheimer’s disease or form as a consequence of the disease, the presence of the plaques is linked to progressive cognitive decline.
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
Although one glass a day is enough to meet 50 per cent of the daily requirement, falling consumption is thought to be the reason that rising numbers of Britons are now deficient. Even mild iodine deficiency in pregnant women can damage the mental abilities of a baby in the womb and, according to the report, moderate to severe iodine deficiency can reduce IQ by 10 to 15 points.
The thyroid gland, which produces hormones that regulate metabolism and fertility, also needs iodine to function.
Low levels of thyroid hormones can lead to women becoming infertile.
According to the US National Institutes of Health, iodine deficiency may also be linked to an increased risk of breast, thyroid, ovarian and prostate cancers.
A new report says that half of women of child-bearing age may also suffer with iodine deficiency.
‘These new findings have major importance,’ says Dr Mark Vanderpump, consultant endocrinologist at the Royal Free Hospital in North London, who carried out the research.
‘The body cannot make iodine – we need to get it from diet, but there is very little in food, unless it has been added, and many countries have acted to add it to salt.
Changes in farming practice in the UK, dating back to the Forties, led to a rise in the iodine content of milk because cattle were (and still are) given iodine-rich artificial feed.
At the same time, successive governments encouraged increased milk consumption in schoolchildren.
The combination of these two factors meant that by the Eighties, the iodine content of milk was enough to meet daily requirements.
However, later that decade, free school milk was ended and research shows that since then there has been a steady decline in iodine levels. ‘It is likely to be the reduced amount of milk now drunk since the Eighties that is responsible for the resurgence of iodine deficiency,’ says Dr Vanderpump. Failing a return to free school milk, researchers favour adding iodine to salt, which they say would be safe and cost-effective.
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Interview about the intermittent fasting diet, also called the Dom Joly diet, 5:2 diet and the Fast Diet or the ADF diet (Alternate Day Fast)
© 2013. Terumo BCT. Terumo BCT partnered with XVIVO in Fall 2010 about developing a program for one of their newest products, the Quantum Cell Expansion System
The goal of the 'BRAIN Initiative' is to learn more about disorders like Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.
Life after a brain injury teaches you a lot about yourself. But mainly it teaches you about the grind of illness and recovery
1.) If you've got an itch in your throat, scratch your ear. When the nerves in the ear get stimulated, they create a reflex in the throat that causes a muscle spasm, which cures the itch. 2.) Having trouble hearing someone at a party or on the phone? Use your right ear it's better at picking up rapid speech. But, the left is better at picking up music tones. 3.) If you need to relieve yourself BADLY, but you're not anywhere near a bathroom, fantasize about RELATIONS. That preoccupies your brain and distracts it. 4.) Next time the doctor's going to give you an injection, COUGH as the needle is going in. The cough raises the level of pressure in your spinal canal, which limits the pain sensation as it tries to travel to your brain. 5.) Clear a stuffed nose or relieve sinus pressure by pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth then pressing a finger between your eyebrows. Repeat that for 20 seconds it causes the vomer bone to rock, which loosens your congestion and clears you up. 6.) If you ate a big meal and you're feeling full as you go to sleep, lay on your left side. That'll keep you from suffering from acid reflux it keeps your stomach lower than your esophagus, which will helps keep stomach acid from sliding up your throat. 7.) You can stop a toothache by rubbing ice on the back of your hand, on the webbed area between your thumb and index finger. The nerve pathways there stimulate a part of the brain that blocks pain signals from your mouth. 8.) If you get all messed up on liquor, and the room starts spinning, put your hand on something stable. The reason: Alcohol dilutes the blood in the part of your ear called the cupula, which regulates balance. Putting your hand on something stable gives your brain another reference point, which will help make the world stop spinning. 9.) Stop a nose bleed by putting some cotton on your upper gums right behind the small dent below your nose and press against it hard. Most of the bleeding comes from the cartilage wall that divides the nose, so pressing there helps get it to stop. 10.) Nervous? Slow your heart rate down by blowing on your thumb. The vagus nerve controls your heart rate, and you can calm it down by breathing. 11.) Need to breathe underwater for a while? Instead of taking a huge breath, HYPERVENTILATE before you go under, by taking a bunch of short breaths. That'll trick your brain into thinking it has more oxygen, and buy you about 10 extra seconds. 12.) You can prevent BRAIN FREEZE by pressing your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much surface area as possible. Brain freeze happens because the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, so your brain thinks your whole body is cold. It compensates by overheating which causes your head to hurt. By warming up the roof of your mouth, you'll chill your brain and feel better. 13.) If your hand falls asleep, rock your head from side to side. That'll wake your hand or arm up in less than a minute. Your hand falls asleep because of the nerves in your neck compressing so loosening your neck is the cure. If your foot falls asleep, that's governed by nerves lower in the body, so you need to stand up and walk around. 14.) Finally, this one's totally USELESS, but a nice trick. Have someone stick their arm out to the side, straight, palm down. Press down on his wrist with two fingers. He'll resist, and his arm will stay horizontal. Then, have him put his foot on a surface that's half an inch off the ground, like a stack of magazines, and do the trick again. Because his spine position is thrown off, his arm will fall right to his side, no matter how much he tries to resist. 15.) Got the hiccups? Press thumb and second finger over your eyebrows until the hiccups are over - usually, in a short while.
Ed Boyden, 33, makes tools for brain hackers. From his lab at MIT, he is building technology that will vastly expand the range of experiments that other scientists can pull off. His latest invention is a classic example: a robot that patch-clamps as well as a human scientist, with none of the fatigue or variability. It works all day. It does not need lunch breaks. It has transformed a technique that had only been mastered by an elite few into something that anyone can do, and hundreds of labs are queuing up to buy or make an auto-patcher of their own. Boyden published a description of the robot in May this year. He says, "After our paper came out, I got an email saying, 'I just spent a year learning how to do that. Thanks. There goes that'." Boyden's ambition is audacious," says Craig Forest from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Boyden's partner on the auto-patcher project. Other colleagues agree. "It's regular to hear him say something like, 'I want to solve the brain.' Period. Nothing after that," says Anthony Zorzos, one of Boyden's graduate students. "But for a guy who says things like that, he's pretty down to earth." "Solving the brain" is as difficult as it sounds. A cubic millimetre of brain tissue can house 100,000 neurons, sending signals across a billion connections in mere thousandths of a second. This cross-talk is what turns a lump of spongy tissue into the most sophisticated computer in existence. It is also impenetrable to modern methods. We can zoom out to scan broad regions encompassing millions of cells, or zoom in to dissect the traits of individual ones, but the intermediate world of circuits still eludes us. Boyden likens our current technology to studying one pixel on a computer screen at a time. "Even if you buy a million screens, you won't understand how a computer works by looking at that one pixel," he says. "I'd rather have one computer and look at everything in it." The auto-patcher is one of the tools that Boyden is developing to observe neural circuits in detail, to better understand how the brain computes. But voyeurism is not enough. Boyden is also designing tools to tweak, trigger and silence neural circuits, offering a degree of control that neuroscience has always lacked. For a long time, studying the brain meant finding correlations. Scientists measured how blood flow or electrical activity changed as we carried out mental tasks, and they noted how injuries and disease affected those abilities. But to establish causality, you have to stimulate neural circuits, as well as watch them. A movie, drug or electric shock will do the trick, but we need tools to stimulate specific sets of cells, not vast swathes of neurons. The most famous of these is the one that made Boyden's name: optogenetics. By implanting neurons with light-sensitive proteins called opsins, harvested from algae, microbes and other creatures, scientists can stimulate or silence them with a simple optic fibre. Boyden pioneered optogenetics in 2005, with Karl Deisseroth from Stanford University. Now, it is used by thousands of scientists around the world. The opsins can be loaded into neurons within just one part of the brain, or into neurons that secrete a certain type of signalling chemical. Flash the right set and you can steer an animal's movements, send it to sleep or make it aggressive. Silence the right ones and you could potentially calm the hyperactivity that accompanies epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. "I'm wary of using the term revolutionary but I don't think it's an overstatement for optogenetics," says Robert Desimone, director of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research and one of Boyden's collaborators. "It has affected virtually every lab working in neuroscience."
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
This video introduces viewers to the concept of augmentative and alternative communication and how speech communication devices can help people who have trouble speaking
Via Toby Churchill Ltd
For decades, linguists have debated the roots of language similarity. In a new study, researchers from the University of Rochester and Georgetown University believe the brain’s tendency toward efficient communication is an underlying reason that many human languages are comparable. New research also suggests that changes to language are simply the brain’s way of ensuring that communication is as precise and concise as possible. By the same token, says Jaeger, many elements of informal speech can be interpreted as rising from the brain’s bias toward efficiency.
An international team of scientists have identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during ageing, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug. Although an early study, the findings provide clues as to how muscles lose mass with age, which can result in weakness that affects mobility and may cause falls. The study looked at stem cells found inside muscle – which are responsible for repairing injury – to find out why the ability of muscles to regenerate declines with age. A dormant reservoir of stem cells is present inside every muscle, ready to be activated by exercise and injury to repair any damage. When needed, these cells divide into hundreds of new muscle fibres that repair the muscle. At the end of the repairing process some of these cells also replenish the pool of dormant stem cells so that the muscle retains the ability to repair itself again and again.
The researchers carried out a study on old mice and found the number of dormant stem cells present in the pool reduces with age, which could explain the decline in the muscle’s ability to repair and regenerate as it gets older. When these old muscles were screened the team found high levels of FGF2, a protein that has the ability to stimulate cells to divide. While encouraging stem cells to divide and repair muscle is a normal and crucial process, they found that FGF2 could also awaken the dormant pool of stem cells even when they were not needed. The continued activation of dormant stem cells meant the pool was depleted over time, so when the muscle really needed stem cells to repair itself the muscle was unable to respond properly.
Following this finding, the researchers attempted to inhibit FGF2 in old muscles to prevent the stem cell pool from being kick-started into action unnecessarily. By administering a common FGF2 inhibitor drug they were able to inhibit the decline in the number of muscle stem cells in the mice. Kieran Jones, co-author of the study from King’s, added: ‘We do not yet know how or why levels of the protein FGF2 increase with age, triggering stem cells to be activated when they are not needed. This is something that needs to be explored.
‘The next step is to analyse old muscle in humans to see if the same mechanism could be responsible for stem cell depletion in human muscle fibres, leading to loss of mass and wastage.’
“I know they say there is no cure for Alzheimer’s… But I was wondering if there’s any development in a cure you know about?” I was asked after my lecture on PET imaging of dementia this past summer. A number of technologists gathered around me, far more eager to hear my response to this question than they were to hear me speak on the continuing education topics. The woman asking the question told us an emotional story of living with her father who had Alzheimer’s dementia, which meant she interacted everyday with somebody who had no idea who she was or appreciated all the things she had been doing for him in his old age. Everybody knows Alzheimer’s robs a person of memory, feelings and personality, but we forget that it also robs the people taking care of that person of happiness, too. Another technologist told us about his favorite teacher who he lost touch with because of the disease. He asked if there was something that could reverse it. “As far as I know, the answer is sadly no.”
While waiting for my airplane back, I became curious if there was something in our food that could prevent Alzheimer’s, which is by far the most common dementia in the United States. When I got home, I scoured the literature. Curcumin (the bioactive component of turmeric, used in day-to-day cooking and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries) kept popping up in my research. Studies on mice seemed to show that curcumin actually reversed a cause of the disease.
The current consensus is that there are probably two causes of Alzheimer's dementia. One cause is an increased production and accumulation of a protein called amyloid-beta 42 around brain cells. The other cause is accumulation of a different protein called tau tangles in brain cells. Both causes trigger inflammation, which is the direct cause of these brain cells dying.
A UCLA researcher named Dr. Gary Cole has shown in both in vitro (meaning outside a living organism, such cultured cells growing in petri dishes) and in vivo experiments (using mice) that curcumin fights the amyloid that accumulates in the brain in Alzheimer's in 3 ways: (1) breaking down accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques, (2) preventing amyloid from forming in the first place, and (3) helping reduce how much cholesterol is available in the brain. (High cholesterol levels have been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s dementia.)
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